Clue 2014

ConversazioniROOT - 2014 Read Our Own Tomes

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Clue 2014

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1clue
Modificato: Dic 13, 2013, 7:46 pm

I'm going for 30 again this year. The truth is I like shopping from my shelves so I'll always have a TBR pile. This group helps me concentrate on reading from it more frequently though! I'm looking forward to another good reading year and wish everyone the same.



2rabbitprincess
Dic 13, 2013, 7:44 pm

Hurray, welcome back! Have fun shopping at the TBR Pile Bookstore! :)

3connie53
Dic 14, 2013, 10:21 am

Welcome, Clue! Good idea to look at your TBR and think you'r in a bookstore. I'm going to steal that idea!

4MissWatson
Dic 16, 2013, 3:22 am

Happy reading!

5rainpebble
Gen 1, 2014, 2:47 am

Hi Clue. Good luck with your challenge.

7connie53
Gen 11, 2014, 4:57 am

You are doing great, Clue!

8clue
Gen 11, 2014, 9:55 am

Thanks Connie, not having access to the Internet gave me more reading time so as aggravating as it was that was a good thing!

9connie53
Gen 11, 2014, 9:58 am

I think I would miss internet a lot! But more readingtime would be a nice compensation

10MissWatson
Gen 11, 2014, 4:37 pm

Sometimes it's hard to find a good balance, isn't it?

11connie53
Gen 11, 2014, 5:13 pm

Tell me about it!

12clue
Modificato: Gen 11, 2014, 9:15 pm

I missed it a lot the first few days and then a little less. Was still really glad to see the ATT truck drive up yesterday though.

13Merryann
Gen 13, 2014, 12:15 am

Congratulations on all your reading! Do you have a favorite of the four?

14clue
Gen 13, 2014, 8:50 pm

I'd say I liked Birds of a Feather and A Trick of Light equally. I read Longbourn this month too and it was my favorite of all I've read this month but not a TBR.

15Merryann
Gen 14, 2014, 12:41 am

Birds of a Feather does look good. 1929 female detective! Cool!

16clue
Gen 16, 2014, 12:51 am

Finished the 5th Root for the month, Dead Cert by Dick Francis. This was his first book and it's not his best but still has a good horse racing mystery. Francis, who died last year, will be missed by his many fans including me. I haven't read any of the books he wrote with his son who is carrying on his dad's legacy. I hope his books are as entertaining as the 40 or so Francis wrote on his own.

17connie53
Gen 16, 2014, 9:37 am

> 16 - Clue, I've read quit a lot of Francis books and loved them.

18clue
Gen 20, 2014, 10:26 pm

6. Songs of Willow Frost by Jamie Ford

This is not as good as Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet imo. It is a sad tale taking place during the 1920s and 30s in Seattle. I attended a book festival this weekend and Ford was there. He said this story was more attuned to his personality than Hotel and that his family joked about his dour perspective as he grew up. Basically I don't think he has the writing maturity to pull off the sad story. I also found it irritating that the children spoke in voices too old for them. A disappoint to me all around.

19Caramellunacy
Gen 21, 2014, 4:46 am

>Clue - It's a shame you didn't enjoy Songs of Willow Frost. I haven't read it, but really enjoyed Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, so I was looking forward to it. I may have to give this one a miss...

20clue
Gen 31, 2014, 6:32 pm

7. Henrietta Sees It Through: More News from the Home Front 1942-45 by Joyce Dennys

The fictional Henrietta continues to write lighthearted letters about village life in England to her friend Robert who is serving at the front. The two books in this series are charming, light reads. While I liked them both, I think the first volume is the best.

21clue
Gen 31, 2014, 8:40 pm

8. By A Slow River by Philppe Claudel

An atmospheric literary mystery taking place in a small village in France during WWI. The unbelievable happens when three deaths take place in the village over a short span of time; a child is murdered, a teacher commits suicide, and the wife of the village policeman dies in childbirth. The policeman is the narrator of a retrospective of the events and his efforts to discover who murdered the child. 4.5 stars.

22clue
Modificato: Feb 3, 2014, 2:46 pm

#19 - Before you decide to skip it you might take a look at the reviews because many people disagree with me. This was the book for my f2f book club last month and everyone there pretty much agreed with me though. The only point of contention was the voice of the children, one person thought they were fine.

23connie53
Feb 1, 2014, 7:11 am

You are doing great, Luanna!

24clue
Feb 3, 2014, 2:47 pm

25clue
Feb 3, 2014, 2:57 pm

First finished for Feb is The Sweetness At The Bottom Of The Pie. A few years ago I was in an accident and was not able to walk without a walker and great pain for several weeks. I read quite a lot during that time but have come to realize I remember nothing about them! This is one of them and I needed to decide if I would keep it and if I wanted to continue the series. Right now I'm deciding to let the book go but to read the next in the series.

26clue
Feb 9, 2014, 10:10 am

Finished Anne of Green Gables yesterday for my second ROOT for February. I had never gotten around to reading it and now I know why everyone loves it so! I don't think I'll be reading another root right away. I've completed 10 out of a goal of 30 though so I'm good.

27connie53
Feb 9, 2014, 12:56 pm

Yes you are. You are good till the end of april! Go and enjoy some free reading!!

28cyderry
Feb 10, 2014, 9:30 am

Doing great!

29clue
Feb 13, 2014, 8:40 am

One more for February: I finished A Play of Issac by Margaret Fraser last night. Taking place in medieval England, a group of players have come to Oxford to perform at a festival. They manage to acquire a local patron for the time they are there and will perform for guests at his manor. A mysterious murder takes place while they are there and the players, always considered suspicious by locals, are afraid they will be accused. In their defense one of the players undertakes his own investigation. This is a good well written mystery and I'll continue the series and probably read her other series as well. Ahhhhh, more series!

30Merryann
Feb 14, 2014, 1:25 am

Finding a good new series is as good as finding an unopened package of cookies in the pantry. :)

31Tallulah_Rose
Feb 20, 2014, 12:20 pm

You're doing really great. You could just take to reading a bit library books and newer boks and would still be okay for several month.

Merryann: want the cookies! :-)

32Merryann
Feb 25, 2014, 12:28 am

Here's the cookies, lol: they are fiction chips, with fantasy sprinkles and big chunks of mystery.

33clue
Modificato: Mar 2, 2014, 8:32 pm

March:

The first for March is A Good American by Alex George. If you like family sagas this is a good one. It begins in Hanover, Germany in the early 1900s. Jette and Federick meet in a park and within a short time are on their way to America. After landing in New Orleans they make their way to Missouri because someone on the boat told Frederick there were jobs available there. The book follows the family through joys and hardships across three generations. A fast read that I couldn't put down. 4 stars

I'm sitting with my back to a window that is being pelted by sleet. For the last few hours we've had thunder, lightening, several inches of sleet, and snow is due in the next few hours. The temp has dropped 30 degrees from yesterday's high and will drop another 10 tonight! The forecast says sun tomorrow afternoon thank goodness. Let's hope this is the last winter storm even though it is good weather for reading! If you're east of the Mississippi, it's headed your way!

34connie53
Mar 3, 2014, 5:13 am

That weather sounds really awful!

35clue
Mar 24, 2014, 9:12 am

The second for March is Shadows At The Fair, the first in the Antique Print Mystery series. I hadn't planned on reading this but my sister is staying at my house as she recovers from knee surgery and I'm too distracted to read anything very substantial. It's an average cozy that takes place over a weekend at an antiques fair. Two dealers, husband and wife in the process of divorce, are murdered at different times. Maggie Summers is selling prints at a nearby booth and she and her dealer friend Gussie get involved in the investigations. I think I have a another from the series on the TBR and will read it but otherwise would probably not continue the series.

36clue
Modificato: Mar 29, 2014, 7:31 pm

The 3rd and last Root for March is A Story Lately Told: Coming of Age in Ireland, London, and New York by Angelica Huston

Clearly actress Angelica Houston, daughter of director John Houston, has had an interesting life. Her childhood was spent in Ireland on a 110 acre estate. After her parents divorce she moved to London with her mother, living there during the swinging 60s, the dream of millions of teenage girls. Then it was on to New York where she became a model doing work for Vogue among others. This should have been an exciting, impossible to put down book. Unfortunately it was written with no emotion or reflection so it reads like a calendar that has recorded the events but not the essence of life. There is at least one more volume to follow, I won't be reading it/them.

37Merryann
Mar 30, 2014, 11:38 pm

What a shame it wasn't interesting. With all that material to work with...it's just a shame it wasn't written well enough to keep your interest.

38clue
Mar 31, 2014, 6:58 pm

> 37 I was surprised because I had seen her interviewed on TV and she was very interesting. Oh well, that happens sometimes but I think it really is a lost opportunity her publisher/editor could have saved. I'll bet the coming volumes don't sell well.

39Merryann
Apr 2, 2014, 1:52 am

When I get around to reading it, we can contrast that celebrity biography with the one of Boy George I just plucked out of my neighborhood's Little Free Library. Lol!

40clue
Modificato: Mag 12, 2014, 8:33 pm

April:

Just 2 for this month:

When I was growing up my mother bought a book of poetry intended for the family. I don't remember the name, all I remember is that it had blue boards, was big (to me then) and I loved it. Poets Corner compiled by John Lithgow is that same sort of book. There are 50 poets included with a short introduction to each poet. Also included is a CD with a selection of poems from the book. I haven't listened to it yet but will. This would be a great selection for anyone's library. 4 stars

Roseanna by Maj Sjowall

The first in the Martin Beck series. I still have 3 chapters to go but they are short and I'll finish tonight. I'll wait until the I finish to rate it but I can say now that I know I will read more of the series.

Now complete and I've decided to give Roseanna 4 stars. I was thinking it would be 3.5 but I thought the ending was so suspenseful and well done that I bumped it up.

41clue
Mag 12, 2014, 8:31 pm

May:

Chapter and Hearse by Lorna Barrett

This is the 4th book in the booktown series. I think the series is average as cozies go but I enjoy reading one occasionally. The main character is Tricia Miles, the owner of Haven't Got A Clue, a mystery bookstore. Tricia's sister Angelica owns The Cookery, the cookbook store next door. There are several other bookstores in town, all of them located in Stoneham after the Chamber of Commerce decided a "booktown" would draw the tourist trade and advertised for booksellers. Each book has recurring characters (well, those that survive are recurring) that are fun to follow. 3 stars.

42connie53
Mag 13, 2014, 3:09 pm

Your more than halfway clue! Yeah!!!

43clue
Mag 26, 2014, 2:48 pm

The second one for May is Masquerade In Venice by Velda Johnston. This is an older book (1973) I picked up at last year's annual library book sale. I've always been drawn to suspense books of the 60s and 70s, maybe because my mother read them. The plot of this one is somewhat weak, some unlikely things happen, but it takes place in Venice and the sense of place is pretty good. The protagonist is Sara Randall, a 24 year old penniless American. She goes to Italy to her grandmother's ancestral home to become a paid companion to her great aunt though she has never met her. A murder takes place and Sara is the prime suspect. 2.8.

44clue
Modificato: Mag 30, 2014, 10:57 pm

My third for the month is The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco which I am reading with the challenge group. I still have 40 or so pages to go but leave town at 5 tomorrow morning so I need to stop and hit the bed. Will finish while I am gone over the weekend. That gives me a total of 3 for this month, 19 for the year against my goal of 30.

45connie53
Giu 3, 2014, 4:45 pm

And did you finish it?

46clue
Modificato: Giu 5, 2014, 12:54 pm

Yes and I loved it! A little difficult to sort out at first but once I got into it 100 pages or so it was hard to put down. 4.5 stars.

47connie53
Giu 9, 2014, 2:22 pm

Good Job, Clue.

48clue
Modificato: Ago 20, 2014, 8:59 pm

June

The first completed for this month is The Foundling by Georgette Heyer. This went on the TBR last October and I was able to read it for the Heyer group read in the 2014 Challenge group. It is an unusual Heyer in that it really isn't a romance or a mystery. The main character is a young man, the Duke of Sale, who is trying to gain his independence from his uncle guardian. He almost gets himself in more trouble trying to prove his maturity than he can get out of, and often to very amusing results. Too long at almost 450 pages but still enjoyable. 3.5

49Merryann
Giu 21, 2014, 10:47 am

You are doing great!

50clue
Giu 30, 2014, 1:38 pm

Completed What Makes Olga Run by science writer Bruce Grierson this morning. Olga started competing in track and field competitions when she was 77! Almost 20 years later she was going strong, having won many medals and ribbons as she set record after record for her age group. I started this book about the "mystery" of Olga, why she can still compete in athletics at an advanced age, about 3 days ago, and later learned Olga died at 95 of a cranial hemorrhage that day. The book is an easy read and interesting but comes to no conclusion. Although Olga agreed to dozens of medical tests and scans there is no definitive answer to why she has aged so extremely well.

51clue
Modificato: Ago 20, 2014, 9:00 pm

July

Today I completed Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey by The Countess of Carnarvon. Almost everyone has become familiar with the immensely popular PBS drama series Downton Abbey. The series is inspired by an actual estate called Highclere Castle. This book is a nonfiction account of Highclere and the 5th Countess of Carnarvon, who married into the family and became Highclere's mistress in 1895. The story doesn't really focus on life at Highclere, but rather on the era in which Almina lived. That includes WWI and the discovery of King Tut's tomb, in which Lord Carnarvon partnered with Howard Carter. I wasn't sure I would like the book when it was given to me but I did very much. 4 stars.

52clue
Modificato: Lug 30, 2014, 6:03 pm

Completed The Summons by John Grisham. Not one of his most riveting but he's always a good storyteller and sometimes I like his books as a break from other things. You'd have a hard time telling that though since this has been a TBR for close to 10 years! 3.5 stars.

That makes 2 ROOTS for me this month with a total of 23 read towards my goal of 30.

53Merryann
Lug 30, 2014, 9:53 pm

I bet that's one happy book, ending its long wait to be read! :)

54clue
Lug 31, 2014, 12:38 pm

LOL! That's a good way to think about it...I need to read these books that have been treated so badly!

55clue
Modificato: Ago 5, 2014, 11:54 pm

August

The first Root for August is Her Own Place by Dori Sanders. I was looking through the bookcases for books I could/would donate to the library for the "mostly nonfiction" book sale and hiding behind taller volumes I found this small book. I vaguely remember it, but didn't have it my LT library and don't know how many years it's quietly hidden away, but I know it's at least a couple of years old. It's a sweet little book that begins just before WWII when Mae Lee, a young black teenager, is in high school. The story follows her marriage, the raising of five children and the years after her children are gone. Mae Lee lives in rural South Carolina on a farm most of her life, doing much of the farm work herself, barely making a living for her family. It's a very hard life but she is a woman of great spirit and strength, and not only survives but raises five successful children by herself. Once the children are out of her house she faces different challenges. For instance, with the encouragement of her son, she becomes the first black volunteer at her small town hospital. Both funny and sad, it's a quick read, but has depth and good character development. 3.0

56connie53
Ago 6, 2014, 3:41 pm

Hi Clue, just stopping by and waving!

57Tess_W
Ago 10, 2014, 5:37 pm

Sounds like a good book and looks like you are on your way to meeting your goal!

58clue
Ago 10, 2014, 7:34 pm

> 57 I was pleasantly surprised by it, it's always a treat to read something that ends upbeat.

59clue
Modificato: Ago 20, 2014, 8:56 pm

Double Booked For Death by Ali Brandon is the first in the Black Cat Bookshop series. Darla has recently inherited her great-aunt Dee's NYC bookstore. She also inherited a black cat, Hamlet, and the brownstone where the bookstore is located. Along with the bookstore came a security guard, Jake (Jacqueline), a disabled former NYC cop, who lives in the basement apartment. James is the bookstore manager, a former professor, and the store expert on rare and collectible books. Darla has scheduled her first event since inheriting the store and it's a coup. She's managed to get the author of the hottest YA series and expects 500 teens to come for the signing. Unbelievably, the author meets with an untimely death during the event. Jake feels responsible because the death occurred as she and her off duty police buddy Reese were managing security, and of course she and Darla get involved in the investigation. The mystery is good although a confession near the end of the book is acquired in an unbelievable way. The characters are well done. I'll continue the series, so far this is the best of the book related cozies I've read. 3.5

60clue
Modificato: Set 7, 2014, 3:18 pm

September

The first for this month is A Venetian Reckoning by Donna Leon. I had forgotten how much I like this series. Commissario Brunetti investigates three murders and finds human trafficking. The book is on the dark side but given the topic, what else could it be? 4.5 stars

61clue
Set 30, 2014, 10:12 am

My second for September is The Partner by John Grisham. That gives me 27 completed against my goal of 30.

62Familyhistorian
Ott 2, 2014, 10:28 am

Getting close!

63clue
Modificato: Ott 9, 2014, 10:52 pm

October

Case Histories by Kate Atkinson is the first Root for October making 28 read against my goal of 30. This is as good as everyone has said it is, really good writing. 4 stars.

64connie53
Ott 13, 2014, 3:40 pm

Glad you liked it, clue!

65avanders
Ott 14, 2014, 12:33 pm

>63 clue: ooooh, that one was recommended to me by a friend YEARS ago.. still have to get to it!
Almost there!

66clue
Ott 29, 2014, 9:19 pm

The second ROOT for October is Crazy Horse by Larry McMurtry. One more to go for goal!

67avanders
Ott 30, 2014, 10:00 am

So Close!!

68Tess_W
Nov 1, 2014, 12:27 pm

Congratulating you in advance! I've read Crazy Horse by Larry McMurty and I thought it was a good read.

69clue
Nov 24, 2014, 11:33 pm

I've completed my challenge with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling. A great one to end the year with, I don't know why it's taken me so long to get around to it!

70avanders
Nov 25, 2014, 7:51 am

Ooh! Congrats and hope you liked it!!

71MissWatson
Nov 25, 2014, 10:22 am

Well done!

72clue
Modificato: Nov 30, 2014, 9:52 am

One more for November: The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. Not exactly what I expected. This is not the lecture but a book about the lecture, touching on all of the points in the lecture itself. I loved so much that he went back to his childhood dreams and correlated those to events in his adult life. A good book for parents, though of course, there is sadness. I went one over my goal with this one, 31 read against a goal of 30.

73connie53
Dic 7, 2014, 2:47 pm

Congrats on reaching your goal, Clue!

74clue
Dic 30, 2014, 11:06 am

I didn't even realize I wasn't posted to the reading list since August! Just caught it up and have read 32 ROOTS in 2014 against the goal of 30. On to next year!