Lori's (lkernagh's) 2013 Kaleidoscope Year of Reading - Part 3

Lori's 2013 Kaleidoscope of Reading - Part 3

Given the great long weekend spent enjoying the Highland Games and in keeping with my recent re-read of The Count of Monte Cristo, I was in the mood for a darker, richer kaleidoscope as the thread topper for my new thread:


Kaleidoscope Picture: Rose and Books

original photo courtesy of Flickr

Just like last year, the majority of my 2013 reading is being structured by the various challenges that I will be participating in for the year. My home base will be the 2013 Category Challenge group, but I will also be participating in the ROOT - 2013 Read Our Own Tomes, RTT - Reading Through Time and the SANDMAN groups on top of this one. There will be some duplication of reviews from group to group, as there are different members in each of the groups and I don't want anyone to feel left out or make them work to access a review.

No promises that I will be quick to respond to comments posted here - real life and work commitments take precedence. Just so you know, I read threads starting with the oldest unread posts in my Talk listing and work my way up from there so if you have a really active thread, I will get there - really I will - just no guarantees of frequent visits. I am also a bit of a lurker - sadly, no time to post comments every visit to every thread - but I will de-lurk on threads when a book mention/review, conversation or picture strikes my fancy.

To give you a feel for the books I will be reading in 2013, here are the categories for my 2013 Category Challenge:

1. All things GRAPHIC - Graphic Novels
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 re-telling
6. All things EUROPA - books published by Europa Editions
7. All things REGENCY - books set in the Regency period
8. All things PENGUIN - books published by Penguin
9. All things MITFORD - Book series by Jan Karon
10. All things SERIES, SEQUELS, PREQUELS and TRILOGIES
11. All things NEWSWORTHY - books that get a lot 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'

Books read:

JANUARY:
#1 - The Twitter Diaries by Georgie Thompson and Imogen Lloyd Webber -
#2 - The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman -
#3 - Clay: A Novel by Melissa Harrison -
#4 - A Sickness in the Family by Denise Mina Illustrated by Antonio Fuso -
#5 - A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka-
#6 - A Death in the Small Hours by Charles Finch-
#7 - The Sandman Vol. 2: The Doll's House by Neil Gaiman -

FEBRUARY:
#8 - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen -
#9 - The Very Thought of You by Rosie Alison -
#10 - Black Butler, Vol. 1 by Yana Toboso -
#11 - Black Butler, Vol. 2 by Yana Toboso -
#12 - Lady Susan by Jane Austen -
#13 - Enter At Your Own Risk: Old Masters, New Voices edited by Alex Scully -
#14 - Riding the Bus With My Sister by Rachel Simon -
#15 - Fun Home by Alison Bechdel -
#16 - Black Butler, Vol. 3 by Yana Toboso -
#17 - Black Butler, Vol. 4 by Yana Toboso -
#18 - Ice Song by Kirsten Imani Kasai -
#19 - Lies, Knives and Girls in Red Dresses by Ron Koertge -

Books read:

MARCH:
#20 - Ready Player One by Ernest Cline -
#21 - The Sandman Vol. 3: Dream Country by Neil Gaiman -
#22 - Snow Falling On Cedars by David Guterson -
#23 - Love and The Mess We're In by Stephen Marche -
#24 - Fables: Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham -
#25 - Sorry by Gail Jones -
#26 - Complication by Isaac Adamson -
#27 - The Dinner by Herman Koch -

APRIL:
#28 - Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan -
#29 - Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry -
#30 - Mrs. God by Peter Straub -
#31 - How to Tell if Your Cat is Plotting to Kill You by The Oatmeal -
#32 - February by Lisa Moore -
#33 - The Fate of Mercy Alban by Wendy Webb -
#34 - F is for Fugitive by Sue Grafton -
#35 - Fables Vol. 2: Animal Farm by Bill Willingham -
#36 - Fables Vol. 3: Storybook Love by Bill Willingham -
#37 - Old Filth by Jane Gardam -
#38 - Freaks of the Heartland by Steve Niles -
#39 - The Little Book by Selden Edwards -

Books read:

MAY:
#40 - Mistress of Blackstone Castle by Patricia Werner -
#41 - The Sandman: Vol. 4 Season of Mists by Neil Gaiman -
#42 - The Anatomist's Apprentice by Tessa Harris -
#43 - The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (père) -
#44 - Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier -
#45 - The Sandman: Vol. 5 A Game of You by Neil Gaiman -
#46 - At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon -

JUNE:
#47 - Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple -
#48 - Care of Wooden Floors by Will Wiles -
#49 - Type by Alicia Hendley -
#50 - Basti by Intizar Husain -
#51 - Soulless by Gail Carriger -
#52 - His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik -
#53 - Mable Riley: A Reliable Record of Humdrum, Peril and Romance by Marthe Jocelyn -
#54 - The Rules of Gentility by Janet Mullany -
#55 - Mrs. Queen Takes the Train by William Kuhn -
#56 - The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter -
#57 - Fables Vol. 4: March of the Wooden Soldiers by Bill Willingham -
#58 - A Book of Tongues by Gemma Files -
#59 - Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle -

JULY:
#60 - Sandman Vol. 6: Fables and Reflections by Neil Gaiman -
#61 - Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear -
#62 - Changeless by Gail Carriger -
#63 - The River of No Return by Bee Ridgway -
#64 - Nine Coaches Waiting by Mary Stewart -
#65 - Life After Life by Kate Atkinson -
#66 - UTU by Caryl Férey -
#67 - Letters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole -
#68 - Frederica by Georgette Heyer -

AUGUST:
#69 - ENGN by Simon Kewin -
#70 - The Arabian Nights Entertainments selected and edited by Andrew Lang -
#71 - Mary Todd Lincoln: Her Life and Letters by Mary Todd Lincoln, Justin Turner and Linda Levitt Turner -

This thread is now open for business! Pull up a chair and settle in or breeze through while you are out and about the group..... the door is always open and the kettle is on!

CURRENTLY READING (or listening to):


Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon
A Taste for Murder by Claudia Bishop

Nice kaleidoscope picture. How did you make it?

Hi Samantha! I mess around on my computer to create the kaleidoscope pictures. There are a number of good photo software programs out there that have the kaleidoscope and other effects built into the program, but the program I use is Corel's PhotoImpactX3, because: 1) its inexpensive; and 2) it handles almost all of the photo-editing features that I need to clean a photo up, enhance it, or just play around with it! The kaleidoscope at the top was a 4 deep effect - I made it from a kaleidoscope of a kaleidoscope of a kaleidoscope of the original picture, if that makes any sense.

It makes sense! I've never had the patience to learn to use the photo software program we have (paintshop pro, I think). I can do basic things in it, but that's about where it ends. I never thought to look for kaleidoscope effects :D

Lovely new thread, Lori, opened with another great kaleidoscope picture! I hope you enjoy Rebecca as much as I did. It's still the only du Maurier I've read ... I've got more on the shelves which I keep meaning to get to.

Ohh gorgeous new thread picture, Lori! I've either not read Rebecca , or I read it back in my late teens and I've forgotten! Isn't that shocking! I guess I am old!

Kaleidoscopic new thread Lori. Rebecca is one of the most memorable and atmospheric films ever made and, with Joan Fontaine, I would brave Mandereley any day of the week.

Thanks Nancy, Deb and Paul! 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!

Lovely new thread, Lori! I love that thread topper! I have Rebecca in the stacks for this month, and I am wondering if I will be able to get to it. This month is moving too fast for me. And The Count of Monte Cristo is one that has been on my shelves for far too long - I NEED to get to that! Wishing for you a weekend full of fabulous!

Amazing colors in that thread-topper

> 15 - Hi Mamie, great to see you here! It is shocking that May is almost gone.... where does the time go?! The books that call us from our bookshelves, competing with library books and other distractions, I can relate to! Now if only I can visit threads without adding to my future reading lists.... ;-)

> 16 - Thanks, Rhonda!

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

I finished Rebecca last night. I had to mull that one over in my mind a bit before writing a review and managed to wake up this morning with my thoughts organized! For what it's worth, review below...........

Book #44 - Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier



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

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



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 and 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 through these stories and would like to see more of Matthew as an intersting character in Dream's world, and a good way to add 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 really like it, but it does take some patience...

Wonderful review of Rebecca, Lori. I enjoyed it, but also will not likely reread. Like you, my plan was to use it to launch into more of du Maurier's works. I haven't got that far yet, but it is part of the "big picture," LOL. Loved this, btw: 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! I should say!

Great review of Rebecca, Lori! I see that you are rereading The Count of Monte Cristo -- how fun! I'm embarrassed to say that I've never read it. Maybe I'll give it another go this summer.

I think Rebecca is one of those books that "haunts" the reader long after the last page is turned. It was also a much more appreciated read for me the second time around. I too want to read more by du Maurier. I have a lovely copy of Jamaica Inn ready and waiting for me. One of these days...

And I also need to read The Count of Monte Cristo for the first time. I share Anne's embarrassment, although I have had quite a few more years on me that I could should have read it. Lori, you are clearly a good influence on us!

> 20 - Thanks Katie. I can see why du Maurier has quite the following. She is a gifted writer without overly taxing the reader with a bunch of superfluous words to communicate her story.

> 21 - Thanks, Nancy. It is probably just wrong of me to picture O'Brien when reading about the manipulative Mrs. Danvers but the mind does have a way of doing its own things sometimes! ;-)

> 22 - Hi Anne! Oh you really must give The Count of Monte Cristo a read if you find the time. You can always do what I did and read it slowly over a period of months. I believe it was originally written in serial format - where they all back then! - although the last 1/3 to 1/4 of the book is quite the page turner so get ready for that if and when you do pick up The Count for a read. ;-)

> 23 - Hi Donna, i think you have something there. Even though I wasn't fond of the narrator, I am still experiencing bits and pieces of Rebecca in my mind. I like the idea of a book "haunting" me! Jamaica Inn has cropped up here and over on my 2013 category challenge thread so I am thinking that will be my second du Maurier book. As for The Count, it is well worth the read. I prefer it to The Three Musketeers, but even I need to expand on my classics reading as those are the only two Dumas books I have read - I shamefully admit to not having read Twenty Years After or The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later, which includes The Man in the Iron Mask to round out the dArtagnan story started by The Three Musketeers - so I need to work on being a good influence a little more. ;-)

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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.... nice 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... the perfect lazy Sunday reading book.

Lori, kudos for a lovely thread and a great review of Rebecca!

> 25 - Thanks, Terri!

A lovey sunny Friday today and happily, no set plans for the weekend, everything will be whatever we feel like doing. My reading has slowed down quite considerably this week - I just haven't felt like listening to an audiobook during my work day commute, and have found other amusing ways to spend the evenings. That being said, I have finished one more book and the review is now ready for posting.....

Book #46 - At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon

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

As tomorrow is the start of June, it is time for a June kaleidoscope picture, continuing the flower of the month theme I started at the beginning of the year:


June Kaleidoscope Picture: Roses

original photo courtesy of Flickr

Lori, wonderful review of At Home in Mitford. Sounds like one, or rather a series, that I would enjoy. And another stunning kaleidoscope!

Lori- I loved the Mitford series. I laughed and cried through the whole lot.

> 29 - Thanks, Nancy! 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. ;-)

> 30 - Yay for Mitford love! The characters and the situations are just perfect, and even I experienced more than a few laughs and emotional moments reading At Home in Mitford.

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

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



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

Lori, I love the kaleidoscope picture for June - gorgeous! I am adding the Mitford books to my wishlist, after all we all need comfort reads now and again. And you've made Where'd You Go, Bernadette sound like a fun read!

Lori, wonderful review of Bernadette. I didn't enjoy it as much as you but wholly agree it is a perfect mainstream summer read.

> 33 - Thanks Judy! I think you will enjoy the Mitford series of books and Bernadette is a fun read!

> 34 - Hi Nancy. Bernadette was exactly what I was in the mood for this weekend. I also tend to be rather partial to quirky characters and offbeat scenarios, both of which helped fuel my enjoyment of that one!

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

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.

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

”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 housesitting 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

Hi Lori- Great review of Bernadette. I was also a big fan of that one and like you I especially liked the Antarctica sections. Care of Wooden Floors sounds interesting. I have never heard of it or the author.

Hi Mark, Bernadette is a great, fun read! You probably haven't heard of Will Wiles because he is a British author (I think), although his bio states that he was born in India. Care of Wooden Floors is his debut novel.

I doubt I'll read it, but Care of Wooden Floors cracks me up as title....

> 39 - What is so great about the title is that at one point the narrator refers to a how-to manual entitled "Care of Wooden Floors". Even that book was a little "unusual"...... ;-)

Lori, that is wonderful review of Care of Wooden Floors. Hmm, I think I'll forego any housesitting I might have otherwise considered (or not, LOL). I admire you being able to read more than one book at a time. Not something I do well at; I can read one and listen to one, but that's my multi-talent.

I saw Care of Wooden Floors discounted in my local bookshop a while back and nearly bought it (mainly because I liked the title). I wish I had now after reading your review.

Care of Wooden Floors goes on the TBR pile. Lori stop with the book bullets please! LOL!

Now, go add The Song of Achilles to your list. ;)

> 41 - Thanks, Nancy! Sometimes it is easy for me to read more than one book at a time but it helps when they are very different books. I do it more out of convenience - leaving big print books at home and carry the e-books/audiobooks around in my purse - and I find that the e-books are easier reading in bed at night than propping up a print book under the bed lamp.

> 42 - I cannot tell you how many times I have been in the same situation, Rhian. I see a book, think 'naw' and then see a great review for it a few days later on LT and wish I had just gone with my first impulse and bought the darn thing when I could have. You are in good company ;-)

> 43 - Hi Roberta, sorry to impact your TBR pile... I will do what I can to stop the book bullets from flying around. I have placed a hold with the library for a copy of Song of Achilles, you guys have convinced me I won't find it a slog read and that is good enough for me! ;-)

Book #49 - Type by Alicia Hendley



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 Librarything's 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

I love your review of Care of Wooden Floors. It's a great title -- and sounds like a fun read. Still debating whether to put it on the Ever-Expanding List.

42 I, too have had that experience of almost buying a nicely priced book, then seeing a great LT review after passing it up. (And then there are those ones I actually buy, and immediately see bad reviews . . .)

#45 Type sounds like a fun read. Do you know if there is a planned sequel?

> 46 - Thanks Terri! Only put it on the list if you are okay with dark comic tales that involve some carnage, and that is all I am going to say on that topic....;-) As for the book buying and LT reviews, I have done the reverse.... bought a book and then come home to discover that the reviews/ratings on LT make my purchase look suspect.

> 47 - Hi Heidi, I haven't been able to get any indication that there is a planned sequel for Type but I have discovered that Hendley has written a screen play based on the book so maybe a movie is in the works, or has already been made. I will be keeping my eye out for any mention of a sequel.

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

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 (of course!) and I have started reading Angela Carter's short story collection The Bloody Chamber for the sub-group read cammykitty set up.

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. Review is posted below.

Book #50 - Basti by Intizar Husain - translated from the Urdu by Frances Pritchett

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

Lori, am enjoying your review of Type and Basti. When I read this bit from your review of Type, I thought, "Hmm, not a bad idea actually." LOL. 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.

Lori...thanks for your comment on my review of Life after Life.

> 50 - Hi Nancy, can you just imagine a life with no internet access without a special permit? OMG! My hackles get up at the very mention of removing everyone from "the grid". How would we even function.... it boggles the mind, although I have to admit I am trying to remember how I made it through my pre-internet university days. ;-)

> 51 - Great to see you here!

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

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



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

Paranormal romance, that's a new one on me, Lori. As with you and Georgette Heyer over at my place, I will vicariously enjoy : ). Make me smile with university days pre-Internet. God, I remember typing 1,000 papers on an electric typewriter; if I wanted to do any kind of substantial editing post-typing, I'd be retyping, usually several pages. You're right ... couldn't go back now, I'd go crazy!

Hi Lori, great reviews, particularly of Type, Care of Wooden Floors, and Soulless. Hope you're having a great weekend!

I would not say Soulless is typical of paranormal romance, Lori. It's much more clever, for one thing.

Glad you enjoyed Souless, Lori. It's always nice to have a couple of series going that you can turn to for sheer escapism!

> 54 - Hi Nancy, I am probably wrong with calling Soulless a paranormal romance but there is just so much of a romance angle to the story - or I should say heated ritual mating between the two lead characters - that it is hard to figure out what elements of the story take precedence. Oh the good old university days of research papers typed out on typewriters - with no cut and paste or broad sweeping edit functions. I remember my final year - that fun transition time between typewriters and computers with printers - when my printer died and the only way I could turn my paper in by the deadline was to slip a floppy disk with the paper saved to it under my profs door and pray that he was willing to accept it in electronic format and not print form as we were required to submit all papers in in those pre-email and pre-internet days! Luckily, he did accept the paper in electronic format and I did graduate. ;-)

> 55 - Hi Anne, so nice to see you here! I have been lurking over on your thread and catching snippets of everything going on with the Chorale. My weekend has been, for the most part, relaxing so I hope you weekend has been equally lovely.

> 56 - Hi Roni, I am not very good at the genre distinctions so I am very happy to learn Soulless doesn't quite fit the paranormal romance bill... that means I can still say that I have not yet read a paranormal romance. It was rather cleverly written and the characters alone are the reason I will continue with Carriger's rather fun series!

> 57 - Hi Judy, you are so right: It is always nice to have a couple of series to go to when a bit of pure escapism is in order!

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

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



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

Oh, Simon Vance rides again! I adore him and have listened to him read perform all of Trollope's works. And a 5* read, too! Wonderful review of His Majesty's Dragon, Lori.

Can't wait to hear how your dress turned out. One of my favourite summer dresses is also rich nut brown. As to dying fabric, I've had some success stories and some that were not.

The Napoleonic War with dragons?! Lori, the mind boggles. I am unlikely to brave that alternative universe given my terror of SF but I must say your enthusiasm for it is almost dragging me in. Hope your Sunday has gone splendidly.

> 60 - Yes, Simon Vance does ride again, LOL! Happily, he has been very busy narrating books so there is no end to the books I can listen to. If you haven't read Novik's Temeraire series, and if you like a bit of fantasy with your historical fiction reading, this is one I can quite happily recommend! The dye job was a success but I have further plans now... details are below with the update.

> 61 - The Napoleonic War with dragons?! Lori, the mind boggles. Yes Paul, I can see where to concept can be somewhat troubling. if you have a terror of SF this might be a good book to dip into.... there are more than enough standard military strategy and normal human interactions to make the non-SF reader more comfortable with the idea of talking dragons.... did I not mention in my review that they talk? Maybe we should start you off with Westerfeld's Leviathan series instead.... no dragons in that one, but other unusual creatures abound so maybe that isn't a great suggestion either. ;-)

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

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

"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: 3.63
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

very impressed with your weekend craft project...I wouldnt know one end o a needle and thread from another. (not quite true, but my sewing skills are strictly basic)

>49 lkernagh: wow, there cant be that many books in English translated from Urdu, can there? 5/5 for obscurity? ;)

Love how your dress turned out, and I'm way impressed with how much you've been reading lately -- wow!

I love how your dress turned out, too, Lori. Well done : ). Isn't it delightful when a home project turns out so well?

> 64 - Hi Megan, I should stress that my skills at sewing are restricted to minor repairs (reattaching buttons) and sewing straight hems. I think I am on safe ground with the beading but only because I have played around a bit with making necklaces and earrings (although it has been over 4 years now) so if I just treat the beading project as sewing a bunch of buttons on, I should be okay!

As for the Urdo, I think you are right! 5/5 for obscurity sounds good to me! ;-)

> 65 - Thanks Anne, It was a tense couple of hours watching the dress dry and panicking that the dye job might not have taken as well as it did.... the darn fabric always looks so much darker in colour when dripping wet!

> 66 - Thanks Nancy, I would have been one upset individual if the dye project had gone wrong. There is nothing worse then ruining something that would be near to impossible to replace, because my sewing skills are deplorable!

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

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 stories that are fun to read. As you may have already guessed, I am having a lot of fun with my reading this month. ;-)

Book #54 - The Rules of Gentility by Janet Mullany

"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

Hmm, sounds tempting if chancy, but the library doesn't have it and the Kindle is pretty expensive for Kindle. I'll put it on the wishlist and see if it is more available later.

Lori, The Rules of Gentility sounds like one I would really enjoy. Have recently discovered Georgette Heyer and Regency romance. Thanks for the great review and the help with the WL : ). Loved this: Philomena's hormones seem to be a bit on overdrive mode most of the time, LOL.

The Rules of Gentility looks a fun read. Adding it to the wishlist.

Lori, I like the idea of a "Raucous Regency" to spice up my reading life! I still don't know what a paranormal romance is but I think I'll pass on that opportunity if it arises.

I find new styles hard to love or even like, so I appreciate the time spent in recreating a new dress from a comfortable old one. Are you going to do a contrast color for the beadwork? I hope you will model the finished project for us.

"This was fun with a capital "F"

Could there be any higher recommendation? LOVED your comments on The Rules of Gentility.

> 69 - Hi Roni, Sorry to see your library doesn't have a copy of The Rules of Gentility. I am always amazed at the price of e-books compared to printed books so here is hoping it may show up on a discount table or a used bookstore for you.

> 70 - Hi Nancy, I think you would enjoy The Rules of Gentility! Regency novels are a fun bit of fluff and I am enjoying diving back into the genre.

> 71 - Hi Rhian, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

> 72 - Hi Donna, Like you, I am still trying to figure out what a paranormal romance it, since Carriger's Parasol Protectorte series apparently doesn't fit that genre category. Like you, I find it hard to get excited about the new fashions.... most of them just do not seem practical and for summer wear, less and less of them make for a suitable office wardrobe piece. I started the beading the beading of the dress this weekend but need to think about it some more.... don't want to invest too much time and effort only to decide I hate the end result!

> 73 - Hi Anne, it was such a fun story it really does deserve a fun with a capital "F"! ;-)

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

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 an 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

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 Britain 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



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 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 love the dress! How very pretty, and how talented you are!

I had hoped to join the group read of The Bloody Chamber, but my copy, ordered via bookcloseouts.com, did not arrive in a timely manner.

I love the Mitford books. I hope to re read them in 2013.

Intriguing review of The Bloody Chamber, Lori. Well done : ). You and Linda have me interested in the Mitford books. I've added the first to the WL.

Hi Lori, The Bloody Chamber is going on my wishlist. I remember a movie, made in the 1980's called "The Company of Wolves". I don't remember any details but do know that I quite enjoyed it at the time. I just looked it up and Angela Carter was one of the screenwriters so I guess the movie was based on one of the stories from this book.

> 77 - Thanks Linda, one thing I really love about the group reads on LT - since they are in written form - is one can always join the conversation late and still get an meaningful experience out of the group read! As for the Mitford books, they are a treat to read... I am so, so happy I came across them when I did and bought the lot.

> 78 - Hi Nancy, I wasn't sure what to expect with
The Bloody Chamber so while some of the stories were a bit of a shock for me - and I like to think I do not shock easily - the writing was sublime. Oh, you really must give the Mitford books a try.... just don't blame us if the community sucks you in to the point that you don't want to leave it! ;-)

> 79 - Hi Judy, you are correct. There was a movie adaptation of the title story that apparently stared Angela Lansbury. I haven't seen the movie but I want to now!

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

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



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

Book #58 - A Book of Tongues by Gemma Files

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 help me bump up my flagging Penguin category for my 2013 Category Challenge and my somewhat neglected ROOTs challenge.

Popping in to say hello Lori.

Lori - A Book of Tongues looks interesting fayre I must say. Alternative history is something fascinating as the "what-ifs" are plentiful and the potential storylines mindboggling.

Have a lovely weekend.

> 83 - Hi Roberta, great to see you here!

> 84 - Hi Paul, alternate history stories are great for 'what-ifs' and they could keep me reading to the end of time, and still only scratch the surface of what they have to offer! Thank you for the weekend wishes. It is a long weekend here is Canada and the weather is cooperating quite nicely.

Book #59 - Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle



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 chord 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

Lori, you had a great reading month in June! Nice to finish one more just in time for July. Happy Canada Day : ).

Hi Nancy, it has been a rather good reading month! ;-) I hope you have a lovely Canada Day!

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As tomorrow is the start of July, it is time for a July kaleidoscope picture. Continuing the flower of the month theme I started at the beginning of the year:

Happy, happy JULY


June Kaleidoscope Picture: Larkspur

original photo courtesy of Flickr

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As you may already know or have guessed, this is a long weekend in Canada. Monday is the official Canada Day holiday. To all my fellow Canadians,

Just realized I got ahead of myself and forgot to post my half year re-cap.

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

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 is 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:

Happy Canada Day! We decided to visit Canada for our vacation later this month -- I am so excited I almost can't stand it!

Book of Tongues sounds interesting. You are an adventurous reader!

Lori, your July kaleidoscope is so beautiful!

Happy Canada Day, Lori!

I love your half-year recap - I will be sure not to look for any of the bombs. I liked the sound of Mrs Queen Takes The Train further up the thread. That's one I will look for!

Happy Canada Day only one day late! My boss was kept up last night by the fireworks across the bay on Deer Island (in Passamaquoddy Bay, New Brunswick).

Of your top 5 reads from the first half of the year, I also loved His Majesty's Dragon and Ready Player One. I enjoyed reading your summary stats.

Thanks Anne, Susan and Heidi for the the Happy Canada day wishes! We had a great long weekend. Weather was fabulous and a relaxing time was had.

> 90 - Ooohhh, exciting! What part(s) of Canada will you be visiting, Anne? It is the group reads that I keep committing myself to that is expanding my reading horizons and taking me into rather 'experimental' territory!

> 91 - Thanks Diana! I was in the mood for something delicate and lacy looking. ;-)

> 92 - Thanks, Susan! Dodging bombs is sound reasoning... there are just too many good books out there waiting for attention!

93 - Thanks Heidi! Ha, ha, ha.... sorry to learn your boss was kept up late. Maybe they should return the favour on Thursday night.... ;-)

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I have been working on the beading of the dress I dyed last month and I am quite happy with how it is taking shape, after a couple of false starts. I beaded while we watched a Sharpe movie marathon - six back to back episodes of Sharpe and the Napoleonic wars - and this afternoon (I had the day off) I continued beading while listening to the audiobook Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear.

I did manage to read one book over the long weekend and have thrown together a quick summary of my thoughts regarding Sandman Vol. 6: Fables and Reflections. Comments about that book can be found below.

Book #60 - Sandman Vol. 6: Fables and Reflections by Neil Gaiman



In keeping with my non-review format of previous Sandman volumes, here are my rambling thoughts on the various stories contained in this volume.

Fear of Falling - When I saw the atrocious artwork and colour in this first story I cringed, worried that we were back to what I hated most about Vol. 1. Thankfully, that was not to be the case and this was just weird anomaly. *Whew!* Did I pay any attention to the message of this short story, you might ask? Kind of, but that artwork..... talk about a negative distraction!

Three Septembers and a January - Very good story! Have to feel sorry for Dream and the family he has to put up with, but I guess when you are as powerful as they are, you have to find some way to amuse yourself, even if it is at the expense of mortals. I loved the inclusion of Samuel Clements here. Not sure I understand our negotiator, the King of Pain, and his story but it did start me humming the song by The Police with that same name. ;-)

Thermidor - A nice, dark tale set against the gruesome backdrop of the French Revolution. Thomas Paine in prison.... interesting. Of course, it drives me nuts that we have no idea what Dream will pay Lady Johanna Constantine to be his mortal agent for this task. I want details, Neil, details!

The Hunt - Not really taken with this story, although I do like the touch of grandpa spinning his grand-daughter a tale from the old country. The artwork took a bit of a down turn with this one as well. The only redeeming bit about this otherwise ho-hum story for me was the 'thin man' who kept trying to purchase a book from our young peddler.... I thought he looked familiar! Dream's appearance in this one was a brilliant fun entrance, IMO. Interesting title of the book in question, considering the library it is supposed to reside in is a library of works never completed. Makes me want to read the one that was completed and published, even if it is a play. I have never really understood the Baba Yaga story but I think I get the just of it from this one. Nice surprise ending. I didn't see that coming, even though I should have.

August - An okay tale with some surprising bits. My classical understanding is pretty weak so I just took the story at its face value as more in keeping with more traditional story telling. I do like the artwork in August, all the attention to detail that is displayed.

Soft Places - This one didn't work for me as much as I had hoped it would, even with the appearance of Fiddler's Green. Got to love a guy that can pull literally 'anything' out from inside his coat, including cheese and pickle sandwiches *Eeew, not for me, Thanks!*.

Orpheus - Again, took this story pretty much at its face value and its tough love message by Dream. Love Death's 'home' with its more sedate, 1980's feel to it. Trip to the underworld not quite what I was expecting. Chapter Four was just grisly and I am not sure what I think about that Epilogue.

The Parliament of Rooks - Back on more familiar ground now, it was great to read a story with Gregory, Goldie, Matthew, Cain and Abel all in it. Tea time and storytelling, Neil Gaiman style.... what an experience! A fun and different kind of story but nothing brilliant or stunning about it.

Ramadan - I wanted to love this story like I love Dream's magical cloak in it, but beyond the 1001 Arabian Nights look and feel, it ended up being just a good read for me. I did enjoy the bright, colourful artwork in this one and the ending was a nice touch.

Overall, I did enjoy Gaiman's spin on some of the fables and the reflections, in keeping with the title of this volume, that occur between the pages of this one.

Decimal Rating: 4.19
4.50 - Plot Development
3.75 - Character Development
4.25 - Writing Style
4.25 - Readability
4.75 - Premise
4.25 - Imagery/Visualization
3.75 - Artistry (GN) / Narration (Audio)
3.75 - Originality
4.50 - Length

Star Rating: 4.00 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: Trade Paperback
# of Pages: 264 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Male

Delighted to see Lonesome Dove and The Count of Monte Cristo on your top 5 reads, Lori : ). Love the idea of posting a favourite cover, too.

I really liked The Parliament of Rooks and Ramadan best. I liked The Hunt but it just seemed odd to be included. I finished Brief Lives. Me thinks big things are in store or Morpheus. :)

Hi Lori! Love you dress project! How's the beading coming along?

Hi, Lori! Beautiful July Kaleidoscope Picture. And I like your choice of favorite cover for the first half, too!

It looks like I have been busy neglecting my own thread! Oops!

> 96 - Hi Nancy! Yup, those two were fantastic reads for me! I am a big fan of cover art and a lot of my reading is determined by cover art because it is the art that usually gets me to check out the story premise. I am always fascinated when a book has cover art that does not strike me as being consistent with the overall atmosphere / feel of the story.

> 97 - Hi Roberta! I love how Gaiman's stories attract different readers in different way. I need to get cracking on the next Sandman volume but it probably won't be until we are into August. I have line up too many books for my July reading already. ;-)

> 98 - Chelle, great to see you making the LT rounds! I finished the dress project Friday evening. The beading took a week to do but I am very happy with the end result! Pictures below.

> 99 - Thanks Terri! That interesting cover got me to read something that is outside of my usual reading comfort zone. I really like the smoky title!

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Weekend Craft Project (Update): Time for an update on this project. I have now finished beading the dress I successfully dyed a couple of weeks back. Overall, I am very happy with the end result! Here are some "Before" and "After" shots - sorry the pictures aren't the best, I used my iPod to take the pictures because I was too lazy to hunt down my camera when I took the "Before" pictures and figured I might as well stay with the same camera for the "After" pictures.

The dress:



Neckline beading detail:



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On the reading front, I have finished listening to the audiobook Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear and pretty much flew through Changeless by Gail Carriger. Reviews coming!

Book #61 - Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear - audiobook narrated by Rita Barrington

At first glance, Maisie Dobbs's inaugural case as a private investigator looks dreadfully routine: Christopher Davenham, whose wife has been making unexplained weekday excursions from their London home, has employed Maisie to discover whether he is being betrayed. However, Maisie recalls the advice of her enigmatic mentor, Maurice Blanche, that "the extraordinary hides behind the camouflage of the ordinary." Events prove Maurice correct, as the trail of Davenham's wife leads Maisie to a mysterious, carefully guarded home for disabled World War I veterans—and toward a painful confrontation with her own haunting past.

As far as mysteries go, this one is a slightly different breed of character. We start off with an interesting premise: A single woman setting up a private investigator business on her own in 1920's London, England. Granted, she has been mentored into the profession and has a well connected 'supporter' who seamlessly manages to send clients Maisie's way as well as any material support she may require. The story develops in a nice, even-keeled approach, taking time to acclimatize the reader to the setting as characters are introduced and the plot develops, with all the makings of a charming historical fiction piece.

As I was settling into the mystery, Winspear decide to shelve the mystery, just as it was getting good, to delve into Maisie Dobbs' personal background in extensive detail, resulting in a story that is a disjointed composite mystery/ historical fiction. As much as I enjoyed Winspear's re-creation of a turbulent era fraught by war, spending more than half of the book - or at least that is what it seemed like to me - focusing on Maisies' background and character development outside of the mystery, was rather jarring, especially as Winspear does eventually go back to the mystery. I am not a fan of these types of overly long digressions, even if they do provide background support for part of the mystery. I am also not a fan of the method of disclosing some of the pertinent information at the end of the mystery, as an after the fact drawing room discussion.

Overall, Winspear has created an interesting character in Maisie Dobbs and she does present a strength for writing solid historical fiction pieces with comfortable characters and an easy flowing plot, but I found the mystery element to be weak and pretty much devoid of any level of suspense. I will continue with the series, mainly because I found it very easy to listen to while working on a craft project.

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

Star Rating: 3.50 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: Downloadable audiobook
# of Pages: 320 pages (10 hours, 1 minute listening time)
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Female

Book #62 - Changeless by Gail Carriger



Picking up a numer of months after book one in the series, Soulless, left off, we find good old feisty Alexia once again involved in a case of supernatural wierdness. This time, through unknown means, the supernatural of London are suddenly stripped of their 'supernaturalness' - vampires and werewolves find themselves trapped in their human forms and the ghostly elements of the affected region of London have 'disappeared'. When Lord Maccon takes off to Scotland on sudden urgent business, Alexia decides to involve herself in investigating the matter.

Happily, this story continues to showcase the entertaining cast of characters I enjoyed from book one: Alexia's love interest Lord Maccon Earl of Woolsey, the intelligent and dependable Professor Lyall, the ever delightful Lord Akeldama and Alexia's rather vacant and not overly observant friend Ivy. Armed with a new parasol filled with 007-style gadgetry, traveling by dirigible and communicating across distances using an aethographic transmitter, book two in Carriger's Parasol Protectorate continues to amuse me. Not as good as book one - this one has some slow bits that made the story drag, the mystery really wasn't much of a mystery, I still had troubles visualizing the aethographic transmitter (even with all the description provided) and yes, some of the dialogue and antics were just roll the eyes 'over the top' silliness - but it was a fun story to unwind with.

Sadly, I forgot to heed the warnings mentioned here on LT about the cliffhanger ending, so I don't have book three, Blameless readily at hand to continue reading. Because I like to start a series long after the first couple of books have been published imagine my shock and horror when I discovered that my local library has Blameless On Order!..... Ack!...... Not happy about that! *Whimpers*.... *Grumbles* Looks like I will be taking a break from this series after all, which is probably for the best since I do have other books that I really should be getting to. *Pouts*

Overall, another entertaining romp through Carriger's alternate history Victorian England and a good bit of fun escapism reading. My advice: Heed the warnings about the cliff hanger and plan your reading accordingly.

Decimal Rating: 3.31
2.75 - Plot Development
3.25 - Character Development
3.25 - Writing Style
3.50 - Readability
3.50 - Premise
3.25 - Imagery/Visualization
N/A - Artistry (GN) / Narration (Audio)
3.75 - Originality
3.25 - Length

Star Rating: 3.50 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: e-book
# of Pages: 400 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Female

Next Up: The River of No Return by Bee Ridgway as my 'read at home' book and Nine Coaches Waiting by Mary Stewart as my purse read. Also, I have started reading Andrew Lang's version of The Arabian Nights as my bedtime reading.
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Lori, wonderful reviews of audiobooks Maisie Dobbs and Soulless. The first has a very interesting premise, a woman setting up at PI in 1920s London.

Your dress turned out beautifully. SO impressed with your beading ability!

Loved how the dress turned out Lori.

I am glad you gave fair warning about Changeless. I just asked Tina if Soulless was a series because I couldn't remember. Now I know. These sound like nice "in betweeners".

The dress looks great, Lori!

Thanks Nancy, Roberta and Katie, I am really happy with how the dress turned out.

> 103 - Thanks, Nancy! I seem to be more fixated on fun reads right now... probably another sure sign that summer is here. ;-)

> 104 - I am still kicking myself for not paying attention to the advice on LT about Changeless....I should know better by now. Carriger's books are the perfect 'in betweeners'. Just really fun bit of fluff reading for alternate history / mystery fans.

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Forgot to report my latest book acquisition:


Mechanique by Genevieve Valentine. I have read two great reviews for this one over on the 2013 category challenge and was surprised to find a copy in my favorite used bookstore on Friday during my lunch break.

I am totally impressed with your craft skills. That is a lovely dress--Now we need a pic of you in the dress!

Lori, the dress is gorgeous, and very summery. I love the beading too. I've never tried it on a real live garment (as it were), just cards.

I’m too far behind on all the threads to do any of them justice so I’m mostly skimming through with aspirations to catch up and keep up. I paused enough to read your reviews of Ready Player One and Mr Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore; your reaction was similar to mine. Love your kaleidoscope theme, and I especially love the July installment!

> 107 - Thanks, Rhonda! To be honest, I was more or less beading in line with the lace design so the only creative part really was choosing the beads to use and making sure it made an appealing design. Duly making note of the photo request but not promising anything..... you may have noticed I prefer posting my 'avatar' as opposed to posting a pic of myself. Still, you never know..... ;-)

> 108 - Thanks, Susan! Interesting about beading cards, I have never tried that. Very curious to learn more about how that is done!

> 109 - Hi Katherine, so nice to see you here! I have found that even a short time away from Lt cam place one really behind in following the thread activity. As for the July kaleidoscope pic, it is my favorite so far, too. I was really surprised how well the lacy design appears to float above the white background.

Maybe we should ask for library thing for avatars, to go with out threads. That would be fun.

Looks like the dress really turned out well, Lori. And Changeless is the weakest of the five Parasol Protectorate books, imho. Too bad your library doesn't have the next one, though.

> 111 - Avatars attached to our screen names would be fun, Rhonda!

> 113 - Thanks, Roni! I ventured into some used book stores today during my lunch hour and was surprised that neither of them had any Carriger books.... the hunt continues! :-)

Lori, I'm so impressed with your dress -- nice job!

We are going to Quebec City and Montreal, two places I've always wanted to go. I can't wait!

I like the idea of avators, too! How fun : ).

Lori, I love the bead work you did on your dress. Such a creative way to make something old new again!

I spent the weekend up in Saint John, NB for our anniversary. Stayed at the lovely Hilton on the bay and stared at the Carnival Glory out the window. We loved strolling around listening to the live music and trying different patio bars and such. Its the first time I've ever experienced New Brunswick as a "foreign country"! Living on the border, you kind of forget that we are separate countries!

> 114 - Thanks, Anne! Quebec City AND Montreal.... sooooo jealous..... they are both beautiful cities to visit!

> 115 - ;-)

> 116 - Thanks, Heidi! Sounds like you had a lovely weekend in Saint John's. I agree with you, sometimes one can forget that Canada and the US are separate countries, that is what makes travel so much fun.... going to experience the differences in person. ;-)

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Reading Update:
With three books actively on the go right now - Arabian Nights, Nine Coaches Waiting and The River of No Return, I won't have another book finished until some time this weekend.

Loving Arabian Nights and wondering why I have never read it before now.

Nine Coaches Waiting is drawing me in at a steady pace that I like and doesn't feel as dated as I thought it would.

The River of No Return is proving to be a bit of a slog for me and I am hoping the story manages to pick up the pace as I continue reading, I am but a little concerned it might not considering I have already read 162 pages in this 452 page book.

Lori, I was impressed with your half-year reading recap and the beadwork on your "new" dress. I can see that you are a detail person! That's why I love your reviews so much. Your ratings are precise and your comments are pertinent.

Lori, I agree about Nine Coaches Waiting. I thought it would feel very dated, but it doesn't.

Lovely dress!
I really like big pleats at the moment. My sisters wedding dress (8 years ago now) was a drop-waisted box-pleated dress. I loved it.

Love the dress -- nice work!

> 118 - Thanks, Donna! I can be a bit fussy on the details... kind of OCD... but it is always with the hopes of a polished, finished product in mind. As for the beading, that takes me back to my mom and grandma teaching me needlepoint as a young girl and how important it is to pay attention to detail as you work, or chances are you will end up taking the work apart to fix something!

> 119 - Hi, Katie, Nine Coaches Waiting was a better read than I was expecting and I enjoyed your comments over in the group read! I need to see track down more of Mary Stewart's romantic suspense stories. They are just the perfect summertime read!

> 120 - Thanks, Megan! I like big pleats too.... they give the skirt a nice fullness to is (and have the added bonus of focusing the attention on my slimmer waist and away from my rather generous hips!) ;-p

> 121 - Thanks, Terri!

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I hope everyone has had an enjoyable weekend. July has been perfect weather wise in this part of the world so a lot of outdoor activities have been on the agenda lately. This weekend was also spent tackling a long over due computer project: getting my Windows based computer to work properly with iTunes and sync with my iPod touch. For the past year, I have been using our laptop to manage any file transfers between the computer and the iPod, but I have been pestering my other half that we really need to get the software working properly on my computer so that I am not stranded when he needs to travel with the laptop. My iPod is wi-fi and while I can download e-books directly to it, audiobooks need to be downloaded to a computer and then transferred over. Saturday night we were finally able to figure out that our firewall doesn't like the apple stuff and refuses to 'see' it. Well, I was so excited that we were able to figure this out that I spend about 4 hours on Sunday cleaning my computer, deleting old files I no longer wanted or needed and then backed up all my keeper files to a memory stick - something I have been putting off for about a year now. Everything works perfectly now and if the computer were to crash tomorrow, I don't care because everything is safely backed up. That was my 'productive' weekend.

Oh, I did manage to finish two more books.... reviews below.

Book #63 - The River of No Return by Bee Ridgway

“You are now a member of the Guild. There is no return.” Two hundred years after he was about to die on a Napoleonic battlefield, Nick Falcott, soldier and aristocrat, wakes up in a hospital bed in modern London. The Guild, an entity that controls time travel, showers him with life's advantages. But Nick yearns for home and for one brown-eyed girl, lost now down the centuries. Then the Guild asks him to break its own rule. It needs Nick to go back to 1815 to fight the Guild’s enemies and to find something called the Talisman.

In 1815, Julia Percy mourns the death of her beloved grandfather, an earl who could play with time. On his deathbed he whispers in her ear: “Pretend!” Pretend what? When Nick returns home as if from the dead, older than he should be and battle scarred, Julia begins to suspect that her very life depends upon the secrets Grandfather never told her. Soon enough Julia and Nick are caught up in an adventure that stretches up and down the river of time. As their knowledge of the Guild and their feelings for each other grow, the fate of the future itself is hanging in the balance.

Published in 2013, I really liked the premise for Ridgway's debut novel. Sadly, it failed horribly for me in the delivery. While I can appreciate that one needs to set the stage for the reader and provide background on the characters, I don't think it needs to be repeated on a regular basis throughout the story. The plot took forever to build - I was past the 300 page mark before the story started to move beyond setting the stage - but sadly it kept stalling on the repeated information or other annoying digressions. If I had to read one more time about the Talisman, I think I would have screamed. Detailed descriptions can be a great asset to a story, when executed without an excess of descriptive words. Sadly, Ridgway seems to be of the school of thought of "Why use just one well chosen word or phrase when a string of descriptive words can be used?" Example:

"The sound of their laughter was like a tune he had once loved but had forgotten. The weight of an arm over his shoulder, the gentle humor of a lewd joke, the good wishes passed on from someone who couldn't be there. The smells soothed: beeswax, tobacco, leather, booze, musk, and cologne. The sounds delighted: bass, baritone, and tenor voices; glasses clinking, cards shuffling; dice clicking, fire cracking. This was the very perfection of good living, good drinking, good feeling."

While I expected Nick to be a bit adrift after 10 years spend in the 21st century, having adopting modern day slang and social customs, I really didn't need to see the actual 19th century characters only making token observances of social customs and graces of 1815 England.

I am probably being a bit harsh in my review of this one. The premise holds promise of an entertaining tale and I did like the references of time travel being akin to traveling the ebbs and flows of a river:

"This River of Time. It seems to flow in one direction, steadily, inexorably. But there are countercurrents and eddies. Ultimately, and in the big picture, it doesn't matter; the river flows to the sea. Those who know the river, and who use it, know that it moves in complex ways, ways that we can use and even change. Our very bodies swimming in the river alter its flow. But we cannot change it for long, and we cannot change the ultimate truth: The river will run to the sea."

I also liked the idea of a future period, "the Pale", the time travellers are unable to travel forward to. "Mr. Mibbs" really had the potential to drive the story at a sweeping pace and I wish Ridgway had made better use of this fascinating, mysterious character. All my perseverance in reading this one finally paid off around the 400 page mark when the real action begins and the story finally starts to feel like a true Regency adventure. Why Ridgway wrote such a dull, anticlimactic ending I will never know. *sighs*

This story could have been a fantastic read if the editors had take a firm hand, cut some 200 pages of text and tightened up the storyline. One can only hope that if Ridgway writes another story, the editors take a firmer hand in the creation of the finished product. Others may find this one an enjoyable story to read, I just got frustrated with it.

Decimal Rating: 2.78
2.50 - Plot Development
2.75 - Character Development
3.00 - Writing Style
3.50 - Readability
3.25 - Premise
3.00 - Imagery/Visualization
N/A - Artistry (GN) / Narration (Audio)
3.25 - Originality
1.00 - Length

Star Rating: 3.00 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: Hard cover
# of Pages: 464 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Female

Book #64 - Nine Coaches Waiting by Mary Stewart

When lovely Linda Martin first arrives at Château Valmy as an English governess to the nine-year-old Count Philippe de Valmy, the opulence and history surrounding her seems like a wondrous, ecstatic dream. But a palpable terror is crouching in the shadows. Philippe's uncle, Leon de Valmy, is the epitome of charm, yet dynamic and arrogant—his paralysis little hindrance as he moves noiselessly in his wheelchair from room to room. Only his son Raoul, a handsome, sardonic man who drives himself and his car with equally reckless abandon, seems able to stand up to him. To Linda, Raoul is an enigma—though irresistibly attracted to him, she senses some dark twist in his nature. When an accident deep in the woods nearly kills Linda's innocent charge, she begins to wonder if someone has deadly plans for the young count.

I read this one as part of a group read. Billed as being a suspense, Gothic Romance, this story took me back to the guilty pleasure reading of my teenage years of reading Phyllis A. Whitney and to a lesser extent (and minus the gothic elements), M.M. Kaye: A story with a feisty, young heroine; a rich, titled family with a past; a beautiful estate (or in this case, the Château Valmy, the family home for a number of generations); gossipy villagers, a remote location; a sinister mystery brewing and of course, a romantic interest for our young heroine. I am new to Mary Stewart's works and I really like how she is able to build the suspense and never let it drop, carrying on to the very last page. I also like how this story, first published in 1958, does not feel dated in any way. It is atmospherically Gothic. Even Château Valmy is showing its age and lack of resources to maintain the beautiful home. The hallways seem to echo with secrets. I also loved how every room seems to have a fireplace, with a warm fire in the evenings to try and hold back the chill of the night air and the chilly feelings of the story. Of course, what I really like about this story is how Stewart is able to build the romance part of the story without having the characters act overly sappy or have the romance take over the plot. The romance stays in the wings, coming out when required but never upstaging the suspenseful mystery, the true star of the story. Given the 1950's publication date of the story, the male leads aren't perfect, but they are in keeping with the story and the hero image of the time period.

I like how this book is showing on Amazon as a 'Rediscovered classics'. ;-) Overall, this was the perfect summer read for me with a great plot, solid character development and a steady building suspense that kept me reading. I will be keeping an eye out for more Mary Stewart books to enjoy.

Decimal Rating: 4.19
4.50 - Plot Development
4.00 - Character Development
4.00 - Writing Style
4.50 - Readability
4.50 - Premise
4.25 - Imagery/Visualization
N/A - Artistry (GN) / Narration (Audio)
3.50 - Originality
4.25 - Length

Star Rating: 4.00 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: Paperback
# of Pages: 317 pages
Source: My Library
Male/Female Author: Female

Hi Lori!

So many freakishly exciting reviews since my last visit! I don't know where to begin.

#76 - I'm not sure I'll start with this one (but I'm encouraged by your positive review), but I really want to read Angela Carter one of these days - probably Nights at the Circus.

#86 - I read Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha a long time ago, but I believe I had a similar reaction - a lovely, touching story, but I'm not sure that I saw it as Booker prize-winning material. Oh well.

Excellent reviews, as always, Lori. Sorry that The River of No Return was a disappointment, but it sounds like Nine Coaches Waiting made up for it : ). Hope you can get your computer working seamlessly with iTunes; technical glitches are such a pain, groan.

The dress turned out great! Good job!

> 125 - Hi, Kerri, sorry to hit you with so much since your last visit! Probably best to start with another of Carter's works. I read The Bloody Chamber because of a group read that was originally planned and because it was a perfect fit for my Fables and Fairy Tales category over on the 2013 challenge. I had seen so many negative comments about Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha that I was a little nervous about reading it but it was sitting on my TBR bookcase and books that collect dust unread are no better than other 'dust collectors'. ;-)

> 126 - Thanks, Nancy! Duds happen but it is annoying when they are rather long books, as well. Nine Coaches Waiting did pick up the slack left behind by The River of No Return and is a book that I can happily recommend. Computer is good and behaving as it should.... I always laugh to think that technology always works smoothly when your files are safely backed up!

> 127 - Thanks, Chelle! Next up is probably another beading project but I need to think about it some more first.

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Currently Reading:

Andrew Lang's version of The Arabian Nights
Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

Adorable dress.

I'm looking forward to hearing what you think of Arabian Nights and Life after Life. I read the Burton version of Arabian Nights and it took me two years. Most people adored Life after Life but I was just meh.

You've done some great reading, Lori. I'll add Nine Coaches Waiting to my WL. It looks like a great summer-read or if I don't get to it in time, an even greater chilly autumn-evening-read.
I have read book 2 & 3 in the Maisie Dobbs-series and I loved it. I think you'll appreciate these next in series more because the introduction which bothered you in the first book is over and done with. I found Maisie Dobbs very refreshing.

> 129 - Thanks, Morphy! I promise to report back on both books, although I will probably be reporting on Life After Life first. So far, I am leaning towards the "love it" category of readers but I am still under halfway through it so that can change.

> 130 - Thanks, Monica! Nine Coaches Waiting is great for summer or like you say, a chilly autumn read! I am hoping to get to book two in the Maisie Dobbs series soon. My only concern is that I listened to the first book as an audiobook and I noticed that the audiobook for book two in the series I downloaded from the library has a different narrator. Not sure how that will work as I seem to be a bit of a stickler for having the same narrator through the series but I am game to give it a go. If that doesn't work out, I can always resort to 'reading' the book. ;-)

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

I have been doing some reading that I won't be adding to this challenge. I have been following for some time the Apple e-book lawsuit in the US around price fixing. Last week the judge found Apple guilty of colluding with five of the big six major book publishers in a scheme designed to inflate prices of e-books.

For anyone who finds this type of reading interesting, or if you are interested in the timeline of events, the judicial opinion can be accessed here: http://sdnyblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/12-Civ.-02826-US-v.-Apple-Opinion...

I should mention that the 160 page judicial opinion reads like a great non-fiction read that goes into some detail about the development of e-book readers, Amazon and the e-book market in general, compared with more traditional paper publishing. It is not some dry legal opinion. I am currently at page 72 and really drop jaw stunned at what the publishers and Apple thought they could get away with. Gripping, page turning stuff!

Wow, I've never read an opinion before. That was fascinating.

I should take a look at that when I find time. Thanks for the link! I'll bookmark it.

Great reviews! About The River of No Return -- Don't you hate it when a book with a really great premise fails to deliver?

BTW, congrats on getting your computer program stuff sorted out. That kind of stuff can be such a pain! I never was able to get my mp3 player to work with my current computer for music transfer. (It worked OK with Overdrive for audios most of the time.) Of course, now I've lost the darn thing (the mp3, not the computer) so it doesn't matter.

Happy Sunday everyone! Summer weather continues here on the west coast, and I feel for everyone that is experiencing extreme weather (heat, rain, etc). I have started a new beading project - this time a necklace and earring set - that is occupying some of my time when I am not outdoors. Reading continues but at a slower pace than usual.

> 132 - Hi Morphy, I have to admit I expected the opinion to be drier reading than it was. It scares me to think about how many businesses engage in this type of business controlling every day.

> 133 - Hi Terri, I do hate it when a book fails to deliver on its premise. Thanks. It is such a hassle and a headache trying to get devices to work together I have already informed my other half that we will "not" be updating the Microsoft software on my computer anytime soon. I have visions of loading a newer version of Windows and being back to having devices not working together! I was hoping you had found your missing mp3 player, but it sounds like it is still 'lost'. ;-(

Book #65 - Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

'What if we had a chance to do it again and again,' Teddy said, 'until we finally did get it right? Wouldn't that be wonderful?'

The above quote pretty much sums up the premise of this story for me. Not sure about the wonderful part, but definitely the chance to do it again and again. Beautifully, evocatively written, Atkinson takes the reader on a journey through multiple time periods and alternate timelines, following the life (and possible alternate timeline lives) of Ursula Todd. From her snowy winter day birth in 1910, through two world wars and into the 1960's,the reader embarks on a rather haphazard journey told through the voice of a rather unreliable narrator. The reader is left questioning what is fact and what is fiction, what is real and what is dream. The quest itself is undefined, beyond the quote posted above. The journey is one of harrowing beauty, filled with characters that seem to represent a cross section of individuals of the time period. Atkinson leaves no stone unturned as she makes use of fine details - a dog cowering in a doorway, a dress blowing in the breeze, a walk to the railway station, a baby born - to connect otherwise unconnected stories together, creating possibilities out of thin air.

Some have seen this as a book about reincarnation, but I don't see that. The traveling soul in question in this story does not begin a new life in a new body. While Ursula possesses the sixth sense of experiencing 'deja vu' it is more a story of 'what ifs' - how much does /can one's life change as an outcome of an event? - than reincarnation. Atkinson's story presents an interesting picture examination of what might occur if an event or events occur differently. It also raised the important point that some events seem destined to occur, regardless of what path brought you to it.

Overall, a truly wonderful read, for the war experience perspectives if anything but a bit long-winded for me.

Decimal Rating: 4.31
4.00 - Plot Development
5.00 - Character Development
4.25 - Writing Style
4.25 - Readability
4.50 - Premise
4.75 - Imagery/Visualization
N/A - Artistry (GN) / Narration (Audio)
4.25 - Originality
3.50 - Length

Star Rating: 4.50 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: e-book
# of Pages: 544 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Female

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Next Up: UTU by Caryl Ferey, and continuing to read (and enjoy) Andrew Lang's version of Arabian Nights.

Book #66 - UTU by Caryl Férey - translated from the French by Howard Curtis

'Paul Osbourne is spiraling out of control. Full of drugs and booze and self-hate, he has washed up in Sydney, where he has a walk-up in Kings Cross, a bad case of sunstroke, and an even worse reputation at the local bars. But now his former boss from the Auckland City Police Department has tracked him down and wants Osbourne back on the job. Jack Fitzgerald, a former colleague and Osbourne's only real friend on the force, has committed suicide in the middle of an important investigation. And despite his current state, Paul Osbourne, once a tenacious detective, is the only one qualified to take over the investigation.

An expert in Maori culture, Osbourne retraces his dead friend's steps into a world of occult mystery, tribal discontent, billion-dollar backroom deals, and political corruption in a search for the truth about Jack Fitzgerald."

Billed by the publishers as part of their "World Noir" category of books, I found myself drawn into the dark, gritty, unflinching story. Osbourne is anything but likeable as a character. He is rude, obnoxious and travels with an overnight bag filled with drug paraphernalia - speed, opium, grass, cocaine, acid, PCP, amphetamines, morphine, ecstasy and even some heroin - not clothing and toiletries like a 'normal' human being. Osbourne also suffers from periods of blackouts - probably caused by the ongoing chemical cocktail he subjects his body to - which makes discovering what is going on even trickier, when Osbourne comes to in settings that would disconcert if not totally freak out most people. The story is somewhat sparse on scenery descriptions, but more than makes up for it by carrying and maintaining an overpowering feeling of negative emotions. Dark, troubling emotions. Nasty emotions. The plot is well managed and I really appreciated how Osbourne would, from time to time, tally all of the evidence like a checklist, to see what was missing or what didn't add up. That helped me as much as it helped him! The reason I read this one was for the Maori angle of the story. The explanations of Maori culture, and the reason behind the choice of "Utu", a Maori term for revenge, as the title gives this otherwise run of the mill Noir crime story a different angle for me to appreciate the story from. Some of the Maori language used through out the story left me a little confused (not all was translated for the reader) but that wasn't a hindrance to following the story.

I should probably mention that according to LT, UTU is book two in the Jack Fitzgerald series, book one being Haka. I have not been able to find Haka translated into the English language anywhere, but I think it is safe to say that the two books are probably only connected by the New Zealand Noir crime setting and reference to the character Jack Fitzgerald.... kind of hard to have a two book series if your main character is dead before book two even starts.

Overall, a solid read that I flew through, considering the page count, and will be on the lookout for more English translations of Férey's works.

Decimal Rating: 3.72
4.50 - Plot Development
4.00 - Character Development
3.50 - Writing Style
3.50 - Readability
3.75 - Premise
3.00 - Imagery/Visualization
N/A - Artistry (GN) / Narration (Audio)
3.50 - Originality
4.00 - Length

Star Rating: 3.50 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: Trade paperback
# of Pages: 416 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Male

Wow, that one sounds interesting.

HI Lori,
I am still slowly catching up with quite a few people, but I am starting to get there. Just wondered what happened to your seed trays as they didn't get mentioned anymore?

Loved the photos of the Highland Games and from the ship. When I was in Scotland several years back they showed like a small version of these games in Edinburgh. I pretty much enjoyed that and just thought "How cool is that".

And I just love your kaleidoscope pics, also it sounds far to complicated to me to actually create them myself. I especially liked your July one.

Hooray for finishing The Count of Monte Cristo and liking it. I think I mentioned it before that it used to be one of my fave books. I even prefered this one to The Three Musketeers.

The Anatomist Apprentice and Utu are gone onto my wishlist and I agree with you that Simon Vance is a fantastic narrator. When I see a book is narrated by him I usually don't have any worries.

When I get back to Germany at the end of August, I probably will carry on with the Sandman series as well. I used to read them when they came out initially and just started to reread them. However, I only completed Volume I so far.

Soulless and Life after Life are on my TBR.

And least not last - "Hat off" for such a fab crafting project. I think the way you re-vamped your dress was brilliant, especially the delicate bead work. That must have taken ages. I always think that projects like that are soo much fun.

Since I am on the medication for my liver, my joint pain has tremendously improved and I have been able to get back into knitting. I just finished a very fine lace shawl (which I started already last year) for my mom. The measurements are 60 cm x 200 cm as my mom is very tall.

OK :) novella finished. I wish you a great weekend Lori!

Lori - Another unearthing of a book I hadn't previously heard of in UTU. Great review and I will certainly seek it out based on your opinion of it.

Have a lovely Sunday.

> 137 - Hi Terri, UTU was a surprisingly good read for me! The whole crime and corruption angle was well managed and more than a few surprises surfaced as the book progress.... it is well worth the read if you can track down a copy.

> 138 - Hi Bianca, it is so great to 'see' you here! I would love to see a picture of shawl you have finished. If you have posted a picture of it over on your thread, I will bounce over to see it.

Let see, my seed project was a no starter. Apparently I can grow soil but not any seeds planted in the soil. ;-) I did chat about my lack of success with the kit with my supervisor and she had tried one of those packaged starter kits last year and had the same outcome I did.... nothing grew. I will admit that I had my doubts when I first opened the kit and discovered that the 'soil' was a dehydrated disc the size of a medallion that would expand as water was slowly added to it. I think next spring we will attempt a proper herb garden with real soil and start it with seedlings already sprouted.

Next year I am planning on re-reading The Three Musketeers and then continuing on with the rest of the books in the D'Artagnan Romances. That is the plan anyways! ;-)

Yup, Simon Vance is a fantastic narrator. I was surprised to discover the wide range of books that he has narrated - both fiction and non-fiction audiobooks on a range of topics are available from my local library!

> 139 - Hi Paul, I do think you would enjoy UTU. I hope your Sunday - and your weekend in general - has also been lovely.

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I am still enjoying this lovely summer we are having in my part of the world. I hope everyone else is having beautiful weather and has been out and about enjoying summer.

On the reading front, I finished Letters from Skye earlier this week and can highly recommend it for anyone that likes a good war-time romance story with a lot of heart, feeling and turbulence. Review posted below. Currently enjoying Frederica by Georgette Heyer, another fun bit of fluff summer reading and the last book in my books from my local library pile. I should be finished this one later today and then it will be two months of only reading books off my TBR bookcase.

Book #67 - Letters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole



Two generations of Dunn women. Two world wars. A secret. A family torn apart.

June, 1940. When Margaret's mother Elspeth disappears without warning from their Edinburgh apartment following an air raid that rocked their neighborhood and revealed a cache of letters Elspeth had hidden in the wall, Margaret's only clue to Elspeth's possible whereabouts is a single letter from that cache of hidden letters. A letter dated October 31, 1915 from an American named Davey to a girl named "Sue". Margaret has no idea who "Sue" is or where her mother has gone to but she is determined to learn what she can of this secret her mother has kept from her for all these years.

Focusing on the letters between Elspeth, a young married poet living in a crofters cottage on the Isle of Skye, and David Graham, a young American who first writes to Elspeth a fan letter after reading a slim volume of her published poems, this story was a treat to read. If you are like me and love to be swept along by a war-time love story, Brockmole's debut novel is one of captivating beauty and poignancy. For me, it's as though Brockmole channeled the sparkling epistolary style of Helene Hanff (think 84, Charing Cross Road) and the poignant lyrical story-telling of Helen Humphreys (think Coventry or The Lost Garden) and in the process has produced her own page turning war-time love story. Some may compare this to The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - a story I read when it came out back in 2008 - but I think Letters from Skye is the stronger story of the two and, for me anyways, it will stay with me far longer than Guernsey did.

This is a tough one to write a review for without giving away any of the story that is to unfold so I won't bother to say anything more than that the characters are well drawn with realistic hopes, dreams and fears and that Brockmole has done a great job in capturing the emotional strength a letter can convey from sender to recipient.

Well worth reading and a perfect summer read, IMO!

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

Star Rating: 4.00 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: Hard cover
# of Pages: 304 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Female

I saw Letters from Skye recently, on NetGalley, I think. I almost requested it. Maybe I should check to see if it is still available.

> 142 - Hi Lori, if NetGalley still has Letters from Skye on offer - I think I also saw it there - I would recommend getting it. It is a very good story! I was able to be among the first in the hold queue with my local library for the copy I read.

Book #68 - Frederica by Georgette Heyer

When Frederica brings her younger siblings to London determined to secure a brilliant marriage for her beautiful sister, she seeks out their distant cousin the Marquis of Alverstoke. Lovely, competent, and refreshingly straightforward, Frederica makes such a strong impression that to his own amazement, the Marquis agrees to help launch them all into society. Normally wary of his family, which includes two overbearing sisters and innumerable favor-seekers, Lord Alverstoke does his best to keep his distance. But with his enterprising - and altogether entertaining - country cousins getting into one scrape after another right on his doorstep, before he knows it the Marquis finds himself dangerously embroiled…

This was a fun, quaint read but for some reason, it doesn't hold up to my mind's memory of Heyer's stories. We have all the trappings of a regency romance - strong-willed female lead (Frederica), a titled and moneyed male lead (Lord Alverstoke), London high society with its gossips (Alverstoke's sisters and friends of the ton) and some mishaps and adventures to drive the plot along (courtesy of Frederica's siblings). It is a light, fun story full of wit and humour and great for reading while lounging in the shade of a tree on a lovely summer day, but I have to admit I had some difficulties accepting Lord Alverstoke's character. I guess I was expecting his character to be the typical dastardly rake of the first stare that is common in these types of stories. Yes, he is bored easily and cannot really be bothered to remember things of importance, and yes his reasons for agreeing to help launch Frederica and her younger sister Charis into society are for personal reasons of a mischievous nature, but he really doesn't come across as selfish as he is believed to be. Frederica's siblings, in particular young Felix and Jessamy, are an absolute delight and really help propel the story forward. I also found Charles Turner, Lord Alverstoke's secretary to be quite an amusing character.

Overall, A sweet summer read.

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

Star Rating: 3.50 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: Trade paperback
# of Pages: 448 pages
Source: GVPL
Male/Female Author: Female

Lori, thoroughly enjoyed your review of Frederica. Even though it didn't quite hold up for you, a sweet summer read sounds perfect : ).

> 145 - Hi Nancy, I am probably being a bit critical of good old Lord Alverstoke. The story works, for some reason I was hoping for a bit more of the 'save the heroine' kind of story, not 'save the heroine's siblings from mischief' kind of story. Still a good read, but rather sedate for what I was looking forward to reading. ;-)

Lori, you have been writing some very compelling reviews! Utu sounds quite good....an anti-hero of the first order it sounds like. Letters from Skye also sounds great. I loved both 84 Charing Cross Road and Guernsey. I read Frederica several years ago but remember it as a fun read. Speaking of Heyer, I was able to pick up two of her paperbacks this past weekend at a yardsale....two which I haven't already read, yay!

Lori> I tried to request Letters from Skye from NetGalley but the publisher was only accepting UK requests. I guess I'll have to get it via some other means.

I'm finally doing it. My next book up is The Grand Sophy. My first Heyer! I hope I like it. I think I will. I do like Regency romances in general.

I just discovered that my library has both e-book and audiobook editions of Letters from Skye available.

Loved your review of Letters from Skye. Joanne (coppers) also enjoyed it, so it was already on my wish list. Thanks for the nudge!

> 147 - Hi Heidi, if by compelling you mean I have managed to entice you to add even more books to your future reading pile, then my work is done here. *starts sound recording of mischievous laugh* ;-)

> 148 - Oh, that's not helpful.

> 149 - Yay, Morphy! I will be very curious to see what you think of Heyer's writing. The Grand Sophy is one I haven't read yet.

> 150 - Awesome!

> 151 - Thanks, Anne! I really think Letters from Skye is a lovely read.

Oh good grief, we are now in August..... half of the summer is gone. ;-( Why is that the summer months seem to just fly by and the winter months drag so? Too busy out and about enjoy the lovely summer we have been having so the August kaleidoscope picture was is something I quickly messed around with this evening.

I hope everyone has been having a wonderful summer and that August continues to be as good, or better than July was!

Sleepy, Summer days of August


August Kaleidoscope Picture: Poppy

original photo courtesy of Flickr

Time for an update on what I am currently reading:

Currently Reading:

The Arabian Nights - 10% finished (about to start the story of the Young King of the Black Isles)
ENGN - 14% finished (about to start Chapter 6)
Mary Todd Lincoln: Her Life and Letters - 8% finished (currently at page 63 of this 750 page doorstopper of a book)

No reviews coming up anytime soon, although the long weekend this weekend should free up some reading time.

Happy reading all!

Ooh, love both the kaleidoscope Poppy and the original. Beautiful!

Popping in to catch up Lori. August is going to be a catch up month for me. Lots of books I have been relegating to the nightstand in favor of other reads.

Very nice poppy images! Summery!

Yes, you do keep adding to my wishlist...*shakes fist*!

>141 lkernagh:, Letters from Skye sounds interesting, I'll have to keep an eye out for it.

>144 lkernagh:, My issue with Frederica has always been the Charis/Endymion subplot. Suffice to say they drive me batty. The rest of the book is quite good.

>149 Morphidae:, I like The Grand Sophie. It's not a hero rescues heroine story; instead, the heroine rescues the hero from himself, much to his annoyance. Hopefully you'll enjoy it.

Lovely kaleidoscope photo for August, Lori. Good to know I'm not alone in finding that our gorgeous summer months FLY while Jan and Feb seem to go on and on and on and on and ....

So many books that I want to add to my wishlist, after I read your reviews.
And what a cool August picture!

Hey Lori... I'm not sure how I've missed your 75 thread, but I've got it starred now! I must have been keeping up with you elsewhere.

I love the August kaleidoscope picture! It is beautiful.

Hi Lori!

#135 - Great review of Life After Life. I still have that sitting in the TBR pile. I don't know what's stopping me other than the page count (It feels like I've read several looong books in a row and am ready for something short.) I love her older novels - Behind the Scenes at the Museum, Human Croquet, etc.

Have a lovely weekend!

Hello everyone! It is a long weekend in my part of the world and we are pretty much just kicking back and taking things easy. Our fabulous uninterrupted days of sunshine for all of July finally ended yesterday, with the skies opening up and providing some much needed rain..... things in town were getting awfully dusty and dirty, so the rain was refreshing to have! Still overcast today so a good day to putter around home.

> 155 - Thanks, Anne!

> 156 - Hi Roberta! August seems like a good time for catching up on reading and things. ;-) I hope all in well with your Mom.

> 157 - Hi Heidi, thanks. Sorry about that. I promise August and September won't include any new shiny books, except for any ER books that I need to get read and reviewed.

> 158 - Jennifer, Letters from Skye was quite good. Hopefully a copy will land in your sights. That Charis/Endymion subplot was annoying to read.... give me a dastardly rake and strong-willed female over those two, any day! Is The Grand Sophie a Regency novel.... never mind, I just went to check the book page and I see a really big 'Regency' tag so onto the reading list The Grand Sophie goes. Sounds like a good twist on the hero/heroine plot!

> 159 - Hi Nancy! It is probably the shorter days during the winter months that make them seem so long and dreary weary in nature. I do enjoy the longer days when it is still light out after dinner for reading outdoors or going for walks.

> 160 - Thanks, Monica and sorry for adding to your wishlist. That is one of the risks of thread visiting that hits me on a regular basis. ;-)

> 161 - Hi Tina, the 75 group is such a large one it is easy to loose sight of people and their threads around here, so I am happy that you have managed to locate me! The 2013 Category Challenge is an easier group to locate people in. ;-)

> 162 - Thanks, Kerri! Life After Life is my first Atkinson so I can now appreciate the attraction her books hold for so many readers. I hope you have a lovely weekend, too!

I just finished The Grand Sophy and should have my micro-review up today. It was a lot of fun.

> 164 - Hi Morphy, since The Grand Sophie gets positive reviews from both you and Jennifer then I am confident that I will enjoy it! It moves up my reading pile for sometime later this fall. ;-)

I will make my way over to your thread later to get caught up with all that has been happening with you.

I can second third the idea that The Grandy Sophy was delightful : ).

Just adding a word of caution - Heyer tends to get indiscriminantly tagged 'Regency' - all her Georgian books seem to be tagged that, if not the historical novels - so it is always worth checking.

While Heyer addicts will amicably argue over which are her best, The Grand Sophy usually ends up in everyone's top five!

#167 Liz, how can I check whether a particular Heyer is Regency or Georgrian? is it publication date? (I know the questions are probably DUH to you). Thanks : ).

> 166 - A third recommendation from you Nancy that The Grand Sophy was delightful to read pretty much guarantees its position high up on the future reading list. It should be easy for me to remember as my maternal grandmother's name was Sophie!

> 167 - Oh, that is good to know! I should have realized that might occur as I have noticed the same type of in discriminant tagging of Steampunk for books that are not steampunk here on LT. A friend of mine just loaned me her copy of The Unknown Ajax and I quickly checked Wikipedia and that one is Regency so I am happy to have two more Regency period Heyer books recommended for my future reading later this year for my Regency category over on the 2013 Category Challenge. ;-)

> 168 - Thanks, Roni! Your lost makes it a resounding recommendation that The Grand Sophy be read sooner rather than later!

> 169 - I have resorted to the Georgette Heyer Wkipedia page to help me. The page has a listing of her various books (sadly by publication year - not grouped by time period) with links to separate Wikipedia pages for each book.

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

Hello everyone! It is a long weekend in my part of the world and we took things easy. It remained overcast for most of Saturday but, true to record, the beautiful blue skies and sunshine were back on Sunday in time for the annual Victoria Symphony Splash. The Splash is an annual event (this was the 24th year ) where the Victoria Symphony plays a free open concert in the Inner Harbour - they float the symphony on a barge in the harbour and everyone sits in lawn chairs or on the grass of the legislature and the Empress Hotel to listen. It is always a great way to mark the halfway point of summer and this year was no exception. Music was a great mix of classics and popular music - Williams' Close Encounters of the Third Kind was an immediate crowd recognition piece this year. Previous year it was the Pirates of the Caribbean theme. They preformed Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture (with fireworks), which is a standard piece for the Splash - and closed out with MacPherson's Lament and the piping of Amazing Grace. A lovely way to enjoy a beautiful Sunday evening.

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

On the reading front: I have made no progress with The Arabian Nights - still just 10% finished. I have been enjoying ENGN as my bedtime reading - currently 53% finished. Mary Todd Lincoln: Her Life and Letters has proven to be more interesting that I had thought, thanks to the heavy annotation of the book to help explain the context of some of the letters. Still a long way to go before I finish this chunkster but at 35% finished, I am making progress!

It looks like my self imposed ban of reading any books from my local library will hit a slight hitch this month..... I have received an email letting me know that my hold for the GN Templar by Jordan Mechner is ready for pickup. When I placed the hold on July 27th it was showing in the catalogue as "On Order" so I figured I had some time before it showed up. Boy was I mistaken! ;-)

The symphony Splash sounds like so much fun! Now I am plotting to visit Victoria at this time next year.

It sounds like you are getting some good reading in!

>>#169 & 170

There's no easy way of determining which Heyer books are which, though as a general rule her earlier ones (originally published in the 1920s) are Georgian and the later ones Regency. The safest, spoiler-free way to find out is just to ask around the threads - I'm happy to help, for one. :)

Delighted you enjoyed your long weekend, Lori. The symphony sounds lovely!

#172 Thanks, Liz : ).

I think I must have your category thread marked, but I've given up keeping track of my category thread that I never go there anymore... I can barely keep my head above water with the 75 group LOL.

> 171 - Rhonda, it is fun. If you do plot to visit Victoria next year, let me know! I am making progress on my reading but funnily enough, my reading goal to read only books of my TBR bookcase for August and September is going to be highjacked by the number of ER books that I need to get reviewed. I received two e-books over the weekend and today I received my copy of Red Dragon White Dragon in the mail. If the ER book from the April batch that is MIA shows up, it is going to be an ER reading month, which doesn't help me with my ROOT reading. Oh well, always better to have a glut of books than a drought. ;-)

> 172 - Oh thank you Liz! Don't be surprised if I suddenly pop up on your thread with a question or two! ;-)

> 173 - Hi Nancy, it was a great long weekend and the symphony performed superbly, as always. I hope your long weekend was lovely.

> 174 - LOL, Tina, I totally understand! I try to stay on top of both groups and all of the individuals that have threads in both groups but I just end up getting confused,wondering if I have already commented on their other thread or not.

Welcome, Lori! :)

> 176 - :-)

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

It has been a rather busy week on the home front so not much reading but a lot of other business. On the good news front, my other half surprised me this evening with a new fridge. Probably doesn't sound like an attractive 'surprise'. It's not flowers or chocolates or anything decadent - although it can be used to store decadent items! - but it did made my Friday. Yes, I am domesticated enough that finding a new fridge in my kitchen to replace an older, somewhat temperamental fridge is enough to make my end of work week a very happy one. ;-)

Weekend Craft Project:: I am going to embark on a sewing project this weekend. No details will be provided as yet beyond the fact that I am going to attempt to sew a top. If it works out - and I am really hoping it does - I may provide more details (and possible pics) but I have to admit that my sewing skills are a bit haphazard so I am not promising that anything amazing is going to be accomplished. If it becomes a botched job, I will hide my sewing machine for another two years until the urge to sew strikes again.

On the reading front: Not much progress has been made on the books I am currently reading. No progress with The Arabian Nights - still just 10% finished. Better progress with ENGN - currently 73% finished, having grabbed snatches of reading time over the week. Almost at the halfway mark with Mary Todd Lincoln: Her Life and Letters but the book is so large it is my home reading. Will try to get back to it this weekend.

Hi Lori, just catching up here - Good luck with your sewing project!

Hooray to surprises! Can't wait to hear how the weekend craft project turns out!

Lori, I love the August Poppy Kaleidoscope picture. I enjoy my neighbors' poppies but I've never tried to grow them. Good luck with your sewing project. The best thing I did when we moved back to Missouri from Colorado over a decade ago was to sell my sewing machine. I haven't missed it at all! The Mary Todd Lincoln books looks so interesting. I really liked Mrs. Lincoln and Mrs. Keckly when I read it a few years ago.

I hope everyone has had a lovely weekend!

Time flies when you are having fun... or just busy! ;-) This past weekend was a productive one and we got a lot of things done. Managed to settle in long enough to check out the British crime series BroadChurch and absolutely love it! Great psychological crime show that digs into the heart and soul of a community.

Time for some responses:

> 178 - Hi Judy! So far, so good!

> 179 - Hi Nancy, report provided below.... to be continued. ;-)

> 180 - Thanks Donna! There are times when I decide I don't want a sewing machine and will never sew again and then I get the urge to get crafty and I am thankful my rather basic Brother sewing machine is hiding under my desk. Slow progress on the Mary Todd Lincoln book for now but when I do get to sit down to read it, I find her letters are very insightful as a window into her personality, psyche and the time period. A somewhat troubled woman, by circumstances, society and her own perspectives. A force to be reckoned with, for sure!

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

Weekend Craft Project- Update So, thankfully my other half - the voice of reason - suggested that I maybe take baby steps on the sewing front before I just throw myself into sewing a top from scratch. Smart man. So, instead of just diving into my planned top project, I spent the weekend converting a rather thin double sized down duvet into a twin size (fold in half and sew ends together). I then took a double sized duvet covet that we have never used and converted it into a twin size for the newly modified duvet.

End Result: a perfectly functional duvet for those sick/ lazy days that may be spent lying on the sofa. If you are like me, there is nothing more annoying than trying to curl up on the sofa under a blanket that is either too big or too small - hum, starting to sound like Goldilocks here - a twin size duvet is the perfect size for 'cozying' on the sofa. ;-)

On the top front (my 'original weekend craft project'), I spent some time this weekend watching a number of DIY YouTube videos to get a better feel for how I was going to tackle this one. I have now used the tips I learned via the YouTube videos to create the pattern from my top. It is based upon a sleeveless turtleneck top I love as I like simple solid colour classic pieces for office wear. Sadly, where I live office wear is either nonexistent (or at least not something I would wear to the office) or rather frumpy 'stuff', so this project is to see if I can create my own tops and for go being a hostage to the retailers. So far, I have created my pattern and cut the fabric. I may start the sewing tomorrow evening. Will report back on the progress - good or bad.

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On the Reading Front: I finished a book!!!! Review posted below.

Book #69 - Engn by Simon Kewin



Kewin's fantasy/ science fiction YA novel has an interesting dystopian style premise. Finn and his family lead a peaceful existence in a valley of fields and forests where Finn and his friend Connor spend their childhood playing. It is a good if simple life, except for when the Ironclads pass through. The arrival of the Ironclads can only be bad news. The Ironclads work for the masters of Engn, a huge city-sized steam-powered machine located within a walled fortress a multiple days journey from the valley. Engn requires an endless supply of human workers to keep Engn running, especially as Engn continues to grow in magnitude and in its need for human workers to keep it operating. When the Ironclads arrive, it is to collect the person or persons the masters have decreed is to now work in Engn. Refusing to go to Engn is not an option. Those take to work in Engn never return. When Finn was a young boy, his older sister Shireen was taken. One day, years later when Connor and Finn are in their teens, they come across a girl their own age hiding from the Ironclads in the forested areas near their homes. Connor and Finn befriend her and the three of them make a pact to one day destroy Engn and forever end its tyranny. When first Conner is taken and then the Ironclads come for Finn, Finn remembers the pact and starts to plan.

The story has a lot of good elements in it. I like the world build of Engn, a fascinating mechanically-driven world. I also like how the story has a dystopian feel to it without overpowering the story. The vastness and complexity of Engn caught my interest, as did the line-of-sight communications system used in Finn's world - an interesting tower relay system using sight scopes to send and receive Morse-code style messages. The story does have a slow build to it, starting off with alternating scenes of past and present. Once the story reaches Engn, it takes on a more linear form that is easier to follow. The story is more of a mental puzzle than an action story, with the action scenes limited to short spurts of activity. The characters are alright as characters go, but as I read this one I had to remind myself how young Finn is supposed to be, as his lack of experience outside of his valley community had me shaking my head in dismay at as some of his decisions and outbursts.

Part of the plot didn't work for me. The purpose of Engn - why it was built in the first place - is never satisfactorily explained. I guess from Finn's view point, it's creation is nothing more than ancient history, but it still bugs me that I don't know the WHY. It is not steampunk - this isn't an alternate history with steampunk elements. It is most definitely fantasy, but I leave it to other readers to see what genre that want this book to fall into.

Overall, a decent dystopian style fantasy possible SF read that kept me reading more for the world build than anything else. I haven't read much YA dystopian stories to provide any recommendations about this book beyond the fact that Kewin has intrigued me enough with his story Engn to keep an eye out for more of Kewin's books.

This book was courtesy of Librarything's Early Reviewer program.

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

Star Rating: 3.50 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: e-book
# of Pages: 395 pages
Source: LTER
Male/Female Author: Male

My parents had purchased some throws that are perfect for covering up on the sofa. Dad gave me Mom's after she died, and I have used it quite a bit. He still has his, but I don't think he uses it much, if at all. They are roughly twin size, maybe a little smaller, but they work perfectly on the couch.

Lori, what a great sewing idea: doubling an old duvet and then creating a cover for it! Genius! I am more than a little impressed that you are creating your own sewing pattern for a top -- I thought you meant to buy a pattern and sew from that.

Lori, your sewing projects sound great! I also thought you would be cutting out from a commercial pattern, so you are very clever to be able to make your own. I tried and failed to get on with sewing when I was younger. I remember my grandmother telling me I should make more of an effort because otherwise what would I do for clothes when I grew up? (Pretty much everything we had was home-made and she also made all her own clothes). I said that I was going to buy them from a shop, and she looked slightly shocked at such profligate behaviour :-)

I've had a sewing machine for ages. One of these years I'll finally learn to use it!

> 183 - The throws your parents purchased sound perfect, Lori! The duvet created during my weekend project might be a single size ...I have never been good at bedding sizes, especially when they start throwing in ambiguous terms like "Full" into the mix. Whatever half of a double size is what the new duvet is. I am now looking forward to the cold days of winter so that I can test it out!

> 184 - Thanks, Nancy! It was an older duvet that had lost its "oomph" with continued use and was replaced years ago when we bought a new Queen size bed. Since its 'retirement' it has been stored in the cupboard doing nothing more than taking up valuable cupboard space but I was loath to get rid of it. 'Re-purposing' it for a different use seemed the best way to go, and I am really happy with the result!.

As for store bought patterns, I am no good with those. I cannot make heads or tails of them and for that reason I have always just done my own thing. I can still remember the frustrations my junior high school Home Economics teacher went through when we did the sewing segment of the class. She thought the boys in the class were going to be the problem (Home Ec/ Industrial Arts was mandatory for all students with a half year spend in each discipline). Boy, was she mistaken!

> 185 - Thanks, Susan. I tend to just jump right into things and pretty much 'wing it' as I go, so you can probably imagine that not all projects are successful. YouTube is an absolutely amazing treasure trove of 'how to' videos. OMG, where were these when I was back in school struggling through Home Econ? {Oh.... that right. There was not 'internet' back then.} :-)

> 186 - Oh Morphy, learn like I did..... take some scraps of fabric, some thread and just muck around with the machine and see what it can do and what you can do with it! Best way to learn is to just go for it!

Craft Project- Update: I finished making the patterns last night - used advice gleaned from a couple of YouTube videos, using measurements from my favorite top to work - and cut the fabric. I will probably sew it together either later tonight or tomorrow night.

Lori, you are on quite a roll with great reviews, a successful craft project, and a wonderful surprise! I have thought bad and negative thoughts in the direction of my fridge for years, but it still plugs away, while appliances I like bite the dust. I'm excited about your new fridge!

Lori would you mind posting the link of a couple of the pattern videos? There is SO MUCH out there!

Wow! I am impressed by your sewing courage! I can't even sew a button on. My gram tried to teach me to knit and I was hopeless at that as well. I guess I will stick to reading as a hobby!

> 188 - Thanks Anne. My reading spree has flagged so far this month compared with previous months.... just too much going on right now. I had a good laugh at the image of you sending negative thoughts towards your fridge. That is always the ways things go.... the items you wish would just conk out so you can replace them are the survivors and favorites are the temperamental ones that pack it in if you so much as sneeze in their direction. My other half is still in my good books and will be for some time with the lovely new fridge surprise.

> 189 - Ask and you shall receive, Roberta! This weekend I discovered Threadbanger on YouTube - very informative for a mess of DIY type projects! Because the top I am making is a simple sleeveless top, I found THIS VIDEO to be very informative (it's a how-to video for a tank top pattern but can be used as a starting point for a lot of different styles of tops) to get a handle on how to start my pattern. Skirts can be very easy or slightly tricky, depending on what you are planning on making. I like THIS VIDEO as she tackles the rather tricky concept of darts in good visual, easy to follow manner. Again, this is another basic pattern that can be used as the basis to create a bunch of different skirts. One of the videos had a great suggestion to use 1" graph paper to create your pattern. I have a pad of 11" X 17" graph paper that I use. ProfessorPincushion videos on YouTube also caught my eye but as I was turning into a YouTube junky, I have left off investigating her videos for another day. ;-)

> 190 - Why, thanks Heidi! Reading as a hobby is still the best one out there, IMO. Knitting is tricky. I am left handed (all south paws raise your hands!) and it takes a good, patient right-handed teacher to teach a leftie how to knit. It took both my mom and my grandma to teach me how to knit and crochet. I love knitting and crocheting but again, I cannot for the life of me read and understand pattern instructions so I just mess around with yarn.

I find it impressive how you are able to combine the craftwork with the reading!

Hi Lori! While I'm (unfortunately) not wildly crafty myself, I'm enjoying your updates. And I can relate to the awesomeness of YouTube instructional videos, as I've used them a lot lately for bicycle tune-up tips. I wonder how I would function without them, actually.

#182 - Great review, although I'm not sure it's my current cup of tea. I have experienced similar reads, though, where the world-building surpasses other elements of the story.

Ooh, the August kaleidoscope is nice!

182: Well, the cover art grabbed me. The WHY would bug me too.

#191: Lori, I'm a leftie too! I am raising my (left) hand. I always wondered whether that was why I never really understood knitting or crochet. Today I went to Hobbycraft (a crafting shop found all over the country) and bought some card-making supplies, and a couple of magazines on stamping. A friend suggested yesterday that I stop focusing on the fact that I can't stitch right now, and try something else. That had never really occurred to me, oddly.

Wow, just realized I have been absent from my own thread! I will start off with a reading report which will be very short - I haven't done any reading for the past couple of days. I have been otherwise busy with good results:

Weekend Craft Project- Update:
Well, I have had a very productive weekend! I finished not one but two tops - one a blue sleeveless crew neck and a green (well, more like chatreuse with a bit of a brown undertone to it) one with a rounded collar and cap sleeves. Overall, I am quite happy with the results but I need to work more on the design for under the arms so that the top fits better in that area. I figure I will have the pattern perfected after one or two more tops.

Now for some responses for my lovely visitors:

> 192 - Thanks Monica, although you will discover I haven't perfected the art of combining reading with craft work..... my reading is seriously suffering. ;-)

> 193 - Hi Kerri, YouTube instructional videos are the best! Sadly, it seems with more and more books I am reading their is a trade off: Everything is good but not great or else only one or two elements of the story are amazing and everything else limps along like its wounded or underdeveloped. *sighs*

> 194 - Thanks Katherine! Yup, not a fan of the unexplained 'whys'. ;-)

> 195 - Hi Susan, yay for lefties! I swear the knitting and crocheting instructions are written for right-handed crafters. When I knit one pearl two it looks different from the picture that comes with the instructions. Card-making sounds like a great craft idea! *Quickly looks over shoulder to see if my other half is paying attention* I will be curious to see how the card making goes. I don't need another hobby but I am like a kid in a candy store with them.... but in my case instead of eating all the candy and getting tummy-ache, I have numerous half finished projects lying around cluttering the place. I best not start another hobby just now. ;-)

Woot! What a successful craft-project weekend you've had, Lori. Would love to see some pics ...

> 197 - Pictures?! You want to see pictures? *Twitches nose and thinks about it*

Well, okay.

I tried to take some pics of the tops laid out on the bed but, well, they looked like just some cut fabric lying on a bed, so I cornered my other half this evening and asked him to take some pics of me wearing the shirts. As you will notice, I need to work on the 'under the arm' fabric joins and measurements but overall I am pretty happy with the result.... I wore the blue top today for work.

Here is the front and side view of the blue sleeveless top with the higher, crew neck style neckline:



And here is the chatreuse colored top with a more slightly scooped neckline and cap sleeves:

Those look great! I have several sewing projects that have been lying around for a couple of years that I really need to pick back up one of these days.

Lori, that was a successful weekend of crafting! The tops look great.

I've been reading my stamping magazines and I'm ready to buy supplies now, I think. London is mostly a craft-supplies desert, but there is a stamping shop up near the British Museum which I have seen before so I am going to go there. It's called Blade Rubber Stamps, which is pretty funny. If I manage to create anything I'm not ashamed of, I will post a picture on my thread.

Fabulous job! When I do finally put the machine out, I want to do quilting.

Lori, the tops are FABULOUS! Woot! Well done, so glad you posted for us to see : ).

> 199 - Thanks Roni! I am a 'hit and miss' kind of sewer. I abandon my sewing machine for years at a stretch and then I suddenly get the urge to pull it out and try and make things again. Here is hoping that this urge will last longer than previous ones.... I am already planning in my mind a couple of dresses that I want to attempt. You have been amazingly busy with your jewelry, pottery and scarfs, I am amazed you have the time for all of them, but not surprised to learn you have sewing projects as well!

> 200 - Thanks Susan! I love the early phase of a new craft hobby - all the great magazines to check out, the supplies to buy - and get all excited when I take the materials and create something with them! It is great that you have located stamping stores where you live..... I would probably look at Michaels, which is pretty much a big North American chain for craft supplies I love to through looking at stuff but I usually come away empty handed because they usually don't have 'quite' what I am looking for. Good luck with your project and you know I will be stopping by your thread often to check in and see how it is going.... not like I don't do that already for book reviews and things! ;-)

> 201 - Thanks Morphy! Quilting is a great craft project. My mom is a quilter as is one of my co-workers and I am amazed at the patterns they are able to create with the fabric. I am here to cheer you on to pull out your sewing machine and give it a go!

> 202 - Awe, thanks, Nancy! I guess I couldn't 'not' post pics if I am comfortable enough to be seen in public wearing one of the tops! ;-)

.... boy, that sentence does not look grammatically correct. Oh well. *shrugs shoulders*

#198 - They look great, Lori! Thanks for posting. And I love the color of #2.

#203: Lori, it's so long since I've tried anything new that I've forgotten that feeling, but I've booked a class at the stamp shop for September, so I have that to look forward to. It's a beginners' class so I might have a bit of a try between now and then so I can identify what I need most help with. Meanwhile, I have ordered a book on paper quilling from Amazon, which comes with a little kit of papers and tools to try the patterns with. I'd heard of quilling but had no idea what it was, but some of the projects online are amazing. The book I've ordered is aimed at the wet-weather school holiday market, from the look of it, but a number of middle-aged ladies had reviewed it and said that they enjoyed it too :-)

The tops are seriously awesome! I am so impressed.

>198 lkernagh:, Your tops are lovely. Like others here, I have a sewing machine, but still haven't figured out how to use it.

>205 susanj67:, Susan, A few years ago I was in Virginia and we stopped at Ash Lawn-Highland, the former plantation of James Monroe (the 5th U.S. President). Part of the tour was a visit to the workshop of a man who was working to revive paper quilling. It was really interesting and his work was beautiful. I hope you have fun trying it out.

Random travel tip: To anyone visiting Charlottesville, Virginia: Don't sell your firstborn to afford Monticello. Go to Ash Lawn-Highland. It's a bargain in comparison, and the people who work there are fantastic. The estate is owned by the College of William and Mary and hasn't been commercialized the way Jefferson's home has. I highly recommend it.

Well, it is a darn good thing I type up my responses in notepad and then paste them into LT for posting..... my previous attempt to post went to La La Land.

> 204 - Thanks Kerri!

> 205 - A class sounds like a lot of fun, especially as they are great for learning tricks and ideas from the other class participants! Now i need ot go investigate paper quilling because that is a new term for me. You are getting my all pumped about stamping.... but we won't tell my other half because I can see him cringing at the thought of another craft entering our home.

> 206 - Thanks Heidi!

> 207 - I was about to say that a sewing machine is really simple to operate and then I stopped myself... realizing that my very basic Brother Charger 491 is just that: Basic. It does straight stitch and zizag. Nothing fancy. I do have an eye out for a serger but I figure I can pick up one of those used. Do like I do and just hook up some thread, run some fabric through it and see what you can do.

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Well, I have decided that the green top does bug me a bit in the arm area when I wear it so we will call that one "experiment A" and I will make plans to stop at the fabric store during my lunch break tomorrow and purchase more fabric - they had a huge bolt so hopefully they haven't sold out. I originally purchased more than enough fabric for the first top but there is not enough left over to attempt a second top. The fabric only stretches one way so I have to make sure to cut the fabric so that it gives horizontally and not vertically in the finished product. Details, details. *tsk*

On the Reading Front: This is so NOT a reading month for me, it isn't even funny. I managed a whole 10 pages in Arabian Nights last night before I zonked out. My reading goals for August are now to finish the two books I have been reading since August 1st and hope I actually finish one of them. ;-)

#207: Jennifer, quilling seems to be more obscure than other crafts, perhaps because it was historically restricted to rich people with lots of time on their hands (as opposed to say, needlework, which even poorer people did). How great to hear that people are trying to revive it.

#208: Lori, here's a Pinterest board on quilling (warning: you will want to spend ages looking at it!) http://pinterest.com/elenatgeezer/paper-quilling/ It appears that you can start with relatively little outlay, which is always attractive :-)

Hi Lori -- love your tops! Not every month is a reading month, I have found. I was all set to read up a storm in June when school was out and I had finished my masters, and I read a whole two books. That put me behind on my quest for 75!

The tops do look great Lori in my humble male opinion and the model also intrigues.
Have a lovely weekend - I hope to catch up sometime soon as I haven't been this far behind that I can remember, even when on holidays!

> 209 - Susan, you are such and evil craft prject influence! I have spent way too much time oggling all the amazing quilling projects people have posted on Pinterest and the web. I know, you did warn me.... what an amazing hobby! You have got me thinking about Christmas ornaments now.

> 210 -Thanks Anne! Fro some reason, the summer months this year are jut not reading months for me.... probably in part because we have had the sunniest and driest summer on record. Apparently we broke the previous record set in 1985 for sunniest July on record. I am ready for a very damp and dreary fall and winter, and then my reading will take off!

> 211 - Why thank you Paul, on both counts. :-)
I hope your weekend has been equally lovely and with more reading time than mine has had.

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

Happy Sunday everyone!

I am starting to make headway back in my August reading so I will probably be able to finish the books I am currently reading before the end of the month. Not much of a reading accomplishment, but it is something. ;-)

Project wise, I was busy this weekend making a birthday card for my Mom. They are on a cruise right now and thankfully to because I don't have to worry about her not receiving it in time for her birthday - which, she won't. I used a picture I had taken in Beacon Hill Park one lunch hour earlier this month and cropped and artistically "Impressionized" it (and then made some further modifications to the picture) with the aid of some computer software. End result, a pretty nice cover picture for the card:



Beyond that, my time is bring pretty much sucked up by work, falling back into TV watching mode - we are back watching 'Warehouse 13" and halfway through season 4 right now - and spending oodles of time learning about quilling and ogling all the great pictures of quilling projects that can be found on the web, like the ones found here on Pinterest.

I know..... I need another craft project like I need more books added to my 'to read' list...... ;-)

Lori, your reading may have taken a dive this month, but your wardrobe thanks you. Those tops are lovely and look like a perfect fit to me. You can have one in every color and change the neckline or sleeve and have an amazing array of outfits. Maybe you can get Roni to custom design some jewelry to mix and match!

Lori, love the card you made for your mom. I had to look up quilling ... what great projects!

Wow, that quilling is amazing and not at all what I was expecting. From what I recall of quilling, it was a lot more basic and "folksy." That stuff is gorgeous.

> 213 - Hi Donna, you are so right about the tops. Playing around with necklines and sleeves is pretty easy and I am focusing my hunt on solid colour fabrics that coordinate with the skirts, pants and jackets in my existing wardrobe. I am not quite up to the challenge of lining up patterns correctly or working with fabrics that have a noticeable front and back to them. ;-) Roni would be perfect to custom design some jewelry! I will admit to having a weakness for fashion jewelry. I have a rather large collection I have built up over time through various eBay purchases and I resorted to purchasing a couple of nut and bolt organizer drawer systems to store it all in! ;-)

> 214 - Thanks Nancy. My Mom is the artistic one in the family. She has done everything from painting (oils and water colours) on canvas and china (tiles, plates, etc) to quilting, sewing, oragami, macramé, hook rugging, crewel embroidery..... it just goes on. None of my other siblings take an interest in anything artistically creative so Mom is always really excited when I make the effort, even if it involves computer assistance! ;-)

> 215 - Hi Morphy, I agree with both you and Nancy, those quilling projects are amazing! It's all Susan (susanj67) fault that I am spending my spare time searching out pictures of quilling on the web. It is just so darn addicting! Yah, I am pretty sure I won't be able to create those amazing products. I defer to the gifted experts for that! ;-O

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On the Reading Front: I am actually making progress on my August reading! I am 88% of the way through Andrew Lang's collection of stories The Arabian Nights with only one more story to go. Good thing I decided to go with the Lang version, which contains only 26 stories from the A Thousand and One Arabian Nights tales..... If I had gone with the complete collection I would be reporting back sometime next year!

I am also making really good headway on Mary Todd Lincoln: Her Life and Letters. I am currently on page 482 of this 750 page doorstopper of a book (in August of 1868 when Mary Lincoln's attempt to sell her wardrobe through brokers in New York City to raise funds to be able to keep her home failed and she sets sail for Europe). I am undecided on my opinion of Mary Lincoln so I won't be providing any comments until I finish reading all of her letters contained in the collection.

It took me two years to get through the full Burton version of The Arabian Nights.

> 217 - Good to know! My other half has been bugging me for over a year now to read The Arabian Nights because it is his favorite book from his childhood. At some point I will think about reading the compete, or near complete stories. Hum, is there really a 'complete' version of the stories, or would Burton's be considered to most complete English translation of stories?

Two years is quite the time investment! ;-)

From what I've read it is considered one of the most complete versions but I've recently read it's not one of the best. I found it hard to read more than one or two stories a week. They felt very similar. It's not that they were hard to read, just samey-samey.

Lori - Trust that you are having a lovely weekend. I agree with Morphy; the Burton rendition of The Arabian Nights is very heavy going. I like the version where Burton's translation has been made chewable by Jack Zipes.

> 219 & 220 - Thank you Morphy and Paul! That is good information to know.

Happy weekend everyone! We are back to sunshine after some colder weather and I am looking forward to a long weekend of doing nothing but reading, as I am still determined to finish reading the two books I started back on August 1st so I will be engaging in a bit of a personal readathon later this afternoon. I did manage to finish The Arabian Nights Entertainments last night and I only have 150 pages left to go in the Mary Todd Lincoln: Her Life and Letters book so this should be do-able. In the meantime, review of Arabian Nights can be found below.

Book #70 - The Arabian Nights Entertainments selected and edited by Andrew Lang



My other half has been hounding me for sometime now to read the One Thousand and One Nights tales that were such a a favorite of his when he was a child. Given how big a tome the complete (if there is such a thing) collection of stories is, I compromised and decided to read the shorter collection of 26 stories compiled by Andrew Lang. 24 of the stories are genuine Middle Eastern folk tales from the Islamic Golden Age (the 8th to 12 centuries) with almost all of them focused on the Caliphate era when the Islamic state was led by a caliph, a religious and political leader. The remaining two stories in this collection, The Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor and Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp, are said to be stories that were added to the larger collection of Arabian tales by Antoine Galland and other European translators in the early 18th century.

I enjoyed the stories for the Middle Eastern atmosphere and flavor but over time found the stories, even though richly told with diverse characters and situations, started to have a 'same old, same old' feel to them. Even today, these are great stories of morals, values and beliefs gone astray and the result of that straying from the set path. I found it amusing how the great Caliph can borrow a peasant's clothes and in the blink of an eye, even his own grand vizir can no longer recognize him - those must be magic clothes! - and how some of the characters are transformed into persons of brilliant beauty because they took a bath.... removing a month of grime probably would have that effect, although there is no indication that routine bathing was not an established habit. The violence was slightly perturbing. It is amazing how what we might today consider lesser transgressions of mischief brought about the quick execution of the miscreants and just how gullible some of the well-to-do Sultans, Princes, etc were in the stories. The Arabian Nights Entertainments is a good title for the collection. For the most part, the stories were very entertaining. I particularly liked how the stories have a nice gender balance and the women weren't just shadow figures in the stories. Some were smarter than the men and saved the day (so to speak) while others were powerful magicians (both good and evil).


While we think that most fables and fairy tales are stories for adults to read to their children, I was intrigued to learn that these Arabian Nights tales were created for and told to an adult audience by people whose profession at the time was to amuse men and women by telling tales. I can see how an adult would view these stories differently than a child would, and gain deeper meaning from them. If you have never read the stories of the Arabian Nights before, Lang's smaller collection may be a good place to start before attempting to tackle one of the larger, more complete collections of stories such as Richard Burton's English version or Antoine Galland's French version.

Decimal Rating: 4.00
Star Rating: 4.00 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: e-book
# of Pages: 322 pages
Source: Project Gutenberg
Male/Female Author: Male

Book #71 - Mary Todd Lincoln: Her Life and Letters by Mary Todd Lincoln, Justin Turner and Linda Levitt Turner



I knew next to nothing about Mary Todd Lincoln, other than the fact that she was married to and become the widow of President Abraham Lincoln after his assassination on April 14, 1865. I purchased this rather large tome last year as a perfect fit for my Epistolary category and because I was interested in what I might learn about this enigmatic woman who seemed to generate such polarizing views in people of her time period. Was Mary Lincoln a woman with psychological issues who probably would have received proper diagnosis and treatment in today's world or was she just a strong, opinionated woman who frequently exhibited the bad taste to make herself forward and conspicuous, a trait frowned upon by society and social customs of the time period?

There is no doubt that Mary Lincoln was a strong woman with strongly held viewpoints. She had no qualms of making these viewpoints known. She frequently wrote letters that she would then regret sending, and follow up requesting that her previously written letter be disregarded and destroyed. Based on the collection of letters contained in this book, it is obvious that her requests that her correspondence be burned by the receiver after reading it was never, or almost never, adhered to.

What I found interesting was how much she often directly inserted herself into the affairs of state during Lincoln's presidency, going so far as to write the Quartermaster to suggest to him whom the government should consider purchasing horses for the war effort from and for what price. Based on the items purchased and the prices paid during her time in the White House, I am not surprised that she had gained a reputation in certain circles for being a frivolous spender.

Her well documented letter campaign to have Congress grant her a pension after Lincoln's assassination made for very interesting reading, and unfortunately shows a desperate woman who believed that it was her right as Lincoln's widow to be afforded a pension that would allow her to live in the lifestyle that she was accustomed to. The fact that she was embarking on a precedent setting process as she would be the first presidential widow to ever be granted a pension, meant nothing to her. She just saw red whenever she saw others like General Grant receiving a stipend she felt was unwarranted. Her outright refusal to live in the family home in Springfield, Illinois and her campaign for funds to purchase a "suitable home" in Chicago probably did not work in her favor. The fact that she was scrambling to try and pay off the substantial debts her spending habits had incurred during her time in the White House - a habit that she had gone to great pains to keep secret from Abraham Lincoln when he was alive - during this pension campaign was an
enormous strain on her emotionally and physically. The desperation in her letters to her two confidants, Alexander Williamson (her youngest son's former tutor) and Elizabeth Keckley (a former slave who became a successful seamstress and civil activist) is obvious.

To give Mary credit, she did eventually clear all of her debts while Congress continued to stonewall any financial support or pensionable income for her. The fact that Mary spent her final years in poor health in boarding houses and rooming hotels in Europe before returning to America to finish out her final months quietly and alone in the family home in Springfield is sad to read. By then, she was exhibiting obvious signs of mental illness of distrust, paranoia and other delusions. Her hoarding habits continued to her final days. It is reported that "In another room, the floorboards sagged under the weight of sixty-four trunks and crates, crammed with a lifetime of hoarded possessions." Dr. W. A. Evans personality study of Mary Lincoln best summarizes the battle Mary Lincoln faced:

"The three-cornered fight in her mental makeup," he wrote, "between the desire to get, the desire to spend, and the desire to hoard has lasted for nearly forty years. Sometimes one combatant was on top, sometimes another. In the final stretch, miserliness held the field of battle... This complex mania for money, extravagance and miserliness - paradoxical as it appears to laymen - is well known to psychiatrists. It is present in many people who are accepted as normal. In Mrs. Lincoln... it is was developed to the point where it did not prove actual insanity... at most, it made of her not more than a border-line case."

Overall, this was at times a fascinating read into the thinking and behavior patterns of Mary Lincoln. So why only 3 stars, you might ask? Well, for one, it was rather long-winded. The Turners choose to provide as complete a collection as possible based on the letters still available that they were able to gain permission to publish in this book, but some of it really would only fascinate a reader seeking even the most minutiae detail of Mary's life. The book also lacks a completeness in that it only consists of the letters written by Mary Lincoln. There are no letters written to Mary Lincoln in the book, leaving this reader unsatisfied with its one-sided correspondence. I did learn a lot about Mary Lincoln.... enough to have no desire to seek out further books written about her, not right away, anyways.

Decimal Rating: 3.00
Star Rating: 3.00 Stars
Book Stats:
Format: Trade paperback
# of Pages: 750 pages
Source: TBR
Male/Female Author: Female

With the departure of Summer and the arrival of Fall, it is time for a new thread. Please follow the blue continuation link to my new thread.

This thread is now

Whoops, just noticed this is a closed thread - so I am going to seek the new/old one!