sjmccreary's 2nd half 1010 challenge

I've decided to scrap what I did in the first half, and start over with slightly different categories. Just for reference, my old thread is here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/70725

For my new challenge, I'm revising my old categories slighly and will try to read 5 in each before year end.

1. "Thrilling Mysteries" - includes mysteries, spy novels, legal thrillers, police procedurals, etc.
2. "New-ish authors" - new-to-me authors
3. "Home" - fiction or nonfiction set in US or Canada - replaces my 50-state challenge category
4. "Away" - fiction or nonfiction set outside the US or Canada - replaces my Big Fat Russian Novel
5. "Days-gone-by tales" - historical fiction or nonfiction, set more than 100 years ago
6. "Fearless leaders" - presidential biographies for the US Presidents challenge, or other American history nonfiction
7. "It Must be True" - nonfiction, replaces my Dewey Decimal challenge category
8. "Go West, Young Man" - fiction or nonfiction about 19th C American West, replaces my gold rush category
9. "There's a sequel" - part of a series, replaces my sequels category - this one will also allow the 1st book of a new series
10. "Ancient tomes" - books that were first published before I was born

I'll attempt to do this without overlaps. However, I always keep track of all overlaps, and if I can get 10 titles in each category by using them, then I win. :-)

Good for you! I'm glad you're still sticking around!

As always, I will be looking forward to seeing what you are reading. (As if I need a bigger wishlist!!)

Great idea!! - there are some fun categories there--I'm going to be watching. I love how you were able to rework them so cleverly.

Found you!!

Only you decide if you win. I'm not doing overlaps this year. Last year, I'd hoped to do 999 twice but this year am aiming only for one 1010.

I think it's a great idea also! I just started in June and I am also doing 5 books in each category. I like your categories and look forward to seeing your reading choices.

I'm glad you feel okay about restarting your categories challenge.
Remember the fun is supposed to be reading the books, not necessarily the fact that you reach a goal.

Thanks for all the support. However, my unusual (for me) decision to start over is due solely to the great people here who left so many encouraging comments - probably without even realizing you were doing it, since most of them were not addressed specifically to me.

I've never counted overlaps before, but was intentionally trying to change the categories to get rid of so many mutually exclusive groupings and have more opportunities to pick and choose which category to place a book in. Now, I think there are only 2 or 3 pairs of mutually exclusive categories. I thought it might be fun to see which happened first: 5 books in each category without overlaps, or 10 in each category with unlimited overlapping.

What I'm really looking forward to is being more active in this group now. Judy, turnabout is fair play - since probably 80% of your books end up on my wishlist. I've mentioned it to her before, but to let the rest of the group in on the "joke", I've got more books on my wishlist from recommendations by DeltaQueen50 than any other single person. Only the public library has given me more. I think RidgewayGirl is pretty close behind her.

I'm excited about a new start and looking forward to a fun second half!

Welcome back (sort of!). I find that these challenges are as strict/loose as you want to make them and half the fun is seeing how people interpret/plan them. It's just fun to read things that you might not have ever thought about reading before and fill your wishlist with stuff others are reading (and yes, there seems to be some culprits who influence us a little more than normal - you know who you are!).

But overall, I am here because I enjoy the company and love the whole sharing-of-books thing. Here's to a fun and enjoyable second half!

I'm glad to have found your new challenge. I've starred it and am looking forward to the horrible things you do to my wishlist.

I suspect that the majority of the visitors to this challenge (and members too) come to look at recent comments, and aren't really paying that much attention to other's march toward completion of individual categories/goals. Only when the participant announces- YEAH I"VE completed my XYZ category do we all take note of that (vice the individual book comments) and offer congratulations. Thus....I use this thread more as a way of keeping track of my own personal challenges, and only mention as I finish a book what challenge it belongs to. I often wonder if ANYONE ever goes back up to see my individual challenge categories - I even took out the individual tickers because I realized they looked cute at the beginning, but no one was looking at them as they got to be 40 or 50 messages in the past.

So march on Sandy, and all of us, and enjoy the challenges however you set them up. They're yours, and we applaud you for them. Be sure to let us know when you achieve a certain goal or level.

I'm glad you've decided to stay here, Sandy!

>12 tututhefirst: I do sometimes check on category progress, but usually just to see what books are in a category that interests me -- I don't view this as a competition.

I may decide to follow your example in starting over. I've mostly been neglecting this group for the past few months, but I do always enjoy the planning aspect when it's all brand new....

#12 I also sometimes go to the top of threads, usually to find out what category THAT book is going in. I also like to look at other people's progress, especially when they comment about how they're doing.

#13 Not a competition in any serious sense - just enough "score keeping" to be fun.

I'm excited at a fresh start, and happy that everyone will be here rooting me on.

Book #1

Facing the Lion: Growing Up Maasai on the African Savanna by Joseph Lekuton. Category #4, Away

This is, simply, the story of a boy who grew up as a poor "nomadic kid" in northern Kenya. The Kenyan government required even the nomadic tribal people to send one child from each family to school, and in his family it ended being Joseph who went. He tells of the culture shock he suffered in his own country upon coming into contact with students from other parts of the country, especially the wealthy students from the city. He eventually came to the United States for college and stayed to teach at a private school in Virginia. Each summer, he returns to his home in Kenya, taking groups of American students with him.

Several people have commented on the fact that, even as a child, he was expected to walk many miles - sometimes for days - between school and home. And the fact that he was forbidden to wear his traditional tribal clothing while at school - forced, instead, into a Western school uniform and given a Western name. But his familiarity and comfort in both cultures has enabled him to bridge a gap between low status African tribe and educated America. (Even in Kenya, his tribe was of low status.) His main goal seems to be to encourage people to accept others for who they are, not who we expect them to be based on their clothing or appearance or accent. I loved the anecdote in the epilogue about his contact with the American tourists while in traditional dress at home for the summer. In fact, I loved the entire book. It is short and doesn't take long to read - took me only about an hour - and I found myself wishing there was more. Highly recommended. 4-1/2 stars.

That sounds interesting. I've added it to my wishlist. You are an unending source of wishlist additions for me.

#17 As you are for me. But I can't take credit for this one - I think it came from Zoe.

I think you did hear about it from me, but I initially heard about it from someone else on LT! I'm glad you liked it.

I am pretty sure that I am going to continue with this challenge next year and I would like to add a non-fiction category as non-fiction is a genre I seldom get to. Facing the Lion sounds like a perfect book for this! As usual, thanks Sandy.

Judy, I think you'll find this book to be a pleasure to read - more like a novel than nonfiction. Edit to clarify that you'll find Facing the Lion to be a pleasure. I'm not sure what you'll think of the next book...

Book # 2

The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives by Leonard Mlodinow. Category #7, It Must be True

I was fascinated by this book. What began with a discussion about probability and how easy it is to lie with those statistics, ended up with a rather philosophical look at whether it is prudent or necessary to make life plans - since the author claims that a great deal of what happens in life is a result of random events, both good and bad. Every chapter in between was another gem - not a single dud. Basically, he claims that we generally refuse to admit how much of what happens is strictly random - and even when we are told and shown that something is random, we still act as though it is not. So, we keep plugging coins into the slot machine because "it is due" even though, regardless of how long it has been since it paid off, it is no more likely to yield a jackpot in the next spin, or 10 or 50 spins, than it was on the last spin. Outstanding sports teams will sometimes have a dismal season, and firing the coach will have no impact because it wasn't his fault - it was a combination of random occurances. By the same token, poor teams will sometimes have amazing seasons - and the chances of either of those events occuring can be computed with accuracy. Very ordinary people sometimes rise to amazing heights in their fields, not because they have done something extraordinary, but because they happened to be in the right place at the right time - due to a series of random events. He cites Bill Gates and Bruce Willis as examples of this. Even though both men are talented in their fields, they are not extraordinarily talented - they were simply fortunate and got lucky breaks. He also talks about our desire not only to deny the role of randomness in the world, but to seek to find order in the randomness. This is one of the causes of "20-20 hindsight". When considered in isolation, and after the fact, there is obvious evidence that authorities ought to have known about the Pearl Harbor bombing and the 9-11 attacks in advance. However, without the perspective of hindsight, much of that "evidence" was just random information without context. Likewise, mistakes are made everyday, usually without any lasting consequence. The chances of an entire chain of such mistakes, happening in just the right sequence, and with the right timing, leading to a catestrophic event are small, but measurable according to laws of randomness. This is what happened in the Three Mile Island incident. Perhaps not for everyone, but I found the book very thought-provoking. 4 stars.

Reading your review reminds me that no matter how much we plan for the future something can come along and kick us in the butt and change everything. We can plan a great vacation and the day before we plan to leave, we have car accident and so no car to drive where we were supposed to be going or an injury that stops us from getting on the plane. We could be going out to dinner to meet a friend and run out of gas and forget our cell phone so we can't call. We never know what may happen in the next hour, the next day, the next year. I guess that's why I tend to be grateful for every day as it comes along and "praise the Lord" when things do go as planned.

#22 Cheli, you are so right. And that is just the kind of random events that he talks about in the book which can lead us into unplanned directions and might even have life-long consequences.

I enjoyed your review of The Drunkard's Walk. Good luck on your revised challenge!

The Drunkard's Walk sounds like a really interesting read.

I enjoyed The Drunkard's Walk as well but I must admit, I felt kind of stupid when reading it because he talked about a lot of things that just seemed to be over my head. It wasn't an easy read for me but overall it was interesting to see the connections he made.

When the Mississippi Ran Backwards: Empire, Intrigue, Murder, and the New Madrid Earthquakes by Jay Feldman. Category #6, Fearless Leaders & American History

Chosen as the June read for the Missouri Readers Group, I was hoping this book would focus on the famous 1811-1812 earthquakes, and their causes and effects. (New Madrid is located in the far SE corner of our state.) However, after a brief description of how the city of New Madrid came to be established, only 2 chapters focused on the physical and scientific aspects of the earthquakes. The rest of the book focused on several other occurances in the western part of the country at that time, which were influenced to some degree by the quakes. In fact, the War of 1812 received more attention than any other topic. Interesting, but definitely not what the title of the book led me to expect.

The book does provide interesting descriptions of different aspects of the west in the early 19th century. It is well-written and contains many end notes (not referenced in the text, so what's the point?) along with an extensive bibliography. A good choice for general information about the American west at this time. Just don't expect too much about the earthquakes. 3 stars.

Just popped in to star the new thread and tip my hat for the scrapping/restarting. A good reminder to all of us what this is supposed to be (fun), and not to let personal prestige get in the way of our own reading.

#28 Thanks - this IS a lot more fun. I think that only 1 of the books I've listed here so far would have shown up on the original version. I don't think the next one would have...

In the Name of Honor by Richard North Patterson. Category #1, Thrilling Mysteries

Lieutenant Brian McCarran is a combat veteran of the Iraq war. He is also a 4th generation infantryman. His father, General Anthony McCarran, is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Brian's mother died when he was only 9, and he and his sister were raised by "Aunt Rose". Rose Gallagher is actually the widow of the general's best friend from West Point who was killed when they were serving in Vietnam together. Rose and her daughter, Kate, who was born after her father was killed, formed a family together with the McCarran's that has remained intact ever since. The general stood in as Kate's father at her wedding to Joe D'Abruzzo. Captain D'Abruzzo was Brian's commanding officer in Iraq. Since returing from Iraq, Joe has been beating Kate and threatening her at gunpoint. The only person Kate could turn to for help was Brian, who took Joe's gun in an effort to protect Kate. When Joe found out, he went to Brian's home to confront him and get his gun back. Now Joe is dead - shot to death by his own gun in Brian's apartment - and Brian is being charged with murder.

A fascinating case, but the main character of the book isn't Brian McCarran. It's Captain Paul Terry, a star defense attorney in the JAG corps who gets the call to represent Lt McCarran. Captain Terry has his own issues, including a father who let the family down when Paul was a boy, and a lucrative job with a Wall Street law firm lined up for the following month, when he would be resigning his commission.

The rest of this longish book tells the story of Paul's investigation in Brian's case, the preparation of his defense and the following court martial. In rather much detail, we follow descriptions of PTSD, and speculations about whether Brian is suffering from that as a result of his tour in Iraq. Also subjected to much rehashing is the changed relationship between Kate and Joe following his return. As hinted by the title, there is a lot of emphasis placed on what behavior is expected by the military code of honor, and especially the McCarran's own family honor.

Overall, I liked the book very much. I think it's too long, and that it could have benefitted from some additional editing. But, aside from that, the story is well told and is allowed to build bit by bit, as truths are uncovered and arguments are made in court. Some reviewers have said that they guessed the ending, but I didn't and was surprised by it. This was the first book I've read by Patterson, but now I'll be looking for something else by him. I give this one 4 stars.

A Bad Day for Sorry by Sophie Littlefield. Category #2, New-ish Authors

At age 50, Stella Hardesty is the best shape of her life, thanks to her new part-time job. Most of the week is spent operating the sewing machine sales and repair shop that she owns in a small mid-Missouri town, and in her spare time she enjoys sewing and quilting. But she has less time for sewing lately, since she has begun helping other women like herself. Three years ago, her long-abusive husband was found dead in their home from a blow to the head with a wrench. Since the sheriff chose not to pay too much attention to all the evidence, the death was determined to be accidental, and Stella was never charged with a crime. Now she is free and Stella is using her time and energy to help other women caught in the same situation that she was. Her reputation has spread, and she has clients in all the surrounding counties, plus Kansas City, St Louis, and even some in neighboring states. She also has a reputation among the men in the area, too, and there is a rumor that there are bodies buried all over the county. Stella denies the rumor, but not too loudly. She has developed the skills needed to confront the abusive husbands and boyfriends of her clients and "persuade" them to change their ways. She keeps a locked gunbox bolted to the floor of her jeep, carries her "hand tools" in a Tupperware container, and puts a pair of sewing shears in her ankle holster. She works outside the law, and is careful not to draw too much attention to herself, but she is more concerned with helping the women who are depending on her than she is with keeping herself out of jail. The trouble is, there is a new sheriff in town whose attention Stella wouldn't mind. And maybe he feels the same way.

I thought this book was delightful, if a little uneven. Stella Hardesty is more Grandma Mazur than sweet little old lady. But she is smart, and only uses as much force as she needs to. The humorous touches - like carrying handcuffs and homemade lock picks in Tupperware - aren't overdone. And people who tangle with bad guys alone in dark places wind up in the hospital - just like they would in real life. I think Littlefield is off to a good start here. There is a sequel, Bad Day for Pretty, that I won as an ER book and will be reading soon. Definitely looking forward to that one. This one gets 3-1/2 stars.

I'll have to add A Bad Day for Sorry to the ever-growing tbr pile. Thanks, Sandy.

I added it to my wishlist, too.

Well, just 2 weeks into my re-started challenge, and I've already got 5 books listed. And if I allow unlimited overlaps, I've got books in 8 categories, with New-ish authors collecting 5 titles. Much more fun than before - I'm glad I did this.

Recap @ 6/30:

1 Thrilling Mysteries - includes mysteries, spy novels, legal thrillers, police procedurals, etc.
1 In the Name of Honor by Richard North Patterson 6/26/2010

2 New-ish authors - new-to-me authors
1 A Bad Day for Sorry by Sophie littlefield 6/28/2010

3 Home - fiction or nonfiction set in US or Canada

4 Away - fiction or nonfiction set outside the US or Canada
1 Facing the Lion by Joseph Lekuton 6/17/2010

5 Days-gone-by tales - historical fiction or nonfiction, set more than 100 years ago

6 Fearless leaders - presidential biographies for the US Presidents challenge, or other American history nonfiction
1 When the Mississippi Ran Backwards by Jay Feldman 6/21/2010

7 It Must be True - nonfiction
1 The Drunkard's Walk by Leonard Mlodinow 6/17/2010

8 Go West, Young Man - fiction or nonfiction about 19th C American West

9 There's a sequel - part of a series

10 Ancient tomes - books that were first published before I was born

Boy when you come out of a reading funk, you do it in style. Glad to see the realignment is working. I've just about abandoned tracking via the category challenge....I'm just noting the challenges on my 75 thread, and maybe someday I'll get over here to catch up the lists.

Glad to see you say your having fun, these Challenges are meant to be fun, IMHO. Keep those books coming - you know how much I need to add to my wish list!!

Cripple Creek Days by Mabel Barbee Lee. Category #5, Days-Gone-By Tales.

When I was growing up, my grandparents lived in Denver and we spent 2 weeks in Colorado every summer visiting them. One of my favorite things was when Grandpa would take us up into the mountains. The narrow winding roads that hugged the mountain on one side and opened onto a sheer cliff on the other made my mother cringe but delighted me. We had favorite places that we visited year after year, and Cripple Creek was one of them. It was the late 1960's and early 1970's when we were going there and, while the town wasn't quite dead, it certainly had little more than shadows of its former glory. We drove past the old gold mines, with their mountainous waste heaps, and into a town where small wooden houses clung to the slopes and the business district was spread out in the valley with wide, straight streets and the grand old buldings, paint peeling, presided over empty sidewalks. I could never imagine what it must have been like in its heyday, but it fascinated me endlessly.

I was excited when I found this book that was first published in 1958 - the memoir of a girl who grew up in Cripple Creek during its boom time. The Cripple Creek she describes was dirty, poor, and hardscrabble. Nearly everyone who struck it rich ended up moving away and, usually - eventually, going bankrupt. She remembers when the railroad first came to town and the excitement that caused - women dressing in their best clothes and the drinking and dancing lasting late into the night. And the shock the next day when the train derailed on its return trip. The celebrations when Teller County was established with Cripple Creek as the County seat. The visits of Teddy Roosevelt to the area. The devestation and lawlessness that broke out during the several labor strikes and disputes between mine workers and mine owners.

And it is a fascinating history - covering a period from 1892 when the author moved to the mining camp with her mother to join her father as a young girl, until about 1905 when she went away to college. She includes 3 short chapters at the end. One about when she returned to the area after graduation to serve as a teacher in nearby Victor, CO. The next as a young wife of a mining engineer until the flu epidemic of 1918. The final chapter tells of her return to Cripple Creek in 1951, where she makes the poignant observation that "the cemetery had spread out fantastically, as the town chrank closer in the basin".

Refuge on Crescent Hill by Melanie Dobson. Category #3, Home (Ohio)

This book should have been very good. It could have been a suspense/thriller. It could have been a cozy mystery. It could have been a romance or romantic suspense. It could have been a historic novel told in flash backs. But it missed every one of these marks.

Camden Bristow lost her job in New York City and has been evicted from her apartment. She is broke and only has $400 credit remaining on her credit cards. Not knowing where else to turn, she decides to visit the grandmother she loved as a child, and hasn't seen in years. She drives all night from New York to Ohio only to discover that Grandma died 5 days earlier and the memorial service was yesterday. Despite her self-perceived failure as a granddaughter, the historic Bristow mansion, known as Crescent Hill, was left to Camden in her grandmother's will. So now at least she has a place to stay. But the place is in need of much repair and will take more money than she can raise to restore it, so she entertains an offer by the city to purchase the property.

And it really goes down hill from here. There is mystery, intrigue, family secrets, lost treasure, and even hidden passages. But nothing is well developed. The characters are one-dimensional. Every plot twist depends on coincidence. There might as well be road signs telling us what is coming up - that is about how obvious every single key event is. And romance - well, I don't require it in every book I read and wouldn't have missed it in this one if there hadn't been about 20 hints that Camden and Alex, the guy from the city who is talking to her about buying her house, are just perfect for each other. And what does this perfect couple do when they find themselves trapped in a dark underground tunnel by the bad guys? She lays her head on his shoulder and gives him a peck on the cheek. I don't expect explicit sex in a book, but if there is going to be a romance, then at least have them act like they WANT to do it. Actually, the more I think about it, the more this book reminds me of the Nancy Drew books that I loved when I was 12.

The only remotely interesting part of the book are the bits about the house serving as a stop on the underground railroad. But even that wasn't as well done as it should have been.

RANT: This author is known for writing "inspirational fiction for women". Something I didn't realize when requesting this ER book. I am Christian, but books like this are the reason I don't read "Christian fiction". From reading books like this, it seems that Christains ought not to be interested in anything other than faith and being reassured that, for those who have a personal relationship with Christ, all's well that ends well. What I've found in this genre is that all strong or unpleasant events or emotions are watered down. (Except for the joy and comfort that is to be found in a personal relationship with God. But even the most devout folks I've ever known do not act like the characters in some of these books.) Even worse, the story lines are simplistic and, as I mentioned above, heavily dependent on coincidence. I simply don't understand why Christian writers do not write intelligent books. Jesus taught that I need to have the faith of a child, but that surely doesn't mean that I must limit myself to childish, G-rated, books and movies, does it?

In short, not recommended. 1-1/2 stars

I too am a Christian, and I agree that most of Christian fiction is not well-written. There are a few authors who are good writers, but wading through the bad to find the good is not fun, and there are too many other good books out there.

"It Must be True" - nonfiction

Love the title of this category!

My best friend and I have a saying that comes from how his family dynamic works: "Say it and it's so".

And then there's this phrase we love, too, said by a woman who had just moved near a NJ tiger preserve which had been there for decades but which she thought should be shut down because it was dangerous: "We're here now".

Oy, I'd better stop and get back to reading!

I did like that review. There does seem to be an erroneous and insulting view among publishers that Christian women must not be that bright or at all able to handle challenging topics.

Christian fiction is not a big genre up here in secular Scandinavia, but I enjoyed that review a lot too. Overall, books which focus on answers rather than questions do tend to interest me less, regardless of the agenda. And an over-simplified moral never helped any book.

#38 I'm glad to know that I'm not alone in feeling this way. I've stopped myself from expressing that rant several times. This time, it just wouldn't go away.

#39 "Say it and it's so" What a great family motto.

#40, 41 You've both expressed my feelings much better than I was able to. "There does seem to be an erroneous and insulting view among publishers that Christian women must not be that bright or at all able to handle challenging topics." Spot on! "An over-simplified moral never helped any book" - very true, even when I've already accepted the moral as truth.

Another suggestion for your go-west category: there's a "Wagons West" series by Dana Fuller Ross that starts with Independence! and continues for multiple books. My mom had these books and I read them after she did, probably around junior high/high school age. They were enjoyable stories.

Just found out from LT that DFR was also Donald Clayton Porter (and multiple other noms de plumes, as well), who wrote the "White Indian" series that started with White Indian. I enjoyed that series, another my mom owned, as well.

The books by Dana Fuller Ross are currently being reprinted. The first couple of books showed up in the bookstore again in the last year.

#43 That's good news. I read much of the Wagons West series back in the 80's when it was first published. I liked them and have thought about re-reading some, but they're hard to find now.

Alice's Tulips by Sandra Dallas. Category #8, Go West, Young Man. (Not exactly the kind of book I envisioned for this category, but it takes place in the 19th century and west of the Mississippi River, so I guess it qualifies.)

Alice Bullock is a young Iowa wife whose husband has joined the Union army and gone off to "fight rebs". She is staying with her mother-in-law on the Bullock family farm and is feeling very put-upon. She doesn't like farming, she doesn't like her MIL, she doesn't like most of the people in the community. The story is told solely through her regular letters to her sister (a convention that I didn't like), and it seems that Alice doesn't even like her own parents. She is a quilter, and is quite proud of her skill as a needlewoman. I found her to be petty and disagreeable, but the intent was to show that she is a resourceful, determined woman. The synopsis on the cover indicates that Alice came to be accused of murder and that is when her mettle is truly tested. That's true as far as it goes. The killing in question happens pretty late in the book, and mostly Alice just whines about the snubbing she receives from the other ladies in town and the relentless questioning from the sheriff as a result .

I did like the descriptions of everyday life on the home front. The shortages of food and supplies, the trouble finding farm labor when all the men are in the army, the community organizations of women who work together to provide relief and comfort to the soldiers. In this case, Alice is in charge of a group of ladies who make patchwork quilts to send to Iowa regiments - being very proud of the pattern she designed for them. The celebrations that sent the men off to war, and the celebration that marked the final surrender. Followed closely by mourning when Pres Lincoln was killed.

I saw one reader's comments which described this book as "cute". Probably so, but I don't have much tolerance for "cute". Not a bad book - but definitely not to my taste. I give it a neutral 3 stars.

Death of a Witch by M.C. Beaton. Category #9, There's a Sequel

Another in the wonderful Hamish Macbeth series about a village policeman in the Scottish highlands. A newcomer to the village - a woman described as a witch because she dispenses herbal remedies - is killed after several local men complain of symptoms of Spanish Fly, an herbal remedy touted as an aid to sexual performance. This book is a little heavier than some in the series, since there end up being several murders in quick succession and it's not entirely clear whether they're related. But, as we've come to expect, all the single women have designs on Hamish, he dreams of getting married and having a family until he realizes that means bringing an actual woman into his life, and he ends up solving the crimes in the end. One of my favorite series. 3-1/2 stars.

Hmm... I think I will have to pass on this one, even though it would fit my American West Category as well. There are so many good ones out there, I don't need the just so-so ones!

As I get to the last few books in each category I am finding myself getting pickier and pickier about what what books I want to read to close out the Challenge (even though I am probably going to set up a shorter Challenge, with the same categories, to carry me through to the end of the year.)

Oh Sandy- I'm about ready for a wee bit of Hamish Macbeth...I love to listen to these in audio. May check out one of two for a trip to California in September.....great to listen to on the plane.

Hamish MacBeth mysteries are usually a fun diversion into the hills of Scotland, but lately his misogyny has been getting under my skin.

The Earthquake That Never Went Away by David Stewart. Category #7, It Must Be True (nonfiction)

A follow-up for me to When the Mississippi Ran Backwards. That book was disappointly short on information about the 1811-1812 New Madrid earthquakes, so I've been hunting for more information. This book was mostly about the lingering effects of the quakes. Subtitled "The Shaking Stopped in 1812, but the Impact Goes On", this locally published book includes dozens of charts and photos that explain was literally happening to the ground during the quakes, and showing the still-visible scars. It tended to be rather repetitive on several points, especially when the same kinds of damage is seen in several locations. However, I am now quite well versed on the subject of soil liquifaction and the origin of the numerous sand boils that litter the landscape in SE Missouri. What was especially impressive, and frightening, was learning just how unstable the ground still is, 200 years after it was disturbed in the earthquakes. The problem is that scientists and engineers have only recognized this in the last 20 or 30 years, and many of the buildings and much of the local infrastructure was constructed much earlier than that. Plus, local building codes have only recently (20 years or so) required new construction to be quake-resistant, and little retrofitting of older buildings has been done. So, in the event of another major "event" along this fault, power plants are likely to collapse, underground gas lines will burst, buildings of all kinds will collapse, and even roadways and air strips will be destroyed. Every kind of support that will be needed in the event of a disaster will be damaged or destroyed along with homes and offices.

Not exactly a professional, scientific book - it reads more like the presentation of a local "expert", complete with slide show, that would be given at the community center. I don't think the science is suspect - it appears that this really is the area of expertise of the author. It's just that the book has a "homemade" quality about it. But it is interesting and informative. Recommended, if you can find it. 4 stars.

The Charm School by Nelson DeMille. Category #1, Thrilling Mysteries

I saw someone describe this as DeMille's best book. I think I'd agree. First published in 1988, before the fall of the Soviet Union, this spy-thriller is based on the premise that there is a training camp someplace deep inside Russia where American MIA's and POW's from Vietnam, never accounted for, are being held captive and used to train KGB agents to pass as American. A sort of "charm school" for spies before they are sent to the United States. A page-turner. I loved it. 4-1/2 stars.

This was a timely read - in light of the headlines recently about the Russian spies discovered in the US who were living deep undercover - that is exactly the scenario that portrayed in the book.

A Bad Day for Pretty by Sophie Littlefield. Category #9, There's a Sequel

The sequel to A Bad Day for Sorry (msg #30, above). Stella is still hot and bothered by the sheriff's attention, which is progressing nicely, it seems. That is, until they are interrupted by his ex-wife claiming that the divorce was never finalized. Stella beats a hasty retreat only to receive a call from a former client about her "rehabilitated" husband. No, he hasn't fallen back into his old ways, but he seems to be the main suspect in the death of a woman whose body was just discovered.

In the beginning, I thought this book was falling short of the earlier one. Gone are the humorous touches. But also gone is most of the violence. In the end, I liked it. Chrissy, the client from the first book, is shaping up to be a reliable sidekick for future books. Stella's daughter, Noelle, and several other characters barely mentioned in the first book were also more fully introduced in this one. The mysteries were just a little convoluted, but overall a solid, and fun, read. Looking forward to more. 4 stars.

Safer by Sean Doolittle. Category #2, New-to-me authors

A young couple move from Boston to western Iowa where they experience a break-in on the first night in their new home. As a result, an emergency meeting of the local neighborhood watch is called, and they are encouraged to accept the free installation of a top-of-the-line home security system. A series of odd occurances over the next several months culminates in the arrest of the husband for sexual misconduct involving the 13-year old girl next door. What?!?

A very nifty suspense/thriller, told largely in flash-back. I loved it up until the very end when all was revealed. Only then did I realize that the key event - the one everything else was built upon - didn't really make much sense. But I decided that I didn't care - it was a fun read and I chose not to let that one detail spoil it for me. 4 stars.

Sean Doolittle is an author that I have been meaning to read, I have three of his (including Safer on my wish list - now I want to nudge him closer to the top!

Sandy-I definitely enjoyed Bad day for Pretty but really want to read the first one. I think Pretty does fine as a stand alone, but I'm looking forward to back-filling some of this.

#54 I've had this book and another by Doolittle on my wishlist for quite a while. Not sure where they came from. Now I'm anxious to read more by him.

#55 Just be aware that the violence in "Sorry" is much more graphic than anything in "Pretty". But it will really fill you in on the history between Stella and Goat, and also Chrissy's story. Let me know what you think of it.

@53 Sounds very intriguing indeed! Putting it down on my list.

This is Graceanne's Book by Polly Whitney. Category #3 - Home

This is the August group read book for the Missouri Readers Group. I'm so glad I'll be able to talk about it with them, since this is one of those books that I don't know what to do with. The writing was good - the characters and setting rich and full-dimensional. But I'm just not sure what it all MEANS!

On the surface, it is the narrative of a 10-year old boy living in a Mississippi River town in Missouri in 1960-61. Graceanne is his 13-year old sister whom he adores. She has the highest IQ in the entire school, and she keeps a journal of sorts which is referred to as her "book". In her book, she writes poems and stories that loosely act as a diary. During the 15 months covered in the book, the family goes through some difficult times when their mother divorces their father and moves the children to a largely colored neighborhood. Some very difficult topics are raised - including politics, religion, and racism - as Graceanne and her family struggle to make sense of their lives.

Even though I'm not entirely sure how I feel about the book yet, I generally liked it, so I'm giving it a place-holder rating of 3-1/2 stars. That is absolutely subject to change!

The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland by Jim DeFede. Category #6 - American History (I know, it's a bit of a stretch)

Many thanks to Linda P for this recommendation.

I don't think any of us will ever forget September 11, 2001. We don't even need the year to remind us what happened on 9/11. It was a day of unspeakable horror, shock, sadness, and anger. And yet, despite the incredible display of human hatred and aggression, we've all heard stories of equally incredible kindness and generosity and cooperation as strangers reached out to help one another. This book is one of those stories.

When American airspace was closed that day, there were dozens of planes bound for the United States that were not going to be permitted to enter the country. Our neighbor, Canada, was faced with the dilema of either accepting the flights we were refusing or sending them back. When they decided to accept them, no one knew how long it would take before travellers could continue on to the US. In the case of Gander, Newfoundland, though, people didn't wait to find out. As soon as the decision was made to force US-bound flights to land, the townspeople began preparing for company. Even though it would be hours before passengers were allowed off the planes, shelters were being set up, food was being prepared, and transportation was being arranged for the waylayed travellers. Gander used to be the site of a US military base, and has long been used as a re-fueling stop for trans-Atlantic and military flights. They have the facilities to handle large aircraft and that day they received more than 3 dozen planes in-bound from Europe, carrying more than 6,000 people. The individual stories of how the 10,000 local residents cared for all those strangers - feeding them, giving them bedding and shelter, taking them shopping and sightseeing and drinking, inviting them into their homes for showers and offering their telephones and computers to contact loved ones, and then staying up most of the night watching over sleeping families and doing laundry so that there would be clean towels in the morning - were absolutely heartwarming.

Sometimes, with the constant barrage of bad news in the media, it is refreshing to be reminded that people are mostly good. We are giving, caring and generous. It's only too bad that it takes a tragedy to be reminded of that. Highly recommended. 4-1/2 stars.

59 - That really sounds like a great book. You're right - it's nice to read a little GOOD news now and then.

I was looking at that one as a possible read a while back. You've convinced me -- and the county library has it!

Great review!

I've seen this around the site today, and have enjoyed reading everyone else's answers. Here are mine:

Do you snack while you read? If so, favorite reading snack?

Yes, snacks, meals, whatever. It annoys me if I have to put the book down and use both hands to handle my food, so I prefer finger food. Like popcorn.

What is your favorite drink while reading?

Normally water, since that is what I drink most. But anything goes, as with the food. Red wine stains pages if it drips, though.

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?

Most of my books are from the library, so I do not write in them.

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ear? Laying the book flat open?

No dog-ears unless absolutely necessary. I'll lay it open if there aren't any bookmarks handy, but I prefer to use a bookmark - which can be anything flat enough to fit between pages.

Fiction, Non-Fiction, or Both?

Both.

Are you a person who tends to read to the end of a chapter, or can you stop anywhere?

I like to stop at a chapter end or other division, otherwise, I forget where I was and what was happening.

Are you a person to throw a book across the room or on the floor if the author irritates you?

No, it might leave a mark on the wall and, besides, most of my books don't belong to me. Usually I just say rude things.

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop and look it up right away?

I lost my dictionary and haven't gotten a new one. If I've got the internet handy, then I'm probably here. So, no, I don't stop to look up unfamiliar words. Usually I can figure it out based on context.

What are you currently reading?

Hoping to finish up Fountain Filled With Blood by Julia Spencer-Fleming today or tomorrow. Planning to take Three Musketeers with me on vacation next week - maybe I can finally finish it, since I started it about 4 months ago.

What is the last book you bought?

About 6 or 7 books at a friends of the library sale in June - including Woman in White and The House of the Spirits and some others I can't think of off-hand.

Are you a person that reads one book at a time, or can you read more than one?

I almost always have more than one audio book in process, but I generally can't keep up more than a single print book at a time.

Do you have a favorite time/place to read?

Wherever there is enough light and quiet. I always ask for a well-lit table if I'm eating alone in a restaurant.

Do you prefer series books or stand-alones?

I like them both.

Is there a specific book or author you find yourself recommending over and over?

No, since the people I know if real life don't like the same things I do and the people here are mostly better read than I am.

How do you organize your books? By genre, title, author's last name, etc?

Well, I try to keep them off the floor.

I like your last answer. I try to do that but am not successful. At least my floor piles are nicely organized/balanced.

#63 Thanks. I liked your answer too: "organize?"

Doors Open by Ian Rankin. Category #4 - Away (Scotland)

A standalone novel - not part of his John Rebus series. In this book, 3 very different men are joined in friendship by their shared interest in art. When the Royal Gallery announces that the warehouse that houses the overflow pieces not on display will be included in Edinburgh's annual "doors open" day - a day when the general public has an opportunity to visit buildings that are normally off limits - they begin to speculate about whether a successful heist could be pulled off. They quickly decide to do the thing, and events soon begin taking unforeseen turns.

I thought this was an entertaining enough story, but not outstanding. The characters are somewhat wooden, despite obvious attempts to flesh them out a bit. The plot twists were predictable. I guess the bad guys get their due and the good guy gets the girl, but even those points are open for speculation. I had this on audio, and the lovely Scottish accent of the reader was definitely a highlight. This was perfect for listening while doing something else. 3 stars.

The Earthquake America Forgot by David Stewart. Category #5 - Days-Gone-By Tales

Another book about the New Madrid earthquakes written by the same author as the book in post #50. When I first got it home and thumbed through it, I thought it would be mostly a re-hashing of that other book, since many of the same photos and diagrams were included. This book has many of the shortcomings that we often complain about: pages of blurbs exclaiming about how wonderful the book is; a lack of sufficient professional editing; and tendencies by the author to include every detail uncovered in his research, to be overly familiar with the reader (if I never hear another "fault" pun it will be too soon), and to blur the edges between science and speculation - presenting his opinion as fact (although, to be fair, he warns us up front that this will happen).

For a significant chunk of the book, these things bothered me. Then, a strange thing happened - I began to get so involved with the story that I didn't really notice them anymore. Not much, anyway. He tells us many of the same stories as were told in When the Mississippi Ran Backwards by Jay Feldman (post #27) - maybe the authors relied on the same sources. But, in this book, those stories were limited to what happened in or was affected by the New Madrid quake zone. So, even though there were references to the War of 1812, that didn't take over this book as it did the other one. We do learn about Tecumseh, chief of the Shawnee Indians. We learn about the steamboat "New Orleans" captained by Nicholas Roosevelt, great-great uncle of FDR. We also learn about the incident with the nephews of Thomas Jefferson who murdered and mutilated their slave and tried to hide the evdence, although for grisly details you'll need to read that other book - they were left out of this one. But while in the Feldman book, these stories overshadow accounts of the earthquakes and their cause, in this book they join several other stories to illustrate the far-reaching effects of the earthquakes. While the Feldman book included only a couple of tantalizing sentences about "Earthquake Christians" in his epilogue, this book goes into quite a lot more detail about them.

One thing I especially liked about this book is the emphasis placed on the losses suffered by native Americans - not just white Europeans and, incidentally, their African slaves. In most other accountings, this earthquake - despite the incredible strength and violence of it - only claimed a few dozen lives. However, Stewart argues that that simply couldn't be true. Since it was a sparsely populated area, only a few dozen white people were killed on land - that is true. But several hundred were missing on the Mississippi River and must be presumed dead. Also, there were large populations of Indians living in the area and we must also presume that they suffered large loss of life. He places his conservative estimate at 1000 dead, and allows that the true toll may be double that or more.

He explains about the science behind the cause of the earthquakes and just touches on the still-lingering effects, which was the central theme of his other book. He includes a sizable final chapter on current earthquake research and the predictions for future activity along this fault line. He provides a section where the reader can identify their home county and compute estimates of property damage and loss of life in the event of another large earthquake in the same location as before. He discusses ways that damage and injury can be minimized through preventive actions taken now, as well as the kinds of earthquake preparedness tips that are common in California - but virtually unheard of here in the midwest. Another section describes the unexpected types of earthquake damage that can occur even at large distances from small quakes and provides resources for dealing with insurance companies who decline to cover those losses under earthquake coverage.

In the end, I found the book to be very interesting and informative. I skimmed over the parts where he digressed into extraneous details that didn't interest me (and which I though should have been edited out). These two books of his are marketed as companion volumes - this one aimed at a general audience and the other suitable for scientists as well. I'd agree with that - if you have a choice of the two, I'd recommend this one. 4 stars.

A Fountain Filled With Blood by Julia Spencer-Fleming. Category #1 - Mysteries

This is a re-read for me - the 2nd book in my favorite series. Clare Fergusson is a retired army helicopter pilot turned Episcopal priest. Originally from southern Virginia, she has been assigned to the small parish of St Albans in Millers Kill, NY - an up-state town near Albany. Russ Van Alstyn is a native son of Millers Kill and has returned home to assume the post of Chief of Police after 25 years of being an army MP. When the two first met, there was instant chemistry between them but, since he is long-married and both are moral people, they turned their backs on the attraction. This book begins 6 months later.

A couple of gay men in town were savagely attacked and beaten and Clare is outraged at the thought of such brutality. True to form for her, she wants to go DO something about it. Tell people. Take a public stand. She comes into contact with Russ again as a result. As a priest, she is providing support and comfort to the families of these men. He is investigating the crimes. And he does not want to go public and label them as "gay bashing". When a third man, also gay, is found murdered - by Clare - the issues become clouded. Was he part of the same series of attacks on gays? Or was his death related to a development project he is heading up and which some townspeople claim is causing PCB's to be released into the groundwater?

Clare is outspoken and impulsive - she acts first and thinks later. Russ is more reserved, but there is something about Clare that he simply can't resist. And that is the reason I love these books. The way the attraction between these star-crossed lovers is written is so realistic, so perfect, you can just see every grin, every blush, and feel the warmth between them. When Russ runs his fingers through his hair and mutters under his breath "you're driving me crazy", we know he's not talking about Clare's latest scheme. And when he is distracted by thoughts of her and obviously not listening to what she is saying and answers "Jimmy Carter" to her question of "what are you thinking about?", she knows what he's talking about, too.

For me, the mysteries are secondary in this series. The real story is the relationship between these characters. And it is perfect - chaste, but perfect. Recommended, but try to begin with the first book, In the Bleak Midwinter. 4 stars.

"Well, I try to keep them off the floor"! :DDDDD

I like your mention of eating alone in a restaurant. I travel quite a lot in work and do that fairly often. And how unbearable wouldn't that be if you hadn't something to read!

The Barefoot Book: 50 Great Reasons to Kick Off Your Shoes by L Daniel Howell. Category #7, It Must Be True! (nonfiction)

An interesting, and eye-opening, look at the different effects that shoes have on our feet. We all know that the high-heeled, pointed toed shoes favored by some women cause problems for more than the feet of the wearers. But in this book, Dr Howell presents evidence that even athletic shoes are harmful to our feet. By immobilizing our feet inside of rigid shoes (he actually compares them to the casts that are placed over broken bones), we prevent our feet from performing the way nature intended. 20% of our bones are located in our feet - they are designed to be both flexible shock absorbers as well as strong and rigid levers. This paradox is what enables us to walk and run over all kinds of terrain, painlessly, and for our entire lives. The shoes we wear to protect our feet and improve our performance are actually doing just the opposite, according to the author.

His discussions of the anatomy of the foot (he is an anatomy professor) were interesting and informative, but just a little too technical to me to follow easily. If I had slowed down and re-read it a second time, I'm sure I could have gotten it, but that aspect of the book just wasn't the important thing for me. I was willing to take him at his word.

This was all very interesting, but the last part of the book talked about the practical aspects of living a barefoot life. There are some people who are choosing not to wear shoes - ever. He talks about several myths about going barefoot - including the question about whether there are laws requiring people to wear shoes in restaurants or at work (no and no). For people who wear shoes occasionally, for whatever reason, he includes a list of "minimalist" shoes that are closer to barefoot than standard shoes. Number one on that list is basic flip-flops - the no-support kind that the young kids wear. But my favorite were the bottomless shoes - actually nothing more than an ankle bracelet attached to a toe ring that look like skimpy sandals at a glance. If I ever got up the nerve to go out in public barefooted, I would definitely get these!

Overall, I thought the book was an interesting examination of the damage we're doing to our feet, and our kids' feet, in the name of convention and fashion. It made me determined to keep my shoes off as much as possible and to be more aware of the shoes that I do wear. Of course, I don't wear shoes unless I'm forced to anyway, so he didn't affect much of a conversion in my case. 4 stars.

@69 Interesting! I suspect though, that nature didn't intend us to spend most of our walking days on hard, ungiving surfaces like asphalt.

Of course there's also the aspect of temperature. In Sweden, going barefoot is a very unappealing concept about six months a year, and probably downright bad for your health about three or four...

#70 Yes, well, he does admit that most folks will want to wear something on their feet in the winter and he cautions about the dangers of frostbite. Those who stay barefoot, even in the cold, he calls "snowfooters". I love the cold weather, but that is not for me. And I agree about the asphalt, but the author claims that it is no worse than hard-packed earth. I remember that concrete pavement was often too hot to walk on in the summer when I was a kid. Black asphalt would be even worse after baking in the sun on 100 degree days. He doesn't mention the heat as a problem - he must not live in a warm place.

I go barefoot around the house and in the yard, except in the winter. When I go anywhere else, I always put shoes on.

I remember walking on the hot patio in the summer, back when we had a backyard pool. You're right--way too hot.

The Shadow Man by Cody McFadyen. Category #1 - Mysteries

Wow, what a ride this book was! Another of my favored serial killer thrillers. The book opens with FBI Agent Smoky Barrett recovering from an attack that left her husband and daughter dead and herself disfigured from a savage rape and knife attack that she suffered before killing her attacker. She asks to go back on duty when another gruesome attack is discovered - this time Smoky's best friend from school. Her request is granted when the killer begins to leave communications directed to Smoky. Soon, every member of her team has received some kind of personal attention from the killer who believes himself to be a decendent of Jack the Ripper and claims to be carrying on the work on his ancestor. The team works frantically to discover who the monster is before he can strike again.

A fast paced, suspenseful story. Not for the squeamish - some scenes are quite graphic. But it kept me on the edge of my seat and trying to figure out what would happen next right up to the very end. 4 stars.

Note - having trouble with touchstones this evening - not sure if I finally got it right...

@73, The rest of the series gets pretty good ratings as well so it looks like it's another that's destined for the wishlist. Thanks for the review.

#74 That's really good news!

>69 sjmccreary: I've just returned home from a conference, and my feet are DEAD! I'm not sure if going barefoot would have helped or hurt, but it certainly would have been frowned upon by most of the people in attendance (especially when you consider that I was a presenter).

#76 :-) If you were standing behind a lecturn, you could have just slipped your shoes off and no one would have known. I avoid wearing shoes that I can't just step out of because I am all the time taking them off - at work, restaurants, the movies, the theater - any place they won't be in someone's way.

#73 - I've had my eye on the Smokey Barrett series at the library, good to know you enjoyed the first one!

Company Man by Joseph Finder. Category #2, New-to-me authors.

Nick Connover is the CEO of the largest company in town, and has gone from being the hometown hero - local boy makes it big - to being known around town as "Nick the Slasher" after he was forced to lay off 5,000 workers - half the company. And things aren't going so well at home, either. Nick's wife, Laura, was killed in a car crash a year earlier - an accident that Nick survived and has avoided talking about ever since. His teenage son has gone from being an outstanding student/athelete to being sullen and withdrawn, bringing home poor grades, and experimenting with drugs and Nick doesn't know how to reach him. He lives in the house his wife wanted and is still struggling with remodeling projects that she began and that he doesn't really care about, except that he wants the house to be just as Laura dreamed of.

At work, things are beginning to get tense in the executive suite when his right-hand man, the CFO - a man that Nick himself hired - is beginning to behave strangely - stepping outside his authority and making decisions behind Nick's back. The company's owners, an investment firm from Boston, are placing increasing pressure on Nick to move manufacturing offshore - eliminating even more jobs - and placing strict new limits on his authority to hire and fire his own executive staff, including the CFO who was recently added to the board of directors of the company without Nick's prior knowledge. Meanwhile, back at home, the family has experienced a series of break-ins that the police are doing little to solve. Nothing has been stolen, but threatening comments have been spray-painted on walls inside the house. Nick asks his company security chief - an old high school buddy - to install a new security system in his home. The very next night, the new alarm sounds and Nick discovers one of his laid-off workers - rumoured to be emotionally unstable - walking towards the house, reaching into his pocket and ignoring Nick's warnings to stop or he'll shoot.

And so this book takes off following the developments in each area of Nick's life, while Nick feels like his entire life has come apart, leaving him with no safe haven. It is fast-paced and Nick's fears and anger are believably portrayed. The other characters in the book are less well-developed but since the book is about Nick, I didn't mind so much. Some of the "mysteries" were easy to figure out ahead of time, but overall I thought it was a slick little corporate intrigue thriller. 4 stars.

The Dragon Man by Garry Disher. Category #4, Away (Australia)

This is the first in a series featuring Inspector Hal Challis, in a small community in southeastern Australia. There is an entire ensemble cast - too many for me to attempt introductions here. There have been a couple of cases of young women being snatched from their cars along a lonely country road and later being discovered dead. There have been cases of petty burglarly and arson. It is the middle of a hot Australian summer - right at Christmas time - and folks are affected by the weather and distracted by the holiday. Challis has secrets that we only see glimpses of, but enough to know that he is troubled by his wife - who is in some kind of prison - and lonely. We also become aware that a couple of the police officers have come under scrutiny for use of excessive force, another office who is new to the force and trying to find her way, and a sargent who is experiencing prolems at home. Challis and his team must work to piece together which events are connected and which are not, and who may be involved in each one.

A slow start, I thought, but gradually gathered momentum. A fine beginning to a new (for me) series. Already looking forward to the next installment. 3-1/2 stars.

I don't know if I've ever read a mystery set in Australia . . . can't think of one. Maybe I should look at this series.

#81 I have read the first three Phyrne Fisher flapper mysteries written by Kerry Greenwood. These are set in Australia. I think they are about 20 in all, so far.

I've read a few old Arthur Upfield mysteries as well. I stopped with those, however.

I read the first of the Phryne Fisher mysteries, and was pretty underwhelmed. I'm going to give it another try, but maybe not a 3rd if it doesn't show more promise. I've never heard of Arthur Upfield. You said "old" - how old are you talking about? What are they like?

There are a couple of series written by Peter Temple, but I haven't read either of them yet.

The Upfield books were written from the 1920s to the 1960s. When I read a few of these about 20 years ago, I thought they were very dated (reflecting the attitudes of the time) but they definitely offered lots of insights into Australia. I believe there are at least two dozen of these books, featuring Detective Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte (called Bony) of the Queensland Police Force.

A few titles I've read include An Author Bites the Dust, Murder Must Wait, and The Bachelors of Broken Hill.

These books were in print awhile back but I have no idea why I didn't read them in order. I tend to be more likely to continue a series when I've read the books in order.

#83 As for the Kerry Greenwood mysteries, I thought the ones I read were uneven. I loved a few and did not like the most recent one I tried so I put it aside and never went back to it. Can't remember the title.

I don't generally mind reading books that reflect the attitudes of the time they were written (talking about those that are no longer socially acceptable), that just becomes part of the ambiance for me, I guess. Just another historical detail. (Assuming, of course, that those attitudes are just part of the environment in the story - I won't have much patience with an author whose whole point is to convince me that women simply aren't as intelligent as men, or whatever.) But what I'm finding is that writing styles have changed and I often don't have a lot of tolerance for older books for that reason - especially if they weren't so well-written in the first place! I guess that's why a lot of authors simply don't stand the test of time. My husband told me a statistic he'd heard recently - most authors, even prolific ones, are virtually unheard of within 10 years of their death. There just aren't very many Mark Twains or Charles Dickenses or William Shakespeares.

I'm willing to give Upfield a try - but I'll begin with book #1. Like you, I prefer to read a series in order when possible.

What I remember about the Kerry Greenwood book was that I simply didn't care one way or the other about Phryne Fisher. The story was interesting enough, and I loved the 1920's setting, but she didn't do a good job of making the main character someone I wanted to know more about.

3 years ago, before I found LT, I would have been satisfied in reading half a dozen of that series - just to have something to read. But now, I've become aware of so many books I never knew about before, that I'm far more discriminating. (And much of that is YOUR fault!)

#86 Same here. I may give Kerry Greenwood another try but it's not a top priority for me.

Bony Buys a Woman was an Upfield title, though I think there's an American title. The first Upfield book is The Lure of the Bush, aka The Barrakee Mystery, according to Fantastic Fiction.

I may have a few mystery gems to recommend soon.

Not to mention...after two years of focusing on nonfiction, 2011 should mark a return to a greater emphasis on mysteries, for me.

Peter Temple's The Broken Shore was similar in tone to The Dragon Man.

@86 This is actually one of the neat things about coming from a small language like Swedish. Since a lot of the classics are works in translation, they are being re-translated and given a more contemporary language at regular intervals. Thus the standard Shakespeare translations in Swedish for instance are from the seventies, eighties and nineties. They are still poetic and stylized and in pentameter of course, but the grammar and spelling are more contemporary, making them a fair bit more accessible than for all you anglophones still reading them in Elizabethan English.

#88 And I think you're the reason I know anything about it at all! I know you're the one who first recommended The Dragon Man where I could see it.

#89 I think every high school student in America would prefer to be reading Shakespeare in "translation"! (I know I would have) And yet, even as difficult as the language is, he is still around and enormously popular. I'm sure our grandchildren won't be saying the same about most of our current best-selling authors.

My favorite ones by Upfield are The Bone is Pointed and Death of a Lake. Both were exceptionally good, IMO.

Nanny State by David Harsanyi. Category #6, Fearless leaders (American history - I know, it's a bit of a stretch)

A provocative book that I picked up on impulse at the library, then came home and read cover to cover.

Subtitled "How food fascists, teetotaling do-gooders, priggish moralists, and other boneheaded bureaucrats are turning America into a nation of children". Regardless of your political leanings, it is an interesting look at the increasingly invasive laws that are being passed every year at all levels of government - for our own benefit. Published in 2007, the current administration escapes attention, but the author has plenty to say about both Bill Clinton and George W Bush and their Big Governments.

"The more government feels comfortable subverting our right to live as we wish - while not hurting others - simply to create a more agreeable society, the state will feel increasingly comfortable sabotaging our rights on all fronts." (pg 11)

And so he begins his look at excessive government regulations concerning the food we eat; the alcohol we drink; the cigarettes we smoke; the toys our children play with; the content we see in movies and on TV, and what we listen to on the radio; how we earn a living; and what is the real price we're paying for all this "protection".

It all began with mandatory seat belt laws. To save lives. Who could be against that? That is the issue here. The kinds of behavoir being controlled are things that we probably should be doing. The author points out that, with education, most reasonable, responsible adults will choose to do these very things - without needing a law to force them. As freedom-loving Americans, our concern should be that we have the ability to choose to do unhealthy, stupid, even dangerous things. If we want to.

We all know that foods high in fat, sugar, and salt are bad for us. And that we shouldn't eat too much. But do we really need legislation requring restaurants to limit their portions, or to offer healthier menu choices? And yet, these are the kinds of regulations being proposed - and pased - in cities and states all over the country.

Likewise he talks a great deal about MADD (mothers agains drunk driving) and their efforts to raise awareness of the dangers of drinking and driving. Some of the laws that have been enacted in response, though, go beyond MADD's reasonable original message. He provides anecdotes of cities that have enacted zero-tolerance ordinances and tells the story of one woman who was arrested and forced to spend the night in jail after driving away from a restaurant where she had a glass of wine with her dinner. Her blood alcohol level was .03% - well below the widely known cutoff of .08%. But the city had a zero tolerance rule, so anything above 0.0% was fair game. He tells of another city that didn't let things go even that far and sent police into bars to arrest intoxicated patrons before they had a chance to drive drunk - some of whom wouldn't have been driving anyway since they didn't have cars with them that night. All these efforts had MADD's approval. However the woman who founded the organization is not longer associated with it. She says that her goal was to get people to stop driving drunk. It was never to get them to stop drinking. She admitted that most of the probems are with drivers whose blood alcohol levels are well above the old limit of .10%, closer to .15% or .20%. So the national mandate that states lower their legal limit to .08% or risk losing federal highway funding? Surely to some benefit, but enough to justify the invasion into our personal and state-level decision-making?

Smoking is harmful to our health, as everyone knows. But is occasional exposure to light second-hand smoke as lethal as proponents of smoking bans might have us believe? He tells of cities who have banned smoking everywhere except inside of detached single family homes. Smokers in those places are not permitted to smoke inside their condos or apartments or cars. They also cannot smoke outside in public places, and are subject to complaints from the neighbors if they smoke outside their own homes.

The chapter on children's toys touched on a sore spot of mine. He insists that "we must protect the children" is the rallying cry of "nannies" everywhere. That's why we can't drink or smoke in public, why we shouldn't be able to watch an adult movie on cable or visit an adult site on the internet. And that is why our kids are no longer allowed to have swings or slides in an increasing number of playgrounds aross the country. It's also the reason for all those asinine warning labels on childrens toys. All it takes is for a handful of children to be injured or killed in connection with a toy (without a doubt a tragedy for those families) for it to be forcably removed from the market and from the millions of other children who might have played with it quite safely and happily. Sometimes tragic accidents happen. That's life. He offers a perfectly wonderful anecdote about the Red Rider BB Gun that was taken off the market because there had been "nearly 15 deaths" due to "design defects" associated with it in 30 years. He forgives us for assuming that more than 15 people might have broken their necks by tripping over the toy guns on the basement stairs in all that time.

As much as I enjoyed the book, it is not without faults. He blasts the special interest groups for throwing around statistics that are unsupported and sometimes just plain wrong in order to get an emotional response out of the public. (400,000 people a year die from eating trans-fat? That should be illegal!) But he responds by throwing out his own statistics, also without clearly disclosing how they were determined, and not letting the reader decide which they want to believe. I didn't take his counter-claims for fact any more than he accepted the original statements. But, for me, his points were well made all the same.

As Americans, we are slowly being robbed of our liberties - bit by bit - when we allow the government to take the place of our doctor or our mother or our own common sense in deciding what is good for us and our families.

"Micromanaging our lives won't make us safer, healthier, and more decent. Only self-control will." (pg 233)

4 stars

Excellent post regarding Nanny State. I have to say I was having a recent discussion with a friend about all the toys we grew up with that have disappeared. Remember lawn darts? Home chemistry sets? BB guns and cross-bows? and I can't remember the last time I saw a horseshoe toss at a family gathering...... *sighs*

#93 Thanks. I loved lawn darts. Have they really done away with chemistry sets? *sigh*

Final Jeopardy by Linda Fairstein. Category #3, Home (New York)

Another series opener, this one about Alexandra Cooper, an assistant district attorney in Manhattan who is in charge of sex crimes. She is familiar with the local detectives, the judges, the defenders - all people she comes into contact with regularly as part of her job helping to catch rapists and put them in prison. But it's just a job - it's not a part of her own life until her friend Mike, a homocide detective, brings her a newspaper with a story claiming that she was murdered at her Martha's Vineyard home. Except that it wasn't her. Obviously. It was Isabella Lascar, a famous movie star and friend of Alexandra's who was staying at Alexandra's second home. The next problem is that no one knows yet whether the target was really Isabella, or whether it was Alexandra who resembles Isabella, especially at a distance. And so she gets involved in the homocide investigation... Very good. 4 stars.

OK, I'm going to try again. Just attempted to post a recap and my whole computer froze up and it took half an hour to get back here again. Stupid computer. This time, I won't attempt touchstones - maybe that was the problem?

Thrilling Mysteries - includes mysteries, spy novels, legal thrillers, police procedurals, etc.
1 In the Name of Honor by Richard North Patterson 6/26/2010
2 The Charm School by Nelson DeMille 7/8/2010
3 A Fountain Filled With Blood by Julia Spencer-Fleming 7/23/2010
4 Shadow Man by Cody McFadyen 8/18/2010

New-ish authors - new-to-me authors
1 A Bad Day for Sorry by Sophie littlefield 6/28/2010
2 Safer by Sean Doolittle 7/14/2010
3 Bad Things Happen by Harry Dolan 8/3/2010
4 The Company Man by Joseph Finder 8/23/2010

Home - fiction or nonfiction set in US or Canada
1 Refuge on Crescent Hill by Melanie Dobson - Ohio 7/3/2010
2 This is Graceanne's Book by Polly Whitney - Missouri 7/14/2010
3 Death Qualified by Kate Wilhelm - Oregon 8/9/410
4 Final Jeopard by Linda Fairstein - New York 8/31/2010

Away - fiction or nonfiction set outside the US or Canada
1 Facing the Lion by Joseph Lekuton - Kenya 6/17/2010
2 Doors Open by Ian Rankin - Scotland 7/20/2010
3 The Dragon Man by Garry Disher - Australia 8/28/2010

Days-gone-by tales - historical fiction or nonfiction, set more than 100 years ago
1 Cripple Creek Days by Mabel Barbee Lee - 1890's 7/1/2010
2 The Earthquake America Forgot by David Stewart - 1810's 7/22/2010

Fearless leaders - presidential biographies for the US Presidents challenge, or other American history nonfiction
1 When the Mississippi Ran Backwards by Jay Feldman 6/21/2010
2 The Day the World Came to Town by Jim Defede 7/15/2010
3 Nanny State by David Harsanyi 8/31/2010

It Must be True - nonfiction
1 The Drunkard's Walk by Leonard Mlodinow 6/17/2010
2 The Earthquake that Never Went Away by David Stewart 7/7/2010
3 The Barefoot Book by L Daniel Howell 8/15/2010

Go West, Young Man - fiction or nonfiction about 19th C American West
1 Alice's Tulips by Sandra Dallas - 1860's Iowa 7/7/2010

There's a sequel - part of a series
1 Death of a Witch by M C Beaton - Hamish McBeth 7/7/2010
2 A Bad Day for Pretty by Sophie Littlefield - Stella Hardesty 7/12/2010
3 A Darkness More Than Night by Michael Connelly - Harry Bosch 8/9/2010

Ancient tomes - books that were first published before I was born

Allowing for unlimited overlaps, I have books in all 10 categories, and more than 10 in the first 3. I guess I'm actually going to have to read books that are older than I am if I'm going to finish this challenge! I've got one on audio that's going out to the car this afternoon. And, of course, I've been working on Three Musketeers since April which will count if I ever finish it. And I've moved a couple more up on the wishlist, so hopefully they will show up soon. Plus, the Missouri Readers group has decided on Mrs Bridge for October, which was published in 1959, so I'll be able to count that one, too.

Not as even as I'd like, but overall the progress is pretty good, I think.

93, 94> Nope, chemistry sets are still around (I never got one as a kid, though I wanted one, but I did get an archery set, which I also wanted). We sell them where I work, and many other really cool science kits, too.

When I was a kid, somebody in the family made or commissioned aluminum horseshoes for us youngsters to use. There are still horseshoe courts in the park in my hometown, and I think still in my parents' yard. There's an annual horseshoe tournament in my (admittedly small) hometown. When I was younger I used to serve as a scorekeeper. You have to sit between the pits and hope the person throwing the shoes has good aim....

If you want to pitch shoes, there are still places to pitch shoes.

Hummm.... then maybe it is in Western Canada, or Canada in general where the have removed the chemistry sets... I haven't seen one on a retail store shelf for a number of years. At least they still sell Meccano sets. Can you tell I come a family with more boys than girls?

;-)

#97 That is excellent news re the chemistry sets, although now that you mention it, I do recall seeing all kinds of interesting science kits at some of the *ahem* better toy stores. (You know, the ones that can spell all the words in their names.) Not sure if I remember any of them being the generic chemistry sets like the boys used to get.

We have horseshoe pits all over the place here - a standard park feature. Although I must admit I can't remember the last time I saw anyone using them.

Speaking as a mother to two kids who love science, there are many, many science kits of various kinds out there and they're much better than the one I had as a kid. Mad Science and National Geographic Kids are brands with a wide variety.

The Warden by Anthony Trollope. Category #10, older than me (1855)

After months of seeing dozens of comments all over LT about the works of Trollope, I finally gave him a try. Even though this book is more than 150 years old and is set half a world away, it took only a short time to get past the stilted language and unfamiliar situation to an absolutely delightful story. These characters seemed absolutely modern in their concerns about salary and public reputation. I loved it and can't wait for the next. 4-1/2 stars.

#101 I've never read any Trollope. Aren't there two different series? Is this the first one?

I should give him a try.

#102 There are 2 series. This is the first of the Barsetshire series and then there are the Palliser novels. Give him a try - I wish I hadn't waited so long.

edit for grammar

I'm glad you liked it! The second one, Barchester Towers, is even better. I haven't read the third yet, but I plan to read it next year.

#104 I heard that the second book is better. But that comment was followed up with the advice to start with The Warden because it introduces everything and everyone so well.

Only Call Us Faithful by Marie Jakober. Category #5 - Days gone by tales

An interesting telling of the story, based on fact, of Elizabeth Van Lew. She was a prominent spinster women from Richmond, Virginia who remained loyal to the union during the civil war. So loyal, in fact, that she ran a network of spies that provided intelligence to the union army. Her agents included a freed slave working as a servant inside the Jefferson Davis white house, and a warden at the local POW prison. Told alternatingly between the POV of her ghost in the present and flashbacks to the events of the war. Recommended. 4 stars.

Yay! I'm so glad you ended up liking The Warden! And cmbohn is right, Barchester Towers is even better! I love Trollope's writing - I think he's hilarious. The whole Barset series is great - I love Archdeacon Grantly the most. He really shines in BT, I think.

Jennifer, everyone has said exactly the same thing, so now I'm really excited about BT, and may have to get it sooner rather than later. Archeacon Grantly was definitely not my favorite character, but the author tells us at the end of The Warden that we haven't seen his good traits yet, so I'll be looking forward to learning to like him better.

Yes, he was obnoxious in The Warden, what with trying to bully my much-loved Mr. Harding. But he gets better, and by The Last Chronicle of Barset I was ready to join a Archdeacon Grantly Fan Club (should such a thing exist). The battle between him and Mrs. Proudie (which you'll get to in BT) is epic.

I'm looking forward to it!

Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin. Category #10 - Older than Me (OK, a stretch. The bulk of the story was published in a magazine article in March, 1960. I was born in May, and the book version came out late in the year.)

Reading as journal entries, this is the account of a white journalist from Fort Worth, Texas who darkens his skin and tours the deep south as a black man in 1959 and is shocked at the treatment he receives from whites. Near the end of his experiment, when his skin is beginning to lighten and he alternates between passing as black and passing as white, he also notices a dramatic difference in the way he is treated by blacks. A very eye-opening, and disturbing, look at one of the most shameful situations in our nation's recent past.

The copy I have, purchased used, was printed in 1961 so it does not have an epilogue with information about what happened later as a result of Griffin's story. That is my only complaint - it doesn't feel finished. But recommended all the same. 4 stars.

Something Missing by Matthew Dicks. Category #2, New-to-me Author. (Category Completed.)

Oh, this was a fun book! Martin is OCD and so is quite particular about his chosen profession and the way he handles his clients. Martin is a burglar. But not one of those dreadfully common "snatch and grab" types. Martin is careful - precise. His "acquisitions" are carefully planned so as to be unnoticed by his clients. For 10 years, he has been breaking into the homes of meticulously chosen people and taking things that he needs. Like groceries, toothpaste, bath soap and laundry detergent. He carefully monitors his clients' household inventories to choose precisely those items which can safely be taken from each home without notice. Since he spends time in the same homes week after week, becoming familiar with the routines of each family, he grows to feel that he actually knows these people. So, one day, when a problem arises, he feels an obligation to take action to protect his client from the consequences. Soon, another incident arises at a different home, and it's almost as though he were there for a reason - just so that he can handle the situation and protect his client. His OCD requires him to carefully plan and rehearse for all contingencies, and he is proud of his efforts. But when these different incidents begin happening, Martin must learn to think and act spontaneously. Only then does he begin to experience the fullness of life.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Very cute and funny in the beginning, with Martin explaining how he chooses his clients and monitors their homes. Just as this track would have become tedious is when the book changes course and Martin must begin dealing with events beyond his control. Seeing how he responds to unexpected situations and how he learns to handle them better was, I thought, very satisfying. A touching ending that does not conveniently tie up all loose ends. 4 stars.

Something Missing sounds good, I've added it my wishlist.

Good review of Something Missing. I read it last year and agree with you, it was a fun read!

Something missing sounds like something I'd like. Thanks for a great review!

The Memoirs of Mary Queen of Scots by Carolly Erickson. Category #4, Away (Scotland, England, France, Rome)

This is a novel. That means that it was made up. As in, not true. At least not all of it. And that is my problem with this book.

It very clearly looks like an historical novel about Mary, Queen of Scots, told from her point of view. As a memoir would be. And I was enjoying the book pretty well - more than I normally do when reading a biography. I've never studied this period of English/Scottish history before, and knew only the most basic facts about Mary. So, nothing in this book was familiar. It was obviously a fictionalized account, in light of the minute details throughout. But still, I was pleased with it. Until I got to the author's note at the end of the book.

I expected the author's note to contain the usual disclosure about trying to be as historically accurate as possible, but using creative license to fill in the details. What I got was an unapolgetic statement that entire events were fabricated. Since everything isn't known about Mary's story, she made things up, even contradicting some widely accepted beliefs about what really happened. A few examples of this were provided, and they were some of the key scenes in the story. So now I don't know whether those were the ONLY things that were made up, or just a representative sample. (Since, as I said, I'm not familiar with the historic facts.) That leaves me with an interesting biographical novel that may not be very historically accurate. Or, a mildly entertaining historical fiction. If she was going to make things up, she should have at least made it really, really good. And she didn't. A disappointment. 2-1/2 stars.

>116 sjmccreary: What a shame! I'm always taken aback when an author changes known facts. It is, after all, the historical facts that make these people so interesting. It seems to me that there's plenty of room for speculation about what isn't known, and an author's ideas about those things is what makes historical fiction so interesting. At least she told you, though!

And I just realized that I just bought another book by Carolly Erickson! And I suppose she did the same in that book... Oh, well, at least it was cheap...

116-118> Just FYI that I've always heard it said that she's a good historian. I own one of her books, Our Tempestous Day: A History of Regency England, that I've always heard lauded. Here's a link to a review of that title.

(Sorry, can't get a touchstone for the title.)

#119 You know, it's funny. I've never heard of her before, but in reading some of the comments about this book and some of her other books, that's the impression I got. Her nonfiction looks like it is very well researched and written. So what's the deal with the fiction? Why can't she stick to the facts that are known and just fill in the gaps with made up stuff?

120> No clue. If I had to guess, I'd put it down to one of two things:

-- "Just the facts" can be a bit frustrating to an historian with an imagination, and fiction provides a chance to add, well, fiction. Something an historian knows NOT to do in their histories.

-- Philippa Gregory and Alison Weir must be raking it in. Their fiction isn't necessarily all that true to facts. So why not jump on the lucre bandwagon?

Side note: from what I've heard Regency experts say, a Regency "popular history" to stay away from is An Elegant Madness by Venetia Murray. Contains errors. Unfortunately, I bought it before I heard that. The irony is that it's rated higher here at LT than the Erickson book.

#121 I think you must be right - especially about your second option. I've never read either of those authors, either. And thanks for the heads-up on the regency book. That's one that I probably would have been interested in.

I think that I am more tolerant of historical inaccuracies in the case of a purely fictional story set in an historical time and place. But when the book is about a real person and their real life, then I expect it to be largely accurate. And maybe it was - as I said, I knew very little about the subject before reading this book. Maybe those few examples of creative liberty were the only really inaccurate scenes in the whole story. I would have preferred if she had placed her note up front, rather than at the end.

I would have preferred if she had placed her note up front, rather than at the end.

I've had that same feeling with a number of historical fiction books. Knowing up front what's based on known fact and what's not can make the fictionalized parts much more pardonable.

Kill and Tell by Linda Howard. Category #9, There's a sequel.

Typical romantic-suspense featuring a New Orleans detective and a Columbus (Ohio) nurse. Her estranged father is killed in his city and she must go claim the body while he tries to figure out who killed him and why. Of course she's now in danger and the handsome detective is going to protect her.

An absolutely forgettable book. I was half way through it before I remembered reading it before. And even then, I didn't remember what happened. Not only did I forget reading this book, but on closer examination I realized this book is part of a series and that I've read one of the sequels and had forgotten it as well. It's not bad for what it is, it doesn't have any depth. It would have gotten a higher rating from me if I'd recognized it right away. 2-1/2 stars.

The Exodus Quest by Will Adams. Category #1, Mysteries (Completes the category, although it would also fit in a couple of other categories so I move it later)

This is the sequel to The Alexander Cipher that I read earlier in the year. They both feature Daniel Knox, an American Egyptologist. In the first book, he was looking for the tomb of Alexander the Great. In this one, the search is on for evidence of the truth of the Biblical Exodus story.

This book races along at an unrelentingly frantic pace, with scenes changing every few paragraphs, for the entire book. There were, at times, a half dozen different threads being woven together. The characters who appeared in the first book show up in this one without any introductory information, so it might be a little confusing to read this book first. But this book is totally plot-driven and the characters are little more than tokens on a giant game board, so it might be alright.

I've been in a bit of a reading slump lately, where I thought none of my books were very good - they certainly haven't been holding my attention very well. Maybe it's not the books. Maybe it's me, because this is a book I would normally enjoy quite a bit and I'm feeling pretty neutral about it. At least it held my attention. 3 stars.

I can understand the reading slump, Sandy. Partly, I think, it has to do with the time of year.

For 1010 and the other category challenges, I think I tend to read the books in each category that I'm most excited about, early in the year. By now, I'm way down on my list for each, just trying to fill in the spots. The Devil in the White City was an exception.

I hadn't thought about the reading problem being seasonal, Linda, but you may be right. In any case, I'm ready for it to end. I've got 4 books in progress that I'd like to be done with so I can move on.

Last year on the 999 challenge, I was very careful to fill my categories evenly, so they all finished up in quick succession right at the end. This year, not so much. I've completed 2 categories and have one with only 1 book and a second with only 2. So, I'll either be loading up on those categories here at the end, or the challenge will go unfinished. I think next year, I'll go back to paying close attention to keeping my category mix even throughout the year.

I've seen comments from you, and others, about Devil in the White City and they seem to be universally positive. I've had this book on my wishlist for a while now, and am excited about getting to it - someday.

Mrs Bridge by Evan S Connell. Category #10, Older than me (1959)

This is the current group read for the Missouri Readers Group, so I won't say too much about it here. Our discussion is scheduled to begin next week. This book and its sequel, Mr Bridge, were the basis for the Paul Newman/Joanne Woodward movie "Mr and Mrs Bridge". It is set in the Country Club Plaza neighborhood of Kansas City, my hometown. That is still an exclusive part of town and I enjoyed reading about all the local landmarks.

Shortly after her marriage, India Bridge moved to Kansas City with her attorney husband. He was obviously quite successful since they bought a large home in an exclusive neighborhood. Children are born and raised. Times change. A European vacation is cut short when the Nazi's invade Poland. Servants come and go. Children move away and begin their own lives. Throughout all this, the focus of this book remains fixed on Mrs Bridge and her actions as she moves through her life.

I'll save my reactions for the discussion next week, but I can say that I liked the book and, if asked, would recommend it.

Good!! I haven't started Mrs Bridge yet but it sounds like it was a good book.

Death in the Garden by Elizabeth Ironside. Category #4, Away (England)

Thanks to Cindy for this recommendation.

In 1925, Diana Pollexfen has a weekend house party to celebrate her 30th birthday. However, just as the party was winding down on Monday afternoon, her husband was discovered dead. He was poisoned by photographic chemicals from Diana's studio and she was accused and tried for murder. However, there wasn't enough evidence to convict her so she was acquited and the case remained unsolved. Sixty years later, after her own death, Diana's great-niece Helena has inherited the bulk of her estate. When Helena discovers Diana's journals and reads of the murder trial, the first she ever knew of this episode in her aunt's life, she becomes determined to learn the truth. The bulk of the book, then, chronicles Helena's efforts.

In reading the other reviews for this book, I saw several comments about how well-written it is, how seamlessly it moves between past and present, and how there is no extraneous information. All that is very true. I also saw several comments about how the readers were riveted, unable to put the book down. That was not true for me. It took me 3 weeks of purposeful reading to finally finish it. However, I'm going to attribute that to my recent, and on-going, reading slump. The book is very well-written and tightly plotted, but I thought that the ending was broadcast in advance and not a real surprise. 3 stars.

Ah...the infamous reading slump. I seem to go thru them about every 20 books or so. And for some reason, all the clunkers seem to come up in the queue at the same time, so that I'm beginning to think it's me...not the books. Last month, I felt like everything was dragging, and now, all of a sudden, I have 10 books I can't wait to read. I'm really behind on reviews, but have decided to keep reading while the mood is good. Even re-started an audio I had put aside last month - Blood Lure - to have something to "read" while I peeled apples for the applesauce and apple butter I'm making these next two days.

Fortunately, I don't have them as often as that. Usually, only 2 or 3 times per year. But this one seems to be bothering me more than normal. I'm placing the blame on an ER book that I simply cannot work up any enthusiasm for. It's not a bad book, it's just not holding my attention. I've been plodding through it for nearly 2 months and I'm only half finished with it. If I can get it out of the way, I'll be able to get to the stack of interesting looking books I've got staring me in the face. My plan is to attack that ER book between now and Monday. If I finish it, fine. If not, oh well. As of Monday, it will be history one way or the other.

I have Death in the Garden and will now mentally move it up Mt. Toobie.

As for reading slumps, my own way to deal with them is to just stop reading. Wait until you feel deprived and then pick up something you know you'll enjoy.

Following up on slumps.....just after I closed this, I went to try to catch up on email. Every weekday I get a newsletter called "Shelf Awareness" listing the latest and greatest to do with books. They also always have an interview with someone interesting from the book community. This one was with Nancy Pearl from NCR. I loved this quote, because it made me realize I have to stop reading books to post them on LT or my blog, and start reading for the fun of it again.

An AHA Moment!

Do you feel pressure when you read a book?

I think that I try to avoid that like the plague, but it's true that every time I read a book I try to figure out what kind of reader would like it, and why I do or don't like it myself. When you're talking about books on a professional basis, it changes the nature of your reading--it's no longer a purely personal response.

#133 What an excellent response. I guess I sometimes do that unconsciously, but now I think I'll try to be more aware.

#134 That is the difficult thing about the ER books - pressure. I rarely pressure myself to finish anything I'm not enjoying, but I absolutely feel pressure while reading the ER books. After all, someone is relying on me to uphold my end of the bargain. I could never be a "professional" book reviewer - it would take all the fun out of reading.

I find pressure with ER books, too, even if it's something I KNOW I'll love, like the Louise Penny books.

Sandy, I think I mentioned elsewhere but Mrs Bridge is also a TIOLI book. I had it under the title challenge (Miss/Mr/Mrs) but of course, didn't get to it yet.

#136 Oh, yes, I saw you other comment but had to leave before I even had time to acknowledge you. Thanks for the reminder - I'm going over there now to record it.

Sorry to hear you are having a bit of a reading slump. I hate when that happens. Hopefully it ends soon and you find that exciting book that totally engages you!

Interesting discussion about reading slumps. I think I have paced myself fairly well according to your plan for next year, sandy, ticking off categories more or less evenly and saving some goodies for late in the year. Even so, at this moment I do feel that I'm getting the last of the...well, less sparkling titles out of the way to round up in enthusisastic glory ( and my bonus books will be almost all goodies).

I have been battling a slump of my own for different reasons though, the kind that happens when you can't get enough time to read. Which means never really getting into the book, leaving you (or me, at least) with a nagging sense of being just a "tourist" in the book you're reading and not really doing it justice. Which makes picking the book up even harder... I'm hoping for a bit more reading time for the rest of the year.

Executive Privilege by Philip Margolin. Category #3, Home (category completed)

This book opens up by reminding us that it is not unheard of for a US President to become involved in scandal - there have been scandals involving sex, lying, cheating, and stealing. But there has never been a president involved in murder while in office. This book presents just that situation.

A former Washington DC police officer turned private investigator takes incriminating photos of a young woman just hours before she is murdered. An anonymous tip is passed along to the FBI agent in charge of a local task force investigating a serial killer. A young attorney back in the president's home state is assigned a pro bono case involving another serial killer who claims he was innocent of one of the murders that he was convicted of while the president was still governor. Bit by bit these three people, working independently, begin to make sense of unbelievable evidence that is pointing towards the white house.

I thought this was a better-than-most legal thriller - fast paced - lots of twists and turns - and sometimes hard to tell who was to be trusted and who wasn't. The most enjoyable book I've read in several weeks. 4 stars.

#139 What an interesting way of describing that - "being just a "tourist" in the book you're reading". I'm not sure which is more frustrating - my slump where I've got time to read but not able to really engage with any of my books, or yours where you can't engage because you just don't have the time available. I really enjoyed that book I finished this evening, so maybe things are looking up for me. And hopefully, you'll have more reading time to enjoy your books, too.

Reading several of the other threads, I realize that another month has passed and maybe I should do some kind of review of my progress so far.

Including the book I finished today, I've read 37 books towards my challenge goal of 50. And I've completed 4 of my 10 categories. (Remember, I'm just doing a half challenge - 5 books in each category). Of the 6 uncompleted categories, I only need one more book in one, 2 more books in 4, and in category #8 - 19th C American west - I still need 4 more books. That category is harder than I ever imagined it would be. Looking at the 10 or so TBR books I currently have stacked up, not a single one will fit in that category. 10 books is about a month's worth of reading, so the chances of making progress in that category in October is slim. I am definitely going to be keeping a closer eye on my overall progress next year so that I don't come down to just one or two categories at the end of the year.

>140 sjmccreary: I think I have this book in the tbr stack. I've read most (maybe all?) of Margolin's previous books -- as a "local" author, I find it interesting to read about places that I know, but have found them a bit uneven. This one sounds good -- maybe I should move it up in the stack.

Ah, reading slumps. I hate them!

I hope that you're coming out of the slump now!

The Cloister Walk by Kathleen Norris. Category #7, Nonfiction

The story of a year in the life of a poet who lives in western South Dakota and spent 9 months in a Benedictine monastery in Minnesota while her husband was traveling out of the country. She is not a Catholic. Linda P, who recommended the book, mentioned that one of the things she enjoyed was the insights of a non-Catholic into Catholic traditions and teachings. Well, I'm not Catholic, either, so that bit escaped me. I've read comments from other folks here who credit Norris for getting them through critical times in their lives. Life is good for me right now, so I didn't have that benefit, either.

I liked the lyrical way with words that Norris has, and loved the stories she tells about the monks and nuns she's met over several years of staying at monasteries. She shows them to be real people inside the monastic robes with real feelings. I enjoyed the frank discussions she shared about celebacy, and the debate about the necessity of nun's habits. I liked most the examinations of the importance of rituals.

I enjoyed the stories she included about her hometown in rural South Dakota. She actually inherited the house from her grandmother as an adult and did not grow up on the plains. But the love she shows while describing the wide open spaces, the scarcity of the trees, the unforgiving weather, the beautiful morning and evening skies, and the openness of the people - these are things that natives take for granted and outsiders often fail to appreciate.

I don't know what I "got" from this book. I appreciated the spiritual musings that she shared, but wasn't aware of any spiritual inspirations as a result. I guess what I most related to in this book were her many reminders to be mindful of the small pleasures of life and also the challenges - both big and small. All these things are given us by God.

And I think the most wonderful thing about this book is that each one of us will come away with something different. Norris covers such a wide variety of topics, at such a relaxed and flowing pace, that each reader is likely to focus on those subjects most important to them. About half way through, I was beginning to grow weary of the book and was tempted to rush through and get it finished. Instead, I set it aside for a few days and read another book. When I came back, I was ready for more. I'm glad I didn't give up on it, and I'm glad I didn't rush it. This is a lovely, quiet book. 4 stars.

Sandy....great take on Norris' writing. I have read parts of this and a couple others of hers. My favorite is Amazing Grace. She does have such a great way of bringing us down from our spun-up, stress filled life to a place of inner quiet. I didn't much care for Acedia but her others are great.

Food Rules: An Eater's Manual by Michael Pollan. Category #7 - nonfiction (completes the category)

Very short (140 pages) pocket-sized book that distills the information Pollan learned while researching his earlier food/nutrition books. He was able to reduce months of research and reading and reams of facts into rules for healthy eating that can be stated in only 7 words: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. The book is divided into 3 sections, each elaborating on one of those very short sentences. For example, "food" is something that you can picture in its natural form, something your great-grandmother would recognize, something made up of ingredients that you can pronounce and are likely to have on hand. The "mostly plants" sections tells us to use meat only as a flavoring or accent, and that a day's serving of meat is about the size of your fist. "Not too much" includes all the rules about limiting serving size - leave a bite of each thing on your plate, stop eating when you're not hungry anymore (instead of when you're full), eat only at meal times and only at a table, don't eat alone when possible.

Very common sense, practical "rules" that mesh perfectly with the advice I've been giving my kids for years about eating. 4-1/2 stars.

Sounds like the perfect phrase to live by. Why oh why is it so hard to put into practice?

#148 Yeah, it should be easy, shouldn't it? Actually, just having these reminders occasionally seems to make it a little easier to make better choices. Sometimes.

Sandy, several of Pollan's books are on my list, but that one looks like a great place to start. Just wish I hadn't been born loving to eat.....guess that's what comes from being raised by Italian nona.

I've also got several of Pollan's books on my wishlist and haven't gotten to any of them yet. I thought it was interesting that, in his introduction (which is xx pages long and takes as long to read as the rest of the entire book), he explains how much research he did and how much he learned while writing those other books - which are all pretty big, aren't they?. Then he claims that all that information can be stated in just the 7 words he presents here. Plus, they're easier to remember, I'll bet. I'll probably still read his other books, since nutrition is a favorite topic of mine, but I'm not in any hurry right now.

It doesn't take an Italian nona to inspire a love of eating. Just about any home-cooking grandma (or mother-in-law) can do the job nicely! (As evidenced by my more-than-ample girth!)

84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff. Category #9, there's a sequel (completes the category)

Well, now I know what all the fuss was about regarding this book. Absolutely delightful. And short, so there is no excuse for anyone to skip over it. 4-1/2 stars.

Note, I didn't think I'd be able to count this book for the 1010 challenge, since all the categories I thought it would fit into were already completed. Imagine my surprise to discover that were 2 sequels to this book, and one slot left in the sequels category. However, I doubt I'll actually read either of the other books. I DO wish this one had been a little longer, though.

Well none of the books I've read lately count for the challenge, but I saw this fun nerd quiz on Linda P's and Delta Queen's threads.





I didn't save the results from part one, but according to them, I scored only 24, which makes me a "nerd wannabe"

At last, a book for the challenge!

My Antonia by Willa Cather. Category #8 - Go West, Young Man (19th C American west)

Oh, what to say about this book. I loved it. Period.

I had it on audio and I listened while taking my morning walks. I am fortunate to live on the last street of a subdivision in a new-ish town. That means that once I get past my block I am walking alongside open fields. It doesn't look at all like western Nebraska, but still I could see the wild flowers and the native trees growing, and hear the birds and insects singing, and smell the damp earth in the morning. A wonderful backdrop to the story of a man and his childhood friend growing up in the late 19th century in a new country where trees are special for their scarcity and the rolling hills covered with native grasses spread endlessly in every direction.

This is my second Cather book, after O Pioneers!. They are both wonderful, but I think I liked this one slightly better. I'm looking forward to more. My enjoyment of both these books was marred by only one little thing. I read The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan before either of these novels. That non-fiction book is the story of the settlers who came to the high plains in the early 20th century seeking the idyllic life that had been depicted in publications like Cather's. According to Cather's books, all you have to do to be successful is work hard and be honest. The land will then give up its bounty. Of course that simply, sadly, isn't true. And I couldn't help but think of all the unfortunate real-life families whose lives did not turn out like Cather's fictional examples. Still, it is a lovely fantasy and a very satisfying story. Highly recommended. 5 stars.

After all the discussion regarding this book over in the What Are You Reading Now group, your review just pushes My Antonia all that much further up the TBR pile.... if that is even possible! ;-)

Sandy, I'm glad you loved My Antonia, it is a special book, and being able to listen to it while walking along near fields ... I'm jealous!

My Antonia is one of about 10 books that I've been meaning to read "next" for the past few months. Your great review makes me look forward to it even more!

Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner. Category #8, Go West Young Man (19th C American West)

I'm struggling to know what to say about this book. It is very well-written and many of you will probably love it. I didn't. It won the Pulitzer Prize in 1971 and has quite a few references to the social upheaval that was taking place in the nation at that time - especially in northern California where the story is set. The narrator is former history professor at Berkley who is still learning to accept his position as a handicapped person after suffering the amputation of his leg due to a degenerative bone disease. He undertakes to write a book about his grandmother who had been a well-known writer and artist in the late 1800's. It was the grandmother's story that I was interested in and the reason I chose the book. She had been an east coast society maiden when she married a man who was trying to make a name for himself as an engineer in the west. Consequently, she spent most of the rest of her life living in a variety of mining camps and other remote locations in the west while pining for the civilized east. The author-grandson keeps interjecting comments directed at his grandmother in the middle of the narrative he is composing or speculating about what was happening outside the written record that she left behind, which is what kept pulling me out of her story and forcing me to focus back on what was happening in 1970. And, of course, there were the sections where the narrator talked about himself and his own situation.

This is fiction - not based on any real life writer/artist/grandmother - but still contains lots of great descriptions of mining camps and life in general in the 1880's and 1890's West. And even though I was less interested in that part, the discussions about society in 1970 were also very well done. Actually my very favorite scene in the entire book was when the writer was having a conversation with his "secretary" - a Berkley student home for the summer - about why he thought her plan to join a free-love commune that was just getting started was a bad idea. A very well-written book, but one that is just not my style and that I was unable to fully appreciate. So 3-1/2 stars from me.

By my reckoning, I still need 7 books to finish this challenge. I already have 6 of them here, and a 7th coming soon from the library, so if I can just get them read this month I'll be in good shape.

Here's the plan:

1. Not Yet Drown'd by Peg Kingman - a book I just got today because my November ER book is its sequel - for category #5, set more than 100 years ago
2. Serpent's Tale by Ariana Franklin - also for category #5
3. Fatal Forecast by Michael J Tougias - about a shipwreck off the Atlantic coast for category #6, American history nonfiction
4. Mr Jefferson's Hammer by Robert M Owens - a biography of President William Henry Harrison, also for category #6.
5. Fugitive Wife by Peter C Brown for category #8, American 19th century west
6. Anything for Billy by Larry McMurtry - a novel about Billy the Kid that I bought yesterday in Joplin, also for category #8
7. Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas - for category #10, published before I was born

Trouble is, making the plan is the easy part!

You've got some good ones lined up. I am interested in hearing your opinion of Not Yet Drown'd as I have been eyeballing it at the library for some time. Of course, I love Larry McMurtry so hopefully you will enjoy Anything For Billy. You've also got some long ones there, so you better get to it!!

#160 I've got some of these on audio, so they'll go faster as I can listen while driving and doing housework and sewing. I'm nearly finished with Musketeers. I love McMurtry - well, I used to. I haven't read anything by him in several years, so I'm looking forward to this one. Have you ever heard of it? (I haven't.)

I'm not optimistic about finishing them all this month. I might just have to learn to live with being a failure this year!

Not a failure Sandy. Just someone whose goals/priorities changed along the way.

I don't think I've ever read any McMurtry but, next year, I'd like to read Lonesome Dove for my chunksters category. Westerns are totally not my thing but I'd like to give it a try.

#162 I was grinning as I was typing - believe me, I'm not losing sleep over this! I am really looking forward to 2011 - I am somehow thinking of that as the "real" challenge and this one is just something to pass the time until then. I guess I was never totally committed to the 2010 challenge. But, all those titles are books that I had already chosen to read, and they'll fit the categories, so I'm going to go for it.

I haven't read a lot of McMurtry, but I loved Lonesome Dove. There are scenes in that book that I still think of from time to time - probably 10 years later. The sequel - well, I can't even remember the title much less anything about it! I've read a couple of other, shorter, books of his that I can't recall offhand. I was on a western kick a while back - read a lot of Zane Grey back then, too!

I'm another 'dropout' of the 1010 challenge, although I'm reading at an incredible clip. I don't think i'm going to do any challenges next year --just going to go where the whims take me. Of course, all you LTers are great for helping the whims along. I've got my eyes on a couple different 'westerns' that look interesting -Lonesome Dove and several by Doig....enjoy your end of year sandy....I'll be thinking of you as you plow through the list. At least we have audios to keep us busy as we cook, clean, wrap, etc. I used to listen to Christmas carols, and often still will have them on in the background someplace, but listening to a good book is my definite way of coping with holiday and end of year craziness.

Actually Anything For Billy is one of McMurtry's that I haven't read. I will have to add that one to my wishlist!

Tina, I forgot about wrapping presents - that's hours of captive listening! I totally understand about the challenge. Sometimes the challenge helps expand our reading or focus it, and sometimes it just interferes. But I'm really looking forward to doing the challenge again next year. Just be sure we know where you're going to be posting so that we don't lose track of you.

Judy, today I started reading Not Yet Drown'd. I read the first 2 chapters at lunch and am loving it so far. It's too soon to know just which way it's going to go, but how bad can it be when bagpipe music plays a key role? And there is actual music printed at the end of each part. I'm going to try to pick it out on the piano and see what it sounds like.

I read Not Yet Drown'd a couple of years ago and loved it. The bagpipe music and tea were a big reason I liked it so much, as well as the author's descriptive language. I did think at the time that the publisher's description of the book wasn't terribly accurate, and I had to adjust my expectations as I read.

Hope you continue to enjoy the book!

Continuing to enjoy - I picked it up again this morning to read another chapter (#3) and next I realized I was in chapter 6. At this rate, I wil be finished before Monday!

Ok, you've got me hooked, I will definitely try to fit Not Yet Drown'd into my 11 in 11 Challenge!

6 Books remaining

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas - Category #10, published before I was born (1844) - completes the category

I finally finished - I originally started reading this back in April and after months of fits and starts, including a complete do-over restart this fall on audio, wrapped it up this afternoon.

Of course, I'm sure I don't have anything to say about the book that hasn't already been said. It was lots of fun - I'm anxious now to check out some of the different film versions, and would love to hear recommendations about which are best. I only have 2 complaints about the book. First, that it just dragged on so long - and how many interludes were there when the narrarator just told us things, especially when changing scenes, instead of showing us? I was beginning to think that it would just end without any resolution. Second, I sometimes had trouble following all the intrigues, even though they were explained over and over. Maybe because so many references were unfamiliar, or maybe because the book was just so long, or maybe because I just wasn't paying close enough attention.

Still, a very worthy book. 4 stars.

Yah! I LOVE The Three Musketeers - one of my all time favorites - so I am always happy when someone else finds the story enjoyable!

5 Books remaining

Fatal Forecast by Michael Tougias. Category #6, American history nonfiction

Short nonfiction about the fishing boats that were caught in a sudden severe storm that occured off the coast of Massachuettes in November, 1980. The title refers to the erroneous weather forecasts that were broadcast as a result of missing or malfunctioning weather bouys. Those forecasts were predicting normal conditions which encouraged several boats to go out for one final fishing trip before the season ended. Once the boats had reached the off-shore continental shelf where the fishing grounds were located, they encountered wind and waves more severe than anyone involved had ever seen before - or since. Even when the weather forecast was changed to include the chance of storms, the predicted conditions were far milder than the boats were already experiencing. The book follows the crews of 3 boats who were all in the same area, documenting the problems they faced and the ordeals of the men who survived, as well as the coast guard personnel who were dispatched to provide search and rescue services to them. Several comparisons to other famous storms, including the "perfect storm" which occured in the same area several years later and which was the subject of a movie made several years ago. Amazing stories of strength and bravery. 3-1/2 stars.

Fatal Forecast is already on my list, and the county library has it. I must move it up the list, I'm sure I'd find it fascinating.

I was sure the story was fascinating, but sometimes the books written about interesting stories aren't always so interesting. This one, however, was well done. I think you'll enjoy it.

I am officially abandoning my 2010 challenge. I haven't finished a book in more than 3 weeks, and it is unlikely that I'll get the 5 books needed for this challenge done in the next 3 days. As most of you probably already know, our oldest son was killed in a traffic accident a couple of weeks ago. The outpouring of love and support from everyone we know has been tremendous, and that includes the LT people. As a result, we are getting a little better every day, but I still am having a hard time concentrating for very long. That makes it hard to read very fast. I might finish the book I'm currently reading before Saturday, and if I do I will be happy with that. This New Year's will be a chance to start fresh in many ways, and I am looking forward to a fresh new reading challenge. So, I'll see everyone over on the 11-11 challenge next week. In the meantime, Happy New Year!

Just realized that I invited everyone to join me in 2011, but forgot to provide a link to the new thread: http://www.librarything.com/topic/96731