Lori (lkernagh) Hits her Prime in 2013! - Third Thread

Welcome visitors, lurkers and pretty much anyone just passing through. This is my third thread for this challenge. If you are new and wish to get caught up on what has happened so far, my previous threads can be found here:

First Thread
Second Thread


Children reading by Zolan

There is no way I will be able to read 169 books for a full 13 in 13, but I do like the idea of categories so I have come up with my own twist on the theme: 13 categories where each category, come the end of the year, is considered completed if the number of books read in that category equals a prime number.

(Personal reminder - Prime numbers are 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43, 47...and so on, and so on)

The categories in my 2013 Prime Challenge:

1. All things GRAPHIC
2. All things NEW (published in 2012 or 2013)
3. All things EPISTOLARY
4. All things GOTHIC
5. All things FABLES and FAIRY TALES - original and retold
6. All things EUROPA
7. All things REGENCY - books set in the Regency period
8. All things PENGUIN
9. All things MITFORD
10. All things SERIES, SEQUELS, PREQUELS and TRILOGIES
11. All things NEWSWORTHY (books that get alot of buzz - On LT, as prize contenders and winners, etc)
12. All things ON MY TBR BOOKCASE
13. All things WITH A TITLE, AUTHOR(S) AND WORDS WRITTEN - The life saving 'catch-all category'

My goal here is to try and make a dent in my TBR pile so I have chosen my categories with that end goal in mind. Descriptions of the categories along with some preliminary candidates are listed in the posts below.

1. All things GRAPHIC



It's time I joined the growing masses reading and enjoying graphic novels. I have created this category with the Sandman group read in mind, as well as my intention to dive into Bill Willingham's Fables series (reserving the right to also slot Willingham's books under the Fables and Fairy Tales category.)

BOOKS READ:
1. The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman - (review)
2. A Sickness in the Family by Denise Mina Illustrated by Antonio Fuso - (review)
3. The Sandman Vol. 2: The Doll's House by Neil Gaiman - (review)
4. Black Butler, Vol. 1 by Yana Toboso - (review)
5. Black Butler, Vol. 2 by Yana Toboso - (review)
6. Black Butler, Vol. 3 by Yana Toboso - (review)
7. Black Butler, Vol. 4 by Yana Toboso - (review)
8. The Sandman Vol. 3: Dream Country by Neil Gaiman - (review)
9. How to Tell if Your Cat is Plotting to Kill You by The Oatmeal - (review)
10. Freaks of the Heartland by Steve Niles - (review)
11. The Sandman: Vol. 4 Season of Mists by Neil Gaiman - (review)
12. The Sandman: Vol. 5 A Game of You by Neil Gaiman - (review)

Candidates:
Neil Gaiman's Sandman series
Blankets by Craig Thompson
Bill Willingham's Fables series
Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis series
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
Essex County by Jeff Lemire
Mike Carey's The Unwritten series
Journalism by Joe Sacco
Gloriana by Kevin Huizenga
The Arrival by Shaun Tan
The Crow by James O'Barr
Alice in Sunderland by Brian Talbot

2. All things NEW (published in 2012 or 2013)



Self explanatory. I tend to gravitate to fresh 'off the press' books and wanted a category to capture these enticing gems!

BOOKS READ:
1. Clay: A Novel by Melissa Harrison - (review)
2. Love and The Mess We're In by Stephen Marche - (review)
3. Complication by Isaac Adamson - (review)
4. The Fate of Mercy Alban by Wendy Webb - (review)
5. The Anatomist's Apprentice by Tessa Harris - (review)
6. Care of Wooden Floors by Will Wiles - (review)
7. Type by Alicia Hendley - (review)
8. Basti by Intizar Husain - (review)
9. Mrs. Queen Takes the Train by William Kuhn - (review)
10. A Book of Tongues by Gemma Files - (review)

3. All things EPISTOLARY



This is a category I was planning to include in my 12 in 12 and as it just didn't happened, I have dusted off the category for the 2013 challenge.

BOOKS READ:
1. The Twitter Diaries by Georgie Thompson and Imogen Lloyd Webber- (review)
2. Lady Susan by Jane Austen - (review)
3. Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple - (review)
4. Mable Riley: A Reliable Record of Humdrum, Peril and Romance by Marthe Jocelyn - (review)

Candidates:
Clarissa by Samuel Richardson
The Mislaid Magician or Ten Years After by Patricia Wrede
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
The Mitfords by Charlotte Mosley
Griffin & Sabine series by Nick Bantock
Letters Home by Sylvia Plath
The Gardener by Sarah Stewart
Sorcery and Cecelia by Patricia Wrede
43 Old Cemetery Road series by Kate Klise
Daddy Long Legs and Dear Enemy by Jean Webster
A Celibate Season by Carol Shields and Blanche Howard
The Expedition of Humphrey Clinker by Tobias Smollett
Queen of the Tambourine by Jane Gardam
P.G. Wodehouse: A Life in Letters by P.G. Wodehouse
Mrs. Fry's Diary by Mrs. Stephen Fry
Lady Susan by Jane Austen
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Henrietta's War by Joyce Dennys

4. All things GOTHIC



I am so looking forward to this category. Lots of great books out there I have never read that will fit perfectly here!

BOOKS READ:
1. Enter At Your Own Risk: Old Masters, New Voices edited by Alex Scully - (review)
2. Mrs. God by Peter Straub - (review)
3. Mistress of Blackstone Castle by Patricia Werner - (review)
4. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier - (review)

Candidates:
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
The House at Riverton by Kate Morton
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
The Woman in Black by Susan Hill
The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafron
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe
Nine Coaches Waiting by Mary Stewart
The Monk by M.G. Lewis
Gothic Tales by Elizabeth Gaskell
The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson
Dracula by Bram Stoker
The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne

5. All things FABLES and FAIRY TALES - original and retold



Yes, I can be a sucker for tales, fables and everything magical! Another category to try and dive into all the books out there that are a retelling in one form or another.

BOOKS READ:
1. Lies, Knives and Girls in Red Dresses by Ron Koertge - (review)
2. Fables Vol. 1: Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham - (review)
3. Fables Vol. 2: Animal Farm by Bill Willingham - (review)
4. Fables Vol. 3: Storybook Love by Bill Willingham - (review)
5. The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter - (review)
6. Fables Vol. 4: March of the Wooden Soldiers by Bill Willingham - (review)

Candidates:
Bill Willingham
Robin McKinley
Shannon Hale
Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen
Enchantment by Orson Scott Card
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Breath by Donna Jo Napoli
My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me: Forty New Fairy Tales by Kate Bernheimer
The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman
Some Kind of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce
The Sister Grimm series by Michael Buckley
Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce
Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan
In the Cities of Coin and Spice by Catherynne Valente
Iron Hans: a Grimms' Fairy Tale by Stephen Mitchell
Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan
Stardust by Neil Gaiman
The Merchant's Daughter by Melanie Dickerson

6. All things EUROPA


I am a big fan of the books published by Europa Editions. I currently have six of their books languishing on my TBR bookcase and others waiting for me at my local library. 2013 will be a year where I will try to explore the books they publish!

BOOKS READ:
1. Sorry by Gail Jones - (review)
2. Old Filth by Jane Gardam - (review)

Candidates (from my TBR bookcase):
Broken Glass Park by Alina Bronsky
A Novel Bookstore by Laurence Cosse
Old Filth by Jane Gardam
Chourmo by Jean-Claude Izzo
Little Criminals by Gene Kerrigan
The Palestinian Lover by Selim Nassib

7. All things REGENCY - books set in or written during the British Regency period



I need a category for some tried and true escapism reading courtesy of Georgette Heyer, etc. The British Regency period is a rather tight one according to the Wikipedia article, spanning the time period from 1811 — when King George III was deemed unfit to rule and his son, the Prince of Wales, ruled as his proxy as Prince Regent through to 1820, when the Prince Regent became George IV on the death of his father. As narrow as that time period is, I will have no problem finding books to fill this category..... I may even surprise myself and dive into one or two of Jane Austen's novels!

BOOKS READ:
1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen- (review)
2. The Rules of Gentility by Janet Mullany - (review)

Candidates:
The Mislaid Magician or Ten Years After by Patricia Wrede
Georgette Heyer
Mary Balogh
Joan Wolf
Naomi Novik's Temeraire series
Tahir Shah's Timbuctoo
Kate Ross's Julian Kestrel Mysteries Series
The Ivy Lockwell series by Galen Beckett
Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal
The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever by Julia Quinn

8. All things PENGUIN


Awe, that darling little aquatic, flightless bird that subtly graces the spine and cover of so many books that catch my eye! Time to pay homage to the multitude of books published by the second largest trade book publisher in the world (after Random House, and no.... I don't have a category for Random House. Maybe next year.)

BOOKS READ:
1. The Little Book by Selden Edwards - (review)
2. Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle - (review)

Candidates (a sample from my TBR bookcase):
Keeper of the Crystal Spring by Naomi Baltuck
The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank
The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt
Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle
The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
The Wars by Timothy Findley
Howard's End by E. M. Forster
Inamorata by Joseph Gangemi
C'est la Vie by Suzy Gershman
A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka
The Storyteller by Mario Vargas Llosha
Mr. Darwin's Shooter by Roger McDonald
Wish I Could be There by Allen Shawn
My Year of Meats by Ruth L. Ozeki

9. All things MITFORD



Another self explanatory category. I have all nine books in Jan Karon's Mitford series on my TBR bookcase and I figure this is the time to settle in and visit Midford. The fact that these are published by Penguin will make it easy to keep the books read in this category to equal a prime number!

BOOKS READ:

1. At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon - (review)

10. All things SERIES, SEQUELS, PREQUELS, and TRILOGIES



According to LT, I have 118 series read or in progress which makes this category a must, especially for the new series that keep being brought to my attention via book bullets while reading everyone's threads! This is also a safety net for when I need to move books around from one category to another in line with Prime!

BOOKS READ:
1. A Death in the Small Hours by Charles Finch- (review)
2. F is for Fugitive by Sue Grafton - (review)
3. Soulless by Gail Carriger - (review)
4. His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik - (review)

Candidates (from my TBR bookcase):
Steig Larsson's Millennium Trilogy

11. All things NEWSWORTHY - books that get a lot of buzz - On LT, as prize contenders and winners, etc


A category for when I just have to find out for myself what all the fuss is about!

BOOKS READ:

1. Fun Home by Alison Bechdel - (review)
2. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline - (review)
3. The Dinner by Herman Koch - (review)
4. Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan - (review)
5. February by Lisa Moore - (review)

12. All things ON MY TBR BOOKCASE



As of the end of August 2012, I had 250 books on my TBR bookcase waiting for my attention. Not an awful lot of books by LT standards but still, I buy books to read them, not for them to languish on the shelves and become dust collectors..... for the record, I hate dusting. Time to move these boys, even if it is to make way for new books.

BOOKS READ:
1. A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka- (review)
2. The Very Thought of You by Rosie Alison - (review)
3. Riding the Bus With My Sister by Rachel Simon - (review)
4. Ice Song by Kirsten Imani Kasai - (review)
5. Snow Falling On Cedars by David Guterson - (review)

13. All things WITH A TITLE, AUTHOR(S) AND WORDS WRITTEN - The life saving 'catch-all category'



BOOKS READ:
1. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry - (review)
2. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (père) - (review)

Currently Reading (or listening to):

The Count of Monte Cristo - 26% finished (at Chapter 32)
The Fate of Mercy Alban - 9% finished (at Chapter 5)
F is for Fugitive - audiobook in progress
Fables Vol. 2: Animal Farm - about to start

Welcome to my 'Spring' thread. Feel free to breeze through, drop by to take a load off your feet or, as per the Eagle's song Hotel California, check in and never leave. Your choice. ;-)

This thread is now open for business!

New shiny digs - looking good! :)

Thanks Eva! I was motivated this evening and so proud that I even remembered to use the continuation thingee, and then I started to freak out because it wasn't showing the link on the previous thread.... silly me forgot to refresh the page. *duh* Once I did that, everything looked as it should. *whew* ;-)

Congrats on the Hot Review too! And, on finding the "continuation thingee" - I do believe that's the technical term. :)

What... REALLY???? * heads off to investigate* Cool!

Nice to see some technical terminology is linguistically inclined.... my other half and I banter whenever one of use struggles to explain something and resort to using terms like 'thingee', 'whatsit', 'doohickey' and anything else but what we really want to say!

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Most of you will recognize the following photo I took over the weekend and posted on my previous thread:



I posted the same photo over on the 75 group and one of them suggested it would probably look good in sepia, b&w or Modern Gothic, so of course, I had to play on my computer to see how I could manipulate it and came up with the following Modern Gothic image:



I do like the effect and will probably start playing around with more of my pictures, so consider yourselves forewarned as postings of said pictures may occur! ;-)

Even the streetlamp fits tightly into the scene under that tonal scheme!

Though it does make the clouds less terrifying....

3rd thread!

Speaking of playing around with pictures: Are any of you guys on Instagram?

Nice picture. I am Anders but I have never used it :( my photo a day lasted 3 weeks and I just stuck them on Flickr

Cool picture Lori, and the gothic version does look suitably eerie. I miss seeing stormy skies like that.

Nice new thread, Lori! Plenty of good reading ahead for the year.

Hi, still lovely image/painting ? At the top of your thread to welcome visitor :) Where do you find them ?

Third thread, WOW!

Happy new thread! Great effects on the tree photo.

> 21 - you are right pammab..... the streetlamp does remove some of the looming darkness effect. I have been messing around with the editing software I have but haven't been able to figure out how to remove something from a photo without it being noticeable or look a little strange.

> 22 - Hi Pete!

> 23 - Hi Anders, I have heard about Instagram but haven't looked into the site yet. Very curious to check it out! If I sign on to Instagram, I will let everyone know.

> 24 - Hi Claire! Like you, my previous online photo postings have been on Flickr... the photo-bug is something that crops up occasionally for me, but I am hoping to see if I can make it last longer or even become a more permanent activity for me. The good news is I can always walk around listening to audiobooks as I snap away so my book time shouldn't be impacted by a new hobby!

> 25 - Thanks Alana! Skies like that one sure are impressive!

> 26 - Hi mamzel!

> 27 - That particular picture I found doing a Google search for painting of children reading books.... or something very similar to that phrase. I always try to cite the source when I post but that one is a little elusive and I won't cite a source that appears to have found the image somewhere else. I am trying to keep to a children reading theme for this year, and I am kind of hoping I don't have too many more threads... it is getting more and more difficult to find images I like!

> 28 - Hi mysterymax, it is time for me to start getting a little creative at stretching out the threads to make them last longer. I tend to use a lot of graphics so I worry that past the 200 post mark the thread becomes a bit slow for visitors to load.

> 29 - Thanks rabbitprincess!

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

I have developed a new candy addiction today. We have a British Sweet Shoppe in town and during my lunch hour I wandered in. I love wine gums and I noticed that they carried 8 different kinds. I bought 100g of "Aran Wine Gums" - the label on the big jar the shop girl measured out my purchase from - and, boy are they ever good! Don't know who the manufacturer is and my Google search was not very productive but I can see how having this store within easy walking distance from the office at lunchtime is going to be a problem. ;-)

Still reading, but with four books on the go at the same time, it will probably be a couple of days before I finish one and have something to post on the reading front.

Great pictures. I admire your fortitude with The count of Monte Cristo I started it, but decided I had other things I'd rather read.

Hi Lori, just checking in. Ah, The British Sweet Shoppe strikes again!

>31 Bjace: Hi Bjace, I mean to start too on Le comte de Monte-Cristo in March, then didn't because I fell in a GN spree with the The Unwritten.
It's already over mid-April. I'm on holidays for two weeks at the beginning of May and I don't feel like bringing on my trip a 2 pounds book so It seems less and less like this will be a reachable goal ...

Just popping in to see your new thread - way cool!

Mmmm, British sweet shoppe! We have a yummy pâtisserie near our office but it is JUST far enough away on foot to discourage daily visits ;)

Glad to have found your new thread! I enjoyed your review of February. I also liked this book very much myself and was happy to see it win Canada Reads (though I actually liked Indian Horse better myself).

> 31 - Hi Beth, The Count is a re-read for me but it has been a number of years since I last read it and I am finding it intriguing how some of the finer details appear new to me. Like you, I do have other things to read - and now listen to - which is why I am only on Chapter 32 of The Count. I will finish it by the end of May in the time frame setup for the group read but I have other reading on deck for the next two weeks.

> 32 - Hi Judy, darn that British Sweet Shoppe! Actually I curse my co-worker who reminded me that they had opened a new store near the convention center...... if it hadn't been for him, I would have continued to assume that the Yates Street shop was gone and forgotten about it..... ;-)

> 33 - Group reads never really end on LT. I have read and posted comments after the fact on various group read threads and sometimes the late posts can generate a whole new conversation. But I agree..... The Count in paper format does seem like a big book to cart around when you are on vacation *says the person that carted around Lonesome Dove in paper format during her last vacation*. ;-)

> 34 - Hi Betty!

> 35 - Oooohhhh.... patisserie. I would kill for a decent patisserie in town, really I would! There is a decent bakery near my office but their consistently good product - IMO - are the croissants and the danishes made from puff pastry. the bread products seem a bit undercooked for me - great if you are going home and plan to reheat it in your oven but not great if you want to eat it as is. That being said, they do make an amazing pistachio bar that is like a Nanaimo bar... major sugar rush but ooooohhh so good!

> 36 - Hi Paulina, great to see you found the new thread and thanks! I haven't read Indian Horse yet... I need to add that one to the 'To Read' pile

Nice new spring thread Lori.
#20- I had no idea that's it's possible to change the whole tone of a photograph like that. I'm lucky I've figured out how to zoom and crop. I definitely have to see if I'm able to do B&W
What is/are Aran Wine Gums? I'll have to look for them at the London Candy Shop next time I'm in the neighborhood.

20 - Neat effect! For some reason, the lamp post and colouring in the Modern Gothic image immediately made me think of Narnia. The original picture didn't do that.

> 38 - Hi Kelly, Thanks! I was rather surprised at how the tone changed in the photograph as well. As for Aran Wine Gums, I am still trying to figure that out. They are a little firmer in texture than Maynards wine gums - my previous favorite - but these have a stronger more vibrant candy flavor than the Maynards. I will try to remember to grill the shop clerk for details the next time I stop in!

> 39 - Hi Sandra, cool that the Modern Gothic image made you think of Narnia!

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I have finished one book - and the review is now ready for posting - and I hope to be a lazy bones and spend at least one day this weekend doing nothing but reading..... unless it is warm and sunny out in which case I will be outdoors!

Happy weekend everyone!

Book #33 - The Fate of Mercy Alban by Wendy Webb
Category: - All things NEW

Grace Alban has spent more than twenty years avoiding her childhood home, the stately Alban House on the shores of Lake Superior, for reasons she would rather forget. But when her mother’s unexpected death brings Grace and her teenage daughter back, she finds more is haunting the halls and passageways of Alban House than her own personal demons.

Long-buried family secrets, a packet of old love letters, and a lost manuscript plunge Grace into a decades-old mystery about a scandalous party at Alban House, when a world-famous author took his own life and Grace’s aunt disappeared without a trace. The night has been shrouded in secrecy by the powerful Alban family for all of these years. Her mother intended to tell the truth about that night to a reporter on the very day she died—could it have been murder? Or was she a victim of the supposed Alban curse?

I picked this one up, hoping for a suspenseful gothic read. It's not as gothic as I was hoping for. More mystery/ gothic-lite with some supernatural elements interwoven with a dash of romance. While there are moments of suspense and the idea of a rambling mansion with hidden passageways, a deeply buried family secret and elements of the paranormal are all elements of a gothic tale, this one lacks the dominant atmosphere of a progressively building feeling of suspense/horror in the reader that I have found in other gothic stories I have read. The romance bit does detract a bit from the gothic angle for me as it breaks the suspense the gothic elements had started to create. Nothing wrong with that. The mystery was still an interesting one to read, trying to figure out the truth of the family secret, but the story is more geared towards mystery fans that don't mind a bit of the paranormal thrown in. Reading this one made me think of the Phyllis A. Whitney novels I loved reading as a teen/young adult - which seems appropriate considering she wrote romance novels of suspense and has been considered a gothic novelist by some.

Overall, I did enjoy this one. Some character moments were on the eye-rolling side for me, but they were not overly annoying given the overall lighter feel of the story than I was expecting. NO cowering in the chair with all the lights on while reading this one! I also enjoyed it enough that I will make plans to read Webb's first novel, The Tale of Halcyon Crane at some point in the future.

Decimal Rating: 3.28
3.25 - Plot Development
3.00 - Character Development
3.25 - Writing Style
3.75 - Readability
3.00 - Premise
3.75 - Imagery/Visualization
N/A - Artistry (GN)
3.25 - Originality
3.00 - Length

Star Rating: 3.50 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: e-book
# of Pages: 353 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Female

->20 lkernagh:
Very cool effect, indeed!

I'm siding with Bassett's wine gums, but I'll remember to give Aran's a try if I come across them at my local British shop (which is luckily a half-hour drive away).

Just dropped by the see the new thread. Your threads always have such beautiful pictures on them...and great reviews!

> 42 - Thanks Eva, I am still rather amazed at change in effect with the picture. Now, I am going to have the try the Bassett's wine gums for comparison! A half-hour drive would be a good deterrent for frequent visits to the store. ;-)

> 43 - Hi Caroline! Great to see you here!

Book #34 - F is for Fugitive by Sue Grafton - audiobook narrated by Mary Peiffer
Category: - All things SERIES, SEQUELS, PREQUELS and TRILOGIES

When Kinsey Millhone first arrives in Floral Beach, California, it’s hard for her to picture the idyllic coastal town as the setting of a brutal murder. Seventeen years ago, the body of Jean Timberlake—a troubled teen who had a reputation with the boys—was found on the beach. Her boyfriend Bailey Fowler was convicted of her murder and imprisoned, but he escaped. After all this time, Bailey’s finally been captured. Believing in his son’s innocence, Bailey’s father wants Kinsey to find Jean’s real killer. But most of the residents in this tight-knit community are convinced Bailey strangled Jean. So why are they so reluctant to answer Kinsey’s questions? If there’s one thing Kinsey’s got plenty of it’s persistence. And that’s exactly what it’s going to take to crack the lid on this case.
As Kinsey gets closer to solving Jean’s murder, the more dirty little secrets she uncovers in a town where everyone has something to hide—and a killer will kill again to keep the past buried...

This is an audiobook I started listening to back on Septemer 9, 2012 but never got around to finishing until now. I know this because that is the date I had entered into the LT catalogue. During the winter months, given the dark mornings, I don't like to listen to audiobooks or music during my walk to work in the mornings. Now that we are back to bright mornings, I am now back to listening to audiobooks during my walking commute.

Everyone who has read my reviews last year for the previous Grafton books in the series will probably remember that I do like the character of our private investigator, gutsy 33 year old Kinsey Millhone. A work driven, relationship gun-shy woman who presents a strong, in control front as protection for what she feels inside. Listening to the narration by Mary Peiffer was like re-connecting with an old friend after a long absence. Grafton has a way with providing a interesting mix of characters, descriptive scenery that is easy to visualize and enough plot shifts to keep my interest without taxing my attention as I walk along enjoying all the flowers of spring that are cropping up. Of course, I also love the whole retro feel of the stories - Kinsey lugs her typerwriter with her to type up her reports on and cell phones are not the normal telecommunication device of Kinsey's 1980's world.

Overall, great to get back to Kinsey's world and I am looking forward to starting the next audiobook in the series!

Decimal Rating: 3.53
4.00 - Plot Development
3.25 - Character Development
3.50 - Writing Style
3.50 - Readability
3.25 - Premise
3.35 - Imagery/Visualization
4.00 - Artistry (GN) / Narration (Audio)
3.25 - Originality
3.00 - Length

Star Rating: 3.50 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: audiobook
# of Pages: 26 pages (6 hours, 56 minutes listening time)
Source: TBR
Male/Female Author: Female

I have been enjoying the spring weather that has arrived and feel the bug to attempt a balcony/ indoor garden of herbs. I should probably explain to everyone that while I am perfectly capable of taking care of an outdoor garden in the normal sense of the term, my skills at taking care of any kind of planter pots or indoor plants is dismal at best. I kill the houseplants we have by either over-watering them or completely neglecting them to the point where my other half is now the one that takes care of the plants, including the poor plant that I have taken to the brink of death four times now that he has managed to revive each time.

I am determined to try my hand at growing my own herbs - seriously how hard can this be? - but decided to start out small. I am starting off this growing adventure with a chives herb kit, similar to this one:

I love chives and hopefully, I will be able to grow my own. It is kind of weird to find the soil - sorry, the expand Quick Soil Mix - to be a dry, flat disk at the bottom of the package but it did expand with warm water to a soil/peat mixture that fills the entire container. Package says 4 -6 weeks for germination so it will be while before I have anything interesting to report back on. My other half is promising that this is my project and he won't 'save' anything from me, although I did give him a look when he said he was going to go out and buy me a miniature rake and hoe set, Barbie sized. Cheeky monkey! :-)

Book #35 - Fables Vol. 2: Animal Farm by Bill Willingham
Book #36 - Fables Vol. 3: Storybook Love by Bill Willingham
Category: - All things FABLES and FAIRY TALES



Picking up where Fables Vol. 1: Legends in Exile left off, we continue our introduction to the various characters from fairy tales and folklore who have been exiled from their own lands by "The Adversary" and have set up a new home (albeit a clandestine community) in New York City and a farm up state.

Fables Vol. 2: Animal Farm has us visiting the Farm to meet the Fables with more animalistic/ no-human characteristics that would not blend in with the human society of New York City. Unbeknown to the visitors from Fabletown, a revolution has been started by the Farm Fables characters who feel as though they are prisoners on the Farm. With communications cut off with Fabletown, and an interesting instigator of all of this insurrection activity, it becomes a battle to see which side will win.

Fables Vol. 3: Storybook Love continues to tackle a disgruntled element among the Fables as unsanctioned magic is used to send Snow White and Bigsby Wolf out of town and out of range to be able to interfere with the master plans of our usurpers. Of particular interest to me in this volume was the American Civil War-based interlude at the start of this volume where we have an interesting blending of Gone with the Wind and good old Jack (of the beanstalk fame) trying to cheat Death. Seriously!

While Vol. 1 Legends in Exile was a solid crime mystery piece with the added bonus of an entertainingly adult takes on the fable and fairy tale characters of my childhood, Vol. 2 and Vol.3 have a more decidedly dark feel to the story as power struggles take the forefront of the story. Fleshing out some of the characters that had been only lightly touched upon in Vol. 1, I am now settling in for the more intense read this is becoming. Gone are the flippant comments that had peppered Vol. 1 and made me chuckle. Elements of swords play, honor (or the lack thereof) and self-preservation/ personal advancement are more the norm now, although I will say the Briar Rose piece in Vol. 3 did contain elements that harkened back to the crime/mystery elements and fun adult banter that I enjoyed so much in Vol. 1.

The artwork, characters and writing style have remained consistent throughout so it is easy for me to pay more attention to the variations in the story itself. I am very curious to see where Willingham takes the story next.


Decimal Rating: 3.67
3.75 - Plot Development
3.25 - Character Development
3.50 - Writing Style
4.00 - Readability
4.00 - Premise
3.75 - Imagery/Visualization
4.00 - Artistry (GN) / Narration (Audio)
3.75 - Originality
3.00 - Length

Star Rating: 3.50 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: Trade Paperback
# of Pages: 128 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Male


Decimal Rating: 3.61
3.50 - Plot Development
3.00 - Character Development
3.50 - Writing Style
4.00 - Readability
4.00 - Premise
3.75 - Imagery/Visualization
4.00 - Artistry (GN) / Narration (Audio)
3.75 - Originality
3.00 - Length

Star Rating: 3.50 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: Trade Paperback
# of Pages: 192 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Female

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

Currently Reading:
Old Filth by Jane Gardam - for the group read
The Count of Monte Cristo - currently in the middle of Chapter 35
The Little Book by Selden Edwards - about to start listening to the audiobook

Glad to see you still like Kinsey! Curious to see what you think of The Little Book - I read it a couple of years ago and liked it overall.

Goo luck with the herbs! I do love chives but I also am a known for my plant killing skills..

Good luck with the chives. Have you tried growing basil or lemon balm? I grow them every year (in containers on the dining room table) and find them to be pretty hard to kill. I always kill the rosemary though.

Good luck w the chives! I tried to start a clump last year and I ended up with one thin, unhappy, lying down strand. Sometimes two. But it lasted all winter.....(??)

I love chives and so handy to have right in your garden. Egg salad with chives sandwiches - mmm!

IMO - Chives are usually easier to transplant with a clump from a friend than start from seed. And growing lemon balm in a pot is a good idea because as a perennial it tends to spread and the roots and tendrils are hard to eliminate totally once your husband decides that you got too much :). But it does smell so nice. Basil - pesto - yum!

Thanks everyone for the good luck wishes for my attempt at growing herbs! I will need all the luck I can get. I peek at the mini greenhouse container every day and have to remind myself that I have a few weeks to go still before anything starts sprouting, although it does already appear to be growing something mossy/ webby on the surface of the soil. With my green thumb, I probably made the soil too moist before putting the greenhouse lid on and the darn thing is growing mold! ;-P

> 48 - Hi Stacy, I do like the Kinsey series. it is the perfect audiobook to listen to while walking to and from work - not overly taxing and great characters! I started listening to the audiobook of The Little Book this morning and so far I am quite enjoying the historical Vienna setting and the introduction of the characters.

> 49 - Thanks Claire, I need all of the good luck help I can get!
> 50 - Hi Kelly, I have my fingers crossed I will have home grown chives this summer. I haven't tried my had at growing basil, lemon balm or anything else yet. I am game for attempting anything that is hard to kill. I have to say I am not encouraged by your comment that you always kill the rosemary.... I was hoping that was one of the easier one to grow!

> 51 - Thanks pammab! *sad frowsy face for chives*.... and you say the plant lasted all winter, or was that your harvested chives that lasted all winter?

> 52 - Now Judy, don't get me craving any chives, I have weeks - easily into the double digits - before I get to harvest any fresh chives from my little attempted chive garden.... ;-)

> 53 - Hi Betty, transplanted chives are probably easier, trust me to go about things the hard way. Between you and Kelly, I need to research lemon balm. I didn't see any seed packets at the garden store when I was there but I was on the hunt for chives so I probably missed it.

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

On the reading front I have finished Jane Gardam's Old Filth and Steve Niles' GN Freaks of the Heartland. Both were exceptional reads but I need some time to wrap my head around my reviews and tonight is for curling up and relaxing in front of the TV, so I will aim for sometime this weekend to get those reviews written and posted.

As mentioned above, I am currently listening to the audiobook of Selden Edwards' The Little Book and quite enjoying the historical Vienna setting and the introduction of the characters.... and still picking up The Count from time to time.....

Adding my well-wishes for the herb-garden! I've been trying to find a strain of dill that'll grow in Southern California soil, but no luck yet - I've been given a lead, though - a friend of a friend who knows someone who knows... It's serious business, this! :)

Oooohhh... Dill is a herb I need to add to my herb garden list, Eva! Love dill! Thanks for the well-wishes. I figure if nothing starts to show 'greenery-wise' out of the soil by the end of May, I will resort to Plan B - buy the herbs already started by the 'experts' and just transplant them into a balcony/ indoor planter pot system!

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

Happy Friday/ start of the weekend, everyone! It is promising to be a wet one where I live and that is okay.... too many errands to run and household chores to tackle that I will probably be looking forward to heading back into the office Monday morning for a bit of a breather. ;-)

In the meantime, I have managed to get two reviews written for posting.

Book #37 - Old Filth by Jane Gardam
Category: - All things EUROPA

FILTH, in his heyday, was an international lawyer with a practice in the Far East. Now, only the oldest QCs and Silks can remember that his nickname stood for ‘Failed In London Try Hong Kong’. Long ago, Old Filth was a Raj orphan - one of the many young children sent 'Home' from the East to be fostered and educated in England.

This restrained and yet intimately reflective novel provides an examination on life changing events and how we can be shaped by our experiences. The story is focused on Sir Edward Feathers, the Old Filth of the title. Gardam beautifully captures the voice of an old Raj orphan – an octogenarian if my memory serves correctly! – who finds himself at a crossroads of sorts in the twilight years of his life. He reflects on his past, memories conjured up in part by the arrival of Veneering, the Far East legal rival of his past, to the quiet Dorset community Feathers now resides in in seclusion. Gardam provides the reader with glimpsing views of our characters as though seen through paned windows, not accessed through open doors that would allow us to fully enter and embrace the characters. The access to the characters is beautifully managed as some things, as in real life, are only fleetingly alluded to, while other things are left unmentioned.

Richly told, the reader experiences our main character’s growing realization of his advancing frailty, his sometimes transient state of emotional and mental confusion and a building desire to get his moral house in order. A need to wipe the slate clean, so to speak. I really like how Gardam is able to show how Feathers’ acquaintances, family relations and former colleagues view him in comparison to the more complex and very human individual that resides behind the exterior facade he projects. Even though Feathers is a flawed character, Gardam is able to portray him in a way that made me grow to love him and his foibles. Feathers is not a character that is easily pigeonholed or categorized, even if his dated clothing and mannerisms lead one to some expected first impressions. Gardam does an amazing job capturing the past, depicting an Empire that no longer exists in our modern world, except in the lingering minds of those who were around to experience it. Filled with a number of well written passages, this is the one, describing the Raj orphans, really stood out for me:

"They were brought up like that. Most of them learned to never like anyone, ever, their whole lives. But they didn't moan because they had this safety net. The Empire. Wherever you went you wore the Crown, and wherever you went you could find your own kind. A club. There are still thousands around the world thinking they own it. It's vaguely mixed up with Christian duty. Even now. Even here at Home. Every house of our sort you go into, Liverpool to the Isle of Wright - there's big game on the wall and tiger skins n the floor and tables made of Benares brass trays and a photograph of the Great Durbar. Nowadays you can even fake it with plenty of servants. It wasn't like that in my grandfather's generation. They were better people. Better educated, Bible-readers, not showy. Got on with the job. There was a job for everyone and they did it and often died in it."

Overall, a memorable reading experience for me and I look forward to reading the next book in the series, The Man in the Wooden Hat.

Decimal Rating: 4.22
3.25 - Plot Development
5.00 - Character Development
4.50 - Writing Style
4.25 - Readability
4.50 - Premise
4.00 - Imagery/Visualization
N/A - Artistry (GN) / Narration (Audio)
4.00 - Originality
4.25 - Length

Star Rating: 4.00 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: Trade paperback
# of Pages: 289 pages
Source: TBR
Male/Female Author: Female

Book #38 - Freaks of the Heartland by Steve Niles
Category: - All things GRAPHIC



Winner of the 2005 Spectrum Gold Award, this was an interesting GN read for me. I'm not a huge fan of horror, although I am noticing that my tolerance for horror appear to be improving lately with the gothic reading I am doing. The story itself is good but not overly special.... small town farmland community isolated from neighboring communities by its location nestled in the valley of high hilly terrain (Gristlewood Valley) harbors a secret. Trevor Owen's six year old baby brother Will towers over Trevor and lives chained up in the family barn, a precaution against Will's superhuman strength. After a fateful event occurs, Trevor, while trying to maintain the family secret, uncovers the horrible truth about the small midwestern town they live in.

a decent horror story, but like I said, not overly original or uniquely striking from a story perspective, IMO. What made this such an amazing read for me was the artwork. Truly stunning graphics that capture the essence of the story and it dark, looming atmosphere with amazing detail, eye for depth, shadow and colour and fantastic realistically drawn characters - body language, facial expressions, the whole nine yards. A true treat for the visual senses! I read the deluxe hardcover edition with high colour graphics on full gloss paper so you can probably understand why I am raving about the artwork in this one:


Overall, the story is a decent one with a couple of interesting surprises for fans of a gritty suspense/horror read but a real treat for anyone that has an interest in or appreciates GN's from an artwork perspective. The hardcover edition I read contained some sketchbook images and notes from the artist along with beautiful high colour images for the covers of the original issues.

Decimal Rating: 3.89
3.25 - Plot Development
3.00 - Character Development
3.25 - Writing Style
3.75 - Readability
4.50 - Premise
4.75 - Imagery/Visualization
5.00 - Artistry (GN) / Narration (Audio)
3.00 - Originality
4.50 - Length

Star Rating: 4.00 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: Hard cover
# of Pages: 160 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Male

Great review of Old Filth.

Good luck with growing herbs! I've always had success with herbs. I have chives in a pot on my patio and they keep coming back every year, even in this Ontario climate. I've had good luck with rosemary outdoors but can't seem to keep it alive indoors. I always do mint and oregano in pots now. They have a tendency to take over an entire garden. You might try those, as I serious don't think it's possible to kill them!

By the way, I received a nice ER book a little while ago, The Organic Home Garden by Patrick Lima, that you might find interesting. It's more of a gardening memoir than a reference book, but I found lots of useful and inspiring material in it.

Good luck with the chives! I leave gardening to the BF because he has more patience than I do :P He usually grows tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, carrots and cucumbers. He also grew basil and parsley at one point but stopped because they were too productive and we didn't get through them fast enough!

->56 lkernagh:
I couldn't do without dill - it's a huge part of Swedish cuisine - and it'd be nice to be able to grow it. Luckily, my neighborhood Whole Foods carries it. Maybe I'll try one of those indoor growers, that's an idea...

Not a fan of Steve Niles ( he did 30 days of Night) but I do like nice artwork so I am going to keep my eye out.

During the summer, when there are big, beautiful, fresh bunches of dill in the market, I take one straight home, chop it up and put it in a plastic tub. Dill freezes really well and a bunch lasts me a long time this way.

> 59 - Thanks Rhian!

> 60 - The impatient person that I am is having some difficulty waiting for the seeds to sprout. I have heard about growing rosemary outdoors and given the somewhat temperate climate out here on the coast - although today was not what I would call a day to hold up as an example! - and I am curious to see if I can progress to having an outdoor planter-style herb garden on my balcony. Thanks for the suggestions of mint and oregano. Love both and anything that is hard to kill I am all for trying to grow. I was wondering about The Organic Home Garden when I say it on the ER list.... I will keep it in mind, Paulina!

> 61 - I think I need patience as well as luck but I will happily take all the luck you can offer up for the chives! Great that your BF has a green thumb and the patience for it. Parsley is something that we add to almost everything in this house so I think that will be the next herb I will attempt to grow. I find that even if I buy the small pots of fresh basil at the store, it tends to brown and spoil before we get around to using it so unless I can figure out how to dry it for later use, basil won't be one of the priorities for my herb garden.

> 62 - Well, now I am intrigues to check out some Swedish cookbooks to see the recipes with dill in them. If you do try the indoor growers, I will be curious to see how you make out with it!

> 63 - On reflection I have to say I may have been a bit generous on how I rated the story for Freaks of the Heartland. If I was rating the story alone I would probably give it a 2.50. The artwork was by Greg Ruth. I just love the attention to detail and the realism that he captures in his drawings. I have a habit of searching out books by a favorite translator, regardless of the original author, and it looks like I have now added an artist to my 'must follow' list.

> 64 - Can you tell I need all of the herb advice I can get? I had no idea that one can free fresh dill for later use! Many thanks for that bit of information!

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

On the reading front I don't know if I will get another book finished by tomorrow night, but I still have 24 hours. My current audiobook, the Little Book by Selden Edwards, is almost at the end and happily, when it is finished it will finally add a book to my PENGUIN category.... I cannot believe that this is the first Penguin published book (audiobook by Penguin Audio) that I have read so far this year.... and we are about to head into May!

I am still plugging away at The Count - currently on Chapter 39 which puts me at the 1/3 mark. In an effort to try and get books in all of my categories, I started reading At Home in Midford by Jan Karon for my MITFORD category and I have to say, I am hooked by this book. It is such a beautiful entertaining blend of small town life! Very happy about that as I was a little concerned about creating a category for a book series I have no idea if it will appeal to me or not.

Unless you have a realllly BIG pot, it's tough to grow basil because it gets about 4 ft high and there aren't enough nutrients or water holding material in a pot to support that kind of growth. (maybe a dwarf variety - not sure). I usually make pesto with the extra because it freezes well.

I found the comment on dill interesting too.I tend not to grow dill for the same reason - I can't use it fast enough before it goes to seed. I might look for some of those recipes too.

->64 mamzel:
Seconding - freezing does work very well!

->65 lkernagh:&66
I've got lots of recipes, but they're all in Swedish... :)

> 66 - A BIG pot I can do but I think any basil growing will have to be done by the other half.... I had no idea the plants grow up to 4 ft high!

> 67 - I've got lots of recipes, but they're all in Swedish... :) Not overly surprising coming from you, Eva! I will make a visit to the library. I know they have stacks of recipe books so I will be shocked/dismayed if they don't have any for Swedish cuisine... in English for the mono-linguist that I am!

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

I did finish my audiobook today during my walk at lunchtime so I have a review and the monthly recap ready for posting.

Book #39 - The Little Book by Selden Edwards - audiobook narrated by Jeff Woodman
Category: - All things PENGUIN

Wheeler Burden - banking heir, philosopher, student of history, legend's son, rock idol, writer, lover, recluse, half-Jew, and Harvard baseball hero - one day finds himself wandering not in his hometown of San Francisco in 1988 but in a city and time he knows mysteriously well: Vienna, 1897. Before long, Wheeler acquires a mentor in Sigmund Freud, a bitter rival, a powerful crush on a luminous young woman, and encounters everyone from an eight-year-old Adolf Hitler to Mark Twain as well as the young members of his own family. Solving the riddle of Wheeler's dislocation in time will ultimately reveal nothing short of one eccentric family's unrivaled impact upon the course of human history.

I do like to dip into time travel novels as a fun bit of escapism so I downloaded an audiobook copy of this book from my local library system to listen to during my daily walking commute. The concept of a modern Renaissance man - if I can label Wheeler Burden as such - finding himself in turn of the century Vienna during that city's amazing historical-cultural nexus of intellectual and artistic impulses that have shaped much of "Modernist" movement is a great idea for a time travel novel.

Edwards admits that this book was a 30-year process of writing, editing and further refinements before it was finally published. The historical content - the political, cultural, architectural and intellectual bones of this book - are built on solid research, as are the historical figures. His fictional characters fit well in their 'normal' time periods and exhibit the usual wonderment/ dilemma in the time period they find themselves transported to. I really loved the early chapters in the book that focus on young Wheeler Burden's growing years, first in small town California, then in a stuffy Boston boys prep school and after that on to the hallowed halls of Harvard. Those are actually my favorite parts of the story and I can recommend those section to anyone that enjoys stories around community/ school baseball.

The Vienna story - this book really is a bunch of different stories contained in one book - is heady with its sweeping artistic and intellectual components. This book, in particular the Vienna bits, can be described as "intellectual escapism" for philosophy, cultural and psychology enthusiasts. The details Edwards includes in the story - like Freud's development of his psychoanalytical theory - and the shifting timelines to explain parts of the story, started to wear on me after a while. With the focus on the details I started to think I was back in school receiving an education and the shifting timelines started to come across as an easier writer's mechanism to make the pieces of the story fit together. Not all that easy for the listener of an audiobook to follow, just sayin'!

The love story angle is different, I will say that, and it makes me wonder if Edwards included it because of Freud's presence in the story. I also had some difficulty accepting our main character as being 47 years old when he travels back in time. He come across as a much younger man in his mid 20's, or as a kid that just never truly grows up.

To enjoy this book a reader has to suspend belief that it is perfectly okay to spill the beans of one's time travel to one or two individuals in the past and assume that it won't have an impact. Lastly, I felt that the story seems to continue on beyond a couple of logical ending points. Yes, it would have meant one or two minor points might not have been tidied up but given that Edwards does finally end this one with a very faint whisper of more to come makes me think this story could have been condensed somewhat.

After putting so much negativity into this review, I have to say that this was never a disappointing story to listen to... it was rather enjoyable on the whole, and one I looked forward to listening to over the week but I think it might be more suited for reading as opposed to listening to given the wealth of information the story contains. I was rather surprised to realize that this audiobook didn't allow me to utilize the 30 second rewind feature I am rather used to having built into my audiobooks. Something to possibly discuss with Penguin audio......

Decimal Rating: 3.31
3.00 - Plot Development
3.25 - Character Development
3.50 - Writing Style
3.00 - Readability
4.00 - Premise
3.50 - Imagery/Visualization
3.50 - Artistry (GN) / Narration (Audio)
3.50 - Originality
2.50 - Length

Star Rating: 3.50 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: audiobook
# of Pages: 416 pages (15 hours, 0 minutes listening time)
Source: GVPL / BCL
Male/Female Author: Male

APRIL RE-CAP:

Books read:


ROOTs Read (as part of my ROOT challenge):


Books acquired:
None

Favorite book (decimal rating): Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry - (4.69 decimal rating)
Least favorite book (decimal rating): How to Tell if Your Cat is Plotting to Kill You by The Oatmeal - (1.50 decimal rating)

CATEGORY SUMMARY:
GRAPHIC - 4 books read this month (12 in total so far)
- - - How to Tell if Your Cat is Plotting to Kill You by The Oatmeal -
- - - Fables Vol. 2: Animal Farm by Bill Willingham -
- - - Fables Vol. 3: Storybook Love by Bill Willingham -
- - - Freaks of the Heartland by Steve Niles -
NEW (published in 2012 or 2013) - 2 booksread this month (4 in total so far)
- - - Complication by Isaac Adamson -
- - - The Fate of Mercy Alban by Wendy Webb -
EPISTOLARY - 0 books read this month (2 in total so far)
GOTHIC - 1 book read this month (2 in total so far)
- - - Mrs. God by Peter Straub -
FABLES and FAIRY TALES - 2 books read this month (4 in total so far)
- - - Fables Vol. 2: Animal Farm by Bill Willingham -
- - - Fables Vol. 3: Storybook Love by Bill Willingham -
EUROPA - 1 book read this month (2 in total so far)
- - - Old Filth by Jane Gardam -
REGENCY - 0 books read this month (1 in total so far)
PENGUIN - 1 book read (1 in total so far)
- - - The Little Book by Selden Edwards -
MITFORD - 0 books read
SERIES, SEQUELS, PREQUELS and TRILOGIES - 1 book read (2 in total so far)
- - - F is for Fugitive by Sue Grafton -
NEWSWORTHY - 3 books read this month (5 in total so far)
- - - The Dinner by Herman Koch -
- - - Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan -
- - - February by Lisa Moore -
ON MY TBR BOOKCASE - 0 books read this month (5 in total so far)
WITH A TITLE, AUTHOR(S) AND WORDS WRITTEN - 1 book read (1 in total so far)
- - - Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry -

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

Currently Reading:

The Count of Monte Cristo - 35% finished (currently at Chapter 39)
At Home in Mitford - 29% finished (currently at Chapter 9 - page 122 of 413)
Mistress of Blackstone Castle - about to start this one

Happy weekend everyone! It is a beautiful weekend weather-wise in my part of the world and today was a perfect day for my favorite annual book sale sponsored by the local newspaper. This rather popular event (now in its 16th year) has people lining up outside the book sale location early. The first people in line this year arrived at 3:00 am - doors open at 9:00 am. I was there at 6:30 and the line was already wrapping around the block. I promised myself that I would be very selective with my purchases, as my I am not making much progress in reading the books on my overflowing TBR bookcase. I Didn't see some of the books that I was on the hunt for but I still managed to come home with the following books, sorted by author:



The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen
Darkmans by Nicola Barker
The Yips by Nicola Barker
The New Yorker Stories by Ann Beattie
Leon and Louise by Alex Capus
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
The Sealed Letter by Emma Donoghue
The Time In Between by Maria Duenas
Troubles by J.G. Farrell
Singapore Grip by J.G. Farrell
Broken Harbour by Tana French
Man in the Wooden Hat by Jane Gardam
Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All by Allan Gurganus
Am I Disturbing You? by Anne Herbert
Light Boxes by Shane Jones
The Mitford Bedside Companion by Jan Karon
The Kindly Ones by Jonathan Littell
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Pure by Andrew Miller
The Map of Time by Felix Palma
The Midwife of Venice by Roberta Rich
The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters by Elisabeth Robinson
The Blackest Bird by Joel Rose
The Princes of Ireland by Edward Rutherford
London by Edward Rutherford
The Book of Salt by Monique Truong
Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese

Yup, I seem to be in the mood for acquiring chunksters right now! The sale continues tomorrow so I will probably venture back to see what books they still have that I didn't see today.

Curious to see if I will be able to read more books that I own than I acquire this year..... I have my doubts. So far this year I have purchased 34 books (counting today's acquisitions) and have only read 14 books that I own/owned.

Nice haul! You've got lots of good reading ahead of you. The book sale sounds like fun. I bet standing in line was interesting, too.

Woo-hoo! That's a good haul!

Thanks Carrie and Jennifer! I tried to limit myself to what I can carry..... the chunksters played a role in limiting the number of books I can home with today! The book sale this year has over 400,000 books up for grabs and you are right, standing in the line is interesting and fun, especially with the mix of young and old, veteran book sale goes and newcomers, used book sellers, librarians and personal shoppers.

Below is a picture taken a previous year during the setting up for the sale in the local curling club where the book sale has been held for the past three years - picture all of the tables covered with boxes of books and more books piled 4 boxes deep under all of the tables, and you get an idea of how big this sale is:



It is book shopping bedlam.... and a lot of fun!

Looks like you had a lot of fun shopping!

That's awesome! Good thing you're so far away from me.

Whoa! That looks like an amazing sale! Hope you enjoy the Rutherfurd books.

What a great haul, Lori. I may just have to plan a trip to see the family at the same time as this book sale next year!

Hi Everyone, I went back to the book sale today. Continuing my goal to be "highly selective" of the books I purchase, I managed to come away today with the following 12 books, again sorted by author:



An Assembly Such as This: A Novel of Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman by Pamela Aidan
Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
Plainsong by Kent Haruf
Eventide by Kent Haruf
The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack by Mark Hodder
22 Britannia Road by Amanda Hodgkinson
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
Sacrilege by S.J. Parris
In the Shadow of Gotham by Stefanie Pintoff
Cordelia Underwood: Or, The Marvelous Beginnings of the Moosepath League by Van Reid
The Convict Lover by Merilyn Simonds
Annabel by Kathleen Winter

That's me done for another year... now I just need to figure out where I am going to put all these new books!

Now for some individual responses.....

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

> 75 - Lori, this weekend is always the highlight of my book buying year! In previous years I would spend most of my time squatting down to dig through boxes under the tables, and my leg muscles would burn for days afterwords. This year I promised to just look at the books on the tables and only took the occasional peek at the boxes under the tables. My leg muscles are fine but my arm and shoulder muscles are going to be a bit sore for a couple of days! I really should try to remember to train for this sale. ;-)

> 76 - Tempting isn't it, Betty? I have yet to plan a visit to my parents to coincide when their city puts on the same type of book sale, mainly because I fly to visit them and I cringe at the thought of what it would probably end up costing me to bring the purchases home with me! If I drove, that would be a different story..... ;-)

> 77 - It has been decades since I read Sarum but I do remember loving the depth and attention to detail that Rutherford builds into his sweeping sagas so, of course, I couldn't resist snatching up the ones I grabbed, although I am kicking myself today for putting back Rebels of Ireland because the cover had a tear in it. You think after all of these years I would learn..... *sheesh*

> 78 - Oh, Judy, you really should try and make next year's sale. It is so worth it. I tend to only purchase trade paperbacks but they have a lot of hardcovers and smaller paperbacks as well. I also only gravitate towards the fiction.... If you are into cookbooks, it is a treasure trove of books! Let me know if you need any more convincing, as per the unofficial LT motto: "we are here to enable your book buying and reading". ;-)

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

I have taken stock of the various group reads I have committed myself to and it looks like May is shaping up to be a Group Read month for me as I need to read The Sandman: Season of Mists and The Sandman: A Game of You to get caught up with the year long Sandman group read; I will be joining the group reads this month for both Rebecca and The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay - I just bought both books this weekend so I might a well read them with the group! - and I really should try to focus more on my re-read of The Count of Monte Cristo and see if I can finish that one in by the end of this month. I will continue to listen to the audiobook Mistress of Blackstone Castle but I think I need to get through all of these before I start any others.

wow thats a lot of books! :-D

May is shaping up to be a group read type of month for me too

Book #40 - Mistress of Blackstone Castle by Patricia Werner - audiobook narrated by Nadia May
Category: - All things GOTHIC

Growing up in the orphanage, Heather Blackstone had been taught the art of lace-making. Now a young woman, she earns her living in a Nottingham factory. But legends of her true ancestry haunt her dreams. When a gypsy-fortune teller predicts a journey, Heather's destiny becomes clear: she must find a way to reclaim her family fortune and the castle that bears her name. Heather's quest brings her to the looming castle occupied by Sir Byron Worthington. Braving his strange, menacing household and vowing to find the lost document that will prove her claim, Heather accepts his offer of employment, only to discover that she is being watched and followed. As the danger escalates, Heather knows she must choose: to give up her search, or risk her life to become mistress of Blackstone Castle.

This is the type of historical fiction mystery romance with gothic elements that would have been my typical guilty pleasure reading as a teenager. Originally published back in 1991, there isn't anything overly original or spectacular about the story, the characters, the writing or the plot development. More of a formula piece of writing than anything else - Young, naive and beautiful heroine? Check. Dashing and brooding landed gentry rescuer/love interest? Check. Crumbling castle? Check. Mysterious noises to be heard at night across the moors? Check. Legends of a family curse? Check.

Heather is your typical annoying female heroine who always manages to find herself in trouble and Sir Byron isn't much better as the leading man. The story is rather lackluster for romance, mystery and gothic. I finally came to the conclusion that this one is a historical fiction mystery with romance and gothic elements and should really only be treated as a bit of escapism reading, or in my case, listening.

One redeeming quality of the audiobook I listened to that I must mention here is great job the narrator, Nadia May, did in creating the different voices of the characters and communicating some of the atmosphere of the story as she read. As an aside, for the first 10 minutes of listening to the story, my mind kept making me think of Muriel Sparks, which seemed rather strange to me as I don't remember Sparks having written any period pieces set in 1880 England, she was more modern with her settings. My brain was rather insistent on this point and it was when I remembered that Nadia May had been the narrator of the Spark's Memento Mori that I realized why. 11 months since I had listened to Memento Mori and my mind made the connection just like that!

Overall, a fun bit of escapism, but nothing special. I have decided that there is enough gothic in this one to fit my Gothic category but it is a bit of a stretch on my part, I will admit.

Decimal Rating: 2.97
2.50 - Plot Development
3.00 - Character Development
3.00 - Writing Style
3.25 - Readability
3.00 - Premise
3.25 - Imagery/Visualization
4.00 - Artistry (GN) / Narration (Audio)
2.00 - Originality
2.75 - Length

Star Rating: 3.00 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: audiobook
# of Pages: pages- unknown (8 hours, 27 minutes listening time)
Source: GVPL / BCL
Male/Female Author: Female

I've listened to books narrated by Nadia May before, and I agree she's a great narrator. Too bad she didn't have better material to work with in this instance.

> 80 - Thanks, Pete!

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My month of group reads is not shaping up all that well. I have made it through the first 200 pages of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay and need to take a break from this book.... I am starting to lose interest in it. Luckily, I have two Sandman books out from the library - Season of Mists and Game of You and may treat myself to reading them this weekend, and see if the change of reading material helps me any.

> 82 - Hi Carrie, I agree. I do like Nadia as a narrator. At least Blackstone Castle was an untaxing read for me to listen to while walking to and from work! I could allow my mind to wander and not really miss anything important. ;-)

Just catching up with your thread and am astounded by your terrific book haul! I'll be interested in seeing your reviews of Indian Horse, The Strange Affair of Spring-Heeled Jack and Annabel, all books that I particularly liked.

> 85 - Thanks Paulina, I am still rather surprised by the books I was able to get.

Looks like this will be a slow reading week for me but the good news is that I now have next week off from work. Vacation was approved this morning. Very happy about that as I am looking forward to a weekend spend attending the Highland Games here in town.... fingers crossed the weather cooperates, it has most years.

I have managed to finish The Sandman: Vol. 4 Season of Mists which edges me one book closer to getting caught up with that group read. I am starting to think that group read commitments are more dangerous than book bullets. ;-)

Book #41 - The Sandman: Vol. 4 Season of Mists by Neil Gaiman
Category: - All things GRAPHIC



Given how well the stories flow in linear fashion between episodes in this volume, this will be a shorter version of my rambling thoughts.

First thing that comes to mind: Favorite quote (from the start of the introduction):

"Possibly the only dismaying aspect of excellence is that it makes living in a world of mediocrity an ongoing prospect of living hell."

So true. Not sure I want to equate excellence with this volume in the gushing tones of Harlan Ellison, but I do have one rather stunning revelation of my own to make after reading this one: How surprisingly it was that any negative comments I may have had regarding the artwork - and I had plenty when I quickly skimmed the book before starting to read it! - just seemed to disappear as I made my way through this one..... the story really did dominate and relegated the artwork, for me, to a secondary position of minor accompaniment to bring it all home.

I was happy to see the connection - via Nadia and Hobs - back to earlier volumes, as I really felt there was some unfinished business with both of them. Interesting how morality and struggles with tough decisions come into play in this volume. The inclusion of a number of gods and folk legends from various mythical histories was a nice touch, although I am still having trouble understanding why the Princess of Chaos was represented by a child. Not exactly sure what I think of the Endless family conclave.... the gathering just hit a wrong cord with me, probably because I was still adjusting to the different artwork and how different Dream, Death and the other family members looked.... there is something to be said for being able to have a consistency of artwork across volumes and this is one of the downfalls of the Sandman series so far. Even Lucifer didn't seem like Lucifer at first.

Even with my quibbles, I have to stay that this is my favorite volume so far.

Decimal Rating: 4.39
4.50 - Plot Development
4.00 - Character Development
4.50 - Writing Style
4.25 - Readability
4.25 - Premise
4.75 - Imagery/Visualization
4.00 - Artistry (GN) / Narration (Audio)
4.50 - Originality
4.75 - Length

Star Rating: 4.50 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: Trade paperback
# of Pages: 224 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Male

>74 lkernagh: Jeez, I'm salivating!

Regarding reducing the TBR: I set the rather hopeful goal of chipping off 35 books this year. So far I'm at exactly zero: 17 books off the TBR, 17 new buys. Not too shabby. Not too impressive either...

Oh my what a fab haul! what a fab book sale! quite jealous and mildly relieved for my TBR at the same time :)

Great review of Sandman, the Endless do become more cohesive in later volumes at the moment we only see glimpses.. It is interesting too how much Gaiman hones his skill over the series length.

Pete is struggling with Kavelier and Clay, I think the it just about pays of in the end.. but only just and you do have to be in the mood for a long slow read.

> 88 - Hi Anders, it does draw quite a crowd! ;-) Zero is a nice breakeven for purchases/read. I have my doubts I will be able to accomplish a zero this year, but I am going to at least try for that!

> 89 - Hi Claire, thanks, and good to know the Endless get more coverage in the later volumes. I am hoping to get back to Kavalier and Clay this weekend. I have managed to divert myself with The Count for now.

I may try and get back to kavalier and clay - how far in did you get, I got to page 70 odd, put it down and haven't felt compelled to go back to it

Hurray for vacation being approved! Do take lots of photos at the Highland Games :D

It always seems to rain the weekend of the Highland Games here.

> 91 - Hi Pete, I made it just past the 200 page mark - chapter 5 of part III - of Kavalier and Clay before I put it aside for a break. I will go back to it, but if I end up abandoning it for a second time, then I won't bother finishing it. It is a bit of a time investment to read. ;-)

> 92 - Hurray, indeed! I will try to remember to pack my camera. Can always rely on the camera on my iPod touch but it's just not the same. ;-)

> 93 - Hi Betty, here is hoping you have sunny skies for your Highland Games! When do your games usually occur?

Ours are on Jun 8th this year. Just the one day - rain or shine! My brother used to belong to one of the bagpipe bands and competed, but he's kind of stopped for a while. (Although he's off to San Francisco over Memorial Day weekend for a wedding and will be playing for that.)

Just checking back in after a long break. About your book haul - I loved Cordelia Underwood. Great author. You'll have to let me know what you think about the Spring-Heeled Jack story - it sounds good.

> 95 - Betty, I love listening to bagpipe bands. My other half, not so much but then again I don't hear them all that often so they are a nice treat for me.

It is grey and raining so far this morning..... not a promising start to the long weekend or our Highland Games but - fingers crossed - there is still plenty of time for the weather to change.

> 96 - Hi Cindy, welcome back! Cordelia Underwood looks like a great story so very happy to hear that you loved it!

It has been a fantastic long weekend out here on the island. The weather cleared - Yay! - with just the right amount of sun and light breeze to keep things from overheating.

Went to the Highland Games on Sunday and had a great time checking out the highland dance competition, watched some of the weight throw, and browsed the clan and vendor booths while waiting for the opening ceremonies to commence. Had a good front row position to watch (and take pictures of) the parade of pipe bands:






This was the 150th anniversary of the Highland Games occurring in Victoria so the ceremonies included some short speeches by a few dignitaries, including Prince Andrew. I am a big fan of short speeches at this kinds of events and enjoyed the fact mentioned in one of the speeches that the first Victoria Highland Games occurred during Queen Victoria's 23rd year on the throne and that her great, great, great grandson was here to officially open these games. Of course, you cannot officially open games like these without the firing of a field canon:



Yes, everyone was safely out of the way when the canon was fired off. I took the picture above 30 minutes before the ceremonies officially kicked off. A fun way to spend a sunny Sunday!

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

Today is the official Victoria Day holiday up here in Canada. Victoria puts on a parade that proceeds down one of the main streets through downtown every year in honor of this holiday. Great fun for families. No, I did not go and watch the parade.... I had something better in mind that, if I got to do it, would allow me to check an item off my bucket list at the same time.

I did get to do it and I did get to check an item off my bucket list...... ;-)

This morning I got to tour HMCS Victoria, one of Canada's four submarines (purchased from the British Royal Navy) which happened to be in dock for the long weekend and was offering small public tours of 45 minutes restricted to groups of only 6-8 people at a time. You have no idea how excited I am that I have now set foot on a submarine, and not some hokey theme park excursion vessel, but a real one in active duty:


shot from the stern/aft of the sub

shot from near the bow/front of the sub

No, I don't have any pictures of the inside of the sub. I could have taken some in the less restricted areas but that was the farthest thing from my mind at the time.... I was just too busy taking everything in. The Canadian Navy has a really good cross section graphic with further information regarding the sub on the HMCS Victoria Website, for anyone that is interested. It was truly amazing to see the compact quarters and how they maximize every square inch of space inside the sub. I have great memories and a skinned/bruised knee as a memento.... those hatch ladders are something else and I can see why they have the hand rails at strategic locations... you need them!

A little bit of literary interest is that HMCS Victoria, was known as the HMCS Unseen when she was commissioned in the British Royal Navy. This submarine was the focus of the Patrick Robinson naval thriller, H.M.S. Unseen. Sadly, it appears to be book three in a series so not sure if I am going to just ignore that fact or if I might consider reading the series in order.

I don't think it will surprise anyone if I mention that my other half and I will be re-watching one of my favorite movies, The Hunt for Red October, this evening. ;-)

I hope everyone else had a lovely weekend!

Love the photos! And how cool that you got to go tour a real working sub! Will check out the website soon -- thanks for the link! :)

How exciting! I'm not sure I've ever been on a submarine. I love The Hunt for Red October - both the book and the movie.

Those are great photos-the colors are so vivid!

Thanks rabbitprincess, Carrie and Jennifer! It was a great weekend. I am actually surprised at how well some of the pictures turned out. I agree, the colours do seem to pop in the pipe band pics..... the sunny day did help out with that a bit!

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

I am planning on spending my week off from work relaxing. Think I will just putter around the house today, tackle some laundry and finish The Count. I did manage to finish another audio book last night, one I was listening to during my walking commute last week. Review below.

Book #42 - The Anatomist's Apprentice by Tessa Harris - audiobook narrated by Simon Vance
Category: - All things NEW

The death of Sir Edward Crick has unleashed a torrent of gossip through the seedy taverns and elegant ballrooms of Oxfordshire. No one mourns the dissolute young man - except his sister, the beautiful Lady Lydia Farrell. When her husband comes under suspicion of murder, she seeks expert help from Dr. Thomas Silkstone, a young anatomist from Philadelphia. Thomas arrived in England to study under its foremost surgeon, where his unconventional methods only add to his outsider status. Against his better judgment he agrees to examine Sir Edward's body. But the deeper the doctor's investigations go, the greater the risk that he will be consigned to the ranks of the corpses he studies...

Published in 2012, this was a fantastic historical murder mystery! I cannot rave about this one enough. It has everything I love in a murder mystery - great period setting of 1780's London and Oxfordshire, delightfully devious and motivated characters, a plot that keeps on twisting and turning with enough bodies to frustrate even a seasoned investigator, including excellent detailed descriptions of anatomy, dissections and scientific forensic analysis of the time period, which may not bode well for readers not as interested in the science like I am. Yes, there is a romance element to this one that is not 100% believable, but hey, this is supposed to be a novel and not reality so I was fine with that as well.

What really made this story so enjoyable for me, beyond the great characters, plot and science, is the narration by Simon Vance of the audiobook I listened to. He does a first rate job with the character voices and the emotional tone of the story. Happily, he is also the narrator for the audiobook of The Dead Shall Not Rest, book two in the Dr. Thomas Silkstone Mysteries series. Dr. Thomas Silkstone is young, a bit brash and somewhat naive but I can see him as a great character for development as the series continues. He is almost a less principled but equally fastidious investigator like William Murdoch from the Murdoch Mysteries TV series is, if that makes sense for anyone. Simon Vance's narration brings the characters to life, in particular the Oxfordshire coroner - a favorite, I will admit - as crafted by Harris.

Overall, I found this to be a completely engaging, atmospheric murder mystery. I highly recommend the audiobook narrated by Simon Vance as a great way to experience this story!

Decimal Rating: 4.42
4.50 - Plot Development
4.25 - Character Development
4.50 - Writing Style
4.50 - Readability
4.25 - Premise
4.50 - Imagery/Visualization
5.00 - Artistry (GN) / Narration (Audio)
3.75 - Originality
4.50 - Length

Star Rating: 4.50 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: audiobook
# of Pages: 304 pages (9 hours, 11 minutes listening time)
Source: GVPL / BCL
Male/Female Author: Female

I like the sound of this one!

What a fabulous weekend! And enjoy your week off too!

I like the sounds of The Anatomist's Apprentice, unfortunately my library doesn't have the audio version of it. Oh well, onto the TBR list it goes.

With a rave review like that how could I pass that one up? You had me at 1780's London.

> 104 - It was better than I expected, based on the reviews and ratings posted here on LT! Well worth reading/ listening to, IMO!

> 105 - Thanks Alicia! So far, I am very happily enjoying my week off. Here is hoping you are able to lay your hands on a copy.

> 106 - There is something about the 1700 - 1900 England time period that just captivates my interest, so hopefully my enthusiasm doesn't steer anyone wrong. ;-)

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A cold fog bank rolled in over lunch which was all the incentive I needed to settle in and finish my delightful re-read of The Count of Monte Cristo. Very short review posted below.

Book #43 - The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (père)
Category: - All things WITH A TITLE, AUTHOR(S) AND WORDS WRITTEN

"Wait and hope."

What can I say about this truly remarkable classic that hasn't already been said by someone else? A deliciously captivating story of love, longing, imprisonment, escape and revenge that even today as a re-read continues to charms and draw me into its web of intrigue. Every time I re-read this one, I am repeatedly surprised by how Dumas manages to start the story off with broad, sweeping strokes and then builds the characters, the plot and the structure of the story through a series of refinements, while at the same time slowly pulling the line that controls the snare trap, closing it around the neck(s) of the intended victims and bringing the reader along for the ride.

I have always found Edmond Dantes to be a fascinating character study of someone who sets out to right a wrong, albeit for personal reasons of revenge. His victims, and the decisions/positions taken by them and their offspring, are equally fascinating to examine and ponder. While slow reading at the start, Dumas' ability to weave such an intricate plot while continuing to build the momentum of the story to an almost fevered pitch at its crescendo is an outstanding accomplishment, even compared with the stories of today, and continues to amaze me. Dumas does have some fun with this one - there is no doubt about that - and I still get a good chuckle when I read about his Roman highway bandit reading such works as "Caesar's Commentaries" and Plutarch's "Life of Alexander". Yes, the story is somewhat voluminous in text, but once you reach the end of it, you will be somewhat saddened to see there is no more to read.

A great classic that I will be re-reading yet again at some point down the road and remains one of my all time favorite reads!

Favorite quote:

"There is neither happiness or misery in the world; there is only the comparison of one state with another, nothing more. He who has felt the deepest grief is best able to experience supreme happiness. We must have felt what it is to die, ________, that we may appreciate the enjoyments of living."

Decimal Rating: 4.81
4.75 - Plot Development
5.00 - Character Development
4.75 - Writing Style
4.50 - Readability
5.00 - Premise
4.75 - Imagery/Visualization
N/A - Artistry (GN) / Narration (Audio)
5.00 - Originality
4.75 - Length

Star Rating: 5.00 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: e-book
# of Pages: 1314 pages
Source: Project Gutenberg
Male/Female Author: Male

Your review confirms that I really, really must read The Count of Monte Cristo one day, and sooner rather than later! The Anatomist's Apprentice sounds very interesting too. Also, I loved your photos of Victoria.

Hi Paulina! I hope you had a lovely long weekend in your part of the country! I am thinking of having a classics category for next year's challenge to capture books like The Count... there is a slew of classics I haven't read, I just keep on re-reading my favorites of the few I have read. I need to change that. ;-)

It's seems that I am lining up a lot of books for summer. This is another one.

Hi Lori, it was great seeing all your pictures. You sure had a nice day for Opening Ceremony of the Highland Games and your visit to the submarine. You bought back so many memories, I grew up in Esquimalt and with my Dad in the Navy, I went to many of the Dockyard "Navy Days". I also was a member of the Navy sponsered sailing club and spent a lot of time out on the water that you can see behind that sub.

> 111 - always happy to add to a potential summer reading list.... I love summer reading lists, almost as much as I love buying really big books - like The Count - for summer reading material! ;-)

> 112 - I did have a good long weekend, and I see by your thread that you have been rather busy and are still busy! Happy memories are great and glad I was able to spring a few up with my pics. You must have had some fantastic times with the 'Navy Days' and the sailing club. ;-)

>108 lkernagh: Lovely review of The count of Monte Christo! There are way too many gaps in my classical department, I need to find a way to mend that.

> 114 - The Count is such a great story, Anders, I am really happy I took the time to re-read it for the group read! I also have way too many gaps in my classical reading, which I hope to start working on next year.... I have decided to have a classics category for next year's challenge. Actually, I have already come up with my theme and categories for next year..... I wonder if any of them will change before 2014 starts? ;-)

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On the reading front, Rebecca is proving to be quite the good read. I reached the 'reveal' part late last night and should be finished the book later today. It is my first du Maurier read and I have to say that the first part of the book was a bit humdrum. I was expecting the story to jump right into the gothic atmosphere so the initial build and annoyance I felt for our narrator had me questioning why this is considered such a great modern classic. Now I am very curious to see how it all plays out!

Happy Friday everyone and happy long weekend to anyone who has a Monday holiday!

Oooh, I loved Rebecca, though it's been too many years since I've read it. I hope the ending makes it worth it for you.

Hi Jennifer, yes, the ending did make it worth reading Rebecca!

Yea!

Book #44 - Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Category: - All things GOTHIC



From the back cover:

"Not since Jane Eyre has a heroine faced such difficulty with the Other Woman. An international bestseller that has never gone out of print, Rebecca is the haunting story of a young girl consumed by love and the struggle to find her identity.

Thanks to the group read, I have finally read this one! This one had a bit of a 'ho-hum', humdrum kind of start for me. Our nameless narrator, the young second Mrs. de Winter, is well drawn by du Maurier - rather insipid, IMO, but still well drawn - as are a number of the characters, but she is one that I had a lot of difficulty relating to, even with the full exposure to her inner thoughts and emotions. While du Maurier does such an excellent job crafting the characters, some of the dialogue she has them engage in is wooden and perfunctory, which I found to be at odds with what I was expecting. Maybe the dialogue is more in keeping with dialogue of the time period when the story was first written? I don't know.

Labeling this one as a gothic story also has me in a bit of a conundrum. Manderley isn't a crumbling, decaying heap of a manor house. It is a well maintained estate home. The story's gothic atmospheric feel comes from our narrator's impressions of Manderley and her emotional reaction to the staff who dearly miss their previous mistress, than from the house itself. Yes, Mrs. Danvers is a creepy one and that one scene with our narrator would have even me question what I have just written above, but the overall effect for me is dampened by the drama of our narrator. The eerie atmosphere does grow as the story progresses, which is a sign of a good gothic novel, but because Manderley isn't a crumbling heap, I kept on having visions of Downton Abbey as I was reading this one... In my mind I kept replacing Mrs. Danvers with O'Brien and Frith with Carson. Kind of hard to keep up with the gothic feel when that is going on in your head!

Now that I have finished de-riding the gothic side of the story, I can happily report that the mystery part of the story is a good one! The plot for that is well written, if a bit of a slow build for most of the story. It did make the last 150 pages worth the slog the early pages of the story were at times to get through. Still not happy with our narrator but by this point, I had more interesting things to occupy my mind with than her concerns or worries. Given the narrator focus of this story, I think enjoyment of this story does lie with the reader being able to connect with the narrator on some level. I really found de Winter's and Mrs. Danvers characters to be more surprising and interesting to read.

Overall, a well written, fast reading - even for the page count - story to curl up in a chair to read. It is a goodie, but I doubt that it will be a re-read for me. Instead, I will use this as the launching point to read other du Maurier books.

Decimal Rating: 4.13
4.00 - Plot Development
4.00 - Character Development
3.75 - Writing Style
4.50 - Readability
4.25 - Premise
4.50 - Imagery/Visualization
N/A - Artistry (GN) / Narration (Audio)
4.25 - Originality
3.75 - Length

Star Rating: 4.00 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: Trade paperback
# of Pages: 428 pages
Source: TBR Bookshelf
Male/Female Author: Female

Very nice review of Rebecca, and interesting thoughts on the gothic element! It's been a long time since I'd read them, but I do recall enjoying Jamaica Inn and The Scapegoat as well.

> 120 - Thanks Paulina. I do like du Maurier's writing style - part of it reminded me of the few Virginia Woolf books I have read and liked - so I am looking forward to reading more of her books!

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

I have just finished reading The Sandman: Vol. 5 A Game of You and my goal of focusing getting caught up with my group read commitments has been working. Not sure I will finish The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay before the month is out but there is still time.

A very short review of The Sandman: Vol. 5 A Game of You can be found below....

Book #45 - The Sandman: Vol. 5 A Game of You by Neil Gaiman
Category: - All things GRAPHIC



Continuing where I left off with reviewing of Vol. 4, this review continues to be a shorter version of my rambling thoughts.

I am not really sure what I think about this one. The artwork has leveled out - not improving but not getting any worse - but the story telling under Gaiman's control continues to tighten and refine itself, which I am enjoying. I liked how the story in this volume would flip between "The Land", or dreamworld and what is The Sandman version of reality. Interesting characters and love the gender/ identity theme of this volume.

That being said, I felt that this one left some rather large gaps in the story that made no sense to me. Some of the references back to previous volumes were just a little too vague for me to make the connection I am probably meant to make, but I won't go into details about these points here. Those comments can be found over on the Sandman Group. I continue to enjoy some of the tongue in check dialogue that Gaiman peppers throughout these stories and would like to see more of Matthew as an interesting character in Dream's world... he is great for adding some levity to the story. I see that Gaiman is making better use of the standard horizontal panels for telling his story.... less confusing, but I am starting to miss the randomness seen in the artistic freedom of The Sandman: Vol. 1 Preludes and Nocturnes.

Overall, a tighter story line with more traditional comic book story panes that appealed to part of me, but with some gaps that left me a bit deflated after having enjoyed The Sandman: Vol. 4 Season of Mists as much as I did. Still looking forward to continuing the Sandman adventure with The Sandman: Vol. 6 Fables & Reflections.

Decimal Rating: 4.00
3.50 - Plot Development
3.75 - Character Development
4.25- Writing Style
4.50 - Readability
3.50 - Premise
3.75 - Imagery/Visualization
3.75 - Artistry (GN) / Narration (Audio)
4.50 - Originality
4.50 - Length

Star Rating: 4.00 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: Trade paperback
# of Pages: 192 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Male

Nice review of Rebecca, Lori. I'm also confused by the 'gothic' classification given to Rebecca, for me there was no gothic element at all. I've enjoyed Frenchman's Creek and to a slightly lesser extent Jamaica Inn.

> 123 - Thanks, Alana! Everywhere I seem to go on the web labels Rebecca as being 'gothic' genre. I get that there is a mystery around Rebecca's death that surrounds Manderley and the atmosphere of suspense and terror can shoehorn the book into the 'gothic' classification. Maybe they see 'gothic' elements of the deceased Rebecca and Manderley where I just see a narrator with an overactive imagination, huge bouts of insecurity, and a rather manipulating, controlling housekeeper.

I can be quite the jaded reader sometimes! ;-)

Well, Gothic is by definition a combination of horror and romance. I see romance in Rebecca, and some suspense, but not particularly horror. I guess it's called Gothic because of all the psychological manipulation by Mrs. Danvers.

> 125 - Good point, casvelyn. I didn't see any horror either so you probably are right that they were relying on good old manipulative Mrs. Danvers to carry that aspect of Gothic.

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

Having a rather lazy day today, since it is overcast and rather muggy out. Not motivated to return to The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay just yet. Instead, I have been happily curled up with At Home in Mitford.... perfect easy reading with a little bit of romance and mystery and a lot of great small town characters that make me smile as I read.

I find Mrs. Danvers sufficiently creepy account for the Gothic label - ick! Of course, as much as I dislike her in Rebecca, I love her appearances in the Thursday Next novels!

I have to chime in as also having a fondness for Frenchman's Creek.

I hope the rest of your Sunday was wonderful, Lori.

> 127 - She is creepy! LOL! See, I have only read the first book in the Thursday Next novels.... I am guessing I will need to continue with the series to get more "Mrs. Danvers" fun.

Between this thread and my 75er thread, its pretty much an even split between the recommendations for Frenchman's Creek and Jamaica Inn. Most curious.... I may need to read both just to compare/ contrast them!

Sunday was relaxing, Dejah. I hope yours was as equally relaxing!

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

***Neil Gaiman alert!***

Came across a Twitter feed today about Gaiman's short story collection, A Calendar of Tales, written in collaboration with Blackberry and a world of Twitter folk, which can be found at the following website:

http://acalendaroftales.com/

It takes a while for the webpage to load but it is well worth the wait. Love the audio, the fact that one can download the e-book (in PDF) of the story collection and the videos and pictures are pretty darn cool too.

Lori, don't know if this will sway you, but I liked Frenchman's Creek and really disliked Jamaica Inn.

Well that won't sway me just yet, Christina, I am seriously thinking about starting a running tally of the like/ dislike camps for various du Maurier books! ;-)

>130 lkernagh:: That would be interesting! I wonder if my vote would change now, if I were to reread her books. I'm finding that I have completely different feelings about many books when I reread them 20 years later!

I read Rebecca. Frenchman's Creek and Jamaica Inn all rather close together, I still have vivid memories of Rebecca and I remember liking the other two very much with perhaps a slight edge to be given to Frenchman's Creek.

I have never read My Cousin Rachel which I have heard good things about and I have it on my shelves, so one of these days ...

I haven't read My Cousin Rachel either. As you say, one of these days.....

> 131 - Paulina, I just might get around to making up that running tally this weekend and compare it to the ratings on LT. I think my reading tastes have changed considerably compared to what I was reading 20 years ago so I wouldn't be surprised if you did have completely different feelings about many of the books upon re-reading them!

> 132 - Sounds like I should be in for some good du Maurier reading , Judy and making a note of My Cousin Rachel as another possibility, even though you haven't read it yet. ;-)

> 133 - Sometimes it feel, for me, like "one of these days" just never manages to come around .... too many book distractions!

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

One more day and then..... the weekend! Yes, simple pleasures like waking up without an alarm clock and being able to spend the entire day in my pajamas, if I want to, really appeals to me. I hardly every do it, but it is nice to have the option! ;-) I have been rather lazy on the reading front this week. Sat back and just enjoyed a night of listening to music last night, but I do plan on finishing At Home in Mitford this evening, so I can add that one to my May stats.

Catching up! Great reviews of Rebecca & Sandman. I do love Rebecca, the extreme neurosis of the narrator doesn't irritate me but I can see how it would & as to horror I find the ending quite terrifying. Imagine spending the rest of your life with him. Yikes.

Imagine spending the rest of your life with him. Yikes.

LOL!

Book #46 - At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon
Category: - All things MITFORD

It's easy to feel at home in Mitford. In these high, green hills, the air is pure, the village is charming, and the people are generally lovable. Yet, Father Tim, the bachelor rector, wants something more. Enter a dog the size of a sofa who moves in and won't go away. Add an attractive neighbor who begins wearing a path through the hedge. Now, stir in a lovable but unloved boy, a mystifying jewel theft, and a secret that's sixty years old. Suddenly, Father Tim gets more than he bargained for.

Yes, I have finally gotten around to starting this series and I have to say, what a charming, delightful series it is so far! Small town North Carolina is captured beautifully in its scenery. This one is filled with charming home-grown characters lead by Father Tim, our lovable, affable rector of the Episcopalian Lord's Chapel who's job is very much about maintaining the fragile ecology of this small, close-knit parish on a daily basis as it is about delivering the Sunday service. In a town where opinions are rather freely expressed, and one never knows what is going to come around the next corner, it is easy to understand why there are days when Father Tim starts to think his little parish is rather an awful lot to stay on top of!

This story is a nicely balanced mix of religion, humour, romance, mystery, politics, crime and pretty much anything else that one might imagine. There is a warm feeling of family, friendship and community togetherness in this one that is as comforting as a slice of freshly baked apple pie on a cool autumn afternoon. This is also a great story to read intermittently. The chapters are divided into small sections for quick snatches of reading time and it doesn't take a lot of thought to get back up to speed with the story after an extended absence. the fact that the story is able to communicate so many religious values without being preachy is something that also impresses me.

An absolutely delightful read filled with wonderful characters. I have already placed the second book in the series, A Light in the Window on my bedside table for reading.

Decimal Rating: 3.69
2.75 - Plot Development
3.50 - Character Development
3.50- Writing Style
4.00 - Readability
4.25 - Premise
4.25 - Imagery/Visualization
N/A - Artistry (GN) / Narration (Audio)
3.25 - Originality
4.00 - Length

Star Rating: 3.50 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: Trade paperback
# of Pages: 446 pages
Source: TBR
Male/Female Author: Female

MAY RE-CAP:

Books read:


ROOTs Read (as part of my ROOT challenge):


Books acquired:
39 books. Instead of re-listing all of them here, the book purchases can be found further up this thread here and here.

Favorite book (decimal rating): The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas - (4.81 decimal rating)
Least favorite book (decimal rating): Mistress of Blackstone Castle by Patricia Werner - (2.97 decimal rating)

CATEGORY SUMMARY:
GRAPHIC - 2 books read this month (12 in total so far)
- - - The Sandman: Vol. 4 Season of Mists by Neil Gaiman -
- - - The Sandman: Vol. 5 A Game of You by Neil Gaiman -
NEW (published in 2012 or 2013) - 1 book read this month (5 in total so far)
- - - The Anatomist's Apprentice by Tessa Harris -
EPISTOLARY - 0 books read this month (2 in total so far)
GOTHIC - 2 books read this month (4 in total so far)
- - - Mistress of Blackstone Castle by Patricia Werner -
- - - Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier -
FABLES and FAIRY TALES - 0 books read this month (4 in total so far)
EUROPA - 0 books read this month (2 in total so far)
REGENCY - 0 books read this month (1 in total so far)
PENGUIN - 0 books read (1 in total so far)
MITFORD - 1 book read this month (1 read in total so far)
- - - At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon -
SERIES, SEQUELS, PREQUELS and TRILOGIES - 0 books read this month (2 in total so far)
NEWSWORTHY - 0 books read this month (5 in total so far)
ON MY TBR BOOKCASE - 0 books read this month (5 in total so far)
WITH A TITLE, AUTHOR(S) AND WORDS WRITTEN - 1 book read this month (2 in total so far)
- - - The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (père) -

Overall, I am happy that I have Finally read a book in each of my categories. Good thing my Prime challenge gives me latitude in how many books I read per category so I think I will continue to read what I want and come September, decide if I need to give more focus to certain categories.

An excellent month of reading, Lori!

I'm glad you're enjoying Mitford Lori! I always feel better after spending time with Father Tim and co.

->71 lkernagh:, 74, 79
Ooh, that looks absolutely brilliant!! Kinda glad it happens far from where I live. :)

->87 lkernagh:
There is that wavering between keeping it interesting and keeping it consistent when it comes to the Sandman artwork. It's a great installment anyways!

->98 lkernagh:
How fun - I love Highland games!! We have a submarine here in Long Beach (right next to the Queen Mary), but I've yet to set foot in it - I have a slight leaning toward the claustrophobic...

->119 lkernagh:
I missed the group read, but the plan is to get to Rebecca at some time this year - fingers Xed!

Mostly 4-5 star reads for the last month isn't bad going Lori!

> 139 - Hi Dejah, May was a great reading month for, I must admit! Here is hoping I can carry that on into June.

> 140 - Carrie, Mitford is such a breath of fresh air, I have decided the series is going to be my 'go to' reading for when I just want to sit down and escape from my day. ;-)

> 141 - LOL, If we ever move form here, I hope we move to a place that has book sales that won't make me start looking into booking trips around this yearly event. Sandman continues to capture my attention, no doubt about that! Everything in a submarine is compact so I can see where any feelings of claustrophobia could be a problem on a tour! Rebecca is worth reading and I am so glad the group read finally got me to read it.

> 142 - Hi Alana, fingers crossed my reading continues to be good one!

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

Not much to report on this end. Birthday celebrations to attend today, and it is a nice day weather wise. On the reading front, I am going to try to read a number of female authors in keeping with the fantasy and science fiction by female authors month long group read. So far, I have finished a new to me female author book, Maria Semple's Where'd You Go, Bernadette. Review below....

I hope everyone has been having a lovely weekend!

Book #47 - Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
Category: - All things EPISTOLARY



Yes, I had to discover for myself what all the buzz is about Semple's Where'd You Go, Bernadette. Well, I read this one in less than 24 hours, it was that entertaining! Love the characters - yes, even Audrey! - and can just imagine the fun Semple must have had creating her yuppified characters and the "off the wall" situations that occur in this book.

I can see why this book is garnering so much attention. Like Ready Player One and Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore, this book takes a lot of information readers can readily relate to - in this case Microsoft, PTA's, struggles with work-life balance, relationship issues with neighbors - and gives it a fresh new spin, creating a lively, entertaining read instead of what could have easily have been a very 'ho-hum' run of the mill story.

I am a huge fan of epistolary style story telling, provided it works. It works well with this story as we only see glimpses of the story in the form of emails, hand written notes, letters, reports and what I am going to call journal entries. I really liked how Semple withheld information and then communicated it with a plausible explanation - very nicely done! I am also a huge fan of characters that radiate vividly unique personalities, while still being believable characters. This book has also accomplished what no other book has done before now- it has whetted my appetite for books on Antarctica expeditions and current research activities being conducted at the bottom of the world.

Overall, this is a really fun story that made me laugh, cry and nod my head in agreement. It deserves all the hype and interest it is receiving and is the perfect mainstream summer read! if your like me and cannot afford to make a trip to Antarctica, why not read Where'd You Go, Bernadette, instead?

Decimal Rating: 4.09
4.00 - Plot Development
4.50 - Character Development
3.75- Writing Style
4.25 - Readability
4.00 - Premise
3.75 - Imagery/Visualization
N/A - Artistry (GN) / Narration (Audio)
4.75 - Originality
3.75 - Length

Star Rating: 4.00 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: Hard cover
# of Pages: 335 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Female

Put myself on the long waitlist for Where'd You Go, Bernadette?. I've been waiting 2 months for Mr. Penumbra's 24-hour Bookstore - will probably have to wait another month or 2 for it. Sometimes I get books and I'm like, "Why did I request THIS?" Took me three tries to actually get around to reading Ready Player One, but once I did, I loved it.

It is amazing how long some of these waiting lists can get,especially when they are new to the library! I did toy with the idea of comparing the three books - Bernadette, RPO and Penumbra - but decided it was too much work since each book has its own unique characteristics. What I can say is, my ranking of the three books is:

1. Ready Player One - with the caveat that one really needs to enjoy the 80's nostalgia and gaming experience like I did
2. Where'd You Go Bernadette - great escapism fun
3. Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore - good entertainment

It's been years since I read a Mitford book. I really ought to re-read that series. So many books, so little time.

So true, Lori, so true!

Ah, another good review for Where'd You Go, Bernadette?! I really must get to this one. It sounds like loads of fun.

Hi Paulina, so long as you upfront accept that Where'd You Go, Bernadette is supposed to be a bit of light, entertaining escapism, then you will probably enjoy it.

wow just catching up - looks like you've had some good reads recently, great reviews of both Sandman and Rebecca

> 151 - Thanks Pete, and thanks for the Sandman mention.... I need to place a hold for the next volume in the collection!

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

I am back to reading more than one book at a time. I am currently half way through Wiles' Care of Wooden Floors and Basti by Intizar Husain. Considering I was planning on focusing my June reading on books by female authors, this isn't a promising start, but oh well. Both stories are interesting, for very different reasons, which also makes it easy to keep the two books straight in my mind.

Stopping by to say hi! I quite enjoyed Where'd You Go Bernadette as well. I don't see it winning the " Bailey's Prize" but one never knows. It's a fun read and as you say, it piques one's interest in the Antarctica! I recall reading some of the Mitford books in my " salad days" but not lately. Enjoy!

> 153 - Hi Deb, great to see you here! Your prophecy was correct, Bernadette didn't win the "Bailey's Prize"... the easy reading fun books never do win the prizes. *sighs*

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

Not overly motivated to do any reading right now, probably because the sunshine has arrived and brought lovely warm weather with it. I love summertime as that is the time I graze on fresh fruits and veggies instead of eating full blown meals.... colder months is when I want my comfort foods and I reach for the protein, carbs and chocolate! ;-)

I did finish a book this morning before heading into work so one more review to post is now ready and can be found below.

Book #48 - Care of Wooden Floors by Will Wiles
Category: - All things NEW

”My old friend,

Again, thank you for your help in what is sadly such a difficult time for me. The flat is not large and what I need from you not great, it is mainly a business of knowing that there is a trusted soul in situ and that I need fear no break-ins or fire. I sincerely hope you are aware, I would gladly repay the favour for you at any time.”

I picked up a copy of this book based on the great review Ellie (elliepotton) posted on her thread. Published in 2012, this rather dark, ‘comedy of errors’ story has a lot going for it, generating the same level of stunned fascination as watching a slow motion, unavoidable train wreck can produce in its audience. The story has multiple layers to it that complicate the delivery of what at the start comes across as the perfect ‘fraternity boy never grows up’ kind of story.

The premise starts off as a simple one: A rather OCD musician/composer, Oskar asks his more laid back less compulsive former university days friend to leave London for a couple of weeks and come house sit his immaculate, ultra-modern Eastern European apartment for him and take care of his two cats, Shossy and Stavvy, while Oskar travels to LA to deal with his divorce from his Californian wife, Laura. Of course our narrator is keen, who wouldn't be at the prospect of a partially paid for vacation (no accommodation to pay for!). He is also hopeful that this will be the perfect opportunity for him to try and write his breakout novel that will remove him from his dreary day to day copywriter employment of writing garbage bulletins for the council. Oskar has peace of mind that his apartment is in good hands and our nameless narrator has an opportunity to put uninterrupted effort into his writing.... so, a win-win situation, right? Need I remind you that this is a dark comedy?

The story, spanning a whole 8 days in duration, is a view of those days from our narrator’s perspective: the run down, derelict aspects of the unidentified former Soviet bloc European city in contrast to Oskar’s pristine apartment; the chaos of the external world colliding with the internal chaos (and struggle for control) of our protagonist and shifting memories that augment the contrasting personalities of the friends. The bumbling, snowballing chain of events (that slow moving, unavoidable train wreck I referred to earlier in the review) has its farcical qualities, but I have to admit that there was a point in the story where any concern I may had for our 'poor' narrator went out the window and never came back. I resorted to enjoying this one strictly for the well written dark comedy that it is. Loved all of Oskar's notes.... that was a nice touch to the story!

Overall, a well written dark comedy - really, there is a reason I keep on stressing the dark comedy aspect of this one - that is worth reading for the writing and the tale of just how badly wrong a simple job of house-sitting can go. Possible lesson about drinking red wine, too, while we are at it. ;-)

Decimal Rating: 3.94
3.50 - Plot Development
3.75 - Character Development
4.25- Writing Style
4.00 - Readability
4.25 - Premise
4.50 - Imagery/Visualization
N/A - Artistry (GN) / Narration (Audio)
3.75 - Originality
3.50 - Length

Star Rating: 4.00 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: e-book
# of Pages: 304 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Male

"well written dark comedy"
Yep, works for me! :)

Me too!

> 156 - 157 - It was quite good, even upon further reflection a couple of days after writing that review. The story has its slow bits, but they help set the stage for the events that occur. For a debut novel, its pretty darn good, although I would be curious to see what Wiles considers to be 'normal'.

Book #49 - Type by Alicia Hendley
Category: - All things NEW



Fast forward some 50-60 years from today. It is now two generations since the collapse of the Social Media Era and governments have been replaced by The Association of Psychologists, who have taken control of social order through scientific means. Their solution to the sky-rocketing rates of divorce, crime and mental illness that reached their heights during the Social Media Era is to engage in widespread personality profiling of every citizen when they reach the age of twelve, at which point they are then sent off to schools to be educated with their personality 'Type'. Internet access is banned for anyone under the age of 18 and even adults have to apply for a special permit before they can access the internet. All dystopian novels that were prevalent in the pre-Type era - The Hunger Games, The Uglies, The Long Walk, 1984 and Neuromancer - have been banned by the Association as being harmful to the vulnerable, developing minds of children.

When Sophie Jenkins, youngest daughter of one of the Association's leading Psychologists, discovers that her best friend Arron has been assessed as an 'ISTJ', she decides to fudge her own assessment, even though she is an Extra, so that she will be assigned to the same Home School as Arron. When Arron wants nothing to do with Sophie, she decides to make the best of a bad situation and makes some new friends. In the process, Sophie discovers that this Association controlled social order is not as altruistic as the public believes it to be and that Harmony, the facility where children with genetic mental illnesses and non-genetic personality disorders are sent to for treatment, engages in activities that for some of its residents, are fatal. The Association is not quite as in control of every facet of life as the Umbrella Corporation in the Resident Evil franchise is, but you get my drift.

Hendley, a Canadian author and a practicing clinical psychologist, has taken the rather well known personality test, the Myers Brigg Type Indicator, or MBTI, and has used it as the basis on which to build her near future YA dystopian novel. This was a good page-turning read for me. Hendley has done a great job capturing the personality and spirit of young twelve year old Sophie and her struggles to find who she can trust in the sinister world she finds herself getting involved in. Her use of the MBTI in the story is nicely balanced with the story and the plot. You don't have to know about the MBTI to appreciate the sinister twist Hendley has given to the Association, or to understand the story. The dystopian elements are well represented here in a believable context. I liked how Hendley brings the concept of death to the story but leave them as events that occur in the background or 'off stage', relying on emotional attachments of the characters to communicate the horror instead of graphic details. My only quibble with this one is the book just sort of.... stops. The ending left me saying "..... And.....?" while looking for the next part to start. It is an okay ending if a second book is planned but for a stand alone novel, the ending was a bit of a problem for me.

Overall, a good, dystopian story that was easy for me to visualize and relate to... which is a little scary in itself!

This book was courtesy of the Librarything Early Reviewer Program.

Decimal Rating: 3.88
4.00 - Plot Development
3.50 - Character Development
3.75- Writing Style
4.00 - Readability
4.25 - Premise
4.00 - Imagery/Visualization
N/A - Artistry (GN) / Narration (Audio)
4.00 - Originality
3.50 - Length

Star Rating: 4.00 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: e-book
# of Pages: 314 pages
Source: LTER
Male/Female Author: Female

Type sounds kind of interesting.

>155 lkernagh: Sound like squirming fun (and knowing you a little bit, I have a hunch, or guess at least, what the sympathy-for-the-protagonist-killer might be). Great review, thumb!

> 160 - I don't usually gravitate to dystopian novels, but Type was able to keep my interest.

> 161 - It's always amazing how almost any topic can be presented in a page-turning manner, given the right writing style/presentation!

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

I am happy to report that I am really, really enjoying the month long female sci-fi and fantasy writers theme group read! Type proved to be a good page-turning read and I am now happily enjoying Gail Carriger's Soulless as an e-book read, listening to the audiobook of Naomi Novik's His Majesty's Dragon, narrated by Simon Vance and I have started reading Angela Carter's short story collection The Bloody Chamber for the sub-group read cammykitty set up.

I have more than enough books checked out from the library to cover the rest of June with female fantasy and sci-fi reading, so I am looking for some recommendations of which books to read first:

Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier
The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary Pearson
Green Blood Rising by Lea Tassie - I don't expect anyone to know this one. It is a local publication and one I will be reading for the theme read.
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula le Guin
Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
The River of No Return by Bee Ridgeway - Now, it is possible that I picked this one up as a possible read for my Regency category, but since it involves time travel I think I grabbed it with the June theme read in mind.

Suggestions/comments you may have on any of these books is greatly appreciated as I will use the information provided to help manage which books I read first.

I do have another review - unrelated to the June fantasy and sci-fi theme read - for posting, which I read with my Commonwealth Challenge in mind but it fits here as a new read (published in 2012). Review is posted below.

Book #50 - Basti by Intizar Husain - translated from the Urdu by Frances Pritchett
Category: - All things NEW

A trust from my forefathers, he murmured. "Son, these are the keys of a house to which you no longer have any right." The keys of that house, and of that land. The keys of Rupnagar. The keys are here with me, and there a whole time is locked up, a time that has passed. But time doesn't pass! It keeps passing, but it doesn't pass. It keeps hovering around. And houses never stay empty. When those who lived in them go away, the time lives on in the houses.

Intizar Husain is considered to be one of the most important writers of fiction in Urdu. In Urdu, Basti means "settlement" and can be used to represent a common or meeting pace. Some reviewers have described Husain's book as epic. It is epic in its blending of cities and towns of present day Pakistan and India, one from the past (Dehli of 1857) as well as mythical towns derived from Muslim and Hindu traditions and even invented cities of Husain's creative imagination. The story is a collection of our main character Zakir's memories and imaginations.... memories of a family caught in the war that would tear India and Pakistan apart. A partition along religious lines, that would separate family and friends, some in Pakistan, like Zakir, and some in India.

This story, sadly does not translate well into the English language, which is something the translator does mention in the translation notes. The story also jumps around too much for me to retain any grasp on the deeper meaning that may have been conveyed by Husain. The mythical tales of Muslim and Hindu tradition are beautiful and cryptic at the same time. The Doomsday dialogue is a good one to convey this:

"Maulana, when will Doomsday come?"
"When the mosquito dies, and the cow is free to fear."
"When will the mosquito die, and when will the cow be free too fear?"
"When the sun rises in the west."
"When will the sun rise in the west?"
"When the hen crows, and the rooster is mute."
"When will the hen crow, and when will the rooster be mute?"
"When those who can speak fall silent, and the shoelaces speak."
"When will those who can speak fall silent, and when will the shoelaces speak?"
"When the rulers grow cruel, and the people lick the dirt."

While I was able to grasp the changing face of relationship between Hindus and Muslims in India over the decades covered in this book and the overall feeling of helplessness and futility conveyed in the story, there is a lot that I struggled with. A story filled with meanings, nuances and messages that for the most part came across as a garbled blurring of transitions between sub-stories, time periods and the various traditional and modern Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist references scattered through the book is a challenge to read. I felt that Husain did a good job in conveying the large divide in viewpoints and belief systems of the older generation from the younger upstarts seeking change. This is probably a deeply insightful examination of change and transition but I was only able to appreciate it on a superficial level... the text became too involved for me to read without lining up stacks of textbooks to refer to as I read along, to fully appreciate Husain's message.

Decimal Rating: 2.88
2.50 - Plot Development
3.25 - Character Development
2.25- Writing Style
2.75 - Readability
3.00 - Premise
3.50 - Imagery/Visualization
N/A - Artistry (GN) / Narration (Audio)
3.00 - Originality
2.75 - Length

Star Rating: 3.00 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: Trade paperback
# of Pages: 258 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Male

Well, I just finished A Wizard of Earthsea and liked it a lot - it's a pretty fast read too. I've not read any of the others, though, so I can't compare them.

@ 162 -- Ooh, you've got The River of No Return! That one is on my TBR list, so I'd love to see your review of it soon! :)

I'm really happy to see that you liked Type. I also received this as an ER book but haven't started it yet. I've only read two of the books on your list of possible sci-fi reads. I loved The Adoration of Jenna Fox, and I also enjoyed Clockwork Angel.

Hm, I might have to put Type on the "check out at the library if the library gets it" list! Intriguing premise indeed.

> 164 - I read you review, Eva and the first book in the Earthsea series does look good.... I also like how small it is compared to the other books I am considering reading for the female SFF theme read, so it stays near the top of the reading list for now.

> 165 - I went and re-read the premise for The River of No Return, Christina and have now decided that is the book I will be starting this weekend, so a review of that one will probably happen in the next week or so. ;-)

> 166 - I cannot wait to see what you think of Type, Paulina! I am never too sure how I will react to a book that I think is more geared towards teens so I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed reading it.

> 167 - I just checked the publisher's website for Type and note that the book has a publication date of June 1st and is being made available in trade paperback and e-book formats... although $31.99 for Trade paperback seems a bit steep to me.

Happy Friday everyone!

Hi Lori, I am adding Type to my wishlist, but I will definitely be looking to pay less than $31.99!

Seconding DQ! I don't often pay that much for a hardcover, let alone trade pb!

Ooooooh. Entirely too many book bullets on this thread! I'm especially interested in the audio of TAA that you mentioned! Great reading lately!

> 169 and 170 - Hi Judy and rabbitprincess, I have to agree with both of you... $31.99 is steep, especially if you are trying to build up an audience for the author's works. Maybe they have already figured out that most of the target audience will be purchasing e-books. I see that the e-book price is $9.99, which is more in line with other e-books.

> 171 - Hi Tina, so nice to see you here, and sorry about the book bullets! I have been trying to keep up with your thread over on the 75er group, and pretty much failing miserably at doing so. I have become addicted to audiobooks narrated by Simon Vance. He has such an amazing range for character voices! Hopefully your library system has the audiobook for The Anatomist's Apprentice. I haven't reached the point where I purchase audiobooks, although I am absolutely whimpering because I have learned that my library system only has His Majesty's Dragon, book one in Naomi Novik's Temeraire series, in audiobook. If I want to continue the series with Vance narrating, I am going to have to cough up and purchase the other audiobooks in the series myself. ;-(

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

Finished another book for the June female SFF group theme read today... review below. Other than that, not much to report. I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend.

Book #51 - Soulless by Gail Carriger
Category: - All things SERIES, SEQUELS, PREQUELS and TRILOGIES



So, this is what a paranormal romance is. Hum. I see. *Pauses and glances around before commenting further*

For a paranormal romance, which is something I do not read as a general rule, this story isn't all that bad. In fact, I quick enjoyed it as a fun bit of fluff reading. Of course, It helps that it has my favorite Victorian England setting with some steampunk elements that make the alternate world a rather fun place to visit. I found our leading protagonist, Alexia Tarabotti, rather trying on my patience as I read this one - she does have annoying tendencies and, can someone please explain to me how she could not figure out how the deal with the automaton, I mean, Really!

Thankfully, the absolutely delightful Lord Akeldama and his darling drones helps make up for any shortcomings I found in Alexia's character. I do like Alexia's friend Ivy and Professor Lyall is the perfect foil to balance out the rather single-minded personalities of Alexia and Lord Maccon. Floote, well, he is just the perfect butler. ;-)

Overall, a delightfully fun romp in Carriger's Victorian England that is not taxing to the mind, in any way, shape or form and is a fun bit of escapism reading. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

As an aside, I love Carriger's author bio at the end of the book. Definitely a woman that knows herself and how to turn what is usually a dry bit of author profile into something that is a fun to read as her stories are. Anyone who admits to being influenced by Jane Austen and P.G. Wodehouse in the same breath gets an encouraging nod from me!

Decimal Rating: 3.56
3.00 - Plot Development
3.25 - Character Development
2.50 - Writing Style
3.75 - Readability
4.00 - Premise
3.75 - Imagery/Visualization
N/A - Artistry (GN) / Narration (Audio)
3.75 - Originality
3.50 - Length

Star Rating: 3.50 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: e-book
# of Pages: 384 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Female

#173 by lkernagh> I personally would not call Soulless a paranormal romance. Paranormal,with some romance.

172> Looks like you have plenty of Simon Vance audiobooks to choose from - my library system has 339 of them! I might have to give him a try. I haven't had much luck with the past couple of audiobooks I've "read.'

Soulless is still a candidate for me for this month so I'm glad you enjoyed it.

> 174 - Hi Jean, as these genre categories tend to befuddle me, I am quite happy to consider Soulless a paranormal with romance elements. It is about as "romance" as I will read and I was a bit surprised as to how much time was focused on the heated mating ritual between the two lead characters, making it hard to figure out what elements of the story take precedence. Good news is I can at least still claim to have never read a paranormal romance, so very happy about that!

> 175 - It never even occurred to me to check the library for Simon Vance audiobooks. Happily, I have discovered that we have a fair number of them available - not the 339 your system seems to have *I'm soooo jealous about that!* - but enough to keep me going for some time still. I was rather surprised to see the variety of subject matter that he has narrated!

> 176 - Hi Dave, Soulless is a lot of fun. I know I never mentioned the plot development in my review but even that was a fun bit of mystery. I do look forward to seeing what you think of the book. It is a surprisingly quick read, or at least I found it to be that way!

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

Weekend Craft Project - I have a favorite dress I like to wear during the summer months at work because it is comfortable without being revealing but I noticed earlier this week that, with time and repeated washings, the colour had faded quite a bit. No wear and tear to the dress itself and the though of having to shelf it just because the colour gave the impression that it was a well worn dress, I decided to attempt to re-dye it from its current pale muddy dried clay colour back to a rich medium brown. The dress in question is a heavy cotton so dying it isn't quite as dodgy as attempting to dye a synthetic fabric. Two packs of fabric dye, a pair of rubber gloves, a box of salt (to set the colour after dying) and 45 minutes of my time, the dress is now hanging to try dry. Will report back tomorrow if this project was a success or not.

In the meantime, continuing my enjoyment of the female SFF theme read, I have finished another book. Very quick review below.

Book #52 - His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik - audiobook narrated by Simon Vance
Category: - All things SERIES, SEQUELS, PREQUELS and TRILOGIES



As much as I gushed happily - okay, ecstatically - about Westerfeld's Leviathan series when I read it back in 2011, Novik's book His Majesty's Dragon is absolutely amazing! A stunning first rate piece of writing depicting her brilliant alternate history of the Napoleonic Wars - with dragons - and wonderfully drawn characters. Temeraire caught my heart from the very start and Will Laurence, Temeraire's handler, is drawn about a 3-D as one can get when using the written word as the artistic brush. Of course, I am a huge fan of Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe's series, having repeatedly watched all of the TV movie adaptations starring Sean Bean, so I was right at home with Novik's version of the Napoleonic battles and the major players. As with Westerfeld's Leviathan series, Novik brings some good female characters to the story, but I have to say, I do like the focus that this story, book one in the series, took on introducing and building on the relationship between Temeraire and Laurence as both grow into their new roles. The plot moved along at a nice pitch, allowing for moments of tension during battle scenes and moments of humorous delight at how Temeraire and Laurance impacted subtle changes to the way of things at Air Command.

The icing on the cake for me - and the reason for the near perfect sweep of 5 star ratings for this one - is the excellent narration by Simon Vance of the audiobook I listened to. I came away from the experience with the firm belief that Novik's series is one to be listened to and/or watched.

Sadly, my local library does not carry audio format of the other books in the series so I am torn between attempting to read book two, Throne of Jade, which the library has and run the risk of not being as captivated as I am with His Majesty's Dragon because of format alone, or track down and purchase the audiobook.

Overall, I am very happy the female SFF group theme read this month has lead me to check out this book and to experience for the first time Novik's wonderful story-telling.

Decimal Rating: 4.94
5.00 - Plot Development
5.00 - Character Development
5.00 - Writing Style
5.00 - Readability
5.00 - Premise
5.00 - Imagery/Visualization
5.00 - Artistry (GN) / Narration (Audio)
4.50 - Originality
5.00 - Length

Star Rating: 5.00 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: audiobook
# of Pages: 384 pages (9 hours, 57 minutes listening time)
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Female

Ms. Novik is an LT Author, too! I've enjoyed the entire series. I hope you'll consider reding more. Termeraire really evolves in the series.

Glad to see you enjoy both Soulless and His Majesty's Dragon Lori. You might be happy (relieved?) to know that of the first 3 books of the Parasol Protectorate series, Soulless has the most romance in it. It was one of my gripes that in the next two Lord Maccon has a much smaller role to play.

I hope your dress turns out well.

@178 Gah its getting good reviews. I might have to check it out

Yay, I'm so glad you liked His Majesty's Dragon! I love the Temeraire series...some of the later books are a bit hit-or-miss, but I'm dedicated to reading the entire series. Book #8 comes out in August!

Glad you enjoyed the first of the Temeraire books. It's definitely a series I intend to continue with at some point after my own recent dip into these books.

> 179 - Hi mamzel, I will continue with the series and very happy to learn from you that Temeraire evolves in the series!

> 180 - Hi Alana, thank you so much for the heads on the Parasol Protectorate series.... although I find it a little disconcerting that Lord Maccon has a much smaller role to play. The dress did turn out quite nicely, I am happy to report. Pictures and phase two of the dress refresh project - you would think that I would just stop with the dye job but no, I have other plans now! - are detailed below.

> 181 - Not trying to twist you arm or anything Claire, but you really, really, REALLY should check out Novik's Temeraireseries. ;-)

> 182 - I am completely sucked into the Temeraire series, so happy dance is in order. Book #8 comes out in August! I won't be caught up in time for the release of Book #8 but it looks like this series has a bit of life to it.... 8 books!

> 183 - So am I, Dave, so am I! I love having a new series to look forward to reading and the Temeraire series fits the bill nicely.

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Weekend Craft Project (Update) - The dye job was a success.... which I am very happy about! Below are "Before" and "After" shots of the skirt of the dress:



I like the chocolate colour the dress now is and how the crochet trim now matches the colour of the dress. I am not very happy with the bead work - if you look closely you will see bead work along the upper ribbon of the skirt - which is also found along the neckline, so next weekend I am going to replace the beading. Favorite dress will become a 'new' dress after I am finished the beading.

Reading: On the reading front, I finished a book that counts towards my ROOT reading as I am falling behind on that challenge. I think I will shift gears slightly over the next week and see if I can read one or two books off my TBR bookcase to help boost my ROOT numbers and still be books by 'new to me' female authors.

Latest book review posted below.

Book #53 - Mable Riley: A Reliable Record of Humdrum, Peril and Romance by Marthe Jocelyn
Category: - All things EPISTOLARY

"When she travels far from home, Mable Riley hopes her life will be full of peril and romance. Instead, it remains humdrum, until she encounters the eccentric Mrs. Rattle, a writer who takes delight in shocking the townfolk by stating her opinions. Mable eagerly accepts Mrs. Rattle's invitation to a meeting of the Ladies Reading Circle. But the ladies are not discusing books at all, and Mable soon has more peril and romance than she'd bargained for."

Set in turn of the century Perth County, Ontario (circa 1901), this story is a lovely coming of age story as 14 year old Mable moves with her older sister Viola as Viola becomes the new school mistress for a small town some distance from their own home. Mable learns the controlling forces in the new community and about the struggle women of the time period were facing when trying to obtain fair work conditions and a fair voice in matters.

Jocelyn developed the feel and flavour of her story after reading two of her grandmother's diaries which were found in the attic of her grandmother's house some 100 year after they had been written. As this one is told from the point of view of a 14 year old and probably geared towards a younger reading audience, the issues raised in the story are touched upon but not delved into in great detail as some readers may expect.

Overall, this was a charming story told by Mable through her journal entries, newspaper excerpts of note and Mable's own attempts to write poetry and a serial story of adventure, peril and romance Mable sends to her friend, Hattie. It captures rural/ small town life of the period nicely, when the telephone was very much a new thing and women wearing bloomers and riding bicycles were viewed as a shocking spectacle.

Mable's comment to her older sister Viola sums this one up nicely:"If we were living in a story, what would be the next chapter? We have left home, traveled afar, met interesting strangers, been challenged by adversity, and encountered the police. Should there not be a love scene?"

Quite right, Mable! ;-)

Decimal Rating: 3.44
3.75 - Plot Development
3.25 - Character Development
3.00 - Writing Style
3.50 - Readability
3.75 - Premise
3.75 - Imagery/Visualization
N/A - Artistry (GN) / Narration (Audio)
3.50 - Originality
4.50 - Length

Star Rating: 3.50 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: Paperback
# of Pages: 250 pages
Source: TBR Bookcase
Male/Female Author: Female

Soulless is quite a fun romp, isn't it. I've got to get around to the next ones in the series. No BB for His Majesty's Dragon, but only because it's already on the list... :)

Congrats on the dress - dyeing can be quite scary!

I didn't know the next one was coming out and I went straight to my library and put a hold. I'll be the first to get it! Now I have to be patient for 2 months. *tapping foot*

178> Does your library have Interlibrary Loan? They might be able to get the audiobook for you from outside the system.

Ooh, love the crafting! The dress turned out very well!

> 186 - Hi Eva, my attempts to read predominantly female authors this month, in line with female SFF theme read, has provided me with fun reading material, including Soulless... it is such groan-worthy fluff in places one cannot help but have fun reading it. ;-)

Thanks, I was a bit nervous about the dye job. There is nothing worse then ruining something that would be near to impossible to replace, because my sewing skills are deplorable!

> 187 - I just love how LT members are able to bring books that about to be released to readers attention. Of course, the groaning TBR pile probably has other thoughts on that topic but it is inanimate so I tend to not worry too much about that!

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

Continuing my entertaining fluff reading - and clearing another book off my TBR bookcase in line with my ROOT challenge at the same time - I have another book for anyone that enjoys humorous Victorian or Regency period pieces fun to read. I know I do. ;-)

Review below.

Book #54 - The Rules of Gentility by Janet Mullany
Category: - All things REGENCY

"Regency heiress Philomena Wellesley-Clegg has rather strong opinions about men and clothing. As to the former, so far two lords, a viscount, and a mad poet have fallen far short of her expectations. But she is about to meet Inigo Linsley, an unshaven, wickedly handsome man with a scandalous secret. He’s nothing she ever dreamed she’d want—why then can she not stop thinking about how he looks in his breeches?"

This was fun with a capital "F". This is one of those impulse buys that has been languishing on my TBR bookcase for .... well.... okay, I don't know exactly for how long, but I do know that the acquisition predates January 2012, which is when I started recording acquisition dates for all of my books.

The author categorizes this book as a "Raucous Regency" and that is a good term to describe this one. This book pokes fun at every aspect of social propriety of that deliciously madcap Regency era. Inigo is a dastardly rake from a good family of the ton. He does have some morals - go figure! - and Philomena is a first rate naive ninny of a wealthy family whose fortune is derived from Trade (they own coal mines) - not to be confused with those Wellesleys (you know, Battle of Waterloo and all that). What starts out as an engagement of convenience becomes... well, you will just have to read the book to find out for yourself.

This is a fun, romping laugh at the Regency period as much as it is a tribute to it. The characters are hilarious, as are the situations that arise. The story is based on the rather standard insipid romance formula but it is considerably brightened by the banter and thoughts that seem more perfect for our time period than the Regency period of the story, even if Philomena's hormones seem to be a bit on overdrive mode most of the time. With the family she has - her mother, the queen of 'run on' sentences, those ubiquitous and unnerving twins Charlotte and Lydia and that baffling long time family maid Hen - some form of release is to be expected! I really liked how Mullany chose to tell the story through the alternating viewpoint of both of our romantic leads... all the better to present the folly that miscommunication and innocent flirting can bring about in the other party!

It is obvious that the author had fun writing this one and it should be treated as the darling bit of escapism fluff reading it is meant to be.

Decimal Rating: 3.94
3.75 - Plot Development
3.75 - Character Development
3.75 - Writing Style
4.50 - Readability
4.00 - Premise
4.00 - Imagery/Visualization
N/A - Artistry (GN) / Narration (Audio)
3.75 - Originality
4.00 - Length

Star Rating: 4.00 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: Trade paperback
# of Pages: 268 pages
Source: TBR Bookcase
Male/Female Author: Female

@ 191 -- Lori, I loved The Rules of Gentility! I think my favorite part was the list at the end, "Ten Things a Real Regency Hero Would Never Say" or something like that. It's absolutely hysterical!

> 192 - Hi Christina, The Rules of Gentility was a fun read. Mullany's Top Ten list is great, and a good reason to read the author extras at the end of the book.... I usually just skim over that section.

For the enjoyment of everyone here, here are my top three favorites from Mullany's Top Ten lists of things that no character in a Regency-set historical romance would say:

The Heroine:
1. Hell with Almack's. I think I'll stay home and entertain myself with the footmen.
2. A devastatingly handsome, notorious, wicked rake? Eeeew.
3. Pay no attention to my siblings. They're only here for the sequels.

The Hero:
1. Butler, remove this strange woman from my bed immediately.
2. No, no. I insist, madam. You take the floor. I'll be quite comfortable in this huge bed.
3. I really don't want to go to a gambling hall hell tonight. Couldn't we just stay home and read up on the bills we're supposed to vote on tomorrow in the House?

Bullet #3 under The Hero list has what I hope is a typo in my copy of the book..... apparently he doesn't want to go to a gambling "hell" tonight. I am assuming it is supposed to read "hall". As Christina mentions below, it is probably not a typo. ;-)

The Rules of Gentility sounds like heaps of fun, that's a book bullet for me :-)

@ 193 -- Lori, I think "hell" is actually correct; it was a slang term for a gambling establishment in Regency England.

I've read a couple of Marthe Jocelyn's books and enjoyed them. Sounds like Mable Riley is worth a try.

You've whetted my appetite for a little bit of fluff, so I think I'll try and squeeze in Changeless into the female authors read before June is over.

> 194 - Hi Alana, It is heaps of fun!

> 195 - Hi Christina, gambling hall being a hell makes sense to me. ;-)

> 196 - Hi Paulina, I need to track down more of Marthe Jocelyn's books. I see by my library's catalogue system that Jocelyn has written a fair number of books, so I am looking forward to snooping through and finding more that catch my interest.

> 197 - Eva, I am still in fluff reading mode and received notification over the weekend that Changeless is ready for download. ;-)

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

I have made a couple of edits to the ratings for my last two books because I just realized that the decimal rating was being calculated as divisible by 9 instead of 8 like it should have been(forgot I wasn't giving a artistic/narration rating for those books), so both Mable Riley and The Rules of Gentility have gone up a half star rating.

I am slowly spending time on re-beading the dress I dyed last weekend and need to sit back and ponder the bead configuration a bit. In the meantime, I do have two more books finished and reviews written. See below.

Book #55 - Mrs. Queen Takes the Train by William Kuhn - audiobook narrated by Simon Pebble
Category: - All things NEW

After decades of service and years of watching her family's troubles splashed across the tabloids, Britain's Queen is beginning to feel her age. She needs some proper cheering up. An unexpected opportunity offers her relief: an impromptu visit to a place that holds happy memories—the former royal yacht, Britannia, now moored near Edinburgh. Hidden beneath a skull-emblazoned hoodie, the limber Elizabeth (thank goodness for yoga) walks out of Buckingham Palace into the freedom of a rainy London day and heads for King's Cross to catch a train to Scotland. But a characterful cast of royal attendants has discovered her missing. In uneasy alliance a lady-in-waiting, a butler, an equerry, a girl from the stables, a dresser, and a clerk from the shop that supplies Her Majesty's cheese set out to find her and bring her back before her absence becomes a national scandal.

Published in 2012 and billed as the author's debut novel, this story was at times quite charming, in a similar vein to the Alan Bennett's The Uncommon Reader. Against the backdrop of today's modern technology world, Kuhn paints an interesting portrait of Britian through a changing - or unchanging - social, political and generational lens. Kuhn takes the living monarch and presents her as an elderly woman struggling with the possibility that she may be a relic of the past.

The story doesn't get bogged down with examining the Queen' troubling thoughts, but it does get a bit bogged down in setting the stage and explaining all of the characters. The plot really only takes off around the half-way mark so some patience while reading - or listening - this this one is required. The story is just as much about the royal attendants as it is about the Queen and I found it a little frustrating how the story would jump around from character to character and back and forth through time, which made it a bit challenging to follow as an audiobook that I was only listening to in half hour intervals. The characters are a very nice cross section of the population and their situations provide the social and generational examination that Kuhn appears to be focusing his story on. While some sections of the book were a bit 'cheesy' but they do help brighten the story. There are enough modern history references to provide some readers with a nostalgic feel while reading this one. I did enjoy the Queen's incognito interactions with the British populous, sans handlers, although it was a bit far-fetched that no one recognized who they were having a conversation with.... although some did think they recognized the voice from somewhere. I also felt that the book carried on past what I thought was the logical conclusion. The narration by Simon Pebble was good but didn't add a great deal to my enjoyment of the story beyond the voice he provided for the character Rajiv.

Overall, an entertaining, if somewhat rambling story but not something I would recommend unless you enjoyed The Uncommon Reader and don't mind reading a book that builds upon vignette moments of modern history of the royal family interspersed with the stories of the other characters.

Decimal Rating: 3.47
3.75 - Plot Development
3.50 - Character Development
3.25 - Writing Style
3.25 - Readability
3.50 - Premise
3.75 - Imagery/Visualization
3.75 - Artistry (GN) / Narration (Audio)
3.50 - Originality
3.00 - Length

Star Rating: 3.50 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: Downloadable audiobook
# of Pages: 304 pages (9 hours, 33 minutes listening time)
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Male

Book #56 - The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter
Category: - All things FABLES and FAIRY TALES



First published back in 1979, this short story collection consists of 10 stories that are based upon and variations of fairy tales and folklore, in particular the stories of Bluebeard, Beauty and the Beast, Puss and Boots and Little Red Riding Hood as well as the folktales of Erlking and The Snow-child. Carter has been quoted as stating that:

"My intention was not to do 'versions' or, as the American edition of the book said, horribly, 'adult' fairy tales, but to extract the latent content from the traditional stories."

Some have categorized these stories as fairy tales with a subversive feminist twist, which I do not agree with. Adult stories these definitely are, but a feminist angle is not the predominant focus of these stories, although Carter did manage to bring up the concept of a 'virgin' in every single story. Some stories are more Gothic in nature than others, some more horrific and yes, these stories do have a theme of sex and violence that will probably offend some readers. I love how Carter took her skill with the written word - the prose is breathtakingly beautiful and wonderfully descriptive! - to create different stories, with different outcomes, based upon a given premise. Quick snapshots of the various stories in this collection are listed below:

The Bloody Chamber - A very 'sensory' and well written Gothic horror, with everything revolving around feelings and sensory perception.

The Courtship of Mr. Lyon - A rich, cleaner retelling of The Beauty and The Beast as a showcase to display the differences between opulence of environment (beautiful material things) and that of the non-material bonds between individuals.

The Tiger's Bride - A more introspective take on The Beauty and The Beast, which I preferred over the more opulent fairy tale style of The Courtship of Mr. Lyon.

Puss-in-Boots - Carter's more playful side emerges here with a fun, Three Musketeers-styled take on Puss in Boots as told by Puss, a.k.a Figaro.

The Erl-King - I like the idea of a malevolent creature (Erlking) who haunts forests and carries off travelers to their deaths and enjoyed Carter's take on the erl-King as a haunting presence in the forests like the selkies or sirens of northern sea-based country tales.

The Snow Child - This story, which appears to be a twisted take on a bitter an unsatisfied marriage left me thinking "Eeew"! It is my least favorite of all the stories but it has peaked my interest in reading Eowyn Ivey's The Snow Child, which I believe to be based on the same style of folklore.

The Lady of the House of Love came across as a vampire story with a Miss Havisham twist to it.

The Werewolf - Is a great twist on the Red Riding Hood tale and actually sent a shiver down my spine.

The Company of Wolves - Really just another take on the Red Riding Hood theme. Interesting.

Wolf-Alice - This is my favorite story in the collection. I love how Carter works the self-awareness development of an otherwise feral child into this one. Apparently it is supposed to be another variant on the Red Riding Hood theme, so it must be based on a more obscure version of the tale.

Overall, an interesting and very well written collection of erotic, bawdy and in some instances, sado-masochistic and subversive takes on traditional fairy tales and folklore. Well worth the read, if for the beautiful prose alone!

Decimal Rating: 4.50
Star Rating: 4.50 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: Trade paperback
# of Pages: 128 pages
Source: TBR
Male/Female Author: Female

I really loved The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter, I do like subversive spinning of known fairy tales. Sadly I haven't found anything by her as good yet Nights at the Circus is ok.

> 201 - Hi Claire, I was blown away by Carter's writing and the stories were well done, even if some of them took me a bit out of my comfort zone. Darn, I was expecting to have her short story collection to be her best work. I will poke around and see if I can find anything. I have made a note of Nights at the Circus.

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

I am going to see if I can get another book read for the female SFF theme read before the month ends, although it looks like I will be joining a number of the group readers in continuing this theme read beyond June. I started Book of Tongues last night, book one in Gemma Files Hexslinger series.... the wild west circa 1867 where dead gods, monsters, magicians and witches abound. So far, really good and I am looking forward to reading more this evening!

Book #57 - Fables Vol. 4: March of the Wooden Soldiers by Bill Willingham
Category: - All things FABLES and FAIRY TALES



Picking up where Fables Vol. 3: Storybook Love left off, we now learn more about the "Adversary" and the battles waged in the Fables lands. The anniversary of the final escape and the lives that stayed behind so that a number of the fables characters could make it out are recounted by Boy Blue, including the story of his his war time love, Red Riding Hood. When Red Riding Hood shows up in Fableland, with a fantastic story of having made it through the breech after years under the Adversary, some Fabletown members are excited to see someone new from their own lands, while other members have their suspicions of Red Riding Hood's authenticity.

The characters are now well developed and we have enough background - thanks to Boy Blue's story - of the history behind the Fables and the Adversary. I really like how there exists a portal, or possibly more than one portal, between the two worlds, leaving the story wide open for future development. The artwork has remained consistent throughout, which I really appreciate. I also like the clean presentation of the story frames. Even though the stories have progressively replaced the fun, flippant nature of Vol. 1, with a more somber feel to it, Willingham lets us know that he has not forgotten how to poke fun at things. The following short excerpt from Vol. 4 did give me a good chuckle:



I continue to enjoy Willingham's take on the fables and fairy tales of my childhood and I am looking forward to seeing what happens next in Fableland!

Decimal Rating: 3.89
4.00 - Plot Development
3.75 - Character Development
3.50 - Writing Style
4.00 - Readability
3.75 - Premise
4.00 - Imagery/Visualization
4.00 - Artistry (GN) / Narration (Audio)
3.75 - Originality
4.25 - Length

Star Rating: 4.00 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: Trade Paperback
# of Pages: 240 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Male

Only now did I see that there was a separate thread for the The Bloody Chamber-read - I did think an unusual amount of people were reading it at the same time. :) Great review - thumbing - will be putting it on the list!

->203 lkernagh:
That is a very good installment in the series, isn't it! I do love Snow's "coming out" about her feelings for Bigby at the end. :)

Well,.... The Bloody Chamber does fit the female SFF read but it was Katie organizing the group read that motivated me to read it. Rather sad to see that Carter died in her prime at 51 years.

I am loving the Fables series and Vol. 4 really pulls a lot of the stories together. Snow's "coming out" was amusing to read, as was Bigby's reaction, and to have her sister Rose Red witness it was just perfect!

My Fairy Tales category is pretty empty. I think I'll add Fables and The Bloody Chamber to my list of possiblities.

If it wasn't for Willingham's Fables GN series, mine would be pretty empty too! ;-)

*Cough* Catherynne M Valente's In the Night Garden *Cough* :-)

Ha, ha,ha..... Good suggestion Claire, and one I belief you already provided to me so we will call this a suble "reminder". ;-)

Funny how Valente's In the Night Garden is listed as being "the Arabian Nights of our time", as my other half was giving me grief just last night that I haven't gotten around to reading One Thousand and One Arabian Nights! Both books are now on the reading list for this year..... I have even placed a hold at the library for their copy of In the Night Garden.

Book #58 - A Book of Tongues by Gemma Files
Category: - All things NEW

Two years after the Civil War, Pinkerton agent Ed Morrow has gone undercover with one of the weird West's most dangerous outlaw gangs—the troop led by “Reverend” Asher Rook, ex-Confederate chaplain turned “hexslinger,” and his notorious lieutenant (and lover) Chess Pargeter. Morrow's task: get close enough to map the extent of Rook's power, then bring that knowledge back to help Professor Joachim Asbury unlock the secrets of magic itself.

Published in 2012, this is book one in Gemma Files' Hexslinger Series and I will admit I really didn't have any idea what I was in for when I decided to read this one for the June female science fiction and fantasy theme read. I loved the cover and figured a post American Civil War alternate history story with magic, mythology and other weirdness would be an interesting change of pace. The wild west part of this alternate reality is presented rather well. What I wasn't ready for was how the story had a rather graphic "in your face" presentation of horror for some of the events. I also felt the story had a rather excessive amount of erotic sexuality given the context of the story being told. Yes, the story does swirl around the topic of manipulation and using others to gain advantage, and that 'hexes' tend to feed off one another when in near proximity but I still feel that some of the graphic erotic content seemed to have been included for erotic sake only and not with the purpose of helping advance the story forward in any meaningful manner.

The inclusion of the ancient Aztec / Mayan gods and goddesses - at least I think that is what they were - is where the mythology comes in. While Files probably did a good job here, my knowledge of Aztec / Mayan mythology is next to nil and I found myself getting bogged down by names I could not pronounce and a confusing labyrinth of mythology references that made no sense to me. The journey to Mictalan-Xibalba, which I believe is to correspond with the Mayan underworld Xibalba, or 'place of fear', was when the story started to pick up pace and get interesting..... only to have our author suddenly fast forward us 4 weeks and present the horrors experienced in Mictalan-Xibalba as a past experience de-briefing. WTH?! It didn't help that we already knew who had made it out and who didn't, ruining any chance of suspense from that part of the story. That was frustrating for me as a reader. The book has a rather anticlimactic ending and then.... a cliff hanger for book two in the last three words of book one. Not happy about that one bit.

Overall, while I have decided that I am not the intended audience for this rather twisted, graphic, horrific New Weird speculative fiction and won't be continuing with the series, I do see that other readers on LT have provided much more favorable reviews so I suggest anyone interested in this one to check out the other posted reviews and ratings and consider mine to be a bit of an anomaly.

Decimal Rating: 3.03
2.75 - Plot Development
3.25 - Character Development
2.75 - Writing Style
3.00 - Readability
3.25 - Premise
3.25 - Imagery/Visualization
N/A - Artistry (GN) / Narration (Audio)
3.50 - Originality
2.50 - Length

Star Rating: 3.00 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: Trade Paperback
# of Pages: 278 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Female

Now off to browse my TBR bookcase for a palette cleanser that will also help me bump up my flagging Penguin category and my somewhat neglected ROOTs category.

Sounds like A Book of Tongues went off the rails somewhere. It had good elements, but where was it set? If it is in the US west, the Mayan gods and even the Aztec gods being that far north are a bit of a stretch, but then again, we're talking hexes so anything is possible... but to get you into an underworld and then fast forward to get you out of it??? Bogus.

Hi Katie, the story tends to roam the American west a fair bit. it even has a momentary detour into San Francisco. They do end up south of the American-Mexican border at one point, which is also where they 'exit' the underworld - and where I assume they entered the underworld - but it is a little sketchy trying to map out where they are when reading the story. Mentioning 'the desert' doesn't help me much in getting a geographic fix and the few small town names mentioned were alien to me and seemed more in keeping with the theme of the story than as any real locations of history.

Oo I had it when the authors mucks up the story flow to leap to something else. Drives me mad

So do I, Claire. So do I! ;-)

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Finished one more book to close out June so I will post that review, the monthly recap and the half year recap and then see about posting a new thread to start off the second half of the year.

Book #59 - Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle
Category: - All things PENGUIN



This book has been sitting on my TBR Bookcase since I purchased it back in 2011. I picked it up because it won the 1993 Booker Prize and was a good fit for my prizes category reading at that time. It made it home to my bookshelves and stayed there until I realized three days ago just how far behind I am with my PENGUIN category. As this one looked like - and was - a reasonably short book, I decided to close out my June reading with it. This was a surprisingly good read for me. Not sure it is prizing winner material but then I tend to question the content of a number of books that go on to win prizes.... obviously I don't see these books the same way the judges do! ;-)

Doyle main character, and narrator of his story, is young 10-year old Patrick Clarke of Barrytown, North Dublin. Patrick lives with his Ma, his Da, his younger brother Francis (aka "Sinbad") and his two much younger sisters Catherine and Deirdre in a clean but otherwise nondescript home on an ordinary street.

In young Patrick, Doyle has captured the quintessential young boy living in a 1960's working class community. Like all young kids, he wants to be appreciated by his peers, lord it over his younger brother - when he isn't feeling protective of him - and struggles desperately to understand what is going in his family, in particular the raised voices he can hear between his parents late at night. Patrick grows up faster than any 10-year old should have to, and not by choice.

Parts of the story are touchingly amusing. I loved how Patrick was listening to the news on the TV with his Da about Vietnam and marveling at the Americans being at war with 'gorillas' and how interesting that the 'gorillas' had their own country and everything..... not a surprising thought process since most 10-year olds of the time period would know about the ape family but weren't really up to speed on the concept of 'guerrillas' in the warfare sense. Good "A-ha" light-bulb moment when Da grasp the confusion in Patrick's understanding of the news. Many of the stories and events told here resonate with authenticity and give voice to some of the toughness and struggles children and families in these communities experienced during the 1960's. My other half grew up in a predominately blue collar community in North Glasgow, Scotland and some of Patrick's experiences are stories I already know and understand from him.

The writing style and plot development take a little getting used to, although part of that could be my struggles to get inside the mind of a 10-year old and the language of Patrick and his friends, his "gang". It is a strong coming-of-age story that hit a cord with me of the antics of childhood and reminded me once again about the bullying that went on in the pre Social Media world of my own youth.

Favorite quote:

"But I didn't. When I asked myself why I hated him, the only reason was that he was my little brother and that was all; I didn't really hate him at all. Big brothers hated their little brothers. They had to. It was the rule. But they could like them as well. I liked Sinbad. I liked his size and his shape, the way his hair at the back went the wrong way; I like the way we all called him Sinbad and at home he was Francis. Sinbad was a secret."

Overall, this one is well worth reading for its well written insights into family, community and peers from a young boy's point of view.

Decimal Rating: 4.09
4.00 - Plot Development
4.75 - Character Development
3.75 - Writing Style
4.00 - Readability
3.75 - Premise
4.25 - Imagery/Visualization
N/A - Artistry (GN) / Narration (Audio)
4.00 - Originality
4.25 - Length

Star Rating: 4.00 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: Trade Paperback
# of Pages: 288 pages
Source: TBR
Male/Female Author: Male

JUNE RE-CAP:

Books read:


ROOTs Read (as part of my ROOT challenge):


Books acquired:

The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter
Nine Coaches Waiting by Mary Stewart

Favorite book (decimal rating): His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik - (4.94 decimal rating)
Least favorite book (decimal rating): Basti by Intizar Husain - (2.88 decimal rating)

CATEGORY SUMMARY:
GRAPHIC - 0 books read this month (12 in total so far)
NEW (published in 2012 or 2013) - 5 books read this month (10 in total so far)
- - - Care of Wooden Floors by Will Wiles -
- - - Type by Alicia Hendley -
- - - Basti by Intizar Husain -
- - - Mrs. Queen Takes the Train by William Kuhn -
- - - A Book of Tongues by Gemma Files -
EPISTOLARY - 2 books read this month (4 in total so far)
- - - Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple -
- - - Mable Riley: A Reliable Record of Humdrum, Peril and Romance by Marthe Jocelyn -
GOTHIC - 0 books read this month (4 in total so far)
FABLES and FAIRY TALES - 2 books read this month (6 in total so far)
- - - The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter -
- - - Fables Vol. 4: March of the Wooden Soldiers by Bill Willingham -
EUROPA - 0 books read this month (2 in total so far)
REGENCY - 1 book read this month (2 in total so far)
- - - The Rules of Gentility by Janet Mullany -
PENGUIN - 1 book read (2 in total so far)
- - - Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle -
MITFORD - 0 booksread this month (1 read in total so far)
SERIES, SEQUELS, PREQUELS and TRILOGIES - 2 books read this month (4 in total so far)
- - - Soulless by Gail Carriger -
- - - His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik -
NEWSWORTHY - 0 books read this month (5 in total so far)
ON MY TBR BOOKCASE - 0 books read this month (5 in total so far)
WITH A TITLE, AUTHOR(S) AND WORDS WRITTEN - 0 booksread this month (2 in total so far)

I have no problem with "twisted, graphic, horrific New Weird," but I do need the story to have some sort of direction. :)

HALF YEAR RE-CAP:

Books read:59
- books read by Female Authors: 33 (two books have more than one author)
- books read by Male Authors: 28 (one book has more than one author)
- Largest book read by page count: The Count of Monte Cristo - 1,314 pages
- Smallest book read by page count: Lies, Knives and Girls in Red Dresses - 88 pages
- # Pages read: 17,239

ROOTs read: 14 (goal for the year = 30 ROOTs read)
Books acquired: 49

Top 5 reads:

His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik - 4.94 decimal rating
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas - 4.81 decimal rating
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry - 4.69 decimal rating
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline - 4.64 decimal rating
The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter - 4.50 decimal rating

Bombs:

How to Tell if Your Cat is Plotting to Kill You by The Oatmeal - 1,50 decimal rating
Mrs. God by Peter Strab - 2.78 decimal rating
The Dinner by Herman Koch - 2.81 decimal rating
Basti by Intizar Husain - 2.88 decimal rating
The Twitter Diaries by Georgie Thompson and Imogen Lloyd Webber - 2.97 decimal rating

Favorite Cover:

Direction of the story is important, I agree Eva. Sometimes I think authors forget the reading audience and their point of view and just write the story they want to tell. That doesn't always work out for the best.... ;-)

Can't overestimate the value of a good editor... :)

Lori, as always your organization and re-caps are amazing. I need to go and start a new thread and I am dragging my feet...

Love the recaps! It also looks like you're pretty much on track with your ROOTS goal :)
PS I'm reading Lonesome Dove right now and really enjoying it!

> 220 - LOL! I really wish they would make better use of their editors, and sometimes the proof readers! ;-)

> 221 - Thanks Judy, just call me a little "OCD"..... ;-0

> 222 - Surprisingly, I am still on track with my ROOT reading. I really was expecting that to be my late fall early winter scramble reading. I really liked Lonesome Dove... that is probably the one book that convinced me that I could truly enjoy a western novel.

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Without much fanfare - although I did just hear a cannon go off in the Inner Harbour as I type this - please join me on my new thread by following the continuation thingy below or by clicking the following link: http://www.librarything.com/topic/155923

Terribly behind, but just caught up on your 4th thread then saw I missed tons here. Just added His Majesty's Dragon to the immense wish list. Yikes!! :)