jadebird's 2nd thread

Hi, starting 2nd thread.

What I’ve read so far this year:

Category 1: YA Fantasy
Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony by Eoin Colfer
Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception by Eoin Colfer
Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
May Bird Among the Stars by Jodi Lynn Anderson
May Bird by Jodi Lynn Anderson
Mossflower by Brian Jaques
The Last Apprentice Curse of the Bane by Joseph Delaney
The Secret of Platform 13 by Eva Ibbotson
Vampire Plagues London 1850 by Sebastian Rook
Which Witch? by Eva Ibbotson
The Scarecrow and His Servant by Philip Pullman

Category 2: Fantasy
A Calculus of Angels by J. Gregory Keyes
Newton's Cannon by J. Gregory Keyes
Snake Agent by Liz Williams
The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers
Snake Agent by Liz Williams

Category 3: History of Anything
Arcata by Jessie Faulkner
Dynamite Cargo by Fred Herman
River Road to China by Milton Osborne
The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson
The Irish by Kevin Osborn
The Ship by Bjorn Landstrom

Category 4: Hobbies
Butterflies by Diana Ajjan
Making Breads with Home-grown Yeasts & Home-ground Grains by Phyllis Hobson
Organic Gardening in Cold Climates by Sandra Perrin
Papermaking by Jules Heller
Sibley's Birding Basics by David Allen Sibley
The New Age Herbalist by Richard Mabey

Category 5: Myth, Folklore, Fairytales
Cycle of the Werewolf by Stephen King
Irish Myths and Legends by Lady Gregory
Minnie and Moo and the Potato from Planet X by Denys Cazet
My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett
Raven in Mythology by Samantha Fleming
The Happy Lion by Louise Fatio & Roger Duvoisin
The Story of Babar and Babar Visits Another Planet by Laurent de Brunhoff

Category 6: Fiction
A Treasury of Modern Asian Stories by Milton & Clifford editors
Dragon's Gate by Laurence Yep
Frogmouth by William Marshall
Holes by Louis Sachar
How to Steal a Dog by Barbara O'Connor
Journey by Guy Billout
Macbeth by Shakespeare and Von (1982)
My Cat's Not Fat; He's Just Big-Boned by Nicole Hollander
Tulku by Peter Dickinson
The Headless Horseman Rides Tonight by Jack Prelutsky & Arnold Lobel

Category 7: Vintage Fiction (Pre-1960)
Clear For Action! By Stephen W. Meader
Tarzan the Terrible by Edgar Rice Burroughs
The Golden House by Mrs. Woods Baker
The Lost Lake by L.N. Lavolle
The Shadow of Fu Manchu by Sax Rohmer
The University Library IX
The University Library XIII
The University Library XXIII
Diamonds are Forever by Ian Fleming

Category 8: Science
A Tour of the Calculus by David Berlinski
Bugs n the System by May R. Berenbaum
Innumeracy by John Allen Paulos
The Frail Sea by Wesley Marx

Category 9: Science Fiction
A Fighting Man of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs
First Lensman by E.E. Doc Smith
The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
The Star Beast by Robert A. Heinlein
The Warlord of the Air by Michael Moorcock
The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet by Eleanor Cameron
Triplanetary by E.E. Doc Smith

Category 10: Mysteries
Death of a Macho Man by M.C. Beaton
Dope by Sax Rohmer
Double Indemnity by James M. Cain
The Case of the Crying Swallow by Erle Stanley Gardner
The Hidden Staircase by Carolyn Keene
Wycliffe and Death in Stanley Street W.J. Burley
Into the Mummy's Tomb by Sax Rohmer et al
The Bungalow Mystery by Carolyn Keene
The Mystery at Lilac Inn by Carolyn Keene
The Mystery of the Laughing Shadow by William Arden
The Secret of Red Gate Farm Inn by Carolyn Keene
The Secret of Shadow Ranch Inn by Carolyn Keene

Link to 1st thread: here

Welcome to the multi-thread club, Ren!

Thanks, Stasia. Still trying to connect the dots!

Believe me, I know how that goes!

I bet you do! Over and over and over......

If I make it to 100 thread this year as Linda is predicting, I may be bowing out of the 75ers next year, lol.

No, no! Nothing is worth your bow-out, Stasia!

Connecting from thread 1:

Hi, Tad. Just finished Mystery of the White Knight. What a delight! Charming story. Nancy Drew-esque, but more realistic. Written by Charlotte MacLeod.

Hi, Genny! I will venture into An Instance of the Fingerpost with more confidence, due to your comments!

I do not think there is any worry about it. We are over halfway through the year and I am only at 20 :)

So, you will hit the big 5-O, threadwise. Right?

#10: I hope not! Maybe I really should stop reading this year. . .

Dream on...

Yeah, I know. I am so weak.

Weak? As my husband would say: "You're as tough as a sheet metal screw." And that's a compliment.

Oh, check out my new pic on my author’s page. Features my little bantam silkie hen, Shantung.

What? No picture of Little Red? lol

Shantung is a beautiful bird!

You are right, Little Red should be the star. She is so beautiful, too.
Good night, Stasia. Pleasant dreams. Maybe of rivers and lovely birds....

#16: Not until I am home from work though :)

Good night, Ren.

I was lurking on the old thread and now I am here on the new one! :D

Picked up the link to your new thread, and love the new photo and Shantung.

Just found your new thread, Ren. *starred*.. and now back to lurking....

Everybody, welcome! We had a big electrical storm so I've been offline for a bit. Shantung is even cuter "in person." Silkies are an ancient Chinese breed of fowl with barbless feathers soft as rabbit fur, five toes per foot, and black skin, meat, & bones (I don't plan on checking on those last two items).

Back off the river for a few days. Did some book trading. Picked up Victory of Eagles, Airman, Mortal Engines, Death of a Maid, and The Mismeasure of Man.

#22: Nice haul, Ren!

Hi Ren, it must be amazing to see eagles flying. Never seen one in the wild ... though I often watch the buzzards and red kites that we get around here... there is something special about birds of prey;)

Nice book haul.

#23 Thank you!

#24 Eagles are impressive because they are so large. Buzzards in Wales are like our red-tailed hawks, right? What we sometimes call buzzards here in California are turkey vultures. They are quite large. We have black-shouldered kites (my master's thesis was based on a mathematical model concerning these kites), but no red kites. I would love to see a red kite!

Mystery of the Laughing Shadow by William Arden. Vintage mystery, part of the Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators series. Portly super sleuth Jupiter and his intrepid buddies risk life and limb to foil evil-doers and find hidden treasure. Lots of fun. Tight, professional writing. Likable young heroes and entertaining plot.

#26: I am definitely going to have to read those Hitchcock books. That one sounds vaguely familiar - I may have read it as a kid a million or so years ago.

Sorry, been away on the river again. Osprey everywhere! All of this year's birds are on the wing. Quite a few otters. Lots and lots of blue heron. Not as many bald eagles around, but enough to keep our Summer of Eagles going.

#27 I knew nothing about the Three Investigators series, either, until I stumbled across Mystery of the Laughing Shadow in a used bookstore.

Into the Mummy’s Tomb edited by John Richard Stephens. A collection of stories and accounts about mummies and their excavators. You couldn’t ask for a more impressive line up of contributing authors: Louisa May Alcott, Ray Bradbury, Agatha Christie, Conan Doyle, Rider Haggard, Rudyard Kipling, H.P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allan Poe, Sax Rohmer, Bram Stoker, Mark Twain, Tennessee Williams. I collect Sax Rohmer works, so was thrilled to find his story, The Death-Ring of Sneferu, in this collection, but the real treasury is Ray Bradbury’s Colonel Stonesteel’s Genuine Homemade Truly Egyptian Mummy. Wow, what a terrific piece of writing!

#29: Welcome back to civilization again, Ren :)

I am going to have to look for Into the Mummy's Tomb. With that list of contributors, it is a cannot miss collection. Thanks for the mention!

Okay, Stasia, how come you could get the touchstone to work and I couldn't? I hope you can find a copy; it is a fun read.

#31: LT likes me better :)

I believe it!

#33: LOL!

Boy, it seems I've been away for years. Lots of river time and starting a new semester teaching at College of the Siskiyous. I am overwhelmed. Here's something I read awhile ago:

Mystery of the White Knight by Charlotte MacLeod
Vintage mystery, something resembling the genre of early Carolyn Keene works, but the heroine comes across as more believable than Nancy Drew, and the plot doesn’t suffer from series-itis. Very nice read.

Welcome back off the river, Ren! What are you teaching these days?

Thank you, Stasia. I think I've had enough fun in the sun for the nonce.

I'm teaching Beginning Algebra & Intermediate Algebra. College of the Siskiyous has a beautiful campus; Mt. Shasta just hangs on the horizon.

Reading wise, I'm starting The Midwich Cuckoos.

I need to hire you to teach Algebra to Beth :)

Hi, Ren. Somehow I missed the transition to your new thread, and was missing you! I treasure my copy of The Mismeasure of Woman, given my profession! Have you dipped into it yet?

#29: Into the Mummy's Tomb sounds great! Thanks for the recommendation.

I love Algebra! It's so clear-cut and elegant. And your college sounds lovely.

Karen O.

#38 Send her to College of the Siskiyous!

#39 Hey-ya, roni. Glad to be found by you. Never heard of the Mismeasure of Woman;thanks for the suggestion. :)

#40 If you like mummy-stuff, you don't want to miss it, Karen. Are you a Rohmer fan, too? A few of Sax's Fu stories had quite an Egyptian feel. And, yes, algebra is a fun and fascinating art form, and THE path for success in manipulating The Calculus (the really good stuff).

I'm reading The Haunted Bookshop by Christopher Morley;
here's a fun excerpt:

"...Living in a bookshop is like living in a warehouse of explosives. Those shelves are ranked with the most furious combustibles in the world—the brains of men. I can spend a rainy afternoon reading, and my mind works itself up to such a passion and anxiety over mortal problems as almost unmans me. It is terribly nerve-racking. Surround a man with Carlyle, Emerson, Thoreau, Chesterton, Shaw, Nietzsche, and George Ade—would you wonder at his getting excited? What would happen to a cat if she had to live in a room tapestried with catnip? She would go crazy!"

Neat quote! I do have to look out for that book.

Hi, Roni! Earlier this year I read the short story Referred by the Author (from Tales from a Rolltop Desk) by Christopher Morley and loved the writer’s style. So far, The Haunted Bookshop is quite wonderful.

The Conquest of Happiness. With keen insight, mathematician and philosopher Bertrand Russell deftly examines various factors that make happiness an elusive state of being for many human beings. Especially intriguing is Russell’s commentary on current societal pressures given that the book was written in 1930.

#43: I have read both Morley's The Haunted Bookshop and Parnassus on Wheels and prefer the latter. I hope you give it a shot once you have finished with Bookshop, Ren!

The author mentions Parnassus On Wheels in the preface to The Haunted Bookshop, so, yes, I'm looking for that title, too.

Don't miss blackdogbook's 2010 Harrowing Halloween Thread!

Book 87: Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve, first in The Hungry City Chronicles. Reeve takes us to a dystopian future where cities are on the move, literally, and preying upon each other. Mortal Engines is a fascinating and engrossing story that follows the adventures of three young people trying to evade the powerful and evil forces pitted against them. I loved it; definitely, I will be reading the next in the series: Predator’s Gold.

#50: I enjoyed Mortal Engines too, Ren. I am glad it has found another fan!

The Last Apprentice Night of the Soul Stealer by Joseph Delaney.
This is the third in the series about Tom Ward, young apprentice to a powerful spook (witch-catcher and ghost-buster deluxe). I am really enjoying this series; it has a no-frills, low key mood, but plenty of suspense and creepy critters. Looking forward to the next one.

Abel's Island by William Steig. You’d probably find this book in the kid’s section, since the central character is a mouse, but there is nothing juvenile about this story of courage and survival. Simply yet beautifully and touchingly written.

The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham. Since I recently read, and enjoyed greatly, Wyndham’s The Day of the Triffids I wanted to read another of his books. I was not disappointed in The Midwich Cuckoos. Cooly pragmatic account of an unnerving visitation that affects the life of every individual in the small town of Midwich. Great way to start the Halloween reads!

I remember reading Abel's Island to Beth when she was a baby! Wow, it seems like just yesterday.

Time does fly!

I have an author’s page on Amazon now if anybody wants to check it out.

#55: Looks great, Ren. So when is my steampunk book coming out? I am ready! lol

Must write faster... Must write faster...

What a beautiful, smiling face you have! Your lovely spirit comes shining right through!

Wow, how sweet of you to say so!

#57: That's right (I mean write!) I am cracking the whip now, lol.

Good, that's just what I need!

Should I just pester you every day? 'Is it done yet?'

Maybe that would get the job done! I've been so involved getting back into teaching that I keep putting the writing aside, but I think I've got the kinks worked out of my schedule, and... Well, no more procrastinating!

So, is it done yet?

500 words closer! Not much, but I had to grade a bunch of tests. Class average was 85% :)

#65: So, is it done yet?

Test grading is no excuse :)

I finished The Haunted Bookshop and reviewed it. I note you've never summed up your review, and wondered what you thought of it at the end?

Wow! Everytime I tried to get on LT this week it was down. I was having withdrawals...

1500 words closer, Stasia. I'm shooting for a self-imposed Christmas deadline.

Hi, roni, thank you for telling me about your review; I'm looking forward to reading it after I finish The Haunted Bookshop. I'm afraid it got put on the back-burner for a bit.

Book 91: The Matter Myth by Paul Davies & John Gribbin. This is such a cool book! It goes to the top of my favorite popular physics books lists with Kip Thorne's Black Holes and Steven Wineberg's Dreams of a Final Theory. Cuts to the quick, easy to understand, fun speculations. I loved it. I wanted to read it all over again when I finished.

Book 92: Away With The Fairies by Kerry Greenwood. My first Kerry Greenwood book, picked up on my mom's recommendation. I was quite entertained. Our heroine, Phryne Fisher is a self-made, no nonsense, girl-with-it-all detective that I found terribly appealing. The late 1920s setting is wonderful. I am looking for another in the series.

Book 93: Wolfert Webber or Golden Dreams by Washington Irving. A pirate/spook novella perfect for the Halloween season. Not the four-star plus plus I give my favorite Irving story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, but worth the read.

#68: Woot! 1500 words closer? Christmas deadline? Cool beans!

I already have The Matter Myth in the BlackHole. I will have to bump it up!

Oh, you did it again! I couldn't make the touchstones work on The Matter Myth and you did! You must be magic, Stasia. :)

Nope, not me. I just posted a quote to my thread from a book and the Touchstones worked there, but not when I re-posted the quote to the Kitchen. No idea of the ways and means of the Touchstones. They are just persnickety!

So she says. We all know Stasia is special...

Book 94 The Marvelous Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum. This is, by far, my favorite excursion into the land of Oz (even though there were no talking chickens—and we all know how I feel about chickens). The farcical elements were pithier, making the story effective on multiple levels—perfect for an any-age reading audience.

#72: I have managed to read the first two in the Oz series. I really must get back to the series some time!

I am no expert. I've read just a few Oz books, and not in order. The Marvelous Land of Oz, though it is a wonderful fairy tale in its own right (and so needs no other reason for being) seemed to have a satirical undercurrent that set it apart from other Oz books I have read.

#74: I read the annotated version of the first book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and found the background information very interesting. It has been a while since I read those first two books. I probably should just go back to the beginning of the series and re-start it.

Book 95: The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury. A classic SF I hadn’t read. I’ve always been a Bradbury fan, but more because he was Ray Harryhausen’s best friend then because I was an avid reader of his stories. I read Dandelion Wine and The Illustrated Man when I was fairly young and, truthfully, really didn’t understand what they were about. However, inspired to read more Bradbury after reading his short story Colonel Stonesteel’s Genuine Homemade Truly Egyptian Mummy—a perfect piece of writing—I launched into The Martian Chronicles after finding a battered copy at a junkstore. The chronicles are series of short stories, most, I think, published in magazines before being sold in a collected form, all set upon the planet Mars and presented (surprise, surprise) in chronologically order. Some of the stories are tragic, some comic, all satiric since they are a commentary on the foibles of human nature. All of the stories are well worth reading, some are unbelievable poignant. Thank you Ray Bradbury.

Gosh, I used to love Bradbury! I have to reread! And I guess I could start with Martian Chronicles. Thanks for refreshing my memory.

Karen O.

#76: That one fell flat for me. It seemed more like episodes of 'The Twilight Zone' or something. I normally enjoy Bradbury's books, but not that particular one. I am glad you liked it though, Ren!

It does have a Twilight Zone feel, but which cart came before which horse? The Martian Chronicles was published in 1946, the stuff young Rod Serling's dreams were made of...

The Ghost Legion, a.k.a. The Spook Legion by Kenneth Robeson. Among the great comic book heroes, Doc Savage stands tall. Robeson always delivers a consistent fare of high adventure with 007-style pseudo science in a hard-boiled noire setting.

#80: I have never read anything by Robeson. I will have to see what I can find!

There are over a hundred Doc Savage stories; the first were written in the 1930's for the magazine trade. Kenneth Robeson was a house name; I think Lester Dent wrote the bulk of the stories. I've only read a dozen or so. Lots of fun.

#82: I was hoping that Robeson might have been in one of the old collections that is available for the Nook, but no such luck. Unfortunately, the local libraries were no help in that regard either.

Is your new book finished yet?

We progress! Slowly, but we progress. :)

Faster, faster!! Just think of it as your Christmas present to me :)

Excellent motivation!

I found a Book-of-the-Month Club Newsletter for July 1946. Though it was published decades before I was born, I was still surprised at how few of the books in their selection were familiar to me and how few of the author’s names I recognized. So this is kind of a quiz. Out of the 33 books listed, how many are titles you have read, how many have you at least heard of, and how many authors do you recognize?

1. Independent People by Halldor Laxness
2. A Book about a Thousand Things by George W. Stimpson
3. Men and Power by Henry J. Taylor
4. The Rest is Silence by Erico Verissimo
5. Spoonhandle by Ruth Moore
6. Then and Now by Somerset Maugham
7. Act of Faith and Other Stories by Irwin Shaw
8. Two Worlds by William B. Ziff
9. We Caught Spies by John Schwarzwalder
10. The Scarlet Tree by Sir Osbert Sitwell
11. Alexander Hamilton by Nathan Schachner
12. Stalin by Leon Trotsky
13. The Absolute Weapon by Frederick S. Dunn and others
14. Tomorrow Without Fear by Chester Bowles
15. Past All Dishonor by James M. Cain
16. The American by Howard Fast
17. Sun Yat-Sen by Stephen Chen and Robert Payne
18. The Innocents of Paris by Gilbert Cesbron
19. No Wind of Healing by Dorothy Palmer Hines
20. Trail Dust and Saddle Leather by Jo Mora
21. Palestine: Problem and Promise by Robert R. Nathan, Oscar Gass, Daniel Creamer
22. Seventy Thousand to One by Quentin Reynolds
23. The Great Globe Itself by William C. Bullitt
24. The Pacific Coast Ranges edited by Roderick Peattie
25. The Great White Hills of New Hampshire by Ernest Poole
26. Hitler’s Professors by Max Weinreich
27. The Future in Perspective by Sigmund Neumann
28. The Popular Medical Encyclopedia edited by Morris Fishbein, M.D.
29. Sea Change by Barbara Hunt
30. Wine for My Brothers by Robert Emmett Higginbottom
31. Soviet Asia Mission by Henry A. Wallace
32. All These People by Rupert B. Vance
33. The Quiet Man by Patrick Purcell

Among the interesting news items is mention of “First novel by a young soldier…. Gore Vidal…” and “Karloff horrifies you in print… And Darkness Falls…”

I've read none,
heard of five (#6, 12, 15, 16, 33),
recognize nine authors (Maugham, Shaw, Ziff, Trotsky, Bowles, Cain, Fast, Wallace, and Purcell)

You did a bit better than me. Gold stars! :)

#87:

Familiar titles: #1, 6, 16, 33

Familiar authors: #1, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 15, 16, 22, 31, 33)

I have not read any of them. Sad, but true.

Not sad, but interesting!

I think it is sad. Considering that those books were basically written only 1 generation ago and someone like me, who considers herself (at least marginally) well-read, not to have heard of either the titles or the authors is sad.

In the back, the 1946 newsletter also lists former books-of-the-month that were in high demand by members. More of these titles were familiar to me, as were their famous authors:
1. Britannia Mews by Margery Sharp
2. The Hucksters by Frederic Wakeman
3. My Three Years with Eisenhower by Capt. Harry C. Butcher
4. Man-Eaters of Kumaon by Jim Corbett
5. The Snake Pit by Mary Jane Ward
6. The Autobiography of William Allen White
7. Arch of Triumph by Erich Maria Remarque
8. Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
9. Lovely Is The Lee by Rober Gibings
10. Beach Red by Peter Bowman
11. Days and Nights by Konstantine Simonov
12. Cass Timberlane by Sinclair Lewis
13. Rickshaw Boy by Lau Shaw
14. The White Tower by James Ramsey Ullman
15. The World, the Flesh and Father Smith by Bruce Marshall
16. Up Front by Bill Mauldin
17. Commodore Hornblower by C.S. Forester
18. Brave Men by Ernie Pyle
19. Black Boy by Richard Wright
20. Story of a Secret State by Jan Karski
21. Persons and Places by George Santayana
22. The American Character by Denis Brogan
23. So Little Time by John P. Marquand
24. For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway

I’ve read #4, 12, 16, & 18. #1, 13 & 17 are on my TBR pile. I’ve read Santayana, Marquand, and Hemingway, but not these titles.

#93: Well, I did a little better on this list having read #8, 17, 19 and 24. Most of the others I have not heard of, although some of the authors are familiar.

This one looks more familiar to me too. I've read nos. 19, and 24. I don't recognize no. 16 specifically, but I remember checking out a "complete works" edition of Mauldin's cartoons from the library as a kid, so I've probably read its content.

Oh, and I've seen the film adaptation of #5. Does that count? (Of course not.)

Why shouldn't it count? I guess it's all just interesting because of changing fashions, influences of the time, etc...
Maybe we should look on the flip side and celebrate the fact that some of these works have endured. How many books listed in the current version of book-of-the-month club's newsletter (e-zine?) will be remembered 50 to 75 years from now?

#96: I would say, probably none, especially if they have to do with the seemingly pervasive trend of vampire, werewolf, demon, zombie, etc books happening right now.

#96: Only because watching an adaptation doesn't count as reading.

For comparison, the Club's latest offerings are here. Not more than a few examples of the urban fantasy genre ... it's probably a pretty representative sample of popular reading, with titles by James Patterson, Debbie Macomber, Stephen King, Clive Cussler, and others. Seventy-five years from now, 98% of the titles will be nothing more than answers to game show trivia. It's anybody's guess what titles will be the lucky 2%.

Thanks, swynn! :)

Book 97 The Frozen Deep by Wilkie Collins One of blackdogbooks' 2010 Harrowing Halloween Thread! selections for this spooky season. I’d never read any Wilkie Collins, so this was a great treat to discover another fascinating author.

I nipped this from Wikipedia about Collins:
William Wilkie Collins (8 January 1824 – 23 September 1889) was an English novelist, playwright, and author of short stories. He was hugely popular during the Victorian era and wrote 30 novels, more than 60 short stories, 14 plays, and over 100 pieces of non-fiction work. His best-known works are The Woman in White, The Moonstone, Armadale and No Name.

Since this is my first Collins (but not my last) I don’t know how the style of The Frozen Deep compares to his other works, but the frozen deep reads like a stage play, which detracts not all from its eerie appeal.

#100: I am reading Collins' The Woman in White at present, which is very good, and I can also highly recommend his The Moonstone, which I think you would love, Ren.

I have The Woman in White near the top of my staclk. I almost read The Moonstone a couple of years ago, but put it aside thinking it was a romance--maybe it wasn't the Wilkie Collins book, but by another author?

#102: I have no idea about another book titled The Moonstone, but Collins' book is and a detective novel a good one. I have read it twice now and loved it both times.

Edited to try and make sense!

I will look again for The Moonstone. I am really enjoying The Woman in White (I started it Monday).

Book 98 THE WONDERFUL ADVENTURES of NILS by SELMA LAGERLÖF
I think ronincats suggested this book to me. It really is an epic-length series of stories all about a young boy that is turned into a “Tom Thumb” as a punishment and goes on a series of adventures with a flock of wild geese. There is a love of the landscape and the animals that comes through beautifully in these stories, though the moral lessons (refracted through a grid of language, culture, and time) often fail to come through (at least to me) clearly.

#104: Hmm, I must have missed Roni's recommendation of that one. I will have to look for it. Thanks for bringing it to my attention, Ren!

Book 99 Shakespeare's Spy by Gary Blackwood. YA adventure. Our young hero is an apprentice player with Shakespeare’s troupe at the end of Elizabeth’s reign. Very entertaining read. This is not the first or last in the series.

edited to try and get the ts to work :(

>104 jadebird: I could never read that book (and I did so frequently as a child) without bawling like a baby at the end. I shall have to re-read it for an adult view--it's been over 20 years and perhaps longer since I last read it.

Yes, I'm afraid staying with the geese would have been my first choice.

#106: My local library has the first book in the series (and only that one unfortunately), but I will give it a try anyway.

I haven't read the first, but Shakespeare's Spy was entertaining. Not flashy, or high adventure, but Blackwood presents the period well and the characters are likeably.

Book 100 The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allen Poe. Perfect for the Halloween season. I decided to re-read this short story after Bradbury included his spin on the Poe story in The Martian Chronicles. Atmospheric and absorbing!

Congratulations on hitting 100, Ren! I do not think I have ever read The Fall of the House of Usher. I will have to give it a go. Thanks for the recommendation.

100 - WhooHoo!

The Fall of the House of Usher is a great one for the Halloween season. It's supposed to be dreary and rainy here this weekend - might be the perfect time for a little Poe!

Thank you, thank you... (taking bows).

We got a big blow today, too. I'm watching spooky movies and reading Harry Potter.

#114: Sounds like you are having a wonderful evening, Ren!

Is my book finished yet? If not, you do not have time for spooky movies and HP! (I hope you know I am kidding)

The Haunted Bookshop by Christopher Morley. Boy, I was hot and cold with this book. The literary references were fascinating; Morley’s post WWI sensibilities were interesting, too (it was, of course, the war to end all wars—if only they knew what more was to come). As a mystery, well, let’s say it’s mild.

Check out ronincats’ review on The Haunted Bookshop page.

#116: Did you read Parnassus on Wheels yet, Ren? IMHO, it is better than the follow up, The Haunted Bookshop.

Not yet. But I'm reading The Woman In White. Soooo good!

#118: Oh yeah, I am reading that one too. I agree with you!

That's why I mentioned it; you had said you were reading it. The style is quite different than The Frozen Deep.

I have not yet read The Frozen Deep. Thanks for the reminder - I will look for it.

It's quite short--just a tidbit for you, Stasia! :)

#122: My local library did not have it, but it was available for my Nook, so I downloaded it last night. I will probably read it after I finish The Woman in White.

The Book of the Month lists sound quite interesting. I'm intrigued that a book on Stalin by Trotsky was among them. I don't know the Erich Maria Remarque book mentioned there, but I own and have read a couple of others apart from his All Quiet on the Western front.

It's probably easier now to find out about "midlist" authors, past or present.

Hi, elkidee, sorry I've not replied in so long. I love looking at vintage books, so of course a vintage magazine about books was lots of fun to peruse.

Book 102 The Triple Mystery by Adele Luehrmann. Vintage mystery with operatic and Amazonian angles, neat twists, a fun read.

Book 103 The House of Cobwebs by George Gissing. Vintage fiction. Not a mystery, but a lovely piece of quiet thoughtful writing about an aspiring writer and a chance meeting.

Book 104 The Ragwitch by Garth Nix. Nix does it again, presenting a highly entertaining ya fantasy story with original ideas spun into the classic epic quest cloth. Loved it.

Book 105 Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone by J.K. Rowling. I know I just re-read some of the Potter series, but somebody on LT mentioned how seasonal they were on blackdogbooks’ Harrowing Halloween thread, and I hadn’t actually re-read the first two books in the series, so… The darn things are addictive.

Book 106 An Entirely Synthetic Fish by Anders Halverson. Fascinating account of how the McCloud River (one of my “backyard” rivers) rainbow trout became the stocking trout of choice for America and much of the globe and the repercussions of stocking and managing fisheries. Highly recommended.

Book 107 The Mystery of the Moaning Cave by William Arden. Another in the Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators series. I just happened to run across this well-loved little book in a 2nd-hand store. I like this series. The kids are likable, polite without being prim, smart without being vain, adventuresome without being stupid.

Book 108 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling. Exactly what I needed after grading 20 beginning algebra tests, so I did. :)

Ah, there you are, Ren!

I am sure you have been totally busy writing my book, right?

Hey, Ren, good to see you! Book 106 sounds like something my brother would like.

I downloaded books 102 and 103 to my Nook for free last night, so I hope they turn out to be good reads.

Some interesting sounding reads there - I like the sound of The House of Cobwebs, and I've enjoyed several Garth Nix but haven't read the Ragwitch so I'll look out for that one.

Glad you have some light relief from grading papers in the form of Harry Potter - are you going to read through the whole series again now?

Hello everybody, I'm not feeling so good, but your interest is cheering, be back on board soon. :)

Sorry to hear you are not feeling well, Ren. I hope you are feeling much improved quickly!

Sorry to hear that Ren - echoing Stasia's wishes that you'll feel better soon.

I feel better now. Thank you everybody for your happy thoughts. :) Stasia, I'm back to work. Happy Turkey-Holiday-Weekend!

Glad to know you are feeling better, Ren!