thornton37814's 2011 challenge

My goal is to read books from 11 categories in 2011. While I'd love to read 11 books in each category, I'm not sure if 121 books in 2011 is realistic so I'm going to say that I will read a minimum of 7 books per category and up to 11 in each. I think an overall target of 99 books is manageable.

I've come up with the general theme for all 11 categories but I reserve the right to change the "Category Name" if I come up with a better name for a given category. The categories were determined using the books in my personal to be read stash as well as books on loan from a friend who has similar reading tastes.

Category 1: Carolina on My Mind - Books with a setting in North Carolina or South Carolina, including fiction and non-fiction.

Category 2: The British Isles - Books set somewhere in the British Isles. I anticipate that most of the books in this category will be fiction, but I reserve the right to include a couple of non-fiction titles.

Category 3: The Travel Channel - Books that involve travel (by boat, by train, by plane, by automobile, by RV, etc.) or that are travel narratives. I want to keep this category pretty broad. It will include fiction and non-fiction.

Category 4: Home Economics Class - Books that involve cooking/food or needlework. While the majority of books here will be fiction, I suspect that I'll want to read some of the non-fiction books on cooking or food history that are in my stash.

Category 5: MYSTERY! - Mysteries of all sorts -- cozies, police procedurals, etc. I expect that the majority of these will be fictional, but I reserve the right to include a true crime novel or two.

Category 6: Book 'Em Danno - Books about libraries, bookstores, the book, books and reading, etc. While the majority will be fictional, there will probably be one or two non-fiction.

Category 7: The History Channel - Books on history, including, but not limited to, histories of countries, histories of specific periods of time, family history, social history, and even historical novels!

Category 8: Asian Escapes - Books with an Asian setting (including the Middle Eastern portion of Asia). I anticipate most will be fiction, but I reserve the right to include a few non-fiction.

Category 9: Faith of Our Fathers - Fiction and non-fiction books in which religion or faith plays a role.

Category 10: The Borrowers - These are books on loan to me by a friend or books that I borrow from a library.

Category 11: In the Mood - These will be books that I wish to read that either don't fit one of the other categories or that go over the limit of 11 in one of the other categories.

Category 1: CAROLINA ON MY MIND

1. Tupelo Honey Cafe by Elizabeth Sims and Brian Sonostus - completed 22 January 2011
2. Murder Checks Inn by Tim Myers - completed 29 January 2011
3. The Sands of Time: A History of Hilton Head Island by greermargaret::Margaret Greer - completed 27 February 2011
4. Scones and Bones by childslaura::Laura Childs - completed 9 March 2011
5. Murder on Pawley's by Margaret Haswell - completed 26 April 2011
6. Return to Sullivan's Island by Dorothea Benton Frank - completed 2 May 2011
7. Skyward by Mary Alice Monroe - completed 17 May 2011

Category 2: THE BRITISH ISLES

1. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson - completed 6 January 2011.
2. White Nights by Ann Cleeves - completed 15 January 2011
3. Rosewater and Soda Bread by Marsha Mehran - completed 18 January 2011
4. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen - completed 21 January 2011
5. The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths - completed 27 January 2011
6. The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths - completed 1 February 2011
7. Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear - completed 3 February 2011
8. Kissed a Sad Goodbye by Deborah Crombie - completed 7 March 2011
9. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen - completed 24 May 2011

Category 3: THE TRAVEL CHANNEL

1. My Famous Evening by Howard Norman - completed 3 January 2011
2. A Year in the World by Frances Mayes - completed 21 February 2011
3. How to Eat a Small Country by Amy Finley - completed 22 April 2011
4. Invisible by Lorena McCourtney - completed 28 May 2011
5. Hospital Sketches by Louisa May Alcott - completed 28 May 2011
6. A Stingray Bit My Nipple!: True Stories from Real Travelers - completed 1 Jun 2011
7. Murder on the Lusitania by Conrad Allen - completed 6 June 2011

Category 4: HOME ECONOMICS CLASS

1. The Quick and the Thread by Amanda Lee - completed 10 January 2011
2. Food from Many Greek Kitchens by Tessa Kiros - completed 30 January 2011
3. Costa Rican Typical Foods by Carmen de Musmanni - completed 5 March 2011
4. Memphis Cuisine: A Sampling of Restaurants and Their Recipes by Christine Arpe Gang - completed 7 March 2011
5. The Farmers' Market Cookbook by Nina Planck - completed 22 March 2011
6. Urban Pantry by Amy Pennington - completed 23 March 2011
7. Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François - completed 25 March 2011
8. Mollie Katzen's Sunlight Cafe by Mollie Katzen - completed 26 March 2011
9. Plum Gorgeous by Romney Steele - completed 5 April 2011
10. Cucina Povera by Pamela Sheldon Johns - completed 5 April 2011
11. At My Grandmother's Knee by porterfaye::Faye Porter - completed 21 April 2011

Category 5: MYSTERY!

1. The Corpse Wore Tartan by Kaitlyn Dunnett - completed 7 January 2011
2. Darkness at the Stroke of Noon by Dennis Richard Murphy - completed 8 January 2011
3. Among the Departed by Vicki Delany - completed 26 February 2011
4. Murder on Bank Street by Victoria Thompson - completed 3 March 2011
5. Pardonable Lies by Jacqueline Winspear - completed 15 March 2011
6. The Law and the Lady by Wilkie Collins - completed 19 March 2011
7. The Long Quiche Goodbye by Avery Aames - completed 27 March 2011
8. Secret of the White Rose by Stefanie Pintoff - completed 14 April 2011
9. The Snowman by Jo Nesbo - completed 28 April 2011

Category 6: BOOK 'EM DANNO

1. The Hemingway Book Club of Kosovo by Paula Huntley - completed 8 January 2011
2. My Reading Life by Pat Conroy - completed 19 January 2011
3. Inside the Natchez Trace Collection: New Sources for Southern History edited by Katherine J. Adams and Lewis L. Gould - completed 27 February 2011
4. Homicide in Hardcover by Kate Carlisle - completed 5 March 2011
5. Literary Taste: How to Form It by Arnold Bennett - completed 12 April 2011
6. Help! I'm a Prisoner in the Library by Eth Clifford - completed 3 June 2011
7. The Cupid Chronicles by Coleen Murtagh Paratore - completed 3 June 2011

Category 7: THE HISTORY CHANNEL

1. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by mitchelldavid::David Mitchell - completed 2 January 2011
2. The Colony of Unrequited Dreams by johnstonwayne::Wayne Johnston - completed 14 February 2011
3. Natchez before 1830 edited by Noel Polk - completed 2 March 2011
4. The Food of a Younger Land edited by Mark Kurlansky - completed 29 March 2011
5. The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer - completed 5 April 2011
6. From the Jewish Heartland: Two Centuries of Midwest Foodways by Ellen F. Steinberg and Jack H. Prost - completed 15 April 2011
7. The Cincinnati Red Stalkings by Troy Soos - completed 5 May 2011

Category 8: ASIAN ESCAPES

1. Not Yet Drown'd by Peg Kingman - completed 25 January 2011
2. The Good Daughter by Jasmin Darznik - completed 5 February 2011
3. A Cup of Friendship by Deborah Rodriguez - completed 1 March 2011
4. A Tiger in the Kitchen by Cheryl Lu-lien Tan - completed 30 March 2011
5. A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park - completed 26 April 2011
6. Pearl of China by Anchee Min - completed 22 May 2011
7. A Passage to India by E. M. Forster - completed 4 June 2011

Category 9: FAITH OF OUR FATHERS

1. Puritanism: A Very Short Introduction by Francis J. Bremer - completed 6 January 2011
2. The Cloister Walk by Kathleen Norris - completed 28 January 2011
3. A Miracle for St. Cecelia's by Katherine Valentine - completed 15 February 2011
4. I Am Hutterite by Mary-Ann Kirkby - completed 24 February 2011
5. He's Been Faithful by Carol Cymbala - completed 23 March 2011
6. Thou Shalt Not Kill edited by Anne Perry - completed 28 March 2011
7. Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream by David Platt - completed 10 April 2011
8. Christ in the Passover by Ceil Rosen and Moishe Rosen - completed 11 April 2011
9. Digital Disciple by Adam Thomas - completed 17 April 2011
10. Heaven Is For Real by Todd Burpo - completed 25 April 2011
11. The Reluctant Detective by Martha Ockley - completed 19 May 2011

Category 10: THE BORROWERS

1. Here and Nowhere Else by Jane Brox - completed 22 January 2011
2. Family Affair by Debbie Macomber - completed 29 January 2011
3. The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley - completed 22 February 2011
4. The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig - completed 19 April 2011
5. A Deadly Shaker Spring by Deborah Woodworth - completed 23 April 2011
6. Blood Country by Mary Logue - completed 7 June 2011
7. Journey by James Michener - completed 8 June 2011

Category 11: IN THE MOOD

1. My Korean Deli: Risking It All for a Convenience Store by Ben Ryder Howe - completed 5 February 2011
2. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - completed 22 March 2011
3. Remembering Knoxville by William E. Hardy - completed 29 March 2011
4. The Photographs of Marion Post Wolcott by Marion Post Wolcott - completed 19 April 2011
5. At Home on Ladybug Farm by Donna Ball - completed 25 April 2011
6. Cooking with Yashim by Jason Goodwin - completed 3 May 2011
7. In the Shadow of Gotham by Stefanie Pintoff - completed 30 May 2011
8. When Cows Fly by Tom Watson - completed 2 June 2011

Love the categories, esp. Book 'Em Danno (retired librarian here). Also, the Carolinas, Asia, and British Isles. Have a great challenge!

>13 auntmarge64: I was trying to think of something creative for the category, and that phrase from Hawaii 5-0 came to mind! I'm a librarian too, so I always love books set in libraries or bookstores. I also read quite a bit on books and reading, but some of it is in periodical form rather than book form. I just needed a category that could be inclusive.

It looks like fun! And it's given me a few ideas for my own challenge, so thanks!

A Carolina category! I've found a few in my hands as of late. I'll be watching your list for inspiration!

>16 VictoriaPL:. As I was going through my to be read pile, I noticed how many books with settings in either NC or SC that I have. I'd also purchased quite a few books from North Carolina Dept. of Cultural Resources that I haven't managed to read yet. I think I even have a few SC non-fiction in my TBR pile. I decided that it should be easy to find 11 books in that category and whittle down the TBR pile.

I grew up in Raleigh, NC, so I'm very excited to see what books you read for your Carolina category!

>18 christina_reads: Raleigh is one of my favorite cities. I go over to research at the NC State Library & Archives quite often, and I have a lot of friends who live in the greater Raleigh area.

I've struggled with the assignment of The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell to my challenge threads since it fits so many, but I've settled on "The History Channel" for now since it's such a great work of historical fiction. What a captivating books about Jacob de Zoet, a clerk for the Dutch East Indies Company in Japan. He falls in love with Orito, the disfigured daughter of a doctor who works as a midwife. The story alternates voices in different chapters. Most action is in Dejima in Nagasaki Harbor or at the monastery/convent run by Abbot Enomoto. The opening pages seemed to be a bit slower in action than later ones, but the language utilized by David Mitchell was so captivating that I never considered abandoning the book. I knew very little about life in Japan during that era. I was saddened by the plight of women during this time. Most of the book's action was set in 1799 with a little in 1800 and a couple of follow up chapters that catch us up on the characters in 1811 and 1817 respectively. Highly recommended. 4.5 stars.

I love your categories! Belated congratulations on completing last year's challenge, and I look forward to seeing what you read this year!

>21 tymfos: Thanks, Terri. I look forward to yours as well. We share so many books in common!

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet was my first David Mitchell book and I thought it was excellant too. It's such a facinating period of history.

>23 clfisha: I don't recall having read another book by David Mitchell, but I'm certain that I'll pick up others in the future. He's a very good writer. This was a fascinating period of history as well!

David Mitchell's books are very different from each other, although the ones I've read were all fantastic and so well-written. I loved The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, too.

I'm counting My Famous Evening by Howard Norman in my "Travel Channel" category. The first story told in the book and for which the book is titled definitely involves travel, and most of the other stories could count as travel narratives at least to some extent.

Howard Norman discovered Nova Scotia in the late 1960s while a graduate student working on a folklore project at Indiana University. He's been returning ever since because of his attachment to it. He shares stories with us that he has learned from the locals as well as from his own personal encounters. There is a small thread which each seemingly unrelated story to the other. While I enjoyed Norman's writing, I wasn't particularly drawn into his style of writing. My favorite story was the first which was largely a collection of previously unpublished letters shared with him by the letter writer's sister. Persons with an interest in Joseph Conrad, Elizabeth Bishop, or birding may enjoy the stories featuring each. 3 stars.

You've got some great categories - looking forward to seeing you fill them up. I've starred you.

Thanks, DeltaQueen50. I'm looking forward to reducing my TBR pile this year, but I'm sure it will grow anyway! It always does!

Yep, I think growing TBR piles is a natural by-product of being here on LT! And well worth the price, I might add.

First up in my British Isles category: Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson. Widower Major Ernest Pettigrew lives in the little village of Edgecombe St. Mary. He enjoys his friendship with the widowed Pakistani grocer Jasmina Ali who shares his love for literature. This is a wonderful novel that explores race and prejudice, social customs, inheritance, generation gap, religious differences, and much more. It's a wonderful read with characters you love as well as a few that anger you. Edgecombe St. Mary is an interesting village that most readers will feel they wish they could visit. This book did not disappoint. 4.5 stars.

In my "Faith of Our Fathers" category:

Puritanism: A Very Short Introduction by Francis J. Bremer. Author Francis J. Bremer delivers exactly what is promised by the title of this book -- a brief introduction on Puritan thought. There are a few quotes, mostly in shaded sidebars. While one could tell the author was familiar with primary source writings, she utilized quite a few secondary sources in this overview of the Puritan movement. There are no footnotes, but there are bibliographies which accompany each chapter, leading the reader who wishes to explore the topics more fully to good sources. We learn a bit about the history and theology of the movement, how the Puritan interacted in society, and about personal lifestyle. The weakness of the book is in describing the decline of Puritanism and describing the genealogy of present-day groups claiming some level of origin with the Puritans. This book, however, is well-suited to persons who just want an introductory level of knowledge about Puritan history and theology. 3.5 stars.

Since I'm in Durham, I'm looking forward to your Carolina reads. Also, I like the Book 'Em Danno category.

My first read in the MYSTERY! category is an Early Reviewer book:

The Corpse Wore Tartan by Kaitlyn Dunnett. This is the first novel I've read in the Liss MacCrimmon Mystery series although it is the author's fourth. In this installment, members of the Scottish Heritage Appreciation Society along with most of the hotel staff and a few of the townspeople are snowed into the Spruces hotel in Moosetookalook, Maine. (You've got to love the town's name.) Even a local police officer and a member of the sheriff's department are among those caught by the blizzard as they've come to investigate a theft. It's not long before a body is found. When I first began this novel, I thought it was possible that I was going to find yet another novel using the Agatha Christie plot of "And Then There Was None," but I was pleasantly surprised to find much less similarity than I expected considering the circumstances. This was a quite enjoyable read for a somewhat snowy day. I enjoyed the main characters enough to want to go back and read the rest of the series. This review is based on a LibraryThing Early Reviewer copy received with the expectation that a review would be written. 3.5 stars.

I already had a couple of her books on my wishlist and now I'll be adding this one too.

Another one in my MYSTERY! category: Darkness at the Stroke of Noon by Dennis Richard Murphy. Sgt. Kennison, a Mountie, has been sent to Yellowknife, NWT, because of the threat he poses his superiors. When the body of Dr. Kneisser, a scientist researching the Franklin Expedition, and another person turn up dead in Victory Point, King William Island, Nunavut, he is sent to investigate. Meanwhile, Ruby Cruz has been sent by Kneisser's sponsors to fetch him back to the Washington, DC area along with a journal he's discovered. For such a cold and dark destination, there's a surprising amount of action and adventure packed into these pages. I'd love to revisit the characters, but the author's death after completing this book makes that an impossibility. I'll just have to imagine what might have happened. 4 stars.

First in my "Book 'em, Danno" category: The Hemingway Book Club of Kosovo by Paula Huntley. Huntley's husband decided to take a one year leave of absence to go to Kosovo to help with the legal system. She took a brief TESL course so that she could teach English to persons desiring to learn. She found a used copy of Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea which turned out to be one of the best teaching tools because it provided a good springboard for discussion, giving the class more of a "club" feel. Huntley has utilized the journal that she kept during the time she spent in Kosovo to tell the story of her time there. In it we see a glimpse of what life was like, not only for Americans living there in the days after the revolution, but also for the locals. We see the threat of more war as well. It's a touching story. The author has provided a list of organizations where persons may volunteer Overseas service. Many persons will be inspired to do just that as there are some inspiring stories in its pages. There's also a follow-up interview with the author. 4 stars.

Some very interesting reading you've done lately!

#33 (Moosetookalook, Maine? Gotta love it!)

>33 thornton37814: I finished The Corpse Wore Tartan last night, and am in complete agreement with your review. I also want to read the earlier books!

>38 ivyd: Ivy, I'm really glad you liked it too. I'm really glad that I won that one because I discovered a new cozy series that I like.

The first in my "Home Economics Class" category is a needlework mystery: The Quick and the Thread by Amanda Lee. Marcy Singer leaves the rat race of San Francisco to open her own needlework shop in Tallulah Falls, Oregon where her former college roommate and her husband own the coffee shop next door.. The morning after her open house, she discovers a body in the storage room. The deceased had begun engraving a message with an embroidery needle. It's up to the detectives (and Marcy, of course) to puzzle out the message and find out who the murderer is before another person becomes a victim. This was a good debut mystery. There were several viable suspects with enough red herrings to keep it entertaining. The author used a lot of references to older television programs in her narrative. They often provided just the right amount of humor or the exact picture or amount of descriptiveness to convey the point. I do hope that as Marcy's customer base grows in subsequent novels, that a more intimate group of stitchers is developed, such as the group in Monica Ferris' novels. There is still a little something lacking in the atmosphere of the needlework shop and even in the town's atmosphere. It was, however, a good beginning to the series, and I do plan to read the next installment. 3 stars.

Second in my "British Isles" category: White Nights by Ann Cleeves - A local artist Bella Sinclair is hosting a joint exhibition at her home, the Manse, in Biddista, Shetland Islands. A mysterious man shows up at the Manse and when Jimmy Perez, the local policeman, speaks to him, the man is acting rather confused, claiming a case of amnesia. The next morning Jimmy is called to investigate a body that has been found. It turns out to be the man no one claims to know, holding a mask in his hand. Roy Turner from Inverness comes in to help with the investigation. They must determine who the man is and why someone in Biddista would want the man dead. It's an interesting case. There were plenty of options as to whom the murderer might be. I had not completely settled on a suspect in my own mind when the outcome was revealed. I did enjoy this second installment, although I believe I enjoyed the first one slightly more. This review is based on an Advance Readers Copy loaned to me by a friend. 4 stars.

White Nights is actually next up on my TBR pile, as soon as I finish The Tenderness of Wolves. I really enjoyed Raven Black -- glad to hear you enjoyed this one, too.

Lori,

You can't keep going at this pace! You've read 9 books, I'm adding 4 to my Investigate list that means when you finish the challenge I will have added 43! Stop already!

The Corpse Wore Tartan, Darkness at the Stroke of Noon,The Quick and the Thread, and White Nights are hitting the pile - you might be as dangerous as Stasia.

>43 cyderry: Cheli, I'm back at work now. I have definitely slowed down a bit. I'll probably only average a couple of books a week until summer!

Another one in my "British Isles" category: Rosewater and Soda Bread by Marsha Mehran. Three Iranian women are now in Ireland, having escaped the Revolution. The setting is the mid to late 1980s. A local woman finds a mermaid-like girl who has committed unspeakable acts in trying to abort a baby. The women carry on with their lives while trying to help their friend discover the identity of the girl. There's really not much of a plot here, and I suspect that my enjoyment of the novel is greatly marred by having not read Pomegranate Soup first. There just really seems to be quite a bit lacking in this novel . . . including a gripping plot. 2.5 stars.

Another entry in my "Book 'Em, Danno" category: My Reading Life by Pat Conroy - Pat Conroy's love affair with books began with his mom's love for literature. A high school English teacher also had a profound influence on him in his early years. In this book, Pat Conroy shares his lifelong love affair with reading. He shares with his readers some of the books that influenced his life, some of the people that called attention to books, and to his encounters with others in the book business -- fellow authors and persons more involved in the publishing aspect. Anyone who aspires to be a writer needs to read this book. Persons studying Conroy's works will find a greater appreciation of them by knowing something of Conroy's life and the extent to which he employed his own life in his work. I've missed reading a few of the classics mentioned by the author as being influential in his own life, and his praise for them makes me want to read these. I've already downloaded a free copy of one of these works to my Kindle application. This is, perhaps, the highest form of praise that I can demonstrate. 4.5 stars.

I've heard a lot of good things about My Reading Life!

BTW, I started White Nights yesterday, and I'm finding it very good!

>47 tymfos: Terri, Glad you are enjoying White Nights. You'll enjoy Conroy's book when you get around to it!

My "British Isles" category is filling up quickly. Fortunately, many of the British Isles category books I intend to read this year will fit in my borrowed and in the mood categories so I can still read many more after I fill this category. I finished my re-read of Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen last night. I won't say a lot here because I don't have anything very original to say about such a classic. I gave it 4 stars.

** Added comment: I failed to mention this was a re-read for me, and that I read the Illustrated Edition that I downloaded for free on Austen's birthday in December to my Nook application for iPhone. Loved the illustrations!

First in my "The Borrowers" category is a library book: Here and Nowhere Else by Jane Brox - This is an account of the author's life on her family's farm in the Merrimack Valley of Massachusetts. The author's descriptions of the land are vivid, but her writing style does not flow quite as naturally as the nearby Merrimack River. It is, however, a good depiction of farm life. 3 stars.

First entry in my "Carolina on My Mind" category is a cookbook: Tupelo Honey Cafe by Elizabeth Sims and Brian Sonostus - I received a copy of this for 60 day review use via NetGalley, but I'm definitely purchasing it when it is available in stores. The Tupelo Honey Cafe is located in Asheville, North Carolina, which is about 70 miles away. The book has many recipes that are quite manageable for everyday use as well as some that are elegant enough to serve on special occasions. It is beautifully illustrated with photos of the food, ventures into the garden, and scenes from the area and the restaurant. I loved the glimpses into regional culture in the book. There are quotes from Asheville author Thomas Wolfe as well as several mentions of Duke's Mayonnaise as being the preferred one. 5 stars.

I live about an hour or so away from Asheville and I've never been. I keep hearing that it's very nice, so maybe I'll plan a trip with lunch at the Tupelo Honey Cafe.

I definitely plan to stop there for lunch sometime. It looks like they have more than just the original restaurant now, but I think I want the experience of the original one.

I have family in South Carolina just below the border of NC and they swear by Dukes Mayonaisse.

There's actually a Knoxville mayonnaise brand called JFG which seems to be more popular on this side of the mountain, but I know that on the Carolina side Dukes reigns supreme.

Well, clearly it is the best. Duke's runs a small deli that serves lunch here in Greenville. A friend gave me one of their cinnamon pound cakes for Christmas. It was divine. I don't think they used mayonnaise in it, but Duke's stuff is good.

This book probably belongs in my travel category, but I'm using it as the first in my "Asian Escapes" category because the book description led me to believe that most of the action was set in India. The book was not quite what I expected, and only the latter half of the book was en route to or in Asia, yet India still figures prominently in the first portion, so I decided to go ahead and count it where I'd intended to count it. Not Yet Drown'd by Peg Kingman - Catherine MacDonald has recently lost both her husband and her brother. She is trying to hang onto her stepdaughter, even when the stepdaughter's blood relatives send a servant from America to obtain custody of the girl. Catherine has received a parcel from India suggesting that her brother may not have drowned in the floods as had been assumed. Eventually she sets out to India to try to locate her brother with a runaway slave and a girl from India who have been helpful to her accompanying her. I found that the plot of the book was not what I expected based on the description. The story line is different from most, and it certainly pushes the fringes of what could have realistically happened at that period of time. I did enjoy the author's bringing William Carey, the renowned missionary, into the plot. Music and tea play important roles in the narrative. The portion of the book which dealt with the period before setting sail could have been reduced by 50 to 75 pages without hurting the story. I found the latter part much more pleasurable to read. 3.5 stars.

So many great books…but it's the Conroy book that's going to have to be on my TBR pile!

Another British Isles book - The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths. Ten years ago a young girl was reported missing in Norfolk. Some bones have been discovered near a henge, and Detective Chief Inspector Harry Nelson calls upon Ruth Galloway, an archaeologist from the nearby university, to help date the bones. He's disappointed that they are from the Iron Age. Ruth, of course, becomes involved in the investigation. The setting for this one reminded me of the setting in Erin Hart's Haunted Ground which dealt with bog bodies. It's the same type of soil in this area of England that was in that area of Ireland. The novel itself has a lot to offer with the setting and with archaeology, folklore, and ancient ritual all figuring in the plot. There were three viable suspects, and I really wasn't 100% sure until the revelation which of the three had committed the crimes. The writer sometimes goes a little over the top with her descriptions when something a little more subtle would have been just as effective or more so. The one example that continues to bother me is the fact that it was pounded into our heads over and over in the opening chapters that Ruth's parents were Evangelical Christians, but Ruth was not. One time would have been sufficient to convey that thought but I'm not even sure that it was introduced at an appropriate time. It seemed unnatural and disrupted the flow of the narrative in the early chapters. I think the appropriate time was a later time when it was brought up as she was discussing religion with another character. However, by that time, we were well aware of Ruth's beliefs as it had been pounded into our heads at least a half dozen times by that point. If this had been an important theme in the book, it might have been different, but it really only served the purpose of Ruth's being able to identify Biblical references because of her parents' influence. It really seemed more that the author was injecting her own agenda into the novel in a place where it didn't completely fit. Still it was a very interesting mystery, and I am looking forward to reading The Janus Stone. 3.5 stars

My second in the "Faith of Our Fathers" category: The Cloister Walk by Kathleen Norris - I really wanted to like this book, but I found myself struggling with it because it was not quite what I expected. I expected more of a unified narrative detailing how the author became closer to God because of her sojourns in the monastery. Instead, I got a lot of short, choppy thoughts with a few more thoughtful narratives thrown in the mix. When I got to the end, I saw that some of the sketches had been previously published in various publications. I prefer Brother Lawrence's The Practice of the Presence of God as a depiction of monastic life and intimacy with God. 2.5 stars.

Second in my "The Borrowers" category: Family Affair by Debbie Macomber - I'm not an avid reader of romance stories. A colleague of mine read this book as soon as we received it in our library. She told me that I'd like the book because it was about cats. Since it was only about 100 pages long, I told her to hold it for me when she was done. I will have to admit that this is a cute story about how a full-blooded Abyssinian and a tom cat get their "servants" together because of their indiscretions. It's also the story of piecing one's life back together and regaining confidence after a divorce. It's a cute, quick read. I may have to try some of the recipes for cat treats at the end of the book. 3 stars.

Second in my "Carolina on My Mind" category: Murder Checks Inn by Tim Myers - The Trask family has checked into Hatteras West, an inn in the Blue Ridge Mountain area with a replica of the famed lighthouse . They are there for the reading of their husband and father's will. When the attorney handling the estate is murdered, Alex, the inn's owner, knows that he must find who killed his uncle (the attorney). There are plenty of suspects and motives and a little romantic action on the sidelines. It's a cute cozy read for fans of the series. I liked this third installment a little more than the second. 3 stars.

Second in my "Home Economics Class" category is a cookbook: Food from Many Greek Kitchens by Tessa Kiros - This is a well-illustrated and useful cookbook on Greek cuisine. There is a special Greek alphabet feature at the beginning as well as a glossary of terms at the beginning that will help orient the user to many of the terms used. This is not a cookbook for beginning cooks. Many of the recipes are quite involved. There are quite a few that extend to two pages and even an occasional recipe that takes more space than that. The author does, however, include most (if not all) of the foods that I enjoy at the annual GreekFest at the Greek Orthodox Church in Knoxville. I received this for review through NetGalley. 4 stars.

My British Isles category is quickly filling, but that's not really a surprise. The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths - A child's skeleton is found buried under an archway on a construction site that dates back to Roman Britain, but these bones appear to be of more recent origin. Once again, Ruth Galloway, a forensic archaeologist, teams up with Harry Nelson to solve this mystery. I really enjoy the way the history of Roman Britain and some of the rituals are incorporated into the story line. I enjoy the main characters in this series -- Ruth, Harry, and Cathbad. I received an advance copy of this book through NetGalley for review. 3.5 stars.

I like the forensic type mysteries and may have to add this series to my wishlists.

Another British Isles. It's actually my 7th in the category so it technically fills it. This is, however, one of the categories I had already anticipated being in the "up to 11" part of my challenge. Fortunately, most of the things I read for this category will also work in a couple of other categories as well.

Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear - The owner of a grocery store hires Maisie to locate his 30+ year old daughter who has run away from home. Meanwhile, the police are investigating the murder of someone who is a friend of the runaway daughter which appears to be a copycat of another murder. The timing is a little too coincidental so Maisie begins to investigate. The more she investigates, the more she is convinced the police have it all wrong. There's another thread running alongside of the main one that involves Maisie's assistant, Beale, who became addicted to pain medications due to his war injuries and yet another that involves Maisie's relationship with her father. It's an interesting puzzle. Readers will sometimes be frustrated that we don't know exactly what Maisie has found or seen until she gets ready to share it with someone else, but it is an effective tool to keep interest and make the plot less predictable. 4 stars.

First up in my "In the Mood" category is an early reviewer book that didn't fit elsewhere:

My Korean Deli: Risking It All for a Convenience Store by Ben Ryder Howe - Before coming to America, Ben Ryder Howe's mother-in-law owned a deli/convenience store in Korea. He and his wife are living with her family as many Korean extended families do. It is his wife's dream to give her mother her dream so they begin looking through the streets of Brooklyn for the shop that will fulfill that dream. Ben is an editor for George Plimpton's Paris Review during Plimpton's final years, but he has to take his turn running the store as well. This is a memoir of his experience running the store while working as an editor. I expected to like this book much more than I did. I like to think of a deli as a place where one purchases sandwich meats, sliced cheese, olives, pickles, a few salads, a little fresh produce, and some some breads, but this one was really more of a convenience store that catered to the beer, cigarette, and lottery crowd. The former would be a nice type of shop to own, but someone the latter just didn't resonate with me. Since Howe had once been an editor for a literary magazine, I expected his narrative to be more absorbing. Instead I encountered moments of greatness in the narrative that might have been refined into more absorbing articles with a little more work along with many more moments that just did nothing for me. I enjoy food writing; I enjoy immigrant narratives; I don't enjoy memoirs that don't resonate with me. Unfortunately this was one fell into the last category. I received this book through LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program with an expectation that a review would be written. 2 stars.

My second book in my Asian Escapes category took me to Iran.

The Good Daughter by Jasmin Darznik - This is a gripping biography/memoir of the women of Jasmin Darznik's family. While much of it deals with her mother Lili and the abuse and oppression she faced in Iran, it also provides a great deal of information about her grandmother Kobra and her half-sister, Sara, whom her mother calls "The Good Daughter" because she was not corrupted by American values. The descriptions are vivid, transporting the reader to Iran. The book reads more like a literary novel than the work of non-fiction that it is. We learn of the treatment of women in the country of Iran during a period of time in which Iran was caught between the old ways and modernization. There are many other themes explored in this book including education, medicine, and alcoholism. My only criticism is that the last couple of chapters of the book depicting life after immigration to America seemed a bit rushed. I received this as a review copy in epub format through NetGalley. 4.5 stars.

My second book in the History Channel category: The Colony of Unrequited Dreams by Wayne Johnston - This is a novelized account of Newfoundland's first premier Joseph "Joey" Smallwood. It's a "rags to riches" story with a lot of disappointments for Joe along the way. He made his name in journalism and organized labor unions over the years. I really can't say that I liked Joe's character or his politics, but I do admire his drive. In fact, I'm not sure that I really admired any character in the book. The book is a little long, and the author does lose a little steam as the novel progresses. It's as though more care was taken in the first half to two-thirds of the book, and the author was rushing to meet deadlines and took less care later. Still it's an interesting story of how Newfoundland came to be a Canadian province. 4 stars.

A third book in my "Faith of Our Fathers" category: A Miracle for St. Cecelia's by Katherine Valentine - Father James Flaherty presides over the parish of St. Cecelia's in Dorsetville, Connecticut. The parish consists of a community in economic decline and aging residents. The church itself is in disrepair and in violation of the fire code. There is a lot of need both in the families of the parish and the community at large that will go unmet if the parish is forced to close. Unfortunately the archbishop decides to do just that. The parish will close after Easter unless a miracle transpires. I loved the characters in this book. They are endearing yet real, having their share of problems and flaws. While many others have claimed this book is similar to Jan Karon's Mitford series, I feel that it is more of a cross between Jan Karon and more traditional Christian fiction, while being distinctly Catholic. I would hesitate to recommend this book to many of my Evangelical friends because of the emphasis on the Virgin Mary. If one can get past those doctrinal differences between Protestantism and Catholicism, this would be a great read for fans of the Jan Karon series or of Christian fiction. 3.5 stars.

My second adventure in "The Travel Channel": A Year in the World by Frances Mayes - Frances Mayes takes us on a journey through several European cities and to cities in Turkey and Morocco in this book. It's not quite a world-wide trip, but it is a year of travels that I would probably enjoy. I love her descriptions of food, gardens, libraries, bookstores, etc. Her passion for good food and good literature shines through this volume. Some of the narratives are more engaging than others, but I suspect that is more of an aspect of what the location had to offer or of the circumstances in which she found herself in some of the locations than of being bad writing. Many people would say that they were uneven. I think that she was trying to give people a true sense of her year of travels, including the ups and the downs. It's hard to write with the same passion about a place one did not completely enjoy. I'm ready to pack the suitcases, get out the passports, and join her! The only thing preventing that is money. 3.5 stars.

My third book in "The Borrowers" category: The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley - Flavia de Luce is on hand when a puppeteer's van breaks down right by the local church cemetery. It appears that the puppeteer may have known some of the village's residents before this breakdown. It's not long before there is a murder in the village. Flavia sets out to investigate in the manner in which an 11-year-old with a love for chemistry and other scientific things would do. Flavia is one of the more delightful sleuths of recent times. I'm amazed at times by what adults will tell her, especially about things that adults often will not discuss with pre-adolescents. Although I read her first adventure, I do not feel that one necessarily has to have read the first one in order to appreciate this one, but why miss out? Read them both for a fun romp in an English village. This review is based on an advance uncorrected proof borrowed from a friend. 4 stars.

Lori,
I've decided that yours is a very dangerous thread (for me) because every time I come to read it, I see some other book I want to read and that will not help me clear my TBRs. You are wicked!

It's only fair, Cheli, because I feel the same way about yours!

Okay- fair s fair. LOL :-)

My 4th book in the "Faith of Our Fathers" category: I Am Hutterite by Mary-Ann Kirkby - Mary-Ann Kirkby tells about her childhood growing up on a Hutterite colony in Manitoba. Then she tells of her family's removal from the colony, and their gradual progress in integrating with the "English" in the community in which they lived. Because the Hutterites practiced communal living, leaving the colony was a very difficult decision for the family, but one which her parents knew was correct. They lived in poverty. As she described the meals they ate as a family after striking out on their own, my stomach churned just thinking about it. Fortunately things did improve for their large family within a few years. This was an interesting look at a religious group about which I knew very little. 4 stars.

3rd in my "Mystery!" category: Among the Departed by Vicki Delany - When RCMP officer Adam Tocek along with his girlfriend Constable Molly Smith of the Trafalgar police locate a boy who wandered from his campsite in the nearby provincial park, they happen across some human bones. The first person that pops into Molly's mind is the father of one of her childhood friends who went missing about 15 years earlier. Can the bones be identified? Was foul play involved? If so, who committed the deed and why? It will be up to Molly's colleagues to find out. I loved the characters of Adam and Molly and of most of the people in the town. They were quite fun and pleasant. This novel, however, did have a few problems. The one that nagged at me from early in the book is an error which showed poor research on the part of the author. They were discussing the find of the bones and how identification could be made through DNA. One of the characters made the statement that mitochondrial DNA could be collected for comparison. Then they went to the son of the person to whom they believed the bones belonged to attempt to collect a sample. Mitochondrial DNA is passed along by the mother instead of the father, so the son would not have been a match had he agreed to give a sample. Instead, they should have been collecting a sample from a sibling of the person. Fortunately, the son refused to give a sample, and they ended up making identification through dental records, so I didn't have to congratulate them upon finding their mother's brother. There were a few proofreading errors that would not have been caught by spell check that were present. I'm also pretty sure that the dish one of the characters enjoyed while dining was huevos rancheros instead of huveros rancheros as the book stated. In spite of the problems, the characters make this an enjoyable read. This review is based on an Advanced Readers Copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley. 3 stars.

3rd in my "History Channel" "Carolina on My Mind" category: The Sands of Time: A History of Hilton Head Island by Margaret Greer - This is a very short (70 p.) illustrated history of Hilton Head. It gives the reader a good idea of the island's role during the Revolutionary and Civil War periods. It does, however, leave the reader wishing for a fuller treatment of the island's development since the 1950s. Although the author clearly did utilize resources, there are only a few internal citations and no footnotes. The sources quoted internally do not match up with the book's bibliography. It is unclear whether the author actually utilized the sources being cited or if she was relying on quotes in the secondary sources in her bibliography. The book is clearly aimed for the tourist market and succeeds in being a fairly interesting account for the general reader. 3 stars.

edited to change category

3rd in my Book 'Em Danno category (as a book about the archives at the University of Texas Libraries): Inside the Natchez Trace Collection: New Sources for Southern History edited by Katherine J. Adams and Lewis L. Gould - A fascinating look inside one of the special collections at the University of Texas that deals with Mississippi's history and culture. The disappointing thing is that the collection itself seems to be misnamed "The Natchez Trace Collection" when it primarily focuses on the Natchez area rather than the entire Natchez Trace which runs from Tennessee, through the northwest corner of Alabama, and through Mississippi. My primary purpose in reading this book was to try to assess what the collection held in terms of value to genealogists exploring their Mississippi ancestry. My conclusion is that it is very valuable if your ancestors resided in the Southern portion of the state and far less valuable if your ancestors, like mine, were in the northern portion. The book contains several overview essays written from different perspectives to show what is available in that area (such as slave studies, women's studies, sectionalism, etc.) The essays are well-written. I would have liked to have seen an essay included written from a genealogist's perspective. I was, however, impressed that one of the authors did recognize the value of genealogy to historical research. This is a good overview volume, but to really mine the worth of the collection, one has to go to Austin and use it. 3.5 stars.

3rd in my Asian Escapes category: A Cup of Friendship by Deborah Rodriguez - Sunny is an American from Arkansas living in Kabul, Afghanistan. She is the proprietress of a coffee shop. A visit to the women's ministry brings Yasmina into the lives of Sunny and her friends. Yasmina is widowed and pregnant. She would be in danger if left on her own. Through Isabel, a British journalist, and Candace, the former wife of an American diplomat, we learn of the atrocities committed by warlords and the Taliban against women. The book is heart-wrenching at times. It's set in a war-ravished country where living becomes increasingly dangerous for those who really don't have to be there. I enjoyed this little glimpse of life in another culture. 4 stars.

3rd in my "History Channel" category: Natchez before 1830 edited by Noel Polk - This was a small collection of essays on the history of Natchez, Mississippi up to 1830. The French and Spanish periods are included. I would have preferred to have seen more topical essays included. For example, an essay on religion in Natchez up to 1830 would have been useful instead of having to get a paragraph or two from three or four essays to form a picture. This collection is useful to persons studying this period of Natchez' history. 4 stars.

4th in my "Mystery!" category: Murder on Bank Street by Victoria Thompson - It's been over 4 years Sarah Brandt's husband Tom was murdered. Detective Malloy decides to reopen the case before Roosevelt accepts an appointment in Washington. An eye witness has told him that the father of one of Brandt's patients murdered him with a silver-headed cane. Malloy accepts help from a couple of Pinkerton detectives on his terms. Sarah mainly sits on the sidelines, but Maeve, the girl from the mission who helps her care for Catherine decides that she wants to join the investigation. I really enjoy this series. While I missed the involvement of Sarah in the investigation, it was fitting that she should not be in this one. While I don't think it's my series favorite, I did like having the mystery surrounding Tom Brandt's death resolved. A fun and enjoyable read! 4 stars.

4th in my "Book 'Em, Danno" category: Homicide in Hardcover by Kate Carlisle - A book conservator under whom Brooklyn apprenticed ends up dead while working on a rare edition of Faust that is said to be cursed. Who killed him and what was the motive? The book was heavy on action and low on plot. My favorite parts of the book are the descriptions of the book conservations that are taking place. I'm not sure I ever completely warmed to the supporting characters in this series, and I'm not sure the commune in which Brooklyn grew up is a setting I want to revisit. I do have the second in the series so I will likely give it a try in the future. This was a pretty quick read although it did not leave me completely satisfied. 3 stars.

3rd in my "Home Economics Class" category: Costa Rican Typical Foods by Carmen de Musmanni - This is an English-language cookbook featuring Costa Rican foods that is probably intended for the tourists who visit the country. It's definitely a low-budget publication with line drawings rather than photographs showing the prepared foods. It presents several foods that you would expect to find in a Central American cookbook. There is a glossary at the back, but it's not as descriptive as some ethnic food glossaries. I think the most disappointing thing is the author's failure to discuss each dish, where it's typically served, the dish's origin, etc. -- things that really add an element of interest to the publication. There are a few dishes in this small book that I do intend to make in the future. 3 stars.

I read Homicide in Hardcover last year and thought that for the first in the series it was acceptable. I've noticed in first books that there is a lot of "down time" setting up characters and situations for the future.

8th in my British Isles category: Kissed a Sad Goodbye by Deborah Crombie - Annabelle Hammond is found murdered on a park on the Isle of Dogs. Is it a love triangle? Does the murder have roots in the present or the past? I love the Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James series by Crombie, but this installment is one of my least favorite in the series. There are two storylines related to the mystery that are going on -- one more absorbing than the other. The ones closest to the victim are all lying because each has something he's trying to cover up or someone he thinks he is protecting. The interaction between Duncan and Gemma seemed to be a little bit off in this installment as well. In spite of its flaws, it is still a good mystery. 3.5 stars.

4th in my "Home Economic Class" category: Memphis Cuisine: A Sampling of Restaurants and Their Recipes by Christine Arpe Gang - I lived in the Memphis area not long before this cookbook was published in 1991, having moved away about two years before. Although there are certainly restaurants featured here that I would have expected to be present, such as Huey's, various Grisanti restaurants, and Owen Brennan's, there were also a number of restaurants that I would have expected to have been represented that were not included. For example, there is nothing from the Rendezvous. There was nothing from either Gridley's or Corky's (still mostly a Memphis restaurant at that time). The restaurants that lined Overton Square were underrepresented with at least two of the more popular restaurants of that era not being included. I enjoyed many of the recipes included although I probably will only use a few of the recipes. It would be interesting to see a version of this with the restaurants of 2011 (20 years later) represented. Would the author omit restaurants such as Neely's or Interstate Barbecue? 3 stars.

4th in my "Carolina on My Mind" category: 10136109::Scones and Bones by Laura Childs - Theodosia and Drayton are attending a Heritage Society "pirate" event when the featured item, a skull cap of Blackbeard inlaid with a sizable diamond, goes missing and an intern turns up dead. When Detective Tidwell is injured in an accident on his way to investigate, Theodosia realizes that important clues may be missed without Tidwell to guide the investigation so at Timothy Neville's request, she sets out to investigate. With suspects ranging from pirate enthusiasts to antique collectors, she has her work cut out for her. The conclusion may have been a bit rushed, but it was not quite as predictable as some cozies. I always enjoy my visits with the folks at the Indigo Tea Shop. I just wish that it were a real place and not a fictional one so I could taste the tantalizing treats and teas mentioned throughout the book on an upcoming Charleston visit. I do intend to try one or more of the recipes at the end of the book. 4 stars.

5th in my "Mystery!" category: Pardonable Lies by Jacqueline Winspear - There are basically three story lines in this book. One is Maisie's efforts to clear a young girl of murder charges. Another is to find a missing aviator--a case Maisie primarily takes on so that the girl has adequate legal representation. The third is to locate her friend Priscilla's brother's grave. In the midst of it all we encounter a fair amount of espionage, which is not really my cup of tea when it comes to mysteries. Maisie's life is in danger, but she's not sure who is responsible for the attempts on her life. There's just a little too much going on in this novel to try to keep up with everyone and with which part of the story the person might be connected. It had been quite awhile since I read the first book in this series, and I have forgotten some of the things from that particular book which might have helped me understand more of some of the action in this novel. Winspear is a good writer, but this is my least favorite installment in the series to date. 3.5 stars.

5th in my "Mystery!" category: Pardonable Lies by Jacqueline Winspear - There are basically three story lines in this book. One is Maisie's efforts to clear a young girl of murder charges. Another is to find a missing aviator--a case Maisie primarily takes on so that the girl has adequate legal representation. The third is to locate her friend Priscilla's brother's grave. In the midst of it all we encounter a fair amount of espionage, which is not really my cup of tea when it comes to mysteries. Maisie's life is in danger, but she's not sure who is responsible for the attempts on her life. There's just a little too much going on in this novel to try to keep up with everyone and with which part of the story the person might be connected. It had been quite awhile since I read the first book in this series, and I have forgotten some of the things from that particular book which might have helped me understand more of some of the action in this novel. Winspear is a good writer, but this is my least favorite installment in the series to date. 3.5 stars.

>89 thornton37814:

*** PROBABLE SPOILERS of Pardonable Lies***

Did you find Maisie's reaction a bit extreme? I don't know a whole lot about shell-shock or Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, but her collapse, etc, didn't ring true for me, nor did it fit very well with what I do know about them.

I agree that too much was going on. If you add the bit about the mystic (which came out of the blue -- I've read them all this year, and you haven't forgotten anything from earlier books) and the wheelchair-bound MP, there are 5 mystery threads. I guessed the solutions to most of it, but thought that each mystery could have been more fully developed if there hadn't been so many.

I was also disturbed by Maurice's deceit and Maisie's rift with him. It fits in with the title of the book, of course. I think Ms Winspear is trying to move away from the predictability of unchanging characters in series mysteries (a suspciion confirmed for me with book #4) and into greater depth. It's a worthy goal, but rather changes when I decide to pick up her books.

I really liked Pardonable Lies, though, especially the part about Peter, enough that I moved right on to Messenger of Truth, and I'll be continuing -- but not right away. Birds of a Feather is still my favorite so far.

Ivy & Lori,

I put off reading Pardonable Lies for a long time because the book summary on the back cover hinted at a psychic aspect to the book. When I finally read it, I was relieved that there wasn't as much psychic content as I feared there would be, although I would have preferred none.

I've read all of the books in the series, including the latest one, and Book 5, An Incomplete Revenge, is my favorite. Winspear didn't try to juggle as many plots, and I thought everything worked together perfectly. There's an explanation in this book that makes sense of the psychic elements in the earlier books in the series. The psychic thread disappears from the series after this book.

SPOILER ALERT for Pardonable Lies: Maisie's reaction didn't ring true for me either, and I didn't like the rift with Maurice. I'm glad to hear that Winspear is cutting the number of plot lines. She didn't handle them quite as well as Louise Penny does. I won't start on book 4 right away. I agree that Birds of a Feather is my favorite of the first three. I don't like the mystic/psychic element either.

>92 cbl_tn: & 93 Now I'm feeling more eager to read #5, but may not get to it until next month. I too am glad that the paranormal will be going away; while I think there is a lot that we don't know or understand, I rarely like the way it's handled in fiction.

In my opinion, Louise Penny pretty much stands alone with her success in giving real depth to her mysteries. I think Linda posted that she has a new one coming out late summer.

#6 in my "MYSTERY!" category: The Law and the Lady by Wilkie Collins - Valeria marries a man who is not quite what he seems. She soon discovers that his name is not what she had presumed it to be and wonders if her marriage is valid in such a circumstance. She sets out to discover his real identity and why he is hiding behind another name and then attempts to clear his name. The story kept me interested, although I'm not certain that Valeria's person has a ring of truth about her. Her loyalty to her new husband under such circumstances is completely unexpected. At the same time, her husband's actions and reactions are not what I would expect. Probably the most interesting character in the book is the "madman" Miserrimus Dexter. Where in the world did Collins come up with such a name? Ariel, who blindly follows her master Miserrimus Dexiter, is also interesting. The story itself is about a 3.5, but the characters add such richness that it is worth a 4 star rating.

I read The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins while I was on vacation and was considering whether or not to try another of his books. I did read that he became addicted to opium around 1870 and that his books written after that were not considered his best. I wonder if that has anything to do with why you found some issues with the story. Maybe I'll try a different one.

Opium addiction! How cool is that?

>85 cyderry: We've had a group read this month of The Law and the Lady over on the 75 book challenge thread. You will probably be seeing another review or two of it posted here as well so you might wish to see what others are saying before deciding against it. I liked the book well enough, but I really do think the strength of the book was in its character development.

5th in my "Home Economics Class" category: The Farmers' Market Cookbook by Nina Planck - Nina Planck grew up on a farm in Virginia. While employed by the American embassy in London, the thing she missed most was the availability of farm produce so she began a Farmer's Market in Islington. It was such a success that she opened other farmer's markets and quit her embassy job. I loved her descriptions of the produce and food she ate while growing up. After the introductory matter, she proceeded to take different fruits and vegetables available at her markets (combining a few such as pumpkins and winter squashes), tell a little about it (such as growing season, marks of good produce, occasional other items of interest such as the area to which it is native and how it came to be in the British Isles). After the introduction to the fruit or vegetable, a few recipes are given showing how to use the item. The recipes are in British weights and measures so North American cooks such as myself will have to convert grams to cups, celsius temperatures to Fahrenheit, etc. The recipes are usually quite simple -- many for which I would never need a recipe. The strength of the book is in its information on fresh produce rather than in the recipes (although I would enjoy many of them). 3.5 stars.

2nd in my "In the Mood" category: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - Jane Austen's well-written tale featuring Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy is a classic work of romantic literature. The characters are well-drawn. With hundreds of other reviews, there is little need to go on and on about the story itself and its elements. I do, however, wish to make a comment on the free Kindle version that I read -- the formatting is awful! There are even places where locations are missing with hyphens in their places. Fortunately for me, this was a re-read so I knew the locations that should have been where the hyphens were. I had several other e-book versions I could have used on other readers, but I would have had to read on my iPhone instead of my Kindle to have been able to use them because of DRM. I prefer reading on my Kindle, but if I'd realized how poor the formatting would be on that version, I would probably have read chosen to read the Illustrated Edition that I have on my Nook reader application on my iPhone. I did not penalize my rating of the actual book because of the formatting, but other readers probably would like to be aware of this before reading it. 4 stars.

6th in my "Home Economics Class" category: Urban Pantry by Amy Pennington - Amy Pennington offers tips on how to stock a pantry in small living quarters, such as her New York apartment. In this book, she not only offers tips but also a few recipes for each ingredient she recommends keeping on hand. I found that the things she would consider staples and the things that I would consider to be staples are different. While some of her recipes sounded good, others did not. The book has been on my wish list for awhile, and I'm glad that I discovered a copy in our public library and checked it out before purchasing it. I will probably write down or copy a recipe or two for future use, but it's not one I would use that much if I did own a copy. While I enjoyed reading a bit about the various ingredients and some of her stories about recipes and specific tips about recipes, the format got a little old as the book progressed. If you live in a small space in a large urban area, this may be a book you would enjoy, but since I live in a small Southern city near the mountains and have a larger living space, it's not quite as applicable. 3 stars.

5th in my "Faith of Our Fathers" category: He's Been Faithful by Carol Cymbala - I've been a fan of the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir for several years. When I stumbled across this book in our public library, I knew that I had to read it. In its pages, Cymbala tells of the call she and her husband had to ministry -- first in New Jersey and then to Brooklyn. She recounts God's faithfulness in the ministry of the Brooklyn Tabernacle to those in Brooklyn by sharing testimonies of what God has done in and through the church and also by sharing testimonies of various persons who have been reached by its ministry. Probably my favorite part of the book was when she recounted the circumstances in her life that led her to write one of the most powerful songs in Gospel music, "He's Been Faithful." I'm sure that I will later recall many of the testimonies recorded in these pages, including the one about the song's birth, for many years to come. 3.5 stars.

7th in my "Home Economics Class" category, which technically meets my minimum for this category for the year is: Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François - This is one of, if not the best, bread cookbooks that I've ever encountered. The basic recipe is very straightforward, but the recipes included go beyond loaf breads and venture into pastries, flatbreads, and more. This book had been on my wish list for a long time. I borrowed it from the public library, but this is a cookbook that I will purchase for my own collection. I love the fact that it is not based on a starter which must be constantly fed. The book even includes a few recipes for soups and salads. 5 stars.

Oooh... Bread!

I've heard that the reason that bread and water was considered a torture was because it would stop your system up with the carbs and yeast but I personally would love to try it out someday just because I've never met a bread that I didn't like! I think that I could live on bread and water - but could have some marmalade and clotted cream too?

8th in my "Home Economics Class" category: Mollie Katzen's Sunlight Cafe by Mollie Katzen - This cookbook is all about breakfast. It, however, contains no recipes with meats because the author also wrote the well-regarded Moosewood cookbooks. It is a very comprehensive book when it comes to vegetarian breakfasts, relying on fruits, whole grains, eggs, condiments, etc. to provide the nutrition. There is a section on beverages that discusses the various breakfast beverages consumed. The narrative sections were not as interesting as the recipes and were sometimes repetitive. For someone who gets tired of having the same thing at breakfast all the time, this cookbook can add a huge variety to your first meal of the day because of the quantity of recipes included. 4 stars.

I've reached my "minimum" of 7 for my "MYSTERY!" category, but I'm sure this one will be overfilled with the up to 11 -- and even beyond that. Read number 7 in this category is: The Long Quiche Goodbye by Avery Aames - I should have liked this book. It involved food -- cheese, to be specific -- and I love cheese shops. It was set near Ohio's Amish country which holds a special place in my heart because I had ancestors who were part of Ohio's Amish settlements in the 19th century and have enjoyed many vacations there. However, the book fell flat for me. I never connected with the characters. I didn't feel that I really knew any of them. Their development was weak. There were too many characters. I knew enough about some of the lesser characters, but I don't really feel that I ever got to know the main ones. Charlotte Bessette, the amateur sleuth in the series, is trying to exonerate her grandmère who has been accused of murdering the owner of the building they rent for the cheese shop. Her grandmère is the mayor of Providence, but she certainly doesn't act much like a mayor, and her character is not adequately developed. With as many characters as there are in the book, there are lots of suspects available, and Charlotte seems to suspect every one of them more than once as she's investigating on her grandmère's behalf. I held high hopes for this series, but this first in the series did not deliver. 2 stars.

Number 6 in my "Faith Of Our Fathers" category: Thou Shalt Not Kill edited by Anne Perry - As with most collections of short stories, some of the stories are stronger than others. Fortunately there were more stories in this collection that were better than in many. The entire collection of short stories are inspired by stories of the Bible. My favorites include "Way Down in Egypt's Land," "A Blessing of Frogs," "Corpus Christi," "Fear and Trembling: A Father Dowling Mystery," and "Lost Causes." My least favorites were "Cain Was Innocent" and "The People Outside." 3.5 stars.

You can read my full review with comments on individual stories at: http://www.librarything.com/work/1502725/reviews/33795846.

Number 3 in my "In the Mood" category: Remembering Knoxville by William E. Hardy - While it would be impossible to capture enough photographs to properly document the history of even a small town, especially one which has been around as long as Knoxville, Tennessee, William Hardy has done a remarkable job of selecting historic photographs of places and even people (such as sports teams and sports action shots) that show Knoxville from the 1800s to late 20th century. I enjoyed his selections, but recognize that this book should be used along with other volumes of photographs and photographs that are accessible in institutional repositories (and homes) in Knoxville and beyond. 4 stars.

Number 4 in "The History Channel" category: The Food of a Younger Land edited by Mark Kurlansky - One of the projects of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) was the Federal Writers' Project (FWP). This particular project had written a number of guides to various states that had been quite successful. It was a means of giving employment to struggling writers in a struggling economy. A later project of the FWP was called "America Eats." The projected book was never completed because the WPA and FWP came to an end before the manuscript was completed. Various submissions from the different writers' projects across the states were found in the Library of Congress' manuscript collection. Kurlansky has put these together to give us an understanding of the different foods and cultures across the States during that time. Several writers that we read and discuss in American literature classes (or regional literature classes) were among the writers employed for at least a brief time by the project. I am originally from Mississippi and was delighted to discover the Eudora Welty was one of the writers for the state. Her submission was definitely of a higher quality than some of the other pieces found in the collection. This was quite natural since some writers are more talented than others. There seems to have been a great deal of freedom in how the essays or other pieces (such as poems) were written. Some entries are little more than a list of recipes. Others, such as Welty's, attempt to discuss the people and give a little more background while including recipes. I found the most humorous entry to be a rant by an Oregon writer on why potatoes should not be mashed. I did find an error in the name of a person in Welty's manuscript. She used a person from my home county in Mississippi who, although not a cousin of mine, was from a family that is well-connected collaterally to my family. The name in Kurlansky's book for the person is Mrs. C. L. Lubb, but it should have been "Tubb." Her husband was Carlos Lovol Tubb, and she was Verlie Cordelia Ritter before her marriage. I'm not sure if the error is in the original manuscript (which may have been typed from notes) or if Kurlansky made the error in transcribing it from written copy. It makes you wonder how many similar errors appear throughout the pages of this book or in the original manuscripts. This book does provide an interesting glimpse into the foodways of the United States in the mid-20th century. 3.5 stars.

Wow, you're really making progress on this challenge! Some very interesting reading!

#102 I'm delighted to find another fan of the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir. I really enjoy their music, and have a number of their CD's.

Number 4 in my Asian Escapes category: A Tiger in the Kitchen by Cheryl Lu-lien Tan - Cheryl Tan never bothered to learn how to cook as the other female members of her household had while growing up in Singapore. After graduating from journalism school at Northwestern and after working for other papers, she eventually landed a job with the Wall Street Journal. She began to crave the dishes that she had grown up eating in Singapore. She decided to go back to Singapore to learn from remaining family members (mostly aunts) how to prepare the dishes she remembered. Unfortunately the author skips around so much that it is hard to keep track of whether she is in New York or Singapore at a given moment. One minute she's making something in Singapore with her aunt; the next she is in New York preparing some Italian dish. She backtracks, not following any sort of chronological order, throughout the book. (There is a marriage in the book, and later it is before the marriage again.) As I began to read more of the book, I decided that her book would have been better on the screen than in written form. I could also tell that this was a young writer more so than a middle-aged or older one because of the style of writing employed. It's very conversational and has a very "chick-lit" feel to it. I prefer other genres of literature so the writing quality did not pass muster with me. There are a few recipes at the end of the volume, but most of these are not going to able to be made by American cooks who lack access to some of the key ingredients. This review is based on an Advance Readers Copy provided by the publisher through LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program with the expectation that a review of the book would be written. 2.5 stars.

Good review for a book you weren't too thrilled with. I too am trying to finish an ER book (20 more pages to slog through) that is not living up to expectations. And then get me review written. Do you take a look to see what others have said in their reviews before you write yours? I'm always a little curious to see if I'm agreeing with what others before me have thought.

I generally try to wait. I have often read reviews before I began a book though. In this case, I did not get to the book quite as soon as I had planned to do, and I had read a few reviews as they were posted before I read the book. I pretty much read the book, thought about what I wanted to say, wrote and posted it, and then went back and read a few of the more recent reviews. I realize that of the people who have rated it, I gave it the lowest rating (at least as of right after I posted the review). I also noticed that a few of the more critical reviewers did not rate the book.

Yeah - I usually wait until I'm about halfway through and have an idea of whether I'm liking it or not before I go look at the reviews (if there are any posted) to see if others are feeling as I do. Not that I let that influence my review, I'm just curious. Well maybe I should go make another try a those last 20 pages.

Book number 5 in my "History Channel" category is: The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer - Andras Levi, a Hungarian Jew, manages to secure a chance to study architecture in France. This book chronicles his time in France and his brother's chance to study medicine in Italy. Then they lose their student visas and must return home. The hardships suffered by them and by their families are chronicled in the book. I was a bit intimidated by the size of this book -- almost 600 pages, but I need not have worried. Orringer is a very skillful storyteller and kept my attention throughout the entire book. The characters are well drawn. The atrocities suffered by the Jews during the Holocaust are never easy to read, so be prepared to shed a few tears. I am impressed by the amount of research that the author must have done to write such a marvelous piece of historical fiction. 5 stars.

Two more entries in my Home Economics Class category:

Plum Gorgeous by Romney Steele - If you are looking for a cookbook to give as a gift, this would be a great option. The recipes in this book utilize many fruits, not just plums. From soups to meats to breads to desserts, a plethora of tasty treats awaits discovery by those who peruse it. The biggest strength of this book is in its illustration. The author shares some memories of the recipes, but her descriptions often left me wanting a little more information about the circumstances or the event. This review is based on an advance readers copy provided through NetGalley. 3.5 stars.

Cucina Povera by Pamela Sheldon Johns - This book is much more than a cookbook. In fact, for me, the strength of the book was not in the collection of recipes, but in the information on the foodways or food in culture of Italy. The first section of the book was devoted to a glimpse region by region of foods in that area. The illustrations for this section depicted the people. What a wonderful glimpse of the Italian culture! While the recipes are very typical of foods that would be served in Italian homes, I will probably use very few of them. I might enjoy trying stuffed squid in a restaurant, but I don't think it's something I would want often enough to create at home. To be fair, that is a rather extreme example, but overall, I felt that I would not use that many of the recipes in my own kitchen. The illustrations are marvelous, but not every dish is illustrated. This review is based on an advanced readers copy provided through NetGalley. 3.5 stars.

Number 7 in my "Faith of Our Fathers" category: Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream by David Platt - This is a challenging book for Christians, not only because the author asks readers to make a one-year commitment to enact the principles set forth in the book, but because he's asking them to get out of their comfort zones. I really cannot find fault with the principles the author expounds. They are well-documented by Scripture references. The one aspect of the book with which I took issue is the conversational tone in which it was written. Too many Christian books today are "dumbing down" the English language and thus perpetuating the notion that Christians have a lower intellect than critics of our faith. It's a book about our priorities. Are we truly concerned for the lost, or are we more concerned for ourselves in this culture of consumerism? It is certainly a thought-provoking book that would make wonderful group study and discussion among Christians. 3.5 stars.

Edited to include the following statement:
This technically fills this category, but it is one which I intend to overfill with the "up to 11" clause I included when setting up my challenge.

My 8th book in my "Faith of Our Fathers" category: Christ in the Passover by Ceil Rosen and Moishe Rosen - I first encountered this book when I was a student at a Christian college in the early 1980s. A member of the Jews for Jesus organization gave a presentation and offered this book for sale. At that time, I remember really thinking the book was a wonderful presentation on the symbolism of the various parts of the Seder and showing how everything in the observance of Passover pointed to Christ. I wanted to read this book again this year. I began looking for my copy, but I could not find it. However, I was able to locate a copy in the library where I am employed. I was not quite as captivated by the read this time. I don't know if it was because I had just seen a similar presentation by another Messianic Jewish group or if my standards for book quality have changed over the years. The edition I read was published in 1978. The illustrations are definitely dated in this edition. I know that the copies currently for sale have a 2006 copyright date so I hope that this problem has been resolved. This is still a useful book on this topic, but I recommend that persons interested see a presentation of the topic which is far more engaging. I really prefer the presentation as done by Jews for Jesus over the other one I've seen, and I've noticed they have a 40-minute video available for viewing on their website. 3 stars.

My 5th book in the "Book 'Em, Danno" category: Literary Taste: How to Form It by Arnold Bennett - I spotted this short little book on the shelves at our library and thought it would be an interesting read. There is no copyright date, but the type of paper used and the typeface hint that it was probably published between 1900 and 1920. I did find a 1909 bibliographic record for this work, so it's probably in the earlier part of the period. It was an interesting perspective to say the least. I loved some of the author's advice. He's given me the perfect advice excuse to go on a book-buying spree. On page 20, he advises his readers to "buy." He says, "Buy without any immediate reference to what you will read. Buy! Surround yourself with volumes, as handsome as you can afford." Later in the book he tells them (on page 88) to "Buy a library. It is obvious that you cannot read unless you have books . . . The moment has now come to inform you plainly that a bookman is, amongst other things, a man who possesses many books. A man who does not possess many books is not a bookman." The author does caution the reader against reading too much of the same kind of stuff. He encourages the reader to read short stories, essays, and poetry in addition to longer fictional works. He encourages the reader to read materials from all periods of literature, beginning with Chaucer and extending to the recently deceased. He does not have time to read contemporary literature, preferring to read what is tried and true. He gives a bibliography of 226 authors and 335 volumes which everyone should own. All of these can be had for the low price of $131.40 (12 cents per day for 3 years)! (If that were only true for us today!) I wonder what the author would think of Kindles and Nooks? While this book is extremely dated, it was an entertaining read. 3 stars.

**edited to insert the title that I failed to paste from the list at the top of the thread**

I just dropped by to say I finished The Invisible Bridge for the TIOLI challenge and also gave it 5 stars. What a beautifully written, heart wrenching story! And yes, I did shed a few tears.

Am I missing something?? The book you are reviewing above - where's the title? :) Sounds like something I might enjoy.

>120 DeltaQueen50: DeltaQueen50, Sorry about that - I probably forgot to paste it. I'll correct that right away!

No problem Lori, it's not like my wishlist is so short that I can't wait to add this one!

Number eight in the "MYSTERY!" category: Secret of the White Rose by Stefanie Pintoff - This is the first of the three Simon Ziele mysteries that I have read. A judge is murdered. Near the victim is a white rose and a Bible upon which the judge's hand has been placed. Among the judge's belongings is found a musical score with a white rose on the staff. The score turns out to be a musical cipher. The setting is New York City a few years after Teddy Roosevelt had begun reforming the department. The new police commissioner is more interested in the department's image than in justice. The commissioner is convinced by influential people to call Simon to the scene even though the case is not in his jurisdiction. He knows this case could make or break his career. This is just the beginning of a book that held my complete attention. We see anarchists and other interesting characters as the story unfolds. Because of the setting, I could not help but compare the book to Victoria Thompson's Gaslight Mysteries featuring midwife Sarah Brandt and Detective Frank Malloy. In fact, there were times that I really wish that these fictitious characters had been in on the investigation as well. I do not mean to take away from Simon's abilities at all, but the separation of only a few years in the settings and with many of the same places visited in the narrative just makes it a natural connection. Perhaps the highest praise I can give this book is that I want to go back and read the earlier books in the series to catch the exact references made to previous cases. Not having read them did not mar my enjoyment of this installment. This review is based on an advance uncorrected proof received through LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program with the expectation that a review would be made. 4 stars.

Number six in my "History Channel" category: From the Jewish Heartland: Two Centuries of Midwest Foodways by Ellen F. Steinberg and Jack H. Prost - Authors Ellen F. Steinberg and Jack H. Prost have done a marvelous job combining social history with cookbooks and recipes to create an outstanding book on Jewish foodways in the Midwestern United States over the last two centuries. The authors have examined extensive published and unpublished sources, and their research is evident. As a genealogist, my favorite portions of the book were those which talked about Jewish culture and shared recipes from eras long ago, especially when the sources of such recipes were handwritten cookbooks or other manuscripts. I loved that they had researched in newspapers and manuscript collections to find the materials to adequately document their research. They did not overlook the many resources which can be found on the Internet. Carefully chosen photographs and facsimiles illustrate the text. This book will be treasured by persons interested in Jewish history, those interested in foodways of various ethnic groups, and by genealogists and other historians. This review is based on an advance reader's e-galley provided by the publisher through NetGalley with the expectation that a review would be written. 4 stars.

Lori,
The Secret of the White Rose was a perfect fit for the garden Challenge for this month's TIOLI!

I'm going to have to check out this series!

Yes. I was glad it arrived in such a timely fashion so I could use it for that one! The first one in the series is only $2.99 for Kindle (or was a couple of days ago).

Number nine in my "Faith of Our Fathers" category: Digital Disciple by Adam Thomas - I expected to like this book much more than I did. The author is an Episcopalian priest. He identifies himself as a member of the Millennial generation, and unfortunately the writing is so geared toward the Millennial generation or to those younger that it was difficult to follow his thoughts. Even though I am quite familiar with Facebook, Twitter, and other forms of social media, I could not identify with metaphors he used from World of Warcraft and other computer games as I had never played them. The copy that I read was an advance Kindle-version e-galley provided through NetGalley. There were serious problems with the formatting that marred my reading enjoyment. It appears that they used OCR to convert the book. Drop caps were letters that were a line above the second letter of the word in opening chapters. Footnotes appeared exactly following the word where they appeared at the bottom of the page. This means that every time I got to footnotes that I had to skip one or more of them and locate the line where the rest of the sentence continued. Sometimes it was difficult to tell that you were beginning the text of the footnote or to identify where a footnote ended and the top of the next page began. I sincerely hope that the publisher will convert the text to utilize endnotes (either at the end of the book or at the end of the chapter) in the final Kindle version. I've always been a fan of footnotes in print publications, but after reading this book, I will admit that they don't work in the MOBI format. 2 stars.

I want to add one more comment that I didn't include specifically in the review. Although he defines what he means by "The Tech" early in the book, and it appears to be one of those illusions to something that probably only the millennial generation or younger would "get" without the explanation, I still found it hard to remember later on when he kept using that term over and over what he meant by it, especially if I resumed reading the next day or a couple of days later.

I'd like to see a book on this subject written in a language that baby boomers can understand!

This book came across my desk as I was cataloging today, and I liked it so much that I had to spend a little extra time examining it. It is number four in my "In the Mood" category: The Photographs of Marion Post Wolcott by Marion Post Wolcott - What a great selection of photographs capturing primarily the Southern States (although there are a few stray photos from Wyoming, Montana, Missouri, and Vermont)! Wolcott was a photographer for the Farm Services Administration in the 1930s and 1940s, and these photographs were selected by the Library of Congress as part of the Fields of Vision series that showcases the work of individual photographers in that project. I loved the old painted signs on buildings, the glimpses into the home life of persons such as the photograph of a North Carolina woman in her kitchen, the old court docket book from Granville County, North Carolina, the painted advertisements on buildings such as the one in Natchez, Mississippi, the people hard at work, and the photos of children enjoying life. I could go on and on. 5 stars.

Number 4 in my "The Borrowers" category: The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig - Paul Milliron, Superintendent of Montana's Department of Public Instruction, has the unpleasant task of announcing the closure of the state's one room schoolhouses. He was a product of the one in Marias Coulee himself. Much of the book is a recollection of his 7th grade year. His mother had died. His dad sees an advertisement for a woman living in Minneapolis who wishes to move west and become a housekeeper. They really believe that the part of the ad about her not knowing how to cook is a joke, but soon find out its truth. Accompanying her is Morrie who is practically a walking encyclopedia. Morrie had a great influence on Paul. When I first began reading this book, I was a bit distracted by life, and the book got off to a slow start even though I really could not fault anything. However, the more I read, the more I enjoyed the book. I'm really not quite sure how I feel about the ending of the historic portion of the book. It's probably realistic, especially for that period in Montana's history, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. I think the one thing that bothered me most about the pending closure of the one-room schools in favor of the consolidated schools was the statement made in the book that no child would have to ride on a bus more than 1.5 hours each way. In today's schools, I'm not sure this could be justified because of the high cost of gasoline. It also makes for a very long day for the children. That's 3 hours in addition to a normal 7 hour school day. I also believe that the students in many of those one room schoolhouses learned far more in the first eight grades than today's students. Some would say that it's just a different type of learning, but having seen many college students unprepared for college, I believe that some of those students were better prepared for today's colleges than are many current students. It's definitely a thought-provoking literary work. 4 stars.

I read this book last year and loved it. I also thought what a shame that these isolated communities lost their schoolhouses as they were a major part of the social community as well.

Book number 11 in my "Home Economics Class" category: At My Grandmother's Knee by Faye Porter - Every Southerner will recognize the recipes in this collection. If they were not prepared in your own family, you knew someone who brought them to the church dinners. This is a collection of recipes compiled by the author. The recipes are headed by short vignettes that include a quote from a granddaughter about her grandmother who made the recipe. The graphic design and layout of the book were nice and the food photography was excellent. Unfortunately the cookbook suffers from a major problem in regards to organization. The order in which groupings of recipes were presented was problematic. For example, there is a section on pies and cobblers, then cakes, then cookies, then one on chocolate pies, and then on other desserts. Why are the pies and chocolate pies not combined or at least together? The earlier sections also suffer organizational issues. I was actually disappointed in the book. The author, in her introduction, calls this book part history and part cookbook. Unfortunately the book failed to deliver on the history aspect. The vignettes were so short that a reader never got a sense of the grandmother in most cases. If this book was a tribute to grandmothers, why weren't there photographs of the grandmothers to accompany the recipes? The e-galley I read was missing the index so I'm unable to review that aspect of the book. I probably won't go out of my way to purchase a new copy of this book, but if I do happen to find it at a bargain price in a used bookstore or on a bargain table, I might consider it. This review is based on an advance reader's e-galley provided by the author through NetGalley. 2.5 stars.

Number 3 in my "Travel Channel" category: How to Eat a Small Country by Amy Finley - This book can be summarizes in the three letter text abbreviation, "TMI" (or "Too Much Information"). From the introductory pages that droned on and on about killing a rabbit to cook to the very last page, the book grew tiresome quickly. Even the descriptions of the food did little to redeem the book. The book is in need of an experienced memoir editor to hone the pages. I do admire Amy for her willingness to give up her Food Network career to save her marriage, but this book did not do a very good job of describing how that was done. Instead we are offered short episodes that usually center around a meal they had in France. There are no recipes included -- a glaring omission in a book written by a chef discussing food and cuisine. This book was received through Goodreads' First Reads program for review. 2 stars.

Number 5 in "The Borrowers" category: A Deadly Shaker Spring by Deborah Woodworth - A series of incidents makes it appear that someone is out to destroy the North Homage Shaker community. It becomes apparent that the person is intimately acquainted with the Shaker ways. Is it a current member or an apostate? It's up to Sister Rose Callahan who has recently been named eldress to determine the source of problems and to call in the police if necessary. This is my second venture into this series. I tried one several years ago, but I don't think I could even finish it. I managed to get through the book this time, but I don't think this will ever be a favorite series. I think my biggest problem with the series is probably the thing that makes it unique -- the Shaker Village setting. I just don't really care for it. The plot of this is somewhat plausible, and it's believable that the Shakers would want to keep the investigation within their own community as long as possible. I probably won't bother to read additional books in this Shaker series. 3 stars.

Number 5 in my "In the Mood" category: At Home on Ladybug Farm by Donna Ball - Tired of city life, Cici, Bridget, and Lindsay purchased a farm in the Shenandoah Valley which they intend to restore. Cici's daughter Lori has dropped out of college and moved in with them. They've also taken in an orphaned boy. The ladies must come up with a way to make the farm pay for itself. They encounter their fair share of troubles along the way. This is a pleasant escape. I do love the way that they utilize the library to learn about things they need to know in their venture. I also love the way that the farm's history was woven into the story. I discovered that this is the second in the series, although I have not read the first. I will be on the lookout for that book as well. It's just a nice story about rural life. 4 stars.

I read a book in that Shaker series a couple of years ago and felt the same way about it that you do. The setting just didn't work for me either.

At Home on Ladybug Farm is on my wishlist. I hope to read it this summer.

>135 chinquapin: I'm so glad to know I'm not alone on the way I felt about the Shaker series. I really did enjoy the Ladybug Farm book, even if I didn't read the earlier one.

Number 10 in my "Faith of Our Fathers" category: Heaven Is For Real by Todd Burpo - Our pastor used this book as an extended illustration in his Easter sermon yesterday. I wanted to read it for myself. Just shy of his 4th birthday, Colton Burpo suffers a near-death experience in which he visits heaven for a short period of time. He begins to slowly reveal his experiences to his parents over a period of time -- telling them things which he had no way of knowing based on his earthly experiences. It's a very inspirational story, and I don't want to give away too much of it in my review. It's a good reminder to us all that we should have the faith of a child and that "Jesus really loves the children." The book was co-written by Colton's father Todd, a Wesleyan pastor, and by the man who helped write Sarah Palin's book, Going Rogue. 4 stars.

Number 5 in my "Carolina on My Mind" category: Murder on Pawley's by Margaret Haswell - The author fictionalized the story of her ancestral Alston family. This is apparently the second installment. (The first is entitled Maria.) Anyone who has visited the Charleston, South Carolina area will recognize many of the surnames in this story. The murder is that of a mulatto plantation overseer. Unfortunately the narrative does not flow well. The conversation is awkward, and the remaining narrative is not engaging. 2 stars.

Number 5 in my "Asian Escapes" category: A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park - Tree-ear, an orphaned boy in 12th century Korea, lives with Crane-man under a bridge. He often admires the work of the potter Min. After breaking a piece of pottery, Tree-ear goes to work for the potter. It will eventually change his life. It's a good story at a lower middle grades reading level that will resonate with many of its readers. 3.5 stars.

You've been doing some very eclectic reading! The Secret of the White Rose sounds good!

I really enjoyed The Secret of the White Rose.

Number 9 in "MYSTERY!": The Snowman by Jo Nesbo - Norway has its first serial killer who leaves behind a snowman as his signature. Harry Hole is the only detective with experience tracking serial killers. He sets out to find the person responsible for the deaths in what appears at first to be a missing persons case. It's a mystery filled with suspense -- much of it a little too nightmarish for my personal taste. Although I understand why the author used it, I don't enjoy reading things that involve sex crimes. While this one doesn't go all that far in that direction, it did so to an extent beyond my comfort level. It's a well-plotted mystery, full of action that builds the suspense. There are some formatting issues with the Kindle version that make it a little awkward to read in places. It's not on every page but there are awkward line breaks and breaks in the middle of words. This review is based on an advance reader's e-galley provided by the publisher through NetGalley, and it is hoped that the formatting issues will be resolved in the final version. 3.5 stars.

i'm definitely marking The Snowman down for my N0rway read in the European challenge. Thanks!

I'm heading to the Charleston area soon so Book 6 fits my "Carolina on My Mind" category to get me in the mood for the trip: Return to Sullivan's Island by Dorothea Benton Frank - This book is a sequel to the author's earlier book, Sullivan's Island. The central character in this installment is Beth, Susan's daughter, who has graduated from Boston College and is returning to the family home on Sullivan's Island to keep a watchful eye on it while her mother is working in France for a year. She quickly finds employment as a hostess at a restaurant and as a special reporter for the local paper. Her first reporting assignment will change her life in ways in which she never imagined. This is a typical story where the reader wonders how long it will take the girl to realize she has fallen for the wrong man. We see Beth's character develop throughout the story, especially as the climax is approaching and afterwards. In spite of the plot's predictability, it's a great escape to one of my favorite regions to visit. I even discovered a restaurant or two that I want to try out on a trip that is coming up in about a week. 3.5 stars.

#142 Net Galley? I need to look for that one.

>145 lindapanzo: Linda, I happened across it awhile back and decided to try it. I'm glad I did. By the way, I'm reading the Troy Soos baseball mystery set in Cincinnati and loving it!

#142 I'm going to be reading my first Jo Nesbo book this month, The Redbreast. Several LTers have given it good reviews, so I'm anxious to try it. Mine will be hard copy, though.

#144 We visited Charleston very briefly earlier this year. Lovely city!

Book #6 for "In the Mood": Cooking with Yashim by Jason Goodwin - What a disappointment! I thought I was getting a collection of recipes for Turkish dishes. Instead I got an introduction to a series of books by the author and to his blog. The book only contained 4 recipes. I'm glad this was a free Kindle download instead of something for which I paid. 1/2 star.

I've decided to count The Cincinnati Red Stalkings by Troy Soos for my "History Channel" category since it is historical fiction and will technically fill that category for me. Mickey Rawlings is now playing for the Cincinnati Red Stalkings in 1921. They are getting ready to host an exhibit honoring the 1869 team when the person responsible for the exhibit turns up dead. Rawlings realizes there is more to the death than meets the eye, setting out to investigate. I've had this book on my shelf for a long time and had hesitated to pick it up and read it, but I'm really glad that I did. Having lived in Cincinnati during the 1980s and 1990s, I recognized many of the names and locations. I'm not an expert on baseball history by any means, but I can tell that the author has done quite a bit of research to pull off this series with the period detail that he has. Perhaps the thing that struck me most is that there were players and team officials involved in betting on baseball long before Pete Rose. I wonder if this book's narrative was inspired by the Pete Rose controversy that took place shortly before its writing. It's a great read, even if you are not a huge baseball fan. 4 stars.

#149 I think, actually, the sports gambling scandals of that era eventually led to MLB's "no betting on baseball" regulations under which Pete Rose was banned from the sport.

Book #7 in "Carolina on My Mind" is: Skyward by Mary Alice Monroe. Harris Henderson owns and operates the Birds of Prey Rehabilitation Center in Awendaw, South Carolina. His wife abandoned him and his daughter, but now he finds that he is unable to manage his daughter's juvenile diabetes without help. He advertises for a nanny who preferably has some medical knowledge. Ella Majors responds to the ad. She had been a pediatric nurse in Vermont before she had seen one child too many die. Ella develops a love for the child, the birds, and even for the father. The rehab extends not only to the birds but also to some of those working there. This book has lots of well-developed characters. I love the gullah man "Lijah" who brings in an injured eagle and stays around to help until the eagle is able to thrive on its own. I also love the change brought in some of the characters. The birds are the focus of the story. There are parallels between their rehabilitation and what is taking place in the lives of some of the characters. The story's pace is slow at times, but never so much that I wanted to give it up. The story also creates an awareness for juvenile diabetes. This review is based on an e-galley provided by the publisher through NetGalley. 4 stars.

Number 11 in "Faith of Our Fathers" is: The Reluctant Detective by Martha Ockley. A soon-to-be-retired vicar meets his death a bit prematurely during Lent when pesticide finds its way into the communion wine in Little Worthy. Visiting the parish on that Sunday is former police officer and newly-minted cleric Faith Morgan. The investigating officer is her former lover and colleague. The bishop appoints Faith to the parish on a temporary basis. With a host of suspects, they eventually find the person responsible. The writing is stronger than that of many Christian fiction novels, but I felt that it didn't flow quite as smoothly as it could have. Still, it's not a bad effort for a first novel. It appears that this will be the first in a series of novels featuring Faith Morgan (and probably Ben Shorter as well). Discussions of Christianity and faith seemed to stem naturally from Faith's role as vicar instead of being forced upon the reader. Overall, this was an enjoyable read, and I will probably read additional installments of the series. This review is based upon a copy received from the publisher for review through LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program. 3.5 stars.

>152 thornton37814: We seem to get a lot of the same ER books, Lori! I'm about 2/3 done with The Reluctant Detective, will reserve judgment until I'm done.

Book 6 in "Asian Escapes: Pearl of China by Anchee Min - Author Anchee Min has fictionalized author Pearl Buck's life. She tells it through the life of Willow, who is a composite of several persons Pearl knew in China over the years. I enjoyed the story, but I knew that it differed from accounts of Pearl's life that I had read years ago. Pearl was the daughter of a Presbyterian missionary. In the story, Willow is the daughter of one of Pearl's father's first converts who eventually becomes a leader in the church although his initial motive for joining was purely selfish. The book covers a wide range of time, including the period after Pearl left China during the Revolution and never returned. The biggest problem with the book is the liberties that the author took with the story. That is always a danger when fictionalizing the life of a real person. Perhaps the author would have been wise to stick with the facts and make that narrative readable rather than creating a composite individual who would have know Pearl throughout her time in China. This book was received as a complimentary copy through GoodRead's First Reads Program with encouragement to write a review. 3 stars.

Book 9 in The British Isles category is: Mansfield Park by Jane Austen. This is the story of Fanny Price who, although her parents are still alive, is taken to live with her aunts, the sisters Bertram, and other family members at Mansfield Park. It shows the relationships to her family members and to their friends in the gentile society, but it also depicts the loudness of her parents and siblings in contrast to the others. Fanny had a bit of an independent streak for a woman in Edwardian England as evidenced by her refusal to marry Henry Crawford. Her ability to stick to that conviction shows the a character strength. *** (SPOILER ALERT: In the final analysis, it also shows that she was a good judge of character.) *** I cannot say that I really found any of the characters that likeable. The plot seemed overly long for the story contained in its pages. 3 stars.

I got The Reluctant Detective through LT ER, too. I really need to get to it soon.

Have you see this?

http://bitchinabonnet.blogspot.com/

I enjoyed reading her take on Mansfield Park.

>157 RidgewayGirl: I saw the link on one of the threads, but my problem is that her blog is like reading a book. The posts are way too long for my tastes in blog reading. I didn't enjoy the book enough to read a synopsis that long on the book.

Hi -- I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed reading through your thread just now. I've been on LT for a about a month, and I haven't set up my 11 in 11 list/thread yet (maybe this weekend), but I've been looking the lists/threads of others. I've seen several books you've read that I'll be sure to pick up!

Like you, I'm going to have a faith/religion category -- iI am Hutterite is something I definately want to read.

Too funny -- I no sooner wrote that about faith and religion than a Jehovah's Witness came to the door to invite me to a convention....no kidding!

Anyway, I've starred your thread because it looks like you're reading some great books.

Thanks, Dejah_Thoris. From your library, it looks like you are into genealogy too! The book I'm reading right now is a mystery that will have some genealogical comments when I review it!

I'm counting this as Travel Channel because the main character travels from Missouri to Arkansas in the course of the book and because some of the minor characters are RVers who are camping during the book.

Invisible by Lorena McCourtney - Ivy Malone is an elderly woman whose best friend dies. Her best friend rents an apartment to a young woman going by the name of Kendra. When Kendra disappears and a body is found matching her description, Ivy comes forward to identify the body. The woman had been using the identity of someone deceased. Ivy is not satisfied that the police are being thorough and sets out to investigate. There were parts of this story I enjoyed. The opening chapter has Ivy and her best friend in a cemetery and appalled by the vandalism that had taken place there. Having seen cemeteries in this condition, I can completely identify with the outrage. Ivy, however, has some neighbors who are obsessed with genealogy. Unfortunately the author seems to be making fun of their avocation. Genealogical research is not pictured in a favorable light, and the author's unfamiliarity with professional genealogical standards is quite apparent. This is a minor plot line, but it marred my enjoyment of the book. There is a problem with believability. I really cannot picture an elderly woman such as Ivy crouching all night in a cemetery behind tombstones hiding out or being willing to do so. There are also other things that just do not seem that plausible. Ivy is a likable sleuth. This is a work of Christian fiction, and at times I felt that the author was being evangelistic rather than allowing testimonies to take a natural course. All this said, Ivy is likeable, as is one of the detectives, and I would probably read the second book if it is offered as a free Kindle download as this first one was. 2.5 stars.

I'm also counting Hospital Sketches by Louisa May Alcott as Travel Channel because Alcott travels from her Boston home by train to Washington, DC to serve as a nurse during the Civil War. Alcott’s short book provides a glimpse into the life of a Civil War hospital in Washington, DC from the viewpoint of nurse Periwinkle (Alcott herself) who came from the Boston area. It shows a contrast between the way various hospitals were run. I loved her descriptions of the towns as she was traveling through them in the early chapters of the book. Very descriptive; good writing. 4 stars.

>161 thornton37814: Sorry to hear that Invisible isn't as good as it could have been. The bad genealogy that's so pervasive on the internet is what led me to pretty much stop. Several years ago, I provided a great deal of information to a "cousin" and gave him the reference to a NEGHS article that disproved the connection he was trying to make; he replied that he was satisfied with his source (one of those 19th century books that connected everyone with a like name). I was flabbergasted since my info gave him a Mayflower ancestor plus a probable royal line and had been verified by Gary Boyd Roberts. A couple of weeks ago, I was messing around on the internet and found some very wrong information about my great-grandparents (not even the names were correct); that makes it a pretty close connection, but I wonder if they even care if they have it right, since I know that my mother provided the correct information to someone in that branch of the family... I should probably at least offer it to them...

Yes. It is sad when people just don't care and perpetuate bad data. Those are the same people who would cite (if they believed in citing in the first place) Gustav Anjou even though his fabricated genealogies are widely recognized as erroneous.

#7 in "In the Mood" is In the Shadow of Gotham by Stefanie Pintoff. In this book featuring Detective Simon Zeale, a murder has occurred in the small town north of New York City where he is now working, having moved there from the larger city’s detective squad. He is soon approached by criminology professor Alistair Sinclair who tells him he knows who the murderer is based on what we would now call the modus operandi. Zeale and Sinclair partner to resolve the crime although there is more death before it is resolved. I read the third book in this series before reading this first installment, and I believe that the author’s skills have improved from this first installment. While I enjoyed this first installment, I had pinpointed the murderer long before Ziele and Sinclair and kept waiting for them to realize who had done the dastardly deed. I will admit that I did not know the motive quite so early, but I had put my finger on the perpetrator. The book is set in 1905, and I enjoyed bits of historical perspective that were integrated into the narrative. 3.5 stars.

It doesn’t sound as though I’ll be giving Invisible a try any time soon. It’s too bad that genealogy is poorly portrayed; that would bother me, too.

Unfortunately, it’s all too easy to poke fun at what people imagine genealogy and genealogists are like. You’re right, btw; I’m into genealogy, too.

I will, however, be getting The Reluctant Detective as soon as my library gets it in. It sounds like a series worth trying.

>162 ivyd:, 163 The internet has been a great tool for genealogists, but there are some sloppy and/or delusional ancestor collectors out there calling themselves genealogists. I am now resisting continuing with my rant…..

I enjoyed Stephanie Pintoff’s first two novels and am eagerly awaiting the third. I think this is a series that’s going to develop nicely.

I saw this one offered free on Kindle earlier in the week and thought it would help fill one of those last couple of Travel Channel category slots nicely. It does that, but the book does not live up to its description. A Stingray Bit My Nipple!: True Stories from Real Travelers - These are short anecdotes (and/or photos) from domestic and foreign travel that were submitted to a column in Budget Travel. I really think I would have enjoyed them more if I'd only been able to read a single issue's submissions at a time. There is unevenness in the quality of writing and in the humor of the individual episode. I also noticed that a lot of the stories seemed to involve monkeys. They were supposedly humorous, but the editors put some of the better stories in the beginning and toward the end of the book, but the remaining stories leave much to be desired. If you want a humorous travel story, watch one of National Lampoon's Vacation movies and skip this book. 2 stars.

I think Invisible is one of the freebie downloads I got last month. I don't think I'll rush to read it, based on your review.

8th in my "In the Mood" category: When Cows Fly by Tom Watson - I read this to my grandnieces who will be starting first grade in the fall. It was a hit. It's a bit difficult to judge the illustrations on a Kindle, but the poem that is the basis for the book is cute! It was even a hit with the adults in the room! 3.5 stars.

Completing my obligations for the "Book 'Em Danno" category with two books (#6 and #7):

Help! I'm a Prisoner in the Library by Eth Clifford - Two girls go to a children's library in Indianapolis to use the restroom while their father sets off on foot in the beginnings of a blizzard to get gasoline. The library closes while they are inside, and the resident librarian is unaware they are in the building. I did not like the depiction of the library as a scary place or of the image the librarian projected. The plot seemed rather implausible at many times. It's a book upper elementary girls might enjoy. 2.5 stars.

The Cupid Chronicles by Coleen Murtagh Paratore - When Willa hears that her library in Bramble on Cape Cod is about to close its doors, she sets out to save it. I liked that Willa was well-read and that numerous mentions of literary works were made throughout the novel. I also liked the image portrayed by the town's librarian as being a good reader's advisor. I loved the use of the book cards in the pocket in the plot although I'm rather amazed that the librarian held onto them for so many years after automation. I disliked the fact that too much of the narrative centered on a school girl crush. I also found the dialogue difficult to follow at times. (This might not actually be a problem for junior high girls to follow.) *** SPOILER ALERT ***: I was also disappointed that the author alluded to some potential scheme in which one of the town's officials might be involved, but the author chose not to follow up on this line. I felt this was not resolved, and I really wished that she had chosen to pursue that angle instead of the ultimate outcome. *** END OF SPOILER *** Upper middle school girls are probably the best audience for this book featuring a high school freshman. 2.5 stars.

The library theme in the last two books you reviewed sounds good, but I doubt I'll be picking either up!

I just have to ask -- what on earth is Lawn Tennis for Ladies? And where did you find it?

I saw that you'd posted it for TIOLI and I've been madly curious ever since....

It's a free Kindle download. It's apparently an older book on tennis. It's about 68 or 69 pages long, I think. I'll get to it later in the month.

Finishing off my "Asian Escapes" category with: A Passage to India by E. M. Forster - An excellent book that shows the culture clash between the British colonists and the native Hindus and Muslims of India. The first section of the book is largely prefatory and introduces us to the cast of characters. The second portion of the book is the central section of the book, dealing with Miss Quested's experiences in the Malabar caves. The third section, which is the briefest portion of the book, is somewhat like an extended afterward. I enjoyed reading about the cultural differences, and the tension that was created because of the British view of themselves as being superior to the Indian natives. We also get to see the Indian system of government and justice at work in the novel. I loved this novel for the sense of place it created, but I can certainly understand why the British found it offensive at the time of publication. It reminds one of some of the other literary works that served to expose needed reforms. 4 stars.

I'd forgotten that you have a Carolina category. I just finished the third book in the donut shop series which is set in North Carolina. These are by Jessica Beck, if you're interested. I really enjoy these.

I think I have the first one in a TBR pile. If not, it's on my "wish list." I may have to bump it up, but I'll be on my new categories by the time I get to it. I only committed to 7 and up to 11 for the 11 in 11 challenge for each category. I'm finishing my last book in the Travel Channel category and have 2 more in the Borrowers category to read. Both of those are pulled. Then I have to read my ER book that just arrived as well as a NetGalley book.

Finishing up my obligations for the "Travel Channel" category with Murder on the Lusitania by Conrad Allen. George Dillman has been hired as ship detective aboard the Cunard's newest ship, the Lusitania. It isn't long until the ship's plans go missing. Then a murder occurs. The crew keeps the murder under wraps as the investigation continues. There are all sorts of characters -- some likeable, and others quite the opposite -- many of whom are suspects. I found the mystery likeable enough, but I'm not convinced Dillman is a good detective. I think he just got a "lucky break" (if you can call it that). Still, it's an interesting twist on a locked room puzzle, and I will probably read others in the series as I find them. 3.5 stars.

#6 in my "The Borrowers" category: Blood Country by Mary Logue - Former Minneapolis police officer has taken a job as deputy sheriff in Pepin County, Wisconsin after her husband was killed. Her daughter had seen the killer, but she did not discover that until after her daughter found the next-door neighbor dead. Suspecting her husband's killer was involved in drug trafficking, she knows she must be diligent in protecting her daughter. Unfortunately the person who committed the crime as well as the "plot twist" (in order not to create a spoiler) are so obvious, that it almost wasn't worth reading to the end. The crime involving the neighbor's death was a little better although it didn't take much to come up with the killer for that one as well. While it's not a terrible mystery, it's just one that is too obvious. There is also mild profanity, which could have been omitted in my opinion. I also spotted a couple of proofreading lapses on the part of the publishing company. 2.5 stars.

Only one book to go to complete my obligations of a minimum of 7 per category. I will stick around afterwards, but I'll have some new broad categories with no limits to help me get through some things on my TBR pile, wish list, etc.

Congratulations for being almost done with your challenge! Now you can relax and enjoy your new, broader categories.

Completing my 11 in 11 Challenge and finishing off my "The Borrowers" category with Journey by James Michener. Lord Luton and his party leave England headed for the gold fields in Dawson in the Yukon. They are determined to stick to a route which will take them only through Canada. It's an interesting account of how his determination to stick to this route against advice he receives of those more familiar with the territory imperils the members of his party and leads to the death of some. Toward the end of the book, poetry from Palgrave's Golden Treasury is included in the book. This was a book that one of the members of the party had brought along with them. As a book lover, I really appreciated that he asked each member of the party to purchase two books to bring along on the expedition. These would help them pass the time in the long winter and stimulate their minds. Although we learn what some of these books were, I would have loved to know what the others were. Michener has never been my favorite author, but this is one of his better stories. 3.5 stars.

My new thread with bonus categories is here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/118727

Congratulations, Lori! You're certainly having a great reading year!

Doing this in reverse order as I have already come across and commented on your new bonus categories thread so I will now add here my congratulations on completing your 11 in 11 Challenge!

Congratulations on completing this challenge! I'll be over to see your new bonus categories . . .

Good for you! Going over to star your new thread so I can keep up.

Just FYI, I went ahead and created a thread for completed challenges...feel free to post there if you want!