bonniebook's Best of Your Best 2010 Challenge

I'm excited to be finally joining all you 75-ers! I feel like I know a lot of you already and hope to make many more reading friends here. I'll be lurking on the 10-10, Club Read, and 50-Book Challenges too, and following old friends wherever they go, but because I’m naturally disorganized, this is going to be the only challenge I do in 2010. Happy reading, everybody!

...in 2010:

11. The Good Mayor - Andrew Nicoll (2/05/10)

10. The Twin - Gerbrand Bakker (1/25/10) I give up! I am so tired of fixing that Touchstone!
9. The Hunger Games - Susan Collins (1/23/10)
8. A Homemade Life - Molly Wizenberg (1/17/10)
7. The Idea of Perfection - Kate Grenville (1/15/10)
6. You Remind Me of Me - Dan Chaon (1/10/10)
5. Mozart and the Whale: An Asperger's Love Story - Jerry Newport (1/09/10)
4. The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right - Atul Gawande (1/08/10)
3. Cancer Made me a Shallower Person by Miriam Engelberg (1/04/2010)
2. Wolf Hall by Hillary Mantel (started in 2009, finished 1/04/2010)
1. Michelle, a biography by Liza Mundy (started in 2009, 1/02/2010)

...Seattle Public Library books checked out this week:

Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo
Deaf Sentence by David Lodge
The Good Mayor by Andrew Nicoll
Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann
Little Bee by Chris Cleave
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe
Society Without God by Phil Zucker
Zeitoun by David Eggers

Currently reading:

Eggers, David: Zeitoun
Howe, Katherine: The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane My first audio book!
Kristof, Nicholas & Sheryl WuDunn: Half the Sky
Potter, Joan: African American Firsts - an ER book
Zucker, Phil: Society Without God

For new friends I come bearing gifts: My alphabetized list of books created from the "Ten Favorites of 2009" lists proffered by many of your LT friends on my bonniebook's Best of Your Best, 2009 challenge. I plan on choosing most of my books for 2010 from this list, but will also pick from my ever growing wish list--and, of course, I'll continue to make "bonnieruns" to my favorite independent bookstores. Note: I'm going to strike through the books I've already read, so if you want the "clean" version, go to message #177 in my 2009 challenge linked above. It's also fun to look at the individual lists to see who recommended what.

An Alphabetized List of Your Top Tens for 2009

Abani, Chris: GraceLand
Ackerley, J. R.: Hindoo Holiday
Adamson, Gil: The Outlander
Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi: Purple Hibiscus; The Thing Around Your Neck
Adiga, Aravind: The White Tiger
Achebe, Chinua: Things Fall Apart
Alexie, Sherman: Absolutely True diary of a Part-Time Indian
Ali, Ayaan Hirsi: Infidel
Allen, Sarah Addison: Garden Spells
Anderson, Laurie Halse: Wintergirls
Anderson, M.T.: The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Volume 1
Antunes, Antonio Lobo: The Fat Man and Infinity
Armstrong, Kelley: The Summoning
Atwood, Margaret: Alias Grace; The Handmaid's Tale; The Penelopiad; The Robber Bride
Auster, Paul: The New York Trilogy
Azzopardi, Trezza: The Hiding Place
Bahr, Howard: The Black Flower
Baker, Russ: Family of Secrets
Bakker, Gerbrand: The Twin
Balzac, Honore: Old Goriot
Banks, Ian: The Player of Games
Barbery, Muriel: The Elegance of the Hedgehog
Barlow, Tony: Sharp Teeth
Barry, Brunonia: The Lace Reader
Batataille, Marion: ABC3D
Bauermeister, Erica: The School of Essential Ingredients
Bazell, Josh: Beat the Reaper
Beals, Melba Pattillo: Warriors Don't Cry
Bemrose, John: The Island Walkers
Benson, E.F.: Mrs. Ames
Benson, Mary: At the Still Point
Bhutto, Benazir: Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy and the West
Bishop, Holley: Robbing the Bees
Bolano, Roberto: 2666
Boyle, Kay: Thirty Stories
Boyne, John: Mutiny on the Bounty
Bourdain, Anthony: Kitchen Confidential
Bradbury, Ray: Dandelion Wine
Bruen, Ken: The Guards
Bryson, Bill: The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid; Notes From a Big Country
Bulgakov, Mikhail: The Master and Margarita
Butcher, Jim: Princeps' Fury; Turn Coat
Canfield, Dorothy: The Deepening Stream
Carroll, Lewis: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Cather, Willa: My Antonia; The Song of the Lark
Chabon, Michael: Yiddish Policeman's Union
Chace, James: Acheson: The Secretary of State Who Created the American World
Chang, Jung: Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China
Chaon, Dan: Await Your Reply
Chaplin, Charlie: My Autobiography
Childe, Julia: My Life in France
Clarke, Gerald: Capote: A Biography
Coelho, Paulo: The Alchemist
Collins, Susan: The Hunger Games
Collins, Wilkie: The Woman in White
Conroy, Pat: The Water is Wide
Cooper, Gwen: Homer's Odyssey
Cooper, Helene: The House at Sugar Beach
Courtenay, Bryce: The Power of One
Cullen, David: Columbine
Cummings, Quinn: Notes From the Underwire
de la Parra, Teresa: Iphigenia
Dallas, S.: Tall Grass
Diamond, Jared: The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution of the Human Animal; Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed
Dickens, Charles: Hard Times; Little Dorrit
di Lampedusa, Giuseppe Tomasi: The Leopard
Dinesen, Isak: Out of Africa
Dittmer, John: The Good Doctors
Djebar, Assia: So Vast the Prison
Doctorow, Cory: Little Brother
Donoso, Jose: The Obscene Bird of Night
Dunn, Mark: Ella Minnow Pea
Du Marier, Daphne: Rebecca
DuPrau, Jeanne: The City of Ember, The People of the Sparks
Earley, Tony: Jim the Boy
Easterly, William: The White Man's Burden
Elliot, George: Silas Marner
Emecheta, Buchi: The Joys of Motherhood
Enger, Leif: Peace Like a River
Erdrich, Louise: The Plague of Doves; The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse
Eugenides, Jeffrey: The Virgin Suicides
Evans, Pollly: On a Hoof and a Prayer: Exploring Argentina at a Gallop
Fallada, Hans: Every Man Dies Alone
Farmer, Paul: Pathologies of Power
Ferris, Joshua: Then We came to the End
Fforde, Jasper: The Big Over Easy; The Fourh Bear
Figes, Orlando: The Whisperers: Private Life in Stalin's Russia
Follett, Ken: Pillars of the Earth
Ford, Jamie: Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
Francis, Brian: Fruit
Frank, Anne: Diary of a Young Girl
Frank, Thomas: What's the Matter With Kansas?
Fraser, Antonia: The Pleasure of Reading
Frazier, Charles: Thirteen Moons
Frost, Jeaniene: Halfway to the Grave
Fuller, Alexandra: Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight:
Funke, Cornelia: Inkheart
Gaiman, Neil: The Graveyard Book
Galloway, Janice: Clara
Galloway, Stephen: The Cellist of Sarajevo
Garton-Ash, Timothy: The File
Gaskell, Elizabeth: North and South; Wives and Daughters
Genova, Lisa: Still Alice
Goldsworthy, Peter: Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam
Goodwin, Doris Kearns: Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
Grace, Patricia: At the Still Point; Waiariki
Grandin, Temple: Animals Make Us Human
Grann, David: The Lost City of Z (unfinished)
Graves, Robert: I, Claudius
Greene, Graham: The Ministry of Fear
Grenville, Kate: Secret River; The Idea of Perfection
Groff, Lauren: The Monsters of Templeton
Grossman, Vasili: Life and Fate
Gruen, Sara: Water for Elephants
Gurnah, Abdulrazak: Desertion
Haddon, Mark: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Hage, Rawi: De Niro's Game
Hakamura, Ishio: The Remains of the Day
Hajdu, David: The Ten-Cent Plague
Hale, Shannon: Rapunzel's Revenge
Hammett, Dashiell: Red Harvest
Hanff, Helene: 84 Charing Cross Road
Harding, Paul: Tinkers
Harvey, Samantha: The Wilderness
Helm, Sarah: A Life in secrets: Vera Atkins and the Missing Agents of WWII
Hollinghurst, Alan: The Line of Beauty
Hoesseini, Khaled: A Thousand Splendid Suns
Hoffman, Alice: Blackbird House; The Ice Queen
Hornby, Nick: The Complete Polysyllabic Spree; Housekeeping vs. The Dirt
Houellebecq, Michel: Atomized/The Elementary Particles
Hustvedt, Siri: What I Loved
Huxley, Aldous: Brave New World
Ishiguro, Kazuo: The Remains of the Day
James, Henry: Portrait of a Lady
Jamison, Kay Redfield: Touched with Fire: Manic-Depressive Illnes and the Artistic Temperament
Jansson, Tove: The True Deceiver
Jelloun, Tahar: This Blinding Absence of Light
Jones, Gail: Sorry
Jones, Lloyd: Mister Pip
Johnston, Wayne: The Colony of Unrequited Dreams
Jordan, Hillary: Mudbound
Kamkwamba, William: The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
Kapuscinski, Ryszard: The Shadow of the Sun
Kawabata, Yasunari: The Master of Go
Kay, Guy Gavriel: Tigana
Kent, Kathleen: The Heretic's Daughter
Kirn, Walter: Up in the Air
Kluger, Steve: Last Days of Summer
Knisley, Lucy: French Milk
Koestler, Arthur: Darkness at Noon
Kopelman, Jay: From Baghdad, with Love: A Marine, A War and a Dog
Krakauer, Jon: Into the Wild
Kramer, Clara: Clara's War, One Girl's Story of Survival
Krasikov, Sana: One More Year
Kristof, Nikolas: Half the Sky
Lahari, Jumpha: Interpreter of Maladies
Lamb, Wally: The Hour I First Believed
Land, Brad: Goat: A Memoir
Lansens, Lori: The Girls
Larson, Kate Clifford: Bound for the Promised Land
Larson, Stieg: The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo; The Girl Who Played with Fire
Lawson, Mary: Crow Lake
Le Carre, John: Smiley's People; Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Lehane, Dennis: The Given Day
Levy, Andrea: Small Island
Levy, Ariel: Female Chauvinist Pigs
Lewis, C.S.: Till We have Faces
Lipman, Elinor: Inn at Lake Devine
Lively, Penelope: Family Album
Llosa, Mario Vargas: Conversation in the Cathedral
London, Joan: Gilgamesh
Longfellow, Ki: The Secret Magdalene
Lovell, Mary: The Biography of Jane Digby, A Scandalous LIfe
Ludum, Robert: The Bourne Trilogy
Lychack, William: The Wasp Eater
Lynch, Jim: Border Songs
MacDonald, George: The Highlander's Last Song
MacMillan, Margaret: Paris 1919
McCann, Colum: Let the Great World Spin
McCarthy, Cormac: All the Pretty Horses; Blood Meridian; The Road
Macintyre, Ben: Agent Zigzag
Mackinnon, Amy: Tethered
Maguire, Gregory: Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
Mandel, Emily St. John: Last Night in Montreal
Mann, Charles: 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus
Mantel, Hilary: Wolf Hall
Maraini, Dacia: The Silent Duchess
Marchetta, Melina: Jellioe Road
Mahjoub, Jamal: Traveling with Djinns
Martel, Yann: Life of Pi
Matin, P.D.: Body Count
Matthieseen, Peter: Shadow Country
Maugham, Somerset: Of Human Bondage
Mawer, Simon: The Glass Room
Maynard, Joyce: Labor Day
Mee, Benjamin: We Bought a Zoo
Melling, O.R.: The Hunter's Moon
Mercer, Jeremy: Books, Baguettes and Bedbugs
Mistry, Rohinton: A Fine Balance
Mitchell, David: Cloud Atlas; Black Swan Green
Montgomery, Lucy Maud: Anne of Green Gables
Monroe, Alice: The View From Castle Rock
Moore, Christopher: Lamb
Morrison, Toni: Beloved; A Mercy
Mortensen, Greg: Three Cups of Tea
Morton, Kate: The Forgotten Garden
Morton, Kate: The House at Riverton
Murakami, Haruki: Norwegian Wood; The Wild Sheep Chase
Murphy, Lynda and Julie Rugg: A Book Addict's Treasury
Myron, Vicki: Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat
Nemirovsky, Irene: Suite Francaise
Newport, Jerry and Mary: Mozart and the Whale: An Asperger's Love Story
Niffenegger, Audrey: The Time Traveler's Wife
Nicoll, Andrew: The Good Mayor
Nolen, Stephanie: 28: Stories of AIDS in Africa
Novogratz, Jacqueline: The Blue Sweater
Obmascik, Mark: The Big Year
O'Brien, Tim: The Things They Carried
O'Connor, Flannery: Wise Blood
Ogawa, Yoko: The Housekeeper and the Professor
Olmstead, Robert: Far Bright Star
O'Reilly, Tim: The Twitter book
Otsuka, Julie: When The Emperor Was Divine
Palahniuk, Chuck: Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey
Parker, Dorothy: Complete Stories
Patchett, Ann: Bel Canto
Pausch, Randy: The Last Lecture
Pears, Iain: An Instance of the Fingerpost
Peck, M. Scott: In Search of Stones
Pennell, Joseph Stanley: The History of Rome Hanks and Kindred Matters
Petterson, Per: Out Stealing Horses
Phillips, Jayne Anne: Lark & Termite
Plotz, David: The Genius Factory
Pollan, Michael: The Omnivore's Dilemma (unfinished)
Proulx, E. Annie: The Shipping News
Raabe, Tom: Biblioholism: The Literary Addiction
Remarque, Erich Maria: All Quiet of the Western Front
Reynolds, Sheri: The Rapture of Canaan
Rhodes, Dan: Gold
Rhodes, Jewel Parker: Douglas's Women
Roberts, Richard Samuel: A True Likeness
Robertson, Don: The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread
Robinson, Marilynne: Gilead; Housekeeping
Rosenthal, Amy Krouse: Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life
Roth, Joseph: The Radetzky March
Ruesch, Hans: Top of the World
Rushdie, Salman: Midnight's Children (unfinished)
Russell, Mary Doria: A Thread of Grace
Sabato, Haim: The Dawning of the Day: A Jerusalem Tale
Sandoz, Mari: Crazy Horse
Safran Foer, Jonathan: Everything is Illuminated
Saramago, Jose: Death with Interruptions
Satrapi, Marjane: Persepolis
Savage, Sam: Firmin
Scheeres, Julia: Jesus Land
See, Lisa: Shanghai Girls
Setterfield, Diane: Thirteenth Tale
Shaara, Michael: The Killer Angel
Shaffer, Mary Ann & Ann Barrows: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Shamsie, Kamila: Burnt Shadows
Sheff, David: Beautiful Boy
Shields, Carol: The Stone Diaries
Shlink, Bernhard: Flights of Love
Sigman, Dr. Aric: Remotely Controlled: How Televison is Damaging...
Silvey, Craig: Jasper Jones
Singh, Khushwant: Train to Pakistan
Small, David: Stitches
Smith, Helen: Not So Quiet
Smith, Tom Rob: Child 44
Spiegelman, Art: Maus I; Maus II
Stanisic, Sasa: How the Soldier Repairs the Gramophone
Stein, Garth: The Art of Racing in the Rain
Steinbeck, John: East of Eden; The Moon is Down; Of Mice and Men
Stewart, Amy: Flower Confidential
Stockett, Kathryn: The Help
Strout, Elizabeth: Amy and Isabelle; Olive Kitteridge
Suskind, Patrick: Perfume: Story of a Murderer
Tartt, Donna: The Secret History
Thackery, William Makepeace: Vanity Fair
Thiong'o, Ngugi wa: Wizard of the Crow
Tinti, Hannah: The Good Thief
Toews, Miriam: The Flying Troutmans
Tobin, Betsy: Ice Land
Toibin, Colm: Brooklyn
Tremain, Rose: The Road Home
Triolet, Elsa: A Fine of Two Hundred Francs
Tsiolkas, Christos: The Slap
Tye, Larry: Satchel: The Life and Times of an American Legend
Unsworth, Barry: Land of Marvels
Urgresic, Dubravka: Thank You for Not Reading
Urrea, Luis Alberta: The Hummingbird's Daughter
Valenti, Jessica: The Purity Myth
Verghese, Abraham: Cutting For Stone; The Tennis Partner
Vincent, Norah: Voluntary Madness: My Year Lost and Found in the Looney Bin
Waugh, Evelyn: Vile Bodies
Waters, Sarah: Affinity; Nightwatch
West, Rebecca: Return of the Soldier
White, Antonia: The Lost Traveller
Wiesel, Elie: A Mad Desire to Dance; Night
Wilde, Oscar: The Picture of Dorian Gray
Winterson, Jeanette: Oranges are not the Only Fruit
Wood, Charlotte: The Submerged Cathedral
Woolf, Virginia: Jacob's Room; A Room of One's Own
Wouk, Herman: The Glory; The Hope
Wroblewski, David: The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
Wyndham, John: The Day of the Triffids
Yglesias, Rafael: Happy Marriage
Young, Emily Hilda: Miss Mole
Young, Fellicity: Harum Scarum
Young, William: The Shack
Zafon, Carlos Ruiz: The Shadow of the Wind
Zakaria, Fareed: The Post-American World
Zaniewski, Andrzej: Rat
Zusak, Markus: The Book Thief

Wow, that is quite the list!

My TBR pile is relatively small by LT standards, but it's too long for me. I want to get it down to 10 books. (Note: This list won't include library books waiting to be read.) Of course, I am continuing to add to the pile even as I'm trying to pare it down. ;-) For my own benefit, I'm also going to start noting where and when, and sometimes why, I got the book.

New Year's Resolution: By the end of the year 2010, there will be no more than 10 books in this list.

List of Books To Be Read in 2010:
Blackmon, Douglas: Slavery by Another Name (bonnierun/wishlist, Third Place Books, 12/22/09)
Chaon, Dan: You Remind Me of Me (bonnierun, Third Place Books, 12/22/09)
Chalmers, Robert: Fortune's Bastard * (Ryan's book)
Change, Jung: Wild Swans (rec by arubabookwoman)
Clark, Brock: An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England (bonnierun, Powell's Books, 12/31/09)
Coelho, Paula: The Alchemist
Ehrenreich, Barbara: Bait and Switch: The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream *
Enright, Anne: The Gathering
Erdrich, Louise: The Bingo Palace
Frazier, Charles: Thirteen Moons *
Gallant, Mavis: The Cost of Living (Christmas gift/Ryan, 2009)
Ghosh, Amitav: Sea of Poppies (bonnierun/discounted, Third Place Books, 11/09)
Hamid, Mohsin: The Reluctant Fundamentalist
Hosseini, Khaled: A Thousand Splendid Suns
Kinzer, Stephen: Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq *
Kramnick, Isaac: The Godless Constitution: A Moral Defense of a Secular State *
Kristof, Nicholas & Sheryl WuDunn: Half the Sky (Christmas gift/Ryan, 2009)
Murakami, Haruki: Norwegian Wood (bonnierun/best of your best 2009, Third Place Books, 12/22/09)
Mistry, Rohinton: Family Matters
Mitchell, David: Cloud Atlas (bonnierun/best of your best 2009, Powell's Books, 12/31/09)
Morrison, Toni: A Mercy
Murakami, Haruki: The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle *
Perstein, Rick: Nixonland *
Rushdie, Salman: Midnight's Children
Saramago, Jose: Blindness (bonnierun, Powell's Books, 12/31/09)
Smith, Zadie: White Teeth *
Thaler, Richard: Nudge *
Thiong'o, Ngugi Wa: Wizard of the Crow (best of your best 2009/Alcottacre, Third Place Books, 12/22/09)
Toltz, Steve: A Fraction of the Whole * (rec by Ryan}
Undset, Sigrid: Kristin Lavransdatter * (gift by LT/Maggie?)
Vowell, Sarah: The Wordy Shipmates * (bonnierun, Third Place Books, 1/09)
Weiland, Matt (edit.): State by State (Christmas gift/Ryan, 2009)
Wroblewski, David: The Story of Edgar Sawtelle * (Costco/discounted, 1/09)

*Books started and unfinished, or parts skimmed over and want to reread

I'll be happy to contribute to your list! But 2009 isn't done yet... I'm still hoping for some good reads to come. When is the deadline for contributions?

No deadline as long as they're 2009 reads. I'll keep adding them after the New Year.

Great, I'll get back to you in a couple of weeks then :)

Starred!

Welcome!

What a list! I will consult it next year.

Well, your recs are in there too, Cyrel! Any revisions ?

Hi Bonnie--I might add a few.

Hi, Deborah! :-) How are the classes going? Yeah, just go to the link at the top of this thread. I'm going to go see if you've got a thread to star.

Hi, Bonnie. Glad we finally grabbed ya! :)

Bonnie, my friend, I have found you! Thanks for the heads-up and good luck! I love the challenge you have made for yourself and I hope I continue to contribute to "the best reads" list!

Waving hello!

What a list!

Welcome to the group, Bonnie!

May I contribute to your list?

I'd love it! Just go to the link in msg. #3 above to get to my 2009 challenge. I want to keep collecting the lists there.

OK, I posted them, although I did not cross reference to see if any of them were already included.

Good! I want people's true favorites.

Aaack! 50+ books? You're supposed to give me your Top Ten, not your Top Ten Percent, Stasia! Lol! OK, OK, considering you've read 500+ books, I'll let you get away with it, but only you. Anybody else: 10 total!

Whew! Thought you were going to ban me forever for adding too many!

Yay, found you!

Bonnie, I think many of us will be consulting your list of lists from time to time this coming year. Looks like there is something for everyone there. I even saw The Secret Magdelene. I sometimes grit my teeth when I read "Christian" fiction, but this one came highly recommended to me, so there it sits in my TBR pile. Be sure and let me know if and when you read it.

Starred!

Awesome list! Got you starred.

Got you starred. What a list. I think I may have to refer to it from time to time. There are just too many good titles to ignore.

Hi, Bonnie! The list in msg. #2 isn't quite so great now because I eliminated over 100 titles--all super great books, but ones I had already read. I can still give you a copy of the original list if/when you want it.

12/31/09 correction: I've added back the complete list because I've decided I don't want to maintain it every time I read a book. Besides, it would be redundant with the list right above it that I'm going to keep of the books I've read for this year's challenge. Another New Year's Resolution: KISS! (Keep it Simple, Stupid!)

I also accidentally deleted my comments about my tbr pile which Carmenere responded to in msg. #31. I could try to recreate my comments but I sort of like people wondering what pearls of wisdom I shared that made Carmenere say, "Boy, I couldn't have said it better myself."

>30 bonniebooks: Boy I couldn't have said it better myself. I want to read the current books that are out but I too feel guilty doing that when I have almost 200 TBR's on my shelves. When I get thru these I hope to keep my next batch of TBR's to a minimum.
In an aside, am I weird or what..........I love going to the game room and just sitting in front of my shelves and just look at them, open a few, etc. It gives me a warm fuzzie feeling.

#31: I do the same thing, Lynda. All the books that Kerry brought in just a few months ago have now been unboxed after having been in storage for over 3 years. Every now and again, I just go in the library and look at them.

It's one of the simple pleasures in life, Stasia. :)

It sure is!

Oh whew, I thought it was just something weird that I do. Every night as I go to bed I pause at a bookshelf in the bedroom, lovingly caress the volumes, open a few, pick one to read an opening sentence from and then satisfyingly get into bed and delve into my book of the moment. Ahhhhhh. Life is good.

Of course, the real problem is that I ignore the bookshelves when deciding on my next read and either get something from the library or buy something, which is always more than one volume, thus adding to The Pile. Arrggh.

>31 Carmenere:-35: I wish I could feel good about my tbr's, but they just hang over me. I do feel and act that way toward the rest of my library though. As you do, I love looking at my books--though I have to be careful about picking up a book, because I'm apt to re-read most of it before I can put it back on the shelf.

I love looking at my books. There are some TBRs, though, that don't really interest me anymore, and I think I need to work up the courage to get rid of them eventually.

As for The Secret Magdalene, I loved it even though I'm not Christian. It will be on my list of top books for the year when I eventually get around to making it--for now, I'm still hoping for more great reads in the final two weeks :)

I had a thought as I was driving around getting errands done this morning. I realized that the reason I enjoy gazing at my tomes to be read is the same reason I go over and over travel brochures for my vacations. It is the sheer anticipation of going someplace I haven't been.

That's why LT is a great place to be, other people share in your oddity's. I mean that it a good sense. Let's face it, book people treat their books in a particular way, a way which makes them happy and content.

>37 _Zoe_:: I need to work up the courage to get rid of them eventually. Maybe we can create a support group/thread and trade some of those books that we don't want to read anymore? I, for one, would feel good knowing another LT-er could give one of my tbr's a good home.

I'm looking forward to reading The Secret Magdalene because Donna828 recommended it, and like many people here, I can say that her library is most like mine. (Funny how the reverse isn't true.) I'm not a Christian either. In fact, I'm an atheist, but if a book is well written, I don't think it matters. No matter what our beliefs, I think we all have in common the desire to love and be loved, to try to make our actions more closely match our values, to make our lives count for something, to make a positive difference in the lives of others, to be remembered... I always appreciate a book that will inspire me to be a better person and/or to more energetically fight for the rights/needs of others in this world less fortunate than I.

--> 39

Maybe we can create a support group/thread and trade some of those books that we don't want to read anymore?

We need your input on this thread. It's about how best to deal with book swap among LT members. Please post your thoughts.

I have not had good luck at all with clubs or groups where I got "credit" for providing some object or service to others (e.g., cookies, books, quilt squares, babysitting, volunteer/work hours) and ever getting anything back when it was my turn to receive. Though sometimes it was my own fault, I'm always the one left with the useless credit. No thanks! I would rather make one-to-one exchanges or just give away stuff I don't want.

Edited to fix spelling.

That's okay. Tim is looking for ideas. What you have to say is valuable input. He was actually thinking about local one-to-one exchanges. He needs to hear your support for it.

For me, Member Giveaways did not work for various reasons. I spoke about those on that thread.

>42 SqueakyChu:: What might work for me, would be for everyone who's interested to have a "willing to trade" list in their book collections that would "connect" with people's "wish lists" so that when I added a book to my wish list, I could see member names who were willing to trade that book. I could then look at their wish list to see if I had something to trade. If I knew a person, I could PM them and make a trade on my own. That could save on a lot of back-and-forth conversations about what we might have/want to trade. I would even be willing to give away books to LT friends with the idea that "what goes around, comes around" but I don't want to deal with any credits. Besides the problems I've had with having too many useless/unused credits, I've heard enough Bookmooch stories about people having to wait weeks to get books, or not getting them at all. I'm too impatient for all that.

>39 bonniebooks:: Setting the record straight, BB. Donna 828 (aka DonnaReads) did not recommend it The Secret Magdalene. A friend recommended it highly to me. I bought it (new!) and it has been sitting in my book stash far too long.

Btw, the recommendee (or is it recommendor?) is a church friend of mine. Based on my Christian viewpoint, I sometimes have trouble reading "Christian" literature that takes liberties with Bible figures like Mary Magdalene (and Diana in The Red Tent), but I do try to be open-minded.

I sometimes feel guilty when a friend loans me a book or highly recommends one and I do not immediately follow up on it. Anyone else have those feelings?

Oops! Sorry, Donna! Thanks for setting us all straight, but I also consider it a "rec" when someone whose book choices are similar to mine says "I want to read this book!" That makes me want to read it too! But in this case, you talked about "gritting your teeth" so I should have known better--and tipped my hat towards Zoe instead! :-)

--> 43

Could you post what you said above in that Book Swap thread? I'll add my comments after you do so.

Since I'm a Bookcrosser and used to giving away books, I want to do this. I often check for wishlisted books among my online friends (both on LT, BM, and BC) and mail books to them. Sometimes for points (BM) and sometimes for fun (LT and BC). The "kick" for me are the BookCrossing journal entries on what were formerly "my" books. On BookCrossing, I can set my email so that anytime a book of mine is journaled, the journal entry is emailed to me. I can, thereby, vicariously travel along with my books until they are either lost or stalled - which inevitably they will be. Some travelling books are never journaled. No problem. I have 400 more books here at home to deal with. Most of these are still on my TBR list.

I'm trying to figure out a way to get Bookcrossing and LibraryThing more closely integrated, but cannot, for the life of me, figure out how. Bookcrossers do RABCKs (random acts of BookCrossing kindness) which is better than LT's Member Giveaways because the sender chooses the recipient. Often it a surprise based on the recipient's wishlist. Perhaps something like this can be done on LT. I don't know.

All I know is that GR's Book Swap looks really good to me. Each day they always have a book or two I would want but won't buy on principle alone. All LT has is a link to BookMooch (which usually has very stale books) and other bookswap sites. GR is one up on LT with that, IMO. I think and hope Tim is feeling that as well.

I haven't had any problems with BookMooch other than one book never arriving. I just reported it lost. Some books that had been delayed in being sent, I just opted to cancel. Other than that, my experience with BM has been really rosy - other than what books are available most of the time. That is out of BM's hands. They can only try to circulate whatever books are being posted.

>47 SqueakyChu:: Yeah, that was the other very important reason why I wasn't interested--I didn't see any books that I wanted.

OK, Madeline, I posted my comments, though I felt a little uncomfortable doing that before reading all the previous comments.

Not to worry. I incorporated what you said into what I wanted to say. Your point was that you didn't want to deal with BookMooch or credits and just want the ability to receive and send books here at LT. I just expanded that thought a little more. I've been pushing this issue for a long time. Now that GR has jumped on the Bandwagon with their own swap, I see it as a problem if we don't have something to counter that. It shouldn't have to be the same thing that either GR or BM or BC has. It can be whatever we want it to be. I think it *must* come into existence. I keep pushing and pushing. Tim is always going in a gazillion different directions. When he sounds interested in something, I push as far as I can until he completely drops the issue and moves on to something else (which he inevitably does).

The bottom line: Thanks!

What do we do now? Nothing. We just sit back and see if others want to tackle this issue with any seriousness. I'm not good at debating issues. I leave that up to Zoe (Hi, Zoe!). I'm merely a facilitator or, as my nursing school buddies used to call me, an "agitator"! :)

I'm not sure I understand why LT needs to do something. Why can't LT just be what it is? I'm totally happy with LT.

eta: missing word.

I think that people who are straddling the fence between GR and LT might be sucked more into GR with its newer features unless we have something "shiny" to counter what they're doing. It's mostly not for the people who are already here, but to continue to grow LT.

We did have a " giveaway" thread in the 75 Books Read 2009 group- i don't know how many people took advantage of it. I posted some books that I was willing to send out- but no response. Could be that no one wanted those books. In addition to being on Bookmooch I also give books away that I don't want to keep to a senior's center library (mysteries).

>53 torontoc:

I don't think that the "giveaway" thread on the 75 Books Read 2009 thread had a large enough target audience. That thread reached 650 people (who may or may not have read the thread) while LT's total population is probably closer to one million!

My feelings are that it's much nicer to offer our used books to "friends" but, as you can see from your offers, that audience might be too limited. I'd like to think of some way that a book swap would actually work better here on LT, but can't think exactly of how to do it. It is done here informally now. That's my point.

I think that many of us do this in our own way, but it would be better to have potential "givers" grouped together in a way that would give them some positive reinforcement for what they are doing and also in a place where their offers can be seen. I do *not* plan to use Member Giveaways as a place to give books away. It has no positive reinforcement for me at all. There I gave my books away to strangers who (1) did not fulfill the obligation of the requested review, (2) did not journal my Bookcrossing-regostered books (that was optional, so okay), (3) never said "Thank you" or acknowledge receiving the book, and (4) expected me to pay to mail them a book for which I got no positive response. For me personally, I'd rather leave my Bookcrossing-registered books out in the "wild" than pay the USPS to mail them to some stranger. I feel sorry for the authors who distribute their books through MG. Many of them seem to be unhappy about the results as well.

You know, even on BM where I don't know people, the feedback system is the ackowledgement that a book has been received. The most frequent message I get on feedback on BM is "Thanks!" I like that, even though I don't like BM's assortment of offered books usually.

ETA: Yikes! I got carried away. This message is so long. I didn't mean to hijack your thread, Bonnie. Feel free to respond on my 75-er thread, if you want.

Don't worry about it, Madeline. I had already decided that I'm going to start a new thread come January 1st because I want to set up the beginning of my thread differently, so rant away! :-)

12/31/09 correction: I'm staying put! :-)

:)

*now remains speechless*

I'm not good at debating issues. I leave that up to Zoe (Hi, Zoe!). I'm merely a facilitator or, as my nursing school buddies used to call me, an "agitator"! :)

Well, whatever you call it, I think you do it well and persuasively! I'm not even personally interested in a bookswap feature (I haven't yet reconciled myself to the idea of getting rid of books, though I know that the day is coming...), but you make me think that maybe LT should have one anyway.

you make me think that maybe LT should have one anyway.

Like some other ideas for features on LT, there are quite a few people who are against a book swap within LT itself, too.

*sigh*

Hey, my goals are that, first, LT fixes the collection feature, so that when I'm deleting/adding book from one collection to another, I don't have to keep clicking the darn "book" to open it back up again.

And, second, I want to be able to get book cover pictures from within LT to post in my thread--which Darryl says I can do, but which I haven't figured out how to do yet. It should be easier!

>59 bonniebooks: (img src="image location" /)

But instead of parentheses, use triangular brackets.
And instead of image location, put the actual location by going to a work page, right-clicking on the cover, and choosing Copy Image Location. I hope this helps.

>58 SqueakyChu: Do people really oppose a book swap, or just think that it isn't a good use of developer time? Or, for that matter, just not like the way Tim proposed doing it? I can't remember his exact suggestion, but I thought it was pretty weak.

>61 _Zoe_:

I tried this but I don't see Copy image location

That doesn't mean it doesn't exist, just that I can't find it. BTW, why doesn't LT post information on how you do all these little tricks. That would be an improvement I'd like to see. I'm not opposed to swapping on LT but it's not something I care about one way or another. I already use Paperback Swap, my library, and purchasing books at the local bookstores and Amazon so I don't feel any great need for a swapping feature on LT.

Hmm, is there something like View Image that you can choose instead? Then it should open a new page with just the image, and you can copy the address from the address bar.

> 61

Do people really oppose a book swap, or just think that it isn't a good use of developer time?

My impression was that people, for the most part, did not want it because they use LT for cataloguing and do not intend to ever to give their books away. In addition, they did not want to use developer time for this feature.

I can't remember his exact suggestion, but I thought it was pretty weak.

I don't remember him giving an exact suggestion, just some vague notion of a "third option". I'd really like to know what he sees happening in this area, but, if it's something different, it's better we not know until his idea comes to fruition. I think the best thing we can do now is express what we'd like to see in such a feature and actively promote it.

I like the way BookMooch operates, hate the book selection (or lack thereof) BookMooch always seems to have, and can definitely see why LT would not further integrate with them.

ETA: In addition to my remarks above, what Bonnie (brenzi) said in post #62 holds true for others here (i.e. "I already use Paperback Swap, my library, and purchasing books at the local bookstores and Amazon so I don't feel any great need for a swapping feature on LT").

>62 brenzi: Which browser do you use?

IE

>66 brenzi: Right click. Choose "Properties". On that screen, you will see the Address (URL). Copy that.

Thank you so much christiguc and _Zoe_. It finally worked. Yay:-)

Yay, this means more pictures for us to look at next year! I really love seeing the covers in threads. :D.

My impression was that people, for the most part, did not want it because they use LT for cataloguing and do not intend to ever to give their books away. In addition, they did not want to use developer time for this feature.

My sense of what developer time exists has changed drastically in the past week. Previously, I too would have said that Tim shouldn't bother with swapping. But after what we've seen lately, I figure he can get all the important improvements out of the way in the next couple of months and move on to extras like swapping by March ;)

I realized I was thinking of the wrong thing earlier--Tim's weak proposal was for borrowing, not swapping.

>61 _Zoe_:: "work page" means...?

>70 bonniebooks: The main LT page for the book, where you get if you click on the touchstone.

>62 brenzi: BTW, why doesn't LT post information on how you do all these little tricks. That would be an improvement I'd like to see.

I've posted some things about them here.

Oh thank you, I too have wondered why LT doesn't have a how to on these 'simple' html things.
It should be right over here *points to where the touchstone info is to the right of message box* like it is, dare I say, on GoodReads. But I have now bookmarked your link Chritstina.

Finally found you, and starred you, so I don't lose you again.

Thanks, everybody! I have you all starred too! I haven't commented on everyone's thread because some of them are already getting so long and because I want to try and wait until I have something to say about the books you're reading. But I am there!

Welcome to the group! That's quite the impressive list. I'll have to go back and add my Top Ten from 2009 to your other thread. Got you starred and look forward to seeing what you're reading in 2010.

Thanks, Marcia! I lurked a lot last year, so I look forward to being "legal" in 2010.

Nice to see you here, Bonniebooks. I cannot believe you have 77 messages before the year has started. I am impressed with your list - and wonder exactly how you compiled it? Starred you, too.

Starred! Cool idea with your "Best of the Best" list--and a convenient way to avoid the clunkers I always seem to stumble across at some point during the year.

I read Perfume earlier this month and really enjoyed it; for once I was glad to have seen the movie before reading its predecessor--I don't know if I could have stood the building tension otherwise. It's very creepy, to say the least.
I'm planning to read the Bourne trilogy sometime this year myself, if I can, so I'll keep a lookout here and maybe our readings will coincide.

Good luck!

--Krys

>79 KLmesoftly:: That's exactly why I created it. Last year was my first year on LT and if somebody gave a book a 4-5 star rating, I assumed I would like it too, but we didn't always share the same tastes. For example, I don't normally read mysteries anymore and I'm not apt to read SciFi or fantasy, including books with werewolves in them, but have read some really good ones in all those categories this year when using my list as a resource. I would encourage people to get the whole list if they're interested, though, because a whole lot of favorites have been zapped from the list.

I'll tell you, too, if our reading happens to coincide; it's always more fun to know another LT-er is reading the same book you are.

Hey Bonnie- Lets call this place a "Clunker-free zone"! Has a nice ring, huh? And yes, sharing the same books, has been a major highlight for me also! Let's keep 'em coming, my friend!

I've been away from LT for a few days and am trying to catch up with everyone's threads before the New Year which is going to be happening for me right now! Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, Bonnie!

Looking forward to stalking you again in 2010 Bonnie!

Wow, I've missed a lot! Happy New Year! Now starring the thread so that my Mt tbr can continue to grow. I also have given myself a stern lecture about reading the books that I already own. Hopefully I will be able to stick with it ;)

As for the LT book swap, I would rather keep LT as LT and use other features for book swaps.

Happy New Year! Hey, one of my entries to your Best of Your Best list, GraceLand by Chris Abani, is at the top! (alphabetically by author, that is)

I read 60 books in 2009, so I'm unclear whether it makes sense for me to move to the 75-book group. I am considering options and discussing the situation with my "book people" and my reading guru.

As a New Year's Day thought, I offer . . .

"All our hopes now lie with two little hobbits."

Cheers,
Jerry

p.s., I, too, love to spend time just gazing at my bookshelves.

How did I not know you already had a 2010 thread? And I am 86 messages behind? Whew! I'll catch up soon. Hugs and best wishes for this year. With Love and Laughter, Berly

Rocketjk--Did you get new shelves or are they just artfully arranged now? And who is your reading guru and how do I get one? LOL

Hi Bonnie--are you back yet? I hope all went well for you down in Portland.

Have you gotten to Wild Swans yet?

Welcome back Bonnie and good luck catching up. I was on at 11:00 last night and cleared all the threads and today it looked like I hadn't looked at a thread in weeks. Yikes!

Okay, I've just posted my favourites in your 2009 thread!

I would encourage people to get the whole list if they're interested, though, because a whole lot of favorites have been zapped from the list.

Where is the whole list?

I have you starred and look foward to learning about the books you are reading in 2010.

Happy New Year, Bonnie! Just wanted to let you know that my 2010 challenge thread is up, it's at: http://www.librarything.com/topic/80809

I'm looking forward to following you here and seeing how all of the favourites turn out.
Drop by the old 50 group and say hello from time to time!

I'm so proud of myself! I've successfully posted graphics to go with my current reads, my list of books completed, my TBR list, as well as the massive list of your Top Tens of 2009.

And *Warning* I also want to use book covers to more easily find my comments about books I've read, so I'm going to ask all you graphic-loving LT-ers to please not post any graphics on my thread--just because I kept messing up my lists last year, either skipping over books, misnumbering a book, or posting a book twice... I'm thinking the covers will stand out a lot better if they're the only graphics. I'll probably still mess up, knowing me! Hope you all will still join me in talking about books and our lives. I love your comments! :-)

I will try and restrain myself on your thread, Bonnie :)

Hi Bonnie- How are you, my friend! You should be proud, you did a good job! Hope you had a great New Year!
p.s. have you visited my new Challenge? If not, :-(

You go, Bonnie!

Finally found this, and duly *starred*.....man, you are thorough...

;-)

I will put all my graphics on Stasia's thread instead and keep the cat ones specifically for Richard's. ;-)

That's a great list of books, Bonnie. I've read a few of them already and I'm looking forward to reading what you think of the ones that I haven't yet managed to get to. Good luck with your challenge for the year.

> #87

Rocketjk--Did you get new shelves or are they just artfully arranged now? And who is your reading guru and how do I get one? LOL

Berly, I neither have new shelves nor a new arranging system. I just like looking at the books sitting on the shelves all together with each other and contemplating which I might read in the coming weeks.

And my book guru is imaginary. In order to get your own, you just have to start listening to the voices in your head! :)

Hello! Just dropping by. Good job on the graphics.

And BTW, my new 50 Book Challenge thread for 2010 is here,

http://www.librarything.com/topic/80925

I'm impressed with your graphics but that list is unbelievable. I see a lot of books I've already loved and others that are already on the pile. BTW I loved Child 44.

>95 msf59:: Uh, msg.#4 on your 2010 thread, Mark?! :-) I just got home yesterday after visiting my mom and my two boys (grown, but they're always our "kids" right?) for the holidays, and then going even farther south to help take care of my sister who is getting hospice care for metastatic colon cancer. I didn't have online access and sorely missed LT while I was there. You all are definitely my "other family" and I realized when I didn't have you that you are a necessary part of my day!

I'm so happy to be a part of the 75-Book group, but it did take my breath away to see so much "blue" (as in all the unread comments) when I could finally sit down in my own comfy chair last night. I've been catching up, but decided I am going to try to comment only when I have something to say about a book. I've got so many threads starred, I may be one of those "silent stalkers" on a lot of them for a while.

P.S. But don't do that "silent stuff" to me--I need your support! Hi, Stasia, Jill, Judith, Caroline, Jerry, Porua, and Bonnie! Can't wait to talk books! Speaking of which...

1. Michelle, a biography by Liza Mundy.

My Review: There weren't any big surprises in this book for someone like me who spent hours every day online reading multiple political blogs and newspapers on all-things-Obama during the Presidential Campaign of 2007-2008, and who continues to watch every 60-Minutes and Oprah TV Special. But there were enough interesting details about Michelle in all the phases of her life, including up through the campaign, to make this an enjoyable and interesting read.

Though you can hear Michelle Obama's distinctive voice and personality in every comment attributed to her, the author seemed to be scrambling for personal anecdotes and meaningful insider-information about Michelle's early years. What was most interesting to me was how much Michelle's father was involved in Chicago politics at the local level--and how that impacted the jobs/promotions he got as well as where they lived. I also enjoyed learning more details about Michelle's high school and college years. Mundy has more creditable inside information about Michelle's working life and the impact of Barack Obama's decision to go into politics on their family/daily life, as well as how Michelle's life history, values, talents, work choices, and both personal and working relationships impacted Obama's choices and successes.

Lisa Mundy writes for the Washington Post, so I assume her political leanings are likewise to the left. This book seemed like a very objective biography, but then I lean waaay left. I would like to read another biography that had more interviews with people like Valerie Jarrett, David Axelrod, Robert Gibbs, the Whittacres and the Nesbitts. I'm looking forward to reading the biographies that come after her tenure as "First Lady" in The White House!

Why I read this: I found it in the library at my mom's retirement home and it was just the ticket for the times I needed a quick breather from the real world (see post above re: sister) and didn't have the concentration, emotional space, or the time to get immersed in a novel.

My Opinion: Every anecdote/quote by anyone who taught, worked with, lived with, or even knew Michelle Obama tangentially--even if slightly critical (though there's not much of that in this book)--is consistent with the smart, funny-wry, forthright, down-to-earth, warm, caring, practical, organized, self-disciplined, energetic, hard-working, demanding, ambitious, high-achieving, talented person, effective parent, loving spouse, and all-around upstanding citizen I've seen on TV. She is a real person, with flaws I am sure, and she will always be important in our American history for being "the first African-American 'First Lady' in the White House" but I have total confidence that Michelle Obama will do an outstanding job that will go way beyond that title.

Nice review, Bonnie. Michelle Obama does come across in interviews as a down-to-earth, articulate, caring and intelligent woman and I think her achievements are very impressive. I will be interested to see what she does after her stint as First Lady is completed.

"Articulate!" I forgot that adjective! :-)

I will be interested to see what she does after her stint as First Lady is completed. I will too!

Hey, does anybody know how to change the size of an image? My first try is pretty puny! :-) I'm reading Wolf Hall, so it will be awhile before I post again.

You didn't have enough adjectives there already, Bonnie? LOL....

To change the size of your image, here's the how-to from TadAD : http://www.librarything.com/topic/80911

I'm planning to get to Wolf Hall in February.

>106 cameling:: But that one was so good, Caroline! I hate to confess it, but I've read TadAD's instructions and they don't make any sense to me (my problem, not his, I'm sure!). If anybody else has even simpler instructions, will you post them to my profile page? Thanks! Or I can just take my lazy self and go searching for a larger image on the net.

I have read almost half of Wolf Hall in bits and pieces at the bookstore and the library, but am going to reread so I get the full flavor of this saga. It's early, but I've had a long and stressful week. I'm going to go take a hot bath, then get under the covers and read Wolf Hall until I fall asleep.

Hi Bonnie--Wolf Hall is also on my must-read-soon list. I am also going to try and remember to put in the book covers on the books I review. Makes it easier to find book comments vs. the also enjoyable life comments. ;) Hugs. And you can find my new thread at http://www.librarything.com/topic/80620.

Moved instructions for graphic to your profile page as you requested above.

Well, I finally decided on my "Top Ten Favorites of 2009" and thought I'd cross-post it here to give those of you who don't know me a better feel for whether we might have similar reading interests--or whether you just want to X me now! :-) I was surprised that 2 mysteries/crime detective novels made it onto my list along with Lush Life--not my normal genres at all, but some of you LT-ers *coughMarkcough* convinced me that they were great stories and you were right! I read a total of 140 books, not including a few re-reads.

I'm know I'm cheating by recommending two books about books here, Ex-Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman and Housekeeping vs. Dirt by Nick Hornby, instead of putting them in my list; but I loved them both and I wouldn't have gone looking for A Complicated Kindness if not for Hornby's quote about Toews--which I think could be used to describe all of my favorites:

"You may think you don't want to read about the problems of growing up Mennonite, but the great thing about books is that you'll read anything a good writer wants you to read."


My Top Ten favorite books in 2009:
1. The Help - Kathryn Stockett
2. The Cellist of Sarajevo - Steven Galloway
3. Mudbound - Hillary Jordan
4. A Complicated Kindness - Miriam Toews
5. The Coroner's Lunch - Colin Cotterill
6. The Glass Castle - Jeannette Walls
7. The Yiddish Policemen's Union - Michael Chabon
8. What is the What - David Eggers
9. Still Alice - Lisa Genova
10. Lush Life - Richard Price

Other books in contention for the #10 spot:
A Case of Exploding Mangoes - Mohammed Hanif
Gardens of Water - Alan Drew
Property - Valerie Martin
Sharp Teeth - Toby Barlow - because it surprised me how much I enjoyed a book about werewolves--and I just loved that cover!
Gold - Dan Rhodes
The White Tiger - Aravind Adiga

My favorite re-reads in 2009:
Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
Special Topics in Calamity Physics- Marisha Pessl
During the Reign of the Queen of Persia - Joan Chase
Isabel's Bed and Inn at Lake Devine - Elinor Lipman
Water for Elephants - Sarah Gruen

My number one most unfavorite book: The Lucky One - Nicholas Sparks

I think I would have pulled the covers over my head after the list, Bonnie. Good luck to you!

Ha! I never said I was going to read them all. I'm just going to use the list to pick new books that I think are much more likely to be winners. Case in point, I picked up a book the other day that turned out to have a really low average rating. So much for my choices! ;-(

2. Wolf Hall by Hillary Mantel.

My opinion: I guess I'm going to be one of the rare few who didn't love Wolf Hall. It was interesting, but the last half of the book was a bit of a slog for me. I did enjoy the parts about Thomas Cromwell, but the detailed political machinations eventually got tiresome. I didn't realize how long King Henry VIII had to wait to marry Anne Boleyn--7 years! I wished, for my sake at least, it had been shorter. ;-)

Huh! Well....there you go...that's why there are millions of books for every single possible taste. I can't imagine having to slog through this dense narrative so I give you all the credit in the world for getting to the end. I don't know if I could have done that. I still love my sister even if we disagree as we sometimes do;-)

3. Cancer Made me a Shallower Person, a Memoir in Comics by Miriam Engelberg.

Why I read this book: Since it's been 25 years since I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I don't much read books like this anymore, but Madeline reviewed it and offered to send it to me, so I thought, "What the heck! I'll skim over it and then donate it to a local support group."

My opinion: This is the kind of RL humor dealing with the travails of having cancer that I only experienced when I participated in that support group so many years ago. Maybe you have to have had cancer to think this book is funny, even hilarious at times, but I don't think so. Definitely buy it for anyone you know who is currently undergoing treatment for any kind of cancer. And their friends and/or relatives should read it too. It's full of the kind of information and (implicit) advice that only other cancer survivors can share. I wish I had had it to read 25 years ago.

Hi Bonnie - I love the addition of the bookcovers. You're so clever! I keep going back and forth on whether or not to read Wolf Hall. I don't seem to have much patience for tomes anymore.

>113 bonniebooks:: I liked Wolf Hall better than you, Bonnie, but it didn't make my Top Ten list (or my top twenty) if I had posted that. It seemed to go on too long for me as well, but I thought it was just because I had so many other things going on while I was trying to read it.

I've read and enjoyed 8 of the books on your top 10...guess I'd better have a look at the two that I missed. Also glad to see Gardens of Water on your honorable mentions. I loved it and thought it deserved more attention than it received.

Somehow I missed your Top 15 list earlier and just saw it now. I can see we both loved 8 of the same books. I've never read your one most unfavorite book and probably never will.

Bonnie and Joanne, I think Wolf Hall would have been lots better had she cut out at least a quarter, and maybe even a third of it. I really got the sense toward the end that Mantel was stretching this story out, because she wanted to write another one about the rest of Cromwell's life which only goes on for five more years. Sure enough, I just read that she's working on that second book!

eta>118 brenzi:: Of course we did, we're sisters! :-) It was hard to compare books read at the beginning of the year with ones read more recently. And when I went back to look over my list, I couldn't remember a thing about some of them--even some recent ones. (They obviously didn't make the list!) I felt sheepish about ignoring some very well-written books, but the books I chose accurately reflected my reading tastes this year--definitely of a lighter fare.

Oops! I missed your comments, Donna. I really liked Gardens of Water, but I so closely connected it with my thoughts/feelings about An Exploding Case of Mangoes (even though they are very different books!) which I read at the same time, I just didn't feel like I could put it on by itself.

Oh sure, I just bought the darn book yesterday. Well, I love you all a lot, but I hope you are wrong and that it is NOT a slog! Won't get to Wolf Hall for quite a while, but we'll see.

LOL! I saw that, Kim, but I wasn't going to say anything. I think you'll like it. I enjoyed big chunks of it. I don't have much patience right now, what with thinking and worrying about my sister. I wanted more of a lighter escape than this book offered. Hey, which reminds me, do you want me to send you Engelberg's book for you and/or your relative? The author did pass away in 2006, though, so that might make someone who's still going through treatment anxious/nervous.

I've got Wolf Hall in my TBR and slated to read next month, so like Berly, I hope it won't be a slog for me either. It will be interesting to see which side of the fence I fall.

Okay, I have you starred Bonnie. I love the idea of the book cover graphics to quickly find comments about a certain novel. I might try that trick on my thread. Now that you are in the 75 group, don't forget about us l'il ole 50s!

Ha! I had you starred first! And I'm glad you put your name on your thread this time! ;-)

I think the main reason I haven't started Wolf Hall is because of the size. I think I will need a good two weeks straight to manage between its covers. Her memoir Giving up the Ghost is excellent, though.

I am impressed with your best list for 2009. Some food for thought. Thanks. Most are on my TBR pile but non yet read.

Bonnie-Yes, if you get a chance, send me Engelberg's book. I'll take a look at it and if it's not right for my Mom, I'll find another home for it. Sad that I have that option. I'll try to review my latest reads and send some lighter suggestions your way. Thinking of you and your sister. Best wishes.

Berly, Caroline, I'm with you, I just bought Wolf Hall mostly due to many rave reviews and the number of top tens lists it ended up on. Don't tell me is slow and long, ugh! But everyone sees books different, I know, I'm one of the few that hated Confederacy of Dunces, yuck, just thinking of it upsets me.

I'm not fond of farce or cynical humor, so I didn't get far with Confederacy of Dunces before giving up. It could have been the mood I was in, but there are so many good books out there, why worry about some fiction? Now, if it's nonfiction, I want to read books that trouble me, that make me think and/or act differently. Actually, I want that from the fiction I read, too, come to think of it.

>>>127 sydamy: & 128 Susan and Bonnie,

I LOVE New Orleans so I was very excited to read Confederacy of Dunces a couple of years ago. I absolutely hated it. I felt sort of guilty for a while. It is nice to find other who felt the same way.

I read Confederacy of Dunces while I was living in New Orleans (where I lived for 18 years), and to a certain extent I think you have to be familiar with New Orleans and its characters of that time period to appreciate it. It's certainly not for everyone.

Hi bonniebooks - just catching up on your thread again. I read Wolf Hall last week and really enjoyed it but wouldn't be rushing to recommend it to everyone as I found the politics very involved. This worked for me but I can see it not being as interesting for others. I found her use of 'he' rather than 'Cromwell' quite hard to follow at times too, though I quite enjoyed the difference it brought to the way I read the book.

And going back to the earlier posts:
#62 why doesn't LT post information on how you do all these little tricks
LT covers some of the html issues on their WikiThing FAQ - Your Profile page - http://www.librarything.com/wiki/index.php/Your_profile
I haven't looked recently to see if they have an FAQ covering html on group posts, but we could always ask them to. People post html help in some of the groups but I always end up losing track of those threads.

Nice to see you, Kerry! I saw your comments and I think you're right about the politics. I like to read fast, really get immersed in a story. Reading Wolf Hall in two days was probably a case of too much of a good thing. And, Susan, the whole thing is not long and slow--just the last part. I stayed happily immersed for most of it--guess I just can't hold my breath for long enough! ;-)

eta: I liked the use of "he" but it was confusing sometimes. Mantel's use of "he" created, and maintained, an intensity and a feeling of "specialness" about the character. It made me feel more closely connected to Thomas Cromwell than if she had used his name, while at the same time evoking the mystery and power that Cromwell (and Mantel!) seemed to want to maintain about himself in terms of his business/political relationships. Did it have that same affect on you?

I love it when authors try something new. It was one of the reasons why I loved During the Reign of the Queen of Persia (a very midwestern novel, by the way, in spite of the title). In this book, the narrator is "we" in reference to 4 girls. Though sometimes the "we" is 2 of the girls looking at the other 2, or 3 girls looking at one of "themselves" but the author never goes into first person, singular. I love the writing in this book--I don't know why more people haven't read it--but I remember it so well, because of this unusual "narrator" being first person, plural. Does anybody else have a book they think of in terms of unusual narrators?

I was ranting on tiffin's thread, so thought I'd cross-post here. Maybe I just should have saved this rant for my thread? Oops! But this is what I said on tiffin's thread in response to her reading of Mantel's memoir, along with a reference to Wolf Hall being her favorite book of 2009:

I eventually got a little tired of reading about the religious politics in Wolf Hall. Yes, I know this is the story, but some parts toward the end just went on too long for me. Maybe because I'm an atheist, I get more easily tired of reading about the use of religion to control and kill people. I remember shouting at one point in reference to Thomas More's imprisonment, "Just kill him already!" Not because I wanted him dead, but because I wanted Mantel to get past that part of the story. The "girl" in me wanted her to tell me more about Cromwell's personal/love life, especially his interest in Jane Seymour, for example, but I eventually came to understand that those were teasers and that that part of the story would be saved for her next novel. So disappointing, and which made me hate the last sentence. Why was this book even called "Wolf Hall" since Jane Seymour was at Wolf Hall? It made me believe that Mantel would get there in this novel, but no. Oh well, the writing was good, and I do like biographies/memoirs, so I still want to read Mantel's memoir.

P.S. "Wolf Hall" was a fabulous title for this book, along with the color of the cover of this book. Yes, I do think these things matter--a lot!

Covers and titles matter a lot to me, too. I have a hard time buying a book that "looks" bad.

Donna's comment on spacepotatoes thread that she valued Property as a "worthy" book made me start thinking about that book again, including why I put it in my "honorable mentions" following my Top Tens for 2009 rather than A Book of Negroes, also an excellent book, and one that will probably get more waaaay more raves than Property. But, oops! I forgot I need to be somewhere, but I'm going to come back and have that discussion...see you soon! :-)

"reading Wolf Hall in two days"

That is totally amazing. I don't think I could have done that if I read for 48 hrs. straight w/o taking a break to pee or sleep. You are one amazing sister;-)

#132 - Yes, you descibed that rather well. At first I did have to reread bits again just to work out who was the 'he', but overall it added to the uniqueness of the style and did tend to add that aura you mention.
I gave our dog the nickname 'Ginger Pig' for a few days - I was very taken with that moniker.

One of the things I thought was so good about Wolf Hall is that it was a snapshot in time and not the entire beginning - ending of Cromwell.

I've always found it so sad that Henry used, abused and then literally got rid of people when the helped him achieve his goals. He then moved along to the next target.

I got a free book in the mail today! Three-Day Road by Joseph Boyden. Thanks, Bonnie! I'm really looking forward to reading it! :-)

Oooh, another Three Day Road convert! I hope you enjoy it too, Bonnie!

Hi Bonnie, have checked out your top ten and found a copy of The Help at the library. An LT rating of 4.55!

>140 spacepotatoes: & 141: Andrea and Pam, I'm convinced that LT-ers' Top Tens from previous years are the way to go for me when ready to choose another book; I hope you find that the same is true for you! :-)

Aaaack! A good/bad problem: My wish list is growing exponentially! I'm going to do a few more things to make it more useful. Along with noting who recommended a book, I'm going to note the year added. I'm going to try not buying/borrowing a book until it has multiple recommenders which means I've got to do the work of continuing to add that information. (Not sure I'll keep this up.) And finally, I think I'll purge the list every quarter--not the whole list, just the books that I can't remember anything about. It will be interesting to see how many of my wish list books will end up being on this next year's Best of your Best lists.

If anybody else has a different way to managing his/her wish list, I'd love to know what you're doing.

Comments about Mozart and the Whale coming soon. Will probably finish Cloud Atlas next based on arubabookwoman's encouragement today.

4. The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right by Atul Gawande.

My Review: I'm not saying this isn't a good book to read--Gawande's books are super readable, but there's not enough meat in this book to buy and keep. I recommend borrowing this book. Or you could just sit in the bookstore and read it the way I did--it's a very fast read. :-) Bottom line: Hospitals and doctors, use those checklists! They've been shown to dramatically reduce serious complications and, yes, even deaths. And, hey, did you all know that you can go on line to see how your hospital rates in comparison to the other hospitals in your area in terms of these checklists?

Why I read this book: I saw his interview with Charlie Rose and his statistics were so amazing, I wanted to learn more. See the video:

My opinion: I've bought two other books by Gawande, so I'm a big fan of both him and what he has to say. We should be listening to more objective and credible experts like Dr. Gawande instead of politicians, big businesses, and lobbyists. This one idea saves hospitals millions of dollars at no real cost (other than training) to us taxpayers. I'm hoping congress will give him some of the money they've budgeted--and the power--to help improve the way we provide medical care in this country.

Finally caught up on your thread bonnie. You're off to a great start this year.

Nice summary of The Checklist Manifesto, Bonnie. Your review is in line with the reviews I'd read and the view of one of my work partners, so I didn't buy it this week.

I loved his Complications and you're right about The Checklist Manifesto ... it's readable while at the bookstore. I flipped through it but didn't see much in it that I wanted to buy and use as a reference.

So you stayed in the bookstore to finish The Checklist Manifesto? Wish I could have stayed longer.

I hope you like Cloud Atlas, but my feelings won't be hurt if you don't. :)

My husband saw Gawande on Charlie Rose the other night and asked me to pick up his book from the library for him. I'm glad to hear we shouldn't be buying it but it does sound like an interesting borrow. Thanks for the review Bonnie!

I'm very late to your Wolf Hall party Bonnie but have really enjoyed reading everything on this thread and on Tui's thread. It was my favourite book in 2009 and the morning the Booker Prize was announced I was stuck to the laptop hitting F5 to see if she'd won!

I loved the religious politics in it. I grew up Catholic and one of my criticisms of my education in Catholic schools is that we didn't learn any church history. Books like Wolf Hall that fill in gaps for me usually strike a chord. I think the book works at lots of levels - a reader who knew the traditional "More good/Cromwell bad" line in a lot of detail would read Wolf Hall differently from a pleb like me who just kind of knew that there was a St Thomas More church around the road.

Back later, kids awake, peace over!

>149 cushlareads: I had a similar experience in the Catholic school system. We had to take a course on world religions but they never felt it necessary to teach us about the history of our own church. In my senior year of high school, we studied A Man for All Seasons in English class and that was the first time we got any idea of it. I remember thinking "Oh, that's what 'Anglican' is?" Suddenly, the world made a little more sense!

#147: aruba - yes I did. I generally spend a couple of hours in a bookstore and sometimes longer if I find a nice cosy armchair to read in while my equally book crazy husband continues browsing.

Atul Gawande was on a book tour in Cambridge last week and we had wanted to attend his session at the Harvard Book Store, but (no surprise) it was sold out!

5. Mozart and the Whale: An Asperger's Love Story by Jerry and Mary Newport with Johnny Dodd.

Why I read this book: It was on Andrea's (spacepotatoes) Top Ten list for 2009. Also, I have had students who have been officially diagnosed with autism, plus some who are "on the continuum" and I want to know more about Aspergers so that I shape my instruction to better meet their needs.

My review: Coming soon...

I read Look Me In The Eye by John Elder Robison (brother of Augusten Burroughs of the Running with Scissors and he has Asperger's. His memoir was very insightful and helped me understand the thought processes of one with this syndrome.

Me too! For other people interested in this subject, I just found autismsociety's library on LT. It includes 50+ books. Link here.

That's very intriguing. Looking forward to your review, Bonnie.

I really enjoyed both Running with Scissors and Look Me In The Eye. There are several kids at my daughter's school on the spectrum, high-functioning Aspergers, and I know two of them quite well. It was interesting to read the books as it did help me to understand a little how they think. I will add Mozart to my list. Thanks!

Looking forward to your thoughts about Mozart and the Whale! I mentioned this in my review too, but I really wonder how different Jerry and Mary's life experiences would have been had they gone through today's school system.

Thanks for the link to the autism society's library, I didn't know they were on LT! I will have to hang on to that one for future reference.

Bonnie- I heard Atul Gawande on a NPR podcast yesterday and he talked about his latest. It sounded interesting. You recommend his other books? I'm not familiar with him.

bonnie
I like your idea of noting when you added the book to the tbr pile and who recommended it! When I remember to do this, I find specific names are very prevalent. For example, Stasia's thread is a dangerous one for me....

--> 152

Bonnie, thanks for pointing me to Mozart and the Whale. Even though you have not yet posted your review, I very much want to read this book, having a friend with Asperger's who tried to explain it all to me. I'm very much interested in what the book you read has to say. Of course, I'll also be interested in reading your review. :)

#158: Mark - You should read Complications : A surgeon's notes on an Imperfect Science, which I think is his first book. It was really interesting ... and makes me want to make sure I stay as healthy as possible so I don't need to be operated on. ;-)

The second book, Better : A Surgeon's Notes on Performance was good but I preferred the first one.

I'm not sure if Asperger's is getting diagnosed more often due to improved diagnosing techniques or if there are just more cases of it today but we see more and more cases of it in school every year. I'm very interested in this books also Bonnie.

6. You Remind Me of Me by Dan Chaon.

Why I Read This Book: I mistakenly bought this book because I thought it was on my Best of Your Best-2009 list--it wasn't, but Await Your Reply by the same author was, so I hoped it would be worth reading. I purposely chose not to read the back cover and didn't remember anything about what kind of story it was. Though, (LOL!) in an interesting twist to what a reader brings to a story, in the back of my mind I had the vague thought that there may be people who weren't really people in this book... Maybe the bookseller said something about "...people who weren't who they said they were..." and I took this to mean that some of the characters had their bodies taken over by...? Maybe I confused this book with another one--well, yeah, I guess I did do that. Is there a paranormal aspect to Await Your Reply? Oh, wait, don't tell me! I like knowing as little as possible about a book before I read it. Anyway, maybe there are just too many vampire, werewolf or other paranormal books out there, but that question in the back of my head, "Is this the book...? did lead me down paths which were dead ends as far as this story goes.

My comments: For all that I didn't know about this book, it is just the kind of book that my son tells me I am always buying. I loved it, though it's terribly sad. I need to think about what I want to say about this book because I'd like to discuss it, but don't want to spoil it for others. Again, more comments coming soon...

#163: I already have that one in the BlackHole. I am anxiously awaiting your comments though.

Hey Bonnie- I read Await Your Reply last year and liked it. He's a good writer and I would be interested in checking out his other work.

Hi, Bonnie!
Happy New Year! I finally got all caught up on your thread. I love your graphics, especially the photo of the public library. It is beautiful. :) Happy Reading!
--BJ

Thanks bonnie, Mozart and the Whale and The Checklist Manifesto both go in my library queue. Heck, I create checklists at home for tasks that need to go well (ie packing for a cruise).

Bonnie, I read this quite a few years ago, pre-LT. I used to keep a spreadsheet of books read, date, author and a tag or two. When I look back on this book, I remember nothing about it and the tags I have say 'brothers' and 'depressing', and 3.5 stars, which for me means a good book, not great but an ok book. How close was I? As I say it was pre LT so I didn't read nearly as much nor was the quality of books I was exposed to as high as now.

*Laughing* Does adding the words "adoption" and "dog bites" help you to remember more details? Still not ready to sit down and try to write what I feel/think about this book.

nope - oh well, at least it wasn't a 5 star book I have no recollection of. :)

Bonnie : I read this book a couple of years ago and didn't like it much. I remember being disappointed by it because I liked Await Your Reply quite a bit.

>171 cameling:: It sounds like he used a similar structure--which would make the second one a bit disappointing, whichever that second one was.

Coincidentally, I was just at a seminar today on Asperger's & High Functioning Autism and the book Mozart and the Whale was mentioned. I look forward to your thoughts.

--> 163

Whoa, Bonnie! I didn't understand a thing you said about that book, but it was one that I wanted to read. I'm curious to read a book by Dan Chaon as I'd read a short story by him in a previous collection, but the book had to go back to the library, mostly unread. I didn't get a feel for how he writes. I'll hang on to this thread then...

Bonnie--Since you liked You Remind Me of Me I'm pretty sure you will also like Await Your Reply. I have it and if you want to read it I can pass it along.

Thanks, Deborah, I'd like to borrow it. But, then, you've got to start borrowing some books from me in return. My apologies to those LT friends who haven't gotten their books yet. Which reminds me. I just dropped my internet service, so I'll be saving $30-50 a month that I can spend on...books! :-) The downside will be that I won't be able to get online quite as conveniently (darn all those neighbors who have their internet access locked!) but the upside is that I'll have more time for some of my other bad habits! Actually, eating is the only other bad habit I have; I'll have to start work on acquiring more! Anyway, if you don't hear from me quite as often, that's the reason why. Happy reading everyone!

P.S. I'm still reading State by State and Half the Sky and enjoying them both, though "enjoying" isn't quite the right word for the sad, sad stories in Half the Sky. And, just in case, you're not keeping track of my "current" reads posted in msg. #2, I just got The Idea of Perfection (my Orange January book) and A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from my Kitchen Table from the library.

eta: Just thought of another bad, bad habit: Watching too much T.V. but that one is going to be a LOT harder to kick!

Bonnie- Please don't leave us! I for one, would be sad! Remember the circle shall not be broken. That applies here too! Take care, friend!

Lol! I'm not leaving you, Mark! You might not even notice the difference. I'll keep posting; I just think it will be harder to stay caught up with everyone's threads.

Along with noting who recommended a book, I'm going to note the year added. I'm going to try not buying/borrowing a book until it has multiple recommenders which means I've got to do the work of continuing to add that information. (Not sure I'll keep this up.) And finally, I think I'll purge the list every quarter--not the whole list, just the books that I can't remember anything about. It will be interesting to see how many of my wish list books will end up being on this next year's Best of your Best lists.

If anybody else has a different way to managing his/her wish list, I'd love to know what you're doing.

I'm really impressed with your detailed wishlist management. My personal solution to the problem of too many wishlist books has just been to add them very selectively. Unless a book sounds like exactly the kind of thing I'd enjoy or has very high ratings, I won't usually add it to the list the first time I hear about it. If I'm tempted a second time to add it to the wishlist, then I think it's probably worth reading.

I haven't yet gotten to the regular weeding part, though I really should.... But I do sometimes move books around between high priority, medium priority, and low priority (except that recently I've given up on grouping them like that at all).

I enjoy checking out your thread Bonnie so I'm glad to hear you won't be leaving us!

**huge sigh of relief**

Well life w/o Bonnie would be unbearable. Glad to hear that those darn neighbors with their secure internet connections won't keep you from posting from "somewhere" at sometime.

Bonnie--Hugs to one of my favorite LTers.

Thanks, Kim! Back at ya! I've got a bit of the stomach wibble-wobbles, so I'm just going lounge around today and see if I can catch up on everybody's threads.

7. The Idea of Perfection by Kate Grenville.

Why I read this book: It's Orange January!

My comments: Two awkward, homely people who both consider themselves "losers" meet up in the hot and dusty country town of Karakarook, Australia. She's a fibre artist and part-time museum curator who's going to help create a heritage museum that the townspeople hope will bring in visitors. He's is an engineer who's there to oversee the teardown of an old wooden bridge and replace it with a new concrete one. Of course, the townspeople who want the heritage museum also want to keep the old bridge. Although there is some conflict of interest there, the strength of this book is more in Grenville's ability to describe not only these two visitors' timid attempts at romance, but also the inhabitants of this small town. The story isn't funny, but Grenville is funny/witty in how she describes the thoughts and actions of real life people, so I had a good time visiting this small town.

"But out here, she could see people went by different rules. You did not just pick out the best bits of life. You took the whole lot, the good and the bad. You forgave people for being who they were, and you hoped they would be able to forgive you. Now and again you were rewarded with the small pleasure of being able to laugh, not uproariously but genuinely, at a small witticism offered by someone who was usually a bore. More than the heat and the flies, that was what made the bush feel like another country, where anything was possible."

Bonnie : Maybe you can post an anonymous letter to the editor in your town's local paper encouraging people not to encrypt their internet service. You could say it's encouraging more hackers to lurk around the town trying to break their passwords, and lurkers will encourage burglars looking to break into homes with computers, so in the interest of the safety of the townspeople, they should leave their wireless networks open. hmm.... flimsy? it's the best I can do on 4 glasses of wine.

The Idea of Perfection sounds fun and has winged its way to my wish list.

Oh Caroline, genius! Why haven't towns all over the world thought of this before?

Seriously though I really loved The Idea of Perfection but then I'm kind of a Kate Grenville groupie. I just had such a connection with that story and loved Harley and Douglas and felt the emotional wallop that Grenville provided stayed with me long after the book was done.

Loved the quote from the book. It definitely makes me want to read it.
--BJ

I think I'll read The Idea of Perfection for my next Orange January book. Your thoughts piqued my interest!

Hey Bonnie- How are you stranger? The Grenville book sounds very good. I've heard such good things about her. I've had The Secret River in my tbr forever!

Caroline and Bonnie, luckily I have one neighbor who hasn't yet put a "lock" on their internet service. I have soooo many nice neighbors, I could probably ask some of them if I could "borrow" but I think it will be alright. I only live a few blocks from free internet, or I could go to the library if I wanted to "work" without guilt or fear of losing service in the middle of sending something. I need to get off my tookas and be more active anyway. It seems like all I do is lounge and eat, lounge and eat. Question: Can you just lounge or do you have to be lounging around? Either way, there's too much of that stuff going on around here. Speaking of which, I've been lounging around reading A Homemade Life and now I want to go eat!

P.S. Read The Idea of Perfection, BJ and Jill--it will make you feel good. Mark, you'll probably like it too, but you'll love The Secret River a whole lot more! There's lots more adventure, it's written from a man's point of view, and there's the early history of the settlement of Australia which you'll like reading about too.

I also enjoyed The Idea of Perfection but l like the other Bonnie (brenzi), I liked it more for it's "emotional wallop" than the humor/fun.

Laura, I always knew you liked the "other Bonnie" better (Lol!) but did you have to tell everyone that on my thread? Especially after Mark asked how I was stranger today? I know I'm sick, so every little thing is hitting me harder, but boo hoo, I need some support here! *Bonnie eats, shoots, and leaves!*

#185: I already had The Idea of Perfection in the BlackHole, but I will have to bump it up. Thanks for the review, Bonnie!

Lending a shoulder to cry on...there, there. We all love you here. Feel better soon! xoxo

Bonnie- Please don't cry! You are my favorite stranger! How's that? I treasure my Bonnies, equally! Have a wonderful Sunday!

So sorry you are sick Bonnie. I hope you feel better. Can you rest with a hot cup of tea and a wonderful book?

Hugs to you!

Oh Bonnie - thinking of you xox

Uh I'm going to step out on a limb for Laura and say she forgot to put in a comma after "but" which changes the whole meaning of the sentence and probably indicates the correct meaning. However, maybe she does like me better but, if so, that really is a low blow right here on your thread. Anywho, Bonnie I hope you're feeling better real soon and BTW I don't think you seem any stranger than usual;-)

Mark, Go ahead and read The Secret River as soon as possible. Move it up. up, up the pile. You can thank me later:)

I also loved the passage you quoted from The Idea of Perfection. I think I need to start a TBR list for Orange books, there have been so many good reviews of them this month!

Hope you feel better soon!

*sending a virtual Snugglie* to Bonnie ... lounge away in cozy comfort.

So what's wrong with lounging and eating? I think you've just described my entire weekend. Apart from a short workout in the mornings, and cooking a giant pot of 4 alarm chili, all I've been doing yesterday and today is lounge, watch football, eat (I'm almost out of junk food), drink, check in on LT for short spells and read..... all from the comfort of my couch. Ahh.....I need more weekends like this.

Aw crap. I had an extra "i" in #192. And yes, other Bonnie, a comma would have helped (thanks for that limb!) My original message should read:
I also enjoyed The Idea of Perfection, but like the other Bonnie (brenzi), I liked it more for it's "emotional wallop" than the humor/fun.

bonniebooks, I hope you're not off wallowing in your sorrows !! Come back ... !

8. A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg.

Why I read this: I put in a lot of requests to my library last year, and this was one that came in this week. Plus, I wasn't feeling good and I thought this book would be a comfy no-brainer.

My comments: Lots of feel-good, family-and-friends stories, plus some yummy-sounding recipes that I might even try, even though I hardly cook anymore. I love that Wizenberg made me think of my own family stories involving food and holiday meals. We've all got them, don't we? Both good and bad! Molly has traveled so much more than I, so I didn't have any matching stories there, but I will continue to believe that it's never too late--I can still get to Paris!

Most of the time I was smiling and laughing, or empathizing when, for example, Molly's love life didn't turn out the way she expected it to, but one chapter had me sobbing. Wizenberg's father got cancer and died when she was in her early twenties and though Molly talked about her father throughout the book, this one chapter was about being with him, and cooking and caring for him, in those weeks before his death. This part of Wizenberg's book was difficult for me because my sister is dying right now from metastatic colon cancer and I can't be there physically all the time to help out. But this chapter was also strangely comforting, because when you're dealing with some of the same issues, then it feels like someone is on the road with you, telling some of your story too, and that feels strangely good even though you're crying.

Most importantly, Molly Wizenberg's stories in A Homemade Life reminded me that our relationships with the people we love don't end when they die--or even when they just leave us, or we leave them; we carry those memories and are impacted by them for as long as we are still living. Oh! And food always makes things better!

Are you saying you read two books in a row with the same title? How strange.

Thanks, Bonnie! Leave it to a sister to point out your mistakes, but also be there to tell the truth! :-)

Bonnie, hope you're feeling better.

I have Kate Grenville's The Lieutenant up near the top of my tbr pile.

Hi Bonnie, hope you're getting better.

I loved The Idea of Perfection and The Secret River too. Her characters were so believable.

Big wave to Bonnie!! Hope you are feeling better, my friend!

Ooooh, wibbly stomachs are never good - I know, I get them all the time - so I hope you're feeling better very soon! In the meantime, a wibbly stomach is, at least, a very good excuse for lounging around and eating anything you fancy, really... Big hugs and best wishes, Bonnie!

#203: I hope you are feeling better, Bonnie!

I am wanting to get my hands on A Homemade Life too. I have had it in the BlackHole for a while now. Maybe soon . . .

Hi, Bonnie!
I am adding Homemade Life to my wishlist. Take care.
--BJ

Hey Bonnie, adding my hopes that you're feeling much better today.
I'm adding A Homemade Life to my wishlist as well. The cover is so inviting.

Bonnie

his part of Wizenberg's book was difficult for me because my sister is dying right now from metastatic colon cancer and I can't be there physically all the time to help out. But this chapter was also strangely comforting, because when you're dealing with some of the same issues, then it feels like someone is on the road with you, telling some of your story too, and that feels strangely good even though you're crying.

I am ever so sorry that your sister and your family is going through such grief. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Love the final top ten list! I've switched over to the 75 group and one of my categories is books from your list. Thanks for putting it together!
~Shauna

Bonnie~ Just read the post above mine. I'm so sorry to hear about your sister. I'm thinking about you and sending good thoughts.
S.

Thanks, Shauna! I just left you a message not to long ago. I'm heading down to my sister's tomorrow morning, and feel lots better knowing I can be there to help.

Hello Bonnie- Thinking of you. Hope the visit with your sister goes well. It's hard enough to deal with serious illness in the family, but when you aren't close by, it somehow makes it seem even more difficult.

Just a note to say I'm thinking of you and your sister. It's such a tough situation in which to be. Your love for each other is so important. Hang on to that!

Bonnie
Nine hours away is a long distance and I'm sure this makes the situation all the more difficult.

Prayers and good wishes are sent to you and your family on this journey.

Hi Bonnie,

I hope your visit to your sister goes well. Have a good trip. I'll be thinking of you from over here.

Bonnie-I'll wave to you as you pass by! Best wishes.

Bonnie,

I'll be thinking about you; such a tough row to hoe.

Take care.

Best wishes to you, Bonnie. You're in my thoughts!

I hope the visit goes well, best wishes to you and your family.

Sorry to hear about your sister, bonnie. Hope your visit goes well.

I'm so sorry, Bonnie. Wishing you safe travels and a good visit.

I will add my wished for safe travels and a good visit with your sister to the rest.

Same again from me - good luck, best wishes and big hugs... x

Safe travels, Bonnie, you and your family are in my thoughts as well.

God's blessings and best wishes to you and your family, Bonnie.

Same here, Bonnie ... wishing you safe travels and a good visit with your sister.

*sending a big hug to you*

Are you back yet? Miss you. Hope the trip went well and your sister is still able to enjoy your company. Best wishes. xoxo

Thank you, everyone, for all your good wishes and virtual hugs! They really did help. My sister passed away last Tuesday. She had been bed-ridden and suffering for so long that I was sad, but also mostly relieved for her. I feel very grateful about being able to be there with my sister in her last week, and learned some very important life lessons that I hope I won't ever forget.

One very important one--that your dying, if not sudden, is really just a reflection of how you've lived up till then. My sister lived her life very closed off and afraid of the world, at times very suspicious and extremely critical of others--including her own children. And, although she gave some of that up in the last three and a half years she was fighting cancer; unfortunately, her dying experience was very much impacted by those choices.

Also, my sisters and I all have our self-esteem and related trust/control issues. And dying is the ultimate "letting go." I used to be so afraid of that, and could feel fear and humiliation just thinking about my own (hopefully far away) death. But I really wanted to be there to take care of my sister. It felt good to me, and the hospice people were so kind and respectful, and extremely good at their jobs. I have much more confidence now that when my time comes that there will be people there who want to take care of me.

I went away from my sister's house feeling so grateful for my friends (including my LT friends) and family--especially for my two boys who I love so much and who love me and each other--and, best of all, really like each other too. Nothing better than that. And nothing more important either. But I also realized that (following a neck injury a couple of years ago) I've been curling up in my chair with a book or watching TV--and eating--way too much. I want to get out there, get back to exercising more, and just doing more. I don't think I've been depressed, but I've certainly been acting like an old lady--like my mother! Not all bad, but she's got 26 years on me and a serious heart condition. Actually, if I was living my life as my mother was 26 years ago, I would be working harder and getting a whole lot more exercise because she had a blueberry farm back then.

Anyway, I've been back on LT for a few days and am still a long ways from catching up on all your threads. I didn't get back on my own thread because I wanted to wait until I was ready to discuss books and reading. And I have to admit that I'd much rather read what you all are saying about the books you're reading than to try to summarize what I'm feeling/thinking about my books. But we can't have a conversation if I'm not willing to participate, so here goes.

Oops! It's SuperBowl Sunday, and I don't normally watch football, but have plans and just looked at the clock to see it's afternoon. I haven't eaten breakfast. I haven't made my guacamole or bought the tortilla chips. I've updated my lists of completed books (at the top of my thread) as well as books checked out from the library this week, but will have to come back to discuss my recent reads. In the meantime, have a great day! Love you guys!

bonnie, I feared such from your absence, and I'm so sorry. And so grateful for your post above, I can imagine the time (and will) that it took to compose, but please know that it inspires me (and makes me smile, thinking of your sons). And though this feels trivial to mention, I just finished Lori Lansens new novel, The Wife's Tale, and from your comment about wanting to "get out there" more, you might find a fit with it. Hugs to you.

Bonnie, I am sorry to hear of your sister's death but glad that you were able to spend her last days with her.

Welcome back to your friends here at LT. I am glad this is a place that you can feel comfortable sharing what was obviously a difficult time for you.

I'm glad you're back with us, Bonnie.

I know that your presence at your sister's death was meaningful to you, your sister, and your family in more ways than words can express. I'm so sorry for your loss. Your sister's absence now will mean a big torn spot in your soul, but I hope its healing comes gently.

Hugs...

Welcome back! We've missed you...

Bonnie - I'm so sorry to hear of your sister's passing. My deepest condolences to you and your family. You are all in my prayers, that your grief will heal as memories of your life with her are kept safe in your heart.

Big hug.

I'm sorry to hear about the death of your sister, Bonnie. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us; you've given me a lot to think about. You were definitely missed, and I'm glad to see you back here.

Bonnie - I am so sorry.

It's so good to "see" you again, Bonnie. I've really missed you.

Condolences on the death of your sister, Bonnie.

It's good to have you back.

Bonnie, I'm so sorry to hear about your sister. It's good to have you back, but don't get worked up about catching up on threads--you've got a life to live! Keeping you in my thoughts...

Hey Bonnie, been thinking about you,sending warm thoughts your way! My sympathies to you and your family.
Glad to see you're back! Hope you are enjoying the game!

Bonnie--I know you will feel the loss of your sister greatly. I hope it is tempered by your amazing boys and by all the love we have for you here. I have missed you tons and am so glad to have you back. It sounds like you have learned so much about yourself through your sister's illness. Take time to be with it all.

On a lighter note (pun intended) if you want to talk about getting your butt out of the chair, we should talk more later. It is one of the reasons I cut back to 75 from the 100-book thread--I gained 10 pounds last year and those suckers ARE coming off!!

Best wishes and lots of hugs. Kim

Welcome back Bonnie, I am so sorry to hear about your loss. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

Bonnie, thank you for sharing so meaningfully in your post. My condolances to you on the loss of your sister. So glad you could spend time with her at the end. I admire your wisdom, your ability to learn lessons for your life about what is important.

Bonnie,
It's great to see you back here. I'm really sorry for your sister's death, but glad that you were there for her last week. Thanks for writing that post. It was really lovely to read, and I will be thinking about it all day. Your boys are really lucky to have you for their mum.

Someone needs to invent an e-book that you can attach to your arms and that doesn't wobble when you walk!

I'm so sorry for the loss of your sister, Bonnie - and thank you for your thoughtful post about what you have taken away with you. It was very beautiful to read and thought-provoking to reflect on.

I'm deeply sorry for your loss, Bonnie. My condolences to you and your family. And thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. You've given me something to think about.

So sorry about your loss, Bonnie.
--BJ

Bonnie,
Very sorry to hear about your sister. How wonderful for you to be able take this sad time and learn an important life lesson. It is something we should all be aware of, that the way we live our lives affects many people, and you get what you give. It sound like you gave a lot. My prayers are with you.

I have two words for you - audio books - you can get out there and do more, without giving up books!!!

Glad you're back.

Again, everyone, a big thanks for all your kind words. I definitely soaked them up! And, Susan, your advice is well-timed as I've got my very first book to load on to my computer and iPod. It's like Spring here, so starting today I'm going to walk laps around the park (just up the block and across the street) while listening to The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe.

And I was having trouble downloading my own thread, so started a new one here

I'm just getting up with your thread(s) today, Bonnie, and wanted to chime in with my condolences, I'm very sorry for your loss. I am glad, though, that you were able to get some valuable inspiration from the experience.

By the way, are you going to post any comments about Mozart and the Whale? I'm very curious what you thought of it. Maybe in your new thread :)

Oh yeah, I didn't do that, did I? I read this book because I've had students who were either diagnosed or were on definitely on the continuum and I was hoping to get some more insight into how their brains worked, so that I could better work with them. Of course each person is unique, but I did learn some things and made some changes in how I tutor some of my students based on what I read.

What was really interesting to me was how their stories about themselves and each other changed over time. A good example was Jerry's description of his meeting Mary for the first time at the beginning of the book versus the more complete, and dysfunctional, picture you had by the end of the book. I don't mean that in a negative way. I just had a better understanding of how difficult it must have been for them to maintain a relationship with any other person, much less with each other.

Their life stories were very different. Mary's was much much sadder because of all the abuse that she suffered in her family, in the cult that she was a member/captive of (very bizzare!), as well as the abuse she got from the men she married or lived with. Her story was more complex, too, because her Asperger's overlapped with other mental health issues (depression? bipolar disorder? schizoprenia?).

Jerry's story seemed more purely a story of high-end person Asperger's. He had a real anger management problem but that falls more in line with Asperger's diagnosis. (I'm not saying all people with autism or Aspergers have anger problems, but when someone doesn't have the ability to perceive or care about another person's point of view, it often leads to anger.)

The one issue that I didn't know how to discuss succinctly without getting myself into deep doo-doo was my generalized opinion about men versus women and how this played out in Mary and Jerry's lives. I think men in general are biologically programmed and socially supported in making relationship decisions based on sex and/or their physical attraction to women. There were men who were willing to marry Mary, no matter her flaws. She had a body, she was a sexual being, she could cook, clean, take care of her/their children. (She was also creative and energetic; she could work and support them.) That seemed to be enough for them, no matter her serious lack of social skills and mental health issues.

Whereas Jerry, who was functional enough to get through college, and even be the president of his fraternity, couldn't get a date--or couldn't get more than one date. I know times are changing, but I think the reason for that is that women in general are biologically and socially programmed to look for men who are reliable, who can protect and take care of them. Yes, we have higher expectations for good reason.

Wading deeper now... I don't mean that women need to be taken care of, but as the bearers of our children and primary caretakers, we need to be more protective and these things are more on our mind. We have higher expectations of relationships because we know that when relationships fall apart, we're more often going to be the ones to take care of our children while men can go off and just make more children.

I'm not saying this describes all women and all men, but, in my opinion these socio-biological issues seemed to be at least a part of the reason why Mary had lots of relationships before the two of them met, while Jerry had none. And, I don't know who I felt sadder for. Mary, who had all those abusive relationships with really scary/scummy men or Jerry, who had no relationships, even though he desperately wanted one, up until he met Mary when he was in his 40's.

So, Andrea, that's why I hesitated to discuss this book. But now that I have a new thread, maybe I can just post and run! ;-) If anybody wants to continue this discussion, let's keep it on this old one, as I've already managed to thoroughly confuse some people on my new one! Thanks!

Sorry to hear about your sister, but glad you able to be there with her at the end.

Really interesting comments, Bonnie! It did briefly cross my mind that there was a discrepancy in how Mary and Jerry experienced other relationships (or the lack thereof), but I didn't think about it on a particularly deep level. Now that you mention it, it is very true and it does make one wonder.

I did think about who I felt sadder for as I read it, and I went back and forth as their story progressed. I think, ultimately, I ended up feeling more for Jerry because despite the horrendous things that Mary went through, she seemed to be really relisient whereas Jerry just had no idea what to do with himself.