Souloftherose's reading notes for 2014 - the fifth and final volume

A warm welcome to all visitors whether you lurk or post.

This is Eilean Donan castle in the Scottish highlands which we saw on our holiday last month:

Books read in October
#143 Chanur's Homecoming by C. J. Cherryh (TBR)
#144 The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde (Reread)
#145 Hexwood by Diana Wynne Jones (TBR)
#146 Judgement Day by Penelope Lively (TBR)
#147 Kidnapped by R. L. Stevenson (Reread)
#148 The Home-Maker by Dorothy Canfield Fisher (TBR)
#149 Black Maria by Diana Wynne Jones (TBR)
#150 The House on the Strand by Daphne du Maurier (TBR)
#151 Angels and Men by Catherine Fox (TBR)
#152 The Death of Grass by John Christopher (TBR)
#153 The Islands of Chaldea by Diana Wynne Jones (TBR)
#154 A Civil Campaign by Lois McMaster Bujold (TBR)
#155 The Kraken Wakes by John Wyndham (TBR)
#156 Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde (Reread)
#157 The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde (Reread)
#158 Restoration London by Liza Picard (TBR)
#159 Catriona by R. L. Stevenson (Free kindle)
#160 Something Rotten by Jasper Fforde (Reread)
#161 The Drowned World by J. G. Ballard (Library)
#162 Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (TBR)
#163 All Roads Lead to Austen by Amy Smith (Free kindle)

Books read in November
#164 Other People's Daughters: The Life and Times of the Governess by Ruth Brandon (TBR)
#165 The Foundling by Georgette Heyer (TBR)
#166 Greenwitch by Susan Cooper (Reread)
#167 Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness (TBR)
#168 Broken Homes by Ben Aaronovitch (TBR)
#169 Waistcoats & Weaponry by Gail Carriger (TBR)
#170 Singled Out: How Two Million Women Survived without Men After the First World War by Virginia Nicholson (TBR)
#171 Skye by F. C. Sillar and ruth Mary Meyler (TBR)
#172 Fables Deluxe Edition: Volume 1 by Bill Willingham (Library)
#173 Home by Marilynne Robinson (TBR)
#174 Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold (TBR)
#175 Mrs Woolf and the Servants by Alison Light (Library)
#176 Don't Tell Alfred by Nancy Mitford (Omnibus)
#177 The Grey King by Susan Cooper (Reread)
#178 Winterfair Gifts by Lois McMaster Bujold (TBR)
#179 A Winter Book by Tove Jansson (TBR)
#180 Diplomatic Immunity by Lois McMaster Bujold (TBR)
#181 White Boots by Noel Streatfeild (TBR)
#182 Love Letters Between a Nobleman and His Sister by Aphra Behn (TBR)
#183 Lord Edgware Dies by Agarga Christie (Reread)
#184 Consequences by Penelope Lively (Library)
#185 Mary Shelley by Muriel Spark (TBR)

Books read in December
DNF The Somnambulist by Essie Fox (TBR)
DNF Black Water Rising by Attica Locke (TBR)
#186 Cuckoo Song by Frances Hardinge (TBR)
#187 The Circular Staircase by Mary Roberts Rinehart (Free kindle)
#188 The Thirteen Problems by Agatha Christie (Reread)
#189 This is the End by Stella Benson (Free kindle)
#190 The Luck of the Vails by E. F. Benson (TBR)
#191 Captain Vorpatril's Alliance by Lois McMaster Bujold (TBR)
#192 Martin Chuzzlewit by Charles Dickens (Reread)
#193 Private Battles: How the War Almost Defeated Us by Simon Garfield (Library)
#194 Elidor by Alan Garner (TBR)
#195 The Midnight Mayor: Or, the Inauguration of Matthew Swift by Kate Griffin (Library)
#196 Cryoburn by Lois McMaster Bujold (TBR)
#197 Common People: The History of an English Family by Alison Light (Library)
#198 The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin (Reread)
#199 The Broken Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin (Omnibus)
#200 Silver on the Tree by Susan Cooper (Reread)
#201 At One-Thirty: A Mystery by Isabel Ostrander (Free kindle)
#202 Mystery in White by J. Jefferson Farjeon (TBR)
#203 Thursday's Children by Rumer Godden (TBR)
#204 Chanur's Legacy by C. J. Cherryh (TBR)

Books read in July
#95 The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North (TBR)
#96 Joy in the Morning by P. G. Wodehouse (TBR)
#97 A Madness of Angels by Kate Griffin (TBR)
#98 Mrs Tim of the Regiment by D. E. Stevenson (TBR)
#99 The Italian by Ann Radcliffe (TBR)
#100 My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier (TBR)
#101 Wedlock: How Georgian Britain's Worst Husband Met His Match by Wendy Moore (Library)
#102 The Carter of 'La Providence' by Georges Simenon (TBR)
#103 The Touchstone by Edith Wharton (Library)
#104 The Other Wind by Ursula K. Le Guin (Reread)
#105 The Pride of Chanur by C. J. Cherryh (Omnibus)
#106 Knight Crusader by Ronald Welch (TBR)
#107 Mirror Dance by Lois McMaster Bujold (TBR)
#108 The Gods of Gotham by Lyndsay Faye (Library)
#109 Chanur's Venture by C. J. Cherryh (Omnibus)
#110 Bog Child by Siobhan Dowd (TBR)
DNF The Pink Hotel by Ann Stothard (TBR)

Books read in August
#111 A Tale of Time City by Diana Wynne Jones (TBR)
#112 Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn (Library)
#113 We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler (TBR)
#114 Civil to Strangers by Barbara Pym (TBR)
#115 The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford (Reread)
#116 A Very Great Profession: The Woman's Novel 1914-39 by Nicola Beauman (TBR)
#117 Affinity by Sarah Waters (Library)
#118 Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford (Omnibus)
#119 The Gypsy's Baby and Other Stories by Rosamond Lehmann (TBR)
#120 The Martian by Andy Weir (Library)
#121 The Getting of Wisdom by Henry Handel Richardson (Free kindle)
#122 Phineas Finn by Anthony Trollope (TBR)
#123 The Blessing by Nancy Mitford (Omnibus)
#124 Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith by Barbara Brown Taylor (Library)
#125 Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones (Reread)
#126 The Greengage Summer by Rumer Godden (TBR)
#127 Three Men on the Bummel by Jerome K. Jerome (Reread)
#128 The Corner That Held Them by Sylvia Townsend Warner (TBR)

Books read in September
#129 Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury (TBR)
#130 The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters (TBR)
#131 An Infamous Army by Georgette Heyer (TBR)
#132 August Folly by Angela Thirkell (TBR)
#133 A Month in the Country by J. L. Carr (Library)
#134 The Siege of Krishnapur by J. G. Farrell (TBR)
#135 Lightspeed: Women Destroy Science Fiction by Various authors (TBR)
#136 Sarah Thornhill by Kate Grenville (TBR)
#137 The Quick by Lauren Owen (Library)
#138 Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold (TBR)
#139 The Gothic by David Punter and Glennis Byron (Library)
#140 Komarr by Lois McMaster Bujold (TBR)
#141 The Kif Strike Back by C. J. Cherryh (TBR)
#142 The Late Monsieur Gallet by Georges Simenon (TBR)

Books read in April
#46 The Corinthian by Georgette Heyer (TBR)
#47 Behind Closed Doors by Anna Katharine Green (Omnibus)
#48 The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer (Library)
#49 The War Workers by E. M. Delafield (Free kindle)
#50 Mrs Jordan's Profession: The Story of a Great Actress and a Future King by Claire Tomalin (TBR)
#51 A Five Year Sentence by Bernice Rubens (TBR)
#52 Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen (Reread)
#53 Miss Buncle's Book by D. E. Stevenson (Reread)
#54 All Change by Elizabeth Jane Howard (TBR)
#55 Miss Buncle Married by D. E. Stevenson (Reread)
#56 The Invention of Murder: How the Victorians Revelled in Death and Detection and Created Modern Crime by Judith Flanders (Library)
#57 Illyrian Spring by Ann Bridge (TBR)
#58 The Sittaford Mystery by Agatha Christie (Reread)
#59 Cetaganda by Lois McMaster Bujold (TBR)
#60 The Lantern Bearers by Rosemary Sutcliff (TBR)
#61 The Farthest Shore by Ursula K. Le Guin (Reread)

Books read in May
#62 A Necklace of Raindrops by Joan Aiken (Library)
#63 Night Waking by Sarah Moss (TBR)
#64 How To Be a Heroine: or, What I've Learned From Reading too Much by Samantha Ellis (TBR)
#65 Tehanu by Ursula K. Le Guin (Reread)
#66 Tales from Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin (Library)
#67 Small Island by Andrea Levy (TBR)
#68 The Pastor's Wife by Elizabeth von Arnim (Free kindle)
#69 Hyperion by Dan Simmons (Library)
#70 Faro's Daughter by Georgette Heyer (TBR)
#71 Agatha Christie: An Autobiography by Agatha Christie (Reread)
#72 The Two Mrs Abbotts by D. E. Stevenson (TBR)
#73 A Diary Without Dates by Enid Bagnold (Free kindle)
#74 The Gentleman's Daughter: Women's Lives in Georgian England by Amanda Vickery (Library)
#75 High Wages by Dorothy Whipple (TBR)
#76 The Kingdom Under the Sea by Joan Aiken (Library)
#77 Embassytown by China Mieville (TBR)
#78 A Matter of Millions by Anna Katharine Green (TBR)
#79 Pietr the Latvian by Georges Simenon (TBR)

Books read in June
#80 Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper (Reread)
#81 The Cuckoo Tree by Joan Aiken (TBR)
#82 Life After Life by Kate Atkinson (TBR)
#83 The Four Graces by D. E. Stevenson (Library)
#84 The Runaways by Elizabeth Goudge (TBR)
#85 Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold (TBR)
#86 Borders of Infinity by Lois McMaster Bujold (TBR)
#87 The Golem and the Djinni by Helene Wecker (Library)
#88 Briar Rose by Jane Yolen (TBR)
#89 Brothers in Arms by Lois McMaster Bujold (TBR)
#90 Woman on the Edge of Time by Marge Piercy (TBR)
#91 The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper (Reread)
#92 China Court by Rumer Godden (TBR)
#93 Peril at End House by Agatha Christie (Reread)
#94 Friday's Child by Georgette Heyer (Reread)

Books read in January
#1 Confusion by Elizabeth Jane Howard (TBR)
#2 Uncle Silas by Sheridan Le Fanu (TBR)
#3 The Three Clerks by Anthony Trollope (Free kindle)
#4 Farthing by Jo Walton (TBR)
#5 Disco for the Departed by Colin Cotterill (TBR)
#6 Brat Farrar by Jospehine Tey (TBR)
#7 Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold (Reread)
#8 Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold (Reread)
#9 Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine Tey (TBR)
#10 The Talisman Ring by Georgette Heyer (TBR)
#11 The Orchid House by Phyllis Shand Allfrey (TBR)
#12 The Documents in the Case by Dorothy L. Sayers (TBR)
#13 O Pioneers! by Willa Cather (TBR)
#14 Highland Fling by Nancy Mitford (Omnibus)
#15 Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (Reread)

Books read in February
#16 The Warrior's Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold (Reread)
#17 The Love Child by Edith Olivier (TBR)
#18 Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne (TBR)
#19 Consequences by E. M. Delafield (Free kindle)
#19.5 The Mountains of Mourning by Lois McMaster Bujold (Reread)
#20 More Talk of Jane Austen by Sheila Kaye-Smith and G. B. Stern (TBR)
#21 The Purcell Papers by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (Free kindle)
#22 The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold (Reread)
#23 Partners in Crime by Agatha Christie (Reread)
#24 Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain (TBR)
#25 A Feast for Crows by George R. R. Martin (Spousal unit)
#26 Mr. Britling Sees It Through by H. G. Wells (Free kindle)
#27 Diary of a Provincial Lady by E. M. Delafield (Reread)
#28 Longbourn by Jo Baker (TBR)
#29 Stet by Diana Athill (TBR)
#30 The Mysterious Mr Quin by Agatha Christie (Reread)

Books read in March
#31 In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden (TBR)
#32 Whispers Under Ground by Ben Aaronovitch (TBR)
#33 The Castle of Wolfenbach by Eliza Parsons (TBR)
#34 The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie (Reread)
#35 Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore (Library)
#36 Agatha Christie's Secret Notebooks by John Curran (TBR)
#37 The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis (Reread)
#38 A Foot in the Grave by Joan Aiken (Library)
#39 Anarchy and Old Dogs by Colin Cotterill (TBR)
#40 The Beckoning Lady by Margery Allingham (TBR)
#41 Just Henry by Michelle Magorian (TBR)
#42 The Last Chronicle of Barset by Anthony Trollope (TBR)
#43 Casting Off by Elizabeth Jane Howard (TBR)
#44 A Gathering Light by Jennifer Donnelly (TBR)
#45 One of Ours by Willa Cather (Free kindle)

Books acquired in January (14 books acquired, 10 books read from TBR)
#1 Farthing by Jo Walton (Kindle) READ
#2 The Penguin Complete Novels of Nancy Mitford by Nancy Mitford (Kindle)
#3 The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry (Kindle)
#4 Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain (Waterstones.com) READ
#5 The Talisman Ring by Georgette Heyer (Kindle) READ
#6 O Pioneers! by Willa Cather (Kindle) READ
#7 The Brontes at Haworth by Ann Dinsdale (Brithday present)
#8 Home by Marilynne Robinson (Brithday present) READ
#9 The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall (Brithday present)
#10 The Lacquer Lady by F. Tennyson Jesse (Brithday present)
#11 The Ladies of Lyndon by Margaret Kennedy (Brithday present)
#12 The Sleeping Beauty by Elizabeth Taylor (Brithday present)
#13 The Crowded Street by Winifred Holtby (Brithday present)
#14 The Caravaners by Elizabeth von Arnim (Brithday present)

Books acquired in February (7 books acquired, 6 books read from TBR)
#15 The Edwardians by Vita Sackville-West (Virago group)
#16 How to Be a Heroine: Or, what I've learned from reading too much by Samantha Ellis (Birthday present) READ
#17 Agatha Christie's Secret Notebooks by John Curran (Birthday present) READ
#18 The Last Chronicle of Barset by Anthony Trollope (Waterstones.com) READ
#19 Longbourn by Jo Baker (Kindle) READ
#20 An Infamous Army by Georgette Heyer (Kindle) READ
#21 Whispers Underground by Ben Aaronovitch (Kindle) READ

Books acquired in March (17 books acquired, 10 books read from TBR)
#22 Anarchy and Old Dogs by Colin Cotterill (Kindle) READ
#23 Judgement Day by Penelope Lively (Charity bookshop) READ
#24 Letters to Children by C. S. Lewis (Charity bookshop)
#25 The Book of Taltos by Steven Brust (Amazon Marketplace)
#26 Casting Off by Elizabeth Jane Howard (Kindle) READ
#27 Love Letters Between a Nobleman and His Sister by Aphra Behn (Henry Pordes)
#28 The Fruit of the Tree by Edith Wharton (Henry Pordes)
#29 Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather (Henry Pordes)
#30 The Reef by Edith Wharton (Any Amount of Books)
#31 The Lost Traveller by Antonia White (Any Amount of Books)
#32 China Court by Rumer Godden (Foyles) READ
#33 The Two Mrs Abbotts by D. E. Stevenson (Persephone Bookshop) READ
#34 High Wages by Dorothy Whipple (Persephone Bookshop) READ
#35 The Hopkins Manuscript by R. C. Sherriff (Persephone Bookshop)
#36 A Woman's Place, 1910-1975 by Ruth Adam (Oxfam Bloomsbury)
#37 On the Run by Nina Bawden (elkiedee)
#38 Odd Girl Out by Elizabeth Jane Howard (elkiedee)

Books acquired in April (5 books acquired, 7 books read from TBR)
#39 The Corinthian by Georgette Heyer (Kindle) READ
#40 Mary Shelley by Muriel Spark (Kindle) READ
#41 A Touch of Mistletoe by Barbara Comyns (Virago group)
#42 All Change by Elizabeth Jane Howard (Kindle) READ
#43 Cetaganda by Lois McMaster Bujold (Kindle) READ

Books acquired in May (12 books acquired, 9 books read from TBR)
#44 Lady Oracle by Margaret Atwood (Charity bookshop)
#45 A Shilling for Candles by Josephine Tey (Charity bookshop)
#46 The Luck of the Vails by E. F. Benson (Birthday present) READ
#47 Agatha Christie's Murder in the Making by John Curran (Greenway bookshop)
#48 Faro's Daughter by Georgette Heyer (Kindle) READ
#49 Pietr the Latvian by Georges Simenon (Kindle) READ
#50 Helliconia Summer by Brian Aldiss (Charity bookshop)
#51 Helliconia Winter by Brian Aldiss (Charity bookshop)
#52 Forty Signs of Rain by Kim Stanley Robinson (Charity bookshop)
#53 The Chrysalids by John Wyndham (Charity bookshop)
#54 The Chanur Saga by C. J. Cherryh (Abebooks) READ
#55 The Runaways by Elizabeth Goudge (Kindle) READ

Books acquired in June (18 books acquired, 10 books read from TBR)
#56 Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold (Kindle) READ
#57 Borders of Infinity by Lois McMaster Bujold (Kindle) READ
#58 Beyond the Glass by Antonia White (Virago group)
#59 The Flight of the Maidens by Jane Gardam (elkiedee)
#60 Railsea by China Mieville (drachenbraut23)
#61 Enormous Changes at the Last Minute by Grace Paley (drachenbraut23)
#62 The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell (Oxfam Bloomsbury)
#63 Children of God by Mary Doria Russell (Oxfam Bloomsbury)
#64 A Very Great Profession: The Woman's Novel 1914-39 by Nicola Beauman (Oxfam Bloomsbury) READ
#65 Austerity Britain, 1945-1951 by David Kynaston (Waterstones - Gower Street)
#66 Phineas Finn by Anthony Trollope (Waterstones - Gower Street) READ
#67 The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin (Waterstones - Gower Street)
#68 The Corner That Held Them by Sylvia Townsend Warner (Waterstones - Gower Street) READ
#69 Brothers in Arms by Lois McMaster Bujold (Kindle) READ
#70 Lightspeed: Women Destroy Science Fiction! (Kindle) READ
#71 The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North (Kindle) READ
#72 Pamela by Samuel Richardson (Charity bookshop)
#73 The Kraken Wakes by John Wyndham (Charity bookshop) READ

Books acquired in July (6 books acquired, 10 books read from TBR)
#74 The Carter of La Providence by Georges Simenon (Kindle) READ
#75 Bodies of Light by Sarah Moss (Kindle)
#76 A Tale of Time City by Diana Wynne Jones (Kindle) READ
#77 We are all Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler (Kindle) READ
#78 Beware of Pity by Stefan Zweig (Kindle)
#79 Mirror Dance by Lois McMaster Bujold (Kindle) READ

Books acquired in August (9 books acquired, 8 books read from TBR)
#80 August Folly by Angela Thirkell (Waterstones.com) READ
#81 Chanur's Homecoming by C. J. Cherryh (Amazon Marketplace) READ
#82 Chanur's Legacy by C. J. Cherryh (Amazon Marketplace) READ
#83 Black Maria by Diana Wynne Jones (Kindle) READ
#84 Hexwood by Diana Wynne Jones (Kindle) READ
#85 The Islands of Chaldea by Diana Wynne Jones (Kindle) READ
#86 Angels and Men by Catherine Fox (Kindle) READ
#87 The Greengage Summer by Rumer Godden (Kindle) READ
#88 The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters (Waterstones.com) READ

Books acquired in September (9 books acquired, 11 books read from TBR)
#89 The Siege of Krishnapur by J. G. Farrell (Kindle) READ
#90 Momento Mori by Muriel Spark (Oxfam Birmingham)
#91 Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (Oxfam Birmingham) READ
#92 The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin (Oxfam Birmingham)
#93 Castle Gay by John Buchan (GennyT)
#94 The Blanket of the Dark by John Buchan (GennyT)
#95 Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold (Kindle) READ
#96 Komarr by Lois McMaster Bujold (Kindle) READ
#97 The Late Monsieur Gallet by Georges Simenon (Kindle) READ

Books acquired in October (11 books acquired, 13 books read from TBR)
#98 The Home-Maker by Dorothy Canfield Fisher (Mor Books, Skye) READ
#99 The Death of Grass by John Christopher (Mor Books, Skye) READ
#100 Family Britain: 1951-57 by David Kynaston (Mor Books, Skye)
#101 Downbelow Station by C. J. Cherryh (Mor Books, Skye)
#102 Skye by F. C. Sillar (Mor Books, Skye) READ
#103 On the Crofters Trail by David Craig (Mor Books, Skye)
#104 A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr. (Mor Books, Skye)
#105 High Albania by Edith Durham (Mor Books, Skye)
#106 A Civil Campaign by Lois McMaster Bujold (Kindle) READ
#107 Other People's Daughters by Ruth Brandon (Library sale) READ
#108 The Foundling by Georgette Heyer (Kindle) READ

Books acquired in November
#109 Broken Homes by Ben Aaronovitch (Kindle) READ
#110 White Boots by Noel Streatfeild (Charity Bookshop) READ
#111 Black Narcissus by Rumer Godden (The Book People)
#112 Kingfishers Catch Fire by Rumer Godden (The Book People)
#113 Breakfast with the Nikolides by Rumer Godden (The Book People)
#114 Waistcoats and Weaponry by Gail Carriger (Kindle) READ
#115 Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold (Kindle) READ
#116 Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (Kindle)
#117 In a Glass Darkly by J. Sheridan Le Fanu (British Library)
#118 Mr Fortune's Maggot by Sylvia Townsend Warner (elkiedee)
#119 Winterfair Gifts by Lois McMaster Bujold (Kindle) READ
#120 Diplomatic Immunity by Lois McMaster Bujold (Kindle) READ

Books acquired in December
#121 Cuckoo's Song by Frances Hardinge (Kindle) READ
#122 The Secret Countess by Eva Ibbotson (Kindle)
#123 Captain Vorpatril's Alliance by Lois McMaster Bujold (Kindle) READ
#124 Cryoburn by Lois McMaster Bujold (Kindle) READ
#125 Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy by Rumer Godden (Virago Secret Santa)
#126 The Odd Women by George Gissing (Virago Secret Santa)
#127 An Episode of Sparrows by Rumer Godden (Virago Secret Santa)
#128 The Very Dead of Winter by Mary Hocking (Virago Secret Santa)
#129 Elizabeth Taylor: Complete Short Stories by Elizabeth Taylor (Virago Secret Santa)
#130 The Inheritance Trilogy by N. K. Jemisin (Kindle)
#131 The Bookshop Book by Jen Campbell (Christmas present)
#132 Thursday's Children by Rumer Godden (Christmas present) READ
#133 So You Think You Know Jane Austen by John Sutherland (Christmas present)
#134 The Modern Library by Carmen Callil (Christmas present)
#135 Lamentation by C. J. Sansom (Christmas present)
#136 Mystery in White by J. Jefferson Farjeon (Kindle) READ
#137 The Year of the Griffin by Diana Wynne Jones (ebay)
#138 Acts and Omissions by Catherine Fox
#139 The Lady of the Shroud by Bram Stoker

Finishing off this challenge from last year:

A century of books!

I'm trying to read a book published in every year of the 20th century. I started this at the beginning of 2013 and am nearly 95% of the way through!

1900 The Touchstone by Edith Wharton
1901 The Ordeal of Elizabeth by Anonymous
1902 Five Children and It by E. Nesbit
1903 When Patty Went to College by Jean Webster
1904 The Phoenix and the Carpet by E. Nesbit
1905 Princess Priscilla's Fortnight by Elizabeth von Arnim
1906 The Story of the Amulet by E. Nesbit
1907 Arsene Lupin, Gentleman Burglar by Maurice Leblanc
1908 Love's Shadow by Ada Leverson
1909
1910 Prester John by John Buchan
1911 The Innocence of Father Brown by G. K. Chesterton
1912 Tenterhooks by Ada Leverson
1913 The Gods of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs
1914 The Pastor's Wife by Elizabeth von Arnim
1915 At One-Thirty: A Mystery by Isabel Ostrander
1916 Love at Second Sight by Ada Leverson
1917 This is the End by Stella Benson
1918 The War Workers by E. M. Delafield
1919 Consequences by E. M. Delafield
1920 The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
1921 The Black Moth by Georgette Heyer
1922 The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie
1923 Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie
1924 Poirot Investigates by Agatha Christie
1925 The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie
1926 These Old Shades by Georgette Heyer
1927 The Big Four by Agatha Christie
1928 The Masqueraders by Georgette Heyer
1929 The Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie
1930 Very Good, Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse
1931 All Passion Spent by Vita Sackville-West
1932 Devil's Cub by Georgette Heyer
1933 High Rising by Angela Thirkell
1934 The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers
1935 Lucia's Progress by E. F. Benson
1936 The New House by Lettice Cooper
1937 Busman's Honeymoon by Dorothy L. Sayers
1938 The Fashion in Shrouds by Margery Allingham
1939 Trouble for Lucia by E. F. Benson
1940 The Corinthian by Georgette Heyer
1941 Traitor's Purse by Margery Allingham
1942 House-Bound by Winifred Peck
1943 The Two Mrs Abbotts by D. E. Stevenson
1944 Death at the Medical Board by Josephine Bell
1945 Coroner's Pidgin by Margery Allingham
1946 Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine Tey
1947 Joy in the Morning by P. G. Wodehouse
1948 I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
1949 Farmer Giles of Ham by J. R. R. Tolkien
1950 Some Tame Gazelle by Barbara Pym
1951 My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier
1952 Excellent Women by Barbara Pym
1953 Someone at a Distance by Dorothy Whipple
1954 No Love Lost by Margery Allingham
1955 Less Than Angels by Barbara Pym
1956 A Lighthearted Quest by Ann Bridge
1957 The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham
1958 A Glass of Blessings by Barbara Pym
1959 The Lantern Bearers by Rosemary Sutcliff
1960 Trouble with Lichen by John Wyndham
1961 No Fond Return of Love by Barbara Pym
1962 The Drowned World by J. G. Ballard
1963 The New Moon with the Old by Dodie Smith
1964 The Runaways by Elizabeth Goudge
1965 The Town in Bloom by Dodie Smith
1966 Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
1967 It Ends With Revelations by Dodie Smith
1968 A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
1969 Mr. Bridge by Evan S. Connell
1970 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
1971 The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin
1972 Striding Folly by Dorothy L. Sayers
1973 The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street by Helene Hanff
1974 Midnight is a Place by Joan Aiken
1975 Eight Days of Luke by Diana Wynne Jones
1976 Woman on the Edge of Time by Marge Piercy
1977 Agatha Christie: An Autobiography by Agatha Christie
1978 Kesrith / Shon'jir by C. J. Cherryh
1979 Kutath by C. J. Cherryh
1980 A Few Green Leaves by Barbara Pym
1981 The Stolen Lake by Joan Aiken
1982 An Unsuitable Attachment by Barbara Pym
1983 Jhereg by Steven Brust
1984 Yendi by Steven Brust
1985 Fire Watch by Connie Willis
1986 Elizabeth: The author of Elizabeth and Her German Garden by Karen Usborne
1987 Teckla by Steven Brust
1988 Madensky Square by Eva Ibbotson
1989 The Mountains of Mourning by Lois McMaster Bujold
1990 Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay
1991 Marking Time by Elizabeth Jane Howard
1992 Briar Rose by Jane Yolen
1993 Confusion by Elizabeth Jane Howard
1994 Mrs Jordan's Profession by Claire Tomalin
1995 High Tide in Tucson: Essays From Now or Never by Barbara Kingsolver
1996 Blue Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
1997 Restoration London by Liza Picard
1998 Limbo Lodge by Joan Aiken
1999 Affinity by Sarah Waters

Progress: 99/100

Decades completed: 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s

An idea borrowed from Liz (lyzard), this lists ongoing series that I am actively reading. This doesn't include series where I have the first book in my TBR pile (i.e. series I haven't started reading yet aren't included). An asterisk indicates a series where I already have a copy of the next book.

Series I'm actively* reading (*for a rather lax definition of active)
*Albert Campion: Next up Hide My Eyes by Margery Allingham (19/25)
Barsetshire Books by Angela Thirkell: Reading out of order. Next up Summer Half (4/29 read)
Chalion: Next up: The Hallowed Hunt by Lois McMaster Bujold (3/3)
*Derkholm: Next up Year of the Griffin by Diana Wynne Jones (3/3)
*Dolphin Ring Cycle: Next up Sword at Sunset by Rosemary Sutcliff (5/8)
Dr. Siri Paiboun: Next up: Curse of the Pogo Stick by Colin Cotterill (5/9)
*Ebenezer Gryce: Next up The Doctor, His Wife, and the Clock by Anna Katharine Green (7/13)
Fables: Next up Fables, Vol. 3: Storybook Love by Bill Willingham (3/21)
*Fionavar Tapestry: Next up The Darkest Road by Guy Gavriel Kat (3/3)
Gilead: Next up Lila by Marilynne Robinson (3/3)
Howl's Castle: Next up Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones (2/3)
*Just Patty: Next up Just Patty by Jean Webster (2/2)
Les Voyages Extraordinaires: Next up From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne (4/54)
*The Long Earth: Next up The Long War by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter (2/3)
Maigret: Next up The Hanged Man of Saint Pholien by Georges Simenon (4/76)
*Matthew Shardlake: Next up Lamentation by C. J. Sansom (6/6)
Matthew Swift: Next up The Neon Court by Kate Griffin (3/4)
Mrs Tim: Next up Mrs Tim Carries On by D. E. Stevenson (2/4)
Old Filth: Next up Last Friends by Jane Gardam (3/3)
The Palliser Novels: Next up: The Eustace Diamonds by Anthony Trollope (3/6)
*The Prairie Trilogy: Next up The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (3/3) (Reading out of order)
Rivers of London: Next up Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch (5/6)
Ruth Galloway: Next up A Dying Fall by Elly Grifiiths (5/6)
Small Change: Next up Ha'penny by Jo Walton (2/3)
*A Song of Ice and Fire: Next up A Dance with Dragons by G. R. R. Martin (5/7?)
*Vlad Taltos: Next up Taltos by Steven Brust (4/14)
Wolves Chronicles: Next up Dido and Pa by Joan Aiken (7/11)

Series I've stalled on but want to get back to
*Allan Quatermain: Next up Allan Quatermain by H. Rider Haggard (2/15)
*Arsène Lupin: Next up Arsène Lupin vs. Holmlock Shears by Maurice Leblanc (2/23?)
*Barsoom: Next up The Warlord of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs (3/11)
Bas-Lag: Next up The Scar by China Mieville (2/3)
Chief Inspector Armand Gamache: Next up The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny (8/10)
*Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox: Next up Eight Skilled Gentlemen by Barry Hughart (3/3)
*Cicero: Next up Lustrum by Robert Harris (2/2)
Code Name Verity: Next up Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein (2/2)
Daughter of Smoke and Bone: Next up Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor (3/3)
David Wintringham by Josephine Bell: Reading out of order (2/12 read)
The Deed of Paksenarrion: Next up Divided Allegiance by Elizabeth Moon (2/3)
*Discworld: Next up Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett (40/40)
Dragonriders of Pern: Next up Dragonquest by Anne McCaffrey (2/25)
Dragonslayer: Next up The Eye of Zoltar by Jasper Fforde (3/4)
Empire Trilogy: Next up: The Singapore Grip by J. G. Farrell (3/3)
*Father Brown: Next up: The Wisdom of Father Brown by G. K. Chesterton (2/5)
The Girl Who: Next up The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two by Catherynne M. Valente (4/4)
Green Knowe: Next up: The Chimneys of Green Knowe by L. M. Boston (2/6)
Inheritance Trilogy: Next up The Broken Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin (2/3)
Jimm Juree: Next up Grandad, There's a Head on the Beach by Colin Cotterill (2/2)
Julia Probyn: Next up The Portugese Escape by Ann Bridge (2/8)
The Magicians: Next up The Magician King by Lev Grossman (2/3)
The Penderwicks: Next up The Penderwicks on Gardam Street by Jeanne Birdsall (2/3)
*Richard Hannay: Next up The Three Hostages by John Buchan (4/5)
Romantic Poets and Nephilim: Next up A Time to Cast Away Stones in The Bible Repairman and Other Stories by Tim Powers (2/3)
Sorcery and Celia: Next up The Grand Tour by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer (2/3)
*Turtle: Next up Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver (2/2)
Wars of Light and Shadow: Next up Ships of Merior by Janny Wurts (2/10?)

Series I'm rereading
*The Chronicles of Narnia (publication order): Next up Prince Caspian by C. S. Lewis
*Colonel Race: Next up Cards on the Table by Agatha Christie (2/4)
*The Dark is Rising Sequence: Next up Silver on the Tree by Susan Cooper (5/5)
*Hercule Poirot: Next up: Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie (9/39)
*Miss Marple: Next up The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie (3/13)
*The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: Next up The Kalahari Typing School for Men by Alexander McCall Smith (4/13)
*Superintendent Battle: Next up Cards on the Table by Agatha Christie (3/5)
*Thursday Next: Next up First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde (5/8)
Tommy and Tuppence: Next up N or M? by Agatha Christie (3/5)

Up to date series
Finishing School: Latest book Waistcoats & Weaponry by Gail Carriger (3/4?)
Jackson Brodie: Latest book Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson (4/4)
Mistborn: Latest book The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson (4/5)
Shades of Grey: Latest book Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde (1/3)
Wolf Hall: Latest book Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel (2/3)

Completed series
Alastair-Audley by Georgetter Heyer (4/4)
Cazalet Chronicles by Elizabeth Jane Howard (5/5)
Chanur by C. J. Cherryh (5/5)
Chaos Walking by Patrick Ness (4/4)
The Chronicles of Barsetshire: by Anthony Trollope (6/6)
Colonial Trilogy by Kate Grenville (3/3)
The Earthsea Cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin (6/6)
Miss Buncle by D. E. Stevenson (4/4)
Seven Kingdoms by Kristin Cashore (3/3)
Vorkosigan (Chronological order) by Lois McMaster Bujold (16/16)

Plans for 2014, but these are might happens with no pressure:

- The Virago Modern Classics group is doing a Great War theme read to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the start of WWI.

READ
1. Mr. Britling Sees It Through by H. G. Wells
2. One of Ours by Willa Cather
3. The War Workers by E. M. Delafield
4. A Diary Without Dates by Enid Bagnold
5. Singled Out: How Two Million Women Survived without Men After the First World War by Virginia Nicholson
6. This is the End by Stella Benson

- There's a group read of the Vorkosigan saga. I will be rereading the first few books in chronological order and then going on to read the others. Next up is Ethan of Athos

READ
1. Shards of Honor
2. Barrayar
3. The Warrior's Apprentice
4. The Mountains of Mourning
5. The Vor Game
6. Cetaganda
7. Ethan of Athos
8. Borders of Infinity (3 novellas: The Mountains of Mourning, Labyrinth and The Borders of Infinity)
9. Brothers in Arms
10. Mirror Dance
11. Memory
12. Komarr
13. A Civil Campaign
14. Falling Free
15. Winterfair Gifts
16. Diplomatic Immunity
17. Captain Vorpatril's Alliance
18. Cryoburn

- An Agatha Christie novel a month with Liz (next up is The Thirteen Problems)

READ
1. Partners in Crime
2. The Mysterious Mr Quin
3. The Murder at the Vicarage
4. The Sittaford Mystery
5. Peril at End House
6. Lord Edgware Dies
7. The Thirteen Problems

- A Georgette Heyer novel a month with Liz (next up is The Reluctant Widow)

READ
1. The Talisman Ring
2. The Corinthian
3. Faro's Daughter
4. Friday's Child
5. An Infamous Army
6. The Foundling

- A Virago Modern Classic a month

READ
1. The Orchid House by Phyllis Shand Allfrey
2. The Love Child by Edith Olivier
3. In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden
4. Illyrian Spring by Ann Bridge
5. China Court by Rumer Godden
6. My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier
7. Civil to Strangers by Barbara Pym
8. A Very Great Profession: The Woman's Novel 1914-39 by Nicola Beauman
9. The Gypsy's Baby and Other Stories by Rosamond Lehmann
10. The Getting of Wisdom by Henry Handel Richardson
11. The Corner That Held Them by Sylvia Townsend Warner
12. August Folly by Angela Thirkell
13. The House on the Strand by Daphne du Maurier
14. Love-Letters Between a Nobleman and His Sister by Aphra Behn

Done.

Hi Heather! Happy Monday! Wow, the topper looks like a wonderful stop on your trip. I just gaze at those types of pics and try to imagine the things that went on there. I hope you enjoyed your trip to the fullest!
Have a terrific week!

*waving again!*

Gorgeous castle; but, I wonder, is it habitable?

>11 Carmenere: & >12 humouress: Thanks Lynda and Nina!

An interesting story about this castle - it's actually less than 100 years old (and it is inhabitable) as it was finished in 1932 but it was built from the remains of a castle that had been destroyed in one of the Jacobite uprisings in 1719 (it was blown up). So although it looks quite old it's not really. Having said that there has been a castle/fortified structure on that island since the 13th century.

I was really struck by the colours in the landscape and the reflection of the castle in the loch:

Happy new thread, Heather. What lovely photos. Thanks for sharing.

Some photos from Skye - they don't really do justice to the scenery or the colours and light:

>14 BLBera: Thanks Beth!

Lovely opening photo. I'd happily move in there but I think it would be rather chilly - and have a bit of a damp problem to boot!

Wow, Skye looks amazing. I'd love to go that far north, particularly to Orkney as I love prehistory, but I also don't like bad weather or getting rained on so it puts me off somewhat. I might try and talk my mum into arranging a holiday up there at some point, she'd really enjoy it.

What gorgeous photos, Heather! Scenery is just beautiful, hauntingly so; and I love the Eilean Donan Castle.

Love the photos, and the opening photo is quite spectacular. I did think it was a very old castle, but then I guess if they constructed it from the remains of an 18th century castle, that would do it. How atmospheric!

Happy New Thread Heather! You shouldn't have any trouble hitting a double 75 at least by year's end. Looking forward to whatever else you'll have to share with us here. xx

Ummmm. Lovely!
Did you visit Dunvegan, by any chance? One of my dear almost-lifetime friends is a MacLeod, who met the MacLeod at Dunvegan in the 70s. We never cease to be amazed that our Highlander forbears managed the humidity and heat of our RobCo summers.

>17 lunacat: Hi Jenny. Yes, definitely chilly. The taller section on the right hand side of the castle is now open to the public and it was quite cold. I think the smaller section on the left of those photos is where the family currently stay but most stately homes/castles in the Highlands were only intended for summer use and I think they would just shut them up and move south for the winter.

>18 lunacat: We'd definitely like to visit more of the Hebrides and go farther north to Orkney/Shetland etc. I think Skye can be quite wet but we were lucky and although it was often overcast it didn't rain that much. The photos don't do justice to the light and it was much lighter than I'm used to even when very cloudy.

>19 lit_chick: Haunting is definitely the word Nancy. DH and I definitely fell a little bit in love with the island.

>20 Smiler69: Thanks Ilana. I would have said exactly the same thing about the castle - we were really surprised when we found that out.

>21 LizzieD: Peggy, we did visit Dunvegan (both village and castle although I only have pics of the castle) although we didn't meet the MacLeod of the MacLeod. Was Dame Flora the MacLeod when your friend visited?

We also visited the Culloden Battlefield Visitor Centre when we were in Inverness and saw the tomb of Clan Maclean (amongst others). I was meaning to ask if there was any family connection there?

Book #164: Other People's Daughters: The Life And Times Of The Governess by Ruth Brandon - 4.1 stars
(aka Governess: The Lives and Times of the Real Jane Eyres)

I had this on my library list but have no memory of where the recommendation came from. This was not really the general look at governessing in the 18th and 19th centuries that I was expecting, instead it was comprised of short biographies of several different women who had been governesses at some point in their lives using their letters and diaries as the source material.

Brandon acknowledges in the introduction that because she is using those women who kept letters and diaries and whose letters and diaries have survived to our day, the women she writes about are likely to be exceptional. Even so, I still think the book gives the reader a good idea of the hardships and struggles faced as a governess in the late 18th and 19th centuries and, just as important, what life was like when they were no longer able to work as a governess. She also looks at the wider subject of this history of education for women in Britain, the challenges women who wanted to become educated faced and how women like Mary Wollstonecraft and the Langham Place group worked to overcome these.

Fascinating stuff (although sometimes angry-making and heartbreaking).

Book #165: The Foundling by Georgette Heyer - 4.2 stars

To balance out the Brandon book I downloaded The Foundling to be my next Heyer read and I think it has become one of my favourites. There's less focus on the romance and more focus on the comedy as the unassertive and overly coddled Duke of Sale decides to escape from his well-meaning but bossy relations and servants to become plain old Mr Dash of Nowhere for a few days. The blackmail of his cousin for breach of promise gives him the perfect excuse but what should have been a fairly straightforward attempt to retrieve the incriminating letters becomes a comic farce as the Duke ends up looking after a runaway schoolboy turned attempted highwayman, a very beautiful (but very silly) foundling girl, gets himself kidnapped and burns down an inn. As it's Heyer, it all ends happily and this was a very enjoyable and funny read.

You have shown us some spectacular photo's, Heather!

I always had a soft spot for English, Irish and Scottish castles. I even have a scrapbook some where in a box, from way way back

Wow! Beautiful photos. :) Thank you for sharing them with us.

Happy New Thread, Heather! Gorgeous photos!

Hi Heather! Love the Eilean Donan pictures as well as all the other Highland shots. Just lovely.

Ordered The Foundling from my library in spite of my resolution to swear off all things Regency. Couldn't help myself as you made it sound like so much fun!

Happy new thread, Heather and wonderful pictures. We didn't get much of a chance to travel before having kids but I'm definitely getting to live vicariously through LT folks.
I'm impressed that you've made such progress with your reading through the century challenge.
Did you just start that this year?? Way to go!!

Heather, I recently read The Foundling and loved it as well. I do believe it has moved into the ranks of favorite Georgette Heyer novels. I thought it was refreshingly different from many of her books.

Gilly is so much fun, isn't he?

Love the photos up top as well, Heather. Scotland is somewhere we're considering for a holiday next year. It's such a long time since we've been there, and J has never been except for a holiday on Orkney when he was three, which of course he can't remember.

Happy new thread Heather!

Absolutely love your Scotland photos, which again tells me it has been too long since I have been there. I think I will make an effort to go and visit next year again. Yes, I agree it is soo difficult to catch the beauty and the light of the scenery. However, your photos are stunning.

>23 souloftherose: Brilliant review of Other People's Daughters: The Life And Times Of The Governess this has found it's way onto my WL

Looking forward to your comments on Effie Gray, once you watched it next month.

Some photos from Dunvegan Castle and its gardens on Skye:

>25 connie53:, >26 saraslibrary: & >27 scaifea: Thank you Connie, Amber & Sara :-)

>28 Fourpawz2: I hope you enjoy The Foundling Charlotte.

>29 jolerie: Hi Valerie! No, I started the century challenge last year but I am hoping to finish it this year. Just three books to go!

>30 DeltaQueen50: & >31 ronincats: Judy, The Foundling was great fun and I think it was your recent review which decided me in picking it up. Roni, yes, I do love Gilly!

>32 SandDune: Rhian, I would definitely recommend Skye if you enjoy scenery, walking and good food. We'd like to visit Scotland again and see more of the Scottish islands.

>33 drachenbraut23: Thanks Bianca. I hope you enjoy Other People's Daughters.

My, what gorgeous photos Heather. My only complaint is I would wish to see each one very large in an individual post, though of course that would load up your thread like mad. Beautiful, thanks so much for posting them!

>35 souloftherose: - I picked up The Foundling from the library yesterday afternoon on my way to the Shelter. Have started reading it, but am not very far into it because, of course, I am trying to read multiple books at the same time. Going to spend the time until lunch doing that.

Beautiful pictures of Dunvegan, Heather! I am so jealous.

>36 Smiler69: Thank you! You've reminded me I was going to post the link to the album which I think I've set up so that it should be visible to anyone.

https://plus.google.com/photos/106382152248560096756/albums/6077786620658051697

>37 Fourpawz2: 'because, of course, I am trying to read multiple books at the same time.'

I do that a lot too :-)

Some more mini book reviews:



Book #166: Greenwitch by Susan Cooper - 4.3 stars

The third in Cooper's The Dark is Rising sequence. I have an omnibus edition which includes all five books and I hadn't realised how short this book is compared to the others in the series. In this book the Drew children from Under Sea, Over Stone return to Trewissick with Merriman and Will Stanton from The Dark is Rising. I really enjoyed the fact that Jane is the focus of this particular story and the way Cooper evoked the loneliness and otherness of the Greenwitch.



Book #167: Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness - 2.8 stars

I loved the first two books in this trilogy but really struggled to get through the third and final volume which felt over long and repetitive to me. I'd still recommend the first two books if you enjoy dystopias and the third book won several awards and seems to have been well liked by a lot of people so it might just be me. At least that's another series ticked off!

>38 souloftherose: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

So magnificent!!! That's a thousand times better than what I was suggesting (and not really seriously at that)!!! Thank you so much for that link Heather! What an amazing treat! I think you just made my day. So many amazing photos there, I think I'll bookmark the link so I can go back and look at them again. In fact, many of the photos are inspiring to me as an artist, and those of Eilean Donan castle are especially interesting as drawing subjects... if and when and possibly... would you give me permission to work from them for my graphite drawings?

>39 souloftherose: You're right, this third book in the series really was very short wasn't it? I actually liked it a lot more than The Dark is Rising, the same way I liked Over Sea, Under Stone a lot as well. It made me badly want to go back and read the first one again and go back to it so I could follow straight from the beginning again, but then I just thought that was just another good reason to reread them all, which is why I got the FS editions to begin with, when I surmised the series would be that good. Sorry the third Patrick Ness disappointed. I do have The Knife of Never Letting Go and want to make room for it in 2015.

Ok, that's it. I'm following your example. Haven't written a single review in weeks and I'm really due. Just a few sentences each. You are really inspiring me today. My fairy queen! ♥︎♥︎♥︎

Heather,

thank you so much for sharing the link to your photos. They are absolutely stunning. Eilean Donan castle is so beautiful. Definitely, on my list for places to visit :).

Sorry to hear that the third installment of the Patrick Ness trilogy didn't work for you. If I remember rightly I didn't quite enjoy the middle book as much, but felt that the third book picked up again.

I just finished last week More Than This by him, which I enjoyed quite a lot. Another kinda dystopian YA novel.

Book #168: Broken Homes by Ben Aaronvitch - 3.7 stars

Another fun entry in the Peter Grant series - this felt a little episodic at first but it builds to a nail-biting conclusion and a huge plot twist. The next book in the series, Foxglove Summer, has just been released in the UK and I expect I will be succumbing soon.



Book #169: Waistcoats & Weaponry by Gail Carriger - 3.6 stars

More high jinks and adventures with the Finishing School ladies - we find out some backstory to some of the events that happen in the same author's Parasol Protectorate series (written earlier but set later chronologically).

>40 Smiler69: Ah, thank you. If you think the photos are stunning that really only reflects how incredible the landscape is in that part of the world. I have a great fondness for my camera which is quite old but seems to do a very good job of automatically detecting the right settings to use when I point and click.

And I would be honoured if you wanted to use any of the photos as a basis for your drawings.

>41 Smiler69: I also have The Grey King tentatively lined up for this month. Strangely I can't remember that much about the last two books in the series.

>42 drachenbraut23: Thanks Bianca. I know Patrick Ness has written quite a few non-series books whilst I've been taking my time finishing the Chaos Walking trilogy. I'll keep an eye out for More Than This.

More beautiful photos, Heather! Love the cover of Greenwitch with the woman/witch's face in the bottom. Well done!

>23 souloftherose: Other People's Daughters: The Life And Times Of The Governess This sounds fascinating, especially since I've just finished Jane Eyre. I'll put it on the list.

Enjoying all the castle photos as well!

That's a lovely album of photos, Heather! Thank you for posting that link.

The eponymous second book of the series, The Dark is Rising, is still my favorite of the series, but every time I read Greenwitch I like it better. The last two books are not my favorites because of the necessary pain involved but are still very good stories.

It looks like Foxglove Summer will be out January 6 in the states--I've got it on pre-order.

After finishing W&W, I'm rereading the Parasol Protectorate books to find the links. There really aren't any in the first book, other than Maccon who we've only heard of so far and Lord Akeldama. But Vieve and Sidhaegh show up in the second book, which is where I am now. I don't know when the final book of the Finishing School series will come out.

Marvelous photos!

I'm a longtime Susan Cooper fan and ditto a newer fan of Ben Aaronovitch!

I've been studying your photos very carefully as we have just decide we will be going to Scotland next summer which will feature a week on Skye. Also a few days in Edinburgh, with some touring around in between. Debate is currently raging as to whether we should go right up to the top north-west corner or not. Mr SandDune and me have been there before, and it is lovely and just so incredibly remote for the UK, but it is a long way. J is very keen though.

>38 souloftherose: Thank you so much for sharing the photos! :) Such beautiful landscapes. You're a great photographer!

>45 lit_chick: Thanks Nancy :-)

>46 DorsVenabili: I will have to head over to your thread to find out what you thought of Jane Eyre Kerri. I think Other People's Daughters would be a good read to follow that as Brandon points out that although the Bronte's novels highlighted the plight of governesses they did tend to have happy endings where the governess got married which sadly wasn't likely to be the case for real life governesses.

>47 ronincats: Roni, I think you're right about the last two books in The Dark is Rising series but I've started The Grey King today anyway. I couldn't find a date for the final Finishing School book but hopefully next year sometime? It looks like the first book in a new series about Prudence will be released in Spring 2015.

And I wanted to tell you that I've requested the second Matthew Swift book from the library so I will hopefully get to that next month.

>48 sibylline: Thanks Lucy :-) Strangely, although I loved the Dark is Rising series I've never explored any of her other books. I have a couple on my shelves so will try those once I've finished this reread. Interestingly, she's still publishing and getting nominated for book awards - I think her latest book was shortlisted for the UK Carnegie medal.

>49 SandDune: I hope the photos help you make up minds Rhian :-) One of the factors in choosing Skye was that it seemed to be the most easily accessible of the islands now that it is connected to the mainland by a bridge so we were able to hire a car in Inverness and drive down (the drive itself through the mainland Scottish highlands was also stunning).

>50 saraslibrary: Thanks Sara :-)

No book reviews today - I woke up with a very foggy brain and it seems to have settled in for the day. I've been reading more non-fiction than usual over the last month and as I finished Mrs Woolf and the Servants this morning I noticed that I;ve been unintentionally reading my non-fiction books in chronological order!

Other People's Daughters: The Life And Times Of The Governess by Ruth Brandon - single women - 18th and 19th century
Singled Out: How Two Million Women Survived without Men After the First World War by Virginia Nicholson - single women - 1910-1940
Mrs Woolf and the Servants: The Hidden Heart of Domestic Service by Alison Light - women in service - late 19th century to WWII

And the non-fiction book at the top of my pile of books to read next is Private Battles: Our Intimate Diaries: How The War Almost Defeated Us by Simon Garfield - WWII

I hadn't planned to but now I'm tempted to follow that up with David Kynaston's Austerity Britain: 1945-51.

Seems like a good plan, Heather.

Hmm. You made an immediate convert with Other People's Daughters, which I just ordered quite cheaply from AMC. Now I'm left hoping that it will make its way safely across the great divide..... I love the pattern of your n-f reading. I even have a couple of them still unread. Also, I have on its way to me from PBS Ben Aaronovitch #3, so I can go ahead and read #2. So silly of me, but there it is.
And it was Dame Flora whom Suzie met back in the late 60s, I guess.
The Dunvegan shots are gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous! My own Scots ancestors were from Barra and ? DH's came from the Knapdale region.

Hi Heather - Thanks for sharing the lovely photos. They are breathtaking -- you should keep that camera forever. Lots of great reading here. I'm really tempted to reread the Copper series. My kids loved those books; we read them together. The Aaronovitch sounds intriguing also, along with Other People's Daughters. Sigh. Too many books...

>52 souloftherose: Heather, Austerity Britain is excellent! But you'll want to continue with Family Britain and Modernity Britain...:-)

Hmmm, Family Britain comes up as Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Weird!

>52 souloftherose: And to show how well I do with planned reading, I ended up picking up Muriel Spark's biography of Mary Shelley as my next non-fiction read. Really interesting though.

>53 connie53: *waves to Connie*

>54 LizzieD: I do hope you enjoy Other People's Daughters Peggy. And I know what you mean about wanting to have the next book in a series on hand before starting to read the previous one :-)

>55 BLBera: 'Sigh. Too many books...'

Oh dear, Beth. I do know how that feels.

>56 susanj67: I think you were one of the people who made me wishlist Austerity Britain Susan. I almost don't want to start them in case I read them all before he brings out the next book but I expect I will anyway.

Book #170: Singled Out: How Two Million Women Survived without Men After the First World War by Virginia Nicholson - 3.6 stars

This made a good follow-up read to Other People's Daughters which looked at single women in the 18th and 19th century although I thought that Nicholson's book was less well-structured and seemed to involve more repetition. I think Nicholson struck a good balance between highlighting the difficulties single women faced after WWI, the initial public hostility and the loneliness, and writing about the women who were able to seize the opportunities singleness and changing public attitudes gave them to achieve great things. Of course, as nowadays, the women who managed to do a lot were usually those who started life with a number of advantages: money, supportive family, good education etc.

An interesting read but I thought Nicholson's book about women in WWII (Millions Like Us: Women's Lives in the Second World War) was better structured.



Book #171: Skye by F. C. Sillar and Ruth Mary Meyler

I bought this whilst on holiday as I wanted something that gave a bit more background to island of Skye and its people. To some extent this book did and the authors cover a good range of topics from geology and anthropology to social history but I had two problems with it: first, the writing is very dry, and second, it was published in 1973 so is quite out of date. It did highlight how much on Skye has chanegd since the 1970s which was interesting to see but I wouldn't really recommend this if you're looking for a book on Skye.

This tickled me - inside the dust jacket of this book it says: 'The authors know the island intimately (Mr Sillar owns a Hebridean island)'.

Well, who doesn't?

Book #172: Fables: The Deluxe Edition Volume One by Bill Willingham - 4 stars

Fairytale characters (the Fables) have been driven out of their own world by The Adversary and have settled in modern day New York. The characters that can pass for everyday humans live in New York City and those who can't live on a farm outside the city. This deluxe edition of the graphic novel series includes two volumes of the Fables series: Fables Volume 1: Legends in Exile is a hard-boiled/noir murder mystery surrounding the human looking fairytales in New York City and Fables Volume 2: Animal Farm takes place at the farm with the non-human Fables and concerns a potential revolution at the farm (I think with deliberate nods to Orwell's Animal Farm).

I started reading this series back in 2010 and then stopped because the library didn't have all the books. Happily now they do so I've started again at the beginning. The stories are quite dark and gritty (although nothing like as dark as something like Gaiman's Sandman series) but well plotted and enjoyable. Although each volume has its own story-arc there's also a longer story-arc over the series so it's worth reading them in order.

>58 souloftherose: Well absolutely. Doesn't everyone own their own Hebridean Island? I do, and I know all my friends do as well.....I thought it was the norm?

I don't tend to follow the American book awards much but someone shared a link to this acceptance speech by Ursula K. Le Guin as she received the (American) National Book Foundation's Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters earlier this month:

http://youtu.be/Et9Nf-rsALk

"We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings."

She is an amazing lady (and I really should read more of her books).

>60 lunacat: :-D

Attempting to get some thoughts down on some more library books before returning them:



Book #175: Mrs Woolf and the Servants by Alison Light - 4.4 stars

Almost a joint biography of Virginia Woolf and her servants. Apparently VW wrote a lot about her thoughts and struggles with her servants in her diaries and Alison Light has used these references to research the details of the servants lives, their childhoods and families to try and get a picture of the real servants from that time. Light also does a very thorough analysis of VW's life and writings to explain VW's attitude to her servants and contrast with the prevailing attitudes of the time.

Although I was fascinated by the subject matter, what really struck me was how deft and insightful Alison Light's analysis of VW and her works was - she really managed to explain the apparent contradictions (to a 21st century view-point) of VW and the Bloomsbury group not wanting to have servants at all and yet remaining almost totally reliant on them throughout their lives. Thanks to Peggy and Lucy for the recommendation!

As soon as I'd finished reading this I put a reserve on Alison Light's new book, Common People, which is a look at the history of her own family who were mainly working class, over the last two centuries.

I love, love the photos of your vacation! I've always wanted to visit Scotland!

>64 Whisper1: Thanks Linda! The Highland areas of Scotland are truly beautiful.



Book #184: Consequences by Penelope Lively - 3.8 stars

It took me a while to get into this Penelope Lively novel - it's a family saga-type story looking at the lives of three women over three generations of the same family but I found the style more detached than I'm used to in this type of book and felt that I wasn't being given enough time to get to know the characters.

After reading some online reviews I realised that it may actually not be helpful to read this expecting a traditional family saga and that this is more a meditation on the impact our choices and decisions have on our lives told through a family saga. It's similar in theme to How It All Began and although I preferred HIAB to Consequences I still enjoyed C.

ETA: I think the book is completely missold by the sterotypical cover.

>65 souloftherose: - I have Consequences among the several as yet unread Lively books on my shelves. I like my cover better than yours, but from what you said, it also seems to give the wrong impression of the book...?

>66 katiekrug: I've seen this picture on the cover of another book recently. It wasn't one I'd read and I think it featured a diplomat in central Europe pre-Second World War!

>63 souloftherose: thanks for the reminder that I have that book TBR on my Kindle. I heard of it first here on LT but I think I picked it up on somewhat of a whim, possibly a daily deal. Based on your thoughts I ought to read it sooner rather than later.

>63 souloftherose: I'm putting both Mrs Woolf and the Servants and Common People on the wishlist. Interesting point about the "Bloomsbury group not wanting to have servants at all and yet remaining almost totally reliant on them throughout their lives." I wasn't actually aware of this particular inner struggle - that's interesting. On a somewhat related class note, I remember being a bit annoyed/frustrated when reading A Room of One's Own by all the assumptions of privilege found within.

>65 souloftherose: Interesting comments (and I agree on the cover.) I'm eager to get back to her and will probably read The Photograph next, as it's on my shelf.

>66 katiekrug: Hi Katie. Yes, to me both covers say generic WWII romance/saga/historical fiction and whilst WWII is a key event in Consequences I wouldn't say it's really that sort of book. Penguin publish Lively's books in the UK and although they're known for good cover design the UK covers of Lively's novels seem quite lazy to me. How it all Began is a more recent novel and I think the cover is similarly uninspiring and has nothing to do with the book:



It's as if they can't be bothered to try and sell her books.

>67 CDVicarage: Hmm, so maybe it's one of those stock photos that they could use fairly cheaply? Bah!

>68 lauralkeet: Laura, it's really good. Lucy (@sibyx) has a very good review on the work page.

>69 DorsVenabili: I think the Bloomsbury group were trying to be socialists but never really managed to throw off the class snobbery they inherited from the Victorian era. I thought Light did a good job of portraying this very sympathetically when it came to Leonard and Virginia Woolf - although by the standards of their time they were probably quite progressive they are still very snobbish when considered from our viewpoint and VW never really seemed to understand that working class people could have the same aspirations and enjoyment as she did when it came to art or literature. But they tried to engage with the issue, and although they didn't really succeed in not being class conscious (or fully realising how class conscious they were) perhaps they went as far as they were able to given the times they lived in and their own backgrounds? At the beginning of her life VW could do nothing around the house, by the end of it she could cook (and was very proud of this fact) but by then things like flushing toilets were more common and you had electricity, gas ovens and other labour-saving devices. Before that, housework literally was a full-time job so a woman writer needed not only a room of her own but a servant as well. But if you had a servant, they were probably a live-in servant so you didn't really have a room of your own because you always felt overlooked by the servants.

I am very grateful for vacuum cleaners, central heating, washing machines and dishwashers :-)

Hi Heather - Mrs. Woolf and the Servants sounds great. I'm happy that it was already on my list. Consequences sounds familiar. I think I read it... I do love Lively. How It All Began may be my favorite one of hers. But you're right about the cover. ??!

>59 souloftherose: I'm glad you liked that one. I've been wanting to read it for awhile, along with Gaiman's Sandman series. Eventually, I guess. :)

There's a really interesting book called A Serious Endeavour which I got to review for the Bookbag a few years ago. It's about a women's college at Oxford but it takes in the domestic labour issue and the question of relations between students and servants. If you can't find it in the library I would lend it to you, but it's in a box I aim to move to the shed at the moment so let me know soon, and I would want my copy back.

I really want to read Alison Light's books - she was married to my aunt's ex (Raphael Samuel) from a little while after they split up until his death - I have Mrs Woolf... and Islington already has 4 copies of Common People so I've joined the reservation queue - it's good to see some serious books being in demand, and unusual for them to get something in stock so fast.

>70 souloftherose: oh I suspect Lucy is to blame for my Kindle purchase!

I chose Consequences as my Penelope Lively read for Paul's British Authors Challenge. Hope I don't regret it...

>71 BLBera: Hi Beth. Glad to hear I can't be blamed for the BB of Mrs Woolf and the Servants. How it All Began was a great book - don't know if I have read enough Lively to have favourites yet but How it All Began would definitely be up for consideration.

>72 saraslibrary: I tried the first in Gaiman's Sandman series and thought it was good but definitely too dark for me.

>73 elkiedee: Luci, A Serious Endeavour sounds great and my local library has a copy (the only copy across 2 counties) so no need for you to dig around in your boxes either - hurrah!

I hadn't realised you had a family connection to Alison Light - I picked Common People up from the library this week and the book design is lovely. It's also not too long which is reassuring as all my library reserves came in at once and some aren't renewable.

>74 lauralkeet: We'll blame Lucy then :-)

>75 Fourpawz2: I hope you don't either Charlotte. I enjoyed it a lot but it took me a while to figure out what she was doing...

>59 souloftherose: Heather you got me with this one Fables: The Deluxe Edition Volume One is gone straight onto my WL. When I come back to London in the New Year I will keep an eye out for it.

>65 souloftherose: Interesting thoughts on Consequences. I just aquired some time ago The Photograph in anticipation of next years BAC. I have not read anything by this author yet.

Wishing you a wonderful ? (hump) midweek *smile* !

Fables, Vol. 1: Legends in Exile sounds intriguing and I checked my local library and woot, woot, they have it! Thanks Heather. :)

Well am I ever glad I stopped in! Merci du compliments and all that! And I'm so glad you got as much out of the Light book as I did. I am putting the one about governesses on my list! I've recently acquired some more Livelys but I can't remember any titles this very second.

Weekend! I only had a 3 day week this week but the weekend is still no less welcome.

>77 drachenbraut23: I hope you can find a copy of Fables, Bianca. I've never come across any graphic novels in charity shops but hopefully your library will have a copy.

>78 jolerie: Woot! Hope you enjoy it Valerie!

>79 sibylline: Thanks for visiting Lucy :-)

Book #173: Home by Marilynee Robinson - 5 stars

Home is Marilynne Robinson's companion novel to Gilead which was one of my favourite reads of 2012 and an additional companion novel, Lila, was published earlier this year. Each book can be read independently of the others and it doesn't matter which order you read them in but reading Home had me pulling Gilead down from my shelf and although I didn't quite reread all of Gilead I dipped into sections of it as I was reading Home.

Robinson's writing is beautiful and Home is a heartbreakingly sad novel about a prodigal son who returns home when his father is dying and a father who genuinely does love his son but is also unable to let go of wanting his son to be different to how he is. It's a quiet book where not a lot happens and I savoured it, reading it much more slowly than I normally would. This is a beautiful and moving character study and I loved it.

>80 souloftherose: I will check the library when I come back to London next year.

Wonderful review on Home Heather. I own Gilead and I think I will dig it out of my TBR once I am home at the end of next week. :)

Wish you a relaxing weekend and wonderful second advent.

Heather, wonderful review of Home. This reminded me somewhat of Gerbrand Bakker's The Twin, another fabulous read: a heartbreakingly sad novel about a prodigal son who returns home when his father is dying and a father who genuinely does love his son but is also unable to let go of wanting his son to be different to how he is.

I have to get to these three by Robinson! This one is going on the list immediately: I think the other two are already there. Thanks for the tip that the books do not need to be read in order.

Yes, I echo Nancy for the tip. I totally thought you had to read the books in order. The type A inside me might still feel the need to do it in order anyways..but it's nice to know there is a choice there..hah!
I actually didn't have any interest in Gilead or the subsequent books but they are getting such rave reviews that I don't think I can pass them over now.

Ahhhhh .... Home. So glad you loved it.
I actually read that one first, and then Gilead, and that worked fine for me.

Will you be reading Lila soon, Heather?

>83 lit_chick: Nancy, you've reminded me that The Twin was on my wishlist - thanks for bumping it up.

>83 lit_chick:, >84 jolerie: I think they're the sort of books where if you enjoy one you'll want to read the others but as Laura says, the order doesn't matter.

>85 lauralkeet: I definitely want to read Lila having always been quite intrigued by the character of John Ames' wife but whilst I love Robinson's books I don't know that I feel like reading Lila soon (if that makes sense). I want to continue to bask in my enjoyment of Home for a while. Which hopefully gives me time to wait until Lila's out in paperback.



Book #174: Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold - 4 stars
Book #178: Winterfair Gifts by Lois McMaster Bujold - 3.8 stars
Book #180: Diplomatic Immunity by Lois McMaster Bujold - 3.8 stars

Some more Vorkosigan reading:

Falling Free is part of the Vorkosigan series in that it's very definitely set in the same world as the rest of the books but it's almost a prequel in that it's set 200 years before the other books and includes none of the characters from the other books. It works quite well as a standalone novel.

Leo Graf is sent to a remote space station by the company he works for to train a group of young engineers. When he arrives he finds the engineers are 'quaddies' - people genetically engineered to have an extra pair of arms instead of legs as well as the ability to cope with life in free fall better than your average human. Legally the quaddies aren't human and are completely owned by the company who produced them which is hoping they'll make them lots of money due to their ability to work so well in free fall or zero gravity. However, shortly after Leo arrives the news breaks that a rival company has developed artificial gravity and suddenly the quaddies become a liability with no legal protection or rights.

This reminded me a bit of The Martian in that it's a great space adventure romp with lots of technical stuff (engineering in space!) where the good guys overcome almost overwhelming odds to get to that happy ending. I enjoyed it more than most people seemed to and liked Leo and the quaddies enough not to miss Miles and co.

Winterfair Gifts - back to Miles. This is a short story or novella about Miles' wedding and includes a brief mystery plot. The mystery was resolved a bit too abruptly for my liking but I loved the fact that we got to spend more time with Roic, Miles' armsman, and Taura.

Diplomatic Immunity brings Miles and the quaddies together so reading Falling Free first provides some interesting background to this book although it's not essential. I was a bit disappointed that there wasn't more of the quaddies in Diplomatic Immunity after enjoying them so much in Falling Free but I eventually got caught up in the usual mystery and mayhem which surrounds Miles' antics and enjoyed this one too.

>86 souloftherose: basking in Home makes a lot of sense to me. These are books to be savoured, and just as you don't want to rush whilst reading it, some time between books is also good.

Heather, forgot to mention up top … The Cazalets, a series I picked up on your thread and want to read: my library didn't have them (groan), so I emailed and asked for all of them to be ordered. Got a lovely email reply yesterday that the order is in the works! Yay!

>88 lit_chick: how wonderful that they would do that on request, Nancy!

>81 souloftherose: Great review! I vow to get to her in 2015. It seems like everyone has the same reaction.

>86 souloftherose: I'm going to try the Vorkosigan books again. I really do love some good space opera and think I just may not have been in the mood when I tried it earlier in the year. I also want to try some C.J. Cherryh again. After reading Ancillary Justice, I read up on Ann Leckie (and listened to some interviews) and I guess Cherryh was a big influence on her. I read The Pride of Chanur a while back and wasn't completely taken, but perhaps I'll try another series. (But cat-like aliens! That should have worked for me! Gah!)

Cherryh makes the reader work hard - it took me awhile to get used to her. She throws you right into a situation and like the protagonist, you have to figure out what is going on. Have faith - she knows what she is doing and all does come clear.

>87 lauralkeet: Hi Laura. Yes, definitely books to be savoured.

>88 lit_chick: Hooray for your library Nancy!

>90 DorsVenabili: Hi Kerri. I hope you enjoy Robinson when you try her and the Vorkosigan books (although we'll still love you if you don't like them).

I think Lucy has explained Cherryh much better than I could. The Chanur series is good but not actually my favourite of Cherryh's so far (although I have only dipped my toe into her books). I think I preferred The Faded Sun Trilogy which has a similar theme in that it looks at a lone human getting to know an alien society but from the aliens' point of view. No cats in space but it was a very absorbing look at an alien society.

I need to go and read your review of Ancillary Justice which has been on my wishlist for a while.

>91 sibylline: Thanks for stepping in with the Cherryh explanation Lucy :-)

>91 sibylline: and >92 souloftherose: What about the Cyteen series? I was thinking about that one too. Has either of you read that? Is it correct that all her series take place in the same universe?

ETA: edited for clarification

>93 DorsVenabili: I'm hoping Lucy will come back to answer this one as I suspect she knows this better than me but here goes....

No, I haven't read the Cyteen books (yet). I think a lot of Cherryh's novels take place in the same universe but I'm not sure if they all do. I think the series that starts with Foreigner might be a different universe but I'm not sure.

Cyteen is part of the Alliance-Union Universe which is a series I'm going to start once I've read the final Chanur book. I think Roni and Lucy once suggested the following reading order which I made a note of:

Downbelow Station
Merchanter's Luck
Heavy Time
Hellburner
Rimrunners
Cyteen (which might be three books in some cases)
Regenesis
Forty Thousand in Gehenna
Tripoint
Finity's End
Serpent's Reach

I have Downbelow Station so that's where I'm planning to start.

Book #176: Don't Tell Alfred by Nancy Mitford - 3.4 stars

A sort-of sequel to Love in a Cold Climate and The Pursuit of Love in that it continues to be narrated by Fanny and there are some references to earlier events but I thought this book had quite a different feel to the earlier novels and it took me a while to adjust. Set in the early 1950s, Fanny's academic husband is asked to be the new English ambassador in Paris and what follows is an amusing satire on upper class life in Paris and French politics after the war. I liked this but it doesn't have the sparkle of LiaCC or TPoL.

Excellent, an order to read the Cherryh books in! I've got Downbelow Station on my Kindle, and I think a few others as well (part of a bulk lot a friend 'gifted' me) so at least I know where to start.

>94 souloftherose: Oh, thank you! That's helpful and I will copy that. Remembering back, I think my issue with The Pride of Chanur is that it's too action-adventure-ish, with battle scenes and all that. I can take a little of that, but if it's a major focus of a novel, I start to get bored and antsy.

Kerri, the Cyteen books all take place on one planet, more political maneuverings and no space battles.

>98 ronincats: Thanks, Roni! That's great, because I'm a fan of reading about political maneuverings. I will definitely give them a try.

I have been collecting the books for The Faded Sun trilogy - I'll have to go and look and see now if I have them all. I hope as winter settles in to get serious about some of the series I've been assembling. I'm getting so I don't even want to start a series unless it is complete or close to complete and I have them all! Otherwise just too maddening.

Don't Tell Alfred is one of my favourite Mitfords. Heaven knows why!

A very happy Christmas and a good New Year, Heather!

Sorry for neglecting LT recently - work has been so busy over the last couple of weeks that I've been pretty wiped out by the time I get home. However, my out of office is now on until the 5th January (yippee!) and I'm hoping the really tired feeling will go away soon.

--------------------------------------------------------

>100 sibylline: 'I'm getting so I don't even want to start a series unless it is complete or close to complete and I have them all! Otherwise just too maddening.'

Oh yes, I know that feeling!

>101 connie53: Thank you Connie! :-)

Some very, very brief reviews in an attempt to catch up.....

Book #177 The Grey King by Susan Cooper - 4 stars

The 4th in The Dark is Rising series - this is darker than the preceding books (because Cafall! :-( ) which might be why it's not a favourite and makes more explicit the links to Arthurian mythology. Very good.

Book #179 A Winter Book by Tove Jansson - 3.2 stars

A selection of short stories for adults written by Moomin author, Tove Jansson. I didn't realise until I started reading that this collection in English has been taken from several of Jansson's books of short stories. I felt like I could never get into the rhythm of these stories and I wonder if I would have got on better with the original collections (translated of course) which sound like they had stronger themes. I will try Jansson's other adult works again at some point as I loved The Summer Book.

Book #181 White Boots by Noel Streatfeild (aka Skating Shoes) - 3.5 stars

A sweet old-fashioned children's tale about ice-skating but I didn't love this as much as Ballet Shoes.

Book #182 Love Letters Between a Nobleman and His Sister by Aphra Behn - 4 stars

Published in three parts between 1684 and 1687, this novel was a lot more fun than I expected. A large part of that was due to all the support and background info Liz gave on our tutored read threads but I think part is also due to Aphra Behn who can certainly write very visual comic scenes. There's lots of politics, sex and double-crossing - recommended if that appeals and you can cope with all the characters behaving badly and being generally despicable.

Book 182??!!! You are a marvel, Heather!

>104 lit_chick: Nancy, I'm so behind with reviews that I've actually just finished book #198. I've no idea how I've read so much more this year than last year....

After having a few months when I thought I'd completely gone off mysteries/detective stories I was pleased to discover my mystery reading mojo had come back!

Book #183 Lord Edgeware Dies by Agatha Christie - 3.9 stars

Book #188 The Thirteen Problems by Agatha Christie - 3.8 stars

Both strong Christie mysteries - the first is a Poirot where the murderer seems obvious to everyone, until they have a cast-iron unbreakable alibi, the second is a collection of Miss Marple armchair-detective short stories where Miss Marple and a group of friends and relations take it in turns to relate crimes to which only the narrator knows the solution to see if the other members of the group can solve them. It's not really a surprise that Miss Marple solves them all but it was fun.

Book #187 The Circular Staircase by Mary Roberts Rinehart - 3.9 stars

I've been meaning to read Mary Roberts Rinehart for ages and seeing this listed for one of the TIOLI challenges gave me the push I needed to pick this up. I seem to ahve enjoyed it a lot more than most of the reviews on the book page - it's fairly comic and rambling and leans more towards the melodramatic than most of the British Golden Age writers. But Rinehart was American and The Circular Staircase was first published in 1908, a good couple of decades earlier than Agatha Christie et al so I saw this as more in the tradition of someone like Anna Katharine Green.

Reading up a bit about MRR on the internet this is apparently the first example of the 'had I but known it' school of mystery novels where the narrator often inturrupts the story with an 'had I but known this was only the start of all my problems' type of comment.

I thought this was a lot of fun and the perfect read for a weekend when I was tired and thought I was getting a cold. I have downloaded all of the other books available from Project Gutenberg to my kindle :-) Recommended more if you're a fan of sensation novels rather than later detective novels and don't want something too serious.

Book #190 The Luck of the Vails by E. F. Benson - 3.3 stars

E. F. Benson is more well known as the author of the superbly satirical Mapp and Lucia novels. Apparently he also wrote a couple of mysteries which Vintage books have recently republished - the other is The Blotting Book.

The Luck of the Vails is one of those mysteries that builds slowly and it's nearly halfway through the book before the reader's suspicions that something is not quite right are confirmed. I thought the build up of suspense was well done but unfortunately once the suspicions are confirmed the book seems to a lot of its suspense. Quite enjoyable and recommended for fans of suspense novels but I don't think this style of novel was Benson's strong point.

I seriously can't wait for the day I can say...look I just finished my 200th book of the year. You go rockstar! :D

>103 souloftherose: Exactly the reason why The Grey King isn't my favorite of the series!!

Heather, it's Chrismas Eve's eve, and so I am starting the rounds of wishing my 75er friends the merriest of Christmases or whatever the solstice celebration of their choice is.

Merry Christmas, Heather. Thanks for being such a great bookie pal!


glitter-graphics.com

Merry Christmas, Heather and Happy 2015! 200 books! Amazing.

Wish you a Merry Christmas, Heather.

Hi Heather, just stopping by to wish you a very merry Christmas!!

I'm also doing the rounds and scattering festive good cheer! I hope you and yours have a lovely Christmas and New Year, Heather! And let's try and arrange another LT meet-up we can both attend next year - I had so much fun at the one we did this year!

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas, Heather!

Happy Christmas, Heather!!

From our family to yours!

>93 DorsVenabili: I just have to put in my good word for Cyteen and its comrades as my favorite Cherryhs. (They actually don't all take place on the same planet, or maybe I misread Roni's comment.) I am also quite a fan of the *Foreigner* series but taking my time with it. As Lucy say, she demands concentration.



Merry Christmas, Heather, and a joyful Happy New Year!

Heather, best wishes for Christmas and for 2015. And congratulations on the 200 books!

Happy Christmas Heather - and have a great 2015

I know I won't manage to get round any threads today so thank you to all my visitors and wishing everyone blessings and good things to enjoy today and for the rest of the Christmas season.

Merry Christmas and God's Blessings to you, Heather! I enjoyed our meet ups in London this year, and I very much look forward to seeing you again in 2015.

Dear Heather,
I wish you and your husband a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year! I am looking forward to meeting you again in the New Year!

Merry Christmas, Heather! Hope you've had a lovely day.

Merry Christmas!
On the eve: Do I smell turkey?
During: Worn out:

Heather, I'm right in thinking you're a Pratchett fan, aren't I? If so, did you know about THIS?

BBC Radio 4 are currently dramatising Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman's Good Omens!!!

Specially comissioned artwork, showing the two actors playing Crowley and Aziraphale:


And the link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04knt4h

Merry Christmas!

All the Christmas visiting is over and I'm looking forward to a more restful week this week. We have no plans for New Year - hooray! It's very cold here today so I am going to try and catch up on LT including dipping my toe into the 2015 group. I'm going to continue to use this thread to record my 2014 reading though.

Thanks to Roni, Nancy, Beth, Carsten, Laura, Hannah, Amber, Valerie, Peggy, Susan, Rhian, Darryl, Bianca, Cushla, Lucy and Paul for the Christmas wishes.

>123 sibylline: Lucy, I love those pictures and the worn-out one perfectly describes how the festive season usually makes me feel :-)

>124 HanGerg: Hannah, thanks so much for the link. I am a Pratchett fan although it's been years since I read Good Omens so I will definitely try to listen to the adaptation before it expires although I am the world's worst person at remembering to listen or to watch things on time. I missed the final episode of Series 3 of Sherlock the first time it aired and then missed it again when they repeated all the episodes over the last few weeks.

Reading updates:

Tiredness this month has meant I've been doing a good job of reading but not such a good job of reviewing so I'm going to do a brief list of books I've read but not commented on below. I'm still hoping to get a couple more books squeezed into 2014. In particular I only have one book left to read to finally complete my century of books challenge. I am really looking forward to finishing this challenge!

Book #185 Mary Shelley by Muriel Spark - 3.7 stars



As the title suggests, this is a biography of Mary Shelley written by Muriel Spark. It was first published in 1951 then significantly revised in 1987 (I read the revised version). This is split into a biography of Mary Shelley and a section of criticism on her works (she didn't just write Frankenstein!). I really enjoyed the biography as I find the Shelleys and their associates fascinating but I found the criticism less interesting which is probably because I hadn't read any of Mary Shelley's other books. It has made me more interested in reading them though.

Book #186 Cuckoo Song by Frances Hardinge - 4.4 stars



This was a lovely, slightly scary children's fantasy by an author I had read good things about but hadn't read before. I loved it and will definitely be reading more of Hardinge's other books soon. It reminded me a bit of Diana Wynne Jones.

Book #187 This is the End by Stella Benson - 4 stars



This has to be the most unusual book I've read this year. I chose it because it ticked off 1917 on my century of books challenge and I'd seen some intriguing discussion of this book over in the Virago group. It's short, well-written, touches on WWI and I liked it. I'm not sure I understood it. It's possibly a bit surrealist, possibly a bit modernist (I say possibly because I'm not really sure what either of those terms mean). It was charming and emotional at times and very strange.

There's a much better review of it here on the Shiny New Books website.

Woot Woot, for nearing completion of your century of books challenge! You can do it, Heather!

Heather, I am impressed with your year of reading as usual. I have been lurking more than posting much this year. I'll be following along with your reading in 2015. So glad you loved Home. I am a. If Robinson fan, and Lila was my No. 1 book for the year.

Nice mini reviews, Heather!

>128 Carmenere: & >130 kidzdoc: Thanks Lynda and Darryl :-)

>129 Donna828: Donna, I have done the same but will try to stay more up to date in 2015.

Book #191 Captain Vorpatril's Alliance by Lois McMaster Bujold - 4.3 stars
Book #196 Cryoburn by Lois McMaster Bujold - 3.6 stars

I finished the Vorkosigan series and it was fun! Of the last two books I enjoyed Captain Vorpatril's Alliance which was a comedy of manners a little like A Civil Campaign more than Cryoburn but the ending of Cryoburn was pretty powerful.

Book #198 The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin - 4 stars
Book #199 The Broken Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin - 3.5 stars

A reread of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms which I thought stood up to a reread well (my review from when I originally read it is on the bookpage). The sequel. The Broken Kingdoms, was still enjoyable and interesting but it did feel a little like this book was just recycling the basic plot of the first book. I have the final part of the trilogy, The Kingdom of Gods, and a new novella, The Awakened Kingdom on my kindle to read in the New Year.

Book #193 Private Battles: How the War Almost Defeated Us by Simon Garfield - 4 stars

Another selection of Mass Observation diaries edited by Simon Garfield, this time covering 1940 to 1945. It's fascinating to see the progress of WWII from the point of view of ordinary citizens who don't have the benefit of hindsight and and don't always think the politicians are doing the right thing. I was also surprised how late rationing was introduced for some items - having read Our Hidden Lives which covers the post-war period I think rationing was actually stricter after the war than during it.

Book #197 Common People: The History of an English Family by Alison Light - 4.7 stars

Light brings the insight and self-awareness I enjoyed in Mrs Woolf and the Servants to a look at her own family's history going back to her (I think) g-g-g-g-grandparents in the 19th century to her grandparents in the early - mid twentieth century. Going back through the generations Light discovers a family history that covers needle making, the Navy, time spent in various workhouses and asylums, time spent in service, the Baptist movement, bricklayers and builders. One branch of the family manages to work their way up to middle-class prosperity but otherwise they were just scraping by or not getting by and in the workhouse. One ancestor was born in a workhouse and then died in a lunatic asylum; another was buried in a shared grave. Light really brings home the poverty of the vast majority of English people in previous centuries whether living in the country or in slums and tenements in a city or town. Brilliant.

'If anywhere can claim to be my ancestral home it is the workhouse. Somebody in every generation fetched up there'

Book #201 At One-Thirty: A Mystery by Isabel Ostrander - 3.3 stars

A short mystery picked to tick off 1915 in my century of books challenge. An adequate detective novel with the twist that the detective is blind. The only ebook I could find of this came from manybooks.net and was unfortunately riddled with OCR errors.

Book #202 Mystery in White by J. Jefferson Farjeon - 3.7 stars

A recent reprint under the British Library Crime Classics imprint, this 1937 mystery is set during an unprecedented snowfall at Christmas (despite what films would have you believe, it never snows at Christmas in the UK). A group of travellers get stuck on a snow-bound train and decide to attempt walking to the nearest station for help. As they walk the snow continues to come down and they eventually seek shelter in a nearby house. The door is unlocked, the fires are built up and the kettle is boiling.... but the house is completely empty. As they try to solve the mystery of what has happened in this house one of the passengers reveals that a murder was committed on the train shortly before they left it. Was one of these travellers responsible for that murder? And what happened to the occupants of the house? I thought this could have done with a little more suspense but this was a solid golden age detective story, very suitable for curling up with when it's cold outside.

'The horror on the train, great though it may turn out to be, will not compare with the horror that exists here, in this house.'

Heather, well done for reading more than 200 books! I'm glad you enjoyed Common People. I couldn't get on with it and took it back to the library unfinished, but I think I should have given it more of a try. I had too much out at the time and not enough time to read it all. It looked like just my sort of thing, too.

200! Congrats!!

>134 susanj67: Thanks Susan. It would be even more impressive if 100 of those 200 books were non-fiction! :-)

I really liked Common People. Hopefully it was just a case of the wrong book at the wrong time for you.

>135 drneutron: & >136 lunacat: Thanks Jim and Jenny!

Right, final 6 books read in 2014 to comment on:

Book #192 Martin Chuzzlewit by Charles Dickens - 2.5 stars

I did enjoy parts of this reread but (and it's a big but) the American sections are too extreme, the final section of the book was far too sentimental (even by Dickens' standards - I really hated Ruth Pecksniff by the end of the book and it's not her fault!) and it uses a plot device which is later used to much better in Our Mutual Friend. Apart from that it was alright although not Dickens' best but the bad parts take up more than half of a very long book.

If you want Dickens' thoughts on America, read American Notes for General Circulation which is less of a polemic, if you want sentimental read A Christmas Carol and if you want the plot of Our Mutual Friend then read OMF.

Book #194 Elidor by Alan Garner - 4 stars

An unusual children's fantasy novel set in Manchester where four children are drawn into another world and must protect its treasures. It's ambiguous and unsettling and possibly even a bit subversive of the genre but I really enjoyed this short little book.

Book #195 The Midnight Mayor: Or, the Inauguration of Matthew Swift by Kate Griffin - 3.9 stars

I'm really enjoying this urban fantasy series which is set in London of which this is the second book. I think Roni described this as a love letter to London and it really is. I could do with slightly less violence and bleeding - Matthew Swift seems to have spent most of the two books badly injured/bleeding/dying which is starting to get a bit tiresome. But I can overlook it because the writing is otherwise so good.

Book #200 Silver on the Tree by Susan Cooper - 3.6 stars

Completing my reread of The Dark is Rising series, I always feel this book sits a little strangely with the other books in the series. I think because the fairly long section where Bran and Will go to a different world breaks up the momentum and because Cooper somehow fails to make the Dark as scary as she did in the earlier books in the series.

Book #203 Thursday's Children by Rumer Godden - 4.3 stars

A lovely coming of age story about a brother and sister training to be dancers. The younger brother is overlooked because, of course, boys don't do dancing but his sister also has a difficult path to follow.

Book #204 Chanur's Legacy by C. J. Cheryyh - 3.9 stars

Another series finished! I'd heard this final book wasn't quite as good as the earlier books in the series but I enjoyed it as much as, if not more than, the earlier books. I think perhaps the main character from the first four books, Pyanfar Chanur, got on my nerves a little bit. I liked the fact that we got to see more of the strange alien race of stsho and the gender issues between male and female Hani which is an interesting reversal of our gender stereotypes as the Hani are a feline/lion-like race where the women are space-faring and the men sit at home.

And that was 2014 - 203 books!

Best Books of 2014

I've limited myself to one book per author and excluded rereads and I can't get below 12 books.

In order of reading:





The Love-Child by Edith Olivier
In this House of Brede by Rumer Godden
The Last Chronicle of Barset by Anthony Trollope
A Five Year Sentence by Bernice Rubens
How To Be a Heroine: or, What I've Learned From Reading too Much by Samantha Ellis
Hyperion by Dan Simmons

A Very Great Profession: The Woman's Novel 1914-39 by Nicola Beauman
The Martian by Andy Weir
The Quick by Lauren Owen
Home by Marilynne Robinson
Cuckoo Song by Frances Hardinge
Common People: The History of an English Family by Alison Light

Honourable mentions:

Favourite series: Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan series. None of the individual books quite made it to my best of list for the year (although it was close for Mirror Dance and Memory) but this was a series that didn't really let me down all year.

Favourite new author: Rumer Godden - In This House of Brede was my favourite but The Greengage Summer and Thursday's Children weren't far behind.

Well, four of your final six are by some of my favorite authors! I haven't read any Rumor Godden yet, although I have one in the tbr pile, and of course, Dickens is Dickens. I'm glad you are still enjoying the Matthew Swift series--yes, that was me.

Signing off on the 2014 threads. See you on the other side!