Tad's Reads for 2010 - Part 5

= I can't believe anyone liked this

to = Disliked, ranging from "probably didn't finish unless compelled" to "there might have been some skimming"

to = Neutral, ranging from "I'll probably forget about it in a year" to "it passed an afternoon"

to = Recommended, ranging from "perhaps just to certain readers, or mildly to a general audience" to...well..."I recommend it"

to = Ranging from "Strongly recommended" to "This is going to be one of my best reads this year"

= Sentimental favorites—I really don't judge them by any other criteria

Part 1 of the thread is here
Part 2 of the thread is here
Part 3 of the thread is here
Part 4 of the thread is here

Summary of Parts 1, 2, 3 & 4


Islandia by Austin Tappan Wright


Children of the New World by Assia Djebar
The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
White Masks by Elias Khoury
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin


The Tongue's Blood Does Not Run Dry by Assia Djebar
Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine Tey
Spring Tides by Jacques Poulin
A Fair Maiden by Joyce Carol Oates
Still Life by Louise Penny
A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny
Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay
This Blinding Absence of Light by Tahar Ben Jelloun
The Translator by Daoud Hari
Chasing Goldman Sachs by Suzanne McGee


First Lord's Fury by Jim Butcher
The Ivankiad by Vladimir Voinovich
The Media Relations Department of Hizbollah Wishes You a Happy Birthday by Neil MacFarquhar
Bonk by Mary Roach
Miss Buncle's Book by Dorothy Emily Stevenson
Every Last Drop by Charlie Huston
My Dead Body by Charlie Huston
The Big Red Train Ride by Eric Newby
Mrs. Tim Christie by Dorothy Emily Stevenson
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
One for the Money by Janet Evanovich
Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich
The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny
Lord Sunday by Garth Nix
The Pocket Book of Short Stories edited by Morris Edmund Speare
Couch by Benjamin Parzybok
August Folly by Angela Thirkell
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Iphigenia in Aulis by Euripides
Afternoon of the Elves by Janet Taylor Lisle
A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny
The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny
The Snake Stone by Jason Goodwin
Freefall by Jason Goodwin
The Cello Suites: J.S. Bach, Pablo Casals, and the Search for a Baroque Masterpiece by Eric Siblin
Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope
Gold Dust by Ibrahim al-Koni
The Dragon Factory by Jonathan Maberry
Brewster's Millions by George Barr McCutcheon
Death of a Red Heroine by Xiaolong Qiu
Mrs. Tim Carries On by D. E. Stevenson


Grifter's Game by Lawrence Block
Somebody Owes Me Money by Donald E. Westlake
The Year of the Frog by Martin M. Šimecka
Iorich by Steven Brust
Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve
Legacies by F. Paul Wilson
The Iliad by Homer
Fire from the Andes ed. Susan E. Benner
The Ionian Mission by Patrick O'Brian
Changes by Jim Butcher
Iphigenia (The diary of a young lady who wrote because she was bored) by Teresa de la Parra
Treason’s Harbour by Patrick O’Brian
Stories of Red Hanrahan by William Butler Yeats
Three to Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich
High Five by Janet Evanovich
Hot Six by Janet Evanovich
To the Nines by Janet Evanovich
The Warden by Anthony Trollope
Eleven On Top by Janet Evanovich
Twelve Sharp by Janet Evanovich
Deceiver by C. J. Cherryh
Valeria's Last Stand by Marc Fitten
Andean Express by Juan de Recacoechea
Bitter Seeds by Ian Tregillis
U is for Undertow by Sue Grafton


Grave Secret by Charlaine Harris
Report From Practically Nowhere by John Sack
Soulless by Gail Carriger
Tom Swift and His Submarine Boat by Victor Appleton
MetaGame by Sam Landstrom
Torn from the Nest by Clorinda Matto de Turner
Black Magic Sanction by Kim Harrison
Four to Score by Janet Evanovich
Seven Up by Janet Evanovich
A Goat's Song by Dermot Healy
Ten Big Ones by Janet Evanovich
The Curse of Capistrano by Johnston McCulley


Triplanetary by E. E. "Doc" Smith
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
The Anger of God by Paul Doherty
The Time of Terror by Seth Hunter
Hard Eight by Janet Evanovich
The Hope by Herman Wouk
Ha'penny by Jo Walton
A Bad Day for Pretty by Sophie Littlefield
Lean Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovich
Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich


Flirt by Laurell K. Hamilton
Hominids by Robert J. Sawyer


The Cougar Club by Susan McBride
Bloodhound by Tamora Pierce

The Lawrenceville Stories by Owen Johnson

General Fiction, 564 pages

Omnibus of:

#102: The Prodigious Hickey
#103: The Varmint
#104: The Tennessee Shad

Bottom Line: Simple and humorous tales of young boys in a vanished age of America.

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This book had the distinction of being the longest denizen on my TBR stack, ever since Toby Baldwin told me I'd enjoy it back in 1973. I finally ran into a copy in a second-hand store.

This omnibus of the three books about prep school life at the dawn of the 20th century is filled with laughter and just plain good storytelling. On one hand, like the fiction of Booth Tarkington, or even the Horatio Alger books, they are just simple stories giving us a view into a departed slice of American life (despite a sort of madcap embellishment of reality). On the other, there is a deep understanding of boys that—without meaning to equate them—reminds me of stories such as Tom Sawyer. When Dink Stover looks at Josephine and thinks, "She's twenty-four, only twenty-four. I'm sixteen, almost seventeen—that's only seven years difference," it's a moment I can understand with fond recollections of first crushes.

The stories were originally published in another piece of a bygone America, the Saturday Evening Post. As that wonderful curmudgeon, Cleveland Amory, wrote in his introduction to the 1967 edition:

…they were read by millions—by men of twelve and by boys of eighty. Even mere women loved them—although it goes without saying that those of you who intend to read parts of this volume aloud to your wives should do so sparingly. The moral in many of these stories is so subtle it is beyond the comprehension of all but a handful of women—even those fortunate enough to be blessed with prep school husbands.

These aren't books for everyone; by today's standards they are rather naïve stories, lacking the complexity and sophistication of today's fiction. However, if you are one who enjoys occasionally dipping into what now seems a simpler era, I recommend them.

#105 : Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson

Fiction, Humor, 355 pages



Bottom Line: Like so many, I was captivated by this story.

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This is a charming story of a somewhat curmudgeonly widower whose friendship for the Pakistani woman who runs the local grocery shop turns into something stronger and, thereby, offends the sensibilities of family and acquaintances. While there is plenty of commentary upon social values, discrimination and the conflict between what's important to different generations, the wonderful and pointed wit with which Ms. Simonson has imbued the Major…dry, subtle and often completely beyond the perception of its target…keeps the story light hearted and the reader amused. It's not a deep or significant story, but it is pleasant in the best sense of the word and I enjoyed it quite a bit.

#106 : Life Among the Savages by Shirley Jackson

Memoir, Humor, 241 pages



Bottom Line: A re-read and still as enjoyable as it was three decades ago.

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I haven't read this book in 35 years and I thought that it held up well. As Jackson recounted the vicissitudes of parenting…all with a clear, self deprecating sense of her own questionable skills in that arena…I found the same blend of affection and humor I had remembered. Despite the differences between the America of the 1950s and the America of today, the situations are timeless and it's clear why this book has remained such a charmer.

#107 : Raising Demons by Shirley Jackson

Memoir, Humor, 314 pages



Bottom Line: For some reason, this didn't appeal to me anywhere near as much as Life Among the Savages did.

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I didn't enjoy this the way I enjoyed Life Among the Savages. The stories struck me as imitations of the previous book. I'm sure that the publishers were looking for that, a repeat of the success, but the results seemed a bit pallid in comparison and the humor a bit forced. Also, there was a dark edge occasionally, as if her other writing or her growing personal problems were bleeding into this book. I don't see myself picking up this one in 30 years for a re-read.

#108 : Were You Born on the Wrong Continent?: How the European Model Can Help You Get a Life by Thomas Geoghegan

Society & Finance, 301 pages



Bottom Line: B+ for ideas, C- for writing, F for ability to form an argument.

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I'd give him a B+ for relevant and intriguing ideas, a C- for writing ability, and I'd fail him for his capacity to make a logical argument (even at times when I think he might be right).

Let's start with the first. Geoghegan's basic premise is that the European (most specifically, the German) style of capitalism works much better as a social and economic system than the Anglo/American flavor of capitalism. He argues that it produces a healthier economy, a better quality of life for almost the entire population, and a more stable society. He founds this premise on an examination of published statistics about taxation levels, work hours, measures of productivity, etc. Sitting in a country whose systems most empathically did not work well recently, it doesn't matter if you blame the banks and think we need strong regulation, or are an ardent Friedman disciple and think things would have been fine if we'd just let the free market truly be free. Either way, this is an area worth thinking about, discussing and, ultimately, improving.

Geoghegan's writing style is, unfortunately, not the best. I think I'd describe it as "ADD Author." We flit from point to point, never alighting long enough to truly explore it. Just as I'd become interested in an argument he was making, he'd hare off on tangent…perhaps related or perhaps not. Too often, he'd digress into an anecdote or sidebar that I thought was going to bolster a position, only to find it was absolutely unrelated…just an interesting story he felt like telling, germane or not. There was no sense of a sustained and continuous argument building to a conclusion.

However, it's his ability—or lack thereof—to make a good argument that spoils this book for me. He never examines his fundamental premises. For example, the entire book assumes that the government is capable of greater efficiency in providing mass services than the private sector: "But to get the same level of service of what are really collective-type goods, she has to pay more." This may be true, but it's nothing more than opinion as he presents it. He uses unsubstantiated claims as the basis for further argument: "She also has to pay more to get her kids in the 'right schools', as the hyper rich keep bidding up the tuitions to keep out the riffraff like Barbara and her ilk." What is the evidence that this is the foundation rather than, say, a shortage of good teacher limiting supply and driving up demand? He creates false cause-and-effect situations: "…she realizes she doesn't have enough money for [basic needs]…so she goes out and…buys a Toyota she doesn't need." This might be fine as a deliberate exaggeration to make a point but Geoghegan actually uses these kinds of statements as arguments and goes on to build upon them.

The whole thing has a wink-wink-nudge-nudge tone to it that assumes it is preaching to the choir and, of course, the reader will agree. Even if you think he has some good points, this is very disappointing if you're looking for discussion of the issues. Not recommended.

#109 : The Quiet War by Paul J. McAuley

Science Fiction, 403 pages



Bottom Line: Definitely recommended for science fiction fans; will probably not appeal to those who have to be dragged kicking and screaming to the genre.

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McAuley takes a handful of common themes in science fiction—an Earth rebuilding after some (unspecified) disaster, genetic engineering, cyberpunk-ish type dystopias, conflict between Earth and her colonies—and melds them together into a piece of social and political science fiction that feels creative and new.

There is a strong thread of hard science fiction in this story, not suprising given that McAuley was a biologist by profession. At times, this makes for a few daunting pages as the genetic engineers discuss the environments they've created but he was smart enough to keep the narrative from depending upon those details; the story moves on smoothly whether they make sense or not.

I think this book would appeal to fans of Stephen Donaldson's "Gap" series, Neil Stephenson's The Diamond Age, or some of Cherryh's social science fiction, though I'm not sure how much it would attract those who are only marginal about the genre. I'm looking forward to picking up the sequel in this two-part story.

#110 : Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay

Fantasy, 673 pages



Bottom Line: If you are a fantasy fan, this is pretty much a must-read.

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I've decided to re-read some of the early Kay that I haven't touched in years. I first read Tigana back in 1990 and decided to start with it.

So much fantasy is "me, too" work. It might be a better or lesser imitation of something but the author lacks that spark that makes his work stand out from the vast, undifferentiated mass of forgotten-a-few-months-later stories. Kay is one of the exceptions and Tigana is not his least work.

What sets him apart from so many of his fellows is that he does not always write in the stark black and white which are the normal tools of this genre. This is no Middle Earth (with no slight intended to one of my favorite books) where the reader can only hate the horrible creatures of Sauron while admiring the brave people of the West, and where the most ambivalence that one can feel is a pity for Gollum or a vague regret for a minor character like Boromir. Grief, loss or the exigencies of a lifetime move characters in complex ways, blurring the distinction between the good men and the bad: the former can do terrible things and the latter sometimes act with honor and love. He shows us the sorrow that conflicting loves and divided loyalties can impose and, in the end, there is a measure of sadness at the fall of many whom we never thought to like.

This isn't my favorite of Kay's stories. It's missing those one or two moments that Kay has proven he can craft, when all the sorrow or all the joy in the story comes together in a perfect instant and makes the reader want to hold his breath—two women watching a duel in The Lions of al-Rassan; Arthur, Jennifer and Lance seeing their endless triangle finally draw to a close in The Fionavar Tapestry. Yet, it is a good one, a fantasy story that anyone who enjoys fantasy stories should seek out and try.

What a great group of reviews, Tad! I will definitely put The Quiet War on my wishlist. Tigana is here in my TBR pile, waiting its turn. Looks like your tranquil setting is doing you good!

Every time you start a new thread, I'm reminded of how much I like your reasons for the number of stars you give out. Always enjoy your reviews even when you're reading books that I know I'm not going to read. Speaking of which, do you think you would have enjoyed The Lawrenceville Stories more way back in 1973? After all, you probably were a bit more naive back then as well, hey? ;-)

Your review of Major Pettigrew's Last Stand has put that at the top of my "used-copies of books to look for" list that I'm taking with me tomorrow when I meet up with Deborah (arubabookwoman) at our favorite bookstore. Wish me luck!

The Quiet War looks interesting. Onto the wishlist it goes.

Lots of good reading going on here Tad. Major Pettigrew has been languishing and your review makes me wish I was reading it right now. Ditto, Life Among the Savages.

I am glad to see you enjoyed Major Pettigrew, Tad. It was one of my favorite reads this year!

Nice reviews as usual. I am piling books into the BlackHole (again.)

Your reviews are great.

Oh, and from your last thread...I won the Louise Penny book too - looking forward to your thoughts on it! Ever since they changed their methods of selection for ER books, I've won one every month...it's weird but I'm not complaining!

>10 ronincats:: I hope you like the McAuley book, Roni. I'm surprised you haven't read Tigana...I think you'll like it.

>11 bonniebooks:: Thanks, Bonnie. I think I would have enjoyed them but, perhaps, not as much as I do now. Part of it is that I didn't go to prep school for high school years. However, I did go to a university that was extremely prep-ified and I think that seeing that environment enlivened my reading of the book now.

>12 Landshark5:: I hope you enjoy it, Landshark.

>13 brenzi:: I think you'll like Pettigrew, Bonnie. It's just fun.

>14 alcottacre:: Sorry, Stasia! Well, not really. :-D

>15 BookAngel_a:: Thanks, Angela. It will be interesting to see what everyone thinks of it. I thought A Rule Against Murder was a bit of a dip in quality and A Brutal Telling came back strong, so I'm hoping that this series continues well.

#110 : Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and the Dawn of the Modern Woman by Sam Wasson

Film, Biography, 256 pages



Bottom Line: A quick and pleasant blend of three parts history of making a film, one part sexual politics of the 1930s to the 1960s, one part haute couture, with a dash of Hollywood tell all. A bit light for my taste.

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I picked this up based upon the starred review in Publishers Weekly. For some reason, I thought it would be more of an examination of the changing perspectives on women than it turned out to be, but I wasn't sorry I read it even though there wasn't much meat there. Wasson frames his narrative around the making of Breakfast at Tiffany's and then fleshes it out with a light look at how the film, for all its romantic-comedy nature, was a groundbreaking venture.

From the froth (the Givenchy little black dress instead of Edith Head costumes) to the more serious (a young woman who has sex outside of marriage but isn't a "bad" girl) the movie set out, deliberately, to change the rules of the game in Hollywood and, in doing so, capture the changing attitudes of the post-50s young…particularly the women. Along the way, he dishes out little tidbits of tell-all about the colorful characters of the day—Truman Capote, Babe Paley, Mel Ferrer, even Audrey, herself.

Mildly recommended to movie buffs.

I've read around Tigana. The Fionavar Tapestry, Ysabel, The Lions of al-Rassan, a few others, but never Tigana. And I love Kay's work, so will work on filling in the holes.

#17 Tad - Thanks for the review. As this is one of my favourite films of the era, I've had my eye on this book since it was released. Just waiting for it to hit the bookshelves here in Tokyo.

Some nice reviews Tad. I've seen so many positive reviews of Major Pettigrew's Last Stand in this group I really should get hold of a copy. I also have Tigana in my TBR pile. Should Kay's books be read in any particular order?

>#94 : Gold Dust by Ibrahim al-Koni, translated from the Arabic by Elliott Colla
I'm tempted by this just because I'm fascinated by all things Tuareg :)

I'm so far behind on threads I didn't even realize BooksonTrial had left -- and hers is one of the threads I'm "reading'!

>#98 : Death of a Red Heroine by Xiaolong Qiu
Your bottom line on this one makes me wanna run out and buy it! Oh well.

>154 mckait: (previous thread) kidzdocOne of my goals for next year is to read book from genres that I don't usually read (e.g., mystery, SF, YA)
If you've still got space in your SF you might consider Pastwatch although this may fit better under Alt hist... same goes for the much touted (deservedly so IMO) Doomsday Book

I'm going to call a hiatus on catching up for a bit (LOL) and read the next 100+ msgs a bit later. Ciao -- and while you may have reported a resolution to the AC issue, hope it's working now!

I lost your thread for a bit -- and you've been busy. In the bio I read about Shirley Jackson it was made clear that the second book just wasn't as good as the first -- in part because adolescents just aren't that charming! And other things had come up in her life by then that were also difficult. Can I remember now? No. And I read the bio a month ago.

I loved Tigana! That is still my favorite Guy Gavriel Kay.

I also want to add that I like the way you have arranged your books at the beginning of your thread. I might try it!

Whoa! I didn't have your new thread starred and I missed a bunch here. One of the reasons I keep track of your reading is because of the diversity, and the list above is great evidence of that.

On the Fifth Avenue book, anyone who's both read the original Breakfast at Tiffany's and seen the movie can pick up the difficulties and compromises in the making of the film. The book sounds like a good start on the sexual politics of the time but I think I would've have expected what you did. I've been wondering whether to pick it up or not and I think that, while you liked the book, I'll pass, as your review convinced me that it is a little more surface coverage than I'd hoped.

>18 ronincats:: Let me know what you think, Roni. I'll probably pick up A Song for Arbonne next.. If I haven't satiated my "reread Kay" impulses, I guess the Sarantium duo is after that.

>19 petermc:: I hope you like it, Peter. It's very light (slight?) but it was fun.

>20 souloftherose:: Heather - Most of Kay's work can be read in any order. The exceptions are:

* Sailing to Sarantium and Lord of Emperors are a single, extended story.
* Ysabel can be read in at any time. However, if you're going to read The Fionavar Tapestry, you might want to hold off. There is some character overlap and Ysabel...effectively...has spoilers for the other.

>21 suslyn:: I'd agree with you about Doomsday Book, Susan.

>22 sibylline:: Thanks, Lucy. On the Shirley Jackson—she started to have alcohol problems and some severe health issues.

>23 blackdogbooks:: Thanks! I like to think that what I read isn't single-genre, but it's nice to hear.

On the Tiffany's front...I can't fault you on that. It is a very lightweight treatment. I mildly recommend it but, if I hadn't read it, I wouldn't be upset.

Btw, back from Canada which wasn't a vacation! I spent more hours in front of my computer working up there than I do at work. Pretty close to 12 hours every day, sometimes 14. It's very nice to be back in the land of fast Internet access. :-D

That is definitely NOT a vacation, Tad -- no fun in French River being stuck in front of a computer! The friends we stayed at in Ottawa have pine trees in their backyard that are saplings that came from trees on the land my family and theirs used to share up there -- they are 40 years old and at least 40 feet high now! So, a big of French River along the Ottawa River...

I enjoyed Major Pettigrew well enough, but to me it didn't live up to the hype. Glad I got an ARC of that one. Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M. is a book I want to read, but it will be a "borrow, not buy" one.

I am glad you are back, Tad, but it sounds like you need a vacation from your "vacation!"

>26 alcottacre:: Yes, Stasia, I could use one. Not only was it not a vacation, but I had a few mishaps. My wife gunned a boat, not realizing I was standing in the back. I went ass over teakettle and a knee tried to go a way it wasn't meant to go. Nothing is torn, but it's quite sore.

Then, on a pitch black night, I took one step too far near some stairs and ended up four feet down on some rocks on my side—an elbow that's cut up, sprained wrist, and a hip with a bruise the size of a bread plate.

I'm normally not accident-prone. Maybe I'm channeling Caroline?

Holy Toledo, Tad!

Reminds me of the time I accidentally helped my grandfather break his arm at French River. It also involved rocks and boats, although the details are a bit murky 35 years later. I do recall he was trying to get out of the boat and I tried to "help"...

Sigh.

That said, you sound as if you returned battered to a pulp. Definitely a week of extra vacation is called for. Somewhere tranquil, with no rocks.

>28 Chatterbox:: I wish! :-)

#111 : Concourse by S. J. Rozan

Mystery, Lydia Chin/Bill Smith #2, 291 pages



Bottom Line: A good mystery with nice characters, like all the volumes I've read in this series.

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I enjoy this series, both the Chinese-American cultural aspects of the ones from Lydia's perspective (the odd-numbered books) and the slightly grittier tone of those seen from Bill's viewpoint (the even-numbered books). I always feel that the characters have a lot of texture and color, and are placed in well-plotted mysteries that showcase a real sense of New York.

I normally hate going back and filling in a missing volume in a series where I've read ahead; I like to read chronologically. However, it didn't lessen my enjoyment at all of this one…which is another point in favor of this series.

#112 : Lords of the Horizons: A History of the Ottoman Empire by Jason Goodwin

History, 368 pages



Bottom Line: This shouldn't be your choice if you're looking for a rigorous history of the Ottoman Empire, but it's enjoyable if you like an anecdotal approach from a Western perspective.

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If you're looking for a well-ordered and rigorous history of the Ottoman Empire, this isn't it. If you're looking for anecdotal tales that give a sense of the Ottoman Empire from its foundations on the steppes of Asia to its demise in the early 20th century, this might not be a bad choice.

Goodwin weaves together an extended string of vignettes, almost entirely from the Western perspective, about the sultans, grand viziers, pashas and many who opposed or attempted to take advantage of them. They are, by turns, informative, amusing, appalling or all three, and the end result is something that feels almost novel-like, rather than a history tome. Some stories provide some actual understanding of the Empire. For example, we learn that government officials were all slaves and could not bequeath anything to their children (who were born as free citizens), thus preventing political dynasties (other than the sultan, of course). Others were simply historically colorful: "Barbarossa did not have a red beard at all, but lifted the name from his elder brother, who had been a promising pirate himself before his death."

In the end, I felt I came out with some sense of—if not a great deal of analytical insight into—what made the Empire work during its centuries of expansion and what caused it to crumble from within during its long decline.

Three things keep the book from being well-recommended by me. First, it's a bit hard to follow at times. Goodwin certainly doesn't follow a linear chronology, nor is he particularly good about making sure you make the same leap he does when he suddenly changes whom he's referring to in mid-paragraph. This leads to a few moments of confusion requiring the reader to back up and follow along again.

Second, it's a trifle repetitious. I found myself saying, "Didn't I learn that a while ago?" at several places through the book.

Third…maps!! Why a book that has a rather large number of "he moved here, while that guy moved there" in it doesn't have any maps to speak of is absolutely beyond me. There's one poorly-printed map that shows a couple country boundaries and a few capital cities. It really detracted from the reading experience and…alone…cost this a half star.

In conclusion, a book I'd recommend if you go into it with appropriate expectations, but not one I'd recommend as a prime source to anyone looking to study the Ottoman Empire.

Sounds like rest and recuperation are in order Tad. Geesh. Channeling Caroline indeed.

#113 : Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny

Mystery, Three Pines #6, 371 pages



Bottom Line: If you're a mystery reader who likes the Three Pines canon, this is not one to miss.

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I'm sure there will be many synopses of the plot among other reviews, as well as a few spoilers, so I'll just leave it that Gamache has gone to Montreal to try to recover from an investigation gone horribly awry (no, not the one in The Brutal Telling).

Not only has this series not wandered off into inanity, as have so many other "good first books," it's gotten better with age. The first few were good (with a minor dip at the fourth), but these last two have been wonderful. Penny is not afraid to be daring with her characters, to step outside the comfort zone of a cozy and make them suffer, to make us dislike them a little and then, sometimes, to rescue them...even to kill them. Unlike the flat characters of so many mysteries, I find the individuals who inhabit these pages human.

Bury Your Dead is much less a murder mystery than are the previous five. Oh, there's a murder all right…but it's much less center stage. This one is about loss and grief and trying to cope with both. She takes a couple of her characters and gives a deeper look into who they are and it's very well done.

Is there anything I can find disappointing? Not really. Perhaps that there's less of the town of Three Pines in this book than in most of the stories (though certainly more than in A Rule Against Murder). On one hand, I missed having it around throughout the book, right in the foreground, with Ruth and Rosa stalking and waddling around. Yet, on the other hand, I'm appreciative of the fact that it would get a little silly if all of the crimes were set there and a well-behaved town with a tiny population suddenly became the murder capital of the free world.

Strongly recommended if you like mysteries, but definitely do not start with this one—read the books in order.

I like the Bottom Line idea a lot! Of course, it makes it tempting to sweep along to the next thing when it's a pan --

Back to Shirley -- the author also suggested that teenagers just aren't as charming on the page as small children..... can't argue with that!

Eyes covered, not looking, running away. My copy arrived today but I have to read book 5 first.

>35 brenzi:: Don't worry...no spoilers in it. :-)

You need a vacation to recover from your "vacation".

Enjoyed your review of Bury Your Dead. I'm dipping into my copy a bit at a time because I haven't had the time to dive in and read a large section. It seems very good so far, and I'm glad to know it holds.

I like the fact that she's not afraid to mess with her characters, and she seems to be giving us a chance to get to know each character better, highlighting one or two with each book.

Simply stopping by to wave hi and to say I'm looking forward to meeting you at Richard's September birthday bash!

Too much traveling (Tampa/summer rain...remind me never to complain about NJ humidity again!) and general running around have put me behind on a few books.

Three that were just fair (at best) followed by a couple of winners.

#114 : Programming Interviews Exposed by John Mongan, Noah Suojanen & Eric Giguère

Workplace, 221 pages



Just OK. It's targeted at the Google- or Microsoft-style interviews where you're asked to solve some algorithmic problems on the spot. The questions probably aren't hard enough to prepare you for actual interview questions, but they might get your mind working along those lines if you haven't done it in a while. It might be useful in certain circumstances but there is nothing earthshaking in this book.

#115 : Gardens of the Sun by Paul McAuley

Science Fiction, Quiet War #2, 407 pages



Bottom Line: Disappointing.

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A rather disappointing sequel to The Quiet War. McAuley spent far too much time telling us about things and nowhere near enough letting us listen to the characters. It got better by the last third of the book but by then the damage had been done. Even the plot failed to excite me—I expected a grand finale to all the scheming and maneuvering but everything just felt flat at the end.

#116 : Star Island by Carl Hiaasen

Humorous Crime Fiction, 337 pages



Bottom Line: Disappointing.

---

Typical Hiaasen but not one of his best. There's usually a character or two that I find endearing but this book was an exception. Though I think the main character, Ann, was intended for that role, she just didn't make the grade. Returning stock character Tyree/Skink has become a bit of a boring one-note avatar of Hiaasen's anger at developers destroying Florida's environment and I find that I don't really enjoy him anymore. Everything seemed just that little bit forced.

Tad, I love the range in books that you read. I know I'll always find something interesting that I've not thought to read whenever I traipse through your thread. I loved Quiet War and was considering Gardens of the Sun ... and thank you for pointing me the other way. I'm sorry it was a disappointing read. I hope your next will be much better.

I can't get enough of Three Pines and am just eager to get started on the latest when it finally arrives in my mailbox.

#117 : The Longest Day: The Classic Epic of D-Day, June 6, 1944 by Cornelius Ryan

History, 279 pages



Bottom Line: I really enjoyed this.

---

In this recounting of the D-Day invasion, Ryan manages to avoid the fustiness of so many history books and simply tell a story (or, rather, many stories, all woven together). He doesn't stint on content but his writing style is so appealing that the events flow along almost as if you're reading a novel. One of the best aspects is that, since he started researching it so soon after the war, he was able to draw on the fresh memories of so many participants and fill the book with personal stories…some humorous, some sad.

OK, disappointing, disappointing. You are due for a good read soon, Tad!

. . .And there it is! I need to read that one. It has been in the BlackHole far too long.

>43 cameling:: Thanks, Caroline, that's nice to hear.

#118 : Bad Penny Blues by Cathi Unsworth

Noir Mystery, 433 pages



I will be reviewing this for Belletrista, so let me leave it that I enjoyed this mystery from British author Cathi Unsworth…a dark-toned mystery set in the early 1960s with just a touch of Spiritualism to add an interesting note. I'll watch for her next book.

>45 alcottacre:: I think you'll enjoy it Stasia. I don't know why it took me so long to get around to it. I've loved the movie ever since my parents took me to see it after a trip to the Normandy beaches in the mid-1960s.

#48: Yeah, I definitely need to move it up the stack!

>44 TadAD: He doesn't stint on content but his writing style is so appealing that the events flow along almost as if you're reading a novel.

You got me with that. I am primarily a fiction reader but when a NF book comes along that reads like fiction I am always interested. And WWII is very interesting to me.

>49 alcottacre: & 50: Let me know what you folks think of it when you're done.

Thanks for the warning about the Macauley -- it's the biggest bummer when that happens, a promising start falling flat.

The D-Day book sounds really great :)

hope you're all healed by now from your Canadian misadventures!

>53 suslyn:: Yes, I am, thanks.

As for The Longest Day, I really want to see the movie again now that I've read the book. My memory of it is that it was rather faithful to the story, but it's been years. My only firm recollections are:

a) I loved it every since I first saw it in 1967 in a tiny theater in Drake's Kazerne, Frankfurt, Germany. (How's that for a setting! :-D) And, the movie only cost 15¢ + 10¢ for popcorn. Mom used to send me with a quarter quite sure that I was out of her hair for an entire Saturday afternoon as they never kicked you out of a theater...so I'd watch the same movie 2 or 3 times.

b) It seemed like every actor in Hollywood had a cameo in it.

Hey Tad, found and starred ya. I just picked up Warlord: A life of Winston Churchill at War at a library booksale for my husband because I thought you may have been the one who recommended it so highly. He's really enjoying it - so if it was you, thanks.

#42 - I stopped reading Hiaasen around the time he started writing children's books. I didn't do it on purpose, just one of those thing. Earier today I was thinking about catching up on some of the ones I missed, but maybe I'll catch up with James W. Hall instead.

#44 - I love the movie but have never read the book, I'll get to it one day.

>55 Carmenere:: Much as I love it when someone tries something I recommend, I don't recall recommending that one, Caroline.

>56 sgtbigg:: Thanks for stopping by, Mike. I think you'll like it.

I'm going to go read a bit. I had a small tumor (queue Arnie as John Kimble, "It's not a tumah!") cut out of my leg (benign) and no painkillers for 48 hours. It's annoying me.

>57 TadAD:: TadAD,

Hope you recover soon. Somehow it reminds me of Forrest Gump lying on his stomach in a hospital bed eating ice cream.

BTW, I like/envy your "Bottom Line" style. I would have a hard time coming up with one-liners for my reviews.

>57 TadAD: hope you're feeling better soon, Tad!

Take it easy Tad and use this as an excuse to catch up on your reading :)

#57: What Bonnie and Joanne said!

Great movie memories :)

#119 : The German Mujahid (UK title: An Unfinished Business) by Boualem Sansal, translated from the French by Frank Wynne

Algeria, Holocaust, 228 pages



Bottom Line: I waver between 3½ and 4 stars on this story of two Algerian boys confronting the parallels between extremist Islam and the Final Solution.

---

Boualem Sansal has been described as a writer "exiled in his own country" of Algeria. Despite being awarded international prizes for writing, he has been stripped of his post as a high government official and his books are banned. In a country having its share of powerful, extremist Islamic factions it's not particularly hard to understand this. Sansal's novel draws stark parallels between modern jihadists who target Jews, Westerners, journalists, intellectuals and the genocide of Himmler's Final Solution.

Loosely based upon a real village chief he encountered when he was young, Sansal's story is one of two brothers of mixed German and Algerian parentage who live in France and, after the murder of their parents by Islamic terrorists, learn that their father was not only a village chief and hero of the Algerian independence struggle, he had also been an SS Hauptsturmführer in the Nazi death camps, a chemical engineer who helped to develop Zyklon B.

The book opens with the suicide of the older brother, Rachel, and delivery of his diaries to his brother, Malrich, who knows nothing of what Rachel had found about their parent. The reader follows Malrich as he struggles to understand why his brother could not bear to continue living and to come to his own terms with his father's past. Realizing that you "can't commit atrocities with enlightened people, you need hatred, blindness, and a knee-jerk xenophobia," he looks around at the growth all three in the Algerian ghetto and understands that he faces the same social choices as his father did: to conform and become a part of the howling mob, or to take a stand and risk his own destruction.

My perception of the subtitle of this book, "The first Arab novel to confront the Holocaust", changed significantly while reading it. I thought initially that the book would attempt come to grips with an Arabic perspective on Jews, either to explain or disavow institutionalized anti-Semitism. Instead, Sansal explores the idea that the steps from intolerance and violence to the systematic genocide of National Socialism are neither long nor complex.

Definitely recommended.

What a great review, Tad. Thumbed you and added this to my obese wish list. It sounds fascinating.

enjoy your weekend.

Just trying to catch up...

Wow. Fantastic review, Tad. I'll definitely pick this up in the near future.

ETA: My local Borders has The German Mujahid, so I'll buy a copy tomorrow.

This sounds like a fascinating book Tad. I'm adding it to the teetering tower.

#63: I already had that one in the BlackHole due to someone else's review of the book, but have not located a copy yet. I will have to step up the search. Great review, Tad!

>64 cameling:-68: Thanks.

I'm becoming quite the fan of Algerian literature, despite never having read Camus (hangs head in shame). I liked the Sansal; Djebar has become one of my favorite authors; I have a Leïla Sebbar and a Malika Mokeddem waiting to be read. Two years ago, I would probably have said, "There are Algerian writers?"

The Halloween thread is up!

http://www.librarything.com/topic/98082&newpost=1#lastmsg

#69: Two years ago, I would probably have said, "There are Algerian writers?"

Umm, me too.

Great review of The German Mujahid, Tad! I've been looking at that for a while; you've tipped the balance for me.

Have you seen the movie based on The Longest Day? It's a great war film -- I'm not a big fan of the genre, but it is great.

Yes. It's a great film even though I'm not a John Wayne fan.

Great review of The German Mujahid. I must get to it sooner rather than later.

I have to add my voice to the compliments on your review.

I can't figure out the deal with Camus -- his style of writing is very spare and 'clean', and immediate in french but comes across lifeless and cold and sterile in translation. Anyhow, when and if you do get around to him, it is probably very much worth investigating the translations --

>74 arubabookwoman: & 75: Thank you both!

Books #120 and #121 were mandated, work-related reading since our company is switching development methodologies: Agile Product Management with Scrum () and Succeeding with Agile ().

There ought to be a law against non-technical people choosing technical books for consumption by their teams.

Nothing of any interest to the general public.

#122 : What's So Funny? by Donald E. Westlake

Humor, 368 pages



Bottom Line: I usually like the late Mr. Westlake, but this one was only mildly and occasionally amusing. It seemed like it was just going through the paces rather than trying to be fresh and new.

Not a fun week of reading so far. I'd really like to get into the stack of books I have sitting by my bed—the only problem with them is choosing which one to read first! Unfortunately, today and tomorrow are quite busy. Saturday is off to Long Island to see some of you (yay!). Maybe Sunday.

Looking forward to meeting you, Tad!

Here's one I will pass along...

If Wishes Were Horses...A Baker's Dozen

1. Name the book you wish you had written because you think it is a masterpiece.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

2. Name the book you wish you had written because you admired the style or technique it used.
Blindness by José Saramago

3. Name the book you wish you had written because you would like that voice as a writer.
Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden

4. Name the book you wish you had written because laughter is the best medicine.
The Essential Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson

5. Name the nonfiction book you wish you had written because you like the thinking.
Essays of E. B. White by E. B. White

6. Name the play you wish you had written because you would watch it any time.
Henry V by William Shakespeare

7. Name the poem you wish you had written because you can (or wish you could) quote the entire thing.
"The Cremation of Sam McGee" by Robert Service

8. Name the short story you wish you had written for any reason whatsoever.
"A Retrieved Reformation" by O. Henry

9. Name the book you wish you had written but would have used a pseudonym.
White Masks by Elias Khoury

10. Name the book you wish you had written for your children or your friends' children if you haven't any.
The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien

11. Name the book you wish had a sequel by the original author, but doesn't.
Busman's Honeymoon by Dorothy L. Sayers

12. Name the first book about which you can remember saying, "I wish I was just starting that again."
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling

13. Name the book you wish you could step into when real life becomes a pain in the ass.
Islandia by Austin Tappan Wright

>77 TadAD:: I hate work-mandated books ... such an interruption from pleasant leisure reading.

#81: I have absconded with the quiz and posted the answers on my thread. Thanks, Tad!

Love this quiz, Tad! Although I'd have to disagree on the Robert Service poem. Mostly because I've had it quoted at me off and on throughout my life. Recently, by a source who is old enough to know better, but starts all his conversations with me by saying, "There are strange things done in the midnight sun..."

Oh I wish I could be there Saturday -- do have fun and may you have no traffic snarls!!

>84 Chatterbox:: I've never quoted that poem to anyone. I can imagine the horror on their faces if I tried.

The poem just has sentimental value to me. We were up at the cabin in Ontario when I was about 9 or 10 years old, just after dark and the Northern Lights really kicked up a show. I was outside with my grandfather and he recited the poem to me.

Bonding moment; sentimental value; 'nuff said.

Love Robert Service, though my favorite is probably The Dreamer.

Tad, have you checked your email and your profile messages yet?

Cheers, looking forward to meeting you!

Well, Tad, it was quoted at me because of my own IRL name. If you quote it to me, however, I will be forced to contemplate various forms of violent retaliation!

Hi Tad, in case you've got photos after the birthday celebration, by popular request there is a single thread for posting them over here.

The review for Book #118 (Msg #47), Bad Penny Blues, is found here.

Great review, Tad. Sounds like something I could sink my teeth into. Off to the obese wish list it goes.

Tad, I am sorry to have missed the opportunity to meet you at richards..
maybe someday there will be another chance.. you look like you were having fun :)

I took a couple days off from both reading and from LT and held a pity party for myself—best friend at work for 21 years finally said "f*** this company!!" and resigned, leaving me not only without his company but it looks like with his work. I've slapped myself a couple times and am back among the living. I should finish a book I'm enjoying very much today and will post a review.

>92 cameling:: I hope you like it, Caroline.

>93 mckait:: McK...yes, it was fun. Nice to meet some of the LTers. Perhaps next time we'll get to meet.

#123 : The Life and Extraordinary Adventures of Private Ivan Chonkin by Vladimir Voinovich, translated from the Russian by Richard Lourie

Samizdat, 316 pages



Bottom Line: Those who were around last year when I read The Ivankiad know that I enjoyed this author's writing. Well, this one was better.

---

I have to imagine that one of the things most hated by authoritarian governments is being laughed at. It's no wonder then that Voinovich found his works being refused by the Soviet government for publication in the 1960s, found himself excluded from the Soviet Writers' Union in the 1970s, and was stripped of his citizenship and exiled in the 1980s.

The Life and Extraordinary Adventures of Private Ivan Chonkin is often considered Voinovich's best work. He takes the familiar Russian character of Ivan the Fool and recasts him as Ivan Chonkin, a soldier in the Soviet Army at the advent of World War II. He is the perfect blend of bumbling naïveté with just a slight touch of guile that makes him endearing to the reader and has made him a modern folk figure in his own right.

Chonkin is sent to guard an airplane that has broken down and been left stranded in a farmer's field. Forgotten by the Army, he strikes up a relationship with the postmistress of the village and spends the war tending her livestock and garden. Of course, once the NKVD hear of him, it is inevitable that they should consider him a spy and—with jabs at Stalin, collectivism, the Army, Five Year Plans, and just about everything else Soviet...and with overt nods to Chekhov and Gogol—Voinovich takes us on a hilarious ride through the consequences.

The 1990s brought a restoration of Voinovich's citizenship. However, while the literary world has handed him a prize here and there, I find myself wondering if the Russian government feels the same way. In 2007, he returned to familiar ground with the publishing of the third volume of Chonkin's adventures, Displaced Person, set in post-Soviet Russia.

This is a humorous anodyne for glooms or blues, particularly if you're of a certain age and your memory of Russia encompasses the Cold War era. Recommended.

Tad, that's a bummer about your friend at work. Sorry to hear that. Hope some good reading has lifted your spirits.

Tad
It was great to meet you. I am sorry to hear about your friend leaving work...I imagine this is very difficult for you!

>95 TadAD: This is a humorous anodyne for glooms or blues, particularly if you're of a certain age and your memory of Russia encompasses the Cold War era.

That would be me. Sounds really good Tad. What could be worse than having a good friend from work leave? I guess you answered that. Hope things will soon be looking up.

I'm really sorry to hear about your loss of camaraderie, Tad. Hope they find a different victim for the reassignment, though.

What everyone else said, Tad! I am sorry your return to work was such a bad one.

I'm sorry too. Having a good compatriot at work makes the load so much lighter. Have you thought about following your friend? :)

It's awful having a good friend leave -- it's been done to me and I've done it .... ugh. Meanwhile the Voinovich goes on the list.

Bummer!

Do you ever have one of those days when there are several books you want to be your next read? *sigh* We need to figure out how to make human eyes and brains multi-threaded.

You mean like Stasia??

Exactly!

What are the choices? Throw it open for a vote! Who knows, we could all be of help in this dreaded dilemma.

>107 richardderus:: *smile*

The Collector by John Fowles because it's for the Halloween read

Serious Men by Manu Joseph because it's an Early Reviewer book and I like to keep on top of them

The Forbidden Woman by Malika Mokeddem because I want to read it and I sort of told Lois I'd review it for Belletrista

The Waitress Was New by Dominique Fabre because it sounds great

Nemesis by Lindsey Davis because it's the latest in my favorite mystery series

-----

I ended up starting the Mokeddem during breakfast and taking the Fowles with me for lunch time. I'll read both and save the Davis as a carrot for some other time.

Oh, keep up with those ER books, Tad...it's very dangerous to fall behind!

I am three behind on ER books, including one I know I did not ask for but now that I have it, have to read. Yikes!

Tad

I think, but I'm not sure, that Terri was reading The Collector when we were staying at the hotel this weekend.

I read this one awhile ago...It is VERY creepy.

I would have said the Mokkadem, followed by Fabre or the Lindsey Davis mystery -- have to leaven the mixture slightly with something you are really eager to read!

The Mokeddem is OK so far, but it won't make my favorite reads list for this year.

My sister is out visiting (the one I gave 50 books to for her 50th birthday last year) and we're having good chats about books. Along with eggs and sausage from Schwind's...the local German butcher who makes their own sausage. MMMMmmmmmmmmm!!!!!

You are the best brother ever...... 50 books!

HOMEMADE SAUSAGE! *Homer drool* Lucky sis!

Tad, that's a wonderful birthday gift. I just told my husband about it. Hope he gets the hint!

When my mom turned 50.. we did that for her. Fifty gifts.. but they were all sorts of things.. including little things like toothbrushes and pencils and bigger things like clothing etc. I am glad we did..

Books though.. heck with sausage.

Linda's right. I was reading The Collector. Finished it today. Creep-city for sure!

Tad

It sounds like you are having yet another great weekend!

#124 : The Forbidden Woman by Malika Mokeddem, translated from the French by K. Melissa Marcus

Algeria, Feminism, 154 pages



Bottom Line: The overly florid prose and the overly precocious children mean that I can give only a weak recommendation to what was...at its heart...a rather powerful and good story. On the whole, I did enjoy this book but it was in spite of itself.

---

This may nor may not have a Belletrista review, so I'll hold off here for the moment.

Edit: Missing words...not quite awake, yet

Go get some coffee, Tad. I think I will skip the book.

Coffee is anathema. Tea.

I am with you on coffee being anathema. I love tea though!

*gasp* Coffee is anathema?!?!? Cannot imagine.

Happy Sunday Tad!

>124 mckait: He is clearly morally defective. As is Stasia, but at least she has the excuse of being part cyborg and having ~13 eyes.

Loved your choices on your list, Tad! I'm going to do that one soon. I going to choose Calvin and Hobbes for my list, too! Watterson's books were on my kitchen counter, in my son's bedroom, the bathroom--well, really all around the house for years, and we read them, and laughed, daily!

Love the idea of the birthday gift. Doubt my brother will share it, but maybe if I start dropping hints now, with 18 months to go...

And tell him the 50 books you want, Suzanne! ;-) My best friend is turning 60--maybe I'll put together 60 things, including a few books. I'd like to make it all books, but I'm not that good a friend.

The weekend was great! All pieces of the visit were cozy and inviting but, the great news of the conversation is that "lurking" is acceptable on LT. So, I will watch and listen and continue to enjoy the 50 books that comprise The Best Gift I've Ever Gotten.

#125 : From a Whisper to a Scream by Charles de Lint

Urban Fantasy, Horror, ~304 pages



Bottom Line: I don't think this is de Lint's best book but it's still an enjoyable one.

---

This was a nice way to start off this year's Halloween Group Read.

From a Whisper to a Scream is the second of the three books Charles de Lint wrote books under the pen name of Samuel M. Key. They've since been republished under his real name. They are horror stories in nature and a bit more adult (both in terms of violence and sex) than is his general wont.

This story takes place in his invented city of Newford and tells of Teddy Bird, a pedophile and serial killer, who is finally shot dead by the police. Unfortunately, Teddy's spirit isn't quite done with everything he wanted to do in life and what follows is a fairly classic horror story.

de Lint is good enough at what he does that everything he writes is enjoyable, even when he stretches himself beyond his normal bounds into something that is solidly horror. He manages to craft an atmosphere of tension and fear that will cause the reader to tense up. That said, this isn't his best work. The characters are a bit shallower than normal and I found the ending a bit anticlimactic—a bit too quick and simple.

By all means give it a try if you're interested but, for my part, his earlier Mulengro was a bit better in the horror vein, or The Onion Girl if it's his Newford stuff that interests you.

#131: Skipping that one! No horror for this gal.

I agree.. not one of his best. Still.. I would read anything this man writes. Including tweets. :P

>133 mckait:: I don't quite "get" Twitter, so I don't read any tweets he does, but I'm with you otherwise.

#126 : Horse, Flower, Bird by Kate Bernheimer

Modern Fairy Tales, 185 pages



Bottom Line: A deceptively simple book of modern fairy tales that leave you wondering, "What just happened there?"

---

This is a strange book. I mean that in the sense of curious or intriguing, and not in the sense of bizarre or alien.

It is deceptively simple: eight short stories, told in very clear and spare English, full of what seem to be unambiguous events. Why, then, did I finish each one and find myself wondering exactly what had been said?

They read just like fairy tales, with that dreaming-while-awake sensation, but there's little in the way of the supernatural...certainly no magic beans or sleep-inducing spindles. Unlike, say, reading the Brothers Grimm, you have to work at these. You don't get to the end and say, "Ah, well, Hansel and Gretel certainly tricked the witch, didn't they?" You glimpse swells under the surface: the unnerving voicelessness of characters, the sense that they are handicapped or perhaps not quite sane. You see fairy tale motifs turned on their heads as so many of the girls voluntarily take on their mistreatments: the starvation, the harsh burlap clothing. You see those swells, you notice those themes, and you wonder what else is down there below the surface.

This isn't a book for everyone. You have to be willing to read it...and think about it...and then have something else occur to you...and think some more. This is a review full of questions and that's exactly where that book leaves you.

I think twitter is what you make of it..
I follow Tim Spalding and other LT folks, several authors and even a comic or two.. but very few friends. I follow a bit of news and publishers and different things I am interested in. When I do look in, I can see links and updates and find a lot of things to interest me. deLint is very pleasant and likable. I enjoy his tweets which are very modest and every day.. unlike some authors who tweet to sell.. Luis Alberto Urrea is another favorite of mine.. I like his books and his family oriented and chatty "tweets" and posts on FB.

>135 TadAD: Sounds irresistible. Thumbs up!

Twitter irritates me.

you said that about FB too. As I said, it is what you make of it. Everyone twitters.. or at least is twittered for. Lots of good info there if you choose to spend time looking ...then just follow and bob's yer uncle!

#135: I will have to check that one out, Tad. I enjoy fairy tale retellings. Thanks for the recommendation.

I can focus on one or two Internet chat rooms (like LT) and one or two social networking options -- any more than that, and they become a time drain, and end up distracting me way too much from work and other stuff (like reading...) I love FB because I can connect with geographically scattered friends from all different corners of my life -- and even sometimes connect them with each other -- but Twitter underwhelms me. There are too few people in whose dealings I'm interested in enough to follow them that closely. I don't care if someone is going to restaurant ABC for dinner, or off to have a manicure.

I just started using Twitter maybe a week ago because it seems that there's a lot of LT discussion taking place there, and I'm enjoying it so far. I'm only following about 30 people, and even then there are some that I skim, so I'm not finding it a big time drain yet.

LT discussion on Twitter? Anybody we know besides Tim S.?

What completely verschmeckels me what Twitter got that we ain't got right here, in re LT discussion. I don't get anything out of Twitter where I do get something out of Facebook...a lot of noise to filter, a lot of stuff I don't care about being hurled at me, but also my daughter and her doings.

>142 bonniebooks: Well, Tim is the main one. Also Abby, John, Chris, and users like fleela, klarusu, etc. I was finally won over when Tim said that he had made a Dewey Decimal browser thanks to fleela's urging on Twitter.

>143 richardderus:: a lot of noise to filter

I think that's my problem with all social networks right now to one degree or another. Here, I can just visually skip things so it's not too bad, but it's not as easy other places.

<rant>
I've got Facebook because I want to keep at least a minimal eye on what my kids are doing there. But my news feed is spammed with kids posting pop song lyrics because they are so "deeply significant", FourSquare feeds telling me someone is in Starbucks (do I really care?....no!!...I've completely suppressed that app finally), LTers spamming "I've added this book" instead of just reviews (would suppress that app except that feeding reviews is useful information and you can't discriminate), etc.

Even my RSS blog feeds are starting to become annoying. Blogs that used to have a thoughtful weekly post are trending toward daily verbal diarrhea as bloggers struggle with the fact that they don't have something interesting to say every single day but want page hits.

Twitter seems like it would be just one more noise assault, especially given its simple-to-do format...you don't even have to do the work a blog requires when you're micro-blogging.

All of these media could be quite useful and fascinating, but the signal-to-noise ratio seems to drop every month in our culture.
</rant>

Do I sound sufficiently curmudgeonly?

#145: Do I sound sufficiently curmudgeonly?

Did you and Richard have personality transfers at the party and I missed it?

>146 alcottacre:: Actually, I've always been somewhat of a curmudgeon...just talk to the people at work who keep asking me stupid questions. It's one of the reasons I enjoy talking to Richard.

#147: I am curmudgeonly as well. I guess we could always form our own group - Curmudgeons Anonymous or some such.

>148 alcottacre:: Bah! It should be Curmudgeons Who Refuse To Be Anonymous

lol

It should be Curmudgeons Who Refuse To Be Anonymous Richard, President and Chief Curmudgeoning Officer; Stasia, President of Vice, Senior Waspishness Magnate; Tad, Recording Secretary for Opinionatedness, Information Technology Executioner.

Our board meeting shall come to order.

I get to be chief pointer-outer of the club, ok?

>152 mckait: You're nowhere *near* curmudgeonly, dearest. More of a squooshy sweet loveycuddles of a Rainbow Bright doll.

And Tad...whyinahell *does* LT announce the stuff I put on my wishlist anyway?!? I want my reviews to appear! Not the other stuff. *grumble*

rofl

I LIKE seeing what others are adding to their lists..
I find it interesting..

But we already see that information! It's on our home pages, called "Connection News" or something like that. And the tidal wave of crud on Facebook...I DO NOT CARE ABOUT FARM____ OR ANY OTHER GAME PERIOD!...is high enough already.

so block it.. silly man..
I do.

I am done with the game and so I don't look at it.
Good thing I am so fond of curmudgeon types..

>155 richardderus:: Richard, find a F***ville post, move over to the right and click the 'X', then select "Hide Farmville".

I've blocked so many things that there are some people I don't even hear from anymore. C'est la vie, non?

The key is to block apps and not people.

Of course, that's the problem with LT on Facebook. If you block LT, you block the reviews.

As for why your addition of books posts, I'm not sure...you'd need to find someone who paid attention when the whole thing was announced. I believe it comes if you check Facebook integration in your Profile, but I'm not sure. I don't have that checked...I just click the "Facebook" link when I do the review.

You could go to your Profile and unlink your account from Facebook and then retry if you wanted.

In a way, the real problem is that Facebook doesn't give you very selective control. If feeds had some kind of token that indicated not only the source but the general category, then everyone could tailor what they wanted. I guess that's against Facebook's "keep it simple" philosophy, however.

And all that reminds why, despite being the fluffiest of uncurmudgeonly bunnies, I'm not on either Facebook or Twitter. Too much rubbish to wade through to find the three interesting posts, people I want to know outnumbered 20 to 1 by people I definitely don't want to know.

>160 Eat_Read_Knit:: fluffiest of uncurmudgeonly bunnies

LOL

I 'm with you about FB. I'm just on there to keep track of my kids, especially the one who lives 700 miles away, but even they have stopped using it much, only occasionally posting status messages. I've had to block Farmville too because the people using it seem to use it a lot and it's just so annoying.

No interest at all in Twitter.

I'm definitely a curmudgeon. "Proudly Curmudgeonly for Four Decades" -- would be a bumper sticker for me, if I had a bumper to put it on.

Farmville is deeply, profoundly annoying. I've become very aggressive about limiting access to obnoxious people, as well and just not friending some people. I'm apparently very hard to find on FB -- and proud of it!

Today is definitely a curmudgeonly day.

I'm ready for Fall...I mean really ready. It started to arrive, then the heat went back on, now we've got dreary rain. Harumph!

Bertrand Russell was in a snarky mood in today's little gem from a quote of the day site:

There are two motives for reading a book: one, that you enjoy it; the other, that you can boast about it.

Be careful what you ask for, Tad! ;-). In the Northwest, cloudy days and rain is the definition of Fall. Oh, and all those leaves to rake up.

Another dreary day here -- rain, grey skies AND humidity (I'm wearing t-shirt and shorts again...) I don't mind the rain if it's cooler (or at least can tolerate it) and I don't mind cooler autumn weather if the sun is out. But this is the worst combination. (Well, that is, leaving out things like hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, etc.)

I wish we even had Fall down here!

You'll just have to come back up here, Stasia!

#168: I am going to try to be up that way again next year some time! Maybe in the Fall :)

>165 bonniebooks:: I wouldn't live in the Northwest for that very reason (the rain)...the leaves don't really bother me. I get tons here since my house is completely surrounded by extremely mature trees. It's a family project for a couple of weekends each year.

>166 Chatterbox:: Exactly. We're only 40 miles apart—I'm sure we're getting the same weather.

>167 alcottacre:: Move! :-D

#170: I would - but I think the rest of my family is against it!

Tad

Can you help me? Someone posted on my thread, their posts were flagged. Now, no one can post on my thread.

Do you know who I can contact regarding this? If Tim is the one to contact, how do I do this?

Thanks for your help! I appreciate it.

Tad

Please disregard the sos message above. I started a new thread.

Thanks anyway.

>172 Whisper1: & 173: Well, that was easy! :-)

Downpours and thunder today (dog is in a panic), but I had a couple of use-it-or-lose-it vacation days, so I've decided today is about house projects and tomorrow is about doing nothing! Sweet!

Looks like the family has decided to do Christmas in Nebraska this year.

Which means no last minute shopping.
Which means everyone is asking for Christmas suggestions starting about now.
Which means I am not prepared—Black Friday is about the earliest I contemplate Christmas.

So, I find myself thinking:

To iPad, or not to iPad: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to pay
What amounts to an outrageous fortune,
Or to endure a sea of troubles,
Quirks and foibles of an old laptop?

Honestly, if you could run a full copy of Quicken on it, I'd probably say yes without a thought...but Intuit did a very half-assed job of that version: no bill pay, limited synchronization with your account. We have a nice desktop that the whole family shares, but it's not portable. I have a very nice work laptop that I use when I need serious horsepower. I have a decrepit home laptop that I use for bill pay, email and browsing/LT. The latter two are easily done on the iPad. That leaves Quicken stuff; I want both bill pay and a check register (my bank gives me the former, not the latter).

Has anyone else started agonizing over one? Has anyone else bought one? What do you think of it now that you've had it a while?

Tad, I had eleven take em or lose em vacation days last year. I lost them...at least on paper. I had quite a messy situation with an employee that needed to be fired. Honestly, it ate a month and 1/2 of my summer.

I'm glad you are taking your time. It sounds like the company did a lot of bruising this past year and there was lots of stress for you.

I hope you are able to read today and enjoy the rain.

#127 : Nemesis by Lindsey Davis

Mystery, 342 pages



Bottom Line: Despite being twenty books into my favorite mystery series, Davis has produced one of the better chapters.

---

Lindsey Davis' series set in ancient Rome is twenty books long so far. Most mystery series can't even sustain five books before they peter out into formula writing, but the Marcus Didius Falco stories have remained my favorites despite their span.

It's not because of the plots. Most are average or somewhat above (in truth, I figured this one out midway through the book). They work because of the characters really come alive for me. Falco so much the everyman, trying to do the right thing, sometimes succeeding and sometimes failing. Helena, despite the caustic wit, so much a wife anyone (well, anyone male and straight) would aspire to having.

This chapter in the larger story stands out from its immediate predecessors. It's grimmer and darker, with less of the insouciant humor that is Falco's trademark. It shakes up the comfortable status quo of the story line; we can see that life will be very different for the Didii going forward. And it definitely works—this was my favorite of the series in a while.

There was a rumor floating around that this might be the last in the series. I seriously hope not.

If you like mysteries, particularly historical mysteries, this is a series worth trying. However, you need to read the books in order (starting with Silver Pigs) as each builds on the story line of the previous.

Definitely recommended for mystery fans.

>>177 TadAD:. I've added Silver Pigs to my wishlist. These look great.

>177 TadAD: Great review! I've up-gethumbed it. Now see...I love the Montalbano series, and this one just fell flat on it kiester for me. No two pearls have the same pattern, hm?

Ditto what 178 said...

I've been meaning to read The Silver Pigs for a long time now; it came from SantaThing the year before last.... I should really get around to it sooner rather than later.

As for the iPad, why buy that when you could get a fully-functional netbook for half the price?

When in doubt.. iPad.

If I could get Word on a netbook, that would be perfect.

An iPad duplicates what I have with my Kindle and my iPod, without offering me much more that I would use. But then, I don't like screen-based typepads. And I don't ever see myself wanting to read on a backlit device. I've looked at the iPad, and it seems cool. But like the iPhone, it is more than I need, and I could see myself getting distracted by the all the cool stuff that it would be a time sink. Meanwhile, it doesn't have things that I really need.

I may just get an ultra-lightweight new laptop next time, and use that with my Kindle and iPod. I don't care that it means I have three separate devices. Esp, since the Kindle 3 is so lightweight and ultra portable.

I have seen iPad, and I have drooled.

YEA for Christmas in Nebraska!!!

I think that Jim has an iPad, Tad, so you might just check with him. I have no experience with it whatsoever, so I cannot help.

>178 nancyewhite:, 180: Nancy/Angela, I hope you like it. As Richard points out in >179 richardderus:, tastes vary but, looking at the general ratings, I think the odds are in your favor.

>181 _Zoe_:: Zoe, I guess it's because I absolutely hate touch pads--which means I'm always hooking up mice to laptops. I hate waiting for boot up and log on for the types of things I use a portable for—I just want instant on and go look for something. The iPad would give the instant on and a touchscreen interface (which I like). But, yes, it is quite expensive...especially since I'd want the top of the line model with lots of memory and 3G access.

>182 mckait:/184: McK, They appeal to the techno-weenie in me but it's a compulsion I'm able to resist if I need to.

>183 Chatterbox:: Suzanne, I'm resigned to three devices (computer, phone and Kindle) since I agree about reading on a backlit device. We're different in that the iPhone is the perfect phone for me. I'm not saying it's the only possible phone—I got it pre-Android days, so I haven't checked out its competition—but I wouldn't trade downward in features...I use too many of them every day. In effect, it's my portable computer sans a financial program.

And that's the rub: the iPad doesn't offer a ton of incremental value to me if I can't get that Quicken replacement on it. I don't mind the touch interface for the keyboard since I can always hook up a regular keyboard if I if I'm going to do a lot of typing. I'd like the bigger screen size for surfing, etc. But spending the money on something that really doesn't give me anything new...well, I'm leaning away from the whole idea for the moment.

#128 : I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett

Young Adult Fantasy, 368 pages



If you think you'd like to try a Pratchett novel, this isn't the place to start. Look at a Discworld flowchart (e.g. here or here) and pick one of the starting books.

If you're a Discworld fan but haven't delved into the books that have more of a young adult focus, this isn't the place to start. Pick up The Wee Free Men, the first book in the Tiffany Aching series.

If you're a Tiffany Aching fan, this is an absolutely perfect ending to this sub-series of stories about self-reliance and responsibility.

I like the Tiffany Aching subseries, so I will have to get to that one eventually. Unfortunately the local library does not have that one or the one immediately previous to it either yet.

>188 TadAD: Ooh...love the flow chart. I've saved it to print out at work. Just curious, would you recommend a reread of the Tiffany Aching series before reading the latest (it's been a few years and a few hundred books in between to make me forget a lot), or does I Shall Wear Midnight explain enough that I could pick it up right away?

>190 bell7:: It's pretty stand-alone, Mary. You really only need to remember the vaguest outline of Wintersmith and who the major characters are in the series to enjoy this one.

>191 TadAD: Alrighty, thanks Tad. I may go back and reread them anyways because I enjoyed them, but I'll see what my reading plate looks like when I get my hands on it. :)

>192 bell7:: A good plan!

Btw, here's a slightly different version of the chart if you care.

On the subject of the iPad -

The wife and I have been sharing a laptop for a while at home, and we found ourselves *ahem* discussing who's turn it was to use said laptop in the evenings. The iPad gives us most of the functionality of a second laptop at what for us would be less money than a second Macbook. I did look at netbooks, and think they're a fine alternative, but I really, really like the iPad interface. Also, I carry the iPad with me when I travel for work (well, even for fun!) and it's nice to have a very light, very compact replacement for the laptop, several physical books, an iPod, assorted chargers and cords, etc. in my briefcase.

What we don't use iPad for:
- Family financial accounting. We use Quicken as well and we want to keep all the records in one place with appropriate backups. There's no good way to synchronize between the laptop and the iPad for this, and I'm not sure I'd want to even if I could. On the other hand, we can do bill pay and financial transactions online through our credit union on either the iPad or the laptop, and that works nicely. We don't do bill pay and such through Quicken.

- I like the virtual keyboard interface for the most part, but I don't think I'd want to write long documents or make fancy presentations on the iPad. The screen size isn't up to the challenge, and touchscreen interface isn't precise enough for me. On the other hand, it works great for reviewing stuff and making edits to existing docs. I use it for that when I'm on travel for work-related material. I haven't tried the remote keyboard approach yet.

- The wife uses Entourage on the laptop for her email, but she likes iCal for her calendar. I set up calendar sharing through Google so I don't have to worry about physically synchronizing the iPad with the laptop, but it's a clumsy approach. I need to figure out how to do this better. For now, we're still mainly using iCal on the laptop for calendar. This isn't so much a failing of the iPad as it is the bad approach to calendar sharing we've taken. I really need to set up online calendars and use a publish and subscribe approach to synching everybody up.

If you already have an iPhone that you like, the iPad doesn't add much except a bigger interface to work with. If that's the case, I'd stick with a full-blown laptop. If you don't have an iPhone, the pad is a great way to get that functionality, replace or extend a laptop useful life, or add a second option for meeting the family demands on your systems. I love mine, and it was very disturbing when I got home the other day and the wife had appropriated it while she's laying on the couch recovering from a cold. I'd bet there's another one in the not so distant future for us.

BTW, I found out that the service that manages ebook and audiobook check-in/check-out/download for our public will soon be releasing an iPad/iPhone app. That means I'll be able to check books out of my library directly to the iPad and, at least for some books, won't have to lug around physical copies or pay for e-copies. Well, except for in the taxes I pay to support the library, anyway :)

I just read I Shall Wear Midnight Thursday, and totally agree with you!

I feel like a backward three-year-old around here. I go shoe tie thing now.

Tad, I love/adore my iPad and for me it's working great, but since you're still in doubt, I'd wait until February when they're supposed to be coming out with a new, slightly smaller version.

I think you have to take into consideration not only what you're going to use it for ('cas the apps for it are growing exponentially) as well as what pleases you aesthetically. I just couldn't give up everything I love about books for a boring (and to me) ugly Kindle with its black and white pages and boring beige plastic cover, plus it doesn't do anything else.

I don't mind reading on the iPad because I'm on the computer half the day anyway. I already read the paper(s) on my laptop, so it's just an even better experience on my iPad. Although I have Wi-Fi in my house, I didn't move around that much with my laptop, whereas it's easier to keep my iPad with me. And last week, it was so cool and useful to have it with me at the bookstore. I could not only access my wish list, but I could check out what, say you've recommended versus what Donna has recommended, because I tag all my wish list books with that info.

I access all the games I've created via Dropbox and I've found apps that allow me and my students to write and/or draw on them. I hand-write all my tutoring session notes on my iPad and have started sending copies to my students and their parents. I can import, edit, and sign things, then send them back... I won't bore you with all the stuff I do on my iPad, I'll just say it's the way of the future for my students and me. Two of my students have already gotten one since I got mine just this month, and with the same apps I can support them so much more intensively--and it's just so darn fun...and beautiful to look at and use.

Have fun deciding, Tad!

Wow, Bonnie, you are light years ahead of me in what you use and why! But what I need is primarily Internet access and Word. I'm starting to learn how to use a Mac app called Scrivener as a writer's organizational tool. But, like some others, I find the touchscreen keypads to be too imprecise when I'm cranking out thousands of words a day, on websites like this, while writing, e-mailing, etc.

It does all come down to what you need, and what functionality enhances what you've got right now.

I do know I could never switch to reading on a backlit screen. It's because I usually spend hours of my working day in front of a terminal that I crave being able to read on paper or eInk. I find the Kindle "drops away" and becomes invisible, enabling me to focus on the written word -- I want a device that is boring for reading. (The new kindle is a graphite color, but I find that I'm not even noticing that major difference now -- just the text.)

Simply stopping by to wave hi.

Christmas in Nebraska sounds lovely.

>198 Chatterbox:: And I just signed up with Square to accept credit cards, using my iPad and a "reader" that plugs into the earphone Jack.

One more thing, Tad. This is so obvious, I didn't mention it before, but I love that I can adjust print size with a tap of my finger--I so need that.

Wow! Bonnie just talked me into going out and buying an iPad in the next five minutes. Do you work for Apple, you salesman you??

#201 LOL. I was thinking the same thing. Bonnie should work for them.

I don't need an iPad but I want one! Thanks Bonnie.

>195 ronincats:: I'm glad you had the same reaction, Roni. It was the best one of the series, imo.

>196 richardderus:: Richard, it's "I go do shoe tie thing now." :-D

>199 Whisper1:: Linda, Christmas in Nebraska sounds flat and treeless (well, except for the Christmas tree). That is, of course, a poke at my sister's post at >185 worrellw:. *grin*

Jim & Bonnie: Thanks for the extended reviews.

At this point, I'm leaning away from it. Even if I catch one of the $250-off sales that occasionally occur through my wife's company, it's $579 + $15 a month for something that really provides me nothing new beyond extended screen real estate over the iPhone.

I do word processing, etc. on the home computer. If I need portability, I can simply take my work laptop with an external drive. I do wish my personal laptop was portable, but the battery has died and the after-market versions are getting horrendous reviews, so it's essentially a small desktop unit now. I debate buying a Mac laptop simply because I've never owned one but the same considerations apply...what does it get me that I don't have right now?

I just soooo like the idea of an iPad.

I'm enjoying and learning a lot from this discussion. I continue to be very tempted by the iPad, but for now I'll still with my home laptop, road netbook, and my BlackBerry. Many of the books I buy and read are not in e-book format for me to purchase (UK books or books from small publishers), and I'm not sufficiently interested in reading books on the screen. I'll probably succumb to the iPad in the next year or two, when (presumably) the prices drop a bit.

#205 - but the battery has died and the after-market versions are getting horrendous reviews, so it's essentially a small desktop unit now

I also have a dead battery on my HP laptop and have been hesitating to replace it because of the cost. Do I have to worry about a lack of quality, too?

>206 kidzdoc:: Darryl, I don't know if the prices on iPads will drop or not (that's not Apple's track record) but there will be a number of competing tablets out, many on the Android platform. The Galaxy, made by Samsung and being OEMed by a large number of companies, is due out right about now and I think it's just the first item through the floodgates. So, there might be many alternatives, especially if you're a Blackberry user and not invested in iPhone/iPad applications already.

>207 Copperskye:: In a word, yes. If it doesn't come from the original manufacturer (Dell no longer makes the battery I need), you might want to check reviews a bit. Aftermarket laptop batteries have always enjoyed a dodgy reputation: much shorter life, less capacity, etc. Beyond that, the replacement for the Latitude 830, which is what I need, also has some reports of overheating and frying the computer. That's why I'm somewhat convinced to leave my personal laptop as a "lightweight desktop" and just use my work machine when I need portability. I have a 500GB drive I can plug into it, so I just put an image of my personal stuff over onto that drive and things are fine.

Good to know Tad, thanks. I'll be sure to look for an HP battery.

>208 TadAD: *perk* I don't have to buy anything Apple and I can still have a tablet?! I am allergic to the smug culty-ness of all the Apple Crapple there is out there.

>210 richardderus:: Richard, yes. There is already the Dell Streak, but it is less-than-good from all reports. The Samsung Galaxy is receiving favorable advance press and is being OEMed by AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, etc.

It's a 7" tablet...much like the version of the iPad rumored to be arriving in February...with a bigger version expected later this year.

Due out over the next few months from the various vendors.

Obviously, press releases are only touting the things it does better than the iPad. I'm sure that there will be things it does worse. However, those better things include:

* Cameras, so better for things like Skype than the iPad, which has no camera
* Multi-tasking, unlike the iPad, which puts severe limits on that
* Built-in phone

Here's one comparison chart:

Oh ho! A ha! Many thanks, Tad. I sense Christmas....

>212 richardderus:: If it's a Christmas target, start watching after Thanksgiving. There have been many rumors that Google will ship a tablet in early December, though no one at Google has confirmed it to my knowledge.

If you're slightly geeky like me, it's interesting to speculate about a Google tablet. Would it run Chrome OS, an operating system that Google is supposedly releasing to Open Source. If so, there's the bad side the new operating systems haven't been field-tested as much and the good side that open source stuff tends to have lots of people fixing bugs and adding new features.

There's also the aspect that Google tried to one-up everyone with the Nexus One phone. They didn't entirely succeed but will they do the same with their tablet?

Fun to speculate. However, like the Galaxy, I don't really tend to consider anything I can't put my hands on.

Having beaten iPads to death, a new thread is started here.