CBL Hums Along in 2015, verse 4

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Converses2015 Category Challenge

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CBL Hums Along in 2015, verse 4

Aquest tema està marcat com "inactiu": L'últim missatge és de fa més de 90 dies. Podeu revifar-lo enviant una resposta.

1cbl_tn
oct. 4, 2015, 6:54 pm

My 2015 categories are inspired by songs. I plan to read a minimum of five books in 15 categories, with a bonus category for free reading. I only need to read 75 books to complete my challenge, but I'll continue adding books after I reach the minimum threshold. The 2015 categories are:

Daisy Jane by America - Books by, about, or inspired by Jane Austen
Mystery Lady by Billy Ocean - Books by Agatha Christie
God Save the Queen - Books by British authors for PaulCranswick’s British Author challenge
My Country ‘Tis of Thee - Books by American authors for msf59's American Author challenge
Old Days by Chicago - Books read for the HistoryCAT and/or Reading Through Time
In My Life by The Beatles - Family history/genealogy
Daniel by Elton John - Books about war
Second Hand News by Fleetwood Mac - Borrowed books
If You Could Read My Mind by Gordon Lightfoot - Books picked for me
Fantasy by Earth, Wind & Fire - Books for the SFFFCAT
Sing by Gary Barlow & the Commonwealth Band- Books for my Commonwealth challenge
People by Barbra Streisand - Biographies
Everybody’s Talkin’ by Harry Nilsson - Audiobooks
Sweet Little Mystery by Wet Wet Wet - Mysteries
New Kid In Town by the Eagles - New books& ARCs
Bonus category: Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd - Free reading

2cbl_tn
Editat: des. 13, 2015, 10:00 pm

Daisy Jane (America) - Books by, about, or inspired by Jane Austen

1. The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet by Bernie Su & Kate Rorick (4.5) - completed 1/3/15
2. Lovers' Vows by August von Kotzebue; liberally translated by Mrs. Inchbald (2) - completed 3/5/15
3. Edmund Bertram's Diary by Amanda Grange (3) - completed 3/6/15
4. Pride and Prejudice and Kitties by Jane Austen, Pamela Jane, and Deborah Guyol (2.5) - completed 3/22/15
5. Pride and Prejudice, Retold in Limericks by Seamus O'Leprechaun (3.5) - completed 3/14/15
6. Sense & Sensibility by Joanna Trollope (3.5) - completed 6/6/15
7. Emma by Alexander McCall Smith (2.5) - completed 7/5/15
8. The Jane Austen Handbook by Margaret C. Sullivan (3) - completed 9/9/15
9. North by Northanger by Carrie Bebris (3.5) - completed 9/27/15
10. Jane Austen's Guide to Good Manners by Josephine Ross; illustrated by Henrietta Webb (4) - completed 9/30/15
11. Northanger Abbey by Val McDermid (4) - completed 10/31/15
12. Persuasion, Captain Wentworth and Cracklin' Cornbread by Mary Jane Hathaway (3) - completed 12/13/15

Possibilities:
Sense & Sensibility by Joanna Trollope
Northanger Abbey by Val McDermid
North by Northanger by Carrie Bebris
Jane Fairfax by Joan Aiken
A Visit to Highbury by Joan Austen-Leigh
Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale

3cbl_tn
Editat: oct. 4, 2015, 6:59 pm

Mystery Lady (Billy Ocean) - Books by Agatha Christie

I'm in the middle of a years-long project to reread Christie's books in publication order.

1. Sparkling Cyanide (3.5) - completed 2/18/15
2. The Hollow (3.5) - completed 4/20/15
3. The Labors of Hercules (2.5) - completed 6/7/15
4. There Is a Tide... (3.5) - completed 8/15/15
5. The Witness for the Prosecution (BBC Radio adaptation) (2) - completed 8/24/15

4cbl_tn
Editat: des. 20, 2015, 6:55 pm

God Save the Queen - Books by British authors for PaulCranswick’s British Author challenge

1. Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall by Kazuo Ishiguro (3.5) - completed 1/21/15
2. The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters (3.5) - completed 2/16/15
3. The Scapegoat by Daphne du Maurier (4) - completed 3/9/15
4. The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter (3.5)
5. The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham (4.5) - completed 4/30/15
6. To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf (4) - completed 7/12/15
7. Flush: A Biography by Virginia Woolf (3.5) - completed 7/25/15
8. Travels with My Aunt by Graham Greene (3) - completed 8/25/15
9. Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie (4) - completed 9/17/15
10. The Long Song by Andrea Levy (4) - completed 9/24/15
11. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet by David Mitchell (4.5) - completed 10/26/15
12. Loitering with Intent by Muriel Spark (4) - completed 11/22/15
13. An Ice-Cream War by William Boyd (3.5) - completed 11/28/15
14. The Girl in Blue by P. G. Wodehouse (4) - completed 12/20/15

5cbl_tn
Editat: nov. 15, 2015, 7:21 pm

My Country ‘Tis of Thee - Books by American authors for msf59's American Author challenge

1. The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers (3.5) - completed 1/24/15
2. Daisy Miller by Henry James (4) - completed 2/16/15
3. The Master Butchers Singing Club (3.5) - completed 4/8/15
4. Main Street by Sinclair Lewis (2.5) - completed 5/24/15
5. Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner (5) - completed 6/30/15
6. Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury (4) - completed 10/11/15
7. The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver (4) - completed 11/13/15

6cbl_tn
Editat: des. 6, 2015, 1:02 pm

Old Days (Chicago) - Books for the HistoryCAT and/or Reading Through Time

1. In Search of a Homeland: The Story of the Aeneid by Penelope Lively; illustrated by Ian Andrew (3.5) - completed 1/2/15
2. Confessions by Augustine (4) - completed 2/28/15
3. Brendan the Navigator by Jean Fritz; illustrated by Enrico Arno (4.5) - completed 3/3/15
4. The Voyage of St. Brendan - completed 3/18/15
5. Around the World in a Hundred Years by Jean Fritz, illustrated by Anthony Bacon Venti (3) - completed 3/27/15
6. Brendan by Frederick Buechner (3) - completed 3/29/15
7. The Brendan Voyage by Tim Severin (5) - completed 3/31/15
8. Murder in the Cathedral by T. S. Eliot (4.5) - completed 4/26/15
9. The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pene du Bois (3) - completed 5/13/15
10. A Plague on Both Your Houses by Susanna Gregory (4) - completed 5/16/15
11. In Search of Ulster-Scots Land by Barry Aron Vann (2.5) - completed 7/16/15
12. Making Haste from Babylon by Nick Bunker (5) - completed 7/30/15
13. The Explorers Club by Nell Benjamin (2.5) - completed 10/24/15
14. Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip M. Hoose (5) - completed 12/6/15

7cbl_tn
Editat: oct. 4, 2015, 7:04 pm

In My Life (The Beatles) - Family history/genealogy. "Some are dead and some are living, In my life I've loved them all."

1. The Porcelain Thief: Searching the Middle Kingdom for Buried China by Huan Hsu (3.5) - completed 1/16/15
2. The Fiddler on Pantico Run by Joe Mozingo (4) - completed 4/26/15
3. The Peppered Moth by Margaret Drabble (4) - completed 5/30/15
4. The Story of Penelope Stout by Thomas Hale Streets (3.5) - completed 7/2/15
5. Penelope: The Story of the Half-Scalped Woman: A Narrative Poem by Penelope Scambly Schott (4) - completed 7/11/15

8cbl_tn
Editat: oct. 20, 2015, 6:57 pm

Daniel (Elton John) - Books about war

1. Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris (4.5) - WWII - - completed 1/25/15
2. The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane (2) - Civil War - completed 4/12/15
3. Letters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole (4.5) - WWI & WWII - completed 5/30/15
4. The Light in the Ruins by Chris Bohjalian (3) - WWII - completed 7/11/15
5. His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik (3.5) - Napoleonic Wars - completed 7/26/15
6. The Last Muster: Images of the Revolutionary War Generation by Maureen Taylor (3.5) - completed 7/26/15
7. Dead Man's Land by Robert Ryan (4) - WWI - completed 8/11/15
8. The Lie by Helen Dunmore (4) - WWI - completed 10/19/15

9cbl_tn
Editat: des. 31, 2015, 10:02 pm

Second Hand News (Fleetwood Mac) - Borrowed books

1. Shadows of the Workhouse by Jennifer Worth (3.5) - completed 2/26/15
2. Farewell to the East End by Jennifer Worth (4) - completed 3/20/15
3. Where Do You Think You're Going, Christopher Columbus? by Jean Fritz, illustrated by Margot Tomes (4) - completed 3/21/15
4. Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko (4.5) - completed 4/5/15
5. Spiced to Death by Peter King (3.5) - completed 5/10/15
6. Diaspora: A Very Short Introduction by Kevin kenny (4) - completed 6/7/15
7. Quietly in Their Sleep by Donna Leon (3.5) - completed 6/27/15
8. Something Special: A Story by Iris Murdoch (3) - completed 8/3/15
9. The Pox and the Covenant by Tony Williams (2.5) - completed 8/16/15
10. Cooks Overboard by Joanne Pence (4) - completed 9/6/15
11. The Railway Viaduct by Edward Marston (2) - completed 10/18/15
12. Amphigorey by Edward Gorey (2.5) - completed 10/29/15
13. The Gap of Time by Jeanette Winterson (4) - completed 11/15/15
14. Not a Creature Was Stirring by Jane Haddam (3.5) - completed 12/31/15

10cbl_tn
Editat: oct. 31, 2015, 9:17 pm

If You Could Read My Mind (Gordon Lightfoot) - Books picked for me. I'll probably try LT's Random feature to pick a random book from my library. If I do the Bingo Dog challenge I'll need someone to pick a book for that square.

1. A Timely Vision by Joyce Lavene and Jim Lavene (3) - picked by Dejah_Thoris - completed 2/8/15
2. Shaking the Family Tree by Buzzy Jackson (4) - picked by Familyhistorian - completed 4/18/15
3. The Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson (3.5) - SantaThing - completed 10/31/15

11cbl_tn
Editat: des. 31, 2015, 9:42 pm

Fantasy (Earth, Wind & Fire) - Books for the SFFFCAT
1. Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld (4) - completed 1/11/15
2. The City & the City by China Mieville (4) - completed 3/24/15
3. Briar Rose by Jane Yolen (3.5) - completed 4/10/15
4. Doomsday Book by Connie Willis (5) - completed 5/4/15
5. Kindred by Octavia Butler (4.5) - completed 6/15/15
6. Time and Again by Jack Finney (4) - completed 6/22/15
7. Catwings by Ursula K. Le Guin ; illustrated by S. D. Schindler (4) - completed 7/1/15
8. Catwings Return by Ursula K. Le Guin; illustrated by S. D. Schindler (3.5) - completed 7/1/15
9. Wonderful Alexander and the Catwings by Ursula K. Le Guin; illustrated by S. D. Schindler (4.5) - completed 7/2/15
10. Jane On Her Own by Ursula K. Le Guin; illustrated by S. D. Schindler(4) - completed 7/2/15
11. Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman ; illustrated by Brett Helquist (4) - completed 7/9/15
12. Out of the Silent Planet by C. S. Lewis (3.5) - completed 8/31/15
13. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster; illustrations by Jules Feiffer (3.5) - completed 11/3/15
14. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling (4) - completed 12/24/15

12cbl_tn
Editat: oct. 4, 2015, 7:09 pm

Sing (Gary Barlow & the Commonwealth Band) - Books for my Commonwealth challenge

1. Baking Cakes in Kigali by Gaile Parkin (4) - Rwanda - completed 1/23/15
2. The Trembling of a Leaf by W. Somerset Maugham (4.5) - Samoa - completed 4/14/15
3. King of the Cannibals: The Story of John G. Paton, Missionary to the New Hebrides (Vanuatu) by Jim Cromarty (2.5) - completed 6/19/15

13cbl_tn
Editat: des. 12, 2015, 8:35 am

People (Barbra Streisand) - Biographies

1. Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth (4.5) - completed 1/12/15
2. Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff (3.5) - completed 1/31/15
3. Jesus Loves Me This I Know: The Remarkable Story Behind the World's Most Beloved Children's Song by Robert J. Morgan (4.5) - completed 3/10/15
4. Thomas Becket: Warrior, Priest, Rebel by John Guy (3.5) - completed 5/24/15
5. Shakespeare by Anthony Burgess (4) - completed 6/16/15
6. The Black Count by Tom Reiss (4) - completed 10/5/15
7. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (4) - completed 12/10/15

Possibilities:
Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth
Thomas Becket: Warrior, Priest, Rebel by John Guy
The Black Count by Tom Reiss
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Cleopatra by Stacy Schiff
Shakespeare by Anthony Burgess

14cbl_tn
Editat: des. 21, 2015, 9:33 pm

Everybody's Talkin' (Harry Nilsson) - Audiobooks

1. Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare (4.5) - completed 1/31/15
2. 1984 by George Orwell (3) - completed 2/20/15
3. Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh (4) - completed 3/10/15
4. The Time Machine by H. G. Wells (2.5) - completed 6/20/15
5. A Cold Day in Paradise by Steve Hamilton (3) - completed 8/4/15
6. What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell (4.5) - completed 8/24/15
7. And Then You Dye by Monica Ferris (3) - completed 8/30/15
8. Tempest-Tost by Robertson Davies (2) - completed 9/19/15
9. Deadly Heat by Richard Castle (3.5) - completed 9/30/15
10. Dracula by Bram Stoker (4) - completed 10/11/15
11. American Classics by Amy Tan et al. (4) - completed 10/23/15
12. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein (4.5) - completed 11/29/15
13. The Walnut Tree by Charles Todd (3) - completed 12/21/15

15cbl_tn
Editat: des. 16, 2015, 8:55 pm

Sweet Little Mystery (Wet Wet Wet) - Mysteries

1. Through the Grinder by Cleo Coyle (2.5) - completed 1/4/15
2. Glazed Murder by Jessica Beck (3) - completed 3/1/15
3. A Killer Plot by Ellery Adams (3) - completed 3/15/15
4. Real Murders by Charlaine Harris (3) - completed 4/8/15
5. Fatally Frosted by Jessica Beck (2.5) - completed 5/9/15
6. Death at Windsor Castle by C. C. Benison (3.5) - completed 6/15/15
7. Oscar Wilde and a Death of No Importance by Gyles Brandreth (3) - completed 7/19/15
8. The Dogs of Rome by Conor Fitzgerald (3) - completed 8/2/15
9. Another Man's Moccasins by Craig Johnson (4) - completed 8/22/15
10. The Dark Horse by Craig Johnson (4) - completed 10/4/15
11. The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline by Nancy Springer (4) - completed 10/14/15
12. A Rare Murder in Princeton by Ann Waldron (1.5) - completed 11/7/15
13. Junkyard Dogs by Craig Johnson (3.5) - completed 12/6/15
14. Halfway House by Ellery Queen (3.5) - completed 12/16/15

16cbl_tn
Editat: des. 31, 2015, 1:50 pm

New Kid In Town (The Eagles) - New books & ARCs

1. Beethoven's Tenth by Brian Harvey (4) - completed 1/17/15
2. Whiskers of the Lion by P. L. Gaus (5) - completed 2/21/15
3. That's Not English: Britishisms, Americanisms, and What Our English Says About Us by Erin Moore (3.5) - completed 3/14/15
4. Washing the Dead by Michelle Brafman (4) - completed 4/30/15
5. Shirley, I Jest! by Cindy Williams with Dave Smitherman (3.5) - completed 5/20/15
6. Haitian Graves by Vicki Delany (2) - completed 6/13/15
7. Postcards from the Middle East by Chris Naylor (4) - completed 8/8/15
8. There's a Hamster in the Dashboard: A Life in Pets by David W. Berner (3) - completed 8/25/15
9. The Witch of Lime Street by David Jaher (2.5) - completed 8/29/15
10. Surviving Cissy: My Family Affair of Life in Hollywood by Kathy Garver (2.5) - completed 10/12/15
11. Corridors of the Night by Anne Perry (3) - completed 11/17/15
12. The Gratitude Diaries by Janice Kaplan (3.5) - completed 11/22/15
13. The Strangers We Became by Cynthia Kaplan Shamash (3.5) - completed 12/23/15

17cbl_tn
Editat: nov. 21, 2015, 10:29 am

Bonus Category: Free Bird (Lynyrd Skynyrd) - Books I want to read that don't fit other categories. :)

1. Tea Time for the Traditionally Built by Alexander McCall Smith (4) - completed 1/1/15
2. The Eustace Diamonds by Anthony Trollope (3.5) - completed 2/12/15
3. K by Mary Roberts Rinehart (2.5) - completed 4/20/15
4. Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth (3.5) - completed 5/31/15
5. Phineas Redux by Anthony Trollope (4) - completed 9/13/15
6. The Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare (2.5) - completed 11/9/15
7. When London Was Capital of America by Julie Flavell (3.5) - completed 11/20/15

18cbl_tn
Editat: oct. 4, 2015, 7:18 pm

I have completed all but two categories and I have 5 books left to complete the challenge. That sounds doable, but I'm not sure I'm going to complete either of those categories. It depends on how much "double dipping" I can do for the CATs and the British and American author challenges. I would at least like to finish my Commonwealth category since I've stalled on that challenge this year. Next year's GeoCAT should help me get back on track with the Commonwealth challenge.

19cbl_tn
oct. 4, 2015, 8:27 pm

Book #10 in my Sweet Little Mystery category: The Dark Horse by Craig Johnson

The sheriff of a neighboring county asks Absaroka County, Wyoming, sheriff Walt Longmire to house a prisoner awaiting trial to relieve overcrowding in the neighboring county's jail. Mary Barsad has been accused of murdering her husband after he deliberately set their barn on fire and killed her horses. It doesn't take long for Longmire to develop doubts about the prisoner's guilt. After securing permission from the sheriff with jurisdiction in that county, Walt goes undercover to see if he can discover additional evidence that would point to someone else's guilt.

Readers learned about Walt's experience in Vietnam in the last book in the series. This book reveals more of Walt's back story since the murder occurred near Walt's childhood home. Walt is largely on his own while he's undercover so the regular supporting characters don't appear as frequently this time. Unfortunately, the little we get of Vic is too much. I much prefer Walt in the company of Dog, horses, and the young boy he met during this investigation.

4 stars

20MissWatson
oct. 5, 2015, 4:56 am

Happy new thread!

21cbl_tn
oct. 5, 2015, 5:46 am

>20 MissWatson: Thank you!

22Roro8
oct. 5, 2015, 5:54 am

Nice new thread. You are doing well to be so close to finishing your challenge. I hope the double dipping all falls into place for you.

23dudes22
oct. 5, 2015, 7:05 am

Happy new thread! And so close to being done!

24cbl_tn
oct. 5, 2015, 5:21 pm

>22 Roro8: >23 dudes22: Thanks! I've already given myself permission not to finish those categories. I'm enjoying my reading this year. I don't want to give up something I'm excited about reading just for the sake of completing a category.

25mamzel
oct. 5, 2015, 5:40 pm

Yay! New thread!
And congrats for almost finishing your challenge!

26cbl_tn
oct. 5, 2015, 7:40 pm

>25 mamzel: Thanks!

27RidgewayGirl
oct. 6, 2015, 2:38 pm

>24 cbl_tn: I like your attitude.

28VivienneR
oct. 6, 2015, 5:22 pm

Congratulations on a new thread and for nearing completion of the challenge. Your plan for minor adjustment means you will finish with a sense of accomplishment. Well done!

29cbl_tn
oct. 6, 2015, 7:43 pm

>27 RidgewayGirl: :)

>28 VivienneR: Thanks! I almost included a group reads categories instead of the random picks. If I'd done that, finishing wouldn't be a problem. Oh, well!

30rabbitprincess
oct. 6, 2015, 7:55 pm

Hurray, new thread! Can't believe it's already October! How time does fly.

31cbl_tn
oct. 6, 2015, 8:32 pm

>30 rabbitprincess: I know! And I haven't started my Christmas shopping yet!

32cbl_tn
oct. 6, 2015, 8:34 pm

Book #6 in my People category: The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal and the Real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss

Most people recognize the name “Alexandre Dumas” thanks to the enduring popularity of The Three Musketeers. Many people are aware that the novelist Alexandre Dumas had a son Alexandre who was a playwright as well as a novelist. Far fewer are familiar with the original Alexandre Dumas. He was born in what is now Haiti to a French father (a marquis, no less) and a slave mother. He had the great fortune to live in France during a period of great freedom for Africans and people of mixed race. He had the great misfortune to be a contemporary of Napoleon, who took away those liberties when he rose to power.

The first person intrudes at several points in the narrative. This wouldn't be remarkable in an autobiography, but it's unexpected in a biography. The first person passages reveal Reiss's extraordinary efforts to access primary sources that had lain untouched in archives and repositories for two centuries. (Some of the richest sources were stored in a safe whose combination had been lost at the death of the only person who knew it. Thanks to Reiss's persistence, the safe was blown open and Reiss was permitted to view its contents.) The newly discovered primary sources will interest scholars, while Reiss's vivid narrative will appeal to general readers and fans of The Count of Monte Cristo and other action and adventure novels inspired by the life of General Dumas.

4 stars

33lkernagh
oct. 8, 2015, 5:55 pm

Happy new thread!

34cbl_tn
oct. 9, 2015, 5:46 am

>33 lkernagh: Thanks Lori!

35-Eva-
Editat: oct. 10, 2015, 9:02 pm

Happy new thread!! Great to see The Black Count got 4 stars - it's one I have on my to-read list for sure!

36cbl_tn
oct. 10, 2015, 9:58 pm

>35 -Eva-: Thanks Eva!

37cbl_tn
oct. 11, 2015, 7:27 pm

Book #6 in my My Country 'Tis of Thee category: Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
SFFF Cat

In the in-between month of October, a strange carnival appears overnight in a small Illinois town. Two almost-14-year-old boys, hovering between childhood and manhood, find themselves both attracted and repelled by the proprietors of the carnival and their collection of freaks. When the boys see more than they are meant to see, they discover the evil at the heart of this strange carnival. The boys instinctively hide, but the evil pursues them through the town. Help and hope come from an unexpected source.

This is a powerful story of temptation, sin, good and evil, friendship, and love. The lesson here is that the struggle between good and evil is a war, not a battle. Family and friends can make us stronger if we are willing to let them share our burdens. It's a moral lesson, but not a religious one, as it presupposes that we are able to resist temptation and sin by our own will.

”...Sometimes the man who looks happiest in town, with the biggest smile, is the one carrying the biggest load of sin. There are smiles and smiles; learn to tell the dark variety from the light. The seal-barker, the laugh-shouter, half the time he's covering up. He's had his fun and he's guilty. And men do love sin, Will, oh how they love it, never doubt, in all shapes, sizes, colors, and smells. Times come when troughs, not tables, suit our appetites. Hear a man too loudly praising others, and look to wonder if he didn't just get up from the sty. On the other hand, that unhappy, pale, put-upon man walking by, who looks all guilt and sin, why, often that's your good man with a capital G, Will. For being good is a fearful occupation; men strain at it and sometimes break in two...”

4 stars

38cbl_tn
Editat: oct. 12, 2015, 7:52 pm

Book #10 in my Everybody's Talkin' category: Dracula by Bram Stoker
SFFF Cat

Although I hadn't read this novel before, it held few surprises for me. The basic plot is part of popular culture. (My first exposure may have been the Gilligan's Island parody episode, and my high school choir performed the musical parody Dracula, Baby my senior year.) What did surprise me is that it is an epistolary novel. I listened to a Naxos audio version recorded by a cast of voice actors. It's an excellent production, and it turned out to be a great way to experience this book. The narrators read with such conviction that I was able to overlook some of the dated scientific material (e.g., about blood transfusions). I liked this book much more than Frankenstein.

4 stars

Next up in audio: The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline by Nancy Springer

39cbl_tn
oct. 13, 2015, 11:00 am

Book #10 in my New Kid in Town category: Surviving Cissy: My Family Affair of Life in Hollywood by Kathy Garver

Before the Brady Bunch, there was Family Affair. I loved the show because it featured children just slightly older than me. I loved their New York apartment. I loved the children's relationship with Uncle Bill. And I loved that the twins had a big sister, Cissy. I wanted a big sister just like her.

Actress Kathy Garver played the role of Cissy for the entire run of the series. She had been a child actress and had years of acting experience behind her when she was cast in the role of Cissy. Ms. Garver's autobiography covers her entire career, from her first movie experience as a stand-in for the child actress in The Night of the Hunter to her most recent stage and teaching experience.

Sadly, tabloid covers keep shoppers up to date on the failures and problems of former child stars. Kathy Garver isn't tabloid fodder. She had a stable family life as a child, she studied acting as an adult, and she continues to find employment in a profession she still loves. I enjoyed reading about Ms. Garver's experiences with Family Affair, about her friendships with other child starts, and about the fields of voice over acting and audiobook narration.

The high quality paper in the hardcover edition shows the many photographs to good effect. However, the writing quality doesn't meet the same standard. The text reads more like a draft than like a finished product. The text describes events that occurred in July 2015. I received a hardcover copy – not an advanced reading copy – in mid-September. Figuring in printing and shipping time, there must have been little to no editing of the final draft. Ms. Garver has had an interesting career in several areas of the entertainment business, and it's too bad that her writing didn't get better editorial treatment.

This review is based on a complimentary copy provided by the publisher through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.

2.5 stars

40-Eva-
oct. 13, 2015, 1:42 pm

>38 cbl_tn:
I listened to a full-cast version as well on my last reread and I'd recommend everyone approach it in that manner - the different voices just made it come alive so much more for me than a "regular" read. I listened to the Audible version with Alan Cumming and Tim Curry and it was amazing!

41mamzel
oct. 13, 2015, 2:48 pm

>40 -Eva-: That sounds like fun. Which parts did they each take?

42cbl_tn
oct. 13, 2015, 2:49 pm

>40 -Eva-: Oh, I bet that's an excellent version! Makes me want to listen to it all over again.

43-Eva-
oct. 13, 2015, 4:27 pm

The "top" parts are as follows:
Alan Cumming as Dr. Seward
Simon Vance as Jonathan Harker
Katy Kellgren as Mina Murray/Harker
Susan Duerden as Lucy Westenra
Tim Curry as Van Helsing

It's a really great version!

44LittleTaiko
oct. 14, 2015, 7:56 pm

>38 cbl_tn: - That is my choice this month for the SFFF Cat and I keep putting it off. Looking forward to more after reading your review.

45cbl_tn
oct. 17, 2015, 8:22 am

>43 -Eva-: I just listened to a children's/YA mystery read by Kathryn Kellgren. She's one of my favorite audio readers!

>44 LittleTaiko: Have you started it yet? It's a much better book than I expected!

I didn't do as much reading as I hoped to this week. It's finally turning colder as autumn settles in, and I always seem to get sick whenever the weather changes. Congestion seems to want to settle in my chest, but I've got some medicine left over from my bout with bronchitis earlier this year that is keeping it at bay for now. I did finish a short audiobook this week. I hope to finish at least one of my current reads this weekend, and possibly another audiobook.

I have a guest dog today and tomorrow. Stella's parents are away for the weekend. Adrian enjoys her company. She's been here enough that this is a second home for her, and she's no trouble. I put some banana bread in the oven right before she arrived and I'm waiting for it to finish baking so I can have some for breakfast.

46cbl_tn
oct. 17, 2015, 8:49 am

Book #11 in my Sweet Little Mystery category: The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline by Nancy Springer
HistoryCAT

Fourteen-year-old Enola Holmes has been avoiding her older brothers, Sherlock and Mycroft, since their mother's disappearance a year ago. She has no intention of ending up in a boarding school. She's been living in London in disguise. Now her landlady, Mrs. Tupper, has been kidnapped, and Enola is on the trail of the kidnappers. Her search uncovers a connection to the Crimean War and “the Lady with the Lamp”. It also brings her dangerously close to her brother, Sherlock, who is also on the trail of the kidnappers. Can Enola rescue her landlady without being caught by her brother and sent to boarding school?

Enola Holmes is a smart, spunky heroine who will appeal particularly to tween girls. Her attitude and behavior reminds me of Amelia Peabody. The stories lean more to action and adventure to appeal to middle grade readers. I listened to the audio version read by Katherine Kellgren, one of my favorite audiobook readers. She perfectly captures the humorous melodrama of the story.

4 stars

Next up in audio: American Classics (short story collection)

47cbl_tn
oct. 17, 2015, 4:46 pm

Lori and I are back from the Asian festival. (Well, I'm back. Lori's still on her way home.) it was disappointing. By the time we got there, it was so crowded that we couldn't see anything. The festival was located in an alley away from the rest of the park and there just wasn't enough space for the booths, people, and stage presentations. We didn't stay very long. We found a place to eat lunch, then we drove out west and stopped at a pet store, a shoe store, and Trader Joe's. I came jome with a pair of New Balance walking shoes and a new winter coat for Adrian. He's put on just enough weight that his old one is a little too snug.

48thornton37814
Editat: oct. 17, 2015, 9:46 pm

>47 cbl_tn: She failed to mention that the guest dog bit me. Glad I had on jeans so it didn't penetrate. My kittens got Advantage II for Kittens, some colorful balls, and a couple of scratching boards.

49cbl_tn
oct. 17, 2015, 11:18 pm

>48 thornton37814: I need to figure out how to teach the guest dog better manners. She's stayed with me enough that she's become territorial about my house.

50cbl_tn
oct. 18, 2015, 1:26 pm

Book #11 in my Second Hand News category: The Railway Viaduct by Edward Marston
HistoryCAT

When the dead body of an unidentified man is flung from a train as it crosses Sankey Viaduct, the railway operators quickly call in Robert Colbeck of Scotland Yard. His previous successes at solving crimes connected with rail travel have earned him the nickname “The Railway Detective”. This time Colbeck's investigation will take him to France, where a British contractor is constructing a new rail line for the French.

This book's plot feels forced. The author seems more interested in providing readers with a detailed history of railway engineering than in constructing a detailed puzzle for readers to solve along with the fictional detective. The detective is becoming more obnoxious in each subsequent novel in the series. I believe I'll stop with this one.

2 stars

51cbl_tn
oct. 18, 2015, 1:34 pm

Here's a picture of the Sankey Viaduct, location of the murder in The Railway Viaduct:

Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

52cbl_tn
oct. 20, 2015, 6:57 pm

Book #8 in my Daniel category: The Lie by Helen Dunmore

Everything has changed when Daniel Branwell returns to Cornwall after fighting in the trenches of France in World War I. Daniel's mother has died, and with no other family and no home, he lives in a makeshift shelter near the home of an elderly, reclusive woman. Daniel suffers from PTSD, and he's haunted by memories of the war and by the ghost of his childhood friend, Frederick, who did not survive the war. Although he avoids most people, Daniel reestablishes a relationship with Frederick's sister, Felicia, a war widow at just 20 years old. Preferring his established routines to uncertainty, Daniel lies to Felicia about his present circumstances. Only later does he realize that he's committed himself to maintaining a certain appearance which will become increasingly difficult.

Daniel's fragile mental state makes him a somewhat unreliable narrator. Is Daniel's PTSD episodic or unremitting? Just what was Daniel's lie? Was it what he tells readers it was? Or is his entire story a lie? Can readers trust anything he tells us? This book will stimulate discussion about war and its management, its psychological effects on veterans, social class and military life and experience, and society's responsibilities for veterans.

4 stars

53cbl_tn
oct. 23, 2015, 9:40 pm

Book #11 in my Everybody's Talkin' category: American Classics by Amy Tan et al.

This audio collection pairs short stories by well-regarded American authors with (mostly) well-known actors. Most of the stories are written in first person, giving the presentations the feel of a dramatic monologue. My favorite stories in the collection are “Rules of the Game” by Amy Tan and “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker. The best performance is René Auberjonois' delivery of Edgar Allan Poe's “The Black Cat”. Stockard Channing's performance of Eudora Welty's “Why I Live at the P.O.” is nearly as good. “Where Have You Been, Where Are You Going?” by Joyce Carol Oates is the only story that fell flat. It's also one of just two stories written in the third person, so perhaps that has something to do with it.

The complete contents:
“Rules of the Game” by Amy Tan, performed by Freda Foh Shen
“Game” by Donald Barthelme, performed by David Strathairn
“Why I Live at the P.O. by Eudora Welty, performed by Stockard Channing
“The Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe, performed by René Auberjonois
“Where Have You Been, Where Are You Going?” by Joyce Carol Oates, performed by Christine Baranski
“At the Anarchist's Convention” by John Sayles, performed by Jerry Stiller
“Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, performed by Carmen De Lavallade
“Christmas Is a Sad Season for the Poor” by John Cheever, performed by Malachy McCourt

Recommended for short story and American lit fans.

4 stars

Next up in audio: The Explorers Club by Nell Benjamin

54cbl_tn
oct. 24, 2015, 9:26 pm

Book #13 in my Old Days category: The Explorers Club by Nell Benjamin
HistoryCAT

The Explorers Club is a farce in which a scientific society in Victorian England is presented with its first female candidate for membership. The level of humor is juvenile, and the sexism and racism are too overdone to be funny. Some of the humor is apparently physical, which doesn't translate well to an audio format. The most worthwhile part of the recording is the 20-25 minute concluding interview with author Eileen Pollack, who talks about her undergraduate experience as one of two female physics students at Yale.

2.5 stars

Next up in audio: Corridors of the Night by Anne Perry

55cbl_tn
oct. 25, 2015, 9:16 pm

My friend who volunteers for the Humane Society talked me into going with her this afternoon to exhibit at the Open Streets Knoxville event. We had a Humane Society dog with us - a senior Boston terrier with a temperament very much like Adrian's. She got along well with people of all ages and with the dogs from other rescue organizations. I hated taking her back to the shelter, but when we got there we found out that her adoption had been finalized while we were gone and her new family was picking her up within the hour. The event was fun. We were right next to the belly dancers. That was ... interesting.

56-Eva-
oct. 25, 2015, 9:37 pm

Yey for forever family!

I love belly dancers! I went with a friend to her belly dancing workout and it was so much fun. Until the next day when I tried to get out of bed and realized just how hard it works your abdominal muscles... Ouch.

57cbl_tn
oct. 26, 2015, 8:56 am

>56 -Eva-: The women sure looked like they were having fun. The leader seems to be a good teacher.

While we were at the Humane Society yesterday, my friend showed me one of the kittens she recently fostered that still hadn't been adopted. I heard from her earlier this morning and found out that the kitten was adopted yesterday after we left!

58cbl_tn
oct. 27, 2015, 8:32 pm

Book #11 in my God Save the Queen category: The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet by David Mitchell

When clerk Jacob De Zoet arrives in Dejima, an artificial island offshore from Nagasaki, he intends to make his fortune, return to the Netherlands in five years' time, and marry his sweetheart, Anna. However, Jacob is a principled man who believes in the tenets of his faith. He soon learns how costly principles can be in a trading system that thrives on corruption. His devotion to Anne is tested by his infatuation with a Japanese midwife - an infatuation that has unforeseen repercussions that will affect both the Dutch traders and the Japanese.

Setting, characters, and plot combine to make this an unforgettable novel. My only complaint is that some of the action takes place outside the book's pages. The midwife Orita is the only female among the book's central characters and I would have liked more of her story than Mitchell gives his readers. If Mitchell would write more historical novels I would happily read them.

4.5 stars

59thornton37814
oct. 27, 2015, 8:42 pm

>58 cbl_tn: I went for the convenience of what was available instead of going for that one which had been on my wish list at one point. I guess I lived to regret that decision since I abandoned the one I read.

60cbl_tn
oct. 27, 2015, 8:43 pm

>59 thornton37814: I was able to get this one from Overdrive.

61thornton37814
oct. 28, 2015, 9:28 pm

>60 cbl_tn: It wasn't available when I looked. I got Cloud Atlas from the statewide version of Overdrive. It was the only one available at the time.

62cbl_tn
oct. 29, 2015, 5:27 pm

Book #12 in my Second Hand News category: Amphigorey by Edward Gorey

Amphigorey was all the rage when I was in high school, but I don't remember reading it then. I've always loved Gorey's opening sequence for Masterpiece Mystery. I finally got around to reading Amphigorey and I decided I'd left it too late. Some of the humor is harmless. The black humor about missing and abused children is hard to digest in this era of Amber alerts. I still love the gothic drawings, but the accompanying text? Not so much.

2.5 stars

63cbl_tn
oct. 31, 2015, 3:37 pm

I've just had probably my only trick-or-treater. My neighbors across the street have a granddaughter in 4th or 5th grade. She just dropped by to collect for herself and her toddler brother. One child down the road has lots of allergies so I doubt she gets to go trick-or-treating. There's a family just down the road with a baby too young to trick-or-treat. It's a dead-end road so we don't get outside traffic.

I finished Northanger Abbey this afternoon (Val McDermid's modern retelling), with a review to come later. It's my favorite of the three Austen Project books I've read. I've got one more book I want to finish today so it will count for October - The Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson. I only have one chapter left but it's a long chapter.

64-Eva-
oct. 31, 2015, 4:56 pm

>58 cbl_tn:
I'm currently reading his Slade House, but the jury is still out - I haven't read far enough to understand where we're going. :) I do like the writing style.

65cbl_tn
oct. 31, 2015, 8:37 pm

>64 -Eva-: It was my first Mitchell. I'll try one of his others but they'll be more of a stretch for me. I already have a love for historical fiction so Jacob De Zoet had that going for it from the get-go.

66cbl_tn
oct. 31, 2015, 8:38 pm

Book #11 in my Daisy Jane category: Northanger Abbey by Val McDermid

17-year-old Cat Morland, the oldest daughter of a Dorset vicar, is having the time of her life while accompanying her childless friends and neighbors, the Allens, to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Her hosts send her to dancing lessons to learn the dances for the Highland Ball. She is intrigued by her partner, the handsome Henry Tilney. However, she is soon distracted by her new friend, Bella Thorpe, who she soon learns is seeing her older brother, James. Bella's brother, Johnny, a friend of James's from Cambridge, soon latches on to Cat, not recognizing that his attentions are both unwelcome and hindering any further development in her relationship with Henry Tilney. Fortunately, Henry and his sister, Ellie, persevere in their attempts at cultivating her friendship. The three find that they have a lot in common, including a love for the Hebridean Harpies horror novels. Cat is thrilled when the Tilneys invite her to stay at their home, Northanger Abbey, where the environment and the odd behavior of the Tilney's father, General Tilney, resemble the vampire stories Cat loves so much.

The Edinburgh Fringe Festival is a good substitute for the social milieu of Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey. It's hard to imagine this retelling working well in a different setting. At 17, Cat seems a bit young for a lawyer in training. However, it's not nearly as challenging as the difficulty Joanna Trollope faced with a plausible relationship storyline for Marianne and Brandon in her updating of Sense & Sensibility. The texting and Facebooking seem natural in this setting, although I wouldn't notice if McDermid didn't strike the right tone here. This is the most enjoyable of the three Austen Project novels I've read so far, and I think it will satisfy many of Austen's fans. McDermid successfully blends her own voice with Austen's original story. She's set a high bar for the remaining three novels in the project.

4 stars

67cbl_tn
oct. 31, 2015, 9:18 pm

Book #3 in my If You Could Read My Mind category: The Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson
SantaThing gift
RandomCAT

I read a few books on dog care and training before I adopted a 2-year-old Shih Tzu two years ago. I hadn't had a dog since elementary school so my experience was rusty. This book's explanation of dog motivation and behavior makes more sense to me, and confirms things that I've observed while living with a dog for the last two years. Dogs learn behavior through classical and operant conditioning. This happens - in both directions - whether or not the human owners are aware of it. Trainers can use these learning principles to encourage desired behavior and discourage unwanted behavior.

I had instinctively been conditioning my dog to do things in certain places or at certain times (for example, crate training) by offering positive reinforcement. Donaldson's book provides explanations and describes techniques that will help me to improve my still fairly raw skills. Now that I've read the book, I think it would help to see the training techniques in action, so I've ordered one of her DVDs.

The book is essentially self-published by Donaldson's Academy for Dog Trainers. The valuable content is worthy of professional editing and design to eliminate repetitiveness and make it more visually appealing.

3.5 stars

68cbl_tn
oct. 31, 2015, 9:39 pm

October Recap

Daisy Jane
by America - Books by, about, or inspired by Jane Austen – 11/5
Northanger Abbey by Val McDermid (4)

Mystery Lady by Billy Ocean - Books by Agatha Christie – 5/5

God Save the Queen - Books by British authors for PaulCranswick’s British Author challenge – 11/5
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet by David Mitchell (4.5)

My Country ‘Tis of Thee - Books by American authors for msf59's American Author challenge – 6/5
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury (4)

Old Days by Chicago - Books read for the HistoryCAT and/or Reading Through Time – 13/5
*The Explorers Club by Nell Benjamin (2.5)

In My Life by The Beatles - Family history/genealogy – 5/5

Daniel by Elton John - Books about war – 8/5
The Lie by Helen Dunmore (4)

Second Hand News by Fleetwood Mac - Borrowed books – 12/5
The Railway Viaduct by Edward Marston (2)
Amphigorey by Edward Gorey (2.5)

If You Could Read My Mind by Gordon Lightfoot - Books picked for me – 3/5
The Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson (3.5)

Fantasy by Earth, Wind & Fire - Books for the SFFFCAT – 12/5

Sing by Gary Barlow & the Commonwealth Band- Books for my Commonwealth challenge – 3/5

People by Barbra Streisand – Biographies – 6/5
The Black Count by Tom Reiss (4)

Everybody’s Talkin’ by Harry Nilsson – Audiobooks – 11/5
*Dracula by Bram Stoker (4)
*American Classics by Amy Tan et al. (4)

Sweet Little Mystery by Wet Wet Wet – Mysteries – 11/5
The Dark Horse by Craig Johnson (4)
*The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline by Nancy Springer (4)

New Kid In Town by the Eagles - New books& ARCs – 10/5
Surviving Cissy: My Family Affair of Life in Hollywood by Kathy Garver (2.5)

Bonus category: Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd - Free reading

*Audiobooks

Best of the month: The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet by David Mitchell
Worst of the month: The Railway Viaduct by Edward Marston

Physical books – owned: 3
Physical books – borrowed: 2
Ebooks – borrowed: 5
Audiobooks – owned: 3
Audiobooks – borrowed: 1

69cbl_tn
nov. 3, 2015, 6:02 pm

Book #13 in my Fantasy category: The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster; illustrated by Jules Feiffer
SFF Cat

There once was a boy named Milo who didn't know what to do with himself—not just sometimes, but always.

When he was in school he longed to be out, and when he was out he longed to be in. On the way he thought about coming home, and coming home he thought about going. Wherever he was he wished he were somewhere else, and when he got there he wondered why he'd bothered. Nothing really interested him—least of all the things that should have.


With the aid of a magical tollbooth, Milo travels through the Lands Beyond. He picks up a couple of travel companions along the way, and together they set out to rescue the princesses Rhyme and Reason from the Castle in the Air. By the end of his quest, Milo has learned so many ways to fill his time and use it wisely that he should never run out of interesting things to do. The allegorical story isn't quite subtle enough for my taste, and possibly wouldn't have been even if I had read it as a child. I find that messages stick with me better if I have to work just a bit harder to see them.

If my great-grandfather had lived long enough, this is a book he might have bought for his great-grandchildren. My mother frequently quoted his advice to her: “Wherever you are, be all there.” I think he would have given the same advice to Milo.

3.5 stars

70DeltaQueen50
nov. 4, 2015, 5:25 pm

Carrie, you've done well with the BAC and the AAC, I only lasted about half the year and then found myself slipping behind and eventually giving up entirely. I think I will be able to participate in the Canadian Author Challenge for six of next years months. There are so many great challenges to get involved with here on LT!

71cbl_tn
nov. 4, 2015, 6:33 pm

>70 DeltaQueen50: Thanks Judy! It helps that most of the authors were already on my TBR and/or wishlist. I haven't made as much progress on my Commonwealth Challenge this year as I had hoped, but maybe next year's GeoCAT repeat will get me going with it again.

72DeltaQueen50
nov. 5, 2015, 5:43 pm

I think we both have about the same amount of countries left in the Commonwealth Challenge. I am hoping to have a few Commonwealth reads over the next couple of months, but as you say, there should be plenty of chances next year.

73cbl_tn
nov. 6, 2015, 4:51 pm

I received an inspiring email at work today that I thought I'd share here:

He played with the team through 1983, its last season in Fort Lauderdale. For the white grapes, Chardonnay is the most common. He was the only son of the couple and was educated privately. These systems only produce still images. TXE2 contained about 100,000 reeds. Jews alike in an informal manner. No decision had been made on Swansea. The most lucrative part of the business turned out to be barnstorming displays promoting short recreational plane rides. May 14, 1966, Pages 1, 11. Jersey City Machine Co. An internal memo at the hospital told employees to look for a tall man with wires protruding from his clothing.

It seems to be composed of sentences pulled from random Wikipedia articles. Even weirder, there weren't any hypertext links trying to lure me to a web site.

74lkernagh
nov. 6, 2015, 10:04 pm

Ha, we get a fair bit of unusual 'spam' emails at work but that is definitely something different. ;-)

75cbl_tn
nov. 6, 2015, 10:24 pm

>74 lkernagh: It's the most entertaining spam I've had recently, but it's not very good from the spammer's point of view!

76cbl_tn
nov. 7, 2015, 7:03 pm

Book #12 in my Sweet Little Mystery category: A Rare Murder in Princeton by Ann Waldron
RandomCAT

McLeod Dulaney is back in Princeton to teach a writing course. Her friend, George, has invited her to stay in the guest room of the house he recently bought. On McLeod's first evening in Princeton, George introduces her to his mentor, Nathaniel Ledbetter, who is now the director of Rare Books and Special Collections at the university. Over dinner, Ledbetter tells George and McLeod about the murder of the former owner of George's house. He also interests McLeod into researching the papers of author Henry van Dyke. McLeod begins spending time in Rare Books and Special Collections and gets to know several of its employees, regular visitors, and a major donor. After McLeod discovers a murdered corpse upon her arrival at the archive one morning, her mind won't rest until she has solved the murder. The discovery of some valuable items in a box in George's garage provides an additional puzzle for McLeod to solve.

The university setting focusing on rare books and special collections provided the only point of interest for me. The book is poorly written and the plot is unfocused. There are too many mysteries, too many characters, too much aimless dialogue, and too few clues. McLeod's investigative methods are limited to going out to lunch with suspects or cooking for suspects. Although this doesn't claim to be a culinary mystery, recipes are provided. I doubt I'll pick up another book in this series.

1.5 stars

77cbl_tn
nov. 8, 2015, 7:40 pm

This afternoon Adrian and I went with Stella and her family to the fall festival at one of the local animal shelters. Adrian and Stella enjoyed the smells and meeting other dogs. I was able to buy a few Christmas gifts from the vendors there. And Adrian has lots of free treats to enjoy in the next month or so.

One of the dogs Adrian met today is Smokey the Bluetick hound, the official mascot of the University of Tennessee. Please note that Adrian was dressed appropriately in his football sweater. :)

78-Eva-
nov. 8, 2015, 7:53 pm

>77 cbl_tn:
They both look very stylish!

79cbl_tn
nov. 8, 2015, 8:03 pm

>78 -Eva-: Don't they?! Smokey is a legend in this part of the country. I'm thrilled to have a photo of Adrian with him.

80rabbitprincess
nov. 8, 2015, 8:56 pm

Hurray, Adrian met a celebrity! Did he get a paw-tograph? ;)

81cbl_tn
nov. 8, 2015, 9:48 pm

>80 rabbitprincess: No paw-tographs today. I forgot my paper and ink pad. ;-)

82Roro8
nov. 8, 2015, 11:48 pm

>77 cbl_tn:, he looks extremely dog-fashionable!

83cbl_tn
nov. 9, 2015, 7:52 am

>82 Roro8: Thanks! He happily wears sweaters and scarves. He draws the line at hats. :-)

84cbl_tn
nov. 9, 2015, 9:19 pm

Book #6 in my Free Bird category: The Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare

This is not one of Shakespeare's best plays. It seems like a mashup of Othello (insane jealously) and Much Ado about Nothing (characters running around in disguises). The beginning feels like it's started in the middle. Some important revelations take place off-stage, described by minor characters instead of enacted by the central characters. Shakespeare's finest works seem to drip with cliches because they're the source of those cliches. This one does not. The most famous line from this play may be the stage direction “Exit pursued by a bear.” Recommended only for completists.

2.5 stars

85cbl_tn
nov. 14, 2015, 8:46 am

I finished The Lacuna last night, too late to write up a review. I'll do that later today. I just pulled a batch of blueberry muffins out of the oven. I decided it was time to use some of the blueberries I froze last summer, when they were abundant and cheap. I'm getting ready to start The Gap of Time, which I notice has a synopsis of The Winter's Tale at the beginning of the book.

86cbl_tn
nov. 15, 2015, 7:22 pm

Book #7 in my My Country 'Tis of Thee category: The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver

After the failure of his parents' marriage, Harrison Shepard's mother takes him to her native Mexico. Harrison is mostly left to his own devices while his mother spends her time dancing, smoking, drinking, and chasing men. The acquisition of a notebook leads to a life-long habit of journaling. A young cook becomes a father figure for Harrison, who becomes his assistant in the kitchen. When Harrison and his mother move to Mexico City, he becomes the cook for Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. When their household grows to include the Russian Trotsky and his entourage, Harrison adds translating and secretarial duties to his cooking duties. After Trotsky's assassination, Harrison eventually lands in Asheville, North Carolina, where he becomes a successful novelist. However, his past association with communists make him a target for Joseph McCarthy's House Un-American Activities Committee.

I loved the first ¾ of the book, especially the parts set in Mexico. The last quarter of the book fell flat. I was fascinated by the structure. The combination of journal entries, copies of letters, and newspaper clippings gives it a feel similar to reading through a box of loose family papers. The structure was problematic in the ebook version I read. I kept wanting to refer back to earlier parts of the book, but because there are no chapters, the only reference points in the table of contents are the part headings, with each part consisting of more than 100 pages. Many readers will prefer reading a print copy for this reason.

I read this despite my general aversion to reading fictionalized accounts of real people and events. I don't want my knowledge of history clouded by fiction. I don't know a whole lot about Trotsky, and I feel like I need to read a biography to put him in proper perspective. Kingsolver portrays him in this book as a kind of grandfatherly, professorial, genteel man. I'm sure there were more facets to his character, including some darker traits.

4 stars

87dudes22
nov. 15, 2015, 7:34 pm

I've had this in my TBR pile for about 5 years now, but every time I consider reading it, I back off - I think because of the length. Think I'll probably leave it there a while longer.

88cbl_tn
nov. 15, 2015, 7:51 pm

>87 dudes22: I put it off for a long time, too. This month is Barbara Kingsolver month in the American Author challenge in the 75 Books group, and that was the nudge I needed to get it off the pile.

89cbl_tn
nov. 16, 2015, 6:38 pm

Jeanette Winterson's cover version of The Winter's Tale improves on the original story. Shakespeare's play feels like it starts in the middle of the story. Winterson provides the back story of Leo and Xeno's friendship (they were best friends – and a bit more – at boarding school in their teens), and she gives Leo at least a bit of ground for his violent jealousy of Xeno's relationship with Leo's wife, Mimi. Leo's violence, the strong language, and the graphic sexual details in the first part exceed my comfort level. The scene where Leo rapes his 9-month-pregnant wife is particularly disturbing, However, Shakespeare can be violent, vulgar, and bawdy. My sensibilities aren't jarred as much when such scenes are written in archaic Elizabethan English. Winterson creatively worked in all of the characters and major plot elements of The Winter's Tale – even “Exit, pursued by a bear.” She even drops in references to her own work! Winterson's reflections on time are poetic:

And the world goes on regardless of joy or despair or one woman's fortune or one man's loss. And we can't know the lives of others. And we can't know our own lives beyond the details we can manage. And the things that change us forever happen without us knowing they would happen. And the moment that looks like the rest is the one where hearts are broken or healed. And time that runs so steady and sure runs wild outside of the clocks. It takes so little time to change a lifetime and it takes a lifetime to understand the change.

I read this book over the weekend after the Paris terrorist attacks, with 24/7 cable news playing in the background. I found this passage particularly ironic in light of current events:

”Benjamin Franklin said that if you have to choose between liberty and security, choose liberty.”
“I guess they didn't have world terrorism back then.”
“That's just a way of scaring us.”
“I don't agree. People get killed.”
“Yes, they do, but some guy with a bomb in a backpack—how often does that happen, and to how many people? But no work, no home, no hope—that's the everyday life of millions, billions of people. To me, that's the threat. And climate change is the threat. And war, and drought and famine...”


It happened in Paris on Friday, November 13, 2015.

90DeltaQueen50
nov. 16, 2015, 6:40 pm

Wow, that must have given you a tingle, Carrie.

91cbl_tn
nov. 16, 2015, 6:51 pm

My stomach did a little flip when I read that passage.

92cbl_tn
nov. 21, 2015, 9:46 am

Book #11 in my New Kid in Town category: Corridors of the Night by Anne Perry

After agreeing to fill in for a friend who nurses at a London hospital, Hester Monk discovers that the hospital administrators are endangering the lives of three children with a medical experiment. Hester is kidnapped, partly because she has discovered the experiment and partly because her nursing skills are needed to provide care for a VIP patient. Hester's kidnappers are unaware that her husband, William Monk, is a policeman with the Thames River Police. Monk quickly locates and rescues Hester. Bringing the kidnappers to justice proves to be a more difficult challenge, even for the Monks' friend Oliver Rathbone.

Anne Perry's novels walk a fine line between introspection and melodrama. When she's at her best, her work is very good. This isn't one of her best. It crosses the line into melodrama at several points, and the pacing doesn't work. The audio experience is very likely an improvement over the print reading experience. David Colacci's expert narration restrains the melodrama inherent in Perry's writing. Recommended only for series fans, who would do well to get this one in audio rather than print.

This review is based on a complimentary audio recording provided by the publisher through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.

3 stars

Next up in audio: Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

93cbl_tn
nov. 21, 2015, 10:29 am

Book #7 in my Free Bird bonus category: When London Was Capital of America by Julie Flavell
RandomCAT

This book looks primarily at the decade before the American Revolution, when numerous American and West Indian colonists lived and worked in London for extended periods. Flavell focuses on a few representative individuals and families, including the Laurens family who owned a South Carolina plantation and Yankees Benjamin Franklin and his son William. The case study format results in a non-chronological look at the era, and some repetition is inevitable. My favorite chapter describes the American colonial imprint on London's landscape, including trees and plants imported from the colonies that could be seen at places such as Kew Gardens; statues, monuments, and paintings of American colonial heroes; and in the rise of new retail shops tied to imported products like tobacco, sugar, coffee, and cocoa beans. The portraits and street scenes are a good compliment for the text. More legible maps would have been nice. The maps on the end papers and at the beginning of each chapter are more decorative than functional.

3.5 stars

94cbl_tn
nov. 21, 2015, 3:08 pm

I've been thinking about replacing my iPad mini with a model with more storage capacity. I currently have a 16GB model and I've maxed out the storage on some occasions and had to delete photos and apps. While I was getting my hair done this afternoon, I dropped my iPad and the screen cracked in a couple of places. That made up my mind for me. I've already ordered a replacement with more capacity. Hopefully it will arrive before I leave for Thanksgiving. The main thing that worries me is whether all of my ebooks will transfer from the various e-reading apps like Bluefire and Kobo. Anyone have any experience with this?

95cbl_tn
nov. 22, 2015, 5:33 pm

Book #12 in my New Kid in Town category: The Gratitude Diaries by Janice Kaplan

I've been seeing references to this book for several months, but it took a sermon on gratitude to provide the needed nudge to order it. I'm a sympathetic audience for Kaplan's message. I'm already a believer in the importance of gratitude, but there's plenty of room for improvement. Kaplan balances her personal experience of living gratefully for a year with research and interviews with scientists, doctors, psychologists, counselors, and fitness experts, as well as quotes from philosophers.

I couldn't help noticing a big hole in Kaplan's otherwise thorough research. Kaplan largely neglected a religious perspective on gratitude. She spoke to one Rabbi, one or two devotees of New Age spirituality, and one Catholic friend, but she didn't address what any of these religions actually teach about gratitude. The Bible has a lot to say about it:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God (Philippians 4:6, ESV)

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:17, ESV)

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:18, ESV)

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. (1 Timothy 2:1-2, ESV)

There are also all the Psalms of thanksgiving, too numerous to quote here. It's hard to be proud, envious, greedy, or angry when you're focused on gratitude.

The biggest takeaway I gained from this book is its reminder to enjoy today. One of Kaplan's interviewees made the observation that thinking too much of the past can lead to depression and thinking too much about the future can lead to anxiety. It struck me that, in a sense, depression and anxiety are two sides of the same coin. I need to learn from the past and plan for the future while making sure that I fully live in the present.

3.5 stars

96cbl_tn
nov. 23, 2015, 6:34 am

Book #12 in my God Save the Queen category: Loitering with Intent by Muriel Spark

Author Fleur Talbot looks back on her life during the time she was writing her first novel in 1949-1950. Money was tight then, and Fleur could barely afford the rent for her single room. Through a friend, Fleur got a job as secretary for the Autobiographical Association headed by Sir Quentin Oliver. At first she puzzled over the odd assortment of individuals that formed the group. Their lives hardly seemed worthy of the type of effort encouraged by Sir Oliver. When the group began to act out scenes from Fleur's novel, Warrender Chase, Fleur started to question Sir Oliver's character and motives.

Underneath the wicked humor, this is a novel about writing and writers, particularly autobiography and autobiographical fiction, biographers and novelists. How much falsehood is present in an autobiography, and how much truth is there in autobiographical fiction? Which one is preferable? Spark's novel is a quick and entertaining read that raises philosophical questions for readers to ponder long after turning its last page.

I was sure that nothing had happened in their lives and equally sure that Sir Quentin was pumping something artificial into their real lives instead of on paper. Presented fictionally, one could have done something authentic with that poor material. But the inducing them to express themselves in life resulted in falsity.

What is truth? I could have realized these people with my fun and games with their life-stories, while Sir Quentin was destroying them with his needling after frankness...


4 stars

97RidgewayGirl
nov. 23, 2015, 8:25 am

Enjoy your new, shiny iPad! If you have it backed up in the cloud, you should just sign in with your apple account and everything that was on your old iPad will just magically appear on your new one. All of the apps and content.

98cbl_tn
nov. 23, 2015, 8:40 am

>97 RidgewayGirl: I do use cloud backup. I will be thrilled if it's that easy to transfer the content! If it arrives in time I will take it with me on my Thanksgiving trip. My friend's husband will be available to help me with it if I run into any unexpected snags.

99cbl_tn
nov. 24, 2015, 8:54 pm

My new iPad Mini arrived this afternoon. It looks like everything transferred from the old iPad except for the books in the Bluefire Reader app. I was able to download most of them again, but I lost a couple. :-(

100DeltaQueen50
nov. 25, 2015, 10:29 pm

Hope you have a great Thanksgiving, Carrie.

101cbl_tn
nov. 26, 2015, 7:50 am

>100 DeltaQueen50: Thanks Judy! I'm spending the day with friends. The turkey is already in the oven and the house smells great! I left Adrian at his friend Stella's yesterday. I miss him! My friends have a 10-year-old Westie who's been hanging out with me.

102cbl_tn
nov. 27, 2015, 2:01 pm

Here's a picture of Adrian taken by my dog-sitting friends yesterday. They were decorating for Christmas and Adrian got into the spirit! (Sort of. He hates having things on his head. Can you tell?!)

103DeltaQueen50
nov. 27, 2015, 2:35 pm

He looks adorable, but not the happiest of pooches - sort of a "I'm tolerating it, but I don't like it" look.

104cbl_tn
nov. 27, 2015, 3:59 pm

>103 DeltaQueen50: Yes. He's a pretty good sport about being dressed up for photos and he doesn't seem to hold it against us.

105cbl_tn
nov. 29, 2015, 5:34 pm

Book #13 in my God Save the Queen category: An Ice-Cream War by William Boyd
HistoryCAT

For most of us, any mention of World War I conjures up images of trench warfare on the Western front in France and Belgium. However, there were other fronts, including East Africa. Boyd's novel examines the war's effects in East Africa through the experiences of an American resident in British East Africa, a German couple in German East Africa, and an English family whose oldest son was an officer in an Indian Regiment that was sent to East Africa. What appear to be separate stories eventually intersect.

The novel held my interest but failed to engage my emotions. I felt like an observer rather than a participant. I think the characters had a lot to do with that. The characters are all so self-absorbed that the war is merely a means to their own ends for each of them. The few female characters all seem underdeveloped.

One of the minor characters steals the scene each time he appears. Wheech-Browning is a government official in British East Africa before the war, and he holds various military posts during the war. He's so focused on following regulations to the letter that he's oblivious to the chaos and destruction that he leaves in his wake. Wheech-Browning is described as a tall and lanky man, and my mental image of him looks a lot like John Cleese.

3.5

106cbl_tn
nov. 29, 2015, 5:53 pm

This afternoon Adrian and I went to the Open House at the Humane Society with Stella and her "mama". Santa was there, and Adrian got to have his picture taken with him!

107cbl_tn
nov. 29, 2015, 7:38 pm

Book #12 in my Everybody's Talkin' category: Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
HistoryCAT

This novel highlights the various roles of young women in Allied service in World War II. Maddie is a pilot with the Air Transport Auxiliary. “Queenie”, a descendant of both William Wallace and Mary, Queen of Scots, is fluent in both German and French, making her useful as a spy behind enemy lines. The story of their wartime experiences is told in their own words. Other women they encounter include a Nazi interrogator, a treasonous radio broadcaster, and members of the French resistance. It's a story of suspense, heroism, friendship, love, loyalty, and heartbreak. The afterword reveals that the author is herself a pilot and strove for authenticity in the creation of the characters and the situations in which they found themselves. The audio production is exceptional, and it adds another layer of intimacy to the first-person journal account of the joys of friendship and the horrors of war. Highly recommended.

4.5 stars

Next up in audio: Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip M. Hoose

108cbl_tn
nov. 30, 2015, 12:58 pm

November Recap

Daisy Jane
by America - Books by, about, or inspired by Jane Austen – 11/5

Mystery Lady by Billy Ocean - Books by Agatha Christie – 5/5

God Save the Queen - Books by British authors for PaulCranswick’s British Author challenge – 13/5
Loitering With Intent by Muriel Spark (4)
An Ice-Cream War by William Boyd (3.5)

My Country ‘Tis of Thee - Books by American authors for msf59's American Author challenge – 7/5
The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver (4)

Old Days by Chicago - Books read for the HistoryCAT and/or Reading Through Time – 13/5

In My Life by The Beatles - Family history/genealogy – 5/5

Daniel by Elton John - Books about war – 8/5

Second Hand News by Fleetwood Mac - Borrowed books – 13/5
The Gap of Time by Jeanette Winterson (4)

If You Could Read My Mind by Gordon Lightfoot - Books picked for me – 3/5

Fantasy by Earth, Wind & Fire - Books for the SFFFCAT – 13/5
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster; illustrations by Jules Feiffer (3.5)

Sing by Gary Barlow & the Commonwealth Band- Books for my Commonwealth challenge – 3/5

People by Barbra Streisand – Biographies – 6/5

Everybody’s Talkin’ by Harry Nilsson – Audiobooks – 12/5
*Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein (4.5)

Sweet Little Mystery by Wet Wet Wet – Mysteries – 12/5
A Rare Murder in Princeton by Ann Waldron (1.5)

New Kid In Town by the Eagles - New books & ARCs – 12/5
*Corridors of the Night by Anne Perry (3)
The Gratitude Diaries by Janice Kaplan (3.5)

Bonus category: Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd - Free reading
The Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare (2.5)
When London Was Capital of America by Julie Flavell (3.5)

*Audiobooks

Best of the month: Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
Worst of the month: A Rare Murder in Princeton by Ann Waldron

Physical books – owned: 2
Physical books – borrowed: 5
Ebooks – owned: 1
Ebooks – borrowed: 1
Audiobooks – owned: 2

109DeltaQueen50
nov. 30, 2015, 5:56 pm

Hi Carrie, I bet Santa would have like to have kept Adrian!

I guess I liked An Ice Cream War more than you. I fell in love with Boyd's writing, the humor and satire of the book and it was a 5 star read for me.

110cbl_tn
nov. 30, 2015, 6:54 pm

>109 DeltaQueen50: I bet Adrian would have gone home with Santa! He'd love playing with the reindeer. And the elves.

An Ice-Cream War was often un-put-down-able. I wanted to keep reading to find out what was going to happen. The more I thought about it after I finished it, the more bothered I was by the women in the book. The next of his books I'm likely to try is Restless and it has female protagonists. I'll be curious to see how those women are written.

111-Eva-
nov. 30, 2015, 11:11 pm

>106 cbl_tn:
You always have such great doggie-photos!

112cbl_tn
des. 1, 2015, 5:43 am

>111 -Eva-: Thanks Eva! My secret is that I let someone else take them!

113mamzel
des. 1, 2015, 11:40 am

>107 cbl_tn: I was blown away by this book. The sequel, Rose Under Fire isn't quite as stunning IMO but still amazing if you are interested. Wein and Ruta Sepetys could conceivably bring historical fiction back to the forefront with their excellent writing and stories.

114cbl_tn
des. 1, 2015, 11:50 am

>113 mamzel: I loved the book! I caught that there was some hidden communication taking place during the radio interview when they discussed "verity", but I was still surprised by all of the revelations in Maddie's story. I plan to re-read this one to savor the different layers of the story. I have the audio of Rose Under Fire and I'll probably listen to it fairly soon.

I will have to try something by Ruta Sepetys. She sounds like an author I could love!

115cbl_tn
des. 3, 2015, 6:53 pm

With all the tragedy in the last 24 hours, I was expecting to be depressed by the morning newspaper. Instead, one of the front page stories brightened my whole day. Our local paper is behind a paywall so I'll link to a press release about the story instead. It reminded me that just one person doing the right thing at the right time can make a huge difference in the world.

116cbl_tn
des. 5, 2015, 12:23 pm

Not much reading so far this weekend. I did read the first chapter of Junkyard Dogs last night, and I'll listen to my current audiobook while I clean this afternoon. I spent most of last night and this morning binge watching season 2 of Broadchurch, which just became available on Netflix this week. The end of season one had me in tears. Season 2 wasn't quite as gut-wrenching, but I shed a few tears at the end of this one, too.

117cbl_tn
des. 6, 2015, 1:03 pm

Book #14 in my Old Days category: Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip M. Hoose
HistoryCAT
RTT

Rosa Parks was not the first African American female to refuse to give up her seat to a white person on a Montgomery, Alabama bus. Claudette Colvin was. Rosa Parks was not the second African American female to refuse to give up her seat to a white person on a Montgomery, Alabama bus. Mary Louise Smith was. Rosa Parks became the face of the Montgomery Bus Boycott after two teenaged African American girls paved the way. Claudette Colvin was one of the four African American female plaintiffs in Browder v. Gayle, a landmark case in which segregation of buses violated the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Fifty years after she was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on the bus, Claudette Colvin told her story to author Phillip M. Hoose. Hoose puts Colvin's early life into historical context while quoting extensively from Ms. Colvin about her personal experiences in the early days of the Civil Rights Movement (presumably from the many hours of interviews he conducted as part of his research for this book). Colvin's voice is even more evident in the audio version read by Channie Waites. This highly readable biography belongs in every public and secondary school library.

5 stars

Up next in audio: Halfway House by Ellery Queen

118cbl_tn
des. 12, 2015, 8:02 am

Book #13 in my Sweet Little Mystery category: Junkyard Dogs by Craig Johnson

I tried to get a straight answer from his grandson and granddaughter-in-law as to why their grandfather had been tied with a hundred feet of nylon rope to the rear bumper of the 1968 Oldsmobile Toronado.

If the first sentence sounds grim, it's anything but as Sheriff Walt Longmire deals with just one more incident involving the accident-prone Stewart family, proprietors of the local junkyard. The severed thumb the Stewarts found is just the thing to keep Walt's deputy, “Sancho”, occupied while Walt figures out a way to keep him from quitting. Then there's deputy Vic Moretti, who's even surlier than usual with Valentine's Day reminding her of the “off again” status of her romantic relationship with her boss. Farce turns to tragedy with the news of Geo Stewart's death following an assault at the hand of his antagonistic neighbor. Evidence at the scene of Geo's death suggests the case may be more complicated that it first appeared.

This sixth series book reads a lot like a cozy mystery, with relationships between Walt and many of the secondary characters at the forefront in the first half of the book. Seemingly unconnected threads are all tied up neatly by the end of the book. While the humor makes it an entertaining read, it's not as satisfying or as memorable as other books in the series.

3.5 stars

119cbl_tn
des. 12, 2015, 8:36 am

Book #7 in my People category: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou's memoir of her early life recounts the difficulties of growing up African American in the South in the era of segregation. Angelou doesn't shrink from describing the sexual abuse that damaged her childhood but didn't destroy her. This memoir is Angelou's poem, “Still I Rise”, in prose form, with lyrically beautiful passages describing events like tent revivals, picnics, and graduation ceremonies. Although Angelou is never coarse, she is frank about sexual matters. Recommended for high school aged readers and above.

4 stars

120cbl_tn
Editat: des. 13, 2015, 10:03 pm

Book #12 in my Daisy Jane category: Persuasion, Captain Wentworth and Cracklin' Cornbread by Mary Jane Hathaway

This Jane Austen retelling of Persuasion is quite a bit different from others I've read. For one thing, it's set in Tupelo, Mississippi. For another thing, Lucy Crawford is an African American woman, and the man she loved and lost ten years earlier is white. Finally, it's Christian fiction, but not evangelical; the lost love is a Catholic. While the book sticks to the Christian romance formula, the quality of the writing is better than most. A shared love of poetry brought Lucy and Jem together the first time, and the story is sprinkled with references to and/or quotes from Thoreau, George Eliot, and Sara Teasdale. And of course there's food. It's the South, after all! The Christian element isn't heavy-handed or “preachy”. It's a book that could be enjoyed by romance fans of any or no faith.

3 stars

121thornton37814
des. 14, 2015, 3:14 pm

>120 cbl_tn: I think I'm more curious about how well it evokes the place of Tupelo since it's a city I know well.

122cbl_tn
des. 14, 2015, 5:35 pm

>121 thornton37814: They didn't get out and about too much in the book. The Crawfords leased part of their large house to a free clinic and the long lost love is the new clinic doctor. Lucy works at Brice's Crossroads. There's a wedding on the grounds of William Faulkner's house. That's about it.

123thornton37814
des. 14, 2015, 5:40 pm

>122 cbl_tn: Brice's Crossroads is closer to Booneville, and Faulkner's house is in Oxford. I hope she didn't act like the commute was less than it was for the one working at Brice's or that Faulkner lived in Tupelo. I see the author lives in Oregon. I'd probably better give that one a pass. I'd probably get mad at her for not knowing Mississippi.

124cbl_tn
des. 14, 2015, 6:01 pm

>123 thornton37814: I got the sense that she was using Tupelo as an approximate location rather than an exact location. Kind of like I tell people I'm from Knoxville and I have a Knoxville address, but it takes 15-20 minutes to get to town from here. The author lives in Oregon now but she may have moved there from somewhere else.

125cbl_tn
des. 16, 2015, 8:56 pm

Book #14 in my Sweet Little Mystery category: Halfway House by Ellery Queen

Private investigator Ellery Queen runs into an old school friend in a Trenton bar. Lawyer Bill Angell is on his way to visit his brother-in-law, Joe Wilson, at a shack by the Delaware river. Bill arrives to find his brother-in-law dying from a stab wound, with just enough breath to accuse a veiled lady of his murder. It's a good thing that Bill has run into his old friend, Ellery, since he may be the only person who can sift through the details to correctly identify the killer.

The Ellery Queen mysteries play fair with readers. There is a characteristic pause in the story when all of the clues have been presented and it's possible for readers to piece them together to reach the same conclusion as Ellery. In this book, that point came when there were still two discs/segments left in the audio version. With nearly an hour left in the audio version, all of the characters knew the murderer's identity. However, Ellery continued to refer to the murderer as “the criminal” for quite some time yet. To say this was irritating would be an understatement. Ellery Queen's mysteries make a refreshing change from heavier reads, but they have enough idiosyncrasies to deter me from binge reading the series.

3.5 stars

Next up in audio: The Walnut Tree by Charles Todd

126dudes22
des. 17, 2015, 6:37 am

I just finished The Walnut Tree. I've been picking up a lot of shorter Christmas/holiday books this month. They've been stacking up for a while now and my "non-theme" year is just the time to read some of them.

127christina_reads
des. 17, 2015, 9:27 am

>107 cbl_tn: I'm so glad you liked Code Name Verity -- I absolutely loved it when I read it a few years ago! Rose Under Fire didn't hit me quite the same way, but it's still well worth reading.

128lindapanzo
des. 17, 2015, 10:20 pm

I like the Ellery Queen mysteries but reading one, once in awhile, goes a long way.

129cbl_tn
des. 17, 2015, 10:34 pm

130cbl_tn
des. 19, 2015, 8:07 am

Christmas cards are done and ready to drop in the mail when I take Adrian to his grooming appointment. I'm nearly finished with my Christmas shopping. I just need to pick up a couple of gift cards while I'm out. I'd like to get a lot of reading in this weekend, finishing The Strangers We Became and reading The Girl in Blue. I keep getting distracted by the Christmas movies on the Hallmark and Lifetime channels, though. I know I'll get in more than an hour of listening time for The Walnut Tree while I'm out running errands today.

131cbl_tn
Editat: des. 20, 2015, 9:28 pm

Book #14 in my God Save the Queen category: The Girl in Blue by P. G. Wodehouse

A country house, financial worries, an unwanted engagement, love at first sight, an unexpected legacy, and a missing Gainsborough miniature provide the elements for yet another entertaining farce by P. G. Wodehouse. I'm more familiar with his Jeeves and Wooster stories, which I think of as period pieces. This book, published in 1971, provides evidence that Wodehouse's characteristic wit could keep up with the times.

I loved this description of the country estate's library:

The library was on the second floor, a large somber room brooded over by hundreds of grim calf-bound books assembled in the days when the reading public went in for volumes of collected sermons and had not yet acquired a taste for anything with spies and a couple of good murders in it.

Warmly recommended.

4 stars

132thornton37814
des. 20, 2015, 9:16 pm

>131 cbl_tn: I wasn't aware Wodehouse had anything besides Jeeves and Wooster. I've got the first in that series lined up in audio for the trip to MS this week.

133cbl_tn
Editat: des. 20, 2015, 9:31 pm

>132 thornton37814: Blandings Castle is another series, and there are several Psmith books. This one seems to be a standalone and I think he wrote others. He was prolific!

134cbl_tn
des. 21, 2015, 9:01 pm

I'm leaving tomorrow to spend Christmas with my brother. Adrian will be staying with his friend Stella, but I think he really wants to go to Texas with me.

135cbl_tn
des. 21, 2015, 9:34 pm

Book #13 in my Everybody's Talkin' category: The Walnut Tree by Charles Todd

At the request of her school friend Madeleine, Lady Elspeth Douglas travels to France in the summer of 1914 to await the birth of Madeleine's first child. War breaks out while she is there. Before he leaves for his service, Madeleine's brother, Alain, declares his intention to ask Elspeth's guardian for her hand in marriage at the conclusion of the war. As Elspeth makes her way back to England, she runs into an old acquaintance, Captain Peter Gilchrist. Elspeth fights her growing love for Peter since she feels herself promised to Alain. Without the knowledge of her guardian, Elspeth trains for nursing service. By nursing in France, Elspeth will be closer to both the man she loves and the man to whom she is promised.

Readers who can suspend disbelief in the coincidences that drive much of the plot will enjoy this war-themed holiday novella. Mother/son writing duo “Charles Todd” is known more for mystery than for romance. Elspeth does help to solve a mystery in this story, but it's so slight and underdeveloped that the story would have been better off without it. Bess Crawford makes a few brief appearances as one of Elspeth's London flatmates. This story will appeal to fans of Anne Perry's Christmas novellas as well as to fans of Charles Todd's Bess Crawford series.

Just a note about the audio version. The narrator, Fiona Hardingham, has a pleasant voice. I was puzzled, though, why Elspeth only spoke with a Scots accent when she was remembering/recounting a conversation she had with another character since Elspeth was the first-person narrator. And I was puzzled why her fellow Scot, Peter, didn't have a Scots accent.

3 stars

Next up in audio: The Nature of the Beast by Louise Penny

136thornton37814
des. 21, 2015, 9:36 pm

>134 cbl_tn: Well, Maggie flies with Alison. Maybe Adrian has been talking to Maggie.

137cbl_tn
des. 21, 2015, 9:42 pm

>136 thornton37814: I've driven Maggie to the airport before and didn't hear a peep out of her in her bag. I don't trust Adrian to be that quiet. Flying with him could be a very unpleasant experience for everyone.

138cbl_tn
des. 21, 2015, 9:48 pm

I started listening to Louise Penny's The Nature of the Beast today. This will be my second audio experience with her novels. Her original narrator, Ralph Cosham, died shortly after the release of the last book in the series. This recording opens with Louise Penny's tribute to Ralph Cosham and her introduction of the new narrator, Robert Bathurst, known to Downton Abbey fans as Sir Anthony Strallan. I thought this was a nice touch.

139DeltaQueen50
des. 22, 2015, 1:20 am

Enjoy your Christmas holiday, Carrie. Adrian does look like he's ready to pack himself, but I bet he enjoys himself with his friend.

140VivienneR
des. 22, 2015, 2:04 am

Have a fun Christmas, Carrie. You and Adrian will have lots of stories to share when you get back home. I love Adrian's little Christmas sweater.

141RidgewayGirl
des. 22, 2015, 3:28 am

Have a good Christmas, Carrie. Enjoy your time with family in Texas. And Adrian will have a blast with his friend, although he'd like you to believe he just pined for you the whole time.

142dudes22
des. 22, 2015, 6:31 am

>135 cbl_tn: - I read The Walnut Tree also this year and now look forward to the other Charles Todd series books.

Have a good time in Texas and a Happy Christmas to you! Adrian will probably have a lot of fun visiting too while you're gone.

143cbl_tn
des. 22, 2015, 9:48 am

>139 DeltaQueen50: Adrian always enjoys his time at my friend's house, and they spoil him just about as much as I do!

>140 VivienneR: Thanks Vivienne! I'll have to let my friend fill me in on Adrian's Christmas. I don't always understand what he tries to tell me. :) I do tell him all about his Uncle A and Tia C.

>141 RidgewayGirl: Adrian does know which buttons to push! I am looking forward to seeing the Texas/Mexico gang. I'll be the last to arrive, but not by much. One of my SIL's brothers lands about a half hour before I do, but he has to go through customs after he arrives. I don't think I'll see him at the airport because he will arrive at a different terminal. I think my SIL is picking him up and my brother is picking me up.

>142 dudes22: I have enjoyed the Bess Crawford series for the most part. It's been uneven for me. I'll love one and then the next will be just so-so.

Merry Christmas to everyone! May Santa bring you all the books you want the most!

144mamzel
des. 22, 2015, 12:30 pm

Adrian will miss you a lot. Hope you have fun with your family.

145cbl_tn
des. 22, 2015, 1:27 pm

>144 mamzel: Thanks! I just dropped Adrian off at my friends' house and I miss him already! I am looking forward to time with my family. And if I'm honest, I'm also looking forward to a few days that I don't have to get up at the crack of dawn so that Adrian can go out.

146cbl_tn
des. 22, 2015, 3:33 pm

I'm at the airport waiting for a delayed flight. I have books, I have my iPad, I have snacks, and I found an empty rocking chair. I'm all set until a plane is here and ready to go. At least I don't have a connecting flight to worry about.

147VivienneR
des. 22, 2015, 4:28 pm

A rocking chair! Lucky you! Hope you're not delayed long.

148cbl_tn
des. 22, 2015, 5:13 pm

>147 VivienneR: About an hour and 20 minutes if we leave when they're now saying we will. There is a plane at our gate and they've opened the desk so I think that's a good sign!

149rabbitprincess
des. 22, 2015, 5:33 pm

Have a good trip and a very merry Christmas!

150cbl_tn
des. 22, 2015, 6:04 pm

>149 rabbitprincess: Thanks RP! I'm still waiting at the airport. I fiund a very nice flight attendant to chat with and found out tht the plane at our gate is going to DC, not Dallas. But the good news is that our plane is finally in the air! I'll only be about 3 hours late arriving at my destination.

151MissWatson
des. 23, 2015, 3:32 am

>150 cbl_tn: Three hours late, sheesh! I hope you arrived safely and will have a wonderful Christmas with your family. Happy holidays!

152cbl_tn
des. 23, 2015, 7:57 am

>151 MissWatson: It got worse, but I did arrive eventually. It turns out the airline computers were wrong and the gate agent had no idea if we had a plane for our flight or where it was. I was able to switch to the next scheduled flight for Dallas and arrived 3 hours later than I expected. My checked bag didn't get to switch flights, so we went out to find something for dinner and then back to the airport to meet my original flight and get my bag. By that time we knew that it was in the air.

153MissWatson
des. 23, 2015, 8:07 am

>152 cbl_tn: That was quite an odyssey! I'll remember that the next time my train is fifteen minutes late.

154VivienneR
des. 23, 2015, 1:12 pm

Glad you arrived safe and sound. Have fun!

155cbl_tn
des. 23, 2015, 6:20 pm

>153 MissWatson: It's not an experience I'm eager to repeat!

>154 VivienneR: Thanks!

156lkernagh
des. 24, 2015, 10:11 am

Hi Carrie! Getting caught up with your thread. Sounds like your iPad accident was 'in the cards'. Glad to see the transfer of your files to the new iPad was for the most part, trouble free.

Love the Adrian pics! So darn cute all dressed up and visiting Santa!

Have a wonderful trip!

157cbl_tn
des. 24, 2015, 10:21 am

>156 lkernagh: Thanks Lori! I miss the little guy this week. I jeard from his hosts this morning and they're enjoying his visit. They sent me a photo of Adrian snoozing away in comfort. I'll see if I can add it to my photo gallery. I haven't figured out how to post pics in talk on my iPad.

158cbl_tn
des. 24, 2015, 10:31 am

We'll have Christmas dinner and open presents this evening. I still have a few presents to wrap. I'd like to make a cranberry sauce at some point today. I'm baking a berry cobbler right now that I'll be able to eat for dessert. The rest will eat store-bought delicacies that look delicious, but I can't be sure they don't contain corn products. (The chocolate torte is dusted with powdered sugar so I know I have to avoid it.) Either my allergies have flared up or I'm coming down with something, so I forsee at least one nap today.

159RidgewayGirl
des. 24, 2015, 3:28 pm

It's a pity you have to avoid a chocolate torte, but do enjoy the nap. I would have liked one of those today. I suggested sleeping tomorrow in to the children and they did not react favorably.

160VivienneR
des. 24, 2015, 3:36 pm



Merry Christmas Carrie!

161lkernagh
des. 24, 2015, 4:53 pm

162cbl_tn
des. 24, 2015, 4:59 pm

>159 RidgewayGirl: I guess your kids aren't quite old enough yet. Just give it another couple of years or so and they'll be begging to open presents on Christmas Eve so they can sleep in on Christmas day!

>160 VivienneR: >161 lkernagh: Thanks Vivienne and Lori!

163dudes22
Editat: des. 25, 2015, 7:17 am

Merry Christmas, Lori!

164cbl_tn
des. 25, 2015, 8:27 am

>163 dudes22: Thank you Betty!

–------------------------------------

Here at my brother's we celebrate Mexican style. We had Christmas dinner at 10 pm last night, then opened gifts at midnight. (No books for me, alas, but some very nice gifts nonetheless.) We sang karaoke carols so everyone was able to at least follow along if the language was unfamiliar. (My brother and I did not learn Spanish carols as children. YouTube to the rescue!) I went to bed at 2 while the party was still going strong because I knew I would wake up at the usual time. :) At some point I will get up and make coffee cake for breakfast. I figured I would be the first one up and I would have plenty of time!

165RidgewayGirl
des. 25, 2015, 8:36 am

Carrie, it sounds like you're having a wonderful time! And being the first up and making something freshly baked for everyone to enjoy in the morning is a joy. I made cinnamon balls, letting them rise in the fridge all night. My daughter turned the oven on when they got up and I put them in to bake when I got up and we enjoyed them while opening the presents.

166cbl_tn
Editat: des. 25, 2015, 10:49 am

Well, there may not be any coffee cake. I cannot find a trace of cinnamon anywhere in my SIL's kitchen. I didn't even think about adding this to our shopping list. Who doesn't have cinnamon in their pantry, especially at holiday time? This is the only ingredient I'm missing. Maybe Walgreens will have it, but I'll have to wait until my brother gets up to find out. I'm not sure if they know any of their neighbors well enough to disturb them on Christmas morning to borrow cinnamon.

ETA: I found an unopened jar of allspice so I'll try this if there really is no cinnamon.

ETA: Finally found cinnamon. Hooray!

167cbl_tn
des. 25, 2015, 1:59 pm

The coffee cake was a hit! I think today is shaping up to be pretty laud back. We've opened stockings and now we're watching a Christmas movie. I think we're done cooking for the day. There are enough leftovers for meals. Maybe I'll get in some reading time later. I finished Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone last night. I'd like to read The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus today, and maybe start on Not a Creature Was Stirring.

168rabbitprincess
des. 25, 2015, 2:32 pm

>166 cbl_tn: Whew, glad to hear the coffee cake crisis is averted. Sounds like you're having a very good day!

169VivienneR
des. 25, 2015, 2:47 pm

>166 cbl_tn: I had to laugh at this. I detest cinnamon, so you wouldn't find any in my kitchen either. I use allspice if spice is essential.

170cbl_tn
des. 25, 2015, 2:54 pm

>168 rabbitprincess: A very good day so far! And although Adrian usn't here, I get to go visit a dog later today - a minpin like the one that lives across the street from me.

171cbl_tn
des. 25, 2015, 2:57 pm

>169 VivienneR: I know my brother likes cinnamon so even if my SIL didn't like it, she should have had some for his use. Plus, it's often used in Mexican recipes.

172cbl_tn
des. 27, 2015, 8:17 am

My friends sent me this photo of Adrian while I was away. I love this face! I haven't figured out how to add photos to my thread on my iPad so it had to wait until I got home.

173rabbitprincess
des. 27, 2015, 4:36 pm

Awwwwwww!

174VivienneR
des. 27, 2015, 4:47 pm

It's good to know he wasn't fretting about your absence. What a sweetie!

175-Eva-
des. 27, 2015, 5:06 pm

Sounds like you had a wonderful Christmas (after the flight delay - those are never fun). Love the pics of Adrian too - he's such a cutie!!

>169 VivienneR:
I'm with you! Any recipe that asks for cinnamon gets cardamom in my house.

176cbl_tn
des. 27, 2015, 6:04 pm

>173 rabbitprincess: I know! Such an adorable face!

>174 VivienneR: It makes it a lot easier to travel when I know Adrian is in good hands. They love him, and he makes himself right at home there.

>175 -Eva-: It was a nice Christmas, but I'm glad to be home! Adrian has enjoyed sniffing around the house today to make sure everything is the way he left it.

I think cardamom would be a good substitute for cinnamon in the coffee cake recipe. I wasn't too excited about the prospect of using allspice. I'm glad it didn't come to that!

177-Eva-
des. 27, 2015, 8:07 pm

>176 cbl_tn:
Aw, little buddy - he's making sure the home is safe. Good boy!

178cbl_tn
des. 27, 2015, 10:02 pm

>177 -Eva-: I think he also wants to make sure the dog from across the street hasn't invaded his space while he's been away! He's outside doing his nightly barking solo now. (The neighbor dog, not Adrian!)

179cbl_tn
des. 27, 2015, 10:08 pm

I've got a couple of reviews to write but they'll have to wait at least another day. When I finally had time to sit down this evening thinking I'd read for a while, I fell asleep instead.

180dudes22
des. 28, 2015, 8:24 am

It's so nice that Adrian has a friend to spend time with when you're away. We have to put our dog in the kennel when we go away and, as nice as they are, I worry about her as she gets older and is more picky about eating, etc.

Even though I like cinnamon, I use cardamom a lot too to change things up just a little.

181RidgewayGirl
des. 28, 2015, 9:26 am

It is wonderful when you have someone to leave a pet with who loves them. With Tarzan, we kick him out as we're leaving and he trots over to his second home, where they are just as happy to have him as he is to visit.

182cbl_tn
des. 28, 2015, 5:23 pm

>180 dudes22: >181 RidgewayGirl: If I ever need to board Adrian when I travel, I've discovered that his vet provides boarding services now that they've moved into a new facility. His groomer also boards and I know they love him there. But I think I'd be more comfortable leaving him with the vet.

183thornton37814
des. 28, 2015, 9:53 pm

I can't imagine a Mexican household not having cinnamon. I'm glad you found it.

184cbl_tn
Editat: des. 31, 2015, 1:51 pm

Book #13 in my New Kid in Town category: The Strangers We Became by Cynthia Kaplan Shamash

Cynthia Kaplan Shamash was the youngest of four children in an Iraqi Jewish family. By the time of the author's birth in 1963, there were only about 10,000 Jews left in Iraq. In the years following her birth, Iraqi Jews lost more and more of their rights. The family finally made a decision to leave Iraq in 1972. After an aborted attempt that resulted in a brief imprisonment for the children as well as the parents, the Shamash family was able to leave Iraq for Turkey, then Israel, and finally Holland. The author shares her earliest memories from her childhood in Iraq, the family's reunion with relatives in Israel who had left Iraq decades earlier, and the often painful adjustments to Dutch culture in Amsterdam. It was difficult for Kaplan Shamash to succeed in school in the absence of language and cultural support. This neglect is surprising since the family had an assigned social worker. An extended stay with an Orthodox family in London and Kaplan Shamash's desire to become a dentist provided the motivation she needed to succeed in her schoolwork in a second language. The bulk of the memoir focuses on the Shamash family's transition to life in Amsterdam. The ending seems rushed in the author's attempt to describe the remainder of her educational path into professional dentistry and her young adult life. This memoir is recommended for readers interested in Jewish history and culture, Iraq and/or Middle Eastern history and culture, and immigrant experience narratives.

This review is based on a complimentary copy provided by the publisher through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.

3.5 stars

185VivienneR
des. 31, 2015, 4:53 pm

186cbl_tn
des. 31, 2015, 5:31 pm

>185 VivienneR: Thanks Vivienne!

187cbl_tn
des. 31, 2015, 9:43 pm

Book #14 in my Fantasy category: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
SFFF Cat

I'm very late to the party with this series. Now I see what all the fuss is about! The basic structure of the plot isn't new – a young orphan who learns of his true identity and sets out to fulfill his destiny. It's the characters and setting that set this series apart – wizards in training at an English boarding school. It's an absorbing, page-turning story. One benefit of starting this series after its completion is that I don't have to wait months and months for the release of the next book in the series

4 stars

188cbl_tn
des. 31, 2015, 10:03 pm

Book #14 in my Second Hand News category: Not a Creature Was Stirring by Jane Haddam

Widower and retired FBI agent Gregor Demarkian has moved back to the Armenian neighborhood in Philadelphia where he spent his childhood. Just before Christmas, a local Armenian priest asks Gregor for a favor. Gregor is to go to Engine House, the Bryn Mawr mansion of the Hannaford family, as a dinner guest. In return, Mr. Hannaford will give Gregor a briefcase containing $100,000, destined for the Armenian church. Hannaford arrives to find a murder scene. Robert Hannaford is dead, and the murderer must have been someone inside the house. The pool of suspects is limited to Hannaford's seven children, all of whom he hated and who hated their father in return. The local police hire Gregor as a consultant. Solving the case becomes increasingly urgent and the pool of suspects narrower as more murders occur.

I enjoyed this first-in-series mystery. The holiday setting in a mansion with a limited number of suspects is similar to the vintage country house murder mysteries that are always a favorite with me. The cultural setting in Philadelphia's Armenian community is also appealing. I look forward to reading additional books in this series.

3.5 stars

189cbl_tn
des. 31, 2015, 10:18 pm

December Recap

Daisy Jane
by America - Books by, about, or inspired by Jane Austen – 12/5
Persuasion, Captain Wentworth and Cracklin' Cornbread by Mary Jane Hathaway (3)

Mystery Lady by Billy Ocean - Books by Agatha Christie – 5/5

God Save the Queen - Books by British authors for PaulCranswick’s British Author challenge – 14/5
The Girl in Blue by P.G. Wodehouse (4)

My Country ‘Tis of Thee - Books by American authors for msf59's American Author challenge – 7/5

Old Days by Chicago - Books read for the HistoryCAT and/or Reading Through Time – 14/5
*Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip M. Hoose (5)

In My Life by The Beatles - Family history/genealogy – 5/5

Daniel by Elton John - Books about war – 8/5

Second Hand News by Fleetwood Mac - Borrowed books – 14/5
Not a Creature Was Stirring by Jane Haddam (3.5)

If You Could Read My Mind by Gordon Lightfoot - Books picked for me – 3/5

Fantasy by Earth, Wind & Fire - Books for the SFFFCAT – 14/5
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling (4)

Sing by Gary Barlow & the Commonwealth Band- Books for my Commonwealth challenge – 3/5

People by Barbra Streisand – Biographies – 7/5
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (4)

Everybody’s Talkin’ by Harry Nilsson – Audiobooks – 13/5
* The Walnut Tree by Charles Todd (3)

Sweet Little Mystery by Wet Wet Wet – Mysteries – 14/5
Junkyard Dogs by Craig Johnson (3.5)
*Halfway House by Ellery Queen (3.5)

New Kid In Town by the Eagles - New books & ARCs – 13/5
The Strangers We Became by Cynthia Kaplan Shamash (3.5)

Bonus category: Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd - Free reading

*Audiobooks

Best of the month: Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip M. Hoose
Worst of the month: It was a pretty good reading month!

Physical books – owned: 3
Physical books – borrowed: 2
Ebooks – borrowed: 2
Audiobooks – owned: 1
Audiobooks – borrowed: 2

190cbl_tn
des. 31, 2015, 10:19 pm

I fell short of my goal by 4 books in 2 categories. However, I read at least one book for each of the monthly CATS and completed a Bingo card. With 153 total books read for the year, I'd say I've had a successful reading year!

191christina_reads
des. 31, 2015, 10:30 pm

Congratulations! 153 books is an excellent total!

192cbl_tn
des. 31, 2015, 10:31 pm

>191 christina_reads: Thanks Christina!

193cbl_tn
des. 31, 2015, 11:07 pm

I'll wrap up 2015 with the end-of-year meme:

Describe yourself: The Witness for the Prosecution
Describe how you feel: Tempest-Tost
Describe where you currently live: The Hollow
If you could go anywhere, where would you go: To the Lighthouse
Your favorite form of transportation: The Dark Horse
Your best friend is: The Girl in Blue
You and your friends are: Kindred
What’s the weather like: A Cold Day in Paradise
You fear: Junkyard Dogs
What is the best advice you have to give: Call the Midwife
Thought for the day: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
How I would like to die: An Ice-Cream War
My soul’s present condition: Something Special

194rabbitprincess
gen. 1, 2016, 12:07 am

Mmmmm an ice-cream war sounds yummy.

195-Eva-
gen. 1, 2016, 7:16 am

I agree, 153 is a very respectable total! Congrats!

196dudes22
gen. 1, 2016, 7:59 am

I agree with Eva - 153 is a goodly amount of books. I fell short too, but I'm just moving on to 2016.

197cbl_tn
gen. 1, 2016, 8:19 am

>194 rabbitprincess: Yes, I didn't have to think too hard about my choice for that one!

>195 -Eva-: >196 dudes22: Thanks! I'll see you in the new threads!