Laytonwoman3rd Sets Out on Leg 3 of 2010's Reading Journey

EDIT 11-7-17 Hated to do it, but Tickers removed due to McAfee warning about TickerFactory.com

"That's a horse's foot in gravel, man, that ain't a train!" Doc Watson

Time for Thread No. 3 for 2010, I think.

As before, I will keep a running list of what I've read in this first post, with the most recent at the top, and the titles linked to their individual posts below. The links for books 1 through 18 will take you to posts in my First thread for 2010. Links for books 19 through 46 will take you to my second thread.

76. The Squire by Enid Bagnold
75. Hogfather by Terry Pratchett
74. Finding Redemption in Everyday Life by Lela Gillow Buchanan
73. Pogo Romances Recaptured by Walt Kelly
72. Blue-Eyed Devil by Robert B. Parker
71. Where We Know: New Orleans As Home edited by David Rutledge.
70. Every Day is Mother's Day by Hilary Mantel
69. What's It All About? by Michael Caine
68. The Year of Pleasures by Elizabeth Berg
67. Bone in the Throat by Anthony Bourdain
66. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
65. A Red Death by Walter Mosley
64. The Pig Did It by Joseph Caldwell
63. The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey by Walter Mosley
62. Building the Blue Ridge Parkway by Karen J. Hall and Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway, Inc. (Images of America series)
61. The Clue of the Leaning Chimney by Carolyn Keene
60. Remember Me by Trezza Azzopardi
59. Nemesis by Philip Roth
58. Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind by Ann B. Ross
57. Painted Ladies by Robert B. Parker
56. Small Wonder by Barbara Kingsolver
55. Trespass by Rose Tremain
54. Ford County by John Grisham
53. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
52. Mirrors of Chartres Street by William Faulkner
51. dirt music by Tim Winton
50. Elizabeth and Her German Garden by Elizabeth von Arnim
49. A Guide to the Birds of East Africa by Nicholas Drayson
48. The Cailiffs of Baghdad, Georgia by Mary Helen Stefaniak
47. In Fond Remembrance of Me by Howard Norman
46. Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner.
45. The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill
44. Flush by Virginia Woolf
43. Mrs. Miniver by Jan Struther
42. U is for Undertow by Sue Grafton
41. The Glass Rainbow by James Lee Burke
40. Digging to America by Anne Tyler
39. Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
38. Book of the Dead by Patricia Cornwell
37. Talk Softly by Cynthia O'Neal
36. The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
35. Jesus Out to Sea by James Lee Burke
34. Gypsies: An Illustrated History by Jean-Pierre Liegeois
33. Paul and Me by A. E. Hotchner.
32. Brimstone by Robert B. Parker
31. Cataloochee by Wayne Caldwell
30. Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde.
29. Family Honor by Robert B. Parker
28. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
27. An American Type by Henry Roth
26. The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West
25. The Mezuzah in the Madonna's Foot by Trudi Alexy
24. The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
23. Split Image by Robert B. Parker
22. No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
21. I Got Somebody in Staunton by William Henry Lewis
20. Here is New York by E. B. White
19. Hanged for a Sheep by Frances and Richard Lockridge
18. Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner
17. The Boys in the Trees by Mary Swan
16. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
15. To My Dearest Friends by Patricia Volk
14. On Hallowed Ground by Robert M. Poole
13. Finn by Jon Clinch
12. Mrs. Somebody Somebody by Tracy Winn
11. The Church of Dead Girls by Stephen Dobyns
10. The Day the Falls Stood Still by Cathy Marie Buchanan
9. Murder Comes First by Frances and Richard Lockridge
8. A Morning For Flamingos by James Lee Burke
7. Into the Attic (unpublished) by Laura Koons
6. A Few Green Leaves by Barbara Pym
5. The Wind-up Bird Chronicle by Murakami
4. The Underneath by Kathi Appelt
3. Light in August by William Faulkner
2. Scottsboro by Ellen Feldman
1. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

47. In Fond Remembrance of Me by Howard Norman Another book that kept me reading late into the night. This is a tidy little memoir that covers only a couple months of the author's life. In 1977, Howard Norman went to Churchill, Manitoba, to record and translate Inuit folk tales told by an elder, Mark Nuqac. Norman had only a rudimentary grasp of the Inuit language or the methods of gathering folktales, and to complicate matters he and Mr. Nuqac never quite hit it off. His saving grace, however, was the presence of a woman who was engaged to do basically the same project, collecting Mr. Nuqac's stories and translating them into Japanese. Mr. Nuqac not only liked Helen, he was entranced with her; she was older, more experienced and just plain better at what she was doing than Norman. She was also terminally ill and determined not to give an inch to her "goddammed disease" until absolutely necessary. In spite of what Norman described as a "difficult friendship" he and Helen Tanizaki became close enough that she asked him to disburse her ashes among the sea birds off Cape Freels, Newfoundland, after she had gone home to Japan to die. Norman's memories of his time in Churchill are interspersed with 11 of Mr. Nuqac's "Noah stories", all variations on a theme that has an almost Cosby-ish feel to it. Noah's ark drifts into Hudson Bay just as winter is coming on, and there it sits, frozen in the ice, an object of intense curiosity to the native people. A typical exchange goes like this:

Villager: Hey, you up there? What's your name?
Noah: Noah.
Villager: What do you call this boat?
Noah: It's an ark.
Villager: What's that awful smell?
Noah: I have a lot of animals below decks.
Villager: Well, push some of them out here. We need the meat. We'll take you to our village and keep you safe through the winter.
Noah: No.
Villager: What do these animals taste like?
Noah: We don't eat them.
Villager: Well let us tear some boards off your ark for a fire.
Noah: No.
Villager: Do you know winter is coming? That means a lot of cold. A lot of snow. A lot of wind. You and your family should come with us. We'll keep you warm and teach you to hunt seals and to fish through the ice.
Noah: No. We'll stay here on the ark.

Oddly enough, reading eleven different versions of this story did not get monotonous. The memoir portion of the book was moving without being sentimental or maudlin. An odd little volume that I'm very glad to have read.

Hmm, reminds me of the old Bill Cosby schtick. "What's a cubit?"

I was lurking on your last thread, so I just thought I'd say hi and let you know I'm here on this one! *waves*

It sounds like a very touching book. I think I understand why you stayed up late.

I still remember bits of Bill Cosby's "Noah". It was very funny. "Have you seen the bottom of that ark?"

Glad you found me, Terri. Good to see you, Marcia. We haven't crossed paths much lately. How are things in Bingo-town, anyway? And Bill, welcome.

Hah! Thought you'd post your Lolly Willowes review and flee the country, did you? Didn't you love the concept of 'only a woman who had gone to the Devil would ever strike out to find herself' the way she did? What Northrop Frye called a "metafer" and I likes me a good metafer.

Things are okay in the Bing! How is Scranton?

#7 Oddly enough, I think I was caught off guard by the foreknowledge that Lolly was going to take up witchcraft. I expected something a bit more patently supernatural and tinged with mystery. But upon reflection, that "well, I must be a witch if this is what I'm up to" is exactly the kind of thing my own mother might say in jest. In fact, she has observed from time to time that someone or other probably thinks she's "gone to the Devil" because she doesn't follow a conventional path all the time. And there really were some wickedly funny lines in the book, as you pointed out in your review. I love this: "Why should Titus offer her marriage? Why should Pandora accept it? They had always been such friends." And "I can't take warlocks so seriously, not as a class."

#8 Scranton is fine....quite wet today. They're doing another book festival in October. Might you make it down to this one?

Binghamton is extremely wet today, as well. Ooh, hopefully I can make it down! If all goes well. I'll have to see what my schedule is like! :)

#2: That one interests me. Thanks for the review and recommendation, Linda.

48. The Cailiffs of Baghdad, Georgia, by Mary Helen Stefaniak My full review of this one (an ER offering) will take a bit. And it will be mixed. Please stand by.

ETA: My full review is here

Standing by . . .

You tease.

No longer standing by. Lying down, waiting.

Give me a break, ladies. The boss expects some work out of me!

Pshaw. Tell'im to go back to Africa.

They won't have 'im.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Patience is a virtue.

Aaaaw, that is one cute kitty! My Dad had a Russian Blue like that, and the looks Arnold could give you...!

The Pressure!! Thank you Bill!

>21 alcottacre:: HA!

No pressure but when you have qualifiers, I'm always interested.

My 'standing by' mode has got up and went. . .

Now she's just being ornery.

#12 Book 48 -- Tomorrow, I promise.

49. A Guide to the Birds of East Africa by Nicholas Drayson This was recommended by a couple LT'ers, and last week I spotted it on the "Staff Picks" shelf as I was leaving the library, so I checked it out. Light reading, but with some substance tucked in. It's a gentle love story about an honest, modest man doing his best to live with himself and his past mistakes. Don't be surprised to find a tear in your eye mid-way through his story.

Ok, you like it. I'm convinced. The older I get, the more I like a gentle story.

#28: Promises, promises. . .

I already have A Guide to the Birds of East Africa somewhere around my house hiding from me. I just need to find it.

I've finally clawed out my review of #48 above, for anyone who still remembers that they were interested.

50. Elizabeth and Her German Garden by Elizabeth von Arnim I've moved from the birds of Kenya to the flowers of Pomerania. This was a lovely seasonal journal to be reading in my fragrant shady lawn on a warm late summer afternoon. Witty, insightful, beautifully descriptive.

aw heck re Miss Grace Spivey and the thump bang ending. I really wanted to read it until you got to the Gordian knot at the end. Darn.

Re the Von Arnim, aren't the babies like little Hummel figurines? Liked this one too.

#12: Too bad about that one. I am with Tiffin - I wanted to read it until you got to the qualifier.

#31: I have had that one in the BlackHole forever now. I checked and the local libraries still do not have it, but it is available for the Nook and now downloaded. Woot!

I have Elizabeth and her German Garden in the TBR: based on those comments, I think I shall bump it up nearer the top. Thanks, Linda.

#32 Yes, I loved the babies--never a minute of trouble, just lisping toddling joy-- and Elizabeth's amused tolerance of her Man of Wrath, with his pompous opinions. Elizabeth's friend Irais was another sparkler, wasn't she? ("Be sure to make a note of that")

Excellent review of #48 ... worth waiting for!
I also loved the von Arnim, although I read in the VMC group recently that at some point she stopped her "amused tolerance" of the Man of Wrath ...

Yes, I believe that marriage ended, Laura. I would have tossed him out on his ear, myself. Insufferable male chauvinist.

She had been an excellent musician as well, playing the organ exceptionally well. A sparkling spirit trapped in a world of cabbages.

51. dirt music by Tim Winton This novel is unlike anything I've ever read before. Set at the turn of this century in a West Australian fishing village with a rugged history, Dirt Music gives us life lived upside down and backwards, and for a while it isn't easy to decide who we ought to sympathize with. Georgie Jutland, a burnt out nurse, has a bit of a history herself, but has tentatively settled in with widower Jim Buckridge, a successful commercial fisherman, and his two young sons. His past is mostly a mystery to her, although his reputation for revenge-oriented violence is no secret. His marriage and his wife's death are taboo subjects. Soon she becomes drawn into the life of Luther Fox, an unlicensed "shamateur" fisherman flirting with disaster by poaching abalone and lobsters. Buckridge and Fox are destined to be rivals for Georgie as well as for their marine quarry, but each will face a far more complex personal struggle to come to grips with himself. Their stories are layered and mingled beautifully, leading to a resolution that you won't see coming from very far away. Winton's writing is brilliant. Sentence after sentence, even whole paragraphs, demand to be re-read, not for their sense, but for their beauty and force. Dirt Music is a symphony.

Whoa! Dirt Music sounds like one I'm gonna hafta find....you did a great job capturing enough to make me want to read it, w/o giving away what appears to be a really well written tale.

#39: I know I already have Dirt Music in the BlackHole. It is not available at my local libraries, but it is available for my Nook. I will have to go see how much it is. . .

Very nice review, Linda!

Very good review!
I never heard of this book before but now I feel like I have to read it. Where do you find these jewels?

This marvelous community we have here puts me on to authors I would never have known about---Australians, Africans, Canadians, Swedes, Indians, even the odd American or Brit I didn't know about. I found this particular volume at a library book sale, I think; it doesn't have the usual coded pencil markings associated with my independent New-and-Used book store. But if I hadn't remembered that I had heard something good somewhere about Tim Winton, I might have left it behind. Just another reason to love LibraryThing.

#39 - Nice review, Linda! I was sucked in by "This novel is unlike anything I've ever read before," and running for my TBR list by "Dirt Music is a symphony." Thanks!

I knew there was a reason I picked up Dirt Music at my favorite used book store a while back. Now I just have to get to it because it sounds wonderful.

Dirt Music is a symphony that I want to attend. Now to locate a copy somewhere. I might have to resort to ILL or Amazon. I read Winton's The Riders many years ago, but can't remember it at all. It was before my book journaling days.

ETA: I was mistaken...I read this in 1999 when I was writing about my books in a notebook. Apparently, this one was set in Ireland and involved a search for the protaganist's wife throughout Europe. Nothing about how much I liked it except that I gave it 3.5 stars which suggests it was slightly above average.

52. Mirrors of Chartres Street by William Faulkner These very early "sketches" of street life in New Orleans were written during 1925, while Faulkner was "on his way" to Europe. They were originally published in the Times-Picayune. Neither the timeless city nor the masterful author that I know are recognizable to me in these short pieces, and I wouldn't have read past the first one if they had been written by anyone else. They do reveal the beginnings of Faulkner's genius at creating character, but I don't recommend them unless you're determined to read every blessed thing he wrote.

53. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

Conversation with husband, who had caught a whiff of must from the pages of this book as I was reading in bed:

Him: "That must be a pretty old book, huh?"
Me: *flipping to the title page* "Mmmhmmm. 1949. Pretty old."
Him: *slightly deflated* "Oh."
Me: *suppressing cackles of glee* "Well, you walked right into it."

1949, of course, being the year HE was born.

As for the story itself, I enjoyed it very much. Such absolutely real people, some quirky, some loveable, some incomprehensible. It surprised me, actually, because I didn't expect the depth and seriousness that alternates with the pure hilarity of Miss Cassandra Mortmain's observations about life in The Castle. I am reminded of the lyrics to a song from my piano-plunkin' days..."John's in love with Joan; Joan's in love with Jim; Jim's in love with someone, who's not in love with him". That quite well describes the romantic goings-on in I Capture the Castle. But Cassandra is a very wise young lady, given to introspection, and even psycho-analysis. Though she makes some mistakes, and leaves us with things somewhat unsettled, she'll be all right, I'm sure of it.

#47: unless you're determined to read every blessed thing he wrote.

Umm, no.

#48: I need to give that one a re-read!

Didn't you love Cassandra as a narrator? She had me right from the get go, sitting in the sink.

Oh, yes. Cassandra is one of my favorite narrators. And I really loved her use of Miss Blossom, the dressmaker's form, as a voice for giving and receiving advice. Brilliant.

Breezing by to say hello.

#49 and 52 Hey, you party animals! Glad to see you survived the big Birthday Bash!

So sorry you could not join us. It was a wonderful experience.

#53: Linda is a party animal. I am a wall flower :) Like her though, I wish you could have been there!

Came to see what you're reading on your hols.

#56 Haven't finished anything, but am reading a collection of John Grisham's short stories and re-reading Small Wonder by Barbara Kingsolver.

What, no Faulkner on His Majesty's birthday??

Well, I was pretty busy that day---but I did read a couple chapters of Jay Parini's biography of Bill---One Matchless Time.

54. Ford County by John Grisham A highly readable collection of short fiction. This is not great literature, but each story has a singular situation and one or more distinctive characters to recommend it and several of them yield something worth thinking about. My particular favorite was "Quiet Haven", an interesting tale that ought to leave the reader wrestling just a bit with an ethical question or two.

55. Trespass by Rose Tremain This was an ER copy, and I will be putting together a formal review as soon as I gather my thoughts. It won't be in my top 10 for the year, but it was a worthwhile read.

My full review is here

My quick recommendation: Read Trezza Azzopardi's Remember Me instead.

Stopping by to say hi. Congratulations on reading 55 books thus far this year!

56. Small Wonder by Barbara Kingsolver This collection of essays was a re-read for me, and well worth the time. She is so articulate, so informed, so even-handed even when pleading passionately for her causes. Her opinions are backed with science and logic; grounded in careful thought and common sense; and expressed in glorious language. She is also witty, warm and just plain fun to read. Highly recommended.

57. Painted Ladies by Robert B. Parker The last, I must assume, of Parker's Spenser novels. It isn't one of his best (for one thing, there is no Hawk in it). But it has his usual touches, and a plot that hinges on some serious subjects (anti-Semitism, theft of Jewish art treasures during the Holocaust). I read it compulsively at every opportunity for two days, and was terribly sad to come to the end, happy as it was in itself. It is no real spoiler to tell you that Pearl is in love with a yellow Lab, and it's going well. What better way to end this series than with a couple of happy dogs frolicking in the Public Gardens?

ETA: I have since learned that there was at least one more Spenser novel completed and submitted for publication before Parker died. It will be interesting to see just how far ahead of his publishers he was when his literary executor sorts everything out.

#63: I read that one earlier this year on your recommendation (at least I think it was yours!) and enjoyed it too.

Linda

Thanks for another review of what looks like a great book. Painted Ladies is now on the tbr list.

58. Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind by Ann B. Ross Well, Fannie Flagg loved this book, and if I may say so, it's because it's exactly the kind of thing she might have written herself. Therefore, I loved it too. After Miss Julia's upstanding husband Wesley died, she found out a few things about him that she would rather not have known, and a few things about herself that startled and satisfied her. Desperately funny, with barbs in all the right places. I'll be returning to Miss Julia's adventures when I need a little lift.

#67: I have read the first couple of the Miss Julia books, but that was a while back. I need to return to the series. Thanks for the reminder, Linda!

This sounds good for those "what ails you" days. Have never read any Miss Julia and will amend that!

I really like Fannie Flagg, so I'll have to add it to my library wish list.

59. Nemesis by Philip Roth I'm not a fan of Philip Roth, and this book reminded me why that is. I heard him talking about Nemesis in a couple interviews, and thought the subject matter was intriguing, so I decided to read it. The setting is the blistering summer of 1944, in Newark, NJ, where polio is once again rearing its ugly head, as it has every summer of Bucky Cantor's life. An athletic young phys ed teacher, with bad eyesight that has kept him out of WWII, Bucky is spending the summer as playground director, earnestly overseeing the daily activities of neighborhood boys in the predominantly Jewish section of Weequahic. This promising set-up turns out to be just a new platform for Roth's recurring exploration of Guilt, and I've heard it all before. Another promising young man ultimately destroys himself by thinking too much, by being unable to accept that shit happens--or in this case, that polio happens--and it isn’t anyone’s fault. The jacket blurb puts it this way: "Through this story run the dark questions that haunt all four of Roth's recent short novels...What kind of choices fatally shape a life? How does the individual withstand the onslaught of circumstance?" Well, yes...those questions are certainly explored here. Ad nauseam. Without subtlety. The most sympathetic character, Bucky's almost-fiance Marcia, is just a tool to contrast and confront Bucky, and she is unforgivably dropped from the book, as she is from Bucky's life, when the author is through with her. There is occasional brilliance in the writing, but it casts a cold light. Portions of it are so evocative of time and place that I can't help but admire Roth's skill. The trouble is, I think, that the skill is too apparent on the page. I couldn't get lost in it; I was evaluating it all the time. This is a novel of exposition, not action, although it purports to deal with the consequences of actions. It feels too much like something that’s meant to be good for you, like a dose of castor oil, maybe.

#71: I do not care for Roth's books either, so I will give that one a pass.

I hope you enjoy your next read more, Linda!

A review well done, Linda.

Great review. I used to love Roth, and I still think his good books are really good. But you're right, he has done his themes to death. I think I'll pass on this one.

I am a fan of Roth, but I haven't enjoyed those of his recent books that I've read, and this seems to fall into this category even though I read a review of it that intrigued me. I will probably skip it, as I have everything he's written since Indignation. But I remain impressed by much of his earlier work, including his (in my opinion) masterpiece, American Pastoral.

And what Janet said (#74).

A very well written review. The author seems to show great skill but very little humanity.

No desire to read Roth, only reinforced by your review. Thanks!

I read Roth yonks ago as an undergrad but his "voice" wasn't one which kept me with him (although I did like him at the time). I think "he has done his themes to death" explains why.

I still have it in the back of my mind that I will read American Pastoral one day, Rebecca. I didn't hate Nemesis; it just didn't engage me as I had hoped it would. I think I expected his characters to come alive for me the way Chaim Potok's do. That's not Roth's style, and I know that, so...
Irrationally, it also irritates me that he chose a title that has been used by so many other authors, from Agatha Christie to Isaac Asimov. Rose Tremain did the same with Trespass. And I still need to finish my review of that one.

After a second try, I've decided that Wizard of the Crow is just not for me. Funny story---I took it out of the library, and as I was reading it, I came across the receipt I got the last time I borrowed it, about a year ago, at page 40-something. I must have been using it for a bookmark then, and I guess nobody else had checked it out since! I got a little further in this time, but I was forcing myself.

It takes a while to get into it, but if you don't like it, you don't like it. It is one of my favorites, but it would be boring if we all liked the same books.

@ 80 Or maybe somebody else did take it out but they preserved the location of the slip/bookmark they found in the book. I do that.

Naaawww...really?

Yes, me too, unless it's cash.

LOL! I never found any of that in a library book.

Thanks for reminding me why I usually pass right by Roth's book no matter where I spot it.

That reminds me of a column by Michael Kinsley I read some years ago, before LT. He went to several bookstores and put a twenty dollar bill wedged back in the pages of some current bestsellers with a note that the finder of the money could come to his office with the book and the bill and he would give them twenty more dollars. He didn't get any responses. His point was that many people buy the buy to look good on the shelf and read reviews to be able to discuss the book. An example of the dumbing down of America.

>67 laytonwoman3rd: I love the Miss Julia books. I've listened to them all on audiobook, and I think they're even funnier that way! She is one of my guilty pleasures...

60. Remember Me by Trezza Azzopardi I seem to be reading a lot of books lately with over-used titles. This one was a winner, though, where some of the others were not. We meet the narrator, who has had many names throughout her life, as an elderly homeless woman who has determined to live only in the present, but is forced by a disturbing assault to remember her own complicated past. Her story unfolds in chapters alternately numbered (one, two, three) and titled ("sticks", "protection", "all-day breakfast"). The numbered chapters take us back in time through the narrator's childhood and gradually on to the present; the titled chapters tell her "now" story. The writing is glorious; the narrator sympathetic though surely unreliable; the suspense just intense enough as we experience each new revelation about who Lillian/ Patsy/Beauty/Winnie is and has been. This book could easily have been called "Trespass", as Rose Tremain's most recent novel is. But Remember Me is a far more satisfying read.

#89: Thanks for the recommendation of that one, Linda. I will look for it!

Oh, that one sounds really good!

Yes it does...oh darn, I'm supposed to only be buying books for Christmas gifts at this point...self-imposed rule.

I've imposed the same rule on myself, Tui, after coming home from Virginia last week with 23 new (mostly used, but new to us) books!

Just bought my first one: Cyclopedia: It's All About the Bike by William Fotheringham. One for R.

Great title Tui!

eta: wow, that's a bunch of Viragos you scored Linda!

Well, only 12 of them were Viragos, Terri. Still, an incredible haul, by my standards!

By mine too! I have never, ever found 12 at once. I think 2 is my max.

ONLY Twelve?!

I must give credit to my daughter's eagle eyes--she spotted most of those green spines for me. And she isn't even a collector.

Thas Doctor Eagle-Eye to you. ;-)

The green spines pop out at one, as very few not-Virago books have green covers. And as I had sworn a blood oath not to buy anything but one very specific title, I had time to scan for the green.

61. The Clue of the Leaning Chimney by Carolyn Keene My love of mysteries started early. I don't know how many Nancy Drew books I read or owned as a kid, but I do know I read this one at least a dozen times before I was as many years old, and that I moved directly from the girl sleuth to Sherlock Holmes. I first encountered anything Chinese, peacocks, mastiffs, and convertible roadsters in the pages of Nancy's exploits. I'm not sure why this particular story appealed to me so strongly; I certainly didn't read all the Nancy Drew books multiple times. But re-reading it now, I find several things to praise in it. The dialog, although somewhat dated, and sprinkled with odd expressions and overwrought reactions, is quite well done. (We won't mention the dialog tags, which are a bit wretched.) Nancy is a mighty liberated young woman for her time. Men from her frat-boy beau to state troopers treat her and her theories with respect. She drives a hot car with skill without anyone pointing out that she "drives like a man". The Chinese characters in this novel are not stereotypes, but real people, good and bad, and we learn some interesting facts about their language, their philosophy and their art. The plot is really rather good. On the negative side, Nancy's utter disregard for her own safety, and law enforcement's mild acceptance of her curiosity and involvement are a bit hard to believe in, even in a much more innocent time. There are waaaay too many exclamatory sentences and handy coincidences. But I loved reading this again, and not finding myself saying "Oh, PLEASE!!" as often as I had expected.

I liked the Nancy Drew series, but never cared for it as much as the Hardy Boys books, which I went through in record time :)

I finally finished my review of Trespass.

Sorry you didn't like Trespass much! I've loved Rose Tremain, but I've also given up on her books. She's still on my list of authors to read, however I might just give Trespass a miss. :)

#102> Oh, I was a Hardy Boys fan too! I'd love to re-read them (and Nancy Drew, as well).

I'm sorry too, Tania. I think other people would enjoy it more than I did, which is one reason I gave it the three stars. I've read the positive reviews, and can't really refute what they say---it just didn't work for me.

Linda, you did a great job describing what didn't work for you ... quite thumbworthy, imo !

62. Building the Blue Ridge Parkway by Karen J. Hall and Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway, Inc. This is part of the "Images of America" series, and although I have a couple others this is the first one I've gone straight through. Fascinating photos; frustratingly amateurish text (but blessedly little of it). The book raises more questions than it answers, leaves out crucial information and beats other points to death. The author seemed to be most concerned that we understand that the Civilian Conservation Corps did not BUILD the parkway--that was done by private contractors--but merely did landscaping, built overlooks and shelters. To be fair, this is intended as a picture book. I still think a bit more care could have been taken with the captions and brief chapter introductions to give it a little cohesiveness. Photos are primarily from the Blue Ridge Parkway Archives, with some from the North Carolina Archives.

63. The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey by Walter Mosley This one deserves eloquence. I don't know if I can pull that off, but I'm working on it. But all y'all need to go get a copy when it comes out on November 11th. I'm not kidding.

ETA: My review

Ptolemy Grey is almost past the point of no return on a decline into poverty, dementia and filth. His mind doesn’t play straight with him, the nephew (or is it grandson?) who has taken minimal care of him by escorting him to the bank and the grocery store on a semi-regular basis hasn’t been seen now for three weeks (or is it longer?), his stock of canned tuna is nearly gone and his toilet doesn’t work. As if all that weren’t enough, whenever he ventures out of his apartment alone, a manic neighbor woman with a heavy habit attempts to mug him for his pension money. Just when this story seems to be too grim to continue with, Ptolemy Grey is visited by nothing less than an angel in the person of an 18-year-old orphan who has been staying with his niece. This beautiful young woman takes on the job of bringing Pitypapa Grey back to the world, to live in it fully for the time he has left. Is she too good to be true? Should we trust her, or does she have an ulterior motive? When she takes him to a doctor who is conducting an experimental drug trial, is she selling his body to the devil, or saving his soul? Oh, this is a fine piece of writing. If you don’t love Ptolemy Grey and hold your breath waiting to see if he will rise to the final challenge he sets up for himself, look to your own soul. It needs your attention.

#108 Wow, that sounds great. I'm off to Amazon to pre-order a copy. Thanks for the recommendation.

#108: Adding that one to the BlackHole in the hopes that my local library gets a copy soon. Thanks, Linda!

I once decided when I was driving from up north down to Asheville to 'take' the BR Parkway. #1 I couldn't see anything, except at the very occasional rest stop as the trees are tall and dense and it winds around and around until you start to weave drunkenly..... #2 I was stopped at last by a policeman who said, "Did you know you were driving erratically?" And I wailed, "Nooooo, but I've been up here on the Parkway for four hours and I'm losing my mind." He (almost) laughed and directed me the fastest place to go to get something to eat and some coffee and maybe consider taking a faster road the rest of the way, which I did.

Oh, Lucy, that's funny! I've been on the parkway a number of times, in various places, over the years. I can't imagine choosing it as the way to get from one place to another, though! Most of my experiences in the past were much like yours---tough driving (and of course the driver shouldn't be trying to look at scenery EXCEPT at rest stops!), and less than satisfying views due mostly to haze or fog. But last week while visiting our daughter and son-in-law in Virginia, we spent a couple hours up there in some of the most beautiful clear weather, and it was truly spectacular. Breathtaking. All those things. And luckily we had good "tour guides" who knew where to take us for food when we needed it.

Yes -- I think in short doses, it is wonderful -- I've driven up there in Virginia when my bro lived there, and then hiked on some trail or other and so on and it was fabulous. But not to actually take from here to there!!!!!!

64. The Pig Did It by Joseph Caldwell Absurd is the only word for this one. When Aaron McCloud returns to childhood haunts in Ireland to "grieve" over a lost love that never was, he finds himself adopted by a stray pig, which wreaks havoc on his Aunt's back garden and cabbage patch, digging up the bones of a poor murthered tinker in the process. Who did it? And what's to be done about it? And will Aaron ever actually find the time to walk alone along the beach and feel sorry for himself? Full of hilarious moments that beg to be filmed (I kept thinking of "Waking Ned Devine"), and purplish Irish prose...a delightful farce.

I tried to read this back in 2008---just could not get the point. I gave it up and have no real reason to go back to it. Maybe if they make a movie, I'll give it a peek when it comes out to Netflix.

#114: I am not sure I can take that level of absurdity, so I think I will give that one a pass. I am glad you enjoyed it though, Linda!

65. A Red Death by Walter Mosley The second of Mosley's Easy Rawlins mysteries. This is the first of these I've read, although I was familiar with Easy from Denzel Washington's perfect portrayal in "Devil in a Blue Dress". In this one, Easy is up against a crooked IRS agent, the government's hunt for "reds", some friends he shouldn't be trusting, a couple uneasy women and his own conscience. Not to mention the pervasive racial tensions of the 1950's. It's a lot of plot, embedded in a lot of sex and violence, and suffers some pacing issues, but still I enjoyed it and will continue with the series, because Easy's got a heart.

I loved your review of "Trespass" but you made me want to read "The Pig Did It"!

And I think you should read The Pig Did It. It's a little reminiscent of Cold Comfort Farm. 'Twas a library book, or I'd send it to you!

66. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald As a self-avowed American literature aficionado, I shamefully confess that this is the first time I have read this, or any other Fitzgerald work. I acknowledge it as a masterpiece---a tight story of obsessive "love", pointless conspicuous consumption, and amoral living. I have never been properly drawn to the Lost Generation and its hopeless disillusionment with life. I didn't find much to be sympathetic with in this cast of characters, but they were at least interesting, and their tragic story brilliantly told. It's all about the writing --fine, fine writing that makes me want to go dig out that collection of Fitzgerald's short fiction I know is here somewhere.

I "did" that one in an undergrad Amurcan Lit. course and it has stuck with me all these years. When the whole West Coast Paris Hilton thing came along recently, I thought "it's been done....and far more interestingly."

@ 120

AAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

>122 lycomayflower:: shoulders shaking with laughter here

#123 I've already taken verbal abuse over the phone on this one. I'm sticking to my guns, though. I think it's a fine piece of work and deserves its standing in the canon (which I KNOW does not really exist).

>122 lycomayflower:: ROFL

@ 124

I refute "abuse."

#126 Pbbbbllllllttt!! Baz Luhrmann is doing the movie, so you'll HAVE to watch it.

The question that makes GG interesting (to me, that is) is whether you believe Nick Carraway is telling the story accurately or not. The book is like one of those drawings with two very different pictures in it, depending on what angle you are looking at it from: and even more to the point, perhaps both angles are simultaneously 'true' or 'false'. I can't say more without possibly spoiling it for someone else but FSF was finely aware of a 'new American' emerging from WWI, a culture that was developing slipperier (is that a word?) values, eg growing adept at rearranging facts and reinventing themselves in a way that had been a lot harder to do in a more settled society. (The nonsense of advertising being one example.) Oh, forgive me if I've dithered on too much!

I don't think you dithered at all, Lucy. It is an interesting question. It's particularly curious since sometimes Nick is the first person eyewitness to events, and sometimes he's the omniscient narrator who was not present--and so how does he know the things he tells us?

Yep -- those writers are so tricksy.

67. Bone in the Throat by Anthony Bourdain Gruesome, gristly, profane, provocative, and awfully funny. Bourdain has a talent for dialog, for setting the scene and for making the macabre comical. This crime novel is not for the squeamish, and beyond the butchery one expects from mob hits, it includes some kitchen shenanigans that will make you want to eat in for a while. I understand this was written (or at least published) before Bourdain's non-fiction Kitchen Confidential, but it describes many of the same behind-the-scenes restaurant practices with a potful of mayhem thrown in for good measure. I'm glad I read this one, but I think ONE is an elegant sufficiency and I will not likely visit Tony's underworld again.

Bit late to the Great Gatsby party, here. I studied it back at High School, and now (~20 years later) am thinking it might be a long enough period to make it worth revisiting. Enough that I bought the book, but it's still all a bit too close to actually start *reading* it. (That year I also studied Emma, and happily re-read that a few years ago. Why the mental block with TGG?)

I liked Kitchen Confidential, but I'm not sure if I'd want to revisit Bourdain's world again. So much testosterone!

68. The Year of Pleasures: A Novel by Elizabeth Berg An easy, uncomplicated, undemanding novel about a woman seeking a new way to live after her husband's untimely death. Excellent characterizations, a little thin on actual story.

ETA: We have no touchstones today, apparently.

Touchstones are for chumps.

>134 lycomayflower: Thssbbttttt! You've obviously had too much brisket.

69. What's It All About? by Michael Caine I've been reading this 1992 autobiography for months, in five or ten minute snatches--those moments when I didn't have time or mental capacity available for delving into anything that required sustained concentration. It's been fun, and enlightening. Michael Caine goes onto my list of people I'd like to have dinner with.

Well, I have to confess that Michael Caine was probably the first star I had a crush on as a young teenager -- my friend and I snuck in to see Alfie because our parents never would have let us see it. As an adult, I admire his work (and see Alfie in a whole other light) so, although I almost never read star biographies/autobiographies, I will probably read his.

His latest one is called The Elephant to Hollywood, Rebecca. The title alone begs me to read it. I must confess I have never seen Alfie.

#135: Michael Caine and I share a birthday, so I obviously need to read his biography :)

It's Sir Michael Caine now. My first fave film of his was The Ipcress File and I have a copy of Zulu another of his early movies.

Yes, wildbill, I loved him in the Ipcress File as well. This sounds interesting, Linda.

I've edited No. 63, Message 108, to add my review of The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey. I didn't realize I'd left that so long. And now I have another ER book to read and review, with yet another promised to be on its way.

Nice review! I mst admit, I have found Walter Mosley's books quite fascinating, I'll keep an eye open for this one.

I brought The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey home from the library the other day. I hope I enjoy it as much as you did, Linda!

I hope so too, Stasia. It's quite different, I think, from his Easy Rawlins books, the only other work of his that I've sampled so far.

I have never read any of his Easy Rawlins books, so I cannot compare them. Thus far the only of Mosley's works that I have read is his The Man in the Basement, a book I found very disturbing.

Hi Linda

I enjoy your wonderful reviews and comments about the books you read! The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey sounds like a great book. I hope my local library has this one.

Happy Holidays to you!!!!

70. Every Day is Mother's Day by Hilary Mantel
I'll have some things to say about this one tomorrow. For now, suffice it to say it isn't going on my Best Reads of the Year list.

ETA: In Every Day is Mother's Day Hilary Mantel gives us Colin Sidney, a dissatisfied history teacher who attends evening classes on subjects he has no interest in, just to get away from his wife and children for a few hours. He and his wife never seem to have a conversation that isn't contentious, and the children are sticky horrid little monsters with no hint of individual personalities (in short, quite unlike real children in my experience, where even the horrid ones are "people".) During a creative writing class (in which he writes nothing) Colin latches on to an inept social worker named Isabel who has no life either, and they embark on a hopeless little affair. One of Isabel's clients is Muriel Axon, a slightly retarded woman who lives with her mother, coincidentally next door to Colin's sister. Muriel and her mother are equally deranged, but in rather different ways, and what they get up to, grim as it all is, can be blackly humorous. Hilary Mantel has a monumental talent; her writing carries you along and keeps you engaged in the story, even when you don't particularly like the story. The best part of this book was a lengthy scene in which Colin and his pregnant wife arrive late at a dinner party hosted by the head of his department, to find that everyone there is already half pickled on the free booze, and well into a routine of head games to which Colin is very reluctant witness. It's a brilliant bashing of academic "types" who have no real interest in anything and find their only pleasures in intoxication and one-ups-manship. I can't say I greatly enjoyed the book overall, but parts of it made the whole worth reading. Once again, I find myself inclined to suggest that you read Remember Me by Trezza Azzopardi for a better treatment of a character with mental health issues.

#147: OK. It looks as though I will be giving that one a pass.

finally, a book on your thread that I'm not adding to the tbr pile.

Aww...Linda...you don't want me to send my copy to you immediately??

Ugh! Mantel's book sounds thoroughly depressing. Don't think I'll read Bourdain's book either. Like you, I ate in for quite awhile after reading Kitchen Confidential and still think about those behind the counter scenes--and those were expensive restaurants! Shuddering to think about what goes on in the fairly cheap restaurants I patronize.

The Mantel almost sounds like a revenge book, where you write a story trashing everyone you don't like or who did you wrong (thinking of the academic part). It sounds miserable and good at the same time.

#152 Mmmm...I have a feeling that the inspirations for some of those characters might have been quite recognizable to their colleagues, Tui. Maybe even to themselves.

I might have to read the Mantel. Imagine this - going to a dinner party (eight or ten) and finding all academics, all tenured profs, except yourself (working as a tutor, free lance and getting an MFA in writing) and spouse (working as a carpenter/builder and also as a sculptor.) You get seated next to someone who is a big 'expert' on, say, Thackeray. (I don't remember now what he was an expert on.) You say something to get convo going and he turns to you and says, "Oh God, please, no shop talk, I can't stand the man."

I did this sort of thing more than once because a dear cousin, close friend was married then to a prof at Penn. Ugh.

I just erased a whole paragraph where I was foaming at the mouth. The creepy thing to me was how great they all thought they were, how marvelous, how intelligent and special. Ugh. I'm a liberal through and through but I remember those evenings with disgust -- anyhow -- she's probably not exaggerating.

They aren't all that bad, of course, -- her husband, now an ex, was though and he collected terrible friends.

A question just occurred to me, does Colin have any idea or dissatisfaction with how miserable he is? Or does he passively accept it?

He's pretty passive, (in the "Oh, I couldn't hurt Sylvia by leaving her" mode) but he does recognize his misery. He's a beggar for his paramour's understanding---ever meet one of those?? I'd have run screaming if I were Isabel. I wish you hadn't erased your foaming rant, Lucy--I'll bet it was just as entertaining as Mantel's!

Oh Lucy...having worked at a university, I can't tell you how many of those dinners and functions I attended. Which is probably why I wondered about a revenge book in the first place! hehe

71. Where We Know: New Orleans as Home edited by David Rutledge A collection of essays, short fiction, newspaper columns, photos and brief quotes on the topic of loving, living in, or leaving New Orleans, mainly in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. A handful of the selections in this book, however, were written in the 19th century. More on this ER selection in a full review to come.

Full review is here.

72. Blue-Eyed Devil by Robert B. Parker The last entry in Parker's Cole & Hitch series, and my last unread Parker, ever. How I will miss new releases from this master story-teller! Not the least of his gifts is that he has never left his readers hanging. Surely he did not plan for Virgil and Everett's story to end here, but it's OK that it does. There are no questions unanswered, nothing to wonder about forever more. Once again our two men of honor have upheld their own peculiar code, saving a town, a comrade and themselves in the process.

ETA: Again, to note that I was wrong about there being no more Parker novels to come. At least one Spenser submitted to publishers before Parker died; suggestion that there were others in the pipeline or completed and fit for publication.

There is such a bittersweet feeling about knowing you are reading the last of a good writer's oeuvre. How good that it ended so well, Linda.

73. Pogo Romances Recaptured containing Pogo, Prisoner of Love and The Incompleat Pogo by Walt Kelly. There's just nothing to compare with spending some time in the Okefenokee with Pogo, Albert, Churchy LaFemme, Miz Groun'chuck and Grundoon, and the rest of the crew. The Incompleat Pogo is one of my favorite collections; it contains some of Kelly's funniest bits, and some lines that have become household expressions in my family. (" Who was it said that?" "You was here, you hearn it. I said it." --- or "I carry the hose" ---- and some of the infamous Christmas carols (which appeared and reappeared annually, sometimes with new verses---"Good King Sauerkraut, LOOK OUT!, on yo' feets unEVEN..." Kelly was a genius, without a doubt. And these young whippersnappers who think they invented the graphic novel don't know a parsnip in the pantry from a secret gummint mission.

#161: Oh, I have got to see if the library has that! Thanks, Linda!

We always had totally watersoaked POGOS around in the bathroom when I was growing up, and I remember vividly the day, sometime in my mid-teens when I suddenly 'GOT' Pogo. Before that I would look at it and wonder if my parents were insane or what.

I "like" this, Facebook fashion. And I might have snorted beverage up my nose at the Christmas carol. I don't remember those, though the other quotes, of course, I do.

And now I can hear, quite clearly, (this is not Pogo, but clearly my brainmeats think they are related) Uncle John saying, "There's a gator out here with a kid in its mouth." Blamed if I can remember the rest of the story he was telling.

I love it when family members and/or friends have a vocabulary of expressions based on common experiences. I didn't read the comics very much, so only occasionally got to experience Pogo. I think it would be even better to read the strips within one book, so I'll have to go look for your favorite Pogo collection. One of my sons might really like them too, so thanks for the idea.

We have so many we often have to explain (laboriously) to visitors what we are talking about. Most are quotes from books and movies we've all see over and over. But some are originals generated within the family -- and are by far the most obscure.

I LOVED Pogo! Every year at Christmas, I still finding myself singing "Deck us all with Boston Charlie, Walla Walla Wash and Kalamazoo!"

My library doesn't have this one, so it is definitely going on the "buy" list!

#167 "Nora's freezin' on the trolley, swaller dollar cauliflower, Alleygarro!" If you love the Christmas carols, there's a better representation of them in Pogo Even Better. It has years worth of Christmas week strips from the 1950's. "God rest ye Mary Jettamints..."

It never ceases to amaze me which posts stir up the most comments! I'm thrilled to find Pogo aficionados, and other people with family language that no one else "gets". My Dad was doing that quoting thing ever since I can remember---except that when I was very young I didn't realize that's what he was doing; I just thought he was awfully clever and funny. Then I started catching him at it, when he'd pick up something new from the TV and incorporate it into our lives.

Look who's here...ol' Boston Charlie himself! And on a soapbox, too. HooHaw! I keep hearing rumors of a "complete" collection of Pogo strips in the works. I'd lay out a significant chunk of my retirement for that.

Absolutely totally a Pogo fan! Remember swamp coats, those yellow rubber coats with the green fabric liner, reversible? I drew Pogo and Porky in half a barrel, poling down a river on the back of the rubber side of mine. I loved Porky...he was SUCH a curmudgeon! And Howland Owl, Churchy La Femme, Albert Alligator....those were the days!

Don't we know archaic barrel?
Lullabye lillaboy Louisville Lou,
Trolley Molly don't love Harold,
Boola boola Pensacoola hullaballoo!"

*Grumble, mumble, mumble* There ain't nuthin' wrong with me that a good kick to the LT won't fix. *Mumble, snort*

Yes, dear ones, I was on a soapbox yesterday, something to do with Pogo atop my other two favorites, Calvin & Hobbs and Bloom County. I, too, would spend your retirement should a compilation ever be published; there were over forty Pogo books and all are OOP.

After all, they need shelf space for James Patterson's weekly books.

Now, there weren't no need to delete the original post...I have no objection to a well-placed soap box oration, and I'm happy to say I've never read a James Patterson novel, not even back in the day when he might have been writing them himself, and not just selling his name as a trademark.

74. Finding Redemption in Everyday Life by Lela Gillow Buchanan This is not the kind of book I would ordinarly read, but it was written by an old schoolmate of mine (sister of Clara Gillow Clark, whose books I do read without fail), and was given to me by my Aunt, so out of curiosity as much as anything, I dove in. It's a collection of vignettes from her life, with the emphasis on recognizing the moments worth remembering, keeping the gold and leaving behind the dross. Lela's Christian faith is evident, and part of the point of writing the book. But it is of the intensely personal kind that I do not find off-putting. Her voice is not that of a preacher, or an evangelist, or a missionary (which she once dreamed of becoming). It's that of a wise woman who has lived a sometimes difficult life with an often difficult man, and yet has found joy and satisfaction in her own accomplishments and his, in the love of her children, her extended family, her friends, and ultimately, of the husband whose personal growth is subtly revealed in many of the chapters of this book. I was impressed, and I'm fairly sure that I would value this woman as a friend if our paths had not diverged back in the 60's. I won't go so far as to recommend it to any of you unless you are independently drawn to its subject matter, but I will say that she writes well and sees clearly, and there's a lot of humor in this book. I'm glad I read it.

That sounds like an appealing book, Linda. My first thought is that if redemption isn't in everyday life, it's nowhere. Anyhow, I see that you have the only copy here.
I moved on too fast to get Pogo, I'm sorry to say. That am a wrong that needs a-rightin'. We also quote and make up words and generally speak a family code that is difficult to explain when we mess up and use it with non-family.

#174: I would probably enjoy that one. Thanks for the mention, Linda.

75. Hogfather by Terry Pratchett OK, Terry Pratchett is clever as hell. And I laughed out loud several times while reading this book. But man, I couldn't wait for it to end. The action is a mess and there are too many characters all going about their miscellaneous business, without nearly enough clues (unless I slept through them) as to how it all pulls together. Some of the characters were brilliant, but they need to be spread out a little. By the time I reached the end of all that relentless cleverness, I felt a little like the Oh god of Hangovers myself. Or maybe the Toothache Fairy. Too much, Terry, too much.

Congratulations on reaching 75! And a nice one to finish on!

>177 laytonwoman3rd:: The action is a mess and there are too many characters all going about their miscellaneous business
Yeah, that's how I felt about the only Pratchett I've read. I liked it but that may just be what's kept me from going back for more.

Congrats!

Congrats!

I keep meaning to read Hogfather at this time of year, but then I get distracted by... oh look, ANOTHER shiny book!

Linda, thanks for sharing your comments and reviews of your 75 Books read this year. Congratulations!

I'm heading to my favorite (but too small) used bookstore this morning to see if I can find a Pogo collection. Thanks for the memories!

Good luck with Pogo, Donna. You may have to look to the internet.
Oh, and hey Charlie and all you other Pogo fans, there IS a collection in the works. Volume I of the Complete Daily and Sunday Strips is available for pre-order on Amazon, although there is no publication date yet.

Congratulations, Linda, on reaching 75. Books, that is.

The release date for Pogo is March 21st. Damn good price, too. ("Damn good," Dr. Siri Pangborn would say—I still laugh at "Damn hot" in Thirty-Three Teeth)

Thanks, Charlie. Ah, there's the release date--you scrolled and I didn't. Haven't read Thirty-three Teeth yet, and I must get hold of a copy, because I have No. 3 waiting on my shelf, and I don't like to jump around. (At 75, it's wise to keep one's feet on the ground.)

>184 laytonwoman3rd:: Used bookstore update: No Pogo BUT I did get a copy of Faulkner's The Unvanquished and got rid of some books taking up valuable space so it was a worthy endeavor.

Hmmmm....Pogo's release date is close to my Thingaversary. Might make a nice little gift for myself. ;-)

A Thingaversary gift--excellent idea, Donna!

76. The Squire by Enid Bagnold When our title character's husband leaves the household for his annual buying trip to India, the mistress of the house becomes "the Squire" in his absence. Well into her 40's, she is also very near to her delivery date for her fifth child. This situation sets off a book-load of introspection, reflections, musings, self-analysis and observations on the nature of love, and the things that are important to a woman's life. Among all that (which can get a bit overdone at times) are vignettes of life that are often quite realistic. Each existing child has a distinct personality, and the Squire loves each of them for their qualities. She also has those Exasperated Mother moments that even parents of an Only know much too well. There are fascinating glimpses into the less-than-optimal servant situation (Mr. Hudson does not run this household with a firm and unflappable hand, and Mrs. Bridges is not reigning supreme down in the kitchen) and the mystical, if limited, relationship between a new mother and her mid-wife. If this book were a musical recording, I would call it overproduced---too many violins, by half. But it was a solid 3 1/2 star read. From the author of National Velvet, which I have never read and now must.

Signing off here. Happy New Year, everyone! I'll catch you on the new thread in 2011.

Happy New Year, Linda! Lots of reading and lots of real living too!!
>187 Donna828: I thought that the rule was that you gave yourself a book for every year here on your Thingaversary! Please, somebody make it a rule!

Happy New Year, Linda!

#190 *waves magic wand* It's a RULE! Go, thou, and keep it!

Exasperated Mother moments that even parents of an Only know much too well

Oi!

*innocent eye-batting* Whaaat??

I was a paragon of good behaviour, quiet, and picking-up-after-oneself, I was.

And you never saw me exasperated, right?

Nary a oncet.

Congrats on reaching 75! That Pogo looks like a great thingaversary gift. May need a reminder about it tho'.