rabbitprincess sails the perilous Sea of ROOTS in 2017

Yarr me hearties! I'm back again and sailing the sea of ROOTS, looking for hidden treasures.



Picture was taken in Portsmouth Harbour, Portsmouth, England.

My goal for the year is 50, as usual. My only rule is that I have to own the book. Rereads count, because after all they are part of my library and I want to enjoy them just as much as the new books.




And in an effort to revisit some oldies but goodies, Operation Going Through the Stacks is still under way.

And here's a pool of books from which I hope to draw many of this year's ROOTS.



2017 Reading List

Italics = books off the shelf. Bold = Favourite book of the month. Parenthetical notes will indicate audio, rereads, and other relevant information.

January
1. The African Svelte: Orthographic Mistakes and Misspellings That Often Make Sense, by Daniel Menaker
2. The Expendable Man, by Dorothy B. Hughes
3. Franklin's Lost Ship: The Discovery of HMS Erebus, by John Geiger and Alanna Mitchell
4. Why We Make Mistakes: How We Look Without Seeing, Forget Things in Seconds, and Are All Pretty Sure We Are Way Above Average, by Joseph T. Hallinan
5. Devil in the Smoke, by Justin Richards (audio, narrated by Dan Starkey)
6. The Pigeon Tunnel: Stories from My Life, by John le Carré (Overdrive)
7. The Iliad, by Homer (translated by E.V. Rieu) (reread)
8. Help Me, Jacques Cousteau, by Gil Adamson
9. Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race, by Margot Lee Shetterly
10. Honni soit qui mal y pense: L'incroyable histoire d'amour entre l'anglais et le français, by Henriette Walter
11. Black River Road: An Unthinkable Crime, an Unlikely Suspect and the Question of Character, by Debra Komar
12. Blood, Salt, Water, by Denise Mina
13. Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science, by Atul Gawande
14. The Lady in the Van, by Alan Bennett
15. By the Way, by Gordon Pinsent
16. The Wild, by Esther Freud
17. Death in Dublin, by Bartholomew Gill

February
18. His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
19. Brit Noir: The Pocket Essential Guide to British Crime Fiction, Film & TV, by Barry Forshaw
20. The Outlander, by Gil Adamson (reread)
21. North and South, by Elizabeth Gaskell (Serial Reader)
22. You're Saying it Wrong: A Pronunciation Guide to the 150 Most Commonly Mispronounced Words--and Their Tangled Histories of Misuse, by Ross Petras and Kathryn Petras
23. The Fifth Beatle: The Brian Epstein Story, by Vivek J. Tiwary
24. The Glass Universe: How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars, by Dava Sobel
25. A Shocking Assassination, by Cora Harrison
26. Gideon's Week, by J.J. Marric
27. The Twisted Claw, by Franklin W. Dixon
28. This is a Book About the Kids in the Hall, by John Semley
29. The Secret Place, by Tana French
30. That's Entertainment: My Life in The Jam, by Rick Buckler
31. Find a Victim, by Ross Macdonald

March
32. Glasgow Underground: The Glasgow District Subway, by Keith Anderson
33. The Unbearable Lightness of Being in Aberystwyth, by Malcolm Pryce
34. The Gift of the Gab: How Eloquence Works, by David Crystal
35. Talking to the Dead, by Harry Bingham
36. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, by John le Carré (reread)
37. Out of Bounds, by Val McDermid
38. Leviathan, by Thomas Hobbes (Serial Reader, abandoned)
39. The Phantom Freighter, by Franklin W. Dixon
40. Introvert Doodles, by Maureen "Marzi" Wilson
41. Working Stiff: Two Years, 262 Bodies, and the Making of a Medical Examiner, by Judy Melinek
41. In a Dry Season, by Peter Robinson
42. Hi, Anxiety: Life with a Bad Case of Nerves, by Kat Kinsman
43. The Secret of High Eldersham, by Miles Burton
44. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory, by Caitlin Doughty
45. Sunrise in the West, by Edith Pargeter

April
46. Ah-Choo!: The Uncommon Life of Your Common Cold, by Jennifer Ackerman
47. The Terror, by Dan Simmons
48. And All Through the House, by Ed McBain
49. Ancillary Justice, by Ann Leckie
50. Evan Can Wait, by Rhys Bowen
51. The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat: And Other Clinical Tales, by Oliver Sacks
52. Murder on the Leviathan, by Boris Akunin (translated by Andrew Bromfield)
53. Lawrence in Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly and the Making of the Modern Middle East, by Scott Anderson
54. Snowblind, by Ragnar Jónasson (translated by Quentin Bates)
55. Thinking About It Only Makes It Worse: And Other Lessons from Modern Life, by David Mitchell
56. Religion: A Discovery in Comics, by Margreet de Heer (translated by Margreet de Heer and Dan Schiff)
57. The Lonely Sea, by Alistair Maclean
58. Love Story, with Murders, by Harry Bingham
59. Spinsters in Jeopardy, by Ngaio Marsh
60. The Story of Martha, by Dan Abnett
61. Broken Promise, by Linwood Barclay
62. Best. State. Ever.: A Florida Man Defends His Homeland, by Dave Barry

May
63. Seeing Voices, by Oliver Sacks
64. The Black Moon, by Winston Graham
65. The Go-Between, by L.P. Hartley
66. Travesties, by Tom Stoppard
67. The Ghost Map, by Steven Johnson
68. Death of a Busybody, by George Bellairs
69. Island: The Collected Stories, by Alistair MacLeod
70. A Great Reckoning, by Louise Penny
71. Last Rituals, by Yrsa Sigurdardottir (translated by Bernard Scudder)
72. The Burgess Shale: The Canadian Writing Landscape of the 1960s, by Margaret Atwood
73. The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman (audio, narrated by Neil Gaiman)
74. We, the Drowned, by Carsten Jensen (translated by Charlotte Barslund and Emma Ryder)

June
75. The Dragon at Noonday, by Edith Pargeter
76. The Ghosts of Belfast, by Stuart Neville
77. The Strange Death of Fiona Griffiths, by Harry Bingham
78. The Dead Shall Be Raised and The Murder of a Quack, by George Bellairs (abandoned)
79. Culloden Tales: Stories from Scotland's Most Famous Battlefield, by Hugh G. Allison
80. The Four Swans, by Winston Graham
81. Mixed Blessings, by William and Barbara Christopher
82. The Long Drop, by Denise Mina
83. The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women, by Kate Moore
84. The Birds and Don't Look Now, by Daphne du Maurier (audio, read by Peter Capaldi)
85. Billy Boyle, by James R. Benn
86. Pacific: Silicon Chips and Surfboards, Coral Reefs and Atom Bombs, Brutal Dictators, Fading Empires, and the Coming Collision of the World's Superpowers, by Simon Winchester
87. If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face?: My Adventures in the Art and Science of Relating and Communicating, by Alan Alda

July
88. The Hounds of Sunset, by Edith Pargeter
89. Doctor Who: The Churchill Years, Volume 1, by Phil Mulryne et al. (Big Finish audio drama)
90. Magpie Murders, by Anthony Horowitz
91. Murder on the Mauretania, by Conrad Allen (abandoned)
92. The Cheltenham Square Murder, by John Bude
93. When Breath Becomes Air, by Paul Kalanithi
94. Far from True, by Linwood Barclay
95. Ask a Policeman, by The Detection Club
96. My Secret Life in Hut Six: One Woman’s Experiences at Bletchley Park, by Mair Russell-Jones and Gethin Russell-Jones
97. Blood and Stone, by Chris Collett (abandoned)
98. Singing in the Shrouds, by Ngaio Marsh
99. Doctor Who: The Last Dodo, by Jacqueline Rayner (audio, read by Freema Agyeman)
100. This Thing of Darkness, by Harry Bingham
101. Even Dogs in the Wild, by Ian Rankin
102. Careful: A User’s Guide to Our Injury-prone Minds, by Steve Casner
103. Two Solitudes, by Hugh MacLennan

August
104. Arctic Assignment: The Story of the St. Roch, by Sgt. F.S. Farrar
105. Tsunami: The Newfoundland Tidal Wave Disaster, by Maura Hanrahan
106. The Stone Rose, by Jacqueline Rayner (audio, read by David Tennant)
107. My Age of Anxiety: Fear, Hope, Dread, and the Search for Peace of Mind, by Scott Stossel
108. Human Resources, Part 1 (Big Finish audio drama, via Hoopla)
109. The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right, by Atul Gawande
110. Assignment in Brittany, by Helen MacInnes
111. The Case of the Dangerous Dowager, by Perry Mason (abandoned)
112. Human Resources, Part 2, by Eddie Robson (Big Finish audio drama, via Hoopla)
113. Big Mushy Happy Lump, by Sarah Andersen
114. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, by Mark Manson
115. Knots and Crosses, by Ian Rankin
116. Pirate Women: The Princesses, Prostitutes and Privateers Who Ruled the Seven Seas, by Laura Sooke Duncombe
117. Castles: Their History and Evolution in Medieval Britain, by Marc Morris
118. The Sea Was in Their Blood: The Disappearance of the Miss Ally’s Five-Man Crew, by Quentin Casey
119. Front Lines, by Michael Grant (abandoned)
120. Queens’ Play, by Dorothy Dunnett
121. Imperium, by Robert Harris

September
122. The Blackhouse, by Peter May
123. A Foreign Country, by Charles Cumming
124. What Bloody Man is That?, by Simon Brett
125. The Right to Be Cold, by Sheila Watt-Cloutier
126. Two Years Before the Mast, by Richard Henry Dana, Jr.
127. A Legacy of Spies, by John le Carré
128. Agatha Christie’s Murder in the Making: Stories and Secrets from Her Archive, by John Curran
129. The Third Doctor Adventures, Vol. 1: The Heralds of Destruction, by Paul Cornell et al.

October
130. Afterglow and Nightfall, by Edith Pargeter
131. The Devil in Velvet, by John Dickson Carr
132. The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern: A Complete History, by David McPherson
133. The Gone-Away World, by Nick Harkaway
134. Decision at Delphi, by Helen MacInnes
135. The Etymologicon, by Mark Forsyth
136. My Soul to Take, by Yrsa Sigurdardottir (translated by Bernard Scudder and Anna Yates)
137. The Old Editor Says: Maxims for Writing and Editing, by John E. McIntyre
138. Head of Drama: The Memoir of Sydney Newman, by Sydney Newman (abandoned)
139. L’homme aux cercles bleus, by Fred Vargas
140. They Came to Baghdad, by Agatha Christie
141. My Cousin Rachel, by Daphne du Maurier
142. Reykjavík Nights, by Arnaldur Indriðason (translated by Victoria Cribb)
143. Admissions: Life as a Brain Surgeon, by Henry Marsh
144. The Lair of the White Worm, by Bram Stoker

November
145. Twelve Doctors of Christmas, by Jacqueline Rayner
146. The John Lennon Letters, ed. Hunter Davies (audio, read by Christopher Eccleston)
147. The Captive Crown, by Nigel Tranter
148. The Hammett Hex, by Victoria Abbott
149. Revolution: The History of England from the Battle of the Boyne to the Battle of Waterloo, by Peter Ackroyd
150. The Stealers from Saiph, by Nigel Robinson (Big Finish Companion Chronicles, read by Mary Tamm)
151. Editing by Design (3rd edition), by Jan V. White (abandoned)
152. The Templars: The Rise and Spectacular Fall of God’s Holy Warriors, by Dan Jones
153. The Death of Expertise: The Campaign Against Established Knowledge and Why it Matters, by Tom Nichols
154. The Angry Tide, by Winston Graham
155. The Mystery of the Flying Express, by Franklin W. Dixon
156. Making Sense: The Glamorous Story of English Grammar, by David Crystal
157. The Prairie Dog Conspiracy, by Eric Wilson
158. Henry IV, Part 2, by William Shakespeare
159. Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen
160. Calamity in Kent, by John Rowland
161. The Day is Dark, by Yrsa Sigurdardóttir (translated by Philip Roughton)
162. Doctor Who: Fourth Doctor Vol. 1: Gaze of the Medusa, by Gordon Rennie and Emma Beeby
163. The Boats of the “Glen Carrig”, by William Hope Hodgson
164. The Pursued, by C.S. Forester

December
165. Bright-Sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America, by Barbara Ehrenreich
166. A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens (Serial Reader)
167. How Green Was My Valley, by Richard Llewellyn
168. The Stranger from the Sea, by Winston Graham
169. Doctor Who and the Androids of Tara, by Terrance Dicks
170. King’s Ransom, by Ed McBain
171. Doctor Who: Winner Takes All, by Jacqueline Rayner
172. Doctor Who: Borrowed Time, by Naomi A. Alderman
173. Flatland: A Romance in Many Dimensions, by Edwin A. Abbott (Serial Reader)
174. Smiley’s People, by John le Carré (reread)
175. Ask an Astronaut: My Guide to Life in Space, by Tim Peake
176. "1979", by Michael Healey
177. From Here to Eternity: Travelling the World in Search of the Good Death, by Caitlin Doughty
178. None But the Dead, by Lin Anderson
179. The Distant Echo, by Val McDermid (reread)
180. The Return of the Soldier, by Rebecca West (Project Gutenberg)
181. A Suitable Lie, by Michael J. Malone
182. Ghost Stories of an Antiquary, by M.R. James (Serial Reader)
183. Doctor Who: The Eleventh Doctor Archives, Volume 2, by various authors
184. Doctor Who: The Eleventh Doctor Archives, Volume 3, by various authors

I see this your year for the nautical--great idea. I have a question, though, is there a "quick" way to post your pool of books, or do you do it one by one the "regular" way?

Happy rooting in 2017 and Happy New Year!

Thanks, Tess! I used Covers View in My Books to look at all the books I had tagged "2017 POOL" and then made a screenshot of that view. This is how I did that: https://www.librarything.com/topic/209051#5383527

>4 rabbitprincess: TY so much! I wasn't aware that feature even existed!

Welcome back, and happy reading!

>5 Tess_W: Aren't those instructions awesome!! I like to periodically come by and gush about them. It makes it so much faster to put an image of my book covers in a post. I think I tried it one-by-one once and it took forever!

Happy New Year, rabbitprincess!

>5 Tess_W: You're very welcome! It makes it a lot easier to post cover photos :)

>6 Amberfly: Thanks, and have a great reading year as well!

>7 Sace: I'm glad to hear the instructions are so helpful! Happy new year!

****

My reading schedule has undergone a slight change in plans: I'm squeezing in a reread of The Iliad in honour of William Christopher, aka Father Mulcahy on M*A*S*H, who died on New Year's Eve. Christopher was known to read Homer in the original Greek during his breaks on set, and while I can't read Greek, I can read translations! Actually I think he would normally read The Odyssey, but I don't have that on hand at the moment.

Just popping in to say Happy New Year and looking forward to reading your thoughts!

>8 rabbitprincess: I hadn't heard about William Christopher's death. There are so many well known names that were lost in 2016.

Good luck with your ROOTing.

>1 rabbitprincess: Welcome back for 2017 and a Happy New ROOTing Year!

Good luck with reaching your goal of 50!You can do this!

Happy to see names I recognize! Good ROOTing and very Happy New Year. You've got some good choices from which to pick.

>9 Caramellunacy: Thanks for stopping by! Haha I'm already feeling behind seeing that people on LT and on Litsy have chalked up books to start the year!

>10 Familyhistorian: And it was particularly sad that it happened right at the end of the year; I feel like it will be overshadowed by the sheer volume of others we lost.

>11 klarusu: Thanks, you too!

>12 LadyBookworth: Thanks for the encouragement! I have no shortage of books to choose from to make that goal ;)

>13 enemyanniemae: I'm looking forward to them! Most of them were picked as part of various challenges over in the Category Challenge. I don't always read the books in the months they're intended to be read, but I'd like to get to them at some point during the year. I do like the challenges for that reason; it's easier to decide what to read if I've whittled down my 200+ TBR pile to 40 or 50.

Hooray, glad to see you back! I have The Graveyard Book in my TBR piles somewhere - I did start it once, but got distracted, although I enjoyed it as far as I read! I'd have to start from the beginning now though, it's been too long!

Love the pool picture! Happy ROOTing!

Welcome back & Happy 2017 ROOTing!

Here's to a great 2017 with lots of ROOTing.

Looking at your fun list of books...
I also hope to read Ancillary Justice this year.. and the Graveyard Book too! :)

>15 Jackie_K: My new thing is to listen to an audiobook while I do the dishes, and at about 15 to 20 minutes a day, audiobooks become quite doable. So there's a good chance this will actually get read!

>16 MissWatson: Thanks! I had fun picking out the books, and will have even more fun crossing them off as I read ;) Of course I'm not reading anything from the pool at the moment!

>17 avanders: >19 avanders: Thanks! Ancillary Justice was one of the books I bought at the Mr. B's Emporium "Reading Spa"; I'd like to get through some more of those this year.

>18 Robertgreaves: Thanks, and the same to you!

Hi rabbitprincess and happy ROOTing for 2017!

I love your covers montage. Unfortunately I'm not that organized and have absolutely no idea what I'm going to read off my shelves this year. I suppose I could pick some, tag them, and then maybe that would inspire me to actually read them.

Good luck with your 2017 ROOTs! I read The Graveyard Book a couple of years ago. It was cute :). I hadn't realized it was sort of modeled after The Jungle Book, though, and I've never read that one, so I think some of the intention was probably lost on me.

>20 rabbitprincess: oooooh, fun! I have put Mr. B's Emporium book-a-month (probably for only 6 months) on my wishlist... perhaps next Christmas ;)

>2 rabbitprincess: what an inviting pool of books! Happy ROOTing

>21 karenmarie: Thanks! Most of these books come from the Category Challenge -- we have a couple of year-long challenges for which we set the parameters before the year begins, so I pick books from my own shelves that would fit those challenges. I don't usually read the books in the month for which the challenge was planned, and I might not read them all, but it's a good way to help narrow down the possibilities.

>22 readingtangent: I didn't realize that either! Thanks for telling me -- it will be helpful to know. :)

>23 avanders: Fingers crossed that you get that for Christmas! I went to the spa on a trip to Bath and southwestern England in 2015. The book a month sounds nice, but it relies in part on your providing feedback about the books you get so that they can refine their recommendations for later months, and I can't read new acquisitions that quickly :P

>24 detailmuse: Thanks! There's a printout of it taped to my monitor, so it's always in view!

****

Currently ROOTing:

The Iliad, by Homer (revised E.V. Rieu translation published by Penguin Classics)
Devil in the Smoke, by Justin Richards (a Doctor Who story involving Madam Vastra, Jenny, and Strax -- audiobook narrated by Dan Starkey, who plays Strax)

I'm a bit envious of your pool, happy rooting!

Thanks for educating me on how to make a book cover tableau. Lovely variety of books, great range and familiar and unfamiliar titles.

Love snooping in fellow ROOTers diaries to see if there are titles that intrigue me. There always are!

Enjoy your trip on the way to your goal!

>26 nerwende: Thanks! I like the pool for reminding me that I have a heck of a lot of interesting titles!

>27 Limelite: You're welcome! The Covers View feature is a nifty one. The titles have all been picked for a variety of challenges, group reads and "hey, I feel like reading this one sometime". I don't expect to read them all, but it's a good way to help me pick something if I'm stuck for choice.

****

First ROOT of the year is from the pool.

Franklin's Lost Ship: The Historic Discovery of HMS Erebus, by John Geiger and Alanna Mitchell
ROOT 1 of 50
Source: Christmas gift (2015)
Rating: 4/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/124504770

This is an accessible introduction to what the Franklin expedition was about and an interesting look at the science and technology used to help find the ships from the expedition. It's a bit outdated in that the second ship has now been found (it hadn't been found at the time of publication), but the search itself is interesting, and there are some stunning photos.

Happy New Year and best of luck reading off the shelf. I love your photo montage. Lots of great titles there.

Franklin's Lost Ship looks really interesting.

>25 rabbitprincess: I would *love* to go to the spa too.. but I think going to Bath again isn't in our plans for many years.... :)
Ohh, that's interesting and I didn't know that! How fun... I agree that reading new acquisitions that quickly can be a challenge, but I might be up for it to fulfill their purposes ;)

>28 rabbitprincess: and congrats on your first ROOT pulled!

>28 rabbitprincess: Wow, rabbitprincess! Your reading and reporting on Franklin's Lost Ship is serendipity for me. Just last night husband and I watched the Nova episode, season 43, episode 2, about it!!! We had never heard of the ships before and were fascinated by the discovery of the first ship. And the second has been discovered? Whew! I'm behind.

>29 billiejean: Thanks, and a happy new year to you as well! I am looking forward to reading more of those titles, given my success with the first one.

>30 avanders: Thanks! If you do get to go for the reading year, I will be interested to hear how it works out for you. :)

>31 karenmarie: The second ship was discovered only a couple of months ago, so you're not THAT far behind. :) I think we watched that documentary as well, but we borrowed it from the library (as I watch most things). That's a funny coincidence that you watched a show about it and I read about it!

****

Second ROOT of the month/year was an audiobook. I seem to be getting the hang of this audiobook thing.

Devil in the Smoke, by Justin Richards (audio, narrated by Dan Starkey)
ROOT 2 of 50
Source: library CDs
Rating: 3.5/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/105161116

This was a fun listen while I did chores; it was easy to keep track of the story, perhaps too easy at times. The main attraction was Dan Starkey's narration, mainly because he plays a Sontaran named Strax who cracks me up whenever he says anything. So I enjoyed it, but if you don't like the character on the show (or the other members of the "Paternoster Gang", Madam Vastra and Jenny), it won't do much for you.

It's been a weekend for finishing up books, although I do seem to do that a lot of weekends. One of the books I finished was a ROOT.

The Iliad, by Homer (translated by E.V. Rieu)
ROOT 3 of 50
Source: bought for school
Rating: 3.5/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/work/5057/reviews/70475579

I originally read this for a university class on Greek mythology and reread it this year in honour of William Christopher (Father Mulcahy on M*A*S*H). It was a lot more gruesome in detail than I remembered! The gods were as delightfully petty and amusing as ever, so at least that hadn't changed.

This is also the second year in a row in which I read some myths to start out the year (last year I read Myths of the Norsemen, as retold by Roger Lancelyn Green). Maybe this is a tradition I should continue!

Franklin's Lost Ship sounds really interesting - I know next to nothing about the Franklin expedition (though from other comments it sounds like there may be an interesting TV episode to watch as well...) but have a weakness for all things nautical

We read (parts of) The Iliad in high school, and I don't remember what translation I had - just that it seemed like everyone was always tying their "supple sandals" so much that it seemed like they were going to a catwalk rather than a battle...

It's embarrassing that even though I was in Honors English starting in 9th grade, we never read The Iliad. Maybe time for a quick bit of 'cul-chah'. *smile*

woo hoo congrats on your 3 ROOTs!

& of course I'll be sure to share what happens w/ Mr. B's, if I get it..... :)
OH! I have been thinking this whole time about getting it for Christmas next year, but my bday comes WAY before Christmas and my husband would be open to that sort of suggestion.. hmmmmmmm...... ;)

Mr. Fox was amenable to suggestions that Mr. B would make a most excellent anniversary present (so good luck!)

>34 Caramellunacy: It was a pretty interesting episode!

Haha! I don't think they had supple sandals in my translation. They had a lot of people's intestines falling out and eyeballs dropping into the dust. And Paris is described as having "bedroom eyes", which cracked me up on the bus.

>35 karenmarie: I don't think we really covered any myths and legends on the level of The Iliad in high school either. Anything like that I read on my own. It wasn't until university that I got into courses that covered Greek myth or King Arthur in greater depth.

>36 avanders: Yes, if you get any Mr. B's spas or subscriptions I shall expect unboxing photos ;)

>37 Caramellunacy: Yay!!

****

So far I seem to be doing a better job of cleaning out last year's pool of books than reading from this year's. Funny how that works.

Help Me, Jacques Cousteau, by Gil Adamson
ROOT 4 of 50
Source: Christmas gift (2009!)
Rating: 4/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/70473977

It may help to treat this as a collection of short stories. If you like stories about eccentric families and tales of weird childhoods, this may tick some boxes for you. Personally, I thought I'd just read this and pass it along, but I'm keeping it!

>37 Caramellunacy: v nice! :)
>38 rabbitprincess: good reminder! I get so excited sometimes I forget to log it... I'm sure I won't forget w/ Mr. B's though... we've all talked about it so much! The anticipation is so high.... ;)

And I'm always much better w/ ROOTs in the beginning of the year... I wonder why...
congrats on another ROOT pulled!

>39 avanders: The motivation is probably higher at the start of the new year. A new year, a fresh start!

****

I've been working my way through some library books but now have two ROOTS to report. Both were very good.

By the Way, by Gordon Pinsent
ROOT 5 of 50
Source: Berry and Peterson Books, Kingston, ON
Rating: 4/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/82819011

This was as good as I expected it to be. It even includes sketches and poetry! Great find on my part.

The Wild, by Esther Freud
ROOT 6 of 50
Source: library book sale
Rating: 3.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/116423008

This ended up being a really fast read. I nearly finished it in just one day of bus riding!

>40 rabbitprincess: I think that's right.. it's just a little odd to me .. when I think about it, the fact that it's a new year is really kind of arbitrary... nothing technically changes, but just the internal knowledge that it's a new year seems to have such a big effect. So interesting!

Congrats on 2 more ROOTs pulled!

>41 avanders: Thanks!

****

January recap: 6 ROOTS pulled (YTD: 6)

*Franklin's Lost Ship: The Discovery of HMS Erebus, by John Geiger and Alanna Mitchell
Devil in the Smoke, by Justin Richards (audio, narrated by Dan Starkey)
The Iliad, by Homer (translated by E.V. Rieu) (reread)
^Help Me, Jacques Cousteau, by Gil Adamson
^By the Way, by Gordon Pinsent
*The Wild, by Esther Freud

ROOT of the month: I had three 4-star reads but will have to go with By the Way, which was as heartwarming as I expected. Love Gordon Pinsent.

I read two books from the 2017 pool (marked with an asterisk) and two from the 2016 pool (marked with a ^). I'm not intending to systematically finish off the 2016 pool; this just came about because I'd had two books from the pool cued up at the end of 2016 and carried them over to this month.

I still have Nation Maker, from last year's pool, on deck, and a book from this year's pool in the on-deck pile. Hoping to draw more from the pool next month.

First ROOT of February:

His Last Bow, by Sherlock Holmes
ROOT 7 of 50
Source: Book Depository
Rating: 4/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/105105811

I thought I'd read this already, but apparently not. Holmes and Watson are always reliable entertainment. My favourite story was "The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans".

>43 rabbitprincess: I have that book, rabbitprincess, and keep meaning to return to Sherlock Holmes but never seem to. Maybe this is good motivation.....

>44 karenmarie: There are so many books like that, where we keep meaning to get to them and others get in the way!

****

Finally stopping by with my second ROOT for February.

The Outlander, by Gil Adamson
ROOT 8 of 50
Source: bought with a gift card
Rating: 4/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/work/3401050/reviews/70444138

This was a reread for Canada's 150th birthday. With rereads I'm always surprised by how much I remember and how much I forgot. This is still a very good book, although I have so many good books to look forward to that I was tempted to not reread this. But in the end I'm glad I did.

Hi rabbitprincess! I love to re-read books, too.

>47 karenmarie: - too heavy-handed when I clicked Post message - duplicated.

Congrats on another ROOT! Sounds interesting .. I liked your review! :)

I have mixed feelings about re-reads. There are books that I want to re-read, but I find it difficult to actually do it (with some exceptions) based on the TBR mountain waiting in the wings...

The exceptions are generally those fun books that are quick reads that I may pick up when my brain is otherwise too fried for something new ... I re-read the HPs a few times while in law school for just that reason.... ;)

>47 karenmarie: Yes, sometimes rereads are just the ticket for your reading mood. In this case, I'd been reminded of The Outlander by a photo challenge on the app Litsy, and so into the reading queue it went!

>48 avanders: I feel the same way about reconciling rereads vs. the TBR mountain! Every year in the Category Challenge I set aside a category for rereads and usually give myself a goal of 6, so that I have "permission" to enjoy some of those rereads. I also endlessly reread comic books and Dave Barry books, but I don't count those in my stats.

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After a long run of library books, I managed to finish a ROOT on the bus this week.

Gideon's Week, by J.J. Marric
ROOT 9 of 50
Source: Friends of Library and Archives Canada book sale
Rating: 3/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/89848389

Decided to raid my stockpile of Gideon novels and settled on this one, which is the oldest unread Gideon in my possession. It's the second in the series and just as good as the first. The early ones are probably better, especially because the series was continued by another author after John Creasey (the man behind the pseudonym) died.

Book of the month for me right here!

The Secret Place, by Tana French
ROOT 10 of 50
Source: Book Depository
Rating: 5/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/126251063

This was a considerably heftier mystery than the one in the previous post, and even more engrossing. Sometimes I did think that there was some bending of time and space in the main storyline in order to compress the events into a single day, but that didn't stop me from turning the pages. Tempted to give this to friends with daughters, even if they don't read mysteries, just because the portrayal of teenage girls is so sharply realized.

>50 rabbitprincess: Oh wow. That went straight into my Amazon basket. I just skipped the wishlist step.

>50 rabbitprincess: I think I need to start reading Tana French again. I read the first one and have the next 4 on my shelves, but they haven't called out to me yet. In your opinion, can they be read out of order?

I remember starting the second one and not particularly liking the beginning.

>50 rabbitprincess: I read my first Tana French last year In The Woods and was under impressed to say the least. However, your review makes me want to maybe give it another try!

>51 Sace: Yikes, sorry about that! ;)

>52 karenmarie: I thought maybe with this one in particular, it may be useful to know what went on in the previous volume (Broken Harbour), because they do make reference to events that happened in that book. Otherwise, I would say read whichever ones interest you. I'm not about to tell you to slog through books in series that you're not interested in just to get to the one you ARE interested in :)

>53 Tess_W: It seems from reviews that with the first two books of that series in particular, people either love the first one and don't like the second one as much, or vice-versa. Each book in the series is narrated by a different member of the Dublin Murder Squad, so another book might have a more interesting narrator for you. Personally I found that Stephen Moran, the detective narrator in The Secret Place, didn't jump out for me as a highly amazing character, but in a way that worked out well because he didn't divert too much attention from the main storyline.

>54 rabbitprincess: Thanks! I'll keep that in mind and possibly jump to Broken Harbour next.

>50 rabbitprincess: Sounds good! Added to my list.

>55 karenmarie: Sounds like a plan. I don't think there are many references to books 2 or 3 in Broken Harbour, so you're probably safe in doing that.

>56 readingtangent: Hope you like it!

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Review for my last ROOT of February:

Find a Victim, by Ross Macdonald
ROOT 11 of 50
Source: gift
Rating: 3/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/92563901

Gradually working my way through my stockpile of Ross Macdonald. I average about one a year.

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February recap: 5 ROOTS pulled (YTD: 11)

His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Outlander, by Gil Adamson (reread)
Gideon's Week, by J.J. Marric
*The Secret Place, by Tana French
Find a Victim, by Ross Macdonald

ROOT of the month: The Secret Place.

I read one book from the 2017 pool (marked with an asterisk) and have three more on deck. I've been going on tangents lately in my ROOT reading, picking up books because other people have reminded me I have them. And I ended up taking Nation Maker off the deck because it had been sitting in my on-deck pile for far too long.

>57 rabbitprincess: I just got my copy of The Secret Place in the mail. I have never read Tana French. I am eager to read this one. Congrats on all your ROOTing.

>58 Sace: Yay! And thanks!

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First ROOT for March is a reread.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, by John le Carré
ROOT 12 of 50
Source: Chaptigo Kingston
Rating: 4/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/82818845

I could almost hear the soundtrack for the Gary Oldman movie as I read. (And theoretically, I could have *actually* heard the soundtrack, because I own it.) A book that gets better with every reread.

Boy, it has taken FOREVER to read this ROOT. That's why it is only my second of March.

In a Dry Season, by Peter Robinson
ROOT 13 of 50
Source: pilfered from my parents
Rating: 2/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/129424328

I knew I'd probably be reading this and passing it along, and it lived up to that expectation. The WW2 angle was interesting, as it always is, but the relationship between Banks and Cabbot felt inappropriate.

... I will definitely not be able to "catch up" on threads.. so I'm just dropping in to say Hi!! :)

>61 avanders: And it is a most welcome Hi! :D Very glad to see you around the threads again.

>60 rabbitprincess: "Pilfered from my parents" :-D

>62 rabbitprincess: :-)

>63 Sace: Yes, my mum was cleaning out her mystery bookshelves and I took that one -- she said she didn't need it back, so it will be passed along to the bazaar run by my BF's parents' church.

>64 avanders: And yay for update! I am glad to hear the three of you are doing well.

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I finally managed to finish my last ROOT of the month. It has been a library-heavy month for me!

Sunrise in the West, by Edith Pargeter
ROOT 14 of 50
Source: Book Bazaar
Rating: 4/5
Review: pending

I really enjoyed this book. Took a little while to settle into, but overall it was very good. I'll read the second book soon, maybe after a different book or two.

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I won't have time tomorrow to do a recap, so here it is today.

March recap: 3 ROOTS pulled (YTD: 14)

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, by John le Carré (reread)
*In a Dry Season, by Peter Robinson
Sunrise in the West, by Edith Pargeter

ROOT of the month: Sunrise in the West.

I read one book from the 2017 pool (marked with an asterisk), am currently reading two others, and have a third in my purse as my next bus book. I also have a book from LAST year's pool on deck because it was chosen for me to review by the Go Review That Book! group.

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And how is it the end of Q1 already? Let's see how well I'm doing with my pool:



Not great, but there's still time to read these books! I must admit, though, there are a couple that I doubt will get read. I've been rereading a lot of books this year already, so the Chandler omnibus may not be finished (the two stories in the omnibus I want to read are ones I read before), and Mansfield Park is looking pretty daunting unless I check it out on Serial Reader.

I am very pleased with myself for getting some sci-fi back into my reading diet, and some "harder" sci-fi to boot (instead of my usual Doctor Who novelizations, which are usually pretty light fare, in the best possible way).

Ancillary Justice, by Ann Leckie
ROOT 15 of 50
Source: Mr B's Emporium of Bookish Delights, Bath, England
Rating: 3/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/121627683

This book took me a little while to wrap my head around -- at first I thought, when they said that Breq was a ship, that they meant an ACTUAL ship walking around and talking, like a really big robot. Fortunately I figured out what was actually going on. I was always intrigued but not really on the edge of my seat. I'll probably continue with the other two books, and buy them so that I have them on hand for exactly the right mood.

>66 rabbitprincess: I visited Bath, England in 2003. Of all the places in England, I think this was my favorite--so beautiful! And of course, so very historical.

>65 rabbitprincess: Your progress looks good to me! & you're right, there's still plenty of time :)

>66 rabbitprincess: congrats on getting the sci-fi back into your reading diet ;) I quite enjoy the genre myself...
oh. So Breq isn't an actual ship, huh? I need to read that book...... :) (I *just* started it (a few pages) a while ago but need to get back to it!)

I've also greatly treated myself w/ a Mr. B's subscription -- just signed up today!

>67 Tess_W: me too! It may have been 2002... but Bath is so cool! :)

>67 Tess_W: It is indeed very historical. Beautiful buildings, and so distinctive. I watched an episode of Morse that was partly set in Bath and was pleased to note that yes, it did actually appear to have been filmed there!

>68 avanders: The way ships in the Radch seem to work is that there is the actual physical ship, and then there are the "ancillaries", which are humanoid in form but are all connected to the consciousness of the ship and to each other. So Breq is an ancillary. That would be a lot less cumbersome than what I'd imagined.

Also YAY for Mr B's subscription! Looking forward to hearing all about it!

And speaking of the Radch, I just went out today to buy Ancillary Sword and Ancillary Mercy :D

>69 rabbitprincess: oooh, interesting! Thanks :)
fun on buying the 2nd and 3rd in the series! I've heard so many good things about it!

& I know I'm sooo excited about the subscription!!

What a fun coincidence - my Mr B's latest subscription book happens to be Ancillary Justice!

>70 avanders: :D

>71 Caramellunacy: Nice! I hope you like it!

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My latest ROOT is a historical mystery (and also fits with my "theme"):

Murder on the Leviathan, by Boris Akunin (translated by Andrew Bromfield)
ROOT 16 of 50
Source: random church book sale
Rating: 3/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/130511284

This was pretty good as a light entertainment. I'd pick up another in the series (even if it isn't set on a ship like this one is).

Hi RP, just stopping by to see what you have been reading. I was away for a few weeks, so now I'm slowly trying to catch up on threads.

>73 connie53: It's great to see you back! Thanks for stopping by :)

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This past weekend was a four-day weekend for me; I had Good Friday and Easter Monday off. I used that time to finish several books, including this ROOT.

The Lonely Sea, by Alistair MacLean
ROOT 17 of 50
Source: Christmas gift
Rating: 4/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/104608145

This book is chock-a-block with stories about ships, navies and the tireless crews of World War 2 battleships. Recommended for fans of MacLean or those who wish to try him out.

Spinsters in Jeopardy, by Ngaio Marsh
ROOT 18 of 50
Source: Rockcliffe Park book sale
Rating: 3/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/123120848

Looking forward to comparing notes on this one with my friend who has been reading the Alleyn series in order. I thought it was totally bananas. She will likely concur. :)

"I thought it was totally bananas" ... as in, crazy? as in, awesome? Probably not the latter given your rating... I've been meaning to read something by Ngaio Marsh for years now....

RP, I see you are doing well with your goals so far. Good for you!

I had to laugh this morning, when I read your very first post about "hidden treasure". Guess I was on a similar wavelength when I created my topic or maybe it was the commercial for the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie, stuck in my head?

Good luck with your ROOTing this year.

>76 avanders: More crazy than awesome. If you're planning to read a Marsh, I might suggest Artists in Crime, because that's the first one where we meet the artist Agatha Troy. My absolute favourite by her is Light Thickens, but that's the last one in the series :P

That said, if you're planning to read a Marsh that centres on ridiculous drug cults, I would certainly recommend Spinsters in Jeopardy over the earlier book Death in Ecstasy.

>77 This-n-That: Thanks! That's funny that we were both thinking of our ROOT stashes as full of hidden treasures to plunder. The trailer I saw for the Pirates movie claimed that it would be the final one...!

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Managed to finish a ROOT on a train trip home to see my parents. The train trip back was useless because I was being walloped with a cold and had no energy for reading.

Broken Promise, by Linwood Barclay
ROOT 19 of 50
Source: Chaptigo
Rating: 3.5/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/120157221

This is the first in a trilogy and has a lot of setting up to do, which is fair. I'm glad I have the other two books on hand to read soon!

>78 rabbitprincess: awesome - thanks for the recommendations -- I'll put a couple of those on my wishlist ;)

>79 avanders: Excellent. And if you're looking for audio, apparently Benedict Cumberbatch does narration for a couple of the Marshes, but they're abridged (which I totally don't understand).

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It is unlikely I will finish any ROOTs today, so here is my recap for April (gack!).

April recap: 5 ROOTS pulled (YTD: 19)

*Ancillary Justice, by Ann Leckie
Murder on the Leviathan, by Boris Akunin (translated by Andrew Bromfield)
*The Lonely Sea, by Alistair Maclean
Spinsters in Jeopardy, by Ngaio Marsh
*Broken Promise, by Linwood Barclay

ROOT of the month: The Lonely Sea.

I read three books from the 2017 pool (marked with an asterisk). Good job, me! I am currently reading two other books from the pool and have another in my bus-book rotation. I'm also currently reading the book from the 2016 pool that I mentioned last month.

I expect May to be filled with historical fiction (Poldark, the Brothers of Gwynedd), some CanLit (Alistair MacLeod), and maybe a mystery or two. I am going on vacation for a week in the middle of the month and will have to plan my vacation TBR!

>80 rabbitprincess: There's something about planning holiday reads, isn't there? It's one of those tasks that really makes me feel like I'm off on holiday! (we're away for a long weekend at the start of June, and I'm already wondering if I've got something that relates to our destination)

>80 rabbitprincess: Cheers to historical fiction, Poldark and vacations. Sounds fun!!

I love planning vacation reads. So much more fun than choosing clothes to pack.

>80 rabbitprincess: oooh, good to keep in mind! (Cumberbatch narration)

Congrats on your ROOTs for the month!

Mm going on vacation for a week & planning out your reading sounds wonderful! :)

>83 Amberfly: Yes, planning vacation reads is real fun!

>80 rabbitprincess: Wow, you are working hard on your ROOTs! Can't wait to see what you put in your vacation stack(s). :)

>81 Jackie_K: Yes, that and planning which bookstores to visit! I've already had one bookstore nixed by the BF because it is too far away from where we will be based, and it's in kind of a weird industrial area. Boo!

>82 This-n-That: Indeed, it should be a fun month! Maybe not so much because of Poldark though. Just finished the fifth book and read the summary of the sixth, and…eep.

>83 Amberfly: I know eh? With clothes I just count how many of each item I need and throw any old thing in the suitcase. Books require much more careful thought!

>84 avanders: Thanks! I am only just now recording my first for May, although reading in general has been slow this week.

>85 connie53: I've had a bit of fun planning it!

>86 LauraBrook: Drumroll please…

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So far this is what I'm thinking for my vacation reading:

Two Years Before the Mast, by Richard Henry Dana Jr. -- ebook, good for mealtime reading (where I can, given that I am travelling with my BF)
Island: The Complete Stories, by Alistair MacLeod -- short story collection, good for intermittent reading
A Great Reckoning, by Louise Penny -- mystery, a nice fast read (hopefully)
The Dragon at Noonday, by Edith Pargeter -- historical fiction, a slower, more contemplative read

I may also finally finish The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman, which is currently living on my phone. I can't sync up new audiobooks on my phone at the moment, unfortunately; apparently I have to upgrade my whole operating system. (It's an older Mac and I've resisted upgrading for a long time.)

Other possibilities include another light mystery (perhaps Calamity in Kent, another book in my pool) or my grandma's First Inspector Morse Omnibus, which is three books in one. (Alternatively, I might keep the Morse as my bus book for the rest of the week, because most of what I've listed above is currently in my purse.)

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I'm 40% of the way to my goal with this book.

The Black Moon, by Winston Graham (Poldark #5)
ROOT 20 of 50
Source: library book sale
Rating: 3/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/125286556

I read this for the year-long Poldark group read in the Category Challenge group and to be up to date with the books for when Season 3 of the new adaptation airs. However, there are some events in this book that I really don't want to see on the screen. Very mixed feelings on this one.

Can't catch up, but will start anew here! Happy reading!

>88 Tess_W: Thanks!

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So we're back from vacation today. We visited Halifax, Nova Scotia, for a few days, and made a proper adventure of it by taking the overnight train there and back. Foolishly, I did NOT think to bring Murder on the Orient Express with me, although I did make plenty of jokes about it on the way down.

Of the books I listed in >87 rabbitprincess:, I finished two, which is not bad, especially because they were both ROOTS.

Island: The Complete Stories, by Alistair MacLeod
ROOT 21 of 50
Source: RPPS book sale
Rating: 3.5/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/123125104

I own this because I love MacLeod's one novel, No Great Mischief. While the short stories are well written and have a strong sense of place, I'd probably still advise newcomers to check out his novel first.

A Great Reckoning, by Louise Penny
ROOT 22 of 50
Source: Perfect Books, Ottawa
Rating: 4/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/141608809

Penny is coming to Ottawa in June, and this is new in paperback, so I had to make sure I got it read before her event. It made a great train read. I polished it off over the course of the day on Friday, when we spent the afternoon, evening and night aboard the train. I stayed up late to finish it, which is a good sign :)

Good to hear you had a good vacation, RP. And two ROOTs pulled, excellent.

>87 rabbitprincess: looks like a great selection for your vacation!
& congrats on meeting the 40% mark! :)

>89 rabbitprincess: your vacation sounds lovely!
Oh man, I hate it when I forget to bring a book that would be perfect for my vacation! But at least you were still able to benefit from it ;)

WoW! Your reading program is impressive. And I share your affection for Halifax, NS. In fact, I adore the entire island, having circumnavigated it in an RV some years ago/ Was a great summer. We drove from one kid's homemade ice cream stand to the next, keeping our eyes peeled for moose and spouting whales in between. But in Halifax, the Alexander Graham Bell Museum is a must see.

Well, just stopped by to remark that your reading list is yar!

>90 connie53: Thanks, Connie! A productive and fun vacation :)

>91 avanders: Yes I was still able to make plenty of jokes. I even got a cartoon out of it. I'm trying to get back into drawing :)

>92 Limelite: Thanks for stopping by! Halifax was indeed a great city. One thing I do regret that we didn't get to go was take a harbour cruise on Theodore Tugboat. I LOVED the show when I was a kid and would have enjoyed riding on the life-size replica they made of him :)

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This might end up being my last ROOT for the month, and it's a "declared finished" rather than a "finished".

The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman (audio, narrated by Neil Gaiman)
ROOT 23 of 50
Source: library CDs
Rating: 3/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/106914141

I think I'm going to have to read the print version first, or maybe The Jungle Book (which is said to have been an inspiration for this book), then come back and fully appreciate Mr. Gaiman's excellent narration.

Never mind, I got one more ROOT in :D

We, the Drowned, by Carsten Jensen (translated by Charlotte Barslund and Emma Ryder)
ROOT 24 of 50
Source: Mr. B's Emporium of Bookish Delights, Bath, England
Rating: 4.5/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/121627863

This one I've had on the go for a while. It was originally in my 2016 pool but I didn't get around to it. It was the Go Review That Book! group that finally prompted me to read it, and I'm glad they did! Excellent way to end the month.

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May recap: 5 ROOTS pulled (YTD: 24)

*The Black Moon, by Winston Graham
*Island: The Collected Stories, by Alistair MacLeod
A Great Reckoning, by Louise Penny
*The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman (audio, narrated by Neil Gaiman)
We, the Drowned, by Carsten Jensen (translated by Charlotte Barslund and Emma Ryder)

ROOT of the month: We, the Drowned

I read three books from the 2017 pool (marked with an asterisk), although one of them was more "declared finished" than actually finished. Two others are still in progress, and I have a further two in my purse ready for bus reading.

>94 rabbitprincess: that looks suitably seafaring, in keeping with your theme! You're well on target for your goal too, yay! :)

>94 rabbitprincess: I love that you love your Mr B pick :D
I would REALLY like to get on mine. I am enjoying the book I'm reading... but then I think, maybe not as much as I think since it's taking me so long to get into it? Anyway, Hopefully my Mr B selection will be a soon-currently-reading

>95 floremolla: It certainly does, and the cover is gorgeous! I'm glad to be on target for my goal too :)

>96 avanders: It is definitely my favourite of the books so far! I haven't disliked any of them, fortunately :D Hope you like your Mr B's book!

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First ROOT of June is down. I will put it in the tickers once Chèli has the June thread up, to make sure the May numbers are OK.

The Dragon at Noonday, by Edith Pargeter
ROOT 25 of 50
Source: Book Bazaar
Rating: 3/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/130510690

Halfway through the Brothers of Gwynedd, and halfway to my goal! A nice symmetry. The book is pretty good too. I'm finding this quartet much more manageable in individual books rather than an omnibus format.

>94 rabbitprincess: I read that book when it came out in Danish - and I loved it as well. When we went to Ærø (the Island where Marstal is one of the major towns) last year, I thought about it, and remembered the many stories about the rivalry between Marstal and Ærøskøbing. At one point DR (equivalent of BBC) sponsored a concert of peace for them!

>98 Henrik_Madsen: It was such a good book, one of those ones you want to race through but at the same time you don't want to finish!

That was a nice gesture on DR's part to sponsor a concert between the two towns. Both of them look lovely!

I'm not getting that much reading done. Only two books completed this month so far. However, both of them are ROOTS. Here's the second book I finished this month.

The Ghosts of Belfast, by Stuart Neville
ROOT 26 of 50
Source: Rockcliffe Park Public School book sale
Rating: 4/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/135690299

This is billed as the first in the Jack Lennon series, but it's much more about Gerry Fegan, a former IRA "hard man" who is haunted by the ghosts of twelve of his victims. A very good thriller but not for the squeamish; the description can get a bit gruesome.

>100 rabbitprincess: You're ahead of me anyway, I've only read one in June so far!

I'm planning a quiet Sunday today so that I can complete another and maybe even start a third. I'm thinking I'll read a shiny new acquisition next - 'root prevention' as one of our fellow ROOTers puts it! ;)

>97 rabbitprincess: I'm currently reading my first and so far (I'm only 40 pages in), I really like it! We'll see how it goes... ;) And glad you haven't disliked any! Have you followed up w/ your bibliotherapist at all to "hone" their selections?

>101 floremolla: I have to tackle a glut of library books at home! Most of my ROOT reading is on the bus. Right now it's a Poldark, which is good but has a lot of pages, so I don't feel like I'm accomplishing much ;)

>102 avanders: I did the book spa, so just got a whole bunch of books at once as a one-time thing. I couldn't do the monthly subscription; I almost never read books as soon as they enter the house. It takes a very special book to make me drop everything and read it immediately.

>103 rabbitprincess: oh so much fun! I would really love to do the book spa... someday when I make it back to Bath, perhaps... ;)
And yeah, it's hard to read something as soon as it comes in, when there are so many others to choose from! Sometimes I'm better at it than others...

>104 avanders: That's something my poor library books know about, having to be strategically renewed all the time.

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Slowly and steadily I've made my way through this book on the bus, and now I'm finished! With that I should be caught up with Season 3 of Poldark.

The Four Swans, by Winston Graham
ROOT 27 of 50
Source: a church book sale
Rating: 4/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/129905894

This one was easier to get through than The Black Moon, perhaps because I had been cast into such a funk by The Black Moon.

Woo hoo, congrats! I have to someday get to that poldark series...

>107 floremolla: I don't think I'll be reading Poldark - George Warleggan of the tv series makes me so mad I don't want to be reading about him too!

>106 avanders: There are 12 books in the series, making it perfect for a year-long read, which the Category Challenge is doing right now.

>107 floremolla: Meanwhile I am getting so angry with Osborne that I can't stand to be watching him! Speaking of George, did you know he was played by the actor who plays Freddie Threepwood in Blandings? Such different characters!

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On the weekend I somehow managed to pick up a ROOT and read it in a couple of hours.

Mixed Blessings, by William and Barbara Christopher
ROOT 28 of 50
Source: Abebooks
Rating: 4/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/140372486

Turns out my reading is making another tribute to our dearly departed Bill Christopher. This is the story of how he and his wife, Barbara, raised their son Ned, who has autism. I've been wanting to read it for decades but bought it online only recently. Worth it!

This ROOT isn't terribly long-standing, by my standards, but it's been an almost-read enough times that I feel like it's been around for much longer.

Billy Boyle, by James R. Benn (Billy Boyle, #1)
ROOT 29 of 50
Source: Rockcliffe Park Public School book sale
Rating: 3.5/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/123120978

For a first book in series, this wasn't bad. The setting (WW2, England) is a big plus for me. Some character elements were less convincing than others, and Billy's ability to amaze non-Americans with his magical slang words verged on Mary Sue/Marty Stu behaviour for me. Hope that will be toned down in the next book.

Just a quick hello, rabbitprincess, and I'm glad to see that you're continuing to work your way through the Poldark series. I finished the last two while I was I CA May 9 - June 9. It still amazes me that Graham wrote the series from 1945 - 1953 and 1973 - 2002!

>110 karenmarie: Thanks, Karen! It is amazing that he was able to pick up the threads of the saga so deftly when he wrote The Black Moon. I am hoping to borrow the next two books from my parents this weekend (I seem to read them in twos).

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June recap: 5 ROOTS pulled (YTD: 29)

The Dragon at Noonday, by Edith Pargeter
*The Ghosts of Belfast, by Stuart Neville
*The Four Swans, by Winston Graham
Mixed Blessings, by William and Barbara Christopher
Billy Boyle, by James R. Benn

ROOT of the month: Mixed Blessings

I read two books from the 2017 pool (marked with an asterisk), and I have a couple more cued up. In particular I am looking forward to reading my Hugh MacLennan book, Two Solitudes.

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Stay tuned for my Q2 pool update!

Here's my Q2 update. I was using my iPad to write my June recap and I can't copy image URLs properly on the touchscreen. But now I am on an actual computer, so yay!



I'm maybe a bit behind on where I "should" be if I want to get all of these read in 2017, but that's probably not going to happen. I find it interesting that the mysteries aren't getting read as quickly. And amusingly, while my Dr Who audiobook isn't getting read, I am actually reading other audiobooks! This may be my best year yet for the format.

Happy Canada Day, RP! Hope you have fun celebrating!

>113 Jackie_K: Thanks, Jackie! It is currently pouring rain with some booms of thunder. Our planned barbecue will likely still go ahead; we may just have to eat indoors.

My first ROOT of July is an audiobook, and what's amazing about it is that it's my fourth audiobook this year!

Doctor Who: The Churchill Years, Volume 1, by Phil Mulryne
ROOT 30 of 50
Source: Humble Bundle
Rating: 3.5/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/139865330

This was my first foray into the world of Big Finish, which produces audio dramas based on Doctor Who (among other shows). I really enjoyed it and can't wait to start digging through the rest of their catalogue.

>115 rabbitprincess: I got hooked on audiobooks when I got a free one from somewhere. I never thought I would like them because usually when I attend a lecture or something my mind wanders. But I tried it and I loved it. It was one of the really long Gabaldon books. I found I was able to add at least one hour of "reading" per day to my time with the drive to and from school. I also can turn it on when I'm in the kitchen fixing dinner. I always have 1-2 ready on my ereader for long trips and such! I now use the audio and go back and forth on the really long reads. Glad you liked it!!

>115 rabbitprincess: >116 Tess_W: Hooray for audiobooks! I'm planning some listening today while doing housework and I'm actually looking forward to it. :)

Hi rabbitprincess! I listened to audiobooks on my commute. Now that I've retired, I have only gotten through a couple of audiobooks this year. I may actually break down and listen to Lincoln in the Bardo upstairs in my Retreat.

Wow, you are clipping right along, rp! (insert clapping hands emoji here)

>116 Tess_W: The mind wandering is what I find troublesome. I've had some success with listening in about 15-minute spurts while preparing my next day's lunch and doing the dishes. Anything more labour-intensive tends to sap my attention.

>117 floremolla: Yay! It makes the chores fly by.

>118 karenmarie: I've experimented a little bit with audio colouring but haven't tried it recently.

>119 LauraBrook: Yay!! Indeed I am :)

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Had to happen sometime. Another dud.

Murder on the Mauretania, by Conrad Allen
ROOT 31 of 50
Source: Bearly Used Books, Parry Sound, ON
Rating: 1/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/134021579

I like the concept of this series, but I nearly injured my eyes rolling them at how often the female lead was told she was attractive. This thread does appear in other books in the series; in this book, which admittedly is an earlier installment, it annoyed me so much that I gave up.

This next ROOT took me most of the week to read, given that I read it in spurts of approximately 20 minutes.

Far from True, by Linwood Barclay
ROOT 32 of 50
Source: Chaptigo
Rating: 3/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/127962980

This was the second of three books in the Promise Falls trilogy. It's a second volume, so it has to keep the initial plot ticking along and set up the final showdown. It certainly ended on an abrupt note! I may have let it sit too long, though, between my thought of "I want to read this!" and actually reading it; there was some repetition and niggly little details that irritated me more than they might have otherwise.

>121 rabbitprincess: 32/50: great going! My progress on "pool" books is in line with yours, about 1/3 read. They're still the books I'm most eager to get to ... yet don't seem to!

>108 rabbitprincess: oh nice! That could be fun to read a Poldark book per month :)

Otherwise, just stopping by to say hello!

Just stopping by to say Hi. RP. I was away from LT for a while because of RL things. But now I'm back and visiting all threads to see what has been going on.

You go girl and get those books crossed in >112 rabbitprincess:

>122 detailmuse: Thanks! And yeah, it's funny that these are the books I really want to read, but other things keep popping up. But the year is still somewhat young.

>123 avanders: Hello!! I've been reading the Poldarks two per year to keep up with the TV series and to stretch out the series a bit longer.

>124 connie53: Welcome back! It is always great to see you. Thanks for the encouragement! I have mentally set aside three books in the pool as my vacation reading in September. We're going to Wales and I fully intend to buy lots of books over there, so any books I bring over will be ones I can leave behind at our rental accommodation.

Audiobooks are amazing.

Doctor Who: The Last Dodo, by Jacqueline Rayner (audio, read by Freema Agyeman)
ROOT 33 of 50
Source: gift from J
Rating: 4/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/107942620

This is three stars for the story, which is a perfectly good Doctor Who story, and an extra star for Freema Agyeman's narration. For a Martha-centric story, I would want no other narrator.

Another book down, and from the Pool, too!

Two Solitudes, by Hugh MacLennan
ROOT 34 of 50
Source: Friends of Library and Archives Canada book sale
Rating: 3.5/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/70474000

Not my favourite MacLennan, but not my least favourite. It's a classic, and I am glad to have read it, although the bits I didn't like, I *really* didn't like. I'm still processing it.

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Some fun for your Friday/Saturday: Ottawa's been invaded by a giant spider and a dragon-horse! http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/la-machine-day-2-friday-videos-pictures-1.4...
I worked from home today because, cool as this might be, it was going to play havoc with the buses, and the commute home would have been quite slow. But the crowds seemed to be enjoying themselves and the weather was perfect, which makes me glad on their behalf. :)

>126 rabbitprincess: Ooooh, didn't realize that Freema did any narration! Will have to stalk my library/Audible and see if I can snag one!

Just stopping by to say hello -- too many posts for me to catch up on but I hope you have been enjoying your books!

>128 LauraBrook: I hope you can find one! My friend managed to rip me a copy of this from somewhere (along with The Stone Rose, Doctor Who: Feast of the Drowned, and The Resurrection Casket, which are narrated by David Tennant).

>129 leslie.98: Thanks, Leslie! It has been pretty good reading around these parts. You're here just in time for the recap ;)

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July recap: 5 ROOTs pulled (YTD: 34)

Doctor Who: The Churchill Years, Volume 1, by Phil Mulryne et al. (Big Finish audio drama)
Murder on the Mauretania, by Conrad Allen (abandoned)
Far from True, by Linwood Barclay
*Doctor Who: The Last Dodo, by Jacqueline Rayner (audio, read by Freema Agyeman)
*Two Solitudes, by Hugh MacLennan

ROOT of the month: The Last Dodo, although honourable mention to The Churchill Years for lighting the audiobook spark for me.

I read two books from the 2017 pool (marked with an asterisk), and two are being read over the very long term. Also starting to plan some more vacation reading — some of the books in my pool could safely be given away after reading, so they would be good to take (and free up space for new books!).

I'm continuing the Canadian theme started by my previous ROOT.

Arctic Assignment: The Story of the St. Roch, by Sgt. F.S. Farrar
ROOT 35 of 50
Source: Rockcliffe Park P.S. book sale
Rating: 3.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/135780601

This is an interesting story, and the author was actually part of the crew on the St. Roch's historic voyage through the Northwest Passage.

Also continuing my Doctor Who and audiobooks theme!

The Stone Rose, by Jacqueline Rayner (audio, read by David Tennant)
ROOT 36 of 50
Source: gift from a friend
Rating: 3.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/70473904

The story was mostly OK. David Tennant's narration saved some of the more annoying flirty banter between the Doctor and Rose, which I would have likely found more annoying in print. I am Team No Hanky Panky in the TARDIS Unless Captain Jack Harkness Is Involved (because he flirts with EVERYBODY).

Not too many more ROOTs to report; I'm trying to get library books read before my vacation, and I also just started a huge ROOT as my bus book (of course). My most recent ROOT wasn't even fully read; it's being abandoned.

The Case of the Dangerous Dowager, by Erle Stanley Gardner
ROOT 37 of 50
Source: pilfered from EVM
Rating: 1/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/88362804

Note to self: perhaps get rid of that one last Perry Mason on the shelves without bothering to read it. Perry and I do not get along.

Ha. I used to love Perry Mason, but I read The Case of the Moth-Eaten Mink in February of last year and realized that, to use your phrase, Perry and I do not get along. I have 5 of his books on my shelves, unread, and I guess it's time to take them to the thrift shop. Sigh.

>134 karenmarie: He's such a huckster! I can't believe he thinks it's acceptable to commit identity theft (procuring chequebooks in someone else's name at a bank) in order to solve a case. I should think that would be a disbarring offence.

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I'm not reading many ROOTs these days, guys. Vacation coming up soon, so I'm trying to get my library books read before then. But I'll be reading ROOTs on vacation :)

>135 rabbitprincess: a vacation with time for reading sounds like bliss - have a lovely time!

>136 floremolla: Well, here's hoping. Most of the reading will likely be done in transit on trains and planes. And because we're going to Hay-on-Wye, I have to bring books that can be safely left behind, to make room for the inevitable purchases ;)

Here are the print books I plan to bring:

The Blackhouse, by Peter May
A Foreign Country, by Charles Cumming
What Bloody Man is That?, by Simon Brett

I'll also have an ebook of Two Years Before the Mast, by Richard Henry Dana, Jr., which I've been reading off Project Gutenberg since April. Would be nice to finish that off!

I like a bit of forward planning ;)

Have fun in Haye-on-Wye!

137 I just read The Blackhouse last month and loved it.

Have fun at Hay-on-Wye! I did not realize that it is the National Book Town of Wales and has over 20 book shops. Heaven on earth! No wonder you're packing light.

Hello, here! ;)
I couldn't possibly catch up on the threads here (explanation on my own thread), though I wish I could!
I hear that you feel like you have a little more time again at some point after having a kid... here's to hoping ;)
Looks like you're chugging along at a good rate on your ROOTs... awesome! Nice seeing you over on Litsy ;)

>138 floremolla: Books are packed! And yes that was the first thing on my packing list :D

>139 MissWatson: I will indeed! Have to make a list of all the bookstores so that I can check each one off.

>140 karenmarie: Glad to hear you loved it! It seems like a good trip read. And yes, Hay should be awesome. We've also been to Wigtown, which is the Scottish National Book Town, and that was lots of fun too.

>141 avanders: Always glad to see you! I haven't been doing too much with ROOTs this month, but September should be a good month for that :) And yes, it's fun to cross paths in two different online places!

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Counting down the hours until we leave for Wales. As part of the countdown, I have to finish up as many books as possible so that I don't have anything left unfinished for two and a half weeks. Fortunately, I finished my current bus book in the nick of time!

Queens’ Play, by Dorothy Dunnett
ROOT 37 of 50
Source: Rockcliffe Park Public School book sale
Rating: 4/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/135780774

The Lymond books are meaty and satisfying. I spent a few weeks with this one on the bus and it was good company. Still really need to read the Mary, Queen of Scots, biography I borrowed from my mum! When will that happen?!

Remember airlines charge by weight, so don't get too carried away in Hayes-On-Wye. :-)

>143 Robertgreaves: Oh yes I've packed fewer clothes, in anticipation of having laundry facilities, in order to make room for books :D

This flight lasts 8 hours. Of course I need 6 big books in my carry-on bag.

>142 rabbitprincess: I'm yet to make it to Wigtown, but it's on my list!

I hope you have a terrific holiday, I look forward to hearing about your adventures! (both literary and travel!)

>145 Robertgreaves: Haha pretty much!

>146 Jackie_K: Wigtown is so much fun. And yes there will be reports on our Welsh adventures!

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August recap: 5 ROOTs pulled (YTD: 34)

Arctic Assignment: The Story of the St. Roch, by Sgt. F.S. Farrar
*The Stone Rose, by Jacqueline Rayner (audio, read by David Tennant)
The Case of the Dangerous Dowager, by Erle Stanley Gardner (abandoned)
*Queens’ Play, by Dorothy Dunnett

ROOT of the month: Queens' Play.

I read two books from the 2017 pool (marked with an asterisk), and I have brought three with me as vacation reading. September should be a pretty good ROOTS month!

This book review comes to you from Hay-on-Wye, where I have bought a disgustingly large amount of books. Muahaha.

This is one of a small number of books I actually brought with me with the intention of rehoming. It is going home with my mum rather than me, so hurray!

The Blackhouse, by Peter May
ROOT 38 of 50
Source: Rockcliffe Park Public School book sale
Rating: 3.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/135690321

Overall very good. I liked the tense atmosphere and the windsweptness of the Isle of Lewis.

Happy holiday, RP!

>149 connie53: Thanks, Connie! It has been fun so far. It feels like we've been away forever!

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This is the second of three print books I brought with me on vacation. I donated it to the rental house in Hay.

A Foreign Country, by Charles Cumming
ROOT 39 of 50
Source: Wigtown, Scotland
Rating: 3.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/109072621

Ended up enjoying this more than I thought I would. Might even read the next in series.

Hi!

>148 rabbitprincess: I've read the first two of the Lewis Trilogy - very good.

I have another friend here on LT who is probably in Hay-on-Wye right now with his wife..... he was saving his pennies to buy books.

>151 karenmarie: Haha, what a coincidence! I hope he has a great time. I left a *few* books for him ;)

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This is the third of the three print books I brought with me on my holiday.

What Bloody Man is That?, by Simon Brett
ROOT 40 of 50
Source: library book sale
Rating: 4/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/107579321

I am a sucker for murder mysteries involving productions of Macbeth, it seems. This was way more fun than expected. I'm going to have to keep it instead of giving it away.

Are you having bad weather in Wales, you're getting through your books quickly?!

>153 floremolla: We have been getting some rainy days, yes. Another cold and windy one today, perfect for the Great Orme Tramway in Llandudno! But I have been trying to carve out reading time in the evenings while the others watch TV.

That reminds me, I should introduce you all to the 23 new books I'm adding to my shelves :D

‪Books bought in Cardiff: ‬

‪The Mabinogion‬, newly translated by Sioned Davies -- fiendishly hard to spell collection of Welsh myths and legends
‪The Long Arm of the Law: Classic Police Stories‬, edited by Martin Edwards -- a smart-looking British Library Crime Classic
‪Don't Cry for Me Aberystwyth‬, by Malcolm Pryce -- 4th in the Aberystwyth Noir series

Books bought in Hay-on-Wye:

‪The Scheme for Full Employment‬, by Magnus Mills
‪The Gone-Away World‬, by Nick Harkaway (SIGNED)
‪Ships in the Bay!‬, by D.K. Broster
‪The Quiller Memorandum‬, by Adam Hall*
‪Theft of Magna Carta‬, by John Creasey
‪The Nightmare of Black Island‬, by Mike Tucker
‪Time-Flight‬, by Peter Grimwade
‪Doctor Who and the Ribos Operation‬, by Ian Marter
‪The King's General‬, by Daphne du Maurier
‪The Heaven Tree‬, by Edith Pargeter*
‪Dreaming the Eagle‬, by Manda Scott*
‪Trinity‬, by Leon Uris*
‪Necropolis: London and its Dead‬, by Catharine Arnold*
‪Doctor Who and the Cybermen‬, by Gerry Davis
‪Doctor Who: Marco Polo‬, by John Lucarotti
‪Doctor Who and the Power of Kroll‬, by Terrance Dicks
‪Doctor Who and the Armageddon Factor‬, by Terrance Dicks
‪Murder Without Icing‬, by Emma Lathen*
‪A Stake in the Kingdom‬, by Nigel Tranter
‪1599: A Year in the Life of Shakespeare‬, by James Shapiro*
‪The Betrothed: A Tale of the Crusaders‬, by Sir Walter Scott

The starred items were on my to-read list. Go me!

I have bought no books on our third leg of the trip. :O

Great haul - good luck in customs with the supersized luggage ;)

>152 rabbitprincess: Have you read Hamlet, Revenge by Michael Innes? I liked it though it seems Jorge Luis Borges didn't.

Great Haul, RP!

Wow, what a haul!

Looks like you had a very successful trip!

>155 floremolla: I packed fewer clothes, relying on laundry facilities in our rental flats, to make room for books :D

>156 Robertgreaves: I haven't, but it's been on my to-read list forever. Should borrow it from the library soon!

>157 connie53: >158 Tess_W: Yes, listing it all in one spot makes me realize just how much I've bought!

>159 MissWatson: Hoping for a little bit more success at a Waterstones somewhere before we leave (next Monday).

Good haul so far! I hope you score big at Waterstones, too.

>161 karenmarie: Didn't end up going to Waterstones, but I did buy two books at Blackwell's of Oxford and one at the Oxford University Press Shop:

Doctor Who: Plague City, by Jonathan Morris
Quick Curtain, by Alan Melville
The Oxford Book of Scottish Short Stories, edited by Douglas Dunn

So I bought 26 books on my trip and managed to bring them all home with me! My secret was to pack half the clothes I would need and do lots of laundry ;) It also helped to have a lightly loaded backpack that could be filled with goodies.

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I finished this ROOT on the plane home from the UK. It took me just over five months to read!

Two Years Before the Mast, by Richard Henry Dana, Jr.
ROOT 41 of 50
Source: Project Gutenberg
Rating: 3/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/131451099

This is one of those books that requires concentration and dedicated reading time. It's interesting when you get into it, but there are some points where the nautical terms are well nigh impenetrable (at least to this landlubber). The afterwords following up on what happened to the various figures in the story are interesting in and of themselves.

Nice review, rabbitprincess. I think that the formatting and chapter-ing (I know, not a word!) problems would have driven me nuts. The book sounds good, though - I'll keep my eyes peeled for it.

The closest I've come to Richard Henry Dana was going to a middle school named after him from 1965 - 1967. *smile*

>163 karenmarie: I hope you like it! That is neat that you went to a middle school named after him. Or was it his father? Apparently his dad lived a really long time, so RHD Jr. couldn't drop the Jr. until three years before he died.

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Since returning from my trip, I've been trying to catch up on sleep and start reading the library books that came in once I lifted the suspensions on my holds. This is one from the Pool! Yay!

Agatha Christie’s Murder in the Making: Stories and Secrets from Her Archive, by John Curran
ROOT 42 of 50
Source: Book Depository
Rating: 4.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/133569863

The follow-up book to Agatha Christie's Secret Notebooks, this is just as interesting as the first one. Recommended for Christie fans. Warning: this might cause you to go on a Christie (re)reading binge :)

While I was in the UK, for some reason I thought my ticker was off by 3, and I "fixed" it. The fix was wrong, so I've had to re-adjust the ticker. The ROOTs I've added to the group ticker were fine. Whew!

September recap: 5 ROOTS pulled (YTD: 42)

*The Blackhouse, by Peter May
*A Foreign Country, by Charles Cumming
*What Bloody Man is That?, by Simon Brett
*Two Years Before the Mast, by Richard Henry Dana, Jr.
*Agatha Christie’s Murder in the Making: Stories and Secrets from Her Archive, by John Curran

ROOT of the month: Agatha Christie’s Murder in the Making

It was not a big reading month overall (only seven books!), but five of them were ROOTs, and ALL of those ROOTs were from my pool. So a very good job on my part.

Here’s the Q3 update of the pool:



Hoping to get to more of the mysteries in my pool in this last quarter of the year. It hasn’t been quite as successful as last year; nevertheless, I shall make another pool in 2018.

So how do you select your pool, RP?

>166 Tess_W: Mostly through the Category Challenge. We have a few year-long challenges for which we set the parameters before the year begins, and I pull out books that would fit those challenges. I don't necessarily read the books in the month where they would apply; just trying to read them at some point over the year, when the mood strikes, is enough.

In addition to the challenges, we have proposals for group reads, and a bingo card for which I like to use books I already own.

And then there are some books where I think "Yeah, I'd like to read that this year."

Catching up and had to look up Hay-on-Wye, fun!!

>164 rabbitprincess: I have Agatha Christie’s Secret Notebooks. Maybe I should pull it down off the shelf and give it a go!

You're doing great with your ROOTs. Congrats. I admire your methodology.

I have discovered something irritating about myself - if I pull books to read during the year, they stare at me balefully yet still don't get read. I then put them back on their 'home' shelves and feel guilty. So, I stopped doing that. I am behind in ROOTs, but I'm having a good reading year regardless.

>169 karenmarie: Ultimately reading is reading, the important thing is to enjoy it rather than feel guilty!

>168 detailmuse: It is so fun! It might be more cramped and crowded if you go during the Hay Festival; we did not, and we probably enjoyed ourselves more.

>169 karenmarie: Thanks! The methodology is sound, even if my application of it is not ;)

And I agree with >170 Jackie_K:: the important thing is that you're enjoying what you are reading!

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No sooner do I come home than I have to prepare to go away again. I'm visiting my parents for Thanksgiving and then spending all of the following week with them (or rather, using their place as a home base while I attend Bouchercon in Toronto). But this should be a more relaxing vacation; I don't anticipate quite as much disruption to my reading schedule than the previous vacation!

Here's my first of October, conveniently finished so that I can lend it to my mum:

Afterglow and Nightfall, by Edith Pargeter (Brothers of Gwynedd, #4)
ROOT 43 of 50
Source: OPL book sale
Rating: 4/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/129465466

This is the final volume of the Brothers of Gwynedd quartet. Having just visited Gwynedd, I was more affected by the actions of Edward I and the treatment of the Welsh than I might otherwise have been. I cried on the bus multiple times reading this book. The quartet as a whole is recommended.

This has a spooky title but is more of a swashbuckling historical adventure:

The Devil in Velvet, by John Dickson Carr
Category: ROOT 44 of 50
Source: Book Bazaar
Rating: 4.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/117656924

A history professor makes a deal with the Devil to travel back in time to Restoration England and solve a centuries-old mystery involving a man with the same name as him. Carr's research brings the period to life, and the time travel aspect was interesting, particularly the question of whether history could actually be changed. A tense, suspenseful, engrossing read.

>172 rabbitprincess: Wow, that doesn't sound like any of the Carr books I have read! I'll have to look for it.

>172 rabbitprincess: >173 leslie.98: I was thinking the same, Leslie, until I realised I was thinking about historian EH Carr :D

>173 leslie.98: I know eh? Usually you think of Carr as the master of the locked-room mystery. It was really good!

>174 Jackie_K: Haha yes this book would have been something of a departure for THAT Carr as well!

Hi rabbitprincess!

>172 rabbitprincess: What leslie.98 said. I've added it to my wishlist.

>176 karenmarie: The book came to my attention through one of the "top 100 crime novels" lists put together by the British and American crime writers' associations. An excellent choice!

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Finally finished a long-standing buddy read!

The Gone-Away World, by Nick Harkaway
ROOT 45 of 50
Source: one copy from Chapters, one from the Hay Cinema Bookshop, Hay-on-Wye
Rating: 3.5/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/145726282

I found this book worked better when I was stuck in it for extended periods, but at the same time I needed breaks to open a valve and drain off some of the ideas overflowing my brain. My cousin felt there was too much going on and it didn't come together satisfactorily for her, but we agreed that it was a highly ambitious debut and that Harkaway's writing is excellent. (We've also both read Angelmaker, which is perhaps more "focused".)

This ROOT is so new that I had barely catalogued it before it got read. And it's so small, I was able to read it in about 20 minutes.

The Old Editor Says: Maxims for Writing and Editing, by John E. McIntyre
ROOT 46 of 50
Source: Book Depository
Rating: 5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/147213148

The author is the night editor at The Baltimore Sun and delivered a keynote speech at the 2017 Editors Canada conference, which is how I heard of him. This was an easy five stars for me, because I am an aspiring crusty old editor and could "hear" this book in his voice.

Creeping ever closer to my goal with a couple of mysteries. After a steady diet of history books (fiction and non), I've been hankering for some quick treats.

L’Homme aux cercles bleus, by Fred Vargas
ROOT 47 of 50
Source: library book sale
Rating: 3.5/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/116422687

In this book we're introduced to Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg, the intuitive Commissaire, and his more logical colleague Adrien Danglard. A bit of a slow build, but the ending was good.

They Came to Baghdad, by Agatha Christie
ROOT 48 of 50
Source: my parents’ library after Mum went through all her duplicate Agathas
Rating: 4/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/139917359

I loved this! It was just the sort of madcap escapist thriller I was looking for. Immensely satisfying.

You're getting close!

For me, Agatha Christies are always winners.

good work, RP - after pretending I'm 'pacing myself' I've got 'getting close' fever and trying to shoehorn in a few more ROOTs before the end of the month! ;)

>180 karenmarie: Agreed! The only book of hers I really haven't liked was Passenger to Frankfurt. It didn't help that my edition was one of the Fontana paperbacks and it had a really scary spider on the cover D:

>181 floremolla: Thanks! I have a feeling that I might read a Doctor Who novel or something small like that in the next few days just to get to my goal by the end of the month :)

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Another ROOT, and from the Pool, to boot. I'm trying to be better about dipping into it (I was so good at it last year!).

Reykjavík Nights, by Arnaldur Indriðason (translated by Victoria Cribb)
ROOT 49 of 50
Source: Chaptigo, bought with a gift card
Rating: 3.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/115288051

A prequel to the Erlendur series that shows him as a young traffic cop, before he becomes a police detective. The story motors along nicely. Looking forward to picking up Oblivion next year.

>182 rabbitprincess: I really like the Elandur series -- enjoy Oblivion when you get to it!

>183 leslie.98: I've added it to my 2018 pool for the Nordic MysteryCAT :) No guarantees I'll read it in January, but I do hope to read it sometime during the year.

>182 rabbitprincess: I can see how a spider on the cover could color your read. *shudder* I don't remember the book well enough to remember if there's a spider in the story.

>185 karenmarie: It may have been a metaphorical spider, like the bad guy was at the centre of a schemey international web of intrigue.

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No new ROOTs in the last hours of Halloween, so here's my monthly recap.

October recap: 7 ROOTS pulled (YTD: 49)

Afterglow and Nightfall, by Edith Pargeter
The Devil in Velvet, by John Dickson Carr
The Gone-Away World, by Nick Harkaway
The Old Editor Says: Maxims for Writing and Editing, by John E. McIntyre
*L’homme aux cercles bleus, by Fred Vargas
They Came to Baghdad, by Agatha Christie
*Reykjavík Nights, by Arnaldur Indriðason (translated by Victoria Cribb)

ROOT of the month: The Old Editor Says.

This was a strong month overall as I got back into the reading groove.

Books from the pool:
- Completed this month: 2
- In progress: 3
- On deck: 2

I’m hoping to get back to the pool with a vengeance for the last two months of the year and to tackle those ongoing books (there's one that's been in progress forever!).

Not only did I finally meet my goal (this is the latest I've ever met it, I think), I met it with an audiobook!

The John Lennon Letters, ed. Hunter Davies (audio, read by Allan Corduner and Christopher Eccleston)
ROOT 50 of 50
Source: compact disc
Rating: 4.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/106522400

I got this simply because of Christopher Eccleston narrating. He reads John's actual letters, while Allan Corduner reads the explanatory bits. This approach works well. The only reason this isn't a 5 is that some of the "letters" are a bit of a stretch. Nevertheless, the context is great, and the collection is worth reading for a Beatles or John Lennon fan.

Congrats!

Well done!

Congratulations, woo hoo!

Good work, RP - I think my last ROOT might be an audiobook too as I started listening to The Hundred Year Old Man who Climbed Out of The Window which has been in my Audible library for a year or two. While I'd like to have read something momentous for my final ROOT the audiobooks are always rumbling on in the background when I've got time to listen and they get finished at random times.

Not planning to stop there though - more ROOTs are calling... :)

>191 floremolla: I really enjoyed that when I read it a few years ago. It is very silly but lots of fun.

Congratulations, rabbitprincess.

I'm definitely a Beatles fan and definitely a John Lennon fan (although Paul was my favorite. Paul, John, George, Ringo. *smile*) I'll keep an eye out for this one.

>188 Tess_W: Thanks, Tess!

>189 MissWatson: Thanks! I'm amazed it took me so long!

>190 Jackie_K: Thanks! It's a relief!

>191 floremolla: Same here! I tend to listen in about 15-minute spurts (which is about my attention-span limit for chores), so it'll take me a long time to nibble away at audiobooks.

>192 Jackie_K: Sometimes a silly book is exactly what you need!

>193 karenmarie: Thanks, Karen! I was a Paul fan as well, but they all have their charms! Lately I've been particularly digging George's solo work. I do recommend this book (in print or in audio).

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My first ROOT past goal is a lovely work of Scottish history.

The Captive Crown, by Nigel Tranter
ROOT 51 of 50
Source: AbeBooks
Rating: 4/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/118713797

The conclusion to the House of Stewart trilogy, and my favourite of the three volumes. This covers the end of Robert III's reign and highlights, among other things, the attitude of Henry IV of England toward Scotland. And thanks to the Hollow Crown dramatization, I kept picturing Henry IV as Rory Kinnear!

And after I finished that meaty Scottish history read, I decided to go to the other extreme and read something fluffy.

The Hammett Hex, by Victoria Abbott
ROOT 52 of 50
Source: gift
Rating: 3/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/137034588

This is the fluffiest series I read, and so far this book seems to be the last in the series. It does end at a logical point, though, so at least the characters won't be left hanging.

Hi RP, I'm trying to catch up with threads (again). Waving at you from the Netherlands.

>196 connie53: Waving back from Canada! :)

Congrats! And you keep going, I see. 8-)

Congratulations on exceeding your goal! And still over a month to go :)

>198 Henrik_Madsen: Thanks, Henrik! Yep, have to keep going!

>199 leslie.98: Thanks, Leslie! Hoping to cram a few more in before the year is out.

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It certainly helps me whittle away at the TBR stacks when I read short books like this one, and then remove them from the house.

The Mystery of the Flying Express, by Franklin W. Dixon
ROOT 53 of 50
Source: OPL book sale
Rating: 1.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/116423151

I read the original 1941 story, not the rewritten 1970s version. The train and spy camp stuff was fine, but there were way too many coincidences and helpful random strangers.

I forgot to congratulate you on reaching your goal. so here!

>201 connie53: Thanks, Connie! A cheerful and brightly coloured message for a cloudy, soon-to-be-snowy day over here! :)

You are so welcome.

It has been a somewhat productive week in terms of reading ROOTS. I knocked out two more from my Pool :)

Henry IV, Part 2, by William Shakespeare
ROOT 54 of 50
Source: Bearly Used Books, Parry Sound, Ontario
Rating: 3/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/112147757

I found Part 2 easier to get through than Part 1 for some reason. I even actually read an essay at the back of the book, which I almost never do with Shakespeare plays (sorry, scholars).

Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen
ROOT 55 of 50
Source: gift (but read via Serial Reader)
Rating: 4/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/81148045

Third time's the charm for this one! I tried reading it on Serial Reader instead of in my print copy, and that worked very well.

>204 rabbitprincess: both are on my TBR pile. I'm not an Austen fan, but I did rather enjoy Northanger Abbey last week. I'm also a fan of Serial Reader; the only way I could read Moby Dick!

>205 Tess_W: Northanger Abbey was a lot of fun too. I read that one a couple of months before visiting Bath, and now that I've been there I'll have to reread it! And Serial Reader has so many interesting books, or perhaps I should say books I might not otherwise try. I've been subscribing to two at a time and read my daily issues at suppertime. It makes very pleasant reading.

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My latest ROOT is one of the British Library Crime Classics I keep hoarding (when I'm not dutifully requesting them from the library).

Calamity in Kent, by John Rowland
ROOT 56 of 50
Source: Chaptigo
Rating: 3/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/133214961

I agree with the LT user who says in their review that, although this book was published in 1950, it feels like a pre-war throwback. It wasn't the most amazing book, just OK. The cover is gorgeous though.

>200 rabbitprincess: Hardy Boys! I hadn't noticed those you read earlier in the year. I bought the first six in the Nancy Drew series some years ago, re-read one, felt about the same as you, and haven't gotten to the others yet. But wow I loved them as a kid!!

>207 detailmuse: I loved a lot of Hardy Boys as a kid. Reading them now, and knowing about the Franklin W. Dixon pseudonym, I can analyze the writing and try to figure out how much of my like or dislike can be attributed to someone not writing up to my standards for the formula. It's a different experience!

****

Last ROOT of November right here! And a Pool read to boot.

The Pursued, by C.S. Forester
ROOT 57 of 50
Source: Chaptigo
Rating: 3.5/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/81588594

A good thriller by Forester, but not one of my favourites. (Incidentally, I find it amusing that most of my Forester reading has been books other than the Hornblower series.)

Monthly recap coming shortly!

November recap: 8 ROOTS pulled (YTD: 57)

The John Lennon Letters, ed. Hunter Davies (audio, read by Christopher Eccleston)
*The Captive Crown, by Nigel Tranter
The Hammett Hex, by Victoria Abbott
The Mystery of the Flying Express, by Franklin W. Dixon
*Henry IV, Part 2, by William Shakespeare
*Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen
*Calamity in Kent, by John Rowland
*The Pursued, by C.S. Forester

ROOT of the month: The John Lennon Letters

A bumper crop of books this month, and two long-standing reads (the Lennon and the Austen) were finished. That always helps the stats.

Books from the pool:
- Completed this month: 5
- In progress: 1
- On deck: 0

No books from the pool are currently on deck, although I do hope to slip one or two in as the month goes on. This pool was not as successful as last year’s. Next year’s will be smaller!

>208 rabbitprincess: For a very long time I thought the Hornblower books were all he wrote. Loved them in translation as a teenager, I want to read the originals some time soon.

>210 MissWatson: Hope you enjoy them!

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Once again December is the month of way fewer ROOTs because I'm trying to finish up all my library books before going home for Christmas. Nevertheless, I have managed to slip in one ROOT so far:

Doctor Who and the Androids of Tara, by Terrance Dicks
ROOT 58 of 50
Source: BMV
Rating: 4/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/124548850

I read this for the "books you can read in one day" challenge over at the Category Challenge. I love Doctor Who novelizations but am rather miserly about actually breaking into the stash! This one features the Fourth Doctor and Romana I (played by Mary Tamm in the TV series). A classic.

Hi rabbitprincess. You're getting there!

I'm trying to find "books you can read in one day" in order to complete my 100-book goal and my 40-book ROOT goal. I succeeded yesterday with a book about Marlon Brando that included an essay and a bit of commentary but was mostly photos.

Hello... sorry for such a long absence! I kept seeing that "unread" number get higher and higher and was completely intimidated... Finally, I figured it's better to just stop by and say HI. :)
I wish I had time to go through these threads and read all about what you've all been doing and reading! But, alas, I very much do not. But I think of you often!! And my "hello" is heartfelt and repeated often in my own head ;)

I'm not sure how I will remain involved next year, but I will be around in some fashion!
(and I'm glad I occasionally see you around on Litsy ;))
xo

>212 karenmarie: Excellent! That "books you can read in a day" challenge is proving very popular this month. It was very well timed :)

>213 avanders: Always happy to see you! And yes I am glad to see you around on Litsy! :)

After a long absence in which I chugged through a number of library books to get them read before Christmas vacation, I finally have a ROOT to report.

The Distant Echo, by Val McDermid
ROOT 59 of 50
Going Through the Stacks #67
Source: gift?
Rating: 4/5
Review: https://www.librarything.com/review/70475147

This was a re-read, and a very timely one, as I am thinking of a trip to Scotland next year that would include the Fife/Dundee/St. Andrews area. Loved the music references and the structure of the story.

Happy Holidays, RP!

Hi RabbitPrincess!



Stopping by to wish you and yours all good things this holiday season.

Thanks, Connie and Karen! Happy holidays to you and yours as well. I started reading one of the ROOTs I have stashed at my parents' place and finished an e-ROOT on the train yesterday :)

So far it's been a productive Christmas! I've finished two ROOTs!

The Return of the Soldier, by Rebecca West
ROOT 60 of 50
Source: Project Gutenberg
Rating: 3/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/132765868

I'm a little "Wait, what?" about this one. May have to track down a print copy and read some of the introductory or supplementary material to understand the context in which it was written.

A Suitable Lie, by Michael J. Malone
ROOT 61 of 50
Source: Bouchercon 2017 swag bag
Rating: 3/5
Review: http://www.librarything.com/review/147042885

This is billed as a "marriage thriller" and is not really the sort of book I'd pick up myself; however, because it was in my Bouchercon swag bag, it was worth a gamble. It was good for people who read this sort of thing all the time, but it's still not a genre I'm crazy about.

>219 rabbitprincess: Although it's a very different book (travel, non-fiction, very very long!) I'm feeling similarly about the West book I'm reading too. It's good, but also infuriating and frustrating. I have now cracked 11% read though, getting into double figures feels like quite an achievement, and I will definitely not let it defeat me! (the kobo is now saying 30-31 hours left to read).

Belated season's greetings, RP! Look forward to following your reading adventures in 2018! :)

Hi rabbitprincess! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas & Happy New Year!

>220 Jackie_K: Hurray for getting into double figures!

>221 floremolla: Thanks and the same to you as well!

>222 avanders: Thanks, you too! Hope the little one enjoyed it! :)

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As you may know, next year I'm officially recording my 2-for-1 TBR challenge: reading 2 of my own books for every 1 book I buy. I've added a whole whack of new books to my collection just in time for the new year, thanks to a used bookstore in the next town over from my parents.

The Green Branch, by Edith Pargeter (Heaven Tree trilogy #2)
The Scarlet Seed, by Edith Pargeter (Heaven Tree trilogy #3)
Agent in Place, by Helen MacInnes
Gold from Crete, by C.S. Forester
The Man in the Yellow Raft, by C.S. Forester
One Half of Robertson Davies, by Robertson Davies
Doctor Who and the War Games, by Malcolm Hulke
Doctor Who: Evolution, by John Peel
Autumn Mist, by David A. McIntee
Doctor Who and the Keys of Marinus, by Philip Hinchcliffe
Castrovalva, by Christopher H. Bidmead
McNally's Dare, by Lawrence Sanders / Vincent Lardo
Across the Plains: with memories and other essays, by Robert Louis Stevenson

Granted, a few of these will live with my parents (my mum and I were discussing who should collect which authors), but they will still be "mine" for the purposes of the challenge.

it’s so nice that you can share with your Mum. I’d love to share a library with my daughter - not so sure about my mum’s tastes in books. ;)

>224 floremolla: I do like being able to share books with her. It makes gift giving one heck of a lot easier; I get to borrow the books I give her when she's done with them ;)

>225 rabbitprincess: same here! Although my daughter loves to read she does not have the time to read as much. But we share books!

>226 connie53: That's great that you share books! :)

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December recap: 4 ROOTS pulled (YTD: 61)

Doctor Who and the Androids of Tara, by Terrance Dicks
*The Distant Echo, by Val McDermid (reread)
*The Return of the Soldier, by Rebecca West (Project Gutenberg)
A Suitable Lie, by Michael J. Malone

ROOT of the month: Doctor Who and the Androids of Tara

Not too many ROOTs in the last month of the year. I was trying to get all my library books read before going home for Christmas. But I did get a long-standing ebook read and dipped into my stash of ROOTs at my parents’ place (the Malone).

Books from the 2017 pool:
- Completed this month: 2
- In progress: 1

Books from the 2018 pool:
- On deck: 2

I’ve rebooted my on-deck pile for the new year and stocked my purse with new bus books. I’ve put a 2018 Pool book in there (Curse of the Narrows, which my mum wants to read, so that’s good motivation to get to it), and I’ve cued up another Pool book for reading on New Year’s. I’ve started 2016 and 2017 with some myths and legends, so I’m continuing the tradition with Chretien de Troyes’ Arthurian Romances.

Year-end update and final Pool statistics coming up.

Hi RB!



Peace, Health, and Happiness in 2018

>228 karenmarie: Thanks, Karen! Happy new year!

ROOTS of the year:

By the Way, by Gordon Pinsent
The Secret Place, by Tana French
Sunrise in the West, by Edith Pargeter
The Lonely Sea, by Alistair MacLean
We, the Drowned, by Carsten Jensen (translated by Charlotte Barslund and Emma Ryder)
Mixed Blessings, by William Christopher and Barbara Christopher
The Last Dodo, by Jacqueline Rayner (audio, narrated by Freema Agyeman)
Queens’ Play, by Dorothy Dunnett
Agatha Christie’s Murder in the Making, by John Curran
The Old Editor Says: Maxims for Writing and Editing, by John E. McIntyre
The John Lennon Letters, ed. Hunter Davies (audio, narrated by Allan Corduner and Christopher Eccleston)
Doctor Who and the Androids of Tara, by Terrance Dicks

Honourable mention:
Doctor Who: The Churchill Years, Volume 1, by Phil Mulryne et al.

Final pool statistics: 29/40 books read.