Tiffin's 5th for 2012

One of my favourite English artists, Gary Bunt, from Cornwall. This seems to suit the weather these days.

EVALUATION SCHEME
Although I am hesitant to evaluate books, when I do, this is what it means:
0-1.5* = disgusting use of a perfectly good tree
2-2.5** = meh, don't bother
2.75 = somewhere between meh and ok
3-3.5*** = quite creditable and not a waste of time, liked it
3.75 = just a scritch more of *something* and it would have been really good
4-4.5**** = a really, really good read, enjoyed it thoroughly, would recommend it happily, wish I'd written it
5***** = knocked my socks off, blew me in to the next stratosphere, turned me into a molten puddle, sheer perfection and no you can't borrow it, this one stays right here




BOOKS READ

JANUARY 2012
1. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern 4.75 stars
2. Persuasion by Jane Austen 4.5 stars {reread}
3. The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley 2.75 stars
4. The Tiger's Wife by Téa Obreht 4.5 stars Orange Prize winner 2011
5. The Eliza Stories specifically "Eliza" by Barry Pain 3 stars
6. As Good as God, as Clever as the Devil; The Impossible Life of Mary Benson by Rodney Bolt 4.5 stars
7. The Unquiet Bones by Mel Starr 2.95 stars
8. A Corpse at St. Andrew's Chapel by Mel Starr 2.95 stars
9. A Trail of Ink by Mel Starr 2.95 stars
10. Madame de Pompadour by Nancy Mitford 4 stars
11. High Rising by Angela Thirkell

FEBRUARY 2012
12. The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien 5 stars {reread}
13. The Quiet Gentleman by George Heyer 3 stars
14. The Talisman Ring by Georgette Heyer 2.75 stars
15. Winter Heart by Margaret Frazer 1 star
16: A Double Affair by Angela Thirkell 3.5 stars
17. Mrs. Ames by E.F. Benson 3.5 stars
18. Part of the Furniture by Mary Wesley 4 stars
19. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield 4 stars
20. Palladian by Elizabeth Taylor 3.5 stars
21. A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd 3.5 stars
22. The Gabriel Hounds by Mary Stewart 3 stars
23. Airs Above the Ground by Mary Stewart 2.75 stars
24. Another Self by James Lees-Milne 3 stars
25. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen 4.5 stars {reread}

MARCH 2012
26. Thirty-three Teeth by Colin Cotterill 4 stars
27. The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill 4 stars
28. Disco for the Departed by Colin Cotterill 3.5 stars
29. Anarchy and Old Dogs by Colin Cotterill 4 stars
30. Curse of the Pogo Stick by Colin Cotterill 3 stars
31: Red Bird, Poems by Mary Oliver 4.5 stars
32. A View of the Harbour by Elizabeth Taylor 4.5 stars
33. The Merry Misogynist by Colin Cotterill 3.5 stars
34. Evidence by Mary Oliver
35. The New Moon with the Old by Dodie Smith 4 stars

APRIL 2012
36. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness 3.5 stars
37. A Place of Secrets: A Novel by Rachel Hore 3.75 stars
38. The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka 4 stars
39. Elegy for Eddie by Jacqueline Winspear 3.75 stars
40. Gone West by Carola Dunn 3 stars

MAY 2012 - gardening season so things dwindle down until the dog days of summer hit and it's too hot to slave & toil outside
41. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller 4.5 stars Orange Prize Winner 2012
42. Why I Wake Early by Mary Oliver 4.5 stars

JUNE 2012
43: Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel 5 stars
44. A is for Alibi by Sue Grafton 3 stars
45. Buckingham Palace Gardens by Anne Perry 2.95 stars
46. 1222 by Anne Holt 3.5 stars
47. F is for Fugitive by Sue Grafton 2.75 stars
48. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain 4.25 stars
49. Road to Valor: A True Story of World War II Italy, the Nazis, and the Cyclist who Inspired a Nation by Aili and Andres McConnon

JULY 2012
50. Blood Ties Book I of the Castings Trilogy by Pamela Freeman
51. Deep Water Book II of the Castings Trilogy by Pamela Freeman
52. Full Circle Book III of the Castings Trilogy by Pamela Freeman
53. Manna from Heaven by Carola Dunn 3.25 stars
54. A Colourful Death by Carola Dunn 3.25 stars
55. Scotched by Liss MacCrimmon 2.95 stars
56. Grendel by John Gardner 4.5 stars
57. Look Back With Love by Dodie Smith 4 scant stars

AUGUST 2012
58. Death of a Kingfisher by M.C. Beaton
59. Beastly Things by Donna Leon
60. The Missing Will by Michael Wharton
61. The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri - the 1st Inspector Montalbano Mystery
62. The Terra-cotta Dog by Andrea Camilleri - the 2nd Inspector Montalbano Mystery
63. The Snack Thief by Andrea Camilleri - the 3rd Inspector Montalbano Mystery
64. Foreign Bodies by Cynthia Ozick
65. Voice of the Violin by Andrea Camilleri - the 4th Inspector Montalbano Mystery

SEPTEMBER 2012
66. Excursion to Tindari by Andrea Camilleri - the 5th Inspector Montalbano Mystery
67. The Smell of the Night by Andrea Camilleri - the 6th Inspector Montalbano Mystery

OCTOBER 2012
68. The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey 4.5 stars
69. The Garden in the Clouds by Antony Woodward 4.5 stars

NOVEMBER 2012
70. Rounding the Mark by Andrea Camilleri - the 7th Inspector Montalbano Mystery
71. Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness 3.75 stars
72. The Patience of the Spider by Andrea Camilleri - the 8th Inspector Montalbano Mystery

DECEMBER 2012
73. Mysteries of the Middle Ages by Thomas Cahill 4 stars
74. The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny
75. Garment of Shadows by Laurie R. King

JOURNALS, ETC. READ
1. Slightly Foxed, Winter 2011
2. Slightly Foxed, Spring 2012
3. Slightly Foxed, Winter 2008 (I'm ordering back copies to have the entire collection)
4. Slightly Foxed, Summer 2012
5. Slightly Foxed, Autumn 2012

Well, I've finally finished this book, after months of having it loitering on the kitchen table!

73. Mysteries of the Middle Ages by Thomas Cahill



Very much a survey book, beginning with Alexandria, the city of reason, and ending with Ravenna, the city of death. I enjoyed parts of it a good deal and learned, in a general sort of way, how certain things linked together and led to the wonderful Renaissance period. Cahill was fascinating talking about Eleanor of Aquitane, as he was about Giotto's art. He's the sort of person with whom I would happily sit and share a tea or coffee, listening to him ramble through the centuries and around Europe. Definitely not a one course meal, this book, but a sip and sample effort, read in and around others.

I love your opening picture. It looked exactly like the weather we had last weekend but I'd never get my dog to walk in that!

I really like that opening painting, too. He's a new name to me and now I want to know more about him and his work. Thanks!

Lovely new thread!

Posey is, at this very moment, sitting about a foot away from me, doing that bug-eyed stare she does when I am taking tooooooooo looooooonnnnnggggg over my breakfast. She also makes these small noises that are very hard to ignore. Not quite whingeing, sort of like very noisy swallowing...... She doesn't seem to care a whit what the weather is. OUT WE MUST GO!!!! She is, perhaps, the most 'outdoorsy' dog we've had yet. She simply revels in it. On the other hand, the leash isn't her favorite thing, so we have had some moments that looked like that earlier on. She has wised up.

We've had a warm-up, so it's drippy and not very inviting out.

Did I say I love that painting?

Rhian, my Esme is an all-weather dog, which surprises people in a poodle. But standard poodles were originally bred as hunting dogs (you should see her swim!), so she doesn't mind lashing rain. She also loves snow. The things she finds objectionable are high wind or bitter deep cold. She is 9 now, so this might change as she goes into her senior years.

Stephen, I discovered this artist from one of his paintings gracing the cover of Slightly Foxed a few years ago. I fell head over heels for his naive style and subject matter (the sea, dogs, country fields, etc.). When I looked into his art, I discovered he was quite out of my price range but I did find a print of his a few years ago of a man with red suspenders sitting with his black dog on a hill, so I snapped that up.

Lucy, Esme is completely an outdoor dog as well. I put Esme on the leash for our long road walks but when Himself walks her in the woods across the street, she is free to roam. In the winter when the fields freeze over, she gallops through the snow in utter heaven, especially if my son's German Shepherd is with her.

Gary Bunt's bio at the Portland Gallery is quite hilarious. Worth checking out.

>9 sibylline:: I know, Lucy--swimming citations, parking tickets, the lot.

Just heard a wonderful interview on CBC radio with A.L. Kennedy (Scotland), Howard Jacobson (England), and Erlend Loe (Norway) with Eleanor Wachtel doing the interview, on the subject of humorous writing. Here it is, if anyone would like to listen to it: http://www.cbc.ca/player/Radio/ID/ID/2311081003/

The Christmas books have been landing in--6 today! Am finding it really hard not to read them.

Lovely new thread!

Nice new thread, Tui! I've seen that painting by Bunt somewhere before, but I'm not sure where.

Happy New Thread, Tui! Put me on the "Love Gary Bunt on the Strength of One Picture" list too.
Christmas books??? Gifts? For you? Any book arrival is a time to rejoice!

No, Peggy, for the family but lots I want to borrow. The new Slightly Foxed arrived too. Riches!
Hi Roni, thanks for dropping by.
Darryl, I had a Bunt up last year too. And there's one in the hall here, although only a print.

I love your opening picture too - also an unfamiliar artist to me, but he's captured a 'bracing' walk by the sea side (with dragging dog) perfectly!

He is good with dogs and their people, Genny. There is a wonderful one of a man and his dog trudging through the snow to the pub. I should find and post a copy of the print I have, which is exactly like Himself and Esme, our dog.

I finally filled in the 3 spot above with a book which dragged on for months for me.

Here is the print we have:



If wishes were fishes, I'd have an original but for now, I feel lucky to have found a print of his work here in Canada. Gary Bunt, Cornish artist.

Does anyone know of a good biography about Dante? Please and thanks?

I can't help you. You have no idea how hard that is for me to say! I get frenzied to match people with the books they want or that I think they'd like! Have you found any reviewed here on LT?

Lucy, I did have a look at the titles under "Dante" but they seem to be looks at his work. I'd like a look at the man himself.

I'm hopeless, Tui. Here is a link that might be useful. RWB Lewis was a really good biographer: I loved his bio of Edith Wharton.

DANTE

Oooh, I haven't read any biographies of Dante, either, but I'll be watching to see what you come up with - now that you've mentioned it, I'd love to read one, too!

74. The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny



The latest in the Chief Inspector Gamache series set in Quebec. I really enjoyed this one involving monks set in an isolated monastery in Quebec, Gregorian chants, chocolate covered blueberries and dark matters concerning addictions of many sorts.

When a Dominican monk shows up unexpectedly at the monastery, all the way from Rome, representing the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith--yes, the Inquisition--I waited for her to slip it in and she didn't disappoint:
"Jeez," said Beauvoir. "The Inquisition. I didn't expect that."
"No one does," said Gamache.
A little Monty Python moment on page 293. Hooray!

But oh she has left us hanging at the end of this one. Will Beauvoir get sorted out? Will his relationship survive? And will that blasted evil Francoeur ever get his just desserts?

I have a feeling that one is going to be under the xmas tree!

Glitterfy.com - Christmas Glitter Graphics

I want to wish you a glorious celebration of that time of year when we all try to unite around a desire for Peace on Earth and Good Will Toward All. Merry Christmas, Tui!

I've got something by A.N. Wilson, Dante in Love, but haven't read it yet...

Happy holidays!

Merry Christmas, Tui!

Can you find the shark, the gray cat and the tan cat too?

Thinking of you.

Happy New Year Tui!

Thanks Roni, Darryl, Lucy for the lovely Christmas wishes, and Paul for the New Year's greeting. So sorry I hadn't been here to see them earlier. Christmas was a bit mad this year, with 3 oldsters in their 90s to look out for, with a scramble to bring things together for a suddenly scattered family. We did our best to give a nice Christmas to everyone but did hit a few bumps en route.

I hope 2013 will be a good year for everyone, with creativity abounding. I am going to be a bona fide senior this year so am going to do some assessing around that faintly astonishing fact. Good health, everyone!

I have almost finished my 75th book, well, 2 actually, so I'm going to say that I have completed the 75 book challenge. I'm rounding off on a very light note, with another Camilleri mystery, as well as Garment of Shadows by Laurie King, one of those Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes suspense stories. I haven't been reading for about 3 weeks, with so much going on in Real Life. I am hoping for a kind and gentle January with books an active part of my life once again.

2013 is over here. I didn't make it to 200 on this thread to use the automatic doodad:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/147071

Here's to a great new year ahead, Tui!

Thanks, Roni! Sorry it took me so long to find this...omg, the cat's nose just moved! hahahahaha