2010: Porua still reading impulsively

Hello everyone! I’m joining in on the fun a little late. After finishing my 50 Book Challenge, I am challenging myself anew with 25 more books in 2010. I look forward to seeing all my friends from my 50 Book Challenge thread here. Hoping to make some new friends too. :-)

Some things about myself. I love to read mystery/detective stories (mostly cosy mysteries), plays and short stories. I don’t enjoy reading about any kind of romance (I hate love! Just kidding!). But what I love most is reading classic books. Then again I may end up reading books from other genres if they happen to come my way.

I never follow any lists or have any specific aims. I just read whatever happens to catch my fancy. I don’t know how many books I’d be able to read but I wish to share my experience of reading each and every book with all of you.

My 50 Book Challenge thread 2010 Part One is here,

http://www.librarything.com/topic/80925

And my 50 Book Challenge thread 2010 Part Two is here,

http://www.librarything.com/topic/94041

A complete list of all the books I’ve read so far in the year 2010 is at my profile.

That’s all for now! Hope all of you will join me! :-)

Here are my Top Ten ‘New’ Reads for 2010,



Top Ten ‘New’ Reads 2010

1. The Queen of Hearts. Wilkie Collins - An excellent collection of ten short stories set within a connecting narrative. The best story of the collection is The Biter Bit. A hilarious Victorian era detective story, written in the form of letters.

2. London Lavender. E. V. Lucas. - A collection of loosely connected vignettes. A little known gem of a book.

3. Girl in Hyacinth Blue. Susan Vreeland. - Eight interconnected tales, all linked to the past and the present of a piece of art, are presented in this book. A book I bought without knowing what it was about and was pleasantly surprised by it.

4. The Killer Inside Me. Jim Thompson. - The mind of a serial killer unravels as the bodies pile up. A cruel, merciless story. Truly a classic of the noir genre.

5. A Kiss for Cinderella. J. M. Barrie. - A three act play set during WWI. A destitute young woman fends off hunger and loneliness with the help of her imagination. She is the fabled ‘Cinderella’ and her invitation to the Royal ball will come. A romantic fantasy which is surprisingly realistic.

6. The Remains of the Day. Kazuo Ishiguro. - Mr. Stevens, a devoted butler to Lord Darlington, looks back and reminisces about his life. Kazuo Ishiguro is an exceptional writer. For someone who seldom if ever really enjoys a book written during the last twenty or so years, I really liked this one.

7. Tales of Men and Ghosts. Edith Wharton. - A collection of short stories. Stories about commonplace, everyday men chasing greatness but ending up going nowhere and often returning to where they had begun is no longer an option. I loved the stories The Debt and The Eyes. A fascinating experience.

8. Nightmare Abbey. Thomas Love Peacock. - Perhaps the best known among all of Peacock’s satires. It is pretty dated. But Peacock’s sharp wit and funny characters caught in comically dramatic situations more than make up for that. A very, very funny and quick read.

9. The Innocence of Father Brown. G. K. Chesterton. - A collection of short stories featuring the detective and priest, Father Brown. The mysteries are good but Chesterton's writing is simply great. When compared to modern mysteries the language seems purely divine!

10. For The Blood Is The Life And Other Stories. F. Marion Crawford. - A collection of horror/supernatural short stories from the late 19th century. At least two of the stories, The Screaming Skull and The Upper Berth, are beyond doubt classics of the horror genre. While The Doll's Ghost is incredibly heart warming.

Along with my Top Ten ‘Re-reads’,



Top Ten 'Re-Reads' 2010

1. Death of a Salesman. Arthur Miller.

2. A Tale of Two Cities. Charles Dickens.

3. The Great Gatsby. F. Scott Fitzgerald.

4. Wuthering Heights. Emily Brontë.

5. Sleeping Murder. Agatha Christie.

6. The Thirteen Problems. Agatha Christie.

7. The Mousetrap and Selected Plays. Agatha Christie.

8. Far from the Madding Crowd. Thomas Hardy.

9. Cards on the Table. Agatha Christie.

10. A Murder Is Announced. Agatha Christie.

As an avid reader of mysteries, I am always on the lookout for fresh mystery treats to sink my teeth into. I am particularly partial to cosy mysteries. There’s been so much buzz around the Three Pine Mysteries, especially here at LT, that I just had to try it for myself.

Still Life, published in 2005, is the acclaimed first novel by author Louise Penny. The book won the New Blood Dagger award in the United Kingdom. It is the first book in her Three Pines Mystery series.

The rest of my review is here, http://www.librarything.com/review/64753842

I really enjoy the Three Pines series. Glad to see you enjoyed Still Life.

Oh, welcome to the group!

Glad to see you here in the 75 Book Challenge!

I am so glad that you chose to read Still Life. I am going to have to look for that one. I started with the 5th book in the series, which I thought was terrific. Now I want to go back and read the first four.
--BJ

Hi Porua! You made the move and left me behind! Just Kidding! :)
And the picture in this thread is my favorite so far!!

Hi Porua! Welcome to the 75ers. I liked your review of Still Life and gave it a thumb. I liked it more than you did but I hardly ever read mysteries and the cozy mystery genre is new to me. I just finished the second in the series, A Fatal Grace, and I had more reservations about this book. I still like Three Pines though and will read the next ones.

Well, look who's here! Hi, Porua, and welcome. This will make it easier for me to find your thread.

I like the Three Pines series but I'm not totally gaga over it. I have two more to read -- and I've heard they're the best ones. I rarely read this type of book so it's a good diversion for me. I do feel 'at home' when I visit Three Pines. Despite the fact that everyone knows everybody else and their business, I find it a quiet, friendly world. And, yes, I do know it's fiction. ;-)

Welcome!

Hi Porua, Welcome to the group!

I wasn't totally thrilled when I first tried to read Still Life and eventually tried the audio version which I loved. The series really does get better and better with each book, both 5 and 6 are excellent, imho.

Hello Porua, and welcome! I thumbs-upped your review and, although I liked Still Life, I found a lot of truth in what you said. Thanks for making the leap to this little chamber of secrets we call the 75ers.

I tried a second ago to post; didn't work, trying again.

Welcome to the 75'ers Thread Train, Porua. There are some wonderful people here, full of book knowledge and friendliness. I know you'll enjoy this group.

On the Three Pines series: I came to the series in a backward fashion, having had the great good fortune to get an ARC for the fourth or fifth book in the set. Believe me, by the time you get to that one, the characters, with the exception of the "wise black woman" (how perceptive of you: that got right by me when I was reading these), will no longer be set pieces. They all have mulitple facets. I hope you'll try another one or two to see if you like them. I was a bit disappointed by the latest entry, but I'm hoping that the next one will pick up the interest again.

Looking forward to more of your posts!

Found you in your new thread. Yellow star!

Good luck with the new challenge, I'm sure you can do it! Beautiful picture in your first post, by the way.

#4 Thanks for the welcome!

#5 Thanks, BJ! I’m glad to be here.

#6 Hi, Tammy! So glad to see you! The picture is the painting Young Woman Reading by a Window by Delphin Enjolras. Personally I like the picture from my second thread, The Reader by Jean-Honoré Fragonard, the best.

#7 Thank you for the welcome and for liking my review of Still Life! Cosy is my favourite kind of mystery and I expected to enjoy Louise Penny’s writing more than I did. But even though I was critical of Still Life, I may read the next books in the series too.

#8 Hi Donna! Thanks for the welcome! As you know, I don't easily go gaga about anything. I am a little more critical than most. I’m even more critical when it comes to books from my favourite genres.

I come from a really close knit community where everyone wants (and usually does) know everything about you. Although no one has been murdered yet there have been times when killing did seem like a good option! So, no, Three Pines is not a friendly place at least for me. ;-)

#9 Thank you!

#10 Hi! Thank you for the welcome! A lot of people have told me that the series does get better as it progresses. I’m still open to trying more of Penny’s books.

#11 Hello, Richard! Thank you for the welcome! Your review of Still Life is the most thumbed one and I know you loved this book. Your appreciation means a lot to me. :-)

#12 Thank you! I love reading your thread and talking to you because we have so much in common. Hope to have many more conversations about mystery novels and stories with you. Glad to know that most of the characters develop a little more depth and no longer remain as mere stereotypes as the series progresses.

#13 Hi, Amy! So happy to see you here my friend!

#14 Thank you! I had so much fun with my 50 book challenge! Hope to have more fun with this new one.

The picture has a sort of an ethereal quality. That is what drew me to it, I think.

Welcome to the group. I love the picture in your first message - who is it by?

I love the Three Pines series but I thought your review was very good. I agree with you about the closeness between Gamache and the Morrows in the investigation seeming unrealistic but I love the characters so much I didn't really mind.

Looks like you have had some good reads and re-reads so far this year. Hope the books for the rest of the year are as enjoyable!

Welcome from me too - especially since I wish I had written that review of Still Life. That's what I thought - only much less articulately! I have the next 2 in the series and will give them a chance, but I'm reading many fewer mysteries these days and almost no cozies. (It occurs to me that something would have to be slightly sinister in Three Pines for so many murders to occur in such a small place!)

Edited to fix Touchstone

#17 Thank you! I put a picture of a reading girl on the first message of all of my threads in 2010. It has kind of become a tradition with me. This particular painting is called Young Woman Reading by a Window. It is by Delphin Enjolras.

2010 has been my year of re-reads. I’ve re-read many of my all time favourites and also books that I had totally forgotten about. It has been so much fun re-discovering the brilliance (or lack thereof) of all of these books. I so glad that I decided do re-read more this year!

#18 Thank you for the welcome! And thank you so much for your compliments, especially the articulate part. I feel my writing is awkward most of the times. :-)

(It occurs to me that something would have to be slightly sinister in Three Pines for so many murders to occur in such a small place!)

I’m so glad that someone else has mentioned this. So many murders in such a small place! Does raise some questions about the village and its inhabitants, don’t you think?
;-)

The Great Automatic Grammatizator and Other Stories is a collection of short stories by Roald Dahl. Published in 1997, it is known as The Umbrella Man and Other Stories in the US.

The book contains thirteen stories, The Great Automatic Grammatizator, Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel's Coat, The Butler, Man From the South, The Landlady, Parson's Pleasure, The Umbrella Man, Katina, The Way Up to Heaven, Royal Jelly, Vengeance is Mine Inc., Taste and Neck. These stories were selected specifically for a teenaged audience. All the stories were published elsewhere originally.

Most of the stories have unexpected endings. Some of them are quite macabre and bizarre.

The rest of my review is here,

http://www.librarything.com/review/64479575

Good luck getting to 75. I'm not even going to make my goal of 61 this year, it looks like, as I keep diving into long books. C'est la vie.

#22 Hi! Ah but you've been reading a lot of interesting books and having fun with them. It doesn't really matter whether you reach your reading goal or not. What's important is that you're enjoying your journey. :-)

Interesting review. I haven't read any of Dahl's adult works and I'm not sure I will. I just love his children's books so much!

#24 Hi, Amy! I’m generally fond of suspense short stories but there is something a little off about some of these stories. Dahl’s misogynistic attitude doesn’t help either. But I’m glad I read this book.

Interestingly enough I haven’t read any of Dahl’s books for children. I would really love to though. I nearly picked up his Charlie and the Chocolate Factory a few months ago but didn’t. Will try to get to that soon.

Ooh, you should! I have a hard time picking a favorite... The BFG's pretty high on the list. And Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is great too. And Matilda. Oh dear.

I can't speak to Dahl's possible misogyny in his adult works but he does have some pretty gruesome female villains in his children's books. But then he has gruesome male villains, and there are good female characters as well.

Hi, Porua; good review (forgot to star it but will do right after posting this). I had a big old "Complete Short Stories of Roald Dahl" or some such tome. Foolishly I read almost all of it at once, instead of in smaller portions. It got really overwheming and very creepy. Some of his stuff is kind of over the top. His kids' books are really fun, though; I loved The BFG and James and the Giant Peach especially---I may go back and reread the second one sometime. Matilda was good, but not as appealing to adults. I used to teach in elementary school, so I had lots of fun opportunities to indulge my love of children's books!

One more note about Dahl: I used to threaen my husband frequently with a frozen roast...of course he just laughed at me.

#26 Thanks, I will.

I haven’t read any of Dahl’s other works so I don’t know but some of the stories in The Great Automatic Grammatizator and Other Stories gave me this impression about him. You only have to read three of his short stories Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel's Coat, Taste (well, this one’s more sexist than misogynistic) and Neck to see my point. The Way Up to Heaven was an exception to all of this.

#27 Thank you! I’m glad you liked my review. It took me a while to finish this collection because I wanted to space my reading out. Some of the stories are pretty creepy and it can get a little overwhelming. Thankfully not all of them are like The Way Up to Heaven, which is a very good story but also kind of grisly. And by grisly I mean only for the more sensitive readers. For the readers of modern thrillers/mysteries this may seem vary tame indeed!

Found you! Seems like it might be hard to get a word in here!

I do love your introductory pictures :) Does this one look like you as well?

Roald Dahl for adults is definitely much weirder and creepier than Dahl for kids. His Tale of Henry Sugar is great though. I remember reading Royal Jelly and concluding much the same as you did.

ETA: fixed typo

#30 Hi, Rena! So glad that you’ve found me! All the lovely people here at the 75 Books Challenge were kind enough to welcome me. That explains the increase of traffic on my otherwise quiet thread. Soon it’ll get back to just the 8-9 of us, I’m afraid. ;-)

“I do love your introductory pictures :) Does this one look like you as well?”

Thank you! Nah, but it does kind of look like a second cousin of mine!

Oh yes, most of the stories in The Great Automatic Grammatizator and Other Stories are very weird and creepy. Royal Jelly is possibly the weirdest, while Man From the South, The Landlady and The Way Up to Heaven are probably the creepiest.

I just sneaked over and gave a small thumb to your review of Cards on the Table. Excellent job!

#32 Thank you! I'm so glad you liked my review. Like I've said before, Cards on the Table is very possibly my all time favourite Poirot mystery. I’ve read and re-read it many, many times. I re-read and reviewed it earlier this year and thought it was as wonderful as ever!

I would add my recommendations of Dahl's children's books. All the ones wisewoman's mentioned are my favourites.

Of his other books I really enjoyed the autobiographical Boy and Going Solo (although I don't know whether they would also be considered children's books as they certainly could be read by children). I also read The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More several years ago and remember those stories being darker and stranger than his children's stories.

#33 I'm hoping to reread all of Agatha Christie's novels at some point, possibly next year. I read most of them as a teenager but for some reason haven't read any of them for ages. I think it will be really interesting to read them in publication order and see how her writing and the characters develop.

Of course, given the number of different plans I am developing for my reading next year it will soon be impossible to fit them all in!

#34 Hope you can fulfil your plan of re-reading all of Agatha Christie's novels soon.

I re-read all of Agatha Christie’s Marple mysteries earlier this year. I read them story wise, not publication wise. For example, I read The Thirteen Problems first and The Murder at the Vicarage second because the short stories were published earlier in magazines. The Body in the Library was third and The Moving Finger fourth. Sleeping Murder published in 1976, should be placed story wise after The Moving Finger. etc, etc.

Hi, Porua! I finally finished catching up on all my starred threads, and just moved over to this one. I thumbed your review of Still Life. Although you described your thoughts about the inhabitants of Three Pines much better than I did, it's telling that we both used the word "awkward," isn't it? Happy to see you over here! :-)

#36 Hi, Bonnie! Thanks for the thumb! Yes, ‘awkward’ is the word, especially when it comes to the characters. I’m happy to be here! Hope I can finish my challenge though.

I had a lovely day today. Spent doing, what else, browsing through bookshelves. First, picked up a collection of short stories by Agatha Christie While the Light Lasts and Seize the Day by Saul Bellow. Seize the Day cost me next to nothing, which made me happy after While the Light Lasts made me sad.

Then I went to a book sale and I had trouble leaving once I got there! Got Shirley by Charlotte Brontë for the Monthly Author Reads group, the second book of the Chronicles of Barsetshire Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope and Vanity Fair by Thackeray. The copies of Barchester Towers and Vanity Fair are kind of dusty and crinkly. I thought I was done but then I found Opening Night by Ngaio Marsh hidden a behind row of dusty old books. It’s in mint condition and still wrapped in its dustcover. Ngaio Marsh’s books are kind of hard to find so that made me really happy.

I had to leave behind two Wodehouse books, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce and many, many more, which is sad. But I'm happy with my haul. Although now my feet hurt and I’m tired (and I suspect dehydrated), it’s all so worth it. :-)

-->38 Porua:: Oh, I love, love, love Barchester Towers. Very funny if quite long.

And oddly enough, I just remade my acquaintance with Ngaio Marsh, having found Death in a White Tie at a used book exchange--no cost!!

Sounds like you made a good haul at the sale. Let me know when you get around to Vanity Fair and I'll read it with you; I've got it on my nook and am way overdue for a re-read of it. I loved it the first time around, many years ago.

I went to a book sale too! I mostly took away a beautiful haul of sheet music, but I also (rather strangely for me) got a lot of poetry - collected works of Robert Frost, John Keats and Rupert Brooke, respectively. That's the influence of LT - I would never have done that two years ago. I also got Silas Marner and Can you forgive her? - so we both took a Trollope book home! :)

Great group of books from the book sale!

My mom used to love Ngaio Marsh books, and I have never read one! So I am hoping to read at least one in the coming year. Also still haven't read any Wodehouse books yet, another fav of my mom's. And I want to correct that, too.
--BJ

My only collection of Dahl short Stories is Kiss Kiss, which includes "Royal Jelly" and my personal most abhorrent, "Pig."
Even though our book sale was last month, I'm envious of you who are finding treasures now. I'm proud of my Ngaio Marsh collection even though some specimens are pretty ratty. Occasionally, she shows herself a woman of her time, but mostly her mysteries are classics and golden.

#39 I did make a good haul at the sale. Though a few of the ‘left behind’ books rankle a little. Oh well, my greed for books will never be totally satisfied, no matter how many books I bring home. Overall I’m very satisfied with it

Barchester Towers has been highly recommended by more than one person. I’m going to have to read it soon. But I find it troubling that it is the second book in the Chronicles of Barsetshire. Is it necessary to begin at the beginning with this series?

I read my first Marsh earlier this year. It was a collection of her shorter fictions. Opening Night would be my first novel by her.

I hope to get to Vanity Fair very soon as I may not have time for such a mammoth book later on. I’ll surely tell you when I do so. :-)

#40 Yay for book sales! It’s been a while since I’ve read any poetry. Hope you enjoy those poetry collections of yours.

Silas Marner is on my TBR list. It looks like a short read. It will be my first Eliot.

We both got a Trollope book at a book sale. What a coincidence!

#41 Hi, BJ! I only wish Ngaio Marsh’s books they weren’t so hard to get hold of.

I’ve read only one Wodehouse to date. It was Jeeves in the Offing. It was all right. I’m open to reading more of his works.

#42 Oh yes I haven't read Pig but from what I know it's pretty awful and tasteless. Don't intend to read that one.

Ah must be wonderful to have a Ngaio Marsh collection. I'm proud of my Agatha Christie collection. It is nearly complete. I own most of her books and what I don't own I have (mostly) read.

Hercule Poirot and holidays never get on well together. Wherever Poirot goes death seems to stalk him. But this time it all may turn out differently. This secluded hotel called the Jolly Roger is very exclusive and entry to it is extremely restricted. Surely, all of its guests are safe against the outside world. After all it’s the outside world where all the danger comes from. Right? Wrong! Because everywhere under the sun there is evil.

Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie was published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in 1941 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company the same year.

The rest of my review is here,

http://www.librarything.com/review/63981317

Yay for booksales! Barchester Towers is going to be my next classic and it's cool that you found a copy (even if it's a bit worn). I just love sales like that. I have one tomorrow; I'm going to sneak out on my lunch break and see how much I can find in an hour.

Hercule Poirot and holidays never get on well together.

^ Love this opening line. So true!!

#46 Good luck at the book sale! Hope you return home with a good haul even if you're going to be there for only a short while. :-)

The copies of Barchester Towers and Vanity Fair are ratty but nothing compared to the books I got from the last sale. I brought home three books from that sale. Among them two were in an awfully bad shape. One even had a suspicious looking stain on the cover. When I wiped the cover clean with a slightly moist cloth, it came off. I still keep wondering what that was (nothing nasty I hope)!

“Hercule Poirot and holidays never get on well together.”

Oh this line goes for so many of Poirot’s adventures, don’t you think? Death on the Nile, Murder in Mesopotamia, Murder on the Orient Express, Appointment with Death, I can go on and on.

Shirley written by Charlotte Brontë was published in 1849. Set during the Napoleonic Wars, it was her second published novel after Jane Eyre.This novel helped Shirley become a female name whereas before that it was definitely a male name.

The economic depression resulting from the war and the damage the war did to the Yorkshire textile industry forms an integral part of the story.

It is books like Shirley that make people hate classics. The ever wandering narrative grated on my nerves. I nearly stopped reading the book at least half a dozen times. For the first time in my life I felt that my habit of finishing every book I begin is indeed a bad habit.

The rest of my review is here,

http://www.librarything.com/review/65134066

#48: I think I can safely skip that one!

Oh no, how sad! I was thinking that might be my next Bronte novel.

Well, I guess I can cross Shirley off for quite a while. I've so many Victorians on my list now that I may never get to them all. Good review, clear and strong.

Back to your question in #43: It's not necessary at all to have read The Warden before you read Barchester Towers. The Warden is much more topical and quite slow moving, imo, although I liked it anyway. B.T. is one of my favorites, very funny and sharp, with some moving moments here and there. I loved it and have read it several times.

#49 & 50 I hated Shirley. The book felt way too long for me. Generally, I have no problem with length but it has got to be interesting. This one was wordy and dull. Hence, my dislike for it.

But at the same time I don’t know if everyone else will feel the same way. All I know is that I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.

#51 Thank you!

Thanks for clearing up the Barchester Towers and the rest of the series issue for me. I’m trying to get to it soon. :-)

Lovely review of Shirley, Porua! I had the same reaction when I tried it, but didn't keep reading. Nice to know I didn't need to!

Please don't be put off Charlotte Bronte. Give Jane Eyre a go before you give her up!

51: I don't know; I asked about the best Trollope book for a newbie in the Trollope group and most recommended that I read The Warden first, which I did. I liked it, though I was glad it was fairly short. Barchester Towers is next on my list.

And yes, Jane Eyre is absolutely incredible. So much so that on Sunday afternoon I reread it in one sitting. Didn't get off the couch once. WHAT a book.

#54 Thanks, Rena!

Actually, I have read Jane Eyre but that was a long time ago. All I remember about it is that I found Mr. Rochester to be kind of old. But I was 12-13 years old so anyone above 30 seemed ancient to me!

#55 Yeah I saw that thread. The consensus seemed to be that The Warden should be read first. Oh well, I’m just going to have to start with the second book and hope that does not ruin anything for me. :-)

55: Gee, I didn't think The Warden was at all necessary to the series; in fact, I found it kind of a weak start for a variety of reasons. B.T. is just a much more enjoyable book, although long. Which isn't to say I didn't like The Warden, because I did. But I thought it one of Trollope's lesser efforts in the Barchester/Palliser set of books. He was an amazing (to me, anyway) author, much under-appreciated.

ETA: Just checked the thread on Trollope. Although there would be minor spoilers involved (marriages, etc.), Trollope isn't an author I'd read hoping for a surprising plot twist. Just good fun and piercing social satire.

Gosh, I'd forgotten The Way We Live Now. A wonderful, powerful book.

Hi Porua, you made a great haul at that book sale. I'd say that dehydration and sore feet were a small price to pay for some good books.

The only book by Charlotte Bronte that I've read was Jane Eyre. I've read it several times and it always makes me happy. Can't ask for much more in a book, can we?

I have Shirley in the TBR pile, but I don't think I'll be reading it any time soon.

I must, must get around to Trollope's Small House at Allington and Last Chronicle of Barset very soon, though.

I personally think that while reading The Warden before Barchester Towers is a good idea in terms of background and overarching plot, and I would recommend reading them in order, it's by no means essential to do so. I agree with Gail that Barchester Towers is the better book by far of the two, and it will make sense by itself.

#57 Hi! Glad to know you like Trollope's work so much. I hope I enjoy him as much as you do.

#58 Hi Donna! Yes sore feet and dehydration are small a small price to pay for good books. But not many people get that. That is why I never take my non book loving acquaintances to anywhere book related (a store, a library, a sale, etc). They get tired and/or impatient very quickly.

#59 Hi! Thanks for helping with the Barchester Towers to be read as a stand alone or as a part of a series issue.

While the Light Lasts is a collection of rarely published shorter fictions by Agatha Christie. It was first published in the UK in 1997 by HarperCollins.

The book contains nine short stories. The House of Dreams, The Actress, The Edge, Christmas Adventure, The Lonely God, Manx Gold, Within a Wall, The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest and While the Light Lasts.

The House of Dreams was first published in the Sovereign Magazine in 1926. This story has a touch of the supernatural. I liked the way Christie described the feeling one gets when a dream seems authentic enough to be real. The way a dream feels really rational the moment you wake up but the unreality of it all hits you afterwards.

The rest of my review is here,

http://www.librarything.com/review/65132826

#61: Thanks for the great review and recommendation. I will have to look for that one to add to my Christie collection.

#62 You are welcome! Always glad to be able to add books to a fellow LT'ers wishlist/collection!

W. W. Jacobs (1863 – 1943) was an English short story writer & novelist. He mainly wrote stories about sailors and the marine life. Humour was his favoured genre. Jacobs’s short stories were popular in his lifetime and were published in serialized form in magazines such as Jerome K. Jerome's Idler and The Strand.

Jacobs wrote relatively fewer horror stories compared to his humorous ones. But today he is best remembered for his horror fiction works. His most renowned story remains the macabre, The Monkey's Paw.

I had read one of W. W. Jacobs’s stories in an anthology and decided to look for more of his works. The reason I picked up this collection was because it includes The Monkey's Paw. But The Lady of the Barge and Other Stories is by no means a horror short story collection. The stories come from a range of genres such as humour, drama and horror. Most of the stories feature accounts of the village life, sailors and life at the sea.

The rest of my review is here,

http://www.librarything.com/review/65530983

Touchstones acting up again.

#64: I have a couple of Jacobs' books, Sea Whispers and Snug Harbour, but have never read any of his short stories. I will have to give them a try, although I will have to bypass the horror stories.

I don't do horror either *shivers*

#66: Nice to know I am not the only one!

Hi Porua! Nice review! I haven't heard of Jacobs before. This sounds like a good one!

# 65 I thought both Sea Whispers and Snug Harbour are short story collections too. Aren’t they?

# 65 & 66 I think I’m a little bit fonder of horror than you two. I don’t like modern works in the horror genre but classic/Gothic horror I enjoy. I’ve also enjoyed reading books like The Killer Inside Me, which has been described as ‘horror’ by some critics. I liked Jacobs’s horror stories. Another one by him I’d like to read is The Toll-House.

# 68 Hi, Tammy! Yes I think not too many people know about W. W. Jacobs. I’m glad you like the sound of it.

I’m always reading not so very well known old-world authors. Last year it was Stanley Weyman and this year I’ve read F. Marion Crawford, E. V. Lucas and W. W. Jacobs. By reading and reviewing their long forgotten works, I try to bring more attention to them.

Touchstones!

I know Jacobs only from The Monkey's Paw. I'll have to check out his other works. Thanks!

# 70 You’re welcome! It’s strange that for someone who wrote so many comical stories today Jacobs is remembered (when he is remembered at all that is) better for his horror stories.

Oh and I forgot to mention this earlier, some of Jacobs’s humorous stories are pretty racist. I read his stories False Colours and An Odd Freak in an anthology and was not amused. But he was just a product of his time I guess.

So glad to get a new rec. regarding short stories. I was completely unaware of Jacobs except for The Monkey's Paw, a terrific story; I've got it on audio c.d. with a lot of others; they're great for listening to in the car. I'll be looking up his other short stories; I love short stories for bedtime reading. Thanks!

I don’t like modern works in the horror genre but classic/Gothic horror I enjoy.

Hmm, I guess by that measure I do like *some* horror. Gothic and classic vampire and all that — Edgar Allen Poe-ish stuff. Wilkie Collins and Sheridan Le Fanu can be a bit lurid, it's true.

#69: Snug Harbour is definitely short stories. I thought I owned Sea Whispers too, but it is just on my wish list, so I am not sure about that one. I have yet to read either of them.

# 72 You’re welcome! Glad you like short stories. Not many people do, I gather. I for one am really fond of short stories.

# 73 I haven’t read any of La Fanu’s ghost stories yet. I should check them out soon.

I’ve read a few of Poe’s stories. Among them The Black Cat, The Cask of Amontillado and A Tale of the Ragged Mountains are works of the horror/supernatural fiction genre. The Black Cat and A Tale of the Ragged Mountains deeply disturbed me as a child. The Cask of Amontillado was good. It was utterly macabre and chilling. Overall, I found Poe’s stories to be good but rather disturbing. Not very good re-read material.

# 74 Thanks for clearing that up. Sea Whispers is a hard to find book. When it was published in 1926, Jacobs’s fame was in decline. So only a limited number of copies were published. It would be quite a find if you can get your hands on it.

#75: I found several copies of Sea Whispers out on ABE Books and finally ordered a copy. It has been on my wishlist for a while now, so I thought it about time I get it in hand.

# 76 That's great! I think that Abe Books is a great source for out of print books.

Edited to fix typo.

#77: I love ABE Books! I have been ordering from them for at least 8 or 9 years now.

I'd never heard of ABE books till I joined LT. They provide a great source for those things you keep looking for but can't find without paying an arm and a leg...if you can find them at all.

Hi Porua! I've skimmed through this thread- looks like you have some good reads!

# 79 I found Abe Books on my incessant prowling of the web looking for old time, long forgotten authors. They seem to have the best collection of these hard to find books.

# 80 Hi! Glad to see you here. Yes, 2010 has been better than ‘09. I am a very finicky reader as it is. But I’ve read some amazing books this year.

Published in 1897, Dracula by Bram Stoker single-handedly brought the genre of Vampire literature to the forefront. A classic of the Gothic and horror genre, its impact has been enormous to say the least.

Dracula tells the story of Count Dracula, an un-dead being and a master manipulator. The narrative follows the efforts of a group of men and woman as they try to foil the Count’s evil designs. The story of is told through series of diary entries, letters, newspaper clippings; etc.

How can a book that I have read and re-read so many times still fill me with so much fear and dread? I know the book almost by heart now. But Jonathan Harker’s experiences in the Castle Dracula, the count’s arrival in England, his encounter with Lucy and her mother, the Count’s evil presence at the asylum, it all still manages to scare me and I’m not a person who’s easily scared.

The rest of my review is here,

http://www.librarything.com/review/58554366

Loved that one too. I'll have to re-read it again, as it seems like one that would keep giving more with each read.

I pulled out my copy of Dracula (really gruesome cover) and put it in my "to-read" basket, Porua.

# 83 Hi! Yes this is one of those books that can be read and re-read again and gain. I spot so many underlying themes with each re-read. And the best thing about Dracula, for me at least, is the fact that the horror aspect of it never grows dull. The menace of Count Dracula still manages to frighten me.

# 84 Hi, Bonnie! Dracula is such an apt read for this Halloween season. So glad that you’ll be reading it.

Oh yes, some of the covers for Dracula are really dreadful. My Penguin Popular Classics cover isn’t very classy either. It’s a scene from the 1931 version of the movie Dracula with Bela Lugosi as the villainous Count.

Edited to fix typo.

I am currently reading Leslie Klinger's The New Annotated Dracula and finding it fascinating.

Great review of Dracula, Porua. I'll be entering this ghoulish world later this week. I can't believe I'm actually looking forward to a vampire book!!!

# 86 The New Annotated Dracula looks good.

# 87 Thank you, Donna!

"I can't believe I'm actually looking forward to a vampire book!!!"

Ah but Dracula isn’t your ordinary vampire. He’s the original one and in my opinion the best one. Far from the regular pale skinned young ones we’re seeing these days.

Hi Porua. Thumbed your review of Dracula. I always enjoy your reviews! Most of them urge me to read the book. Who knows someday I might even read Agatha Christie and it will be because of you!!

Happy Reading!! :-

# 90 Hi, Tammy! Thank you for the thumb! I’m always glad to be able to bring more attention to the books I love. Nothing else makes me happier than to have one of my reviews making one of my friends want to try a new book.

Oh and please do try one of Christie’s books, Tammy! You may end up liking it more than you thought you would. :-)

Happy Reading to you too!

82: I so need to read this book, especially since it's almost Halloween. Great review!

# 92 Thank you, mihess!

I read Dracula about a year ago for the first time. I like how he's a real monster, and scary. Without human emotions and all that modern corruption of the original idea, which slowly evolved over time and resulted in the ultimate shame of Twilight.

Touche, muse. If I wanted to see glittery guys suck each other's necks, I'd go to an Elton John concert.

# 94 So agree with you, Rena! Count Dracula is the ultimate scary villain for me. I seriously don't get the whole 'glittery' vampire thing. Unfortunately, some of my cousins are really in to the whole Twilight thing and pester me to join them all the time!

# 95 LOL!

Borrowed two Georgette Heyer mysteries from the library. Got to read them quickly before they’re due back.



Finished the first one, They Found Him Dead. No reviews this time, I’m afraid. Overall, it was a pretty okay mystery. Good for some light reading.

BTW, love the covers of these two Georgette Heyer books. They may have little or nothing to do with the story but so pretty to look at!

Ooh I like that one. The enthusiastic kid is a great character. The plot device (country house full of people who don't get on) is a bit of a tired cliche, though I do like it :)

Hi Porua! Dropping by to say hello! I am also about to start Dracula!

Great review of Dracula! I *so* need to get to that book ASAP. I can't believe I have never read it.

Have you read Heyer's Duplicate Death, with Timothy as an adult?

They Found Him Dead was okay. The romance was insufferable. And Betty Pemble’s kids and Timothy Harte were all kind of annoying.

# 98 The plot device is a bit of a cliché but I wasn't bothered by it either. It was nice.

# 99 Hi! Hope you like Dracula.

# 100 Thank you! Actually They Found Him Dead is my first Georgette Heyer mystery.

I am really getting into Dracula. You have good taste in vampires and vampire books! I like it that it is totally creepy but I'm not too scared to read it at night in a quiet house.

# 102 So glad that you’re enjoying Dracula. I have to admit that every time I read the bits about the Count and Lucy I do get a little afraid of the dark.

Finished my second Georgette Heyer mystery, Detection Unlimited.



No reviews this time either. Surprisingly, I liked this one better than They Found Him Dead. Quite a wonderful little mystery.

I'm glad you enjoyed that one better, Porua! (I can't remember what the plot of that one is: it must be time for me to re-read it!)

I am going to have to dig out my stack of Heyer mysteries!

# 105 Yes, Detection Unlimited, was better than They Found Him Dead. The characters are better drawn in this one.

# 106 What Georgette Heyer mysteries have you got? These were the only ones I could find at my library.

Detection Unlimited is the one with all the U dogs, isn't it?

For the record, the best Heyer mysteries IMO are Behold, Here's Poison and A Blunt Instrument. I go for characters every time :)

The only one that I actively disliked was Penhallow; I don't think I finished it. Like Caty, I've forgotten so much of them that it's time to reread!

#107: Here is the list of my Heyer mysteries, most of which are at this point, still unread:

Why Shoot a Butler?
The Unfinished Clue
They Found Him Dead
Penhallow - I have actually read this one.
No Wind of Blame
Footsteps in the Dark
Envious Casca - this is the first Heyer mystery I read.
Duplicate Death
Detection Unlimited
Death in the Stocks
A Blunt Instrument
Behold Here's Poison

I've never read any of Heyer's mysteries either, but I plan to change that soon. From the recommendations in the Heyer group, I'll start with Behold, Here's Poison. And I agree, Porua — the covers of the new editions are lovely!

# 108 Oh yes Detection Unlimited is the one with the U-dogs! From Ulysses, Una, Ursula to Unready, Umbrella, Untidy and finally Urf! And all sharing the same surname, Ultima. That was funny!

# 109 I’ve heard only bad things about Penhallow. I think I’m not going to try that one.

# 110 Thanks! I’ve heard a lot about Behold, Here's Poison, Why Shoot a Butler? and Death in the Stocks. Why Shoot a Butler? seems interesting.

# 111 Have you seen the new edition cover of Behold, Here's Poison? I think it’s pretty. I’ve heard mixed reactions about Behold, Here's Poison. One of my friends really disliked it. But others seem to like it.

My allergy to romance made me like Detection Unlimited better than They Found Him Dead, which had a truck load of love in it! Ugh! I wonder if I'll have the same problem with the other Heyer mysteries.

Yes, I actually have the new edition of Behold, Here's Poison; some blessed BookMoocher sent me three gorgeous new Heyer mysteries! And then I found one at a library booksale recently.

Allergy to romance — heehee! Much as I love her, Heyer probably isn't your cup of tea when it comes to her Regency novels. Even though the love stories are never gushy or gooey!

# 113 Wow three Heyer mysteries from BookMooch and you found one at a book sale. That's so lucky!

Oh yes that is why I steer clear of her Regency novels. I’m sure they are lovely but they are just not me. :-)

I’m a fan of British cosy mysteries. I rarely read any of the American crime/mystery novels, although I do have some experience with the noir and the pulp genre. Plot It Yourself kind of falls in the middle of these genres. It is not violent (à la cosy mysteries) but it feels somewhat grittier.

Plot It Yourself written by Rex Stout was published in 1959. This novel features Stout’s creation Detective Nero Wolfe. It was published in the UK under the title Murder in Style.

Accusations of plagiarism are sending shock waves through the writer-publisher fraternity. A committee of writers and publishers come to Nero Wolfe as a last resort. But even Wolfe is baffled by this case of ‘plagiarism upside down’.

This is my first Nero Wolfe book. I know this is not the first book in the series. Starting as I did in the middle of a series of books, there is a good chance I’m missing a lot of background information.

Wolfe seems very inactive here and I don’t mean physically. It takes him forever to figure everything out. By the time he does do something, a couple of dead bodies have already piled up. But Wolfe admits he has bungled the case so maybe Stout wanted his detective to appear inactive in this book.

The final revelation was pretty good but nothing spectacular. I found both Wolfe’s and the criminal’s reactions really weird.

I really didn’t enjoy the way women were portrayed in this book. It is not sexist or anything. But the characters of Alice Porter, Amy Wynn, Jane Ogilvy all feel a bit off in some way.

The character of Archie Goodwin provides a nice balance to Nero Wolfe. I enjoyed their banters.

The police are portrayed as totally incompetent and very, very uncooperative. I wonder if they are like that in all of the Nero Wolfe mysteries.

My first Nero Wolfe mystery was enjoyable. I may read more of them in the future. But I have not become a fan. Overall, Plot It Yourself is a good mystery but not wholly satisfying.

I disliked Penhallow, too. Many of the Heyer mysteries do have a bit of romance in them; a few have quite a bit, and I think there are some without any, although I couldn't tell you which.

I don't think I've ever read any Rex Stout. Hmmmm...

Rex Stouts are solidly in my mass of comfort mysteries. I can never decide whether to be in love with Wolfe or Archie. (If I had any sense, it would be Fritz!)

# 116 I think you can try Rex Stout, CatyM. I myself would like to read more of Rex Stout's books. My first one will not be my last one though I'm not overly impressed with his detective Nero Wolfe.

# 117 The League of Frightened Men is another one of his that I'd like to read. Have you read that one?

I personally think Fritz is a good choice. ;-)

I finally decided to join the 75 group.

http://www.librarything.com/topic/101354

Hard Times by Charles Dickens was first serialised in the magazine Household Words in 1854. It was published in its book form the same year. The book is divided in three sections. The first part is called Sowing, the second Reaping and the third Garnering.

I’ve read some pretty harsh reviews of this book. Apparently, this is not one of Charles Dickens’ popular works. But I did not let any of it deter me and against all odds, I liked it!

The rest of my review is here,

http://www.librarything.com/review/61232508

# 119 Thanks for the link to your thread, Tammy! Welcome to the 75 Books Challenge Group

120: Nice review! I've only read one of Dickens' books, but this reminds me that I should make it a point to read more.

Dropping by to say Hello!

#120: Nice review, Porua!

# 122 Thank you! Charles Dickens is one of my favourite authors. His A Tale of Two Cities and The Pickwick Papers remain two of my all time favourite books. Which one of his works have you read?

# 123 Hello! Nice to see you again.

# 124 Thank you! I was a little apprehensive about giving my opinion about Hard Times as most people seem to dislike this book. But I’m glad no one has told me off for it yet! ;-)

125: Just one, Great Expectations. The two you mentioned have been on the TBR list for ages though and need some bumping up! Which one would you recommend first?

Great review, Porua. I never knew Hard Times wasn't set in London! Is it London-ish? How similar is it to Dickens' real world? Interesting.

Sounds like the characters are standard Dickens - I always want to love them, but find it hard... he's just so very sentimental!

ETA: except for Pickwick, which is one reason why it's my favourite of the few Dickenses I've read.

I agree about Mr. Gradgrind's too-quick conversion. In a way it made me happy because of course that's what we wanted — he finally sees the light! — but it just didn't ring true to the character.

I was saying somewhere else that I remembered reading and enjoying Great Expectations, this really makes me want to read a lot of Dickens!

# 126 Oh that’s tough! How am I to choose between these two books? Besides being two of my all time favourites, they are books from different genres. But here are some of my general observations about both of the books.

A Tale of Two Cities is a romance/drama set during the turbulent times of the French Revolution.

The Pickwick Papers is a loosely structured, fun filled (but serious at times) tale about the adventures of an elderly gentleman, Mr. Pickwick and his friends.

It does take a little more time to get in to the narrative of A Tale of Two Cities. But once one does it is very rewarding.

The Pickwick Papers is more fun to read but rather lengthy compared to A Tale of Two Cities. A Tale of Two Cities is shorter.

I can go on and on but ultimately it’s up to you to decide which one is more to your taste.

:-)

# 127 Thank you, Rena! Yes Hard Times is the only Dickens I’ve read that is set in a fictional place. Coketown is so not like London. Far from it. It is more of an industrial waste land, where everything is dusty, dark and unhealthy. It is unlike anything by Dickens I’ve ever read.

# 128 Oh yes we do get to rejoice that Mr. Gradgrind finally sees his mistake(s) but it felt unreal.

# 129 Oh do read more Dickens! You may end up enjoying it. :-) Great Expectations I don’t remember much about (maybe time for a re-read?) but I think I liked it.

130: Thank you, all of that is good to know and very helpful! It sounds like I just need to feel out my current mood and pick one to begin with. :)

# 132 You’re welcome! Glad I could be of help.

#120 I enjoyed your review of Hard Times Porua. I read it many years ago and have to admit I didn't really like it but I am hoping to reread all Dickens' novels over the next couple of years.

I also didn't like Great Expectations when I read it which is supposed to be one of his best so I want to reread them all and see if there were things that I just didn't get the first time around.

# 134 Thank you!

For me at least, first impression is the last impression. If I liked a book the first time (for example, Wuthering Heights), chances are I’m going to like it again. And if I disliked something (for instance, The Moonstone), it’s probably going to stay that way. It’s totally okay if you don’t like Hard Times and Great Expectations even after the proposed re-reads. Even though Charles Dickens is one of my favourite authors, I didn’t like his David Copperfield while everyone else seems to love it.

By the way, which one of Dickens’ works do you like?

I remember particularly enjoying Bleak House, Our Mutual Friend, Martin Chuzzlewit, A Tale of Two Cities, David Copperfield (sorry) and Oliver Twist.

Didn't like The Old Curiosity Shop, Hard Times and Great Expectations and I don't remember having strong feelings about the rest.

I was quite young when I read some of them and I had a tendancy to read things even if I didn't understand them so I feel I may have just ploughed through some of them and thought I didn't like them because I didn't think about them enough. Or something.

I've just started a reread of Middlemarch (as part of a group read) and I've found that I'm getting more from it than I did when I first read it (again when I was quite young) so I hope that my brain has got better at reading I suppose.

And even if I still don't like Hard Times or Great Expectations, there are still Dickens' wonderful characterisations to enjoy!

Sorry - long, wordy post.

# 136 I read my first Dickens when I was 10 years old. I was a very precocious child and was always reading things I wasn’t supposed to. Dickens, Austen, Sheridan, G.B. Shaw, just to name a few. My first Dickens was A Tale of Two Cities. Even though I admired Dickens’ writing, the subsequent re-reads have helped me glean much more from it than I did the first time. Then again if I didn’t like A Tale of Two Cities in the first place I wouldn’t have re-read it. My second Dickens was The Pickwick Papers and I loved it (and understood most of it!) with my first read.

I would love to read Bleak House! It’s on top of my list.

Totally okay with the wordy post! I'm a wordy person myself. :-)

#137 Well that's very encouraging to hear that you got more out of them on rereading.

I hope you enjoy Bleak House when you get to it. It's a Dickens I reread relatively recently and I think it's one of his best :-)

*waves hello while passing through*

# 138 I really do hope to get to Bleak House soon. From what I know about the book, I expect to enjoy it.

# 139 Hi! This is the first time I've heard from you on my thread. So glad to see you pass through! :-)

I know, there are just too many threads to keep up with. It's hard to post on all of them. :(

# 141 Yup, it is hard. Ever since I joined the 75’ers it has been becoming increasingly difficult to keep track of all the interesting threads. That’s why I try to limit the number of threads I regularly follow.

All this talk about Dickens makes me want to read more by him. I do highly recommend Bleak House, Porua. It's long but worth every turn of the page. I'll have to finish Middlemarch before I can get lost in another Victorian novel.

It has been so long since I've read A Tale of Two Cities that I might have to start the new year out with a reread of it. Or I could go to your other favorite...Pickwick Papers which I haven't read. Plenty of time to decide.

Mmmmm, Middlemarch. My favourite book of all time.

Since joining the75er's I only allow myself to read the first 5 threads on the page and then quickly look around for the individuals I interact with the most, that way I see a little of everything. Though everyone is nice everywhere, I think this is the most social group.

>144 ChocolateMuse: CM, I'm glad you said you liked Middlemarch. I need some inspiration. It's been a slow start for me.

# 143 I do so want to read Bleak House, Donna! It is on top of my 'Dickens' wish list. The Pickwick Papers is wonderful. It's a tad long. My Oxford World's Classics edition is 700+ pages long but it is so worth it!

# 144 I know. Still remember your legendary review of it, Rena. ;-)

# 145 I stick to the threads of people who I'm more familiar with.

"Though everyone is nice everywhere, I think this is the most social group."

Yes the 75 Books Challenge group is the most social group. The level of interaction is much higher than any of the other groups I belong to.

Finished reading two books featuring the character of A J. Raffles by E. W. Hornung, Raffles: The Amateur Cracksman (1899) and The Black Mask (1901). The Black Mask is also known as Raffles: Further Adventures of the Amateur Cracksman. I’m not going to be reviewing them but these two are going to be a part of my worst reads list this year.

A. J. Raffles is a gentleman thief, à la Arsène Lupin, operating in late Victorian London. The premise seemed promising to me. I should have stopped with Raffles: The Amateur Cracksman (which was pretty bad) but since I already had The Black Mask at hand I read it. And it was worse. Much worse.

E. W. Hornung was the brother-in-law of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes. Raffles is supposed to be the criminal counterpart of Holmes. Personally, I find this fact to be kind of insulting to the character of Sherlock Holmes. A. J. Raffles is not a patch of the great Sherlock Holmes.

Raffles is supposed to be really clever. Then why do most of his endeavours end in failure? How come everyone who wants to get to him manages to do so with the utmost ease? Raffles’ sidekick, Harry "Bunny" Manders, has got to be the stupidest sidekick ever. And that is saying a lot considering the history of literary sidekicks.

I was never sure about what I was reading. What is this? It is supposed to be a satirical take on the Holmes stories but it’s not funny, not for me at least. It does not quite fit in the crime/mystery genre. And the sentimental ending to Raffles’ character just left me extremely annoyed.

The writing is below average. It is highly amateurish. It's like Hornung is unsure about how to treat his central character, who happens to be a criminal. He wants Raffles to be a suave gentleman but at the same time it is as if he was repulsed by the crimes Raffles commits. He is not sure whether to punish Raffles or to praise him. The result is an uneven and strangely structured narrative. It hovers somewhere in between dark comedy and tragedy.

In short I really disliked these two Raffles story collections. No more adventures of A. J. Raffles for me.

My habit of sticking with awful books is out of control. I’ve got to stop torturing myself!

I feel very safe in skipping the Raffles books. I hope you enjoy your next read more, Porua!

# 148 Oh I’d ask everyone to skip the Raffles books, if I could!

I am enjoying my current read. I’m so glad to find something substantial and enjoyable after the duds that were my last reads.

My habit of sticking with awful books is out of control. I’ve got to stop torturing myself!

Maybe we should start a support group for that very issue! Awful Book Readers Anonymous :)

# 150 'Awful Book Readers Anonymous'. That's a good idea!

You'd be happy to know that I've recently abandoned The Riddle of the Sands after reading 113 full pages. I got really bored with a narrative that was going nowhere and was way too full with maritime details. So, I (after much wavering) dropped it. That's some progress, right? ;-)

*cheers and claps loudly* :D You can do it, Porua!

Raffles sounds bad. I've got some Raffles ebooks somewhere in the computer: I'm wondering whether to delete them or save them for when I'm feeling stressed and want to have a good complain about something. :D

I have a perverse desire to read Raffles now.

#151: That is progress!

# 152 & 155 Thank you! Couldn’t have done it without LT. It keeps me distracted so that I don’t cave. I do still have a nagging feeling of business left unfinished. But I’m trying to ignore it.

# 153 Oh I don’t know. I call these books bellow average. A fellow LT’er has described them as mediocre. So, someone else may think that they’re wonderful. Personally, I say ‘Delete’ but then again you never know. You may like them.

# 154 Yeah I’ve been there. I’ve often read reviews of bad books and for some reason felt the urge to know for myself how ‘bad’ they actually are. Remember, there was this whole row on Amazon about an author going off the rails and abusing a reviewer for giving a negative review to her book? After reading her rant and the review in question, I really wanted to read the book! Thankfully, I was able to conquer my urge.

Seize the Day was published in 1956. It was Saul Bellow's fourth novel. It is often considered to be one of the great works of 20th century literature.

The novel’s protagonist is Tommy Wilhelm. Unemployed and lonely, Wilhelm is looking for success and a little sympathy. The story explores one day of his life as he tries to reconnect with the world and recover his lost dignity.

The mood of the story is dark and dismal. There is a kind of a hellish quality to Wilhelm’s world. Even before the story really begins we are already feeling his desperation,

“Oh, God,” Wilhelm prayed, “Let me out of my trouble. Let me out of my thoughts, and let me do something better with myself. For all the time I have wasted I am very sorry. Let me out of this clutch and into a different life. For I am all balled up. Have mercy.”

The rest of my review is here,

http://www.librarything.com/review/65133630

#157: Nice review, Porua. I have never read anything by Saul Bellow. Looks like I need to change that.

I read Seize the Day years ago, and still remember the sheer despair of the man, as everything he tries to do just doesn't work out. The only event I actually remember is the day-trader scene, where he tries to make a little money on the stock market (at least, I think that's this book, isn't it??), but the overall feeling of the book is still very strong.

Nice review, Porua, but I just don't think I'd want to spend a whole day with this character.

# 158 Thanks! Seize the Day is my first Saul Bellow book. I was a bit apprehensive about reading it as I didn’t know if I’d be able to ‘get’ it. I do hate reading books that I don’t understand. But I had little or no trouble with this book.

# 159 Wilhelm's sheer despair does come across very strongly. I'm rather surprised that such a short novella could have such a strong impact. I’m particularly impressed by the fact that at just a about a hundred or so pages Bellow is able to create such a vivid picture of the protagonist’s life.

Yes that is a scene towards the end of the story. It is one of the more troubling scenes of the book.

# 160 Thanks, Bonnie! It is not just one day; it is 'the' day for the protagonist. If it was just any other day of his life then it would have been easier. But it is his day of reckoning. By the afternoon of that day he would know whether he would sink or swim. So, yes going through a day when everything sort of falls apart for the final time for a man is difficult. I definitely wouldn't want to be in his shoes!

There is nothing more grim than Bellow at his most misanthropic, and Seize the Day made me feel like Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm and Dr. Pangloss's love-child.

# 162 That's funny!

But seriously though I don't know about the other works of Bellow but I liked Seize the Day. ‘Misanthropy’ or no ‘misanthropy’. :-)

Hickory Dickory Dock by Agatha Christie was first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in 1955. In the US it was published under the title Hickory Dickory Death by Dodd, Mead and Company the same year.

The title of the story, like that of many other Christie books, comes from a nursery rhyme.

A sudden outbreak of petty thefts at a student hostel leaves everyone uneasy. A young girl comes forward and confesses to the crimes. But soon she turns up dead. Was is just a case of ‘kleptomania’ and a guilty conscious or is there something more sinister going on behind the screen? Poirot investigates.

The rest of my review is here,

http://www.librarything.com/review/63925466

I'm glad you enjoyed your last couple of books more than Raffles and The Riddle of the Sands, although I am definitely going to avoid the Bellows. I just don't like reading dark and dismal books.

Porua, I read Henderson the Rain King which was good writing--though about a frequently unlikeable main character, as I recall.

Hi Porua!! Agatha Christy has been moving from the back of my mind to somewhere in the middle. Which one do you think I should try first?

Hickory Dickory Dock is one I haven't gotten to yet, but I know it's on the shelf. The plot sounds good!

# 167 Hey Tammy! Have you read any Christie before? I don’t know what a good place to start Christie is but I can describe my firsts and my favourites.

I myself started with Sparkling Cyanide or A Murder Is Announced, I cannot correctly recall which. I loved A Murder Is Announced, which was my first Miss Marple mystery. My first Hercule Poirot was Lord Edgware Dies (also known as Thirteen at Dinner). That one is also pretty good.

Personally I love all the Miss Marple mysteries. My favourites are Sleeping Murder, A Pocketful of Rye and A Murder Is Announced. Among the Poirot mysteries I love Cards on the Table, Death on the Nile and Evil Under the Sun. The Pale Horse, a non-series mystery, is very good also.

Hope this helps! :-)

Edited to fix touchstone.

# 165 Dark and dismal or bright and optimistic I just enjoy good writing. Also, I think sometimes reading about people who have failed makes us realize how fortunate we are.

# 166 Bellow's writing in Seize the Day was really good. The characters are not really likable either but they are not monsters they are just fragile and human.

# 168 Hickory Dickory Dock is pretty good. Hope you like it when you read it.

Hey, Porua, good to be back up to speed with your thread.

I got Herzog through bookmooch (stopped buying books for this year a while back, at number...never mind). That will be my first full read of a Bellow book. I'm a bit hesitant to start it but will give it a go after finishing up Middlemarch.

I think Evil Under the Sun is one of my all-time favorite mysteries by any author. A perfect book, with an unusual setting, a beastly murder victim, and lots of fun along the way. I think I've read it ten times.

Who would be your favorite after Christie? And thanks for telling us about Raffles: one less book for me to track down.

# 171 Welcome back! You’ve been missed!

Oh couldn’t agree more about Evil Under the Sun! I’ve read it at least four-five times. The setting, an interesting set of characters and the inimitable Hercule Poirot makes this one perfect murder mystery.

“Who would be your favorite after Christie?

As far as mystery authors go, after Agatha Christie I love Sir Arthur Conan Doyle! I have read every single Sherlock Holmes novel and short story he has ever written. I also really like G. K. Chesterton and his Father Brown mysteries. I’m yet to read all of them but what I’ve read so far, I like.

I’ve more or less enjoyed the two Georgette Heyer mysteries I read. I’d like to read more mysteries by her. Some of Ngaio Marsh’s shorter fictions were pretty good. They have the potential to become my regular mystery authors.

You’re welcome about Raffles! Others may like it but I found it intolerably bad!

This discussion is making me realise how long it is since I read much Agatha Christie: I'm struggling to match some of the plots to titles. I think I may have to do a mammoth re-read in the next few months. :)

What about the Brother Cadfael mysteries by Ellis Peters? I've read a few and watched a few of the BBC productions of them and enjoyed both thouroughly even if I have not partaken of either in several years.
While we're on the subject, there are a series of Mickey Rawlings baseball mysteries by Troy Soos. He came up with the idea whilst researching a book about the very early days of baseball and became fascinated with the players who had little or no biographical data about them, just a name and game stats. Sometimes only a last name of some guy who played one game in the outfield for the Boston Beaneaters or the Providence Greys in 1911. In one of the books he solves the murder of a teammate named Willie Kaiser who is booed and threatened because of his German name during WWI, in another there is a beating death blamed on the volatile Ty Cobb whom Rawlings proves innocent and another solving the hanging death of a white player for participating in an exhibition game against a Negro League team. All of them use actual players to lend an air of familiarity and authenticity for an interested reader to swim around in. If any of you enjoy baseball they would be well worth a looksie at the local library, if not then maybe not so much. They are very well written mystery stories in their own right and evoke a bygone age, plus he has written a few other mysteries as well.

I have At Bertram's Hotel and Cards on the Table sitting near the top of the pile, one Miss Marple and one Poirot. Good times ahead!

I second the Brother Cadfael rec! Fun stuff.

So after reading this discussion I now want to reread all the mysteries by Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle and G. K. Chesterton as well as finish the Cadfael books!

# 173 Yes it is very easy to forget plot details if you haven’t read the book in a while. The Agatha Christie books are more difficult because some of the US titles are different from the UK titles. Then there are some movie tie-ins that have titles that that are altogether different from both versions.

A mammoth re-read of Agatha Christie mysteries is always a delightful thought. Go ahead and do it, I say! ;-)

# 174 & 175 The Brother Cadfael mysteries have been recommended many times now. I must check them out. Thanks!

DP, this is the first time I’ve heard of Troy Soos. Thanks! Cards on the Table as you know, I love! At Bertram's Hotel is a late Christie and hence not very popular. But as I’ve said in my review, this is one of the better later Christies.

# 176 Oh yes my own thread makes me want to read and re-read all of the Christie, Doyle and Chesterton mysteries! I’m with you!

As George Eliot was preparing to write the historical epic, Ramola, she wrote to her publisher, “I am writing a story which came across my other plans by a sudden inspiration.”. That story was Silas Marner, one of the early works of George Eliot.

Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe is the third novel by George Eliot. It was first published in 1861.

The story of Silas Marner is a simple one on the surface. A lonesome, virtually non-human entity comes across a foundling and with its touch becomes a human being. It reads almost like a fairytale.

The rest of my review is here,

http://www.librarything.com/review/63239351

Very nice review, Porua. I agree about Eliot's accurate insights into human motivations and behavior. Very clear-eyed without being snarky; it's one of things I love about her work. I don't remember Silas Marner very well, as the last time I read it was, I believe in my freshman year of high school, approximately at the same time as the Civil War (at least it seems so). I'll have to revisit when time allows.

I would also recommend the Cadfael books to you. Lots of info. on the middle ages, herbal remedies, and usually quite good mysteries. The only drawback I've found to them is that the romance side-plots are a bit dull.

That was too funny when you mentioned Conan Doyle: the very first books I purchased for my e-reader were The Complete Sherlock Holmes, vol. 1 and 2. I also have an audio collection of about 25 stories, read by some prominent British actors.

I need to get back to Rex Stout, probably next year. And have you read Emma Lathen? Her books feature a New York bank executive (back in the days when that didn't constitute an evil epithet) as the amateur sleuth. They are excellent as well.

"Startlingly true"... Exactly!! George Eliot in a nutshell! What a great phrase.

Another lovely review Porua! I'm up to read Silas Marner maybe early next year. Looking forward to it.

Silas Marner was the first Eliot I read. Maybe a re-read is due after I finish up Middlemarch. Great review, Porua!

Excellent review of Silas Mariner, Porua!

You know how we were talking about starting a support group to help us stop finishing awful books? I stumbled across this existing group today: http://www.librarything.com/groups/readersagainststrugg

# 179 Thank you! I enjoyed Eliot’s insights into the human nature. I couldn’t help quoting the large passage about Squire Cass even though it made the review a tad longer than I had wanted to. I found it to be so true.

Romance side-plots have ruined many a good mystery for me. I like my mysteries with as little romance as possible.

The Complete Sherlock Holmes (Volumes 1 & 2) was my first proper mystery reads. They remain my favourites not just because they are good mysteries (which they are) but also because they make me feel nostalgic.

My first Rex Stout was okay. I do intend to read more of his Nero Wolfe mysteries in the future. Haven’t read any Emma Lathen. Thanks for the recommendation!

# 180 “"Startlingly true"... Exactly!! George Eliot in a nutshell! What a great phrase.”

Thank you! Startlingly true. You know I’m not a very eloquent writer but sometimes random phrases like that just float into my head out of nowhere. Strange!

I hope you get to Silas Marner next year. I think you’ll like it. :-)

# 181 Thank you! Silas Marner is my first Eliot book too. I saw her The Mill on the Floss in a bookstore sometime ago. Wonder if I should pick it up. Have you read that one?

# 182 Thank you! This means so much coming from someone like you. I look forward to your reviews and am always amazed by their clarity!

# 183 This is just what the doctor ordered! Off to check it out.

Edited to fix typo.

#185: I have not read The Mill on the Floss yet.

I've been reading Mill on the Floss on the sly (when I should have been reading Anna Karenina). I think you'd like it, Porua. Even when Eliot is writing about love, she still isn't writing a romance. She's way too real and complex for that. She's my hero. :)

I think you'll find that Silas Marner is quite different from all her other works (though I haven't read SM myself yet).

P.S. So far, Mill on the Floss isn't about love at all, by the way. I had Daniel Deronda and Middlemarch in mind for that particular comment.

Oh my. I let myself get way too far behind! I'll just encourage you to read Bleak House as soon as you can get to it! I'm another who enjoys a lot about Hard Times, but then, I find something to love in any Dickens. (Oliver Twist and Barnaby Rudge are my least favorites, but that's not saying that I don't enjoy them!) As for Nero Wolfes, The League of Frightened Men is a good one. I tend to prefer the early ones, but most of them are of the same quality. My only real preference is to have the action in NYC. I used to read Emma Lathen with some satisfaction.
I much prefer The Mill on the Floss to Silas Marner. I still haven't read the others. I really hope I live to be 105 with mind and eyes in good shape!

# 187 & 188 It’s good to know about The Mill on the Floss. I’m going to try to get to it.

“Even when Eliot is writing about love, she still isn't writing a romance. She's way too real and complex for that.”

I’m glad you’ve mentioned this. I like a little romance now and then but I do hate giddy, simplistic love. A love story that’s rooted in reality, a love that is less than ‘picture perfect’ and restrained & mature love, I find palatable.

# 189 Oh yes I find something to enjoy in every Dickens too! David Copperfield is my least favourite but I still managed to enjoy (*Possible Spoiler*) little David’s childhood as he escapes from oppression and finds freedom.

“My only real preference is to have the action in NYC.”

I’ve heard the same thing from other Nero Wolfe admirers. New York is were the action should be, they said!

“I really hope I live to be 105 with mind and eyes in good shape!”

You’ve said it, my friend!

Darkly Dreaming Dexter is the first book in Jeff Lindsay’s series of books featuring Dexter Morgan, a serial killer, as the narrator. Published in 2004, Darkly Dreaming Dexter is the basis for the Showtime television series Dexter. I haven’t watched the TV show so I cannot really compare the two. But a lot of people seem to prefer the TV show to the book.

A first person narrative where the lead is a serial killer isn’t really all that original. Jim Thompson did it years ago in The Killer Inside Me (1952). I read The Killer Inside Me earlier this year and was impressed with Jim Thompson’s writing. Impressed enough to try and find more books with a serial killer narrator in it. Unfortunately, Darkly Dreaming Dexter doesn’t quite cut it.

The rest of my review is here,

http://www.librarything.com/review/64991217

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is a science fiction novel written by Philip K. Dick. It was published in 1968.

For a long time I have wanted to read this book. Now that I have, I cannot believe I didn’t get to it earlier. This may easily end up as one of my favourites this year.

The narrative takes place in a post-apocalyptic future, in 1992 (2021 in later editions). The Earth has been irreparably damaged by War, which forces most of the remaining humans to emigrate to other planets such as Mars. Humans are given androids as servants if they agree to leave earth.

But as the androids become more and more intelligent, some of them refuse to be subservient to the humans and run away from the colonies. It is the job of Rick Deckard to hunt down these rogue androids. The story also follows John Isidore, branded a “Chickenhead” or “special”, because of his less than average intelligence. Isidore ends up befriending some of the fugitive androids.

The rest of my review is here,

http://www.librarything.com/review/58388033

Ooh, I read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? last year and loved it. I especially agree with:

"Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? feels surprisingly contemporary. The narrative is not at all dated."

Definitely, it hasn't aged a bit!

Great review, Porua! I liked the book too when I read it. What did you make of the religious undertones? They left me more than a bit confused!

# 193 Yes the story seemed very fresh to me. And somehow very relevant too. Is it sad that I can relate to a post-apocalyptic world where warmth and kindness is so scant so easily? Glad you loved it too!

# 194 Thank you, Amy! Yes the book does have religious undertones but I mostly ignored that part of the book.

Caught up! I'm behind in my reading of both books and threads. I've never read any Saul Bellow. I own a few titles but somehow they never end up in my hands. Maybe next year. That's quickly becoming my new mantra.

I may read some more George Eliot, too. I'm enjoying my reread of Middlemarch, although I am lagging behind the group.

# 197 Hi, Donna! Missed you around LT.

Seize the Day was my first Saul Bellow book. I liked it but I've been told his other books are a bit different. Don't know if I'd read more of his works.

On the other hand it seems Silas Marner is a bit different from the other Eliot books. So, maybe I'd read more of Eliot's works. What books by George Eliot have you read?

You didn't ask me, but I'll tell you that I think Middlemarch is tops!

# 199 Thanks for the recommendation, LizzieD. I do hope to read Middlemarch someday as I've heard so many good things about it.

#192 Favourite of the year? Wow! I've had a copy of that book sitting on my shelves for well over a year now - perhaps I should read it?

Re George Eliot, I've only read Silas Marner and Middlemarch and I originally read both so long ago that I can't remember much about them but I am currently rereading Middlemarch and really enjoying it.

Given your tastes, Porua, you will totally love Middlemarch, as long as you don't try to skim it--which I know you wouldn't do, but was my mistake the first couple of times I tried to read it. Third time I slowed down and loved it.

# 201 & 202 Thanks for the encouraging words regarding Middlemarch, guys! Much appreciated.

# 201 Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is going to make it to the five-six maybe. Till date my top favourites of the year remain the only two books that I’ve rated 4 stars so far, The Queen of Hearts by Wilkie Collins and London Lavender by E. V. Lucas. Rather obscure books which I absolutely adored!

>192 Porua:: My son (33) just told me he loves apocalyptic-type books, so will have to pick that one up for him for Christmas.

Hi Porua, I'm just stopping by to say hello and to let you know that I've started (re-)reading all the Hercule Poirotbooks by Agatha Christie. I'm also trying to revive the OMDC-group. It would be wonderful if members would contribute their OMDC-list of this year in a different thread.
I'm also still planning on reading Middlemarch, but books with too many pages are not possible for me right now.

drive-by hello wave

# 204 Good idea, Bonnie! I hope he enjoys it.

# 205 Hi! Good luck with re-reading all of the Poirot books. I'll see if I can make a list of all the old time mysteries I've read this year. Boy is that going to be a long list!

# 206 Hi, Richard!

Friday the Rabbi Slept Late by Harry Kemelman is the first book in the Rabbi Small series. It was published in 1964. Friday the Rabbi Slept Late won an Edgar Award for Best First Novel in 1965.

Kemelman was already an established mystery story writer when after witnessing the discord between the rabbi and the people of his congregation he decided to write a book about it. His editor suggested that the book could be made more appealing by weaving a murder mystery in to the plot. Kemelman obliged by making the Rabbi an amateur detective. That is how the character of Rabbi David Small was born.

Rabbi David Small is not very popular with his congregation. Talks of dismissing him are in the air. Things get even more complicated when the dead body of a young girl is found at the synagogue parking lot and all the clues point to him. Rabbi Small decides to get to the bottom of it before it’s too late.

The book tries to provide an insight into Judaism. They are interesting but I was impatient for the mystery to go on. This was a good sign really because if the reader cannot wait to get back to the main mystery and ignores the side plots, the main mystery must be quite satisfactory.

The central mystery is relatively thin. I knew who the killer was as soon as the character was introduced. But that could have something to do with me being the mystery addict that I am and reading way too many mysteries to be surprised any more.

This could be called a cosy mystery but there are at least hints of other stronger elements like adulterous affairs, illegitimate pregnancies, sexual perversions, racism; etc.

The book reflects its time period very, very unmistakably. Men and women act a certain way, the husbands talk to the wives a certain way, everyone, including the pregnant women, smokes all the time (one woman even has a cigarette for breakfast!); etc, etc. It takes a while to get used to the whole attitude.

The characters are good. They are nothing extraordinary but are not annoying either. The characters of the Rabbi's wife, Miriam and the local police chief, Hugh Lanigan are interesting.

Friday the Rabbi Slept Late is nothing groundbreaking. It is a predictable sort of a story. But overall, it was a pleasant read. I wouldn’t mind reading more mysteries by Harry Kemelman.

#208: I hate to think how many years it has been since I read that series! Oh my goodness.

# 209 Oh finally someone I know (virtually or otherwise!) who has read the Rabbi Small mysteries. I’m so glad! Did you read the whole series? Have you read anything else by Harry Kemelman?

#210: If I did not read the whole series I came awfully close! I have not anything other than the Rabbi Small books by Kemelman though, sorry to say.

# 211 Harry Kemelman had written another series featuring a college professor as a sleuth. I think his name was Nicky Welt. The first one of that series was called The Nine Mile Walk. I wonder if anyone has read it.

Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome was published in 1889. It was a best seller in its own time and continues to be an enduringly popular classic to this day.

Having been ‘afflicted’ with every possible deadly (and mostly imaginary) diseases and having grown weary of the city life J. and his best friends George and Harris decide to take a boating trip on the river Thames. But of course things do not go as smoothly as planned.

The rest of my review is here,

http://www.librarything.com/review/64019525

Thumbs-upped you rather tinninly ringing endorsement, Porua!

I read Three men in a boat twice, because I couldn't believe how little I appreciated it the first time. But the second time was the same. Not my thing. Same with that other great Victorian humour classic Diary of a Nobody. I have come to the conclusion that I simply don't possess the Victorian English sense of humour.

#213: Sounds as though I enjoyed that one more than you did. I hope your next read is better for you!

# 214 Thanks for the thumb, Richard! But what is 'tinninly ringing'?

# 215 Oh I really, really want to read Diary of a Nobody. I hope it's better than Three Men in a Boat.

As I've said in my review, I think that the reason for my finding it not as funny as I had hoped lies in its origins. The book was intended to be a serious travel guide but was later reconstructed to be humorous. As the more serious things like the local history and descriptions of the scenic routes clash with the funny anecdotes and the comic characters, the narrative becomes awkward. As far as I know Diary of a Nobody doesn't have this sort of problems. So I'm hoping to enjoy it more than Three Men in a Boat.

# 216 Thanks! I hope so too!

I fatfingered "tinnily" as in ringing with a cheap, tinny sound. Way too far to go for a mildly amusant jest, I fear...sorry.

# 218 Ah I get it (I think).

Opening Night written by Ngaio Marsh was published in 1951. Its name in the United states was Night at the Vulcan. It is the sixteenth book in Marsh’s Inspector Roderick Alleyn series.

A new play opens at the Vulcan, formerly known as the Jupiter, and by the looks of it, it is going to be a success. But before the night is over one of the leading members of the cast lies dead backstage. It looks like suicide but the memories of a past murder echoes throughout the theatre. Inspector Alleyn comes to the scene to discover all.

Opening Night constantly makes references to an Inspector Alleyn short story called I Can Find My Way Out (1946). Opening Night is in a way a sequel to that story. The two not only share the same location and setting but the murder is also inspired by the previous case. I read The Collected Short Fiction Of Ngaio Marsh earlier this year and I Can Find My Way Out was a part of it. I picked up Opening Night without knowing the connection between the two stories and was very pleasantly surprised by the coincidence.

The rest of my review is here,

http://www.librarything.com/review/65135179

I've only read one Marsh so far, Overture to Death, which is also placed at the opening of a play. I really liked it and I have two others of hers on the shelf.

# 221 Marsh wrote many theatre based mysteries as she was very passionate about the stage. I've read that she worked hard to establish a viable professional theatre industry in New Zealand.

As I scrolled down, I noticed your September list of 2010 favorites. Are you ready to do your final list yet? Hey, I'm rereading Jane Eyre (haven't read it since high school) with a daughter of a friend beginning December 17. Know anyone who would want to join us?

# 223 "Are you ready to do your final list yet?"

Umm...not yet. I’ve got four-five books that I’d like to finish before the year ends. I don’t think that they’ll make that much difference to my list but one never knows.

I do wish that I could join you for a Jane Eyre re-read but right now I’m eyeing Great Expectations for a year end re-read. I fear one heavy duty classic is all I can take about right now.

I fear one heavy duty classic is all I can take about right now.

True dat! ;-) I mean for me too!

I'm with Chocolatemuse--I never "got" the humor of Three Men and a Dog or Diary of a Nobody. I'll also confess that I've never been fond of Jeeves either.

# 226 I’ve read only one Jeeves book till date, Jeeves in the Offing. Though I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would I’m open to reading more of the Jeeves books. I do have such fond memories of watching re-runs of the show Jeeves and Wooster as a kid! Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry were marvellous!

Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss was published in 2003. In this book, Truss takes a humorous (and often militant) tone while teaching the readers the importance of punctuation in the English language.

The book is divided in to seven chapters, with chapters devoted to apostrophes, commas, semicolons, colons, exclamation & question marks, brackets, emoticons, etc.

I found the history of various punctuation marks to be quite interesting.

The various examples regarding the misuse or the lack of punctuation marks were often hilarious. I laughed out loud several times.

The rest of my review is here,

http://www.librarything.com/review/64058486

Thumbs-upped your very nicely made review of Lynne Truss's book!

Love that title! The incorrect use of 's for a common plural (e.g., on store signs) that you referenced in your longer review is more of a problem in England, isn't it? I don't really see it in the Northwest. I, myself, would like to not hear people say, "Me and John went..." But I make enough of my own punctuation mistakes, so probably shouldn't be so judgmental.

I've already got that one on the TBR mountain. I should get to it quickly as I'm sure I need her help.

Personally, I think I am beyond help punctuation-wise, but I have it in the BlackHole anyway!

# 229 Thank you, Richard!

# 230 I love the title as well. The joke that inspired the title is pretty good too.

“The incorrect use of 's for a common plural (e.g., on store signs) that you referenced in your longer review is more of a problem in England, isn't it?”

Yup, you’re right.

“But I make enough of my own punctuation mistakes, so probably shouldn't be so judgmental.”

To tell you all the truth I'm not really a stickler for grammar and punctuation. Truss made me feel a little ashamed of myself. But the shame notwithstanding it was a fun read.

# 231 & 232 Hope you guys get to it soon!

The Mysterious Mr.Quin is a collection of short stories by Agatha Christie featuring the ever elusive Mr. Harley Quin. It was first published in the UK by William Collins & Sons in 1930 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later that same year.

Mr. Satterthwaite, an elderly urbane gentleman, has always been a mere spectator in the drama of life. But one fateful night his role as a simple observer is challenged as an enigmatic man enters his life. That man is Mr. Quin, a friend of lovers, an otherworldly presence. From that night on Mr. Satterthwaite, with overt and covert inspiration from his mysterious friend, wanders the twisted labyrinths of the human heart.

The rest of my review is here,

http://www.librarything.com/review/63936801

Duly noted and thanks. My local library has a copy of Mr. Quin in the rarely visited (by me) paperbacks section.

Wow Porua. Very high praise! I've never read this one, though I've read nearly everything by Christie. I always had the impression it was a kind of parody, or tongue-in-cheek. Is there any hint of that? Thinking it over, I may have gotten mixed up with Parker Pyne Investigates, which I also have never read.

That's one I haven't read yet. Your review sounds like it's one of Christie's "unusual" ones, like Endless Night. I'll probably get to this one in the coming year.

# 235 You’re welcome, DP!

# 236 Yup, I liked it. I think I needed a change from my regular mystery/classic cycle. Modern books will not cut it for me, I know that much. So, why not something unusual from my familiar yet favourite author?

I don’t think it is a parody. The Mysterious Mr. Quinn is actually one of the least humorous books by Christie that I’ve ever come across. The Marple mysteries have got her deep yet sometimes funny insights in to the human nature. Poirot has got his twinkling eyes and ‘grey cells’. But Mr. Quinn is dead serious most of the time. He often prevents suicides or murders. The Parker Pyne stories are very light in nature. No murders or anything serious in them, just some petty thieving and one/two kidnappings. But I don’t think they are parodies either.

# 237 The Mysterious Mr. Quinn is rather unusual. I really liked the supernatural element in the book. Endless Night I haven’t read yet. I am reading more of Christie’s non-series books these days. Maybe I’ll get to it soon.

Merry Christmas, Porua.

I loved The Mysterious Mr. Quinn. Endless Night is quite different and very sad.

One of my favorite books to read in the winter is The Sittaford Mystery. Great winter setting and one of her better plots, I think.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Porua!

Merry Christmas!

# 239, 240, 241 & 242 Merry Christmas to all of you guys too! So kind of all of you to wish me!

I’ve been having an abnormally hectic week. After each long day all I wanted to do was to crawl into bed and go to sleep. I’ve missed LT and my friends here so much!

# 239 I’ve read The Sittaford Mystery. It is one of the non-series ones. The plot is quite unusual. I felt so cold when I read it!

It has been a chaotic week but on the brighter side I’ve managed to finish two books. The first one is Great Expectations. This one is a re-read. It took me a while to finish and review it. The next review I haven’t written yet. It will be coming soon.

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens was first published in serial form in All the Year Round from 1860-1861 and in book form in 1861.

The book chronicles Philip ‘Pip’ Pirrip’s journey towards becoming a gentleman. The story is narrated in first person by him.

The narrative is classic Dickens. It is rich and vibrant. Pip’s childhood provides some fine insights on human nature. It is humorous at places but also strangely sombre. As Pip grows up the narrative becomes even darker and less humorous. But it doesn’t lose its spark save at a few places.

The rest of my review is here,

http://www.librarything.com/review/58533051

Just dropping by to wish you a Merry Christmas! Hope to be around more in 2011.

# 245 Merry Christmas to you too! :-)

I liked your review of Great Expectations even though reading that thing was like pulling teeth for me. I'm sure we've gone over that a while back, but I respect your opinions highly of a genre that just is not my style at all. What I am asking is if you could offer me a small handful of classics to stash on my fancy new eBook reader that you would consider staple reading or must-have foundation material.

I have Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles and his Wessex Tales, Wuthering Heights, a few by Sir Walter Scott that I have always wanted to check out (Ivanhoe, Rob Roy and Lady of the Lake), a bit of Dickens (Pickwick Papers, Old Curiosity Shop & A Message from the Sea), Don Quixote and Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Haven't added any of the French writers but I have a sizeable library on my computer to pick from.

You are as close to an 'expert opinion' as I am likely to find. As payment I found a few nice artsy pictures for you to maybe use on your thread in the future.

Franz Eybl's 'Girl Reading'; Charlotte J. Weeks' 'A Young Girl Reading'; and there are a few by Renoit that a google image search will easily find. One of them has a cute flower brimmed hat.

# 247 Hi, DP! Yup, I remember you hating Great Expectations. I will not say that I absolutely love it either. But I liked it a good deal better than you did. I’m so glad that you and I can share our opinions without having to agree on everything. I like LT better for friends like you! :-)

Oh man! Expert opinion? From me? You really do know how to put someone on the spot! ;-)

I wouldn’t want to recommend anything as ‘staple reading’ or ‘must-have foundation material’ because that’s tricky. People can’t even agree about which books are Classics and which are not. One man’s Classic may not be another man’s and vice versa. Deciding on which are must read is another problem altogether. So, I’ll do what I do best. I’d speak from my own experience and hope you benefit from it.

Tess of the d'Urbervilles I found to be really depressing. I didn’t like it. I haven’t read his Wessex Tales but I’d like to read it myself. So, I guess that can be counted as a recommendation.

I love Wuthering Heights! I would recommend it very highly. The characters maybe unlikeable but one has to understand the times when it was written. What Emily Brontë wrote was unthinkable at that time. Such unrestrained, raw emotions were totally unacceptable coming from a woman. That is why I admire her and her work.

Unfortunately, I haven’t read anything by Sir Walter Scott. I have a sneaking suspicion I may not enjoy his books.

The Pickwick Papers I love! One of my all time favourites. It is a very long book. But I say it’s worth it. The Old Curiosity Shop is an incredibly sad story. As a kid, I found it highly depressing and didn't like it.

Rime of the Ancient Mariner is very good, IMHO. It left a great impression on me. I still think of it from time to time.

Don Quixote, I don’t remember much about. I think I read it way too young as I didn’t get most of it.

Thanks for the reading girl paintings! I’ve often considered putting Girl Reading by Franz Eybl and the Renoir paintings on my thread. A Young Girl Reading by Charlotte J. Weeks is so cute!

Hmmm...That was long! But I sincerely do hope all this helps you!

I finally completed my 75 Books Challenge over the weekend. And I’m so, so very glad that I did it with a book I loved. I’m quite a finicky reader. I hardly like anything let alone love. So, this is kind of big deal for me. Finishing my challenge and finishing it with a book I’m sure I’m going to re-read in the future.

Here’s my Ticker,

I am admittedly not a very sentimental person. Books or movies generally do not make me cry. But I’ve got to confess. Goodbye, Mr. Chips made me cry.

Goodbye, Mr. Chips by James Hilton was originally published as a supplement to the British Weekly in 1933. The story received greater recognition when it was reprinted on the April 1934 issue of The Atlantic. Finally in June 1934, it was published in book form. It was an immediate success and made James Hilton a bestselling author.

Goodbye, Mr. Chips is the simple story of Mr. Chips, a much-loved teacher at Brookfield, a boys' boarding school. The book shows his life through brief glimpses of the past and the present, showing the man he once was and how he became the man he is now.

The rest of my review is here,

http://www.librarything.com/review/67653447

# 248 I want to continue from post # 248 with a few ‘afterthoughts’. The original post is too long as it is. So, please bear with me, DP!

I’ve read two of Thomas Hardy’s works this year. Far from the Madding Crowd was a re-read and The Return of the Native was a new read. I liked the re-read better than the new one. I like Far from the Madding Crowd but a lot of people want to choke the lead characters. So, I do recommend it but very, very warily.

As you know, I love Wuthering Heights. Staying in the same Gothic genre I’d recommend another one of my favourites, the horror classic Dracula. If you haven’t read it already that is.

From Dickens one of my all time favourites is A Tale of Two Cities. I liked his Hard Times, which a lot of people seem to hate. A lesser known book which is edited by Dickens called A House to Let was one of my favourites last year. It is unique in a sense that it is co-written by Dickens, Wilkie Collins, Elizabeth Gaskell and Adelaide Anne Procter.

Two little known works I loved this year are The Queen of Hearts by Wilkie Collins and London Lavender by E. V. Lucas. The first one is a collection of inter-connected short stories and the second one is series of loosely connected vignettes. Both should be available as free e-books.

Some Classics I would not recommend are Shirley by Charlotte Brontë, David Copperfield by Charles Dickens, The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope and the Raffles stories by E. W. Hornung. I did not enjoy these at all!

Okay I think that’s about it. Happy reading!

Excellent. And I have of course read Dracula, to the point that I hate vampire stories anymore. None of them are anywhere near as good as the Stoker original. The White Wolf gaming stuff and their novels are pretty good if you like that genre but I personally prefer their Werewolf storyline, and their older system before the revamping about five years ago. Just saying.

I have all of those classics on my hard drive but for london lavender, but found it via wikipedia in both .pdf and .epub formats. The latter is formatted for eReaders if you need to know.

I remember you not liking Return of the Native much but it goes in anyhow.

That should do for quite a while. Thanks, you're a dear.

As usual, I left out a thought in haste. Much like I forgot to save some room for a complete Agatha Christie collection on my reader. Yeah!

(And the Brother Cadfael mysteries.)

I added Dracula to my iPad, based on your recommendations earlier in the year. I'm putting it in my 2011 Challenge, so will eventually have something to say about it. I read Great Expectations last year. I have to admit that I found much of it melodramatic and implausible, but it added to my enjoyment of a later book: Mister Pip, so I'm glad I read it. I'll probably read Wuthering Heights again as one of the daughters of my best friend wants to reread classics and I said I'd join her. Mom and sister have said they want to be in our group too, so I'll have to come back for more recommends as you tend to read more "classics" than I do.

Congrats!

Porua, it's wonderful that you completed your 75-book goal with a book that you loved. Made you cry, huh? Well, that's good enough for me. I may have read Mr. Chips eons ago but, since I have no memory of it, onto the new and revised Dream List it goes.

I hope your Christmas was merry and that your New Year will be bright. May all your books be ones that touch your life in some manner. They can't all be 5-star books, but, if we learn something from each book we read, that's a very good thing.

Hi Porua!! Congrats on making it to 75!!! Wanted to let you know I read Agatha Christie's The Mirror Crack'd, my first Christie. Thanks for helping me broaden my horizons. I liked it, a classic whodunit.

Hope you had a Merry Christmas and sending you Best Wishes for the New Year!!!

# 254 & # 256 Thank you!

# 252 “And I have of course read Dracula, to the point that I hate vampire stories anymore. None of them are anywhere near as good as the Stoker original… and their older system before the revamping about five years ago. Just saying.”

You’ve said it, my friend. Totally agree with you.

Glad you found London Lavender. I found it through the Open Library. This book may not be everyone’s cup of tea but I hope you enjoy it.

You remember correctly. The Return of the Native I found very similar to Far from the Madding Crowd but much sadder and negative in tone. It didn’t go down too well with me.

“Thanks, you're a dear.”

You’re are most welcome, DP!

# 255 I always feel apprehensive about my recommendations. I keep thinking ‘What if the person I recommended it to doesn’t like it?’ And Dracula is even more worrying because it is one of my favourites. Here’s hoping you do like it when you get to it.

“I have to admit that I found much of it melodramatic and implausible,…”

That’s Victorian lit for you! Just be glad that this one doesn’t have any swooning females and mysterious strangers in black in it. ;-)

#257 Thank you, Donna!

Goodbye, Mr. Chips made me cry not only when I read it but I got all choked up last night when I was highlighting some quotes from it. It’s strange really because I don’t think everyone else would see what the big deal is about. I guess it is something personal deep inside me that moved me so much. It just goes to prove that reading is such a personal experience. Timing may also have something to do with it.

Thank you for such kind words! Hope this New Year brings you much joy too. :-)

Typo!

# 258 Hello and thank you, Tammy! I was wondering where you were!

I’m glad you enjoyed The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side. It may not be one of by Christie’s best but as someone who has read all of the Marple books I really enjoyed the air of nostalgia that the book has.

Best Wishes for the New Year for you too! :-)

Edited to fix typo.

Congrats on reaching 75!

Goodbye Mr. Chips is a book that I have wanted to read since forever. Somehow, I never have gotten to it. I am going to have to search out of a copy of it.

Happy New Year!
--BJ

# 262 Thanks, BJ! Hope you like Goodby, Mr. Chips when you eventually read it.

Happy New Year to you too!

Happy New Year, Porua, and congratulations on meeting your 75-book goal!

I've really enjoyed your thread this year and I'm looking forward to more in 2011! I hope you're joining the 75ers again.

Congratulations, Porua!

That’s Victorian lit for you! Just be glad that this one doesn’t have any swooning females and mysterious strangers in black in it. ;-)

Ha! Ha! I was disappointed in myself for not liking Dickens more--I think I was suffering from too "Great (of) Expectations," but I still love books by Austen, Bronte, and Elliot.

# 264 & 265 Thank you, Bohemima & kidzdoc!

# 264 I’m glad you enjoyed my thread. I’ve enjoyed your thread too. I was a bit confused about which group I want to join in but now I think I’ll stay here. I don’t really think that I’d be able to complete the challenge this year. I mean it took me the whole year to complete the challenge this year. Lord knows how long it will take the next year! But it is so much fun here at the 75 challenge group that I’d still like to try it once more.

# 266 What other books by Dickens have you read, Bonnie? I love Jane Austen too. Emily Brontë is one of my favourites. Which Brontë do you like? I’ve read only one George Eliot book to date, Silas Marner, but hope to read more by her in the future.

BOOKS READ IN :

Here is a complete list of all the books I’ve read in the year 2010. My best reads are in bold.

1. The Innocence of Father Brown. G. K. Chesterton.
2. The Great Gatsby. F. Scott Fitzgerald. (Re-read)
3. Cards on the Table. Agatha Christie. (Re-read)
4. The Tale of Terror: A Study of the Gothic Romance. Edith Birkhead.
5. The Return of the Native. Thomas Hardy.
6. Far from the Madding Crowd. Thomas Hardy. (Re-read)
7. The Mousetrap and Selected Plays. Agatha Christie. (Re-read)
8. David Copperfield. Charles Dickens.
9. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. Stieg Larsson.
10. The Thirteen Problems. Agatha Christie. (Re-read)
11. Murder at the Vicarage. Agatha Christie. (Re-read)
12. A Tale of Two Cities. Charles Dickens. (Re-read)
13. Nightmare Abbey. Thomas Love Peacock.
14. For The Blood Is The Life And Other Stories. F. Marion Crawford.
15. The Body in the Library. Agatha Christie. (Re-read)
16. The Moving Finger. Agatha Christie. (Re-read)
17. Plays Pleasant. George Bernard Shaw. (Re-read)
18. Sleeping Murder. Agatha Christie. (Re-read)
19. Death of a Salesman. Arthur Miller. (Re-read)
20. A Murder is Announced. Agatha Christie. (Re-read)
21. The Remains of the Day. Kazuo Ishiguro.
22. The Queen of Hearts. Wilkie Collins.
23. The Moonstone. Wilkie Collins. (Re-read)
24. They Do It With Mirrors. Agatha Christie. (Re-read)
25. A Pocketful of Rye. Agatha Christie. (Re-read)
26. A Kiss for Cinderella. J. M. Barrie.
27. 4.50 from Paddington. Agatha Christie. (Re-read)
28. Every Man in His Humour. Ben Johnson.
29. If on a Winter's Night a Traveler. Italo Calvino.
30. Miss Pym Disposes. Josephine Tey.
31. To Love and Be Wise. Josephine Tey.
32. The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side. Agatha Christie. (Re-read)
33. London Lavender. E. V. Lucas.
34. A Caribbean Mystery. Agatha Christie. (Re-read)
35. At Bertram's Hotel. Agatha Christie. (Re-read)
36. Nemesis. Agatha Christie. (Re-read)
37. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. Alan Bradley.
38. The Killer Inside Me. Jim Thompson.
39. The Collected Short Fiction Of Ngaio Marsh. Ngaio Marsh.
40. Wuthering Heights. Emily Brontë. (Re-read)
41. The Prisoner of Zenda. Anthony Hope.
42. Plays Unpleasant. George Bernard Shaw. (Re-read)
43. Girl in Hyacinth Blue. Susan Vreeland.
44. Headlong Hall & Nightmare Abbey. Thomas Love Peacock.
45. The Name of the Rose. Umberto Eco.
46. The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays. Oscar Wilde. (Re-read)
47. Tales of Men and Ghosts. Edith Wharton.
48. The Art of War. Sun Tzu.
49. He's Just Not That Into You. Greg Behrendt & Liz Tuccillo.
50. Eragon. Christopher Paolini.
51. Still Life. Louise Penny.
52. The Great Automatic Grammatizator and Other Stories. Roald Dahl.
53. Evil Under the Sun. Agatha Christie. (Re-read)
54. Shirley. Charlotte Brontë.
55. While the Light Lasts. Agatha Christie.
56. The Lady of the Barge and Other Stories. W. W. Jacobs.
57. Dracula. Bram Stoker. (Re-read)
58. They Found Him Dead. Georgette Heyer.
59. Detection Unlimited. Georgette Heyer.
60. Plot It Yourself. Rex Stout.
61. Hard Times. Charles Dickens.
62. Raffles: The Amateur Cracksman. E. W. Hornung.
63. The Black Mask. E. W. Hornung.
64. Seize the Day. Saul Bellow.
65. Hickory Dickory Dock. Agatha Christie. (Re-read)
66. Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe. George Eliot.
67. Darkly Dreaming Dexter. Jeff Lindsay.
68. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Philip K. Dick.
69. Friday the Rabbi Slept Late. Harry Kemelman.
70. Three Men in a Boat. Jerome K. Jerome.
71. Opening Night. Ngaio Marsh.
72. Eats, Shoots & Leaves. Lynne Truss.
73. The Mysterious Mr.Quin. Agatha Christie.
74. Great Expectations. Charles Dickens. (Re-read)
75. Goodbye, Mr. Chips. James Hilton.

2010 was a good year reading wise.

I read quite a few authors for the first time this year. Some I loved, others not so much. Thomas Love Peacock became one of my favourite writers by virtue of Nightmare Abbey and Headlong Hall.

I finally found some books I’ve been searching for a long time namely The Queen of Hearts by Wilkie Collins, London Lavender by E. V. Lucas and The Lady of the Barge and Other Stories by W. W. Jacobs. I’m happy to say that none of them disappointed me. In fact two of them ended up in my top 3 best reads of the year.

Re-read a lot of my old favourites, the stories of some of which I had kind of forgotten. I hope to continue this trend of re-reading in this new year as well.

My life on LT grew busier and even more enjoyable this year. I’m proud of myself for managing to complete first the 50 Book Challenge and then the 75 Books Challenge. I have managed to decrease my TBR pile, been more active than ever at LT and have made some wonderful friends.

I’m glad that I was able to share my reading experiences with so many people. Hopefully I will continue to do so in this new year!

My new 75 Books Challenge thread for 2011 is here,

http://www.librarything.com/topic/106099

Hope to see you there! :-)