Avaland's 2014 Literary Wonderland, Sept. - Dec.

As noted on the first thread, I've had a tumultuous year and am fairly sure that "things" will not be settling back to the way they were. I spend workdays chained to a computer now, so am very resistant to getting back on one in my free time. And there is still a lot to do in the new house, nevermind that 90% of our books are still in boxes. Reading for 2014 has slowed to, what is for me, a crawl, but there has been some great reading.

I miss getting to others' threads, and I hope there will be time again for that in the future, so to all who stop by, welcome and thanks for coming.

NOW READING:



RECENTLY READ:



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Hell to Pay by Garry Disher
An Event in Autumn by Henning Mankell
The Blackhouse by Peter May
Acceptance by Jeff VanderMeer
Authority by Jeff VanderMeer (2014, US, novel, SF)
The Cutting Season by Attica Locke (2012, US, novel)
My Life in Middlemarch by Rebecca Mead (2014, nonfiction)
Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer (2014, US, novel, SF)
Mateship with Birds by Carrie Tiffany (2012, Australia)
All Days are Night by Peter Stamm (2013, Swiss, translated from the German 2014)
The Accursed by Joyce Carol Oates (novel, 2014, US, American Gothic)
Before I Burn by Gaute Heivoll (2014, Norwegian, novel)
Back to Back by Julia Franck (2014, T from the German)
North of Boston by Elizabeth Elo (2014 ,US)
Gunshot Road by Adrian Hyland (crime novel, Australian, 2010)
The Hidden Life of Deer: Lessons From the Natural World by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas (nonfiction, nature, 2010)
Children of the Revolution by Peter Robinson (2014)
The Red Road by Denise Mina (2014)

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BOOKS READ, 2014

NOVELS/NOVELLAS:

Acceptance by Jeff VanderMeer
Authority by Jeff VanderMeer (2014, US, novel, SF)
The Cutting Season by Attica Locke (2012, US, novel)
Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer (2014, US, novel, SF)
Mateship with Birds by Carrie Tiffany (2012, Australia)
All Days are Night by Peter Stamm (2013, Swiss, translated from the German 2014)
The Accursed by Joyce Carol Oates (novel, 2014, US, American Gothic)
Before I Burn by Gaute Hevoll (2014, Norwegian)
Back to Back by Julia Franck (2014, German)
North of Boston by Elizabeth Elo (2014, US)
The Brides of Rollrock Island by Margo Lanagan (2013, YA, folk/fantasy, Australia)
The Girl in the Road by Monica Byrne (2014, US, SF)
Carthage by Joyce Carol Oates (2014, US)
Léon and Louise by Alex Capus (2011, Swiss)
Burn by Julianna Baggott (2014, SF, US), no touchstone yet.
The Year of the Ladybird by Graham Joyce (2014, UK)
The Lie by Helen Dunmore (2013, UK)
Enon by Paul Harding (2013, US)
The Greatcoat by Helen Dunmore (2012, UK, ghost story)

SHORT FICTION:
Evil Eye Four Novellas of Love Gone Wrong by Joyce Carol Oates (2013)
Last Car Over the Sagamore Bridge by Peter Orner (US, 2013, short fiction), selections from.

NONFICTION:
My Life in Middlemarch by Rebecca Mead (2014, nonfiction)
The Hidden Life of Deer: Lessons From the Natural World by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas (nonfiction, nature, 2010)

POETRY:
The Circle Game by Margaret Atwood (1966, Poetry)
The World Will Follow Joy by Alice Walker (2013, poetry)

CRIME NOVELS:
An Event in Autumn by Henning Mankell
The Blackhouse by Peter May
Hell to Pay aka Bitter Wash Road by Garry Disher (2014, Australian
Gunshot Road by Adrian Hyland (crime novel, Australian, 2010)
Children of the Revolution by Peter Robinson (2014)
The Red Road by Denise Mina
Gods and Beasts by Denise Mina (2012)
The End of Wasp Season by Denise Mina (2011, Scottish)
Still Midnight by Denise Mina (2010, Scottish)
Saints of the Shadow Bible by Ian Rankin (2014, novel, UK)
Watching the Dark by Peter Robinson (2013)

MISC. ODDS & ENDS:
The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro (forthcoming 2015, I gave it 50 pages before abandoning it)
What Lot's Wife Saw by Ionna Bourazopoulou (Greek, 2007. T 2013) not so sadly, abandoned.
They Dragged Them Through the Streets by Hilary Plum (2013). Sadly abandoned.

The hubby's thread is HERE (not sure why this link doesn't want to work, but his user name is dukedom_enough, and his thread is here on Club Read)

I have finally finished the latest Gothic tome by Joyce Carol Oates. Eventually, I will jot some thoughts down on that.

Meanwhile...as noted above, most of our books are still in boxes, but we have great plans for them. After the great book purge of 2013/2014, and as we have begun to settle into our new home, we have decided to integrate the books a bit more into this house. This is why they are still in boxes! We have filled one built in shelf with poetry and art. We then created this "crate wall" for some new acquisitions, gifts, and a random box or two (books that had been next to our bed in the last house). Most of the crates are antiques, except for the two blue ones. The big bottom crate needed a support piece and extra shelf, but otherwise there are no screws or nails. It's solid.

And don't be fooled, there are, at last count, 165 books on there!



We have a contractor now, who has started working on various projects around the house, and we have some interesting book-related ones that should keep him busy through the winter.

Nice!
I had some renovations done a few years back and had my contractor make me bookshelves in a space near my kitchen for my cookbooks.

I love the idea of that crate wall, it looks awesome. I could never do it myself, though, the excess space in it would drive me batty, lmao. It looks really fabulous, I love everything about the way it looks in your photo! But one of the things that I despise about my bookshelves now is their waste of space and it has made me want to create my own that are perfectly done to maximize book-storing potential, no space gone to waste at all! hahaha

Love the crate wall. And happy to see your post and the list in post one.

I can relate to your moving pains. I completely lost a year between my own recent move plus family concerns that took me out of town for a long stretch! With everything in storage plus all the distractions and sense of being nowhere and everywhere at once, reading took a back seat. I think you are doing much better than I did in that department.

It's great to see you back! Even with most of your books in boxes, your reading has certainly been varied. The crate wall looks so cheerful, just the spot to find a good book.

Thanks, all. Our next book-related construction is to build one very, very long shelf above the doors on one side of our hallway, a perfect space because it won't reduce the floor space. We have higher ceilings in this house and I see that as wasted space. Michael came up with the idea to run a book shelf up there. The other plans are even more ambitious, one involves a library ladder :-)

Have finished the Peter Stamm book and have started Mateship with Birds by Australian author Carrie Tiffany, winner of the 2013 Stella Prize. I read her first books, Everyman's Rules for Scientific Living years back, just before joining LT (I think it came out in the US in 2006) and we have waited a long time for this second book.

It is nice to see you here again. I love the idea of the shelf above the doors, and the library ladder sounds intriguing.

>9 NanaCC: Thanks, Colleen.

I second the sentiment about the shelves above the doors. Last night I found myself looking up and wondering.

My apartment is very tall (like 10' high, it's really kind of absurd and a waste of space, they could have fit a whole other unit in had they made them normal height, though I do appreciate it since above the entrance door and in the kitchen over the bathroom there are cabinets with a huge space, so we store all our boxes and such up there), it'd be awesome if we could put shelving up high all around. But the work to make it able to support the weight of books, plus the difficulty of accessibility makes it not feasible. Perhaps if it were a place we owned and planned to remain indefinitely it'd be different.

>12 .Monkey.: Yep, hard to make alterations on a rental. Will keep you posted.

>11 Jargoneer: Turner, I meant to tell you that since I've been working, we've finished all 4 seasons of "Spiral" now. We've liked it—it's good drama—but it's not our favorite. Judge Roban is our favorite character. We've also watched "Salamander," "The Fall," and "Happy Valley" --- all very good, particularly the latter two. I thought Salamander mostly thriller, but good for mentally unwinding after 8 hours on a computer. Also, watched season 2 of "The Bridge," which we both liked better than season 1. Have not bothered to watch the American versions of either The Bridge or The Killing (we prefer the originals). We have enjoyed the truly weird American HBO show "The Leftovers," which stars, among others, Christopher Eggleston, also which just finished its first season. I can't see it going for more than a couple of seasons though.

I keep telling myself I need to come in here and make comments on what I've read, but it doesn't seem to happen. I will do it, but probably not until this job is finished (the 26th!). Have finished Mateship with Birds, which I enjoyed, and have begun My Life in Middlemarch by Rebecca Mead, a nonfiction book, which thus far is intelligent and well-balanced.

>12 .Monkey.: - there is a new Swedish crime drama now on BBC4 - Crimes of Passion. Not quite sure about it - the lead detective looks like he has stepped out of Mad Men (it is set in the 1950s and the stories have a hint of Midsommer Murders to them. (If you haven't seen MM it is a murder mystery series set in the fictional county of Midsommer which has a death rate higher than anywhere else in the world. You could possibly buy a mansion for £1 in Midsommer simply because you won't live long enough to enjoy it).
The Leftovers hasn't made it over here yet. I'll keep on eye out for it.

I don't seem to have any time at present to read or comment on reading thanks to the Scottish Referendum. There is nothing more to say on the matter but I'm like a moth to a flame, following it on any media available. After the vote tomorrow and the tears of disappointment on Friday I'll be able to get back to normal life next week, just in time for a new boiler to be fitted.

I like the crate wall. And I really like the cheerful yellow walls.

I really love that crate arrangement. It's a work of art. I think the spaces are part of its charm.

>14 Jargoneer: Yes, we are all watching to see what happens today.

re: MM. 3 murders per episode is the formula, more deaths by candlestick than most shows. No actual detection in the show, as best I can tell. We just watched "Hinterland" set in Wales, which we enjoyed, although we joked that they must have made a deal with the Department of Tourism as there are regular (widescreen) displays of the local scenery. Then we launched off on a list of places in the UK where there hasn't been a crime series. Liverpool, for example.

>15 RidgewayGirl:, 16 Thank you. I'm enjoying it. Exactly, Linda!

I seem to have fallen off the CR wagon, haven't I? Apparently, I have become a much less public reader since moving.

Updates: We were reunited with the rest of our "stuff" and books from storage yesterday. Yay! And also, the carpenter has set up shop in our basement, so he can begin work on our various book-related projects. The first is to install one shelf above our heads for the entire length of our 50 ft hallway. Then he will do something similar on two walls in the master bedroom. Following that, he will build a wall of shelves in the Morisot Room (sounds classier than the "family" room, doesn't it?) and install a library ladder (actually, it's one high wall plus a portion of the adjoining wall. I think he hopes to be done with all by Christmas.

The plan for the wall o' books:



What I did to the hallway wall before he could add the shelves at the top:



7 colors, the entire 50 ft. And that is a stencil, done 3 times vertically (www.cuttingedgestencils.com). I'm having a bit of fun in this house, and it does take up time that I could be reading or hanging about on LT.

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A SELECTION OF BOOKS ACQUIRED (since I last posted)

NEW:
A Matter of Time by Alex Capus (T. 2013, Swiss/German) Loved his Leon & Louise earlier this year....
The God of Chance by Kirsten Thorup (T 2014, Swedish) Scandi lit, woman author...
The Trick is to Keep Breathing by Janice Galloway (2014, Scottish) short novel, woman author....
Hell to Pay by Garry Disher (2014, crime novel, Australian) Standalone crime novel, by a favorite author
The Gothic: A Very Short Introduction by Nick Groom (nonfiction, 2012) Promises to be interesting....
The Summer of Dead Toys by Antonio Hill (Crime, Spain) Looked interesting....
Stone Mattress: Nine Tales by Margaret Atwood (2014, short fiction) A regular addiction....
Under the Sun by Hanne Marie Svensen (2006, Danish, novel) Also Scandi lit by a woman....
Annihilation, Authority and Acceptance by Jeff VanderMeer (2014, SF, a trilogy) Latest from a favorite author....

ARCS (the bookstore still loves me and lets Michael and I roam the piles of arcs):
The Unquiet Dead by Ausma Zehanat Khan (2015, crime) New author, intriguing, Bosnia....
Galapagos Regained by James Morrow (2015, what the author calls: "my eccentric historical novel about the coming of the Darwinian worldview") I've read a lot by Morrow over the years....
Plus forthcoming collections from Kelly Link and Jonathan Lethem. Michael picked up the new William Gibson.

FROM THE OLD #6 BOOK DEPOT in Henniker, NH (one of our favorite used book stores. Remind me to post photos of this place)

The Goddess and Other Women by Joyce Carol Oates (used, short fiction, 1974) and a couple of George Eliot-related purchases.

GIFTS:
Mateship with Birds by Carrie Tiffany (Australian) Read and enjoyed!

eta to fix touchstones

I love your plans, and the beautiful stenciled wall. It looks like you are having fun.

Thanks, Colleen, I am (I just wish my knees would cooperate more)

Your stencilled wall is beautiful, as are the plans for shelving. And you have collected a great tbr stash. Enjoy your new home.

Wall looks beautiful. Love that your books have their own carpenter.

>21 VivienneR: Thank you.
>22 dchaikin: I hadn't thought of it that way, but indeed they do!

Looks like I will be returning part-time to the bookstore I left 8 years ago. I don't plan currently to go on the schedule permanently, but just fill in when they need someone. This time is will only be a job, not my life :-)

Amazed to find you here... LOVE what you're doing with your home! And enjoyed the lists posted and the book comments, as always. Look forward to what happens next on the home front :)

>18 avaland: don't forget to post photographs of the old book depot! Requested reminder :-)

>24 akeela: So, good to hear your voice, Akeela! and thanks!

>25 Caroline_McElwee: I will get on that!

As promised, book porn: photos of the Old # 6 Book Depot in Henniker, NH (a bit NW of Manchester, a bit SW of Concord - if you're looking on a New Hampshire map. It's also where Pat's Peak ski area and New England College is)



This is in an old barn. Besides the main rooms there are a fair number of small rooms, nooks and crannies. Photos are as follows:
1. Downstairs, main room. 8 ft. high shelving, aisles vary but are around 50 ft long.
2. The cookbook section
3. A wall of old series books down near the juvenile section
4. The stairs. Various sets of books fill the stairwell on all sides
5. Upstairs. 14 ft shelving. Ample ladders around for the adventurous
6. Upstairs main room looking forward to the front.
7. Standing in a row upstairs looking up!

There is another used book barn in town, and two more used bookshops within easy driving distance.

That in itself is worth the trip. What a wonderful looking place. The children's literature section looks amazing.

That's just one part of the children's section! Henniker is a relatively small town, but because of the college there are some nice cafes and then there's this:

Want... Would love to spend some time there.

Ahhhhhhh :)

*Sigh*

That bookstore and a cafe. I could spend a happy weekend.

Lovely bookstore and covered bridge photos!

I hope that your power is back on again, and that the storm doesn't disrupt your Thanksgiving Day plans.

>33 RidgewayGirl: Yes, I bet most here could!

>34 kidzdoc: Thanks, Darryl, but we were without power running on generator for three days. There were a lot of trees and limbs down due to a large amount of what I called the "meanest, wettest snow" (which is still here, btw) Power was out at two of my children's homes also, so they came here to shower (our generator powers the well and furnace), and we had a funky Thanksgiving dinner of of what we could cobble together as we had no use of stove or oven, just microwave at half power and one outlet. So, turkey parts grilled on the charcoal grill (they were rather charred), instant mashed potatoes and homemade microwaved gravy, squash brought in from outside, stuffing made before the storm, and plenty of pie (that last apple pie left the oven about 20 minutes before the power went out Wednesday evening). Of course, the day proved, as always, that it's never really about the food. We were very glad to get power back late yesterday. I'm am thankful for family and electricity (and the workers who come from all over to restore it to us in the freezing cold).

Finished Jeff VanderMeer's "Southern Reach" trilogy, which I thought entertaining and mind-bending. And I agree with Stephen King, who described it as both "creepy and fascinating."

Your Thanksgiving sounds like an ordeal! Good to see that you can laugh about it.

>36 Nickelini: Well, it was an adventure, as was the whole weekend. Still recovering, I think. I admit to still craving some delicious, moist turkey....

The newly installed hallway bookshelf/bookshelves, showing here about 1/2 of the 48 ft of shelving (very difficult to get a good shot of the entire hall), and a front-facing view. This is our hardcover and trade paper science fiction & fantasy, the majority of which is Michael's, although there are authors we share (Miéville, LeGuin, Adam Roberts...etc), and some that are mine (McAuley, Ian MacLeod, Tepper, VanderMeer, Slonczewski...etc). The shelves are not fully loaded yet, but I imagine we might make it down to the K's and the rest will continue on the same high shelves in the master bedroom. We purged a lot from this collection, so some of my favorite authors like Tepper are reduced to favorite & notable titles. We had to leave room for odd books packed in miscellaneous boxes.

Such a clever idea, Lois. And it looks awesome too.

that looks os nice, Lois!

It's been quite a year and we are pushing on. I (we!) have moved to CR 2015 to this: Avaland and Dukedom_Enough's 2015 Reading: A Co-literary Experiment