Cameling's Throwdown with a Side of 1010 - Part 6

My categories for the 1010 Challenge are:
Biographies : Perfect Hostage
Travelogues : An Area of Darkness
Crime/Mysteries : White Nights,The Cipher Garden
History : A Forger's Spell
Business Non-Fiction : Drive : The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
Classic literature : Anna Karenina
Historical Fiction
Short Stories : Love Begins in Winter, What the World Will Look Like When All the Water Leaves Us,Nocturnes,The Elephant Vanishes
Asian fiction : The Palace of Illusions,The Last Chinese Chef
Fantasy : The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers >/b>

January Books Read
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
Love Begins in Winter by Simon Van Booy
Double Cross by James David Jordan
Drive : The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink
The Information Officer by Mark Mills
Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim
The Salt Smugglers by Gerard de Nerval
White Nights by Ann Cleeves
The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
What the World Will Look Like When All the Water Leaves Us by Laura van den Berg
An Area of Darkness by V.S. Naipaul
The Good Good Pig by Sy Montgomery

February Books Read
The Last Chinese Chef by Nicole Mones
Georg Letham : Physician and Murderer by Ernst Weiss
A Case of Exploding Mangoes by Mohammed Hanif
The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse
Beyond the Blossoming Fields by Junichi Watanabe
Key Lime Pie Murder by Joanne Fluke
Suffer the Little Children by Donna Leon
Not Quite Paradise : An American Sojourn in Sri Lanka by Adele Barker

March Books Read
The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers
Cat's Claw by Amber Benson
The Cipher Garden by Martin Edwards
Sundowner Ubuntu by Anthony Bidulka
Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann
Dreaming Water by Gail Tsukiyama
A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny
No Sleep Till Wonderland by Paul Tremblay
Nocturnes : Five Stories of Music and Nightfall by Kazuo Ishiguro
The Girl of His Dreams by Donna Leon
The Elephant Vanishes by Haruki Murakami
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
Swan for the Money by Donna Andrews
Still Life by Louise Penny
Politically Correct Bedtime Stories by James Finn Garner
Chess Story by Stefan Zweig
The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa
A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny
The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny

April Books Read
A Brutal Telling by Louise Penny
Going, Gone by Laura Crum
The Sleeping and the Dead by Ann Cleeves
Madam Will You Talk by Mary Stewart
Cream Puff Murder by Joanne Fluke
Perfect Hostage by Justin Wintle
Descartes' Bones by Russell Shorto
Logicomix by Apostolos Doxiadis
Kindred in Death by J.D. Robb
Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
The Beautiful Miscellaneous by Dominic Smith
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

May Books Read
White Masks by Elias Khoury
Cassanova by Ian Kelly
Death at Victoria Dock by Kerry Greenwood
The Green Mill Murder by Kerry Greenwood
Sweet Dates in Basra by Jessica Jiji
Women of the Silk by Gail Tsukiyama
A Forger's Spell by Edward Dolnick
Mona Lisa Awakening by Sunny
Agnes and the Hitman by Jennifer Crusie
Airs Above the Ground by Mary Stewart
Mastered by Love by Stephanie Laurens
Amandine by Marlena De Blasi
The Elephanta Suite by Paul Theroux

June Books Read
Bad Luck and Trouble by Lee Child
Aloha Candy Hearts by Anthony Bidulka
To Mervas by Elizabeth Rynell
Voices by Arnaldur Indridason
Music, Food and Love by Guo Yue & Clare Farrow
The Auschwitz Violin by Maria Angels Anglada
Night Train to Lisbon by Pascal Mercier
Dressed for Death by Donna Leon
The Glister by John Burnside
Amagansett by Mark Mills
Laundry by Suzane Adams
Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay

July Books Read
Annette Vallon by James Tipton
The Wayward Muse by Elizabeth Hickey
The Janissary Tree by Jason Goodwin
All Around Atlantis by Deborah Eisenberg
Wish Her Safe Home by Stephen Benatar
Have Mercy On Us All by Fred Vargas
Valeria's Last Stand by Marc Fitten
The Paper Moon by Andrea Camilleri
The Ivy Tree by Mary Stewart
Red Earth and Pouring Rain by Vikram Chandra
Spanish Recognitions by Mary Lee Settle
The Smell of the Night by Andrea Camilleri
American Cookery by Laura Kalpakian
Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cunxin

August Books Read
Fudge Cupcake Murder by Joanne Fluke
The Story of Sushi by Trevor Corson
River Angel by A. Manette Ansay

My first thread appears here : http://www.librarything.com/topic/78973
My second thread appears here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/83496
My third thread appears here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/85876
My fourth thread appears here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/88333
My fifth thread appears here : http://www.librarything.com/topic/92422

Aha! And the Stephen-filter? Is it up and running too?

I was giggling all the way from your previous thread to this one! Funny people on LT!

Karen O.

And why would I want to filter Stephen, pray tell? He did, after all, provide me with oodles of laughter with that tip to those viral stuffed critters

Whoo... you people are fast ... and hilarious! Thanks for keeping me in stitches over the fornicating tuna. I haven't ever tried tuna and egg combination, but it does sound quite tempting ...*keeping plate far away from richard's spitting range*

Nope, no anti-me filter here. I'm afraid all of your threads will continue to be plagued with my lowbrow commentary. Sorry! :)

I don't need to spit in your tuna, Caro...you'll spit it out as soon as the rubbery egg whites slither between your teeth, attempting to flee the octopoid embrace of the stringy tuna flakes, while the glarchy-glurgle of the hard-boiled yolks sandpapering between your teeth emit sulfur gas onto your tongue, already assaulted by the sugary effluent of too-sweet pickle bits.

Caro, can't we put a filter on Richard Dear's food descriptions? That is obscene (the description, not the food)!

Caroline- I'm not sure what's going on over here but I'll just quietly stop in and say hi! Hope to get a bit of a break on the heat tomorrow!

#6 : Don't worry Stephen ... shields up! you are protected from any anti-Stephen filter hexes that Richard might try to throw on my thread. I've got my thread surrounded by cats and he is thus powerless .. mwahahahahahahaha......

#7 : oh yes... the pickle bits ... well, I shall omit the pickles ... chopped celery shall be sufficient.

#8 : I actually found this one tamer than some of his other food descriptions, Roni.............. i thought he was being somewhat mild! ;-)

#9 : sorry Mark .. this is a continuation of a conversation that started in my previous thread about mixing tuna with hardboiled eggs .... a combination that richard apparently finds a *wee* bit distasteful.

#10 : Love the star, Kath ...

Found you again, Caro! Glad to know that Richard did not suggest a Stasia filter :)

Stopping in to wave hello and star your thread... *waves*

Here you go, Stephen dear - sit next to me. *pats seat*

I put the straight coat away (for now). Promise.

Luxx: Hmmm...that seat isn't one of those spring-loaded ejection seats that's going to launch me through the roof or something, is it?

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Moroccan-Spiced-Cold-Tomato-Soup-10... This does require a little bit of cooking, but it is really good. I've never had the fresh herb to use and we've always liked it just fine. This has become a standard here (but I just let it cool naturally sans ice unless i'm in a hurry).

hope you're doing better with the heat.

I'm here - hello.
Joining ranks of tuna salad fans... and cold Moroccan tomato soup! #16 - Yummy looking recipe!

I don't mind tuna salad! I mind the uccchhhy horrid rubbery sulfrous hard bolied eggs in said salad. I don't like pickle relish in it particularly, but can live with that, if there are no blechhh ugh ptui eggs in it.

Relish? Oh no, you must have big pickle chunks for that added crunch, to go along with the texture of the tuna and the rubbery yumminess of the eggs. :)

Actually Richard, I agree that eggs don't belong IN tuna salad, but they're a nice side feature. And I can't abide pickles in any kind of salad. Give me a big dill wedge or some good southern bread and butter pickles on the side (and the doctor be damned with the lectures on salt and hypertension etc).

If the tuna salad is going on a sandwich, I'm in agreement that there should be no egg. Just tuna, mayo, a dab of brown mustard, a little onion, salt and pepper. However, as a just-eat-it-by-itself, I think a little hard-boiled egg is nice. Provided it's not overcooked to sulfurousness, however. And it's well-chilled. I do like sweet gherkin pickles...but they should definitely be in a pile to the side.

>15 Ape: - Absolutely not; I adore you. The spring-loaded seat is for Faulkner.

22: Phew, good. You LT ladies always scare me. You lure me onto your threads with your good reviews and pleasant conversations and then you come at me with heavy books, frying pans, guns, knives, improperly concocted tuna salad with no eggs, etc.

Of course, I'm sure it's mostly my own fault...but still! :P

I have never flung any objects! I just tried to give your wardrobe a little ... support.

I have never flung any objects! I just tried to give your wardrobe a little ... support.

I already told you, I am NOT putting on any of your bras! Never!

:P

What about a corset? I'll make one just for you!

Can it have cool spaceships like Richard's jammies?

Yes.

Pictures!!! I wAnt pictures

Hmmmm...

Wait a second!

You LT ladies always scare me. You lure me onto your threads with your good reviews and pleasant conversations and then you come at me with heavy books, frying pans, guns, knives, improperly concocted tuna salad with no eggs, etc.

*gasp* Luxx, YOU'RE ONE OF THEM! Trying to trick me into a corset... You're all devious little monsters! :)

Pantyhose?

>31 nittnut: Oh dear GOD! Those things are the Devil's Own! The horrors of the pantyhose for smell, sweat, discomfort/binding/flossing where no man has flossed before, and *shudder* The Infection That Shall Not Be Named...!

Just Say No, Stephen! (And women of all nations, frankly.)

LOL - I knew I would regret mentioning hosiery. I just didn't regret it fast enough, apparently. My apologies.

I'll have to find that list of 'infinite wisdoms of the Great Richard' and add " Just Say No to pantyhose!"

rd, you sound very familiar with pantyhose???

I am busy for 2 days and I come back to find a gorgeous recipe for soup (thanks Susan, it sounds delicious and I'm going to try it later today) and lingerie possibly cross-dressing conversation taking root? How wonderful you all are!!

Kath : No wonder you posted on my fb that I should come back to LT asap. :-)

I love it .... nothing like logging in on and finding folks having a whale of a time on my thread .... I hope you found the bottles of wine, beer, iced tea and plates of lemon bars, brownies and cupcakes as suitable refreshments while you flung on bras, corsets, pantyhose and .... hmmm... hey, nobody mentioned garters and stockings?

Has anyone wondered why burglars even thought to use pantyhose as a means to try and disguise their features? Really, only the nose gets squashed, but you can still make out the features of the face underneath sufficiently to identify the person if you saw them again ... plus they look really ridiculous .. and I have to wonder about the sanitariness of it all

>35 mckait: I had a mother, a stepmother, a foster mother, four older sisters (two step), two wives, and several errrmmm shall we say more irregular liaisons before 1990 (the year of my last full-time heterosexual mistake)...prime pantyhose years...I know a lot about tampons, belted old fashioned Kotex, menstrual cramping, ectopic pregnancy, abortion, yeast infections, the G spot (pro or con?), shoe fetishes, etc etc etc.

Is it any wonder I gave women up? I know too much.

>36 cameling: GOD, I hope they're using *new* ones!! *urps at thought of used pantyhose over ANYone's head*

#37: Don't forget Ricardo, the vending machines in Japan that sell used women's panties and it comes with a picture of the girl who supposedly wore them before they were removed from her person and placed in a little sandwich bag with her photo, and thereafter placed in the vending machine, all the ready for purchase.

I can hear the tourist teenage boy's protest now ... 'but Ma ... i thought i was buying a can of Coke!'

>38 cameling: The Japanese are *weird* and that is simply revolting. So is the fact that one can buy whale meat in the supermarket there. *skritchskritch* Who wants to eat whale?

>38 cameling:: Ok, that's just too much information about Japan.

Hahaha, I've heard of some of the crazy stuff that can be bought in Japanese vending machines, but I've never heard of that one! Very odd. :)

#39: The same people who eat fish and seal ... eskimos. Actually i read somewhere that there aren't very many people in Japan who eat whale ... the younger generation don't enjoy it.

#40 : Hmm... so I shouldn't continue with some other 'interesting' snippets and observations?

#41 : I bought boob pudding for my colleague the last time I was in Japan from a vending machine. They came in a package that had a picture of a girl out front and to open the package you had to unclip her paper bra, and voila ... 2 small but correctly shaped boobs under a plastic shell, made out of pudding ... and the text on the box (according to a Japanese colleague at work who was mortified that I actually found this in Japan) said 'please savor me slowly'. My colleague (the one who asked me to look out for this because he saw it from some website) said it tasted weird, like fish-flavored caramel custard.

>42 cameling:: The boob pudding in a vending machine is more palatable (ok, pun intended) than used panties in a vending machine. The mortification of the Japanese colleague—did he really not know this stuff was available or was it just token face-saving? I guess I'm wondering how mainstream sex fetishes are over there.

Edit: I just went over to snopes and they explained the whole bura-sera fetish in Japan. Oh well, I guess the U.S. isn't in a position to throw stones at anyone.

They sell all kinds of crazy stuff in Japan, and there is actually a sort of "following" in other countries. There is a channel called G4 with a show called Attack of the Show that used to visit Japan and show all kinds of odd things that can be found there.

Note: G4 is NOT a highly recommended TV channel from me, they killed TechTV and I'll never forgive them. >:(

Caroline- You are running one of the most exotic & unusual threads here on LT and one I cannot look away from! Gotta go and check out G4....

Don't do it Mark, it's bad for you! :( All they do is play Cheaters, and Cops, all day any more. The only show worth watching now is X-Play, and that's only true if you like video games. If TechTV ever comes back, then yes, you should definitely watch it. :)

#43 : My Japanese colleague has lived a very sheltered life ... and also wears blinders when she goes back to Tokyo for her annual visit home. Her family come from a rather well-to-do section of Tokyo where vending machines catering to sex fetishes are not found. We of course, have been only too delighted to enhance her 'education' and I've had the pleasure of taking photos of some of these vending machines I've come across and sending them to her, together with the GPS lat/long

Then again, Tad, I actually don't believe the panties in the vending machine are actually used. I think they're just underwear in sandwich bags with pictures of Lolita girls who probably never even got to see the panties that they're supposed to have worn.

#44 : My nephew loves G4 because of Attack of the Show. He used to follow it faithfully .... until his mother found him trying to locate some of the odder items online to purchase as gag gifts ........... like the masturbating hamsters.

#45 : Mark - this seems to have a life of its own .. and i'm going back to Japan on Wednesday! Eeeep

OK ... getting back to books for a spell ..... *all you who were offended or horrified by the fetish direction this thread seemed to have taken can come back now .... and just close your eyes to the posts above*

All Around Atlantis by Deborah Eisenberg is a book of short stories. Not just any ordinary set of short stories, but stories of people caught out by life in different countries and cultures. What makes these stories interesting is that they all capture the thoughts of the central character who doesn't feel as if he or she belongs in that society.

Everyone has thoughts that we don't voice, fears we don't share, jubilation we can't show at times, and these stories expose all these hidden inner thoughts and show them off in their brilliant jeweled and sometimes gloomy dark colors.

As each character hurtles through their situation in confusion, trying to become 'ordinary', I had no choice but to hustle along with them, feeling like I was burrowing into a tunnel in their minds, seeing all their thoughts that gave me a more acute perspective of what they were seeing and feeling. I had no choice but to keep them company because I needed to know how it would all turn out for them at the end.

I'd have to give this 4 stars.... maybe 4.2.

Wish Her Safe Home by Stephen Benatar was a lovely surprise of a book. Rachel has fond memories of an elderly aunt who has since passed on and left her a rambling broken down house in Bristol. She decides to leave her job which she didn't like, a pessimistic housemate and use money her mother left her to move from London to Bristol and do up the house.

She uncovers the history of the original owner of the house and there begins her own journey .... a journey of a woman whose mind is slowly but surely unraveling into a psychedelic world of hallucinations and make believe. What's interesting about this though is that her craziness isn't scary ... at least not to us, the readers. We love her, we are anxious about her, and we fear for her sometimes when she meets with and interacts with certain people in Bristol because we sense that they are trying to take advantage of her gentle and eccentric ways. It's possible that they can see she's getting a little bit addled, and we are feel repulsed by them, without any real evidence that they're intending her any harm. That's the genius in the writing ... Benatar has done a brilliant job, IMO, of making us feel what Rachel should be feeling if she were only more mindfully aware.

Even as we watch her slip slowly but surely from reality into her own cozy and extremely fun world, we see it from her point of view, in which she's always positive, always singing away, always cheerful and has some incredibly funny conversations sometimes with herself and often with unsuspecting townspeople who just don't know what to make of her. Although she's slipping away into her own alternate reality, there is nothing scary or depressing about her journey. If anything I find myself cheering for her along the sidelines .... I just hope she didn't sign certain papers certain people were pushing her to sign. humph!
I'm going to have to give this 4.3 stars.

Caroline--maybe since Richard was so successful starting the library thread, we need a fetish thread? We lived in Japan for 5 years, but that was 30 years ago. Even then the vending machines served up weird stuff, but real life was even better. Probably the weirdest I can recall was the Fertility festival, where now Richard, settle down.... giant --as in 6-8 feet tall--phalluses of all colors shapes and designs paraded through the streets. Women who wanted to get pregnant would dart into the streets to touch the 'floats' and then practically dance for joy, convinced they had finally found the way to make it work.

I always wondered what their husbands thought of this strange feature. It was a particularly bizarre parade for us gaigin women as these galloping galoots always would try to chase us. It was one parade I did NOT take my then 9 year old daughter to. Although I must admit we did bring back several of the "lollipops" (both male and female versions) ---again, NOT for the kids, but they were great fun on ladies bridge night when the men were at sea.....now you've all made me disclose almost all my dirty little secrets. LOL. If anyone over 18 wants a link to video just Google "Japanese fertility festival..."

And now, thanks for the hijack but it's back to Caroline's wonderfully inspiring reading.

Wish Her Safe Home by Stephen Benatar.. is a must have. I think it sounds wonderful!

Japan, my son loved it . He said that people in general were more respectful and there was so much to look at and do.. and learn. We just spoke of it again last night. At least he isn't longing to go back, which he was before.

I enjoyed Wish Her Safe at Home too, and in fact it grew on me as I kept thinking about it after I finished it.

>tututhefirst- That's a great story! And yes, I hope Richard takes it easy with that one!

Caroline- Wish Her Safe Home sounds terrific! It reminds me of Dad by William Wharton, where an aging man creates an alternate life, as his mind slowly goes.

Btw- Loved the film version of Dragon Tattoo! I'm not sure they could have done a better job! And how about the actress that played Lisbeth. She rocked!

Wish Her Safe Home sounds intriguing; I'm adding that to my wish list.

*yawn* I hope that the second half of the World Cup is more wide open than the first half was. I'm amazed that the Dutch defender that karate kicked the Spaniard wasn't given a red card.

At the risk of taking this thread back in directions Caroline doesn't want it to go -- when I lived there in the early/mid 80s, a popular late night TV show included "reviews" of various big city "love hotels" -- the kind of place that can be rented by the hour. Yes, they had cute couples check out the amenities of all the themed rooms... *eyes roll*

#49 : Tina ... they have something similar in Indonesia as well, more specifically Bali. I've been to a fertility festival both in Japan and Indonesia (and no, I wasn't on some sort of Asian fertility cruise!) and the Indonesian one seemed more spiritual while the Japanese one just seemed more fun. But you're right in that the phallus carriers were certainly intent on chasing down camera-touting gaijins. ;-)

#50 : I think you'll like this one, Kath.

#52 : Wasn't it just an amazing movie? I wonder how the Americans will cast Lisbeth in their version?

I've got Dad in my TBR Tower but I'm going to need more space between Wish Her Safe Home and something similar .... can't do too many people losing their minds to alternate realities or I might just follow suit. .... or have I already.. hmmm........

#53 : Yaay! Got'cha Darryl. I was surprised at the number of fouls in this final match. I thought almost every player on the Dutch team were aiming to get a yellow card before the match ended! I too was surprised that kick didn't get the Dutch defender sent off

#54 Suz ...did you know that they have some love hotels with the human sushi table? They're more 'exclusive' and expensive, but apparently they exist in Tokyo

When my son was engaged to a Japanese girl.. the last year or so he was in the Navy, the girl.. ( Yuki Suzuki ) of course, took him to meet her family. There was a celebration ( in Tokyo) for the men in the family ( I think it was only the men) and they ate sushi off of a naked girl. Cory, of course called to tell me... lol

The engagement did not work out, but it was just one more in a string of interesting experiences he had in Japan. After they broke up , the girl found another Navy guy, and they were married. I wonder if he had sushi too?

Yuki Suzuki

Oh god, PLEASE tell me that was a joke. :(

Hi Caroline- I've been watching this film called The Informant ,with Matt Damon, and early in the film he mentions that there are vending machines in Japan that sell girl's...Do you believe it? It's a good movie BTW!

And yes, they would be hard pressed to find an American actress who could remotely come close to the Swedish actress portraying Lisbeth! Maybe Lindsey Lohan? ... just kidding!

nope

Kath, OMG... Well, sounds like he's well out of it. Many Japanese women like the idea of marrying Western men, as Japanese men (traditionally) have very little involvement with their homes/families post marriage. I lost count of the number of times I was asked to introduce a woman I'd met to some nice Canadian men... And in the time I was living there, BOTH of Canada's minister-counsellors (the #2 people at the embassy) ended up getting their Japanese girlfriends pregnant. (One was named Yuki....) Not surprisingly, that caused the end of one marriage (the other guy was already divorced), and the ex-wife, who had a diplomatic job in Tokyo as well, had to return to Canada. She lived happily ever after (remarried); he found himself married to a woman half his age, and being father to small munchkins in his mid-50s.

The "Lisbeth" in the Swedish movies just inhabits that role. I must admit I'm very curious about what she is like in real life!!

There is a bit more to it than I posted, but yes, he is well out of it.
Once back home and back in school.. he met a darling, wonderful and special young japanese lady ( Riko), and they dated. I love her madly. I gave her some books to read that she had never experienced like Little Women and we had nice discussions.

Sadly, that didn't work out either.. when he told her he needed a little space, and couldn't see her every day, she staked out the house..lol. Nobody is perfect, however, and I thought that mild stalking was okay. Still, that didn't work out either. I was all set to introduce to to another son, lol. They both declined. She recently met another very nice young man who will be able to keep her in great style. I wish her all good things and yet still grieve her loss in my family just a teeny bit )

He still isn't married, my son. He has been engaged but... we shall see what life brings us.

Yes, There were a lot of japanese girls who wanted to marry Americans. Riko refused to marry anyone until she got her green card, as she didn't want anyone to think she married for that reason. ( sigh)

Geez, sounds like I need to take a trip to Japan... ;)

#58 : Mark .. yes, it's true, they do and I've seen the vending machines. Would you like me to take some pictures when I'm next there? :-)

#62 : Yes, you do, Stephen. :-) It's a really interesting country with a wonderful history. I love walking down the street and seeing women still strolling around in kimonos while they shop. One of the things I like about Japan is that there's still so much traditional practices that are cherished and practiced. But while I like visiting Japan, I would find it extremely difficult to live there because of the societal constraints for women and also individualism. But oh the food... the food..... that alone is almost worth giving up my need to self-expression. LOL

One of my Japanese colleagues was born in Australia but moved to Tokyo when she was 5 years old and then came to the US for college. She fell in love with one of her professors (British) and they eventually got married ...but her parents disapproved and while they came for the wedding, they flew back to the Japan the very next day, and whenever Kyoko and her husband Sean go to Tokyo for a holiday, they are not welcome at her parents' home. Her brother married an Ethiopian lady and they too are not welcome at the parental home. I find that really sad, especially in this day and age ... their parents don't know what they're missing in not getting to know their son- and daughter-in-law. I wonder if they will change when grandkids come into the picture.

My travel hiatus is over .... the month of June just seemed to fly! I'm heading out to Tokyo on Wednesday for a few days, then off to Taipei for a short spell. I need to start looking to see what books I want to cart over with me for my trip.

63: Oh! I was just, umm, imagining all the cute japenese girls throwing themselves at a western guy... *ahem* But, all that stuff sounds nice too! :)
Except the social constraints, of course! :(

I am sorry to hear that you are headed back on the road :(
It is so much fun having you at home. I am unable to imagine turning a child away. I just can't. I am thrilled that Cory did NOT marry a Japanese girl for one reason. He loves Japan so much, I am sure that he would have chosen to live there instead. so far..On the other hand I was already trying to imagine what my grandchildren would look like.. ( don't tell cory)

Have Mercy On Us All by Fred Vargas is a page-turner! (Thank you so much Mark) It gripped my attention from the very first chapter and when I picked it up again this morning, thinking I'd just read a few more chapters before going to work .....I couldn't put it down and had to read it till the end. Needless to say I didn't make it in to the office, but decided to work from home instead.

Chief Inspector Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg is puzzled by some reverse 4s appearing on the doors of some apartments in Paris and when 2 men bring him a series of cryptic notes left for the town crier, notes written in text out from different centuries, he is flummoxed but not alarmed..... that is, until the first murder takes place, and the murderer makes it look as it the Black Plague has struck in Paris once more.

From the first murder, things start escalating. More bodies are found with nothing seemingly to connect them except the fact that they lived in apartments where a black reverse 4 was not painted on the door. Panic ensues and everyone starts painting reverse 4s on their doors in an attempt to ward off what looks to be the onset of another outbreak of the plague.

Adamsberg finds himself having to pick up on French history quickly if he is to try and find other potential victims before they are murdered by an elusive murderer. There's good historical detail on the Black Plague as it swept through France, when and how it spread, and some of the superstitious practices thought to be successful in warding off the plague.

The intrigue here was in part uncovering the murderer but the most interesting was unveiling the connections between the victims, and the reasons for the murders and in this unveiling, more surprises are in store.
3.9 stars

#64 : Stephen, send me a photo of yourself and I'll pimp you out while I'm there to the cute Japanese girls. ;-) hahaha.

#65 : Oh well, all good things come to an end at some point and I've had a wonderful time being home for a longer spell, Kath. At least this trip isn't long though, I'll only be away a week. Then I get to stay home for a week before I'm off to Australia for a few days. Time to dust off the much worn suitcase again.

One of my male Japanese friends who married a French woman has an extremely cute baby boy, and a beautiful daughter who is going to break a lot of hearts when she grows up.

I had visions of tiny blue eyed girls with gorgeous shiny dark hair.
sigh

LOLOL @ yr offer to Stephen :)

Be safe my friend.. its a crazy world out there.. although you do seem to just sparkle above all of that! Keep that up!

Kath, half Japanese/half gaijin kids are absolutely adorable!

@66 The only Vargas I've read is The Three Evangelists, which I thought was only so-so, but that one sounds interesting so I might give her another try. Thanks for that review.

67: Haha, well, they're right there on my profile! You can tell them I'm a 6'3" architect who's a casual body-builder and is financially loaded, if you like. =P

Stephen : you might need to shave a little before you meet the little maidens... just around the chin, maybe.

No no, that won't do. "Body-builder," remember? I grow manly stuble every 5.3 seconds due to all the testosterone patches. ;)

You could swap testosterone patches for good ol' steaks and eggs, shave all but the top of your head, wear a giant diaper and become Japan's leading sumo wrestler. I won't even need to pimp you ... you'll have all the cute Japanese girls you want (and some older women and men too) making like Hussain Bolt just to get at you

shave all but the top of your head, wear a giant diaper and become Japan's leading sumo wrestler.

I've done worse things to try to woo a girl!

Ok, no I haven't, but still! Sounds like a plan. :)

#75: Ooh! Tokyo, Taipei and Australia? Do they have adequate medical care in those far off lands? Are you sure you don't need a physician on 24 hour standby in case of illness???

I have a friend from grad school who was a physician researcher from Osaka and a postdoc in the lab I worked in before I went to med school. I'm hoping to get back in touch with him; if I can locate him, I hope to take him up on his past offers and visit him and his family there.

This is a funny, funny thread. I sit here laughing right out loud.

----------------
I'm adding Wish Her Safe Home to the huge tbr pile.

Caroline- Good review! A nice reminder of how much I enjoyed it too! Maybe you can nudge me into reading the rest of this very promising series.
Have a good safe trip and stay in touch when you can!

Adding Have Mercy on Us All to my TBR pile and thinking that would be a good subtitle for this thread...

Jenn

Yet another pithy comment that brought laughter.

#79, I agree! lol

Lot of fun going on here and some interesting books too :)

#76 : hmmm.... wishing me ill there, Darryl? *cough, cough* quick, get your ticket and i'll see you in Narita Airport. Google your friend .. hopefully he's still in Japan and not taken up a post somewhere in Greenland.

#78 : Nudge, nudge, Marky-Mark!

#79 : LOL ... good one, Jenn ... and very spot on too.

As always (you'd think I'd be used to it by now instead of always being surprised) there's a boatload of work to do today before I can get out of the office. I've to pick up my suits from the dry cleaners, take my husband out for dinner for an early birthday celebration (his birthday is 2 days away) and then back home to pack. I might even get a few hours sleep before having to head out to the airport at 5am in the morning.

I hope to finish Valeria's Last Stand by Marc Fitten tonight. It's an ER book I received.

Adding Have Mercy on Us All to the BlackHole. Thanks for the recommendation, Caroline.

Finished my ER Valeria's Last Stand by Mark Fitten before my trip. Valeria is a 60-something sour puss. She snarls at everyone in the village, has nothing good to say about anyone, and generally terrorizes them all, although they will all agree that she grows the best vegetables and her pigs are the finest. Then one day in the market, she looks up and is struck by a sight that draws her. She is bemused by the spark that simmers within her now.

Into the village rides a strange grouchy chimney sweep.

These two incidents seemed to have sparked off a series of other unfathomable incidents, all leading to change, positive, bizarre and funny, in the village. Some of the characters were well developed which definitely helped prop the story, because the plot was rather thin.

I'd consider this a light beach read. Enjoyable and fun but at times I wanted to skip ahead just to be done with it.
I'm going to give it a 2.8 rating.

Then I read The Paper Moon of the Inspector Montalbano series by Andrea Camilleri and I loved this!

Our dear Inspector Salvo Montalbano is approached by a woman desperate for his assistance because her dear brother has been missing for 2 days, and as he accompanies her to her brother's apartment to search the place, they find him in a chair with his face shot off.

The investigation into the murder leads to many sharp twists and turns. As suspects are considered and a motive for the murder contemplated, the victim's hidden life starts to emerge. Montalbano sifts through the clues and you see him look at them from all angles before he puts it in boxes he keeps in his head, to be taken out from time to time like odd pieces in a jigsaw puzzle, and placed against other odd pieces to see if they will fit and form a more comprehensible picture.

In the midst of the investigation, a couple of influential political figures are found dead as a result of a dose of poorly cut cocaine. But is there even a link to the dead man Montalbano found?

We are not who we always present ourselves to be, and sometimes the secrets will surface and prove to be our undoing.

This book had me in its grips from the get go and also chuckling at some of the more humorous moments.
I'm going to go with 3.7 stars for this ... and start looking for more in the series.

edited because the touchstone for The Paper Moon disappeared.

I think I enjoyed the Fitten book a bit more than you did. Not perfect, but I thought it was a good debut novel. I'll try the next in the trilogy.

I've read three (four?) of the Inspector Montalbano series, but I never acquired the love others seem to have for them. It's a set of books that I'll probably try every couple of years but won't hunt assiduously. Maybe they'll grow on me.

I agree, Tad .. it's not bad for a debut novel, I know I've read worse debuts, but I thought this one started out strong and then it started to get a little predictable for me.

The Paper Moon *what's up with this touchstone not catching?!!* is my 2nd Montalbano book. I've one more in my TBR Tower, although I can't remember the title ...it's a skinny one, that much I remember, so I'll probably read it when I get back next week.

I'm about to read The Scent of the Night which is the sixth in the Montalbano series (I see that in the US it goes by the unflattering title The Smell of the Night). I limit myself to one Montalbano every few months as I enjoy them so much.
I'll pass on the Fitten book, doesn't sound like my sort of read.

**waves** rushes off, trying desperately to catch up, wondering how Caroline does it while traveling the world??

wondering how Caroline does it while traveling the world??

Sweatshops and slave labor!

That's right, I'm onto you, missy.

See, when you are one of her slaves in her sweatshop, you are CAMELing for her.

It all makes sense now! :)

Caroline- We are treading similar waters again! I just landed a copy of The Shape of Water. The Inspector Montalbano series looks very promising. Hope the trip is going well!

*waves*

#88 : Kerry, I just received The Smell of the Night last week in the mail, and I'm eager to get to it when I get back to Boston.

#89 : Bonnie - I don't always get to catch up on LT when I travel but I woke really early this morning and the gym's not open on weekends at the hotel until 7.30am so I had a chance to log in.

#90 : Drats .... Stephen has outed me .... *scrambles to hide her little slave elves*

#91 : Yeah I liked this one. I'm going to read the other when I get back and if it's as good, I think I'm going to be hooked on this series.

#92 : Hey Kath .. thanks for stopping by

Konichiwa, cameling-san!

I will wave and pretend to be caught up too!

I started The Ivy Tree by Mary Stewart last night and spent the better part of the afternoon finishing it. I think this is now my favorite of her books that I've read. Gone is the gentle mystery writing. In this book, there is a palpable thread of evil and danger permeating throughout. It flashes and fades but you feel it there always, under the surface, simmering and you find yourself almost holding your breath, wondering when it will finally erupt and who will be the victims.

A woman sitting by a cliff is mistaken for someone else and convinced to participate in a scheme to impersonate the person she looks so much like, in order to fool a dying man pining for his granddaughter who ran away 8 years ago and who has been thought to have died, so that 2 siblings can inherit an old family estate and farm.

It's not easy impersonating someone ... you've got to get their history correct, adopt mannerisms that they favored, be ready to not only recognize people who would have been part of your life and have knowledge of inside jokes, fights and perhaps even affairs. So can she pull it off?

The wonderful thing about this book is that the reader is kept in an ever changing flux, as one version of the truth after another are unveiled as disguised truths, and some truths deliberately hidden behind fabrications. So what and who are we to believe? And that simmering malice... was there a hand in a death or did the death occur naturally?

And by the way, I loved the ending!
4.3 stars because I was truly taken on a wonderfully mysterious journey.

Good review! Sounds interesting. I've never read Mary Stewart!

*is considering not responding to Mark for the JP splat on my street cred on his thread*
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will break silence only because this book warrants it.... It's good. Read it. *sulky silence resumes*

I've been on a sort of general lookout for Mary Stewart books, and The Ivy Tree is the only one I've managed to get hold of so far. It sounds excellent - I must get to it soon.

C'mon, who's my best LT pal? Who's the one who cheers me up and lightens my work day? You, that's who!
BTW- Gave you a thumb too!

I enjoy Mary Stewart's books too. Thumbs up for your review, Caro!

The only Mary Stewart I've read have been three of her Merlin books. I'm not entirely clear...are these mysteries or gothics? Would I like them?

aaaaa, 101 threads later..........I have discovered you have a very....um....ahhhh....enlightening..yea, that's it, enlightening thread. Must make note to lurk more often for gratis education in.....just about everything. Oh and I have wishlisted each and every book mentioned between the punchlines.

Great review, Caroline! A well deserved thumbs up to you.

Ooh, I loved The Ivy Tree! Glad you did, as well. Great review!

You got me again Caroline with your great review. The Ivy Tree goes onto the teetering tower.

I love Mary Stewart's mysteries... not quite as enamored of the Merlin books. Tad, they are mysteries, a bit dated sometimes in style (written in the 50s/60s/70s for the most part). Usually a woman narrator. Not procedurals, usually the narrator stumbles into something odd or mysterious or ominous. The gentle mysteries that Caro refers to I generally think of as her later novels (eg The Stormy Petrel, Rose Cottage, etc.); I also found the one set on Corfu (can't remember the title) to be quite eerie and atmospheric, ditto one set in the Highlands of Scotland. I'd also recommend The Gabriel Hounds or Nine Coaches Waiting.

Yikes....by the time I catch up on your thread you all are way beyond where I wanted to comment....just a quickie to add that I too enjoy the Inspector Montalbano series, although I definitely think that Donna Leon's Commissario Brunetti are far better.

Mark : I'm assuming that blatant a**kissing was done with appropriate high kicks in hot pants and pom-pom waving? You are forgiven, and the large black spot has been removed against your name in my Christmas list.

Tad : I didn't quite like Mary Stewart's Merlin books. I've not read too many of her mysteries yet, but the ones that I've read I've really enjoyed because the focus really is on mystery, sometimes with a little death involved. I've got a few more of her mysteries in my TBR Tower.

Thanks all for your kind comments on my review.

#104 : Lynda, my thanks go to all who lurk and loll around my thread to add their interesting, surprising and humorous comments. You all, are the ones who make me keep coming back to log in ........oh and getting more book recommendations than I can count.

#109 : Tina .. I noticed a similarity between Inspector Montalbano and Commissario Brunetti as well and I like them both. Brunetti has a far better team and of course Eletra who could be a top spy any day.

I left Tokyo this morning and am now in Taipei ........ I may not complain about the heat in Boston again. Somehow the sun seems so much stronger out here. But the sky is clear and blue and I'm promised a brilliant sunset later today, so my plan is to head up to the observatory platform in 101, the tallest building in Taiwan (i think it's still the tallest building in the world thus far at 101 stories high) to watch it.

OK, anything above 2 stories makes me nervous. Hang on for dear life, Caro :)

I guess being a pilot was never a career consideration for you then, huh, Stas? ;-)

I tell everyone - God knew I was going to be afraid of heights and that is why I am only 5'2".

You and your endless, boundless energy, Caroline! If you think to take pictures of the sunset ( and more) do share !

I loved the Mary Stewart Merlin books, and I like her mysteries quite well.
I thought I had The Ivy Tree but, it was on my wishlist, not my tbr. Sooooo
thinking that it sounded like just what I am looking to read right now, I found The spell of Mary Stewart : Three complete Novels (This Rough Magic / The Ivy Tree / Wildfire at Midnight) by Mary Stewart, on Amazon, eligible for Prime, and so under 4$!!! I took this as a sign, and bought it.

lol@ 113

Taipei! I love living vicariously thru your travels, Caroline. Off to Google Earth Taipei............

Caroline- What a relief! I've been forgiven! Glad I'm back on the Christmas list. BTW- How did you know about the hot pants??

Ok. Maybe I'll try one then. Re the Merlin books: I liked The Crystal Cave...the focus on Merlin instead of Arthur was welcome. However, the next two did nothing for me and I didn't bother continuing the series.

I'll see if I can find a copy of The Gabriel Hounds or Nine Coaches Waiting around somewhere.

Happy Sunday to you. And, congratulations on your hot review listed on today's home page.

I'm also curious how in the world you have all this energy for traveling. What is your secret?

#115 Wow! It looks as if Taipei's really got it going on. Hope you have some time for a little fun. Big city with beautful scenery on the outskirts. 101 looks like an awesome building!

Well, that was certainly a fun thread to catch up on!! I'd double star your thread if I could. LOL!

Your description of Ivy Tree reminds me a little of Brat Farrar, which I loved, so I've wishlisted it!

Hubby and I were just in Chicago and went to the top of the former Sears Tower, which is 108 stories - the observation deck is floor 103. I've been meaning to do research because I thought there was one building in Taiwan that was taller...maybe it's the one you are visiting? Have fun...

Ni hao, Caro the Taipei-ois! When do you leave for wintry Oz?

Oh, and: Go here!

#114 : Sadly I didn't get to take photos because I went over to the 101 observatory after an early dinner meeting and didn't have my camera with me. It was a gorgeous sunset though, bright vermillion ball emanating streaks of gold, orange and tangerine in various hues across the sky for as far as my eyes could see.

#118 : Linda, to be honest I don't know that it requires a great deal of energy to travel. I think it's because I'm relatively healthy (knock on wood), not too tall or fat (so I fit comfortably in plane seats), eat pretty much anything (as long as it's already dead), drink pretty much anything (except blood and dirty water), am able to sleep anywhere, and as long as the hotel has a gym where I can work out a bit in the early morning before my work day begins, I'm a happy clam.

#119 : 101 is indeed a very impressive building, both on the outside and on the inside, Lynda. Some amazing restaurants there as my wildly enthusiastic stomach can attest and of course shops galore if one was into shopping.

#120 : Thanks, Berly but it's people like yourself who make threads fun to visit, so the stars go to you all. :-)

#121 : 101 is indeed a lot taller than the Sears Tower because the floor heights are different. for them moment, 101 is the tallest building in the world ... soon to be eclipsed by a new building being constructed in Shanghai once that is completed.

#122 : I was supposed to be flying out to Oz next week, but the meeting has been rescheduled. Whoo hoooo... so I get to stay home for another month before my next trip out early September. I head out to India and Singapore then.

I just finished Red Earth and Pouring Rain by Vikram Chandra last night. Quite a tome.

Abhay comes home to India after studying in America, and he shoots a monkey that's been bothering the family for years. Wounded, they take the monkey in and nurse it, hopefully back to health. The monkey starts having flashbacks and realizes that it's a reincarnation of his former human self. the God of Death, Yama appears to the monkey, aka Sanjay in his former life, and wants to take him but Hanuman, the God of monkeys appears when he's appealed to by Sanjay. They strike a bargain and if Sanjay can keep an audience enthralled with stories for 2 hours a day, he will be allowed to live, perhaps in another life form, but at least out of the final clutches of Yama.

Abhay and his family, including a precocious little girl, named Saira, are captivated by this monkey who can't speak (and we learn later why not) but who can type. Saira manages to gather up an audience of school children the next day when the story-telling sessions begin and what occurs next is a little like an Indian version of 1001 Arabian Nights.

We are treated to the unfolding drama and saga of Sanjay's life, from the time before his mystical conception to his current condition. The stories are interspersed of course with breaks in time because there's only so much a monkey can type, and also the stories were supposed to only last for 2 hour sessions at a time. The stories include that of his equally mystically conceived brothers, Chotta and the famous warrior Sikander, and their journey from reckless boyhood, through harsh family trials, accidents, quests and wars between the Indians and their English masters.

The stories are so well told that we are immersed in each moment, and forget that it's being told by a typing monkey.

During the intervals between the passages of time in the stories, we are brought back to the present, and find that the elephant God, Ganesh, has joined the other 2 celestial beings, and there is light banter amongst them all.

The only odd notes in this book was that the author felt the need to have Abhay contribute some of his own stories, of a portion of his life in America to the mix, ostensibly because Sanjay's monkey paws were cramping from prolonged typing. I thought his trite stories of college partying, some drug use, and road trips rather jarring to the overall lyrical tone of the book. Thankfully, there weren't too many of Abhay's stories to be too distracting.

It is truly Sanjay's stories of his epic life journey that make this book a compelling read.
3.7 stars. I'd give it a higher star rating if not for Abhay's interjected stories.

And on that note, I will soon leave this comfortable lounge at the airport and start my journey back home to Boston.

Hi Caroline- Good review! Have a very safe trip home!

Hi-C! Wow that has a whole new meaning, besides the grape drink from youth. LOL. Safe trip. Not sure whether or not to embrace Red Earth and Pouring Rain or not...will have to sleep on it.

Safe travels, Caro!

Ooh! I'm definitely interested in Red Earth and Pouring Rain, as I can't resist an Indian tome about a reincarnated typing monkey. I almost ordered it from Amazon, but I think I'll look for it in a bookstore next week.

Have a safe trip back to Boston!

Reincarnated typing monkeys? For some inexplicable reason, that appeals to me. Adding Red Earth and Pouring Rain to the wishlist.

I was a big fan of Chandra's Sacred Games, which also was a tome and also didn't completely work, so I will look for this too.

Yes, I had meant to ask Caroline if she had read Sacred Games. I'm glad to learn that you liked it, Rebecca; I almost brought it with me yesterday.

I think I need to pick up some Chandra to read... Maybe I'll start with his short story collection, though.

I did have mixed feelings about it. As I said at the time I read it, "I enjoyed the beginning, towards the middle started feeling it was just a crime novel/thriller in an exceptionally rich and intriguing setting, then started appreciating the diverse and complex worlds Chandra was bringing to life and, in the end, felt he couldn't quite accomplish what he was trying to. But all in all, I enjoyed it."

Grumble. Every time you go to Taiwan I have to take a week to get over craving the buns. I wish I could remember the name of my favorite place. It's in Taipei and there's a giant chicken...

I liked Sacred Games but it could have used more editing. It was much to long but there was some excellent writing in those pages. I did not realize this was the same author.

Safe trip Caroline:)

EARLY SEPTEMBER TRIP?!? Say you'll be back in time for my birthday party!

I think the thing about Sacred Games is that Chandra was trying to do something wildly ambitious and capture all of Bombay/Mumbai in one novel -- it didn't completely work, but I admired him for trying.

*ponders giant chicken buns*

Caroline, you'll be pleased to learn that I ordered Red Earth and Pouring Rain from Amazon, and I'll receive my copy (along with a rush order of gifts for my nephew's 5th birthday party on Sunday) later today.

Jenn : Don't know about the giant chicken ... but do you mean Din Tai Fung? It's a chain in Taipei that's famous for their various steamed, boiled, and fried dumplings. They are all incredibly good.

I liked Sacred Games although at times I thought he rambled a little. But I generally like Chandra's writing ... there's as lilting flow to it that reminds me of a gently bubbling brook. Glad to hear you ordered Red Earth and Pouring Rain, Darryl. I would have offered it to anyone here on LT who wanted the book, but when I was reading it at the bar in Taiwan, someone started talking to me about it, and when I gave it to him when I finished it (saving me from having to heave it all the way home).

Richard : I'm planning on scheduling my trips around your birthday. ;-)

I'm sooooo glad it's Friday. Flew in on Wednesday night and was at work on Thursday for a 9am meeting. The day just went downhill from that point. It never fails to astonish me how emergencies rarely occur while I'm home and away, but the day I come back to the office, it's like all of hell's broken loose. Suddenly one of my employees will have lost all his marbles, do something really stupid, anger a customer, and run around like a headless chicken in need of a colostomy bag.... while bleating away at me to fix the problem which he created. Or my accounting team decides to make a hash of various customer invoices, leaving me to head of potentially irate customers while helping them correct the errors. Oh and the best one yet .. yesterday we had a meeting with some industry analysts, and my marketing VP forgot to add in the slides I had sent him for the meeting. So I'm suddenly having to stand up during the meeting, no slides, and having to wing it with a white board and colored markers. Nice! 2 conference calls in the evening, and I was in bed by 10pm .. completely knackered.

Apart from jabbing my throat with my toothbrush this morning, the day's actually shaped up quite nicely. I'm done clearing my desk of stuff that piled up while I was gone, my in-box is empty and my expense reports have been submitted. I'm going home early to go party with friends at a Peruvian restaurant later tonight. Whooopeeeee!

Apart from jabbing my throat with my toothbrush this morning

That's what you get for being so energetic in the morning, huh? :)

...or did you just drink too much coffee? :P

I was trying to play hopscotch with myself in the bathroom while I brushed my teeth... and slipped. ;-)

Hopscotch!? Yes, I believe that falls under the category of 'too energetic in the morning.' :D

Apart from jabbing my throat with my toothbrush this morning

How is this possible???

I received my copy of Red Earth and Pouring Rain from Amazon a few minutes ago.

I'm curious; how many languages can you speak fluently, and how many with some familiarity?

I was trying to play hopscotch with myself in the bathroom while I brushed my teeth... and slipped

As John McEnroe might say, "You cannot be serious!"

Early morning hopscotch! Well, you did say you liked to work out in the morning...

I enjoyed another trip taken vicariously with you, Caroline. Thanks for the memories -- and the recommendation to read The Ivy Tree. I thought I had read all of Mary Stewart's books many years ago, but this is a new one to me.
I might give Chandra a try one of these days. His books are so long that I've steered clear of them so far.

Enjoy your time with friends tonight. I would still be completely jet-lagged!

Caroline, you have the most entertaining and bizarre accidents. Wasn't there something about multitasking on a bike?

Caroline, you have the most entertaining and bizarre accidents.

Hmm. Methinks that the author of this message is the last LTer that has the right to make that comment.

I need a nap just reading about your last two days.....
enjoy dinner!

Caroline- Welcome home! Sorry work was such a pain! Have a nice relaxing weekend and for goodness sakes be careful!!
BTW- I received a nice copy of The Shape of Water the other day!

Caroline,

Off to a Peruvian restaurant tonight?? That sounds like great fun. You don't have the market cornered on incompetent employees though. There are plenty of those to go around;-)

Caroline, I hope you have a wonderful, nonworking weekend. Sounds as if you could use a break!

So how was your evening?

#144 Troubles at work? Employees loosing their marbles and acting like headless chichens with colostomy bags (hehe)? Well, I've heard of this typing monkey............

Wow... I missed this thread for about 10 days and come back to find Japanese sex fetishes and toothbrush throat stabbings... this is all so... I want to say "fascinating" but maybe that's not the right word... LOL

#147 : Haha ... I am a morning person. I wake up chirpy and very energetic.

#148 : I speak English, Malay, Mandarin, Cantonese fluently, pidgin Spanish (although that's starting to improve because I'm forcing myself to speak Spanish to my Guatemalan and Spanish friends) and I am pathetically poor on Japanese and French.

what's wrong with playing hopscotch in the bathroom? I miss games I used to play when I was a kid... and brushing my teeth is a rather boring activity, so I tend to dance, skip, do lunges or hop around when I brush my teeth in the morning.

#151 : Err...Suz .... YOU want to make a comment about my accidents? I'm with Darryl here .... pot calling kettle black, methinks?

The Peruvian restaurant was a lot of fun, Bonnie and Kath. There were 12 of us, and we pretty much ate about half their food supply. They had about 10 kinds of cerviche and we tried every single one, 3 of them we ordered twice over because they were so good. I almost didn't have room for my main course and dessert ...but I persevered. ;-)

Went out with a few friends for an Irish breakfast yesterday and somehow that turned into an impromptu bar hopping day which was tiring but fun.

So today I rest... waiting for a couple of friends to drive up from NY who are visiting for a week.

#158 : haha.. good one, Lynda .... Where's that typing monkey?

Spanish Recognitions by Mary Lee Settle is a wonderful travel memoir by the same author of Turkish Reflections with history thrown in.

What I really liked about this book was that Ms Settle covered not only the beautiful cities, towns and countryside, and the cultural notes on the people she meets, but that she provides a good historical coverage of each city she visits. This is different from a generic look at the long history of Spain because she focuses on individuals that have shaped the history in each city and town. I thought this a delightful historical journey through Spain.

I'm giving this 4 stars.

Caro dearie...good news about the partay!

Okay, young lady, that's enough. You're adding way too many books to my wish list lately. Spanish Recognitions sounds too good to pass up.

Your mentioning Mary Lee Settle reminds me that, yars ago, I read a whole series of novels she wrote that focused on the history of the US South, known as The Beulah Quintet and I thought they were wonderful. The novels, since neither her name nor the series works as touchstones, are Prisons, O Beulah Land, Know Nothing, The Scapegoat, and The Killing Ground (most of these don't seem to work as touchstones either). I have a memoir by her that I haven't read - will have to look for it and the travel writing.

Am I too late to post?

because I have to respond to Richard's # 37

menstruation and I...bid good-by in 1993

I don't miss the cramps & blood...'nuff said

I find myself in a Stupidity Spot

Forgive me?..I will do better

J

Spanish Recognitions sounds very good Caroline. Yours is always such a dangerous thread for my teetering tower;-)

#162: Adding Spanish Recognitions to the BlackHole.

#165: My local library has the last 2 books in the series, but not the first three. I am going to give the two they have a shot any way. Thanks, Rebecca!

Let me know what you think, Stasia, about the Beulah Quintet novels. I read them when I was much younger (25-30 years ago, probably), and I hope I would like them as much now -- they may be due for a reread. I might want to reread them, although the pull of the TBR is probably too great.

#169: Do you think that the last two stand alone enough that I do not need to read the first 3, Rebecca?

Oh gosh, Stasia, do you really expect me to remember something I read 25+ years ago? But, as I recall, the novels are linked thematically, with each taking place at a different time period in West Virginia history; I can't remember if the characters in the later books are descendants of/related to characters in earlier books. in other words, I think you could read them independently, but you would lose the thematic and historical development that way.

#164 : I don't even add half as many books as you do to my obese wish list, Darryl. Still, the occasional payback is such a thrill. ;-)

#165 : Rebecca, I've read Prisons and O Beulah Land and then completely forgot about the rest of the Quintet ... so thanks for the reminder to go look for the others in the series.

#166 : you're never too late, Jude. Good to see you again.

#167 : Me dangerous? I'm a mere chicken compared to so many of you heavy lifters out there! I'm a bit stuck now though for something to read .. I can't seem to make up my mind as to what kind of a mood I'm in right now and therefore the kind of book I should pick from my TBR Tower.

OMG ... just read The Smell of the Night by Andrea Camilleri and had such a big laugh.

I really enjoy the Inspector Montalbano series, and this one doesn't disappoint. I found more humor in this than the other books in the series that I've read thus far.

Inspector Montalbano is called to the scene of a possible hostage situation. An elderly man is holding a secretary at gunpoint until ragioniere Garbano comes back and returns the money he supposedly invested for him. A crowd gathers outside, all angry investors wanting their money back. Needless to say, Garbano scammed them all of their money and disappeared, leaving his secretary to hold down the fort.

While Inspector Montalbano and his team are investigating the missing Garbano, he has the additional aggravation of finding his favorite olive tree cut down to make way for the construction of a house, another missing person, and his Commissioner convinced that he has kidnapped a young boy and stolen some money from a previous case.

A very enjoyable quick read with a surprising finish. The humor laced through the book doesn't take away from the puzzling mystery that needs solving.

I'm giving this one 3.8 stars

Caro- I mentioned in an earlier post, I landed a copy of The Shape of Water, so I'm looking forward to diving in! BTW- Good review!

#171: OK, I will check the 2 out of the library that it has.

#173: I have The Shape of Water somewhere around here to read. Maybe eventually I will catch up to you in the series, Caro.

I tried to like American Cookery by Laura Kalpakian for my July TIOLI Challenge but I really couldn't. There were some interesting moments in the book, but really ... on the whole it's dead boring.

You'd think a novel centering around food would be, for a foodaholic like myself, completely absorbing. However, this sadly did not prove to be the case. I seem to be in the minority though because this book has apparently been well received by a number of people.

It centers around Eden, a girl growing up in an Mormon family with a strong grandmother and aunt, an alcoholic mother and a father who is more interested in his genealogical studies than in his own family. She develops an interest in food after she starts working in a diner and she deviates from the traditional Mormon role for women, and travels to California and later to Idaho. This is her life story and the food she enjoys and learns to cook along the way. The author throws in a few side stories, I think, perhaps to try and flesh out some of the characters a little and there are a number of recipes provided.

I thought the whole thing lacked spice and flavor.
2 stars

Now I'm hungry for something meaty and juicy to sink my teeth into. Off to the TBR Tower for something inspirational.

#173 - I also just raced through Camilleri'sThe Scent of the night - finished it this morning over breakfast. It's not enough - I've already requested the next in the series.

Okay, C. Let me get this straight. Message #172 at 2:17 today: "I can't seem to make up my mind as to what kind of a mood I'm in right now and therefore the kind of book I should pick from my TBR Tower."

Message #173 at 2:22 today: "OMG ... just read The Smell of the Night by Andrea Camilleri and had such a big laugh."

How fast do you read woman??!!!!

>178 Berly: Caro is Stasia Jr. We all knew it! She has eleven eyes and they all focus on different books. It's that whole "I was an insect in my last life" thang that she and Stasia got goin' on.

uh oh... The Smell of the Night sounds good..

drat

#178 : LOL.... I was already close to finishing Smell of the Night and was trying to decide what to read next. Despite Ricardo's description, I do not have compound eyes, although I will admit to being multi-focused (that sounds so much better than ADD).

#179 : Wouldn't mind eleven stomachs to hold different foods actually, as long as I don't look like the Michelin Man.

#180 : It is, Kath. Bite the bullet...

It's my 11th wedding anniversary today ..... and hubster got tickets to a Yankees game as my present. Sweeeet! Now to figure out when I can squeeze in a trip to NY when they're playing at home. My present to him? .... The Game Change by John Heilemann which he was thrilled to receive. *whew! what a relief he liked it*

Well Happy Anniversary Caroline and many more to come. Yankee tickets....go fast and see A Rod hit his 600th homer!

Caro- Happy Anniversary! Have you seen the Yankees before? I'm a National League guy, myself! A North-Sider! Hope your husband likes The Game Change. I've been curious about that title, myself!

Happy Anniversary!

Happy anniversary, Caro! I got you 10 extra stomachs, but you'll have to insert them yourself. As far as looking like the Michelin Man, I know a back-alley liposuctionist who uses one of those fancy Dyson Ball vacuum cleaners, should be fine...

Happy Anniversary!

Welll, as a died in the wool Red Sox fan, I can't really wish you good luck at the game, but I can wish you Happy Anniversary and hope that at least it's a good game. Enjoy.

Happy Anniversary! I'm glad your husband liked his gift. Mine is so hard to shop for. He usually wants big ticket items which makes it impossible to surprise. Can also be financially a problem, like when I bought him his itouch and he paid off a huge chunk on a loan the same day...

Happy Anniversary! Let me know how yr hubby likes Game Change, I've been thinking about reading it.

As far as accidents go, may I just point out that I was doing something normal when mine occurred -- i.e. dancing at a concert, and trying to avoid flying objects (that I didn't send flying??) I'm not sure how playing hopscotch in one's bathroom while brushing one's teeth falls into the "normal" category! ;-) And what, exactly, was it that you were doing while cycling??

OK, back to my books, now...

There is normal and then there is Caroline normal..
which is completely different.

Oh dear. I've only missed a whole thread (half of the last, half of this) since last time I managed to catch up! I've been reading and watching 'True Blood' on DVD, and working on my new blog, but everything else is so behind! I'm WAAAAAAY behind on LT and about 160 emails behind on Hotmail... But I read a load of the Japanese conversation above, which was hilarious! ;-)

Dropping by to say Happy Anniversary, FB friend!

Oh, and I managed to snag a copy of The Shape of Water and I'm hoping that I enjoy it as you have...although do I really NEED another series to catch up on???? ;)

Happy Anniversary (+1), Caroline! Are the Yankees tickets for a game at Fenway Park or the Stadium? Have you been to the new Stadium yet?

Thank you for all those really nice wishes, everyone...... except Kath .... what do you mean "There is normal and then there is Caroline normal..."? lookee here, Missy Kath ... I am as normal as a hot fudge sundae. Doesn't everyone jitterbug or something when brushing teeth or flossing? Where's the fun in just standing still?

*hmph!*

#183 : I'd love to see A-Rod get over his mental pressure and just get the 600th over and done with already so that we can get back to focusing on the team winning their games!

#185 : Mark - Yes, I've seen the Yankees play before and in Yankee Stadium, both old and the new. If we lived in NY, I've no doubt we would get seasons tix, but since we live in MA, we try to get in a game at Yankee Stadium at least once a season. If we can get tix, then we sometimes catch Yankees/RedSox games at Fenway which are always fun for the rivalry between fans .. the teams are friends, it's some of the fans who are rather rabid!

#186 : I always knew you'd have my back, Stephen.

#188 : Oh well, we all can't be perfect, Tina.... I forgive you for being a RS fan since you read a lot of books that I like and have recommended some interesting ones to me. ;-)

#194 : The tix are for a game at Yankee Stadium. I like the new stadium, especially the lobby because it's got all those banners of the old and current players. It's a little too shiny though, but then it's new, so once it settles in a little, I'm sure it will be as wornly familiar as the old one.

For all who wants a hint at Game Change ... let me just say that my husband started reading it this morning and he's missed going to the gym, going to work and ate a big bowl of cereal for lunch ... and he's still reading it at home when I last spoke to him about 10 mins ago.

#192 : Hi there Ellie ... good to see you here, again. Hope no more nasties have visited the delightful Bakewell bookstore today? I've got a really long late night webinar to attend tonight, so I'm using it as an opportunity to catch up on some of the LT threads I've been sadly neglecting of late and some personal email.

#193 : Hey there, Angela .... I hope you do enjoy The Shape of Water ... even though that means you'll be sucked into another series. But hey, if I have to fall into the trap of reading yet another series, I'd like company so of course I'm going to drag as many of you along with me. :-)

Popping in to add my Happy Anniversary wishes!

Oh, wait. That was yesterday. Someday, I'll catch up. Really.

Caro -- he called in sick to read the book?? Wow...

Doesn't everyone jitterbug or something when brushing teeth or flossing? Where's the fun in just standing still?

Well, I certainly can't stand still and stare at the mirror... My flip-side self creeps me out a little bit when he stares back!

195 lolol As I said, Caroline normal.

Don't worry Caro, I think you're perfectly normal!

...of course, if I think you're normal than I suppose that doesn't bode well for you. Sorry! :)

#197 : Thanks, Terri .... I'm always behind postings in threads too, but no worries .. I'm just glad you made time to pop in for a visit.

#198 : Suz .. he says he loves the book. He won't even talk to me this evening, except to read me bits and pieces. I guess I should be really glad that he likes his present. ;-) He's not even halfway through yet, and he's already called a couple of his friends to recommend this book to them.

Kath/ Stephen : *sigh* I guess this is not the place to tell you about my 3rd eye ...

Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cunxin is a simple and yet beautiful memoir of a ballet dancer, who was taken from his peasant classed family as a young 11 year old boy in Qingdao, and brought to Beijing, to attend a dance school that received the patronage of Madam Mao Tze Dong.

Cunxin takes us through his childhood, growing up as one of 7 sons of poor peasant family during China's Cultural Revolution. They are all subjected to Mao's communist propaganda, believing China to be a glorious nation and that despite the fact that they are poor, often hungry and also overworked, other countries in the West were far worse off then they were. His descriptions of their living conditions as seen through his eyes as a child were matter-of-fact. The commune they live in provide them with a close community wherein everyone in the village shares in one another's joy and troubles. Although they are poor, Cuxin and his brothers are brought up by their parents and grandmother to be dignified, carry themselves with pride, and more importantly, never to do anything that will bring disgrace to the Li name. His descriptions of his family was nothing short of touching in the depth of love that their parents showed each other and their children.

When he's selected among the many students in his school to attend the illustrious dance school in Beijing, he faced loneliness and homesickness for the initial years at the school. He was allowed home only once a year for one month, for the Chinese New Year. He saved what he could of his meager allowance to buy gifts for his family and friends, and also money for his parents.

Through his term at the dance school, he was fortunate to meet teachers who became his mentors and guided and encouraged him to strive to become the best that he could be. What was interesting was that, even as a child, although he was an enthusiastic communist and a Young Red Guard, he provided a blunt look at the many restrictions placed on all their lives during this period in China, and the irrational policies issued by Mao and the Gang of Four that caused greater suffering among the people.

His grit and determination opened opportunities to him beyond his wildest dreams. He was selected as the first of Mao's dancers to represent China together one of his classmates in a cultural exchange with the US. His success during this trip led to another longer stint in the US with the Houston Ballet Academy, his growing success as an acclaimed dancer and his ultimate dramatic defection. This defection will cut him off from the family that he misses and his friends.

His humility and integrity shines throughout the book and we cannot help but cheer him on from the sidelines. What shouts the loudest though from the start to the finish, is that of love. There is so much love and support among his family and his close friends, love that even prolonged separation is unable to dim, and it's the lessons of love he learns from his family's side that I think gives him the strength to be the person he becomes.

I'm giving this 4.5 stars .. it's a book I was loathed to put down.

I read Mao's Last Dancer last year and really liked it. Great review!

I read while I brush. Much less opportunity for injury.

I recently saw a trailer for a movie of that which looked both beautiful and fascinating -- thanks for reminding me to check when it will come out and to look for the book!

#203: Nice review, Caroline! I've added this to my wish list, too.

Kath/ Stephen : *sigh* I guess this is not the place to tell you about my 3rd eye ...

I suspected. Book sounds quite good !

Caro-Terrific review! Good job!

>203 cameling:: I've read and wondered about Mao's Last Dancer, and now your review has actually made me want to read it. I'm fascinated with stories about China.

A belated Happy Anniversary. Yankess tickets....hmmm....I hope there will be a candlelight dinner before or after the game. ;-)

Third eye? What about eyes four through eleven? What'cha gonna tell 'em 'bout those, eh Caro?

:-P

Mao's Last Dancer, you horrid insect-eyed creature you, makes me--a deeply dyed in the wool balletophobe--want to read about the guy! *mutters sulphrously off to wishlist a book about a *shudder* ballet dancer all because of Caroline "I can read seventeen books at once" the American League fan*

All fear Caroline, The Eleven Eyed, Eleven Stomached, World-Traversing Swallower of Toothbrushes. Beware!

#203: Adding that one to the BlackHole.

I am currently reading Night Train to Lisbon, one of your recent recommendations, and greatly enjoying it. Thanks for that one!

#204 : I read while I brush sometimes too .. but that's not the best sub-activity for me because sometimes I'll get engrossed in the book and forget to move my toothbrush or swallow toothpaste.

Thanks all ... I hope you all get to read it because I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy it.

#209 : Fortunately for my hubster's wallet, I'm a multiple hotdogs, garlic fries and cold beer girl when I'm at a ballgame.

Hey Ricardo -

#211 : Why? Stefano, why? I'm a harmless wee person ... 'tis Darryl, Stasia, Richard and Mark we should be wary of.

#212 : I'm glad you're enjoying Night Train to Lisbon Stas.

What a great picture! By the way, I read your thread all the time, but don't stop to say "hi," so here's a few weeks' worth...HI!

Karen O.

You've done it again Caroline...made Mao's Last Dancer sound too good to resist. Onto the pile it goes.

Caro- Just swinging by to say hi! Hope you had a good day!

awwwwwww love the kitty !

213: Ok, maybe 'fear' was a strong word. But maybe we can use your 'normalness' to create a new children's story. "You better brush your teeth before you go to bed, or the eleven eyed/stomached Caro-lady will come and swallow your toothbrush...and then...SWALLOW YOU! ROAR!"

:)

#214 : Hi there Karen .... thanks for stopping by.

#215 : The writing was simple and yet he painted for me, a very detailed and rich visual of everything he smelled, ate, felt, saw and touched.

Hey there Mark ...the day was a pretty good one, actually. I was ahead and finished my month end report a day early. Whoohooo.... and tomorrow's Friday, and apart from an 8.30am conference call, the rest of the day should be light enough for me to go home early.

Stefano - this is the scariest I could look

Don't be misled by the cute graphics and photos. Her boots, ice balls, and other lethal objects are thrown with deadly accuracy!

I hope that you have a restful weekend, Caroline.

Apropos of nothing much ... I'm sure the dragon is really huffing and puffing to blow out some flame, but it looks like it's sneezing.

You're right Caty .. lol

So now Caro blows fire when she sneezes? This keeps getting worse and worse!

;-P

Cute dragon! :)

Congratulations on your hot review for Mao's Last Dancer. I cannot remember if you read Balzac and the Little Seamstress by Dai Sijie. If not, I highly recommend it.

Mao's Last Dancer is now on the tbr pile.

Caro is a wonder, a mysterious.. dancing.. warp speed reading wonder. Firebreath and all ...*offers Caro a mint* (gingerly)

#213 - Oh, is that why I have bleachy looking water spots in my books?

#220 : Thanks Darryl ... I had a great weekend at the beach. We went to a small beach in Gloucester on Saturday followed by a great dinner at my favorite lobster shack and then Sunday we spent the day at Crane Beach in Ipswich, my favorite beach in MA. The water was just perfect, not too chilly for frequent swims in between the suntanning.

I watched the movie 'The Girl Who Played With Fire', Steig Larsson's 2nd book, and I was rather disappointed. The movie made after the 1st book was much better. This was ok, but not as good as the first. I wonder what the 3rd movie will be like. Having said that, I can't see the American versions of these movies being as gritty and raw as the Swedish version.

#223 : I'm still so relaxed, I'm not even going to pretend to be offended at your comment, Stefano! I didn't think it, but now that CatyM mentioned it, it does look like the dragon's sneezing. lol

#225 : Thanks, Linda. Yes, I have read Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress and it's one of my favorite books on my re-reading shelf.

#226 : *chomp, munch, munch* ... ginger mint accepted, Kath.

The Story of Sushi by Trevor Corson was so fascinating that I ended up with a great tan after lying on the beach reading it for 2 days over the weekend.

This is a fantastic book. It contains a little bit of fiction in the way of students attending a sushi course at the American Sushi Academy. Through their daily lessons at the academy, we are introduced to the history of sushi, its evolution from fish stored in fermented rice to the food that we are familiar with today.

We get lessons in mold, its importance to the Japanese chefs as far back as 1200 years ago, how bonito flakes are made, the role that kelp plays in creating a Japanese broth known as dashi, why the human tongue savors glutamate, the biology of different marine life commonly used as nigiri sushi toppings, why some fish are considered delicacies and others snubbed, the introduction of shellfish and mollusks, and what do we really know about the green condiment that comes in a little pyramid on a sushi plate?

From how to wrap sushi, how to cut different kinds of fish, slice squid and why sushi chefs slap geoducks before serving, this book has all the intricate details together told in a most conversational style. The author includes cultural notes on how to eat sushi, what the pickled garlic really is for, how sushi chefs look at their clients before deciding how to form the sushi that will fit the client's style, and why they have the green leaves.

The fiction adds rather than detracts from the book, and actually forms really good segue points from one topic to another in the ongoing saga of the world of sushi.

I found this completely fascinating. It's given me a great insight into the food that I enjoy eating and now that I know some inside information into sushi, I am better informed now as to what I should be and should not be eating.

I'm giving this 5 stars and keeping it on my reference shelf.

I was so excited about The Story of Sushi that I forgot about a book I read just before that, which was The Fudge Cupcake Murder by Joanne Fluke. Our intrepid bakery sleuth finds herself another dead body, this time in a dumpster and it's none other than the town's Sheriff. This time though, Hannah Swensen's brother-in-law is a suspect and she, together with her sister, tries to find who might want to kill the man. I didn't think this as good as some of the others in the series because by the time I was halfway through, I figured out who the killer was.

I'd recommend this only to die-hard Hannah Swensen fans.

2 and a half stars

Caro- Glad you had such a nice weekend at the beach! The Sushi book sounds interesting! Nice review! Sorry the film version of the 2nd Larsson book was a bit of a disappointment. I was looking forward to that one too, after loving the first film!
I heard they cast Daniel Craig as Blomkvist, for the American version.

Yes I heard that Craig's Blomkvist ... I wonder who they're going to cast as Lisbeth. It'll be hard I think to find someone that looks so androgynous. I can't see the American version doing the raw sex scenes.

This is weird. I went to look for The Story of Sushi:An unlikely saga of raw fish and rice and our library has The zen of fish : the story of sushi, from Samurai to supermarket by that author, published in 2007. Amazon has both titles, but no description of the title that you have linked to published in 2008, and only 2 people on LT have that title compared to 221 for the latter. The synopsis of the book looks like they could be the same book under two different titles--could you check the description of The Zen of Fish and see? I've put a hold on the book anyhow--definitely sounds like something I want to check out--always wondered what that ginger was there for!!

I went to Amazon and read the description of The Zen of Fish and yes Corson must have published the book under both titles because the description covers The Story of Sushi .. in fact when I first type in The Story of Sushi the touchstone brings up The Zen of Fish as the first choice.

Thanks, Caroline. That's what I kept getting, too! Great--I should be getting it from the library in a week or so.

Salivating over The Story of Sushi and running off to see if my library has it.

233 - I put in the title and it brought up the other title first just as you said. Interesting...

I read The Sushi Economy earlier this year which is a nonfiction look at the sushi industry - it was pretty interesting. I'll take note of The story of sushi for another time.

Caro- I heard that Ellen Page (Juno) is being considered, with a few others. She's a terrific actress but it will be hard to match the excellent Swedish actress, who declined the American versions. Good for her!

Raw fish is just not my cup of tea .. so I doubt that reading about it would be of much interest.. lol.

I have to laugh as I watch your travels on FB. I often makes me hungry~~~

Good luck Jenn. I hope they have it.

Mark : I'm glad the Swedish actress declined the American versions of the movie. I will be interested to watch the first one, to see if they can match the perfection of the Swedish movie.

Kath : I had a laugh today ... my in-laws asked my husband if I worked for the CIA because I kept traveling around so much. LOL

CIA? interesting... LOL

River Angel by A. Manette Ansay is probably a book that some people will enjoy. Unfortunately, I'm not one of them.

Rather slow moving. A young boy, Gabriel, and his father travel across the country to the town of Ambient, where his father grew up. They arrive at his uncle's house and Gabriel meets his uncle and grandfather for the first time, together with his uncle's wife and her 2 sons. Returning from midnight service, Gabriel discovers that his father has left. It's Christmas Eve.

This book touches on faith, the faith of an individual, the faith in a community and how people wrestle with everyday life while they maintain their faith. There is a belief that an angel hovers around the river running through Ambient, but while some children claim to have seen the angel, the adults outwardly dismiss this as folk lore. But is there an angel and how does she decide who to help? As Gabriel bumbles along, his passive nature and bulk make him the target for bullying from and some children, including his own cousin and a deep dislike by one of his teachers. He's deeply religious and is drawn to the river .... he seeks the river angel, even if his search takes an unexpected turn.

I can't say that I dislike the book altogether because I think the characters were quite well developed. I just thought it moved too slowly and I found my attention wandering more often than not while I read it.
I gave it 2.5 stars at first, but maybe I'm being too mingy ... so I'm switching it to 3 stars.

#242: I think I will give that one a pass. I hope you enjoy your next read more, Caro!

Sushi! Yum.

is probably a book that some people will enjoy. Unfortunately, I'm not one of them.

ROFL

Nice review of River Angel, Caroline; I'll pass on it, though.

Mmm, sushi!

River Angel by A. Manette Ansay is probably a book that some people will enjoy. Unfortunately, I'm not one of them.

What a great way to describe a book meant for others Caroline. LOL

>242 cameling:, nice review. Sorry it wasn't to your liking, but you've sure read some terrific books lately -- a few of which I'm adding to my wishist (Mao's Last Dancer, The Story of Sushi). Have you read anything else by A. Manette Ansay? I enjoyed her Midnight Champagne, which is the only book of hers I've read. I also have Vinegar Hill in my TBR pile.

I haven't read anything else by A. Manette Ansay. I just scanned the reviews for Midnight Champagne and it sounds interesting. I think I'll check it out. Thanks for the tip, Anne.

Am in a reading rut right now. :-( I've tried 4 books so far only to put them all aside, and they're all different genres too .... *sigh* .... I wonder if it's my allergies and the humidity? My eyes are itching so much I want to pull them out ...but then I wouldn't be able to read .... but then there's nothing that I want to read now anyway so maybe I don't need my eyes .... but then I won't be able to read the threads on LT if I pulled them out ... *sigh* decisions, decisions .....

maybe I should just sink into 'Bones' on TV and order in a blue cheese, pear and artichoke pizza

Please don't pull out your eyes Caro, it kinda creep me out when people do that... ;)

Hope you unrut yourself soon! :(

Sorry to hear about your itchy eyes...My partner the eye doc said to take frequent showers and let the water clear the pollen from your eyes.....

blue cheese, pear and artichoke pizza

What?!?

Caro- This is a direct order, my friend ( I was an NCO in the Army, ya know): Get out of that reading funk NOW!!
And stop eating that kind of pizza!

Add prosciutto to that pizza, and I'll have a slice!

#253: I agree with Mark. I had two slices of pizza from North Beach Pizza this afternoon, one cheese and the other with pepperoni, simple and delicious.

#254: Oh hell no. What is wrong with you people?

I don't mind if it has blue cheese, pear, artichoke and prosciutto, (YUM). However, if it does, I can't call it pizza. Flat bread, good stuff, I don't know, but not pizza.

Effete pizzas can be quite delicious, Darryl. Really now, just go and get a slice of olive-oil crust white pizza with artichoke bottoms and sopressata. *om nom nom*

#256: Exactly. That's not pizza in the way that a triple whipped soy caramel macchiato (ick!) isn't coffee. Make mine black and strong, no sugar, cream or anything else.

#257: olive-oil crust white pizza with artichoke bottoms and sopressata

Now you're talking, mister. Just leave off the pear, and possibly the blue cheese (which I like, but not on pizza).

I'm wih Darryl and Mark (and I'm also Italian). What's being described is in no way related to actual pizza which consists of dough, sauce, cheese and normal added ingredients such as pepperoni, sausage, peppers, olives, mushrooms, onions....well you get the idea. That abomination with ham and pineapple....not pizza.

I am not Italian, but I heartily agree with you, brenzi

1) Italian pizza frequently sucks...dry, bland, and skimpy...and Roman pizza is very often stuffed with sliced potatoes, ham, and mozzarella...so no one can claim it's not pizza just because it's not what you're used to. Nyah.

2) Caroline the twelve-eyed space alien has allowed her thread to exceed 250 posts, so can expect a late-night visit from the Thread Gestapo, armed with noxious chemicals and rubber hoses, unless she rectifies this situation.

I forgot what 3 was supposed to be. The aide is calling me back to help get auntie up and nightied for bed.

#259/260: I am with you two too. Ham and pineapple on pizza - ick!

Pineapple on pizza is an abomination... an abomination, I say!

A delicious abomination! Although I haven't had it since I was a kid.

I'll take my pizza with pepperoni. The only exception? buffalo chicken pizza: hot sauce instead of pizza sauce, lots of ooey gooey cheese, and grilled chicken bits on top. Ledo pizza makes it, and it's really yummy.

There is some arguement for putting other things such as ham ( ick) pineapple, chicken, steak, and goddess knows what all on a crust-like vehicle. That is not, pizza. It is.. something else. Not sure what but...

eta

I love buffalo chicken an buffalo chicken dip..
and it might be delish on a crust, but pizza ? nope... imo only of course ..lol

Mmm... pizza.

It's not my favourite topping, but I do like ham and pineapple pizza quite a lot. And it comes with the added advantage that no-one else ever wants to nick a slice.

Pear and blue cheese ... well, I like them, but I'm not sure about on pizza. D'you know, I don't think I've ever eaten artichoke.

I'm another simpleton here. Pepperoni is fine. Sometimes I feel a little daring and go for pepperoni and mushroom. But, that's about it!

Italian sausage has all other meats beat all hollow. I do like a bacon cheeseburger pizza with onions and jalapenos, though. Pepperoni is ~meh~.

I had a bacon cheeseburger tuesday night .~ meh~

The food at Kelly's Saloon used to be quite good. No longer. The last 3 times it has been a bust. The pub chips I ordered were cold on arrival.. instead of making a fuss I just ordered another gin and tonic and endured. I was determined to have a good time and I did. WE are going to eat out today.. no idea where.. something simple for sure.. although I would love to have lobster... not in the budget for today tho..

If I missed the link to the new thread, sorry!!

BE (Before Europe) I would have said pepperoni and black olives were the only way to go on pizza. Now, however ... :) I've eaten some really bizarre combos. Must say my one of my favs is the BBQ pizza at the French Pizza Huts. Really amazing. :) (shoot, why'd we have to talk about pizza?!!)

There is a new thread, but I think Caro forgot to link for it...or maybe I just missed the link in all the pizza talk. *shrug* Here it is.