2017 Rooting Around My Bookshelves -- A Dirty Dozen

2016 was my annus horribilis for reading books, whether my own or not. I don't expect 2017 to be better even though my TBR pile has grown since my book buying habit didn't suffer such a year.

I am starting 2017 with this projected list to be read over the next 12 months, deo volente.

The Moor's Account by Laila Lalami
Sea of Poppies by Amitav Gosh
Mr. Bridge by Evan S Connell
Mao's Last Dancer by Cunxin Li
Higgs Discovery: The Power of Empty Space by Lisa Randall
Effie Briest by Theodor Fontane
Country Sentiment by Robert Graves
Agincourt: A Novel by Bernard Cornwall
something by Alexander McCall Smith
something by Edith Wharton
something by Sara Alexi
something to surprise me

My Ticker

Welcome back and good luck with your ROOTing! I'm looking forward to hearing your opinion on Effi Briest. Not my favourite Fontane, I have to say, but I couldn't rustle up much enthusiasm for Anna Karenina, either...

Good luck with your goal this year! It's weird how reading always takes so much more of a hit from a slump than buying does, isn't it?

Welcome back and Happy ROOTing, Limelite.

Good luck with those roots!

Welcome back & Happy 2017 ROOTing!
Looking forward to your thoughts on The Moor's Account - looks so interesting!

Commenters 2-6 Thank you for all the welcome backs. I feel such a fraud because compared to you and most other members of ROOTs, I set such a low bar for myself.

My excuse is I'm having a round of chemo that makes me stupid and short of attention span and ability to concentrate. The drugs make me seek diversion in less involving activities like 1) sleeping a lot; 2) watching live sports on TV as well as attending (when I feel up to it) the grandson's sports events; 3) playing silly computer games; 4) visiting my horses.

Please, no sympathy. I have an "indolent" cancer, am asymptomatic, feel perfectly healthy otherwise, even considering the chemo side effects. This is my second cycle, only no hair loss with this one, a different cocktail and only 4 treatments instead of 6. The idea is to knock back a (less than) 1cm lesion in my mesentary -- it's too small to tell where it is precisely if they opened me up to remove it. So, chemo. Also this is prep before surgery in early spring to remove a minimally involved lymph node. Both onc and surg expect a 90% response to the chemo and uneventful good health for some years to come. They call it a chronic disease that needs monitoring and when it recurs, swift attacks. I have lots of confidence in my MDs, my course of treatment, and my chronic disease management. I just don't always have the oomph to read.

To quote the delightful Mr. Dickens about my dirty dozen goal. . ."Barkis is willin'."

Thanks again for you encouragement. I hope to pay visits to your threads occasionally, but will not promise so that I don't make a liar out of myself!

avanders: The first few pp of "The Moor" are excellent. I'm sucked right in!

Welcome back and good luck with your goal! Do what works for you. :)

>7 Limelite: Good to hear the disease is under control and you have confidence in your MD's. You don't want sympathy but you get some from me anyway ;-))

No need to feel ashamed or defensive about your goal - we're not competitive :) It is very much a whatever works for you sort of group. I hope everything goes well and look forward to reading your thoughts on your ROOTS!

You are only competing against yourself!

>7 Limelite: I remember my recover from cancer and sympathize and understand about the short attention span. Silly computer games, I too got addicted to them (better than drugs, right?) Grandchildren ALWAYS take priority over reading.

Hope your recovery takes wings and you are well soon.

Commenters 8-12 I'm overwhelmed with kindness from all of you. And -- good news! I'm half way through a fascinating novel, audio ed. So while the act of reading is a bit impaired the enjoyment from being read to thrives! More audio books for me may be the solution.

Hope CD books are legitimate to the intentions of this group. thhis one is Woman on the Orient Express by Lindsay Jayne Ashford

>13 Limelite: It's your challenge. Anything goes! So Yes, it is.

>14 connie53:

Hooray! Because I've become a huge fan of well-performed books.

I have been looking out for well-performed audiobooks for my commute - what have you been listening to?

>16 Caramellunacy:

I especially enjoyed these:

Stand the Storm by Breena Clark Civil War era novel about a family of black sempsters
Straight Man by Richard Russo laugh out loud funny about disgruntled academician
Euphoria by Lily King extraordinary tale based loosely on Margaret Meade's life as an anthropologist in the South Pacific
The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion by Fannie Flagg parallel plot between WWII and present that pays attention to the unheralded work of women who flew newly mfr'd. planes from factories to shipping ports to Pacific and European theaters
Longbourn by Jo Baker not just another Jane Austen knock-off -- about the life "downstairs" in the Bennet home
The March by E L Doctorow Sherman's march to and through Atlanta told through diff p.o.v. -- extraordinary
Thirteen Moons: A Novel by Charles Frazier forget Cold Mountain, this is a novel about the Cherokee Nation
A Mercy by Toni Morrison read by the author, a small but profound and beautiful novel
Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver a book for our time about the Monarch butterfly as an indicator species of Global Warming, compassionate and triumphant with good science, too
Our Kind of Traitor by John le Carre the master creates driveway moments
Dead Wake by Erik Larson compelling nonfiction about sinking of Lusitania

Hope you can find something to your liking from this list. Happy reading!

Best of luck with your ROOTing goal.

The Long National Nightmare is Over. . .

Well, actually, no. It begins in 12 days. Yuck! But the nightmare possibility of my best intentions failing to lift off is avoided.

Finished my first Root of 2017, ha-loo, ha-lay!

Books Read in January/Current 2017 Ticker Status



Title: The Woman on the Orient Express
Author: Lindsay Jayne Ashford
Review: https://www.librarything.com/profile_reviews.php?view=Limelite

Title: Kokoro
Author: Natsume Soseki
Review: https://www.librarything.com/profile_reviews.php?view=Limelite

Congrats on finishing your first root. That book is also on my TBR pile. And to nightmares, the election is over--that was a nightmare what with the name calling, lying, drama, etc. If the future is to be a nightmare, we shall see--I'm forever hopeful.

Congrats on finishing your first ROOT, Limelite!

Hooray! No 2017 whitewash for Limelite :D

>7 Limelite: you know, you shouldn't feel bad or like a fraud or anything.. each person's life is different -- my ROOT goal this year is also 12!
Plus if you make it and surpass it, it helps w/ the group goal too :)

Sorry to hear about the chemo though :( I know that that is not pleasant at all -- and a perfectly good reason (not that you need one) to set your goal at 12..
Glad you feel perfectly healthy otherwise! And wonderful that you have so much confidence in your MDs & treatment! That's so nice to have :)

>13 Limelite: glad you're enjoying your book so much! That's the best... :)
>14 connie53: and yep :)

>17 Limelite: nice list!

>19 Limelite: woo hoo! Congrats on your first ROOT!

Dear 20-23,

Thanks for the congrats. I'm enjoying popping in for a visit to your ROOT treads. It's kind of like being a hobbit in a village of hobbits where all the round doors are open so neighbors can come and browse each other's reading lives.

Please know that if I don't comment in your threads I'm still a delighted lurker and enthusiastic supporter of all your reading ambitions for 2017!

Oh I love that image of us as a group of literary hobbits! Perfect!

>24 Limelite: >25 Jackie_K: me too! I love the comparison :)

>25 Jackie_K: >26 avanders: Agreed! completely.

Hi Limelite!

All goals are good, and of your 12 books listed above I read and loved Sea of Poppies. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

And until last night I wouldn't have understood Higgs Discovery.

So for the second time within a week I have to report on a coincidence based on a NOVA show - just last night husband and I watched the episode on Higgs, the Higgs boson, the CERN Large Hadron Collider, and the Standard Model. (the first was watching the Arctic Ghost Ship, NOVA's reportage of the discovery of the HMS Erebus in 2014 and @rabbitprinces reading Franklin's Lost Ship about the tragic expedition).

It's all fascinating stuff and even though my mind cannot understand most of the complexities of the physics, I appreciated what I could understand and the enormity of the discovery.

Flight Behavior was one of my favorite books of 2014. I gave it 4 1/2 stars, and I'm pretty stingy with 4 1/2s and 5s.

I'm sorry you're going through chemo and glad that it's "only" chronic disease management.

Thanks for letting me come into your 'round door' and browse! I'll be back. *smile*

Oh, I'm so glad you weren't "scared off" the Higgs program. Because of what you wrote, I have no fear in confessing to you that reading fundamental modern physics/cosmology is my "secret" hobby. I try to read all the scientists' books on latest discoveries, theories, and laws about our Universe that is post-Einstein.

I think it was reading the newspapers' accounts of the strong nuclear force discoveries when a kid in the 60s that sparked my lifelong love of all things physics (even classic/Newtonian).

Theories uniting the sciences as well as those attempting to unite the classic and modern physics are a favorite subject. While not for the faint of heart who have some basic insight into quantum "STUFF," one of the most exciting books I've read in the last year or so is Life on the Edge: The Coming of Age of Quantum Biology.

But if you're curious about the Universe and how it works (as far as we know), I think the authors who write very accessibly are Carl Sagan for Cosmos (the very BIG) and Michio Kaku who writes on everything physics and has a lot of popular science books to choose from. It's hard to stop with just two and not even mention my personal favorite author/scientists in modern physics. . .but I will.

>29 Limelite: That's an interesting hobby! I would not be able to follow anything, I'm a language girl and panic if I see any mathematics things.

Thank you for sharing your 'secret' hobby. I admire people who can get their minds around these complicated subjects. My husband was nodding and agreeing and then mentioning things before the show even mentioned them!

I'm always willing to try to understand. I don't even get frustrated any more when I can't, just am glad there are people out there excited about things beyond my scope and devoted to finding the answers.

>30 connie53:

My (ahem) talent for languages extends to making a hash out of them. When traveling in Europe in the last millennium, I spent a month in Greece, then Italy, next France, finishing up in Great Britain. About the time I began to feel acquainted with the Greek alphabet, could sound out words, and then haltingly translate them into English, it was time to move on.

Italy did not offer a strange alphabet and I found I could soon start reading and grasping the essence of Italian newspapers' contents. But everyone spoke English around me and I could not pick up conversational Italian.

In France I felt almost at home, having studied the language and as a h.s. student and was thus able to construct sentences ahead of need to speak when the occasion demanded. I only had to request lentement at rapid fire delivery from native French speakers, but I got along.

The PROBLEM became that when I had to think quickly or was surprised, my replies came in insalata mista, my phrase for combining several languages into one and making up a non-English sounding word to compensate for vocabulary I didn't possess in one tongue.

Ah. . .travel is so broadening.

>32 Limelite: - when I studied abroad briefly in Italy after studying French, I definitely encountered the same - I ended up speaking a lot of Fr-it-anglish

>31 karenmarie: >32 Limelite: LOL!

Today I finished a book started at the end of last year but laid aside.



Kokoro is considered a classic of modern (period) Japanese literature. It is minimalist in style, psychological in nature, and deeply layered and complex in character. I wouldn't describe my reading experience of this novel as pleasurable because it required close attention and study, really. The entire time I spent reading it this week has been spent in research, note-taking, marking up my e-book with comments and highlights, and deep concentration. I'm mentally tired!

Kokoro is a dark and brooding work about the psychological breakdown of the individual concomitant with cultural upheaval of Japan at the end of the Meiji era.

I don't say these things in the desire to scare readers away from the book. I think I want to convey that all my reads are not easy ones and require laboring out of love for good literature. So, gird your loins and submerge your psyches into Kokoro. You'll be richly rewarded. Caution: You may need to read this book with a friend. There's so much to discuss.

Congrats on finishing another ROOT! :)

Also, I also find science fascinating.. I only wish I had more *time* to devote to learning more of it.. meanwhile, I satisfy myself w/ sciFI ;) (I have a couple science books on the shelves... more accessible ones like those by Kaku and Sagan, but, again, time. When given it to read, I tend to stray toward fiction since my work-life is filled w/ non-fiction reading (and writing))

I went through a short period of reading scifi but decided the books i found myself reading were too much like Westerns set in space. Such good guys/white hats and bad bad guys/black hats.

The last really fine sci-fi I read was Anathem by Neal Stephenson.

Who have been your favorite science writers, or what books have been favorites?

Selecting my next ROOT. . .I need a break, it's time for an easy pleasurable read. So, I'm turning to an 'old reliable,' Alexander McCall Smith and my dear friends Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency.

The 15th book in this series, The Handsome Man's De Luxe Cafe will be my third ROOT of 2017.

>38 Limelite: I love those! They have adapted some of them as radio plays which play every so often on Radio 4 over here, and it's such a gentle listen! I've actually only ever read the very first book in the series, but do have a couple more to get to eventually!

TV mini series of early Mma Ramotswe stories was wonderfully produced by Public Broadcasting System about 4 years ago. I ate it up.

When we lived in Miami (until 9/2014) Lime Spouse and I were chronics at the Miami Book Fair each year. One of those years, Alexander McCall Smith talked about his No. 1 Detective Agency novels. It was apparent that he has an abiding love and great respect for the people of Botswana, having lived there for some years. That esteem is richly reflected in those stories.

I would love to hear the radio plays. Like being read aloud to, something I love more than almost anything else in the world.

I am choosing to read this book for another reason. It's how I intend to turn my back on the Day of Infamy when Agent Orange is inaugurated and my country begins its 4 years of humiliation in the eyes of the world. Show us NO MERCY.

>40 Limelite: I'm really enjoying hearing people's plans for what they're going to do instead of watching the Inauguration. Even though I'm in the UK, it's covered here too, and I'm planning on avoiding it like the plague (I might even have a day off facebook, which is unheard of for me as I'm pretty addicted!). I'm going to be filing my tax return, which felt quite apt, somehow.

You might enjoy this, if you haven't seen it already: http://distractify.com/humor/2017/01/17/trump-inauguration-excuses?utm_content=i...

Those were gratifyingly good. I've been finding them all over the Internet/Twitter and enjoying the sarcasm.

I refuse to normalize this man. He is inauthentic to the bone and cannot be legitimized by turning the other cheek to the truth of his psychopathic nature.

Humor is not ony a refuge for the sane, but because Trump doesn't possess a sense of humor it's the best way for resistance to show its face.

>41 Jackie_K: I too avoided any TV covering the Inauguration. I think that man is real scary.

>43 connie53: Trump wasn't my 1st, 2nd or 3rd choice! That being said, the more I understand what he wants to do, which is give more power back to the States and the people, the more I can agree with THAT. As a teacher though, I have to, for the sake of ethics, be very neutral. I invited all the students in my classes to watch the inauguration with me during lunch at school. I had about 60 students come to my room. Only having 25 seats, the rest eagerly sat on the floor. Any president being sworn in is historic. After listening to Trump's speech, I agreed 100% with everything he said. I now feel like I have hope--which I've not had for 8 years. This country is so divided, and it was long divided before Donald Trump was even on the radar. I'm one for giving the man a chance, he hasn't "done" anything yet, so he has a clean slate. I'm not here to debate politics (I stay away from that!) but just to say I'm giving him a chance, just as I have every president. After all, the people have spoken and that is democracy.

>37 Limelite: oh yeah.. the "space operas" are not my favorite type of sci fi -- I really prefer the future/technology/speculative/cyber/etc. aspect of sci-fi over the aliens duking it out in space ;)
I haven't read Stephenson yet, but I really look forward to it! Some of my recent favorites have been The Fold by Peter Clines, Dark Matter by Blake Crouch, The Circle by Dave Eggers, Armada by Ernest Cline, The Phone Company by David Jacob Knight, and The Martian by Andy Weir.. I suppose of those, the ones that I recommend the most often are The Circle, The Fold, and Dark Matter, in that order :)

>38 Limelite: >39 Jackie_K: I haven't read any from that series yet, but they're piling up on the bookshelves.. I think I have 12 or more of his books just waiting for me? I keep hearing what a wonderful series it is :)

>44 Tess_W: interesting perspective! Looking at it as a teacher and with students around...
as for me and my coworkers, we just talked in depressive tones while we worked. ;p

>42 Limelite: I agree. Sadly, I agree. I refuse to normalize him. I realize my blood pressure will be up for at least two years, maybe four.

Coming out from under Chemo #2 Side-Effects, a week of not feeling human. Real reading is probably still a day or two away from possible. Sleep and eat and TV are all I do, as long as food comes to me. Will focus on reclaiming strength and then continue with Mma Ramotswe's investigation of The Handsome Man's Deluxe Cafe.

Have managed to read in short bursts an adventure novel of (at best) "B" quality. It's a yarn about a pair of Western brothers kidnapped by a Chinese eunuch and pressed into serving his criminal enterprise. Plenty of interesting details of life in China at the dawn of the communist revolution. Rather too much vivid description of violence and the writing tends to be uneven. Good descriptions of surroundings, quotidian details, social constructs at a time of their upheaval. Minimal character development although characters are unique and distinct, which helps.

The book is House of Eight Orchids by James Thayer, and it's been sitting on my Kindle for ages. What I appreciate most about it for the time being is its pace suits the current state of my ability to concentrate. Escapist fiction has now got a new wrinkle of meaning for me!

Sorry you're coming out from a week of chemo. My mother-in-law said that on day 3 after chemo she felt like the bottom of a bird cage. I hope you get back to feeling better quickly.

Kindle is a very good method of reading when not feeling well - it has its own light and is easy, at least for me, to read in bed.

>47 Limelite: sorry you've had a week of not feeling human - hope you're able to get back to enjoyable reading soon! Perfectly understandable that you sleep & eat & tv in the meantime, though!

I hope you've turned the corner with the feeling crappy, and that your reads bring you pleasure and relaxation! Feel better soon!

Dear >48 karenmarie: thru >50 Jackie_K:

"Bottom of the birdcage" is right. And worse.

Today, I'm well on the road to recovering strength and interest in my fellow man. I've read many more chapters of my adventure novel, and have to admit that the author's use of specific details certainly lends authenticity to the story. Have to say that my interest in getting back on track reading my tomes is resurgent.

Thank you for all your kind wishes and good thoughts. It's more heartening than you know!

Sounds like the escapist fiction is just the ticket. Glad to hear you have it to hand!

>51 Limelite: great news! :)

Yay.

Not only am I enjoying House of Eight Orchids, but I've also got fairly involved in a "vintage mystery," The Villa in Italy. Not usually a murder mystery reader, but any mention of "villa" or "Italy" immediately has my full attention.

Why? Because Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim is one of my all time favorite novels. At least, it thoroughly enchanted me! Another "vintage" read.

Anyway, I'm on track to finish at least 2 ROOTs for Feb. On a roll!

>55 Limelite: Glad to see you are enjoying House of Eight Orchids. It is on my TBR pile.

>56 Tess_W:

Yes -- I think I've posted earlier that it's the significant detail about the culture, habits, and objects in the lives (like tea boats) at the time the novel is set that most delight me. Otherwise, I have to say, it's a run-of-the-mill action/adventure story lifted above most because of its exotic locale.

Look forward to your reactions -- keep me posted.

>55 Limelite: woo hoo! Congrats on your progress!

>57 Limelite: I enjoy learning about other cultures/habits/objects/etc. too.... s'long as it doesn't detract from the story ;)

Good to hear like reading again, Limelite!

Hello - just dropping by to say hi!

Who knew that Chemo #3 would be so debilitating? It wiped me out except for the last 3-4 days before I underwent Chemo #4 (the LAST!) last Mon. And the happy surprise is, I am already recovering myself from it! As a consequence, while I read not a word last month, I barrelled through House of Eight Orchids and closed the book thinking, "What a damn fine yarn!"

The adventure genre belongs mostly to male readers but I enjoyed the power of Thayer's careful historicity and was drawn deeply into the political confusion of warlord China following the Japanese invasion prior to WWII. Thayer has a talent for plot construction, avoiding the expected twists and leaving a scene in media res without the superfluous bow-tied wrap-up common to Hollywood films.

As it is always a pleasant experience to read a book in which women are just as "weighty" as men in the story -- something distressingly rare in adventure fiction -- additional enjoyment came from discovering that the two heroines were as developed, complex, mysterious, and able as the hero.

I will say nothing of the story line because I think readers will want to sink into it with their imaginations unsullied by disclosures.

While Thayer is a new-to-me-author, I think he may become a new go-to writer when I want diversion from good escapist fiction.

>61 Limelite: Glad to hear of your recovery and glad that you enjoyed this yarn; as it is on my TBR pile!

>61 Limelite: best wishes for continued recovery - a good adventure novel sounds like an ideal distraction!

>61 Limelite: Excellent that the female characters are just as developed as the male characters! Hope you continue to find lots of good books to help with your recovery.

>61 Limelite: Hope your recovery continues to be this swift! Looks like that book was just the thing to kick-start your reading mojo too!

I'm glad the chemo is done, and that you seem to be recovering quickly! I'm also glad that you were able to do some reading. House of eight Orchids sounds like a good read.

>62 Tess_W:, >63 floremolla:, >64 rabbitprincess:, >65 Jackie_K:, >66 karenmarie:

Thank you all for your good wishes. Yes, I'm happy to re-join the human race, its activities, and its interests, especially reading.

Absolutely endorse Thayer's novel for those of you who have it in your TBR stacks or feel intrigued by my blurb to add it. He wrote Man of the Century, a Little Big Man tale narrated by a 108 year-old man who claims many exciting careers from spy to ruler of China that I am tempted to get.

>67 Limelite: added to my wish list on the strength of your review - sounds like one that would work for me *and* my other half! :)

Glad to hear you're able to enjoy books again. This sounds like a great read!

>68 floremolla:
I think both of you will like it. There's no vulgarity and no egregious sex. But there's lots of violence and gore. All of it seemed fitting to the time and place.

Really, what I liked about the story were the historical details, period perfect and fascinating, that gave me the feeling of being in time and place.

My next ROOT (#4) is The Villa in Italy by Elizabeth Edmondson.

It takes nothing for me to pick up a book set in Italy, nothing at all especially when it is reminiscent of Enchanted April. And after dreamily reading 1/3 of this atmospheric mysterious book, I have become a devoted voyeur of the tale unfolding around four people, strangers to each other, brought under the roof of this coastal villa by the summons in a dead woman's will -- a woman none of them know anything about.

Unlike Enchanted April the setting is shortly after WWII, instead of between the wars. Like Enchanted April, the villa is a character, too. More decrepit than Elizabeth von Arnim's villa, still an edifice that I think will work its magic on the "guests."

Two Elizabeth's, two enchanting books.

>71 Limelite: okay, second BB, I might have to stay away from your thread....

>72 floremolla:
Regretfully, I must endorse your feeling. I seldom "go visiting" for that very reason!

Hi, Limelite, Skimming your thread after being absent for some weeks.
Enjoy your reading.

>74 connie53: likewise... ;)
Looks like you're just on track w/ your ROOT goal! :)

I suffer in reading and "goal tending' during The Enchanted April when it is so beautiful outside; when going to ride my horses is beckoning; when watching the antics of birds and squirrels among blooms and greening trees is so beguiling; and when days are perfectly suited for meeting friends and family for many meals al fresco, whether picnic or restaurant setting.

So, I am dabbling in The Last Painting of Sara de Vos by Dominic Smith, The Death of Vishnu by Manil Suri, and probably two other novels that shall go unmentioned since the reality is they'll probably be put off until May!

I attribute all this lack of focus on my ROOTs to the end of Round Two of chemo treatments. Yay! Energy and strength are returning (I've been able to get on the backs of both my TBs. While I look like a sack of potatoes rather than an equestrian in the process, doesn't bother me. Once I'm up there, the healing post-therapy therapy begins.)

These halcyon days are for living, not reading! And I say that un-regretfully after 4 months of meh. I feel like Toad of Toad Hall; I want to hit the road and zoom! zoom! away to greet life head-on, bugs-in-the-teeth and all, not turn the pages of a book. No more of the quiet life for me!

>76 Limelite: the life-enhancing magic of doing what you love! The books can wait but that beautiful day and that al fresco lunch or horse waiting to be ridden have to be seized when you can. Enjoy!

>76 Limelite: a lovely way to phrase it -- and I agree.. it is sometimes hard to focus when Spring arrives! (said in my own clunky way ;))

& Congrats on concluding Round 2 of your chemo treatments!

Hi limelite! I hope things are going well for you and that you are enjoying the spring. Zoom! Zoom!

Thx. Going VERY well. Finished chemo and just got an excellent follow-up report from onc and surg -- no surgery or further intervention required, and am on road to recovery (gaining strength and endurance).

Have ridden my horses for the last two weeks and went to cheer for a friend at the numerous local saddle clubs' barrel races. More of a gymkhana for all riders from 1 - old age. Lots of fun!!

No time for reading when there's so much to do, even though I feel I want to. Will have to put a CD book in the car for listening while driving, especially since I bought three earlier this month from HamiltonBook. Next weekend is all Grandson Major's swim meet. Weekend after that is Derby Party. Lurching from one fun event to the next and morphing into a social butterfly.

As you and Toad say, "Zoom! Zoom!"

Hope you are maintaining discipline and good intentions by meeting your reading goals, and are able to resist the Lure of Printemps, unlike me.

>80 Limelite: That's really good news, Limelite! Congrats!

Excellent news!

>80 Limelite: great news! :)

>80 Limelite: Hooray!

>80 Limelite: excellent news! :D

>81 connie53: - >85 avanders:
Thank you all for your good wishes. They're much appreciated!

Well. . .Fate plays us tricks! I'm back at chemo again -- NOT because of bad news, but because my MDs feel they can produce even better news if I undergo a third round of 4 treatments. So, I began this month. And I have to say, that it wasn't as bad as I dreaded it would be. In fact, I'm feeling side-effects free, except for the ever-present fatigue and weakness.

On top of that, we're undertaking home reno -- new cork floor throughout, and the gang of workmen are slaving away as I type. Several more days of this are anticipated. The good news about my combined "confinement" and the renovations is that we're living without the TV and I have finished another ROOT as a result.

A beautiful book, satisfying all my aesthetic needs, plus delivering a gracious story of love, family, and humanity with charm and naturalness, that's The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa. The housekeeper comes with her 10-year old son to care for a brilliant retired mathematics professor who is unable to care for himself since an auto accident left him brain damaged. Physically, he functions, but his short term memory is reduced to 80 minutes. It is only with the help of sticky notes that he posts all over his suit that he can "remember" anything. Yet, three lonely people who seem to have nothing in common discover that through kindness and by contributing their unique gifts to help each other, they can create a lasting relationship, even a family.

If you're interested in my full review: https://www.librarything.com/profile_reviews.php?view=Limelite

>87 Limelite: Hope all goes well and the chemo is super-effective then!

Sounds like an uplifting story - wishlisted!

Looking toward my next root. . .#6 and the half-way mark in my modest goal.

The oddities of peoples' brains seems to be a theme in my last read and my next selection. A goal for 2017? Meeting all kinds of minds?

>88 floremolla:
Why, thank you!
You can bet, I'm far more excited about the new floor. Doing cork throughout. It's environmentally green, it doesn't gas off (so no hives!), and it's cool in summer, warm in winter, and sound abating. So easy to clean and maintain, too. Drop your china, maybe it'll bounce! We had hardwood and cork in Miami and now we'll introduce rural GA to the concept of no damn carpeting. Heh heh.

Glad to hear that the home renovations are going to give you some nice new flooring AND some ROOT reading!

Hope the third round goes well and that you have plenty of mental energy for reading while you rest and recover :)

>90 Limelite: We're in cold damp Scotland and don't have carpets either due to my allergies. I'd heard cork had had a revival. Look forward to finding out if you're right about the bounce! :)

Excellent news about both the renovations and the chemo - I hope you're not too knackered and the work isn't too stressy going on around you!

>87 Limelite: That sounds like good news! Better results & so far side-effects free! Glad to hear it :)
And renovations to boot -- fun!
Haha, I know the feeling... when you "can't" watch tv and you "have to" read.... ;)

>87 Limelite: If it helps it's worth the fatigue! You go, girl!

Good luck with the reading and the renovation!

Hi limelite!

I hope that you're full of energy again after the newest round of chemo.

You'll have to report back on the cork flooring, too.

Notch one up -- I finished The Rosie Project and was delighted by it. I feel somewhat inspired to return to reading again as aggressively as I used to. If you haven't read this humorous and insightful novel into a particular problem facing a geneticist with Asperger's, you have cheated yourself out of an entertaining experience.

Here's an excerpt from my review:

Love is awkward.

Where logic and emotion collide is an explosive battlefield between the sexes. For Don Tillman, the literal minded, Asperger affected, geneticist the course of true love has never run. Period. But a passing remark from a rare friend plants the nugget in his brain that what he needs is a wife. And so he sets out to get a perfect one by using scientific methods: questionnaires, data analysis, and testing.

Thank goodness things go wrong.

If that's not enough info and you're insufficiently teased, the rest of my review can be found here:
The Rosie Project

Now to decide which ROOT to dig up next.

Chemo #3 Wed. and only one more to go. Hoping it's easier than the last one!

Happy reading ROOTers!

Welcome back! I hope chemo #3 goes well for you!

Chemo #3 not that bad. Day 5 and I'm already feeling nearly human and eating a little. Happily, I had a birthday filled with BOOKS. Now I have a demi-stack of new ROOTs, and I'm treating myself to one of them right now.

Announcing. . .Root #7



Bi Feiyu is a new writer to me and is an augmentation to my collection of novels by contemporary Chinese writers who I became deeply interested in when a past Miami Book Fair hosted a special program of them and their works.

The Moon Opera, which I've only just started, is already promising to be extraordinary. The heroine, Xiao Yanqiu, is a diva possessed of all the emotional instability genius artists suffer. Have you ever seen the magnificent Chinese film, Farewell My Concubine? Remember how that ends? I am expecting a punch in the gut from this little gem like that movie delivered. Operas worth writing novels about are always tragedies, and I expect this short novel will be one.

Anyway, I own the book. I've had it two days. I'm calling it a ROOT!

Hope all my compatriots who are digging in their TBR piles, anxious to meet their goals, are enjoying their reads, and a very happy summer reading as well!

UPDATE: Root #7 completed! Find complete review here. https://www.librarything.com/profile_reviews.php?view=Limelite

Just dropping by to say Hello!
& Glad to hear the Chemo went okay and you're already feeling nearly human :)
& Happy Birthday! Glad it was filled w/ books :)

Happy book-filled birthday! Hope the appetite continues to increase and that you are feeling 100% human soon!

>100 avanders: >101 rabbitprincess:
Thank you!
Thank you!
Thank you!

Happy birthday! I'm glad to hear you were able to enjoy your new books.

>99 Limelite: glad to hear you sounding buoyant so soon after your chemo! I'm following with intrigue your foray into Chinese literature as I expect to pick up a lot of BB's - starting with The Moon Opera. And yes, of course you get special birthday exemption for 'new ROOTs'! ;))

I got a good book haul for my birthday too, and immediately counted them as ROOTs.

Glad you're feeling so good after chemo #3!

Hi limelite! I'm glad to hear that the chemo is going well, and congrats on all the new books. Happy Belated Birthday.

Happy birthday and book acquisitions! I like books with the settings in the Orient so Moon Opera is goes on my wish list!

>104 floremolla: >107 Tess_W:

In view of your subject interest, I hope you'll join the discussion at my new thread on Reading Contemporary Chinese Fiction here:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/265373

And a GREAT BIG THANK YOU to all for your well-wishes. I'm grateful.

Perhaps a little foray into "Japanese" literature again with Gail Tsukiyama and her novel, Night of Many Dreams as my next ROOT? (She's really American.)

Chinese contemporary nonfiction is going to be my next ROOT #8.
Opened Mao's Last Dancer by Cunxin Li this morning and began to read his powerful memoir of being one of seven brothers growing up in desperate poverty during the Cultural Revolution in China. Not even he could dream in his childhood (so far) the unimaginably different and richer life that would one day be his.

During a successful career as a ballet principal dancer in Communist China, he defected from his troupe while on tour in the US. He danced here for many years to great success and has gone on to build a successful post-performance career in ballet in Australia where he currently lives with his family.

Also a 2009 Australian film. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1071812/

Oh wow, so many BB's on this thread!

>110 Tess_W:
The reason I "stay home" and had to make a vow to keep out of other ROOTers' threads. My book buying addiction is really really serious!

Hi , just stopping by to say Hi. I've been away from LT due to RL things, but I'm trying to be better about keeping up.

Good to hear you reacted well to the chemo! And congrats on your birthday and the books that came with that.

>112 connie53:
How lovely! Many thanks.

I hope RL is full of activity of the good kind, not the bad. If the latter, hang in there and deal, and let us know if there's anything we ROOTers can do to help.

>113 Limelite: Well, it's of the bad kind. My husband is having a deep depression due to his retirement 2 years ago. It's getting worse with him having physical problems caused by this depression. So we spend lots of time in the hospital and at the GP to see if there is nothing physically wrong too. They like to exclude any illness besides the depression. He is now also seeing a psychologist and an osteopath. We are slowly getting better now.

On the good side are the days when we babysit our granddaughter. Those are fun days for me.

>114 connie53:
I understand. Thank goodness for grandchildren; I dote on my two. For some men, retirement is that event in life that signals, ". . .and then you die." Lime Spouse hinted to me just before he pulled the plug on his work life that he didn't intend to sit around and wait to die. I assured him that I would see to it that he didn't, either! For us, HUGE life changes came thick and fast, producing a whirlwind of new experiences and events. We've indulged in our dreams, revisiting what we enjoyed when much younger -- buying two thoroughbreds off the track to become our babies. It had been nearly 30 years since we've had horses!

However, we're all different and handle change in personal ways. As long as he's willing and determined to do something about it, probably he'll perk up a little more each day as he notices life isn't over and he re-orients and redefines himself other than as an embodiment of his career. For many men, that's a colossal effort.

Wish you both the best and happy questing on your new life's path.

>115 Limelite: Thanks. He is getting better, but he relapses some days too. I think you and your husband did the right thing and I certainly wish we can do the same thing in the future.

Hi limelite!

Just stopping in to say hi and hope that you're full of energy and enjoying life.

>117 karenmarie:

Life is good! Your hopes are fulfilled. Went to visit my horses yesterday and feel my spirits and energy lifted. Equine therapy!

Hope you're enjoying happy reading experiences and achieving your ROOTing goals!

Thanks very much for your good wishes.

ROOTy-toot-toot, finished another root that I had started earlier in the year then set aside. I'm talking about The Last Painting of Sara de Vos by Dominic Smith (new author to me).

Root #8
I know why I set this novel aside. It was intellectually interesting but bereft of emotional appeal. As a result, I didn't grow attached to the characters and I was unable to sink into the story. The writing is wonderful, the plot features a bit of a mystery, and the theme of ambiguous ethics in the art world were all good. Perhaps the load was a little too heavy for my present mental state (sorta pathetic) and light reading is best for me. Still I do recommend it to others, particularly for the details about how an oil painting is constructed and how to forge a Dutch School landscape. Perfect for those with a felonious turn of mind!

Full review here:
https://www.librarything.com/work/16096186/edit/140131221

Root #9
Another new author to me. Anyone else read this book?

>120 Limelite: I have the Smith book in my TBR. Thank you for a great review. I'm looking forward to reading it.

>121 Tess_W: I saw that book mentioned in a thread I just visited.

Found it: http://www.librarything.nl/topic/245603#6130024

Ekchewally, my ninth ROOT was Mao's Last Dancer, finished! And have started my tenth, Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor. Only in Ch. 3, but know I'm in the hands of an accomplished writer presenting a view into lonely old age as it was in mid-20th Century London.

corrected ROOT 9
Reviewed here: https://www.librarything.com/work/71622/edit/143755707

corrected: ROOT 10
Underway!

ROOT #10 was more than a novel. It was a work of art. Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor is so good that I kick myself that in all the years I've been a reader and book lover, I never knew this author or picked up one of her books to read. Now I thirst for more by Taylor -- but there is too little time and my book buying has flown off in other directions which beckon me more forcefully. . .for now.

Here is a sample of my thoughts on this book.

With an atmosphere so pronounced, this novel demands to be read only at dusk for the light of day would wash out its impact and make readers impatient to find the sun. Give it what it requires and the rewards are generous in spite of the story being a melancholy tale of the desolation of loneliness in old age.

Full review: https://www.librarything.com/work/19523/edit/143406889

Added bonus -- not only was "Mrs Palfrey" a ROOT, it is also a Virago Modern Classic edition, and there is an LT Group devoted to them. More new reading friends to be made!

I am definitely enjoying a book hangover and don't yet wish to emerge from under its influence. But needs must, and ROOT #11 demands to be selected. So, off I go to pick another one, probably one to put me back on track with reading contemporary Chinese authors.

>124 Limelite: Your great review and enthusiasm has put that book on my wishlist!

>124 Limelite: Thumbs up for your excellent review!

Re book hangovers, I sometimes find it helpful to pick a book that I'm not wildly enthusiastic about for my next read. I call it a sacrifice to the book hangover gods ;)

>124 Limelite: wonderful review and a BB for me too!

>125 Tess_W: thru >127 floremolla:

I'm delighted that you are all so easily seduced! I hope that if you do get around to making the intimate acquaintance Mrs Palfrey that you'll scurry back here so that we can gossip about why are fans of hers (and Taylor's).

And if your edition of the novel happens to be a VMC, check out the Group devoted to it. I am "watching" it but have not joined because I, too, am so easily seduced. In this case, possibly away from my devotion to ROOTing.

More wonderful news. Finished with chemo #8 for 2017 last Wed. and feel pretty d*mn good already. Eight more days 'til my PET scan, which I hope gives me a good report. Will keep you posted!

Congrats with the end (?) of chemo. I'm a 24 year survivor myself. GL with the PET scan!

>128 Limelite: I hope the PET scan result is the best it can be.

>129 Tess_W: it's always encouraging to hear about long term survival. Good for you! :)

>129 Tess_W:, >130 floremolla:
Agree! Encouraging to know of people who have turned their backs on cancer. While I'm the luckiest person in the world, I feel kicked in the gut when I see or learn of those who suffer so much from the disease and never know the joy of being NED anytime after diagnosis. And I can't even talk about childhood cancer. My brain balks at even considering it. "That should not be, don't go there," it says.

Encountered another LTer (a VMC groupie) who knows and still resonates with the pleasure of having met "Mrs Palfrey," even though she did so years ago. How's that for an "I second that recommendation"?

>126 rabbitprincess: Is that the book equivalent of drinking flat Coke or Irn-Bru after two many vinos?

>128 Limelite: Good luck with the scan and results! I'll keep everything crossed for you :)

>132 Jackie_K: I hadn't heard of that hangover cure, but it does seem like a fitting analogy!

>128 Limelite: I hope the results of the scan are good, Limelite. And I'm very happy you are feeling so good after # 8!

>134 connie53:

Many thanks!! I feel great, which leads to its own complications.

For instance, my every intention this morning was to begin reading ROOT #11 which I'd decided upon: War Trash by Ha Jin. And yet, feeling that I'd better have my back-up "rest" book that I would go to when and if "Trash" proved onerous, I began to scan my Kindle holdings and fell into Lisa Randall's Higgs Discovery: The Power of Empty Space. It's really a smallish monograph, and in the blink of an eye, I had inhaled about 20% of it. It's so damn fascinating!

The upshot is, that "Trash" is eyeing me balefully from the coffee table, unopened, and I only want to sneak back to "Empty Space"! Therefore, I am postponing the formal announcement of ROOT #11. I figure it can announce itself.

>135 Limelite: oh dear, if it's any consolation you're not alone in going off piste. I was still awake at 3am this morning so started reading The Luminaries on Kindle and got sucked in. Luckily it's a ROOT in my reading world. The Kindle version has the astrological images at the beginning of each chapter - of course I've no idea what these symbols mean so was researching them at 5am...slightly tired today...

>136 floremolla:

Ah! But I'm no skier. This probably is an instance when you really need the actual tree book to get the full impact beyond the words on the page. Library loan, perhaps?

But I'm so glad you got sucked in. That initial scene on the boat offshore Australia sucked me right in, too. It was so powerful, I must have read the beginnning of the book two or three times. The REALLY IMPORTANT scene is the secret meeting among all the characters in the Crown Hotel shortly after Moody arrives. Again, as the "patterns" began to tumble, and as I got deeper into the story, it was necessary for me to flip back and forth from where I was reading to scenes and events that happened earlier. The more I read, the more I flipped.

Get some sleep! I say this sympathetically. I went to sleep at 2AM!

>137 Limelite: This sounds so intriguing! Taking a note of the book. Good luck with the scan!

>137 Limelite: ah, right, I see what you mean, that amount of flipping isn't feasible on a Kindle! Paperback now ordered from Amazon. This might have made a good group read, sounds like there'll be lots to speculate on and discuss. I'll try to pay attention and read in daytime, not when I'm nodding off!

>137 Limelite: Thanks, I think I know what my next read will be. Luckily it's on the shelves.

>141 connie53: I started Al wat schittert this afternoon. And on page 113 right now.

>141 connie53: that's good going! it's a BFB too, Connie, so ticking more than one box :)

>138 MissWatson: Thanks so much! And keep me posted on how you find The Luminaries when you get to it.

>141 connie53: I love hearing titles of books in their international translation. I'd like to know how "Al wat schittert" transliterates. I read "All that glitters," which works very well considering a gold mine figures BIG in this novel.

WARNING: I know nothing, nada, zilch about Tarot reading or general lore, so I'm hoping someone will point out the further mysteries in this novel that entirely escaped me.

It's official! My next ROOT is definitely War Trash by Ha Jin.

ROOT #11
I'm already on Ch. 3, "Three Months of Guerrilla Life." And it's not too early to say that Ha's novel about the Korean War is as good as the best American mid-century novels of WWII. I wonder if I'll even need a fall back book after all?

>143 Limelite: You got the translation right, Limelite! The cover gave me a very wrong impression about what the book would be about. It looks like something form the period of the charleston and placed in London or something. I think that is because of the hairdo. I never expected it to be in a little village in New-Zealand with mines and such.

I don't know much about astrology - I only know the characteristics of a few zodiac signs - my own and a few people close to me. I think a bit of knowledge on that might be useful if people act true to type.

I also didn't know anything about the 'Houses' of astrology but found this useful guide online - the list of Houses at the beginning of the book appears to correspond with them. https://astrolibrary.org/houses/

Wikipedia also helpfully tells us which character is which zodiac sign and who the planets and other heavenly bodies are. So now I know that the chapter entitled Jupiter in Sagittarius involves Lauderback and Balfour. But this is why I'm only at page 70 so far!

>135 Limelite: My books eye me balefully sometimes, too! Other times they just glare at me reproachfully.

>135 Limelite: OK, now I am calling for a linguist to step forward and lead a discussion on what "All the Glitters" means to a Dutch reader as compared to what "Luminaries" means to an English speaker. From my perspective, the two titles bear and convey distinctly different meanings. Thoughts?

>146 floremolla: You are armed with foreknowledge and ability to research what I never did or could. You're on your way to becoming LT's Resident Scholar on "Luminaries." I didn't identify the characters with astrological houses. Now I know! Tell us more, please.

>147 karenmarie: LoL! Our books are acting in loco parentis.

All my books are screaming: read me, read me, I'm aging! LOL

The talk here has made me almost want to buy The Luminaries........but I hate astrology and anything to do with it!

>149 Tess_W: The astrology is not that important, Tess. I'm not very interested in that too and I'm loving the book.

>135 Limelite: Well ' luminaries' translates according to google into two things in Dutch:

1. a person who inspires or influences others, especially one prominent in a particular sphere.
"one of the luminaries of child psychiatry"
synoniemen: leading light, guiding light, inspiration, role model, hero, heroine, leader, expert, master, lion, legend, celebrity, newsmaker, personality, great, giant, VIP, bigwig, rainmaker

2. an artificial light.
"We offer an exciting range of lighting and luminaries that have the ability to accentuate, to harmonize, to enhance, and to convey a mood."

Schitteren: to glitter

1. A person can 'schitter' for example: a singer, an actor.

2. Gold is a glittering thing too.

schitteren:

1. shine
2. glitter
3. glint
4. sparkle
5. coruscate
6. light
7. glare
8. blaze
9. flare
10. flame
11. glance

I think it's sometimes impossible to translate a title and give it the same meaning. So I think they tried to give it a title that covers some of the story.

We have a saying: het is niet alles goud wat er blinkt. Translates to: Not everything that glitters has to be gold.(Appearance can be cheating).

So far my two cents!

I remember the 1980's book The Illuminati. In that book the Illuminati were a group of people who did in fact influence others, for the worse in this case......they wanted to take over the world.

Also, when my children were at home, at Christmas we made luminaries, such as these and set them in the drive and on the porch on Christmas eve.

>148 Limelite: ok, no pressure there then ;)

>149 Tess_W: I'm not a follower or believer in astrology either but as a structural device for a novel it's interesting because it has defined 'rules' which makes me more inclined to treat it like a set of clues for a puzzle.

>150 connie53: interesting - we also say that 'all that glitters is not gold' and Shakespeare gets credit for it!

The luminaries in astrology are the sun and the moon - probably because they cast light and illuminate, like Connie's examples.

Each of the twelve men meeting at the inn is assigned a sign of the zodiac and his occupation and characteristics are in keeping with his sign:

Te Rau Tauwhare (a greenstone hunter): Aries
Charlie Frost (a banker): Taurus
Benjamin Lowenthal (a newspaperman): Gemini
Edgar Clinch (an hotelier): Cancer
Dick Mannering (a goldfields magnate): Leo
Quee Long (a goldsmith): Virgo
Harald Nilssen (a commission merchant): Libra
Joseph Pritchard (a chemist): Scorpio
Thomas Balfour (a shipping agent): Sagittarius
Aubert Gascoigne (a justice's clerk): Capricorn
Sook Yongsheng (a hatter): Aquarius
Cowell Devlin (a chaplain): Pisces

Another set of characters is associated with heavenly bodies within the solar system:

Walter Moody: Mercury
Lydia (Wells) Carver née Greenway: Venus
Francis Carver: Mars
Alistair Lauderback: Jupiter
George Shepard: Saturn
Anna Wetherell: The Sun/The Moon
Emery Staines: The Moon/The Sun

The Sun, a luminary, rules Leo, his element is Fire and he represents masculinity. The Sun, which is actually a star, is at the center of the solar system and the other planets revolve around it. In astrology, it defines your inner center — personality, ego, the self, who you really are, how you relate to others, leadership qualities, creativity, vitality, life force and spirit. It governs reason, not intuition. The Sun represents the masculine part of your personality. Whether male or female, the Sun holds clues as to how you may relate to your father or other male figures in your life.

The Moon, a luminary, rules Cancer, her element is Water and she represents femininity. The Moon governs emotions, feelings and gut instincts. Whether male or female, the Moon holds clues as to how you may relate to your mother or other female figures in your life.

Mercury rules Gemini and Virgo, and Earth is his element. Mercury, the messenger of the gods, governs communication — how you relate to others and how others hear you. It is concerned with how you process and receive information — how you question and analyze. It is associated with your central nervous system, which is the key to communication and coordination between your physical and mental processes.

Venus rules Taurus and Libra, and Air is her element. Venus is known as the planet of love and represents harmony and your pleasure centers — love, attraction, prosperity and contentment. It defines people who you are drawn to and those who you want to run away from. Venus also governs loving relationships and not just in the physical sense, but also in the mental sense. She seeks to unite you with the significant people around you.

Mars rules Aries and Scorpio, and Fire is his element. Mars is known as the god of War. He is assertive, disciplined, takes initiative and is willing to take forceful action when necessary. Mars is competitive and symbolizes the degree of one’s ability to self-motivate and to be self-driven. But he tends to act quickly before thinking things through. Mars is also both physically and emotionally passionate in pursuit of a romantic relationship and when in a relationship, as well as toward life goals.

Jupiter rules Sagittarius and Pisces, and Air is his element. Jupiter is known as the King of the gods and is considered a social planet. It encourages your expansion and realization of a higher consciousness and reaching your dreams. Jupiter opens your path through travel, education, philosophy and the tests that you encounter along the way. It is optimistic, lucky and helps you to feel safe and secure in your environment so that you may take risks and seek the truth to help you toward your financial and personal goals.

Saturn rules Capricorn and Aquarius, and Earth is his element. Saturn is a serious planet and helps you lay out your path for success. It puts up limits, restrictions and boundaries so that you stay focused. These are things you may not like, but they are necessary for growth.

So, looking at the above we can see that Jupiter rules Sagittarius and indeed Lauderback holds sway over Balfour.

We can also see that Walter Moody's purpose might be to question, analyse and communicate.

As an extra layer of intrigue, each location where the action takes place is assigned an astrological House (the places are listed at the front of the novel) and the Houses have characteristics that are as set out in the link I provided above.

I don't think I could hold all this information in my head while reading the novel but no doubt some of the characteristics of the key players will become familiar during the 800+ pages and it will be interesting to see what connections can be made as it progresses - and whether the information leads to the solving of the crimes?

I've spent the day with my daughter and not had time to read but am looking forward to getting into it tomorrow.

I'm thinking that book is too difficult for me!

>153 Tess_W: If I can read it, you can read it to.

>152 floremolla: printed and added to my copy of the book. Thanks.

>153 Tess_W: I'm 100% sure it's not :) but it can probably just be read as historical crime novel and the astrological stuff ignored! It would be interesting to hear about it read from that POV too.

>154 connie53: good idea, Connie!

>149 Tess_W: thru >154 connie53: WOW! What wonderful comments. Me, too! I'm going to copy and save your research, floremolla, just like connie53. I certainly need it.

C'mon, tess, you can do it! Besides, we all want to hear what you think as a reader with decided views on Tarot. Need to hear from your perspective. You -- the anti; me -- the ignorant; and florie -- the informed. And connie, reading it in Dutch!!

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

Making progress in ROOT #11, War Trash. After privation, starvation, slaughter, and continual fear, Yu Yuan and the remaining few survivors of his regiment are taken prisoner. Now the novel enters its second phase -- captivity. If the book continues to be as well written as the writing I've encountered in the battle portion I will be in for more treats.

>156 Limelite: I could not read it in English. That would be a bit to much, my English is not sufficient enough and I am afraid I would miss details. Tarot is not mentioned much up till now (page 552/832)
I combined some things from Flora's comments, for a more compact overview. I'm not sure if it's necessary, but I like doing this kinds of stuff. ;-))

Te Rau Tauwhare (a greenstone hunter): Aries (Mars-Fire)
Charlie Frost (a banker): Taurus (Venus - Air)
Benjamin Lowenthal (a newspaperman): Gemini (Mercury- Earth)
Edgar Clinch (an hotelier): Cancer (Moon - Water)
Dick Mannering (a goldfields magnate): Leo (Sun - Fire)
Quee Long (a goldsmith): Virgo (Mercury - Earth)
Harald Nilssen (a commission merchant): Libra (Venus - Air)
Joseph Pritchard (a chemist): Scorpio (Mars - Fire)
Thomas Balfour (a shipping agent): Sagittarius (Jupiter - Air)
Aubert Gascoigne (a justice's clerk): Capricorn (Saturn - Earth)
Sook Yongsheng (a hatter): Aquarius (Saturn - Earth)
Cowell Devlin (a chaplain): Pisces (Jupiter - Air)

>152 floremolla: This is going to be helpful when I get around to it.

Hi limelite!

I've added The Luminaries to my wishlist. It sounds intriguing. I'll have to remember to come back here once I get started!

>157 connie53: thru >159 karenmarie:

Tee hee. Did I confess that I bought Catton's The Rehearsal (her debut novel) last month? Haven't read it yet but am, nevertheless, curious if it will be another work of art with "secret chambers" of literary technique in it.

karenmarie welcome to the Luminaries Spontaneous Fan Club. We're like spontaneous combustion in that we seem to have just happened. I suppose as a fan club we'll be ephemeral unless one of us blabs to the rest about another biblio-enthusiasm.

So I finished Al wat schittert and feel a bit cheated. I did not get the end! And that was purely the way it was written. We learn what happened but I was put off by style. Because of the first 700 pages it gets but it could have been a five star book.

>160 Limelite: I've got De repetitie too ;-)

>161 connie53: Ah ha! Connie, did you NOTICE the way the chapters "behaved" as the novel drew to an end? Did it make you WONDER?

Wish De repetitie were an honest-to-god ROOT. We could read it next. Maybe we can read it around the same time i the future?

>162 Limelite:. Yes, I did notice and wonder! And I did not get it. So if you did, please explain.

And reading De repetitie together is a good idea for future reading. I'm now reading a YA series of 4 books and almost finished # 1 De cirkel by Mats Strandberg & Sara B. Elfgren. Perhaps when I've finished the 4 books?

Well, my answer is rather complicated and for many will be ultimately unsatisfying. But here goes.

Catton's novel is an experiment in the novel. Since its beginning as a literary form, I think readers and writers are attracted to them initially on the basis of its primary elements:
Plot -- story
Character -- the realistic humanity of the "people" in them
Theme -- what's the novel 'about' in terms of shining a light on human understanding

But Catton took the novel in a new direction and probably to its limits(?) in another literary element that often goes unnoticed by readers:
Form -- novel structure both temporally (time -- a lot of experimentation in this area) and spatially (construction of tangible parts -- chapter length, for example; dialogue punctuation, for another).

Did you notice the length of ch. 1? It's tremendously long! Count the pp. Then count the number of pp in Ch 2., then 3. By now you should notice a pattern. Easier may be to do this from back to front, you'll pick up the pattern, only in inverse order and reverse pattern.

For me, I don't know if that pattern (don't want to give it away) is significant in Tarot or astrology since I never researched it. But it is significant in that Catton chose, to impose this construction on her novel, maybe to see if it could be done. But I think the effect of the form is a mirror of the effect the novel -- any novel -- has on us in our response to it as readers.

At first we want to get into the story, meet the characters, learn the problems and conflicts, begin to feel which themes underlie it. As we get to the half way point, we begin to "know" the story and characters, we begin to "feel" the mounting tension of conflict as the stakes get higher, and we begin to anticipate the climax. We may even begin to speed read to get to the end quicker; I confess to even skipping or glossing over the final third of a book to see if it turns out the way I anticipated it would. Finally, in the last few pages of a novel, good authors deliver the climax and quickly deal with the resolution, and they do this in a comparatively scant number of pages, especially compared to all the pages devoted to background and build up at the beginning of a novel. Breathlessly (if the novel was really good), we cross the finish line!

Catton wrote an actual skeleton or armature of a novel, constructing hers spatially so that close readers would actually see how the magic (remember the seance scene?) is done. In her book we see the build-up; we see the complications rush one onto the other faster than the build-up; we race in a short fast burst to the climax; once there, we plunge immediately and swiftly into the wrap-up, or denoument and all the strands (remember the seance scene?) of the story are drawn together.

This is just my own opinion. In short, I think Catton showed us what happens when we're into a novel as readers; she revealed what goes on behind the curtain that produces the magical transporting effect, the tricks of construction that force and reinforce the emotions and anticipation we feel when reading a (mystery, in this case) story.

What I've just carried on about is sufficient for me to regard her as a literary genius, the like of which I've never seen, except possibly in one nonfiction work.

What do you think? I hope you have ideas that go beyond what I've discussed and uncover links to Tarot cards and astrological lore. I think there's probably a clue revealed in the cover illustration on the first hardcover edition, no?

I just want to stop by to say hi... I couldn't possibly catch up, though I wish I could (explanation in my thread...)! I hear that you feel like you have a little more time again at some point after having a kid... here's to hoping ;)

>164 Limelite: Marking this post for intensive reading on Sunday!

Having read a bit about the book online before plunging in, I remember seeing some references to the chapters waning like phases of the moon - this is reflected in the book cover. I think where Catton has been extremely clever is in using the 'rules' of astrology to structure the novel and give places and characters astrologically identifiable characteristics that reflect their roles. She's then woven in astrological and astronomical allusions throughout.

For example, the chapter heading 'A Sphere within a Sphere' made sense when she revealed (within that chapter) that it meant one story/timeline being played out within another story/timeline ie, the reader was simultaneously learning two stories - the one that was occurring with Moody and the twelve men at the inn and the events that had led to the meeting.

The part where Moody then recounts his understanding of the story so far shows how cleverly she has woven the tale - he made logical connections from what had been told to him that had completely passed over my head.

I'm only halfway through as it's been a busy week in the land of RL, but I'm enjoying it so far. I like the idea of writers giving their readers something to puzzle over. Not every time, though - sometimes it's enough just to be entertained, informed or made to feel emotions. But the wonder of complex books like this is that they can be read on different levels and we can all take something different from them.

>165 avanders: Well, if having had two rounds of chemo treatments since January (lasting 8 months) is anything like having a baby (9 months), then yes, I feel like I just had a kid!! But you're the new mum, and I bet you feel like you "had" a second full time job -- you did! I'll check out your thread for the details of the adjustments to your reading life that mommy life has caused.

>166 connie53: Be sure to mark post # 167, too!

>167 floremolla: Oooh, I like what you say, and YES it is the waning of the moon, which we know to be one -- or both -- of the luminaries in the novel. Did you decide which, one more than the other? Layers on layers.

Thank you for analyzing the sphere within a sphere ch. I don't remember having any insights like that, so I can guarantee it passed completely unnoticed by me at the time. And I think your interpretation is absolutely right.

Yes, I completely agree with you! I love the thrill her novel gives me that comes from her virtuosity and intellectual challenge to readers. Sometimes I'm just in the mood for this kind of read. It kind of strengthens my appreciation for ALL literature when I find a work by someone who gets on the tightrope strung between two skyscrapers and makes it across the chasm. Her attempt is something new and exciting. And I enjoy the workout I have to undertake just to negotiate the swaying bridge she constructed in her wake.

Other times Georgette Heyer will do very nicely, thank you.

I'm probably never going to get around to The Luminaries, but it warms my heart to see all of the analysis and discussion you all are having about it! :) It makes me want to read what I *do* read more carefully so that I can pick up on this kind of thing!

>169 rabbitprincess: yes, it does make you stop and think, doesn't it?

I've finished The Luminaries and put my review on my thread. I enjoyed it very much. Just hope I can hold all my thoughts long enough to discuss it! ;)

Thanks to Hurricane Irma causing a blackout in north Georgia, Shady Creek Plantation was without power until today. Being without water, bathrooms, refrigeration, TV, Internet, or electronic devices for several days left me with nothing to do but READ. So, I did.

With the completion of Amitav Ghosh's novel (the first of his Ibis Trilogy), Sea of Poppies, I crossed the goal line for 2017 ROOTs and created a Supplementary Ticker to record TBR achievements beyond my original goal over the remaining months of the year.

Root #12
Wonderful novel! Here's an excerpt from my review.

An epic tale that centers on a near-mythical ship, the Ibis, a schooner destined for a voyage from India to China during the start of the Opium Wars. A panorama of characters, Western, Indian, and, Asian seek new fortunes, leaving their lives and ties behind for the risky voyage to the Mauritius where most expect to fulfill contracts as indentured servants, a few more desperate characters seek fuller freedom, and several women hope to assert their burgeoning desires for new identities.

For the complete review, please go here.

P.S. You'are right. . .I have not yet posted my review of War Trash which I also completed during the blackout. I created a Supplementary Ticker to keep track of 2017 ROOTs read beyond my original goal. This is what it looks like:

And now a word about War Trash, the penultimate read in fulfilling my Dirty Dozen. I wrote a review that probably fails to do the book justice or what I really think about it, either. The difficulty is, there is so much to stimulate ones thinking that today I have this opinion and tomorrow I will probably add that to it. In other words "Trash" is the kind of read that lingers and continues to stimulate long and ongoing ruminations about the meaning of what you read and the intent of the author behind what he wrote.

Here's an excerpt from my review,

Compared to authors like Dai Sijie, Ma Jian, and Yu Hua, Ha Jin's literary style seems less allegorical. His characters in no way seem symbolic but honestly human, real, and natural. He does not draw on the rich lore of Chinese legend and mythology, which stands in strong contrast to, say, the novella of Bi Feiyu above. This, of course, can be attributed to the unrelated subjects of the two works, war vs. classic opera. Even with that said, I find Ha's style very western, firmly realistic, direct, simple, and practical in a manner I haven't encountered among other Chinese authors in my library.

The complete review can be found here.

Congratulations on meeting your goal! I am sorry to hear you lost power (and running water, yikes!) and am glad it's back!

Yay for reaching your goal! And I'm glad to see that you made it through the hurricane.

good for you, you managed to find a silver lining in a hurricane!

Well done with achieving your ROOTs goal - I'll catch up wth your reviews later and no doubt be adding to my wishlist ;)

Congrats on reaching your goal. I'm sorry to hear you were without power. Bad me, I tend to forget that other states felt the effects of Irma, too - GA, SC, AL, even my own NC, and possibly TN and KY.

>171 Limelite: Our book club read Sea of Poppies in October of 2014 and I thought it wonderful, too. I've got the last two of the trilogy, but it hasn't seemed the right time yet to read them. Maybe in 2018.

Thanks Fellow ROOTers for you congrats. I'm glowing under your praise and choose this time to share more good news.

Saw the MD who assured me that I'm "NED" (no evidence of disease) -- not even on PET scan -- following all that chemo. It worked! I'm the luckiest person in the world because my cancer cells remain platinum sensitive. Will be going on a maintenance regimen using a non-chemo drug that is a blocker that inhibits blood vessel production (angiostatin), thus starving any lone cells that want to settle down and reproduce. Another lease on life -- I'll take it.

>176 karenmarie: Yes! I want to read the other two novels as well. But definitely not before next year. But since I don't own either one, neither will be ROOT eligible. I'm so glad someone else is enthusiastic about "Sea"; please tell me what you especially liked about the novel!

Wonderful news! I didn't understand the medical terminology but I do understand how you become expert in your own condition. Long may you ROOT!

That really is wonderful news, Limelite!

>Congrats on the good news!

>177 Limelite: Woo hoo! Excellent news!

Congrats on reaching your goal! And even more on beating the cancer cells!

>177 Limelite: That's wonderful news. I hope you celebrate accordingly!

So happy to hear of your "NED" diagnosis, limelite!

Congratulations.

2017 Bonus ROOTs



Having met my minimalist reading goal, I have slacked off in reading anything, much less any ROOTs. But I have closed the covers on one, Blind Justice: a Sir John Fielding Mystery by Bruce Alexander.

Anyone who knows my LT self knows that I am averse to both a) murder mysteries; b) series. Yet this novel, set in 18th C London and featuring Sir John Fielding, blind magistrate and his protege, young Jeremy Proctor, is an exception in both those categories. I really enjoyed the book about these two unlikely partners pursuing the criminals who dwell in the underbelly of London. Probably because it was more historical fiction and less murder and mayhem. A blind criminologist is an unlikely hero, but he is assisted by the energetic and intelligent Jeremy and muscle is leant when needed by the few yet capable members of Sir John's embryonic Bow Street Runners.

That Sir John in these books is modeled on the RL Sir John, half brother of Henry Fielding, and an actual blind judge who -- yes -- did wear a black scarf tied around his sightless eyes when living and breathing, also helped me to enjoy this well constructed and flawlessly written story. If you need further persuasion to pick up this novel and enjoy it yourself, find my full review here.

>185 Limelite: Oh, you have persuaded me!

That's called "seduction," m'dear.

>185 Limelite: I read this a couple of years ago and eagerly passed it on to my friend. Which reminds me that I meant to track down the rest of the series.

Wishlisted. Coincidentally I've been listening to Henry Fielding's Tom Jones, published 1749. It's heavy on the fiction and light on the history so far but surprisingly bawdy - I thought sex wasn't invented till well after Jane Austen's time.

>189 floremolla: LoL! Don't you know?. . .Sex was invented by Solomon, rose to its heyday in the court of King David and was suffocated by millennia of efforts culminating in the 1950s, only to have to be reinvented in the '60s and 70s.

Sadly, sex has been nearly extinguished again by obviousness. Without the irresistible allure and presence of mystery, there's no such thing as sex, just bodily functions.

Amiright?

>185 Limelite: I've added this to my wishlist - sounds intriguing.

>190 Limelite: You're absolutely right, sad to say.

>190 Limelite: lol, you are spot on!

>187 Limelite: Well then, I'm easily seduced! Oh my! ;)

Long time, no read. Busy schedule going to swim meets EVERY weekend, getting ready for the holidays, and otherwise trying to keep up with my grandkids. But I did manage to wedge in a second:

2017 Bonus ROOTs
Above Suspicion by Helen MacInnes

I hadn't read a book by her since I was a teen-ager and for no reason at all suddenly took it into my mind to see if her books were still as enjoyable to me all these decades later as they were when I was just beginning to discover espionage novels.

I'll just say that my experiment in returning to my past was very satisfactory. How satisfactory, you can see in detail here.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, ALL!

Hi, long time no see! Great review and sounds like just the thing to get you back into reading after a break.

Hope you have a lovely Thanksgiving!

>194 Limelite: Great review, indeed. I've read most of Ambler, but somehow never came across her books. It would seem I missed a lot!

>195 floremolla: and >196 MissWatson: Wnoderful holiday of feasting with family and friends, most of them families of the swimmers and all of them Asian except for Lime Spouse. Lime Sprout, and me, and one other hubby. We Anglos were very wise to become marital partners or friends of these families because the food was out of this world. I won't pile on the details because I'd only make you jealous. Heh heh. Just imagine a house full of adults, kids, and dogs, and a tank of fish. Picture a groaning table decorated with candles huge ham, and gigantic lemon grass turkey; a side table holding salads, spring rolls, crab legs, and Chinese dumplings. Then imagine the aftermath -- a bonfire for roasting marshmallows in the nippy night, homemade tira misu and cinnamon buns created by the two elder daughters of the hosts, and big mugs of some of the best coffee I've ever tasted. Envision rooms filled with the sound of voices all talking at once, much laughter, and warm good-night hugs all around. And you'll know how wonderful Thanksgiving in Georgia can be when you live in a diverse community.

I confess, I did finish another book, nonfiction, but I enjoyed it so much I keep going back to it and re-reading a part here and a chapter there. So, because I can't put it down I haven't written it up.

Hope everyone's ROOT goals are met, or near met and that you are each anticipating the arrival of LT Secret Santa Season to replenish your ROOT cellars.

Your holiday sounds wonderful! And even though you didn't pile on the details, I'm jealous - spring rolls, crab legs, Chinese dumplings, homemade cinnamon buns and tiramisu. Yum.

Well, we don't even have Thanksgiving celebrations but I'm certainly jealous! (As well as the wonderful repast) it's the people who make these occasions memorable - new friends or beloved old friends and family.

It's turned cold and frosty here and thoughts are turning to the festive season - I'm itching to have gatherings of my favourite people, including a few new neighbours, even though a few weeks ago I couldn't have faced it!

It sounds like a wonderful holiday indeed.

Sounds wonderful and delightful and very tasty!

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!
xo

No one need apologize for long absences. I not only haven't been around much, I haven't been doing a lot of reading as 2017 winds down. However, I did pick up a novel that I'd coveted for years and discovered Amazon was selling the Kindle version for $1.99.
If you have read this book, please let me know how you liked it. I'm only on chapter 4, but I love maritime stories set during the time of big sail. And I love stories set in Asia. Besides, I've never read about the Dutch trading concession in fiction, but I did read an excellent history from the European pov about the Dutch trade history in Asia. Vermeer's Hat: The Seventeenth Century and the Dawn of the Global World by Timothy Brook deals with the subject 100 years before the novel is set.

Honestly don't see myself finishing "Autumns" before the New Year, but who cares? A good book is a good book and should be consumed with an appropriate amount of relish, which varies with kind of book, my mood, and available time. The book has no idea it was opened in 2017 but not closed until 2018.

ROOTS, like the Poor, will always be with us.

>203 Limelite: I felt this was an above average book for historical detail, but very very average in its presentation. Overly long monologues and too much detail in places like filling out ledgers, etc. Also, "A smoke-dried Dane makes a Finn's cock of a tangled vang", sentences as this turned me off as I don't have the vocabulary and had to look it up...cut down on the enjoyment and flow. But, I hope you enjoy it immensely!

>204 Tess_W: Now, see! There's no accounting for taste. Sentences like the one you quoted are something I LOVE! For instance, in Amitav Ghosh's saga, Sea of Poppies, foreign words and phrases having to do with boats, sailors, and water transport abound. All sorts of languages appear in the book, strange vocabulary appears on every page; it makes me feel like I'm in a very exotic locale where the people of the world come together.

I shall have to learn if I still like such things by the end of this novel. Your good wishes for me to do so will probably carry the day!

Further report on just opened novel from last year, reading material. Jumped on my Kindle in surprising swiftness is Annie Proulx's 2016 novel, Barkskins. Tess_schoolmarm, you will not approve as it's peppered with French. This is a historical novel set in colonial French Canada and it's about the timber industry on the surface, but about ecological destruction thematically.

Last year I read Barbara Kingsolver's beautiful and provocative novel, Flight Behavior, another book about environmental destruction combined with climate change. Kingsolver manages to title her books so meaningfully -- meaningful in so many ways and on so many levels, like The Lacuna. This one was no exception. I love that kind of many-folded, multi-purpose naming of things, especially in literature. Remember Luminaries? Same thing!

Hmmm. . .talking about this subject makes me think it would be an excellent topic for an essay because I'm remembering other titles that are far richer when pondered than what they present on first consideration. The Narrow Road to the Deep North: A Novel by Richard Flannagan. And in Japanese, the classic novel, Kokoro by Natsume Soseki.

What are some book titles you believe have layered meaning or several meanings once you read the book?

>206 Limelite: well... I'm reading a book called Dead Babies but it's the festive season, so let's not go there....

I've read The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet and enjoyed the historical setting - it veers off into fantasy land as it goes on, but not in a bad way, I thought. If you follow up with The Bone Clocks some of the characters reappear as part of Mitchell's overarching theme that permeates and links all of his novels - they lead towards a battle between good and evil immortals. But if that doesn't float your boat (random nautical allusion there) you can just read each novel as a story in its own right.

I really admire Mitchell's writing but I think he's sometimes guilty of a bit of showing off - if he's done the research, you're going to hear about it, and sometimes feel you're being lectured.

I listened to Barkskins on audiobook. At first I thought I'd misjudged my liking for Annie P and that this one was going to be hard going - and it certainly is very long, but I enjoyed it very much. My career saw me study the rudiments of landscape, forestry and horticulture for a while, and then later environmental and social sustainability, so forest management and conservation of ethnic cultures are issues I'm already familiar with. So I felt a little like she was preaching to the converted when those issues came up. But what an epic tale - some great characters, great set pieces and threads that ran through from beginning to end - I think she's in her eighties now, so it's an amazing achievement.

I wasn't so keen on Flight Behaviour - the 'preaching to the converted' felt a bit too elementary level for me, but I will try The Lacuna because I loved The Poisonwood Bible.

Good title though. I'll look over what I've read this year and give more thought to titles with layers of meaning, there must be something better than the previously mentioned... :/

Barkskins is one that came up on my radar recently, I really loved her much earlier The Shipping News, but I must admit that the size of Barkskins put me off! (I'm a literary lightweight, at least with fiction) Maybe it's one for when Mt TBR is smaller (hahahahahahaha).

I struggled with The Poisonwood Bible when I tried it earlier this year - it just wasn't the time, given world news etc, for me to be reading about horrible white colonial Christians. I'm going to give it another go next year, when no doubt the world news won't be any better, but I will brace myself more before I start. The only other Kingsolver book I've read, which I absolutely loved, was Pigs in Heaven.

>206 Limelite: regarding book titles - The Girls of Slender Means by Muriel Spark is a strange little slice of life in a post WWII hostel for young ‘career women’ - they are always short of money, hence of ‘slender means’, and they’re always dieting - but the unexpectedly harrowing ending sees the girls try to escape a fire through a narrow window where size does matter.

>206 Limelite: Definitely the most provocative and layered book I have ever read is A Gift Upon the Shore by M.K. Wren.

Limelite, I don't disapprove of foreign languages or phrases contained within a novel, as long as they do not detract from the story. I am a historian by trade and therefore spend a lot of time translating or having things translated when trying to decipher an original document. That being said, when I read for enjoyment I guess I don't like to do it as I read for enjoyment. It's a fine line between my work reading and my reading for enjoyment. (But I also love and enjoy my job!)

>207 floremolla:, >209 floremolla: "Flight Behavior" did slather on the "balance of Nature" message a bit much, but I thought she handled so many themes in that novel well. The value of education; the ignorance that blights isolated communities whose enlightenment comes solely from religion; the cost of poverty vs. the relief provided by exploiting natural resources; the thirst hopeless people have for miracles; the tragedy of mismatched couples; and more.

"Lacuna" is nothing like "Flight"; it flummoxed me somewhat because it was like two distinct novels, or maybe I should say like a novel and a long epilogue. I think you'll see what I mean.

Dunno if I'll followup on "Jacob's" sequel. Been bitten by disappointment by sequels and series too often. Besides, usually some other book distracts my well laid plans.

"Slender Means" is exactly the kind of title I mean. And you may have provided me with the very distraction. . .

>208 Jackie_K: "Pigs" is on my wish list. I got The Bean Trees instead, but haven't read it yet. "Poisonwood's" topic doesn't appeal to me -- I think it would be too heartbreaking for me. As for Proulx, her "News" is one of my favorite novels. I've read it twice, and I NEVER reread books.

Sometimes I think Kingsolver is America's A S Byatt -- big books, big themes.

>210 Tess_W: Only kidding! Your job sounds interesting, do you have a specialty? I'd been listening to several historians discuss WWII in Japan recently, talking about Japanese customs, religion, attitudes, and culture and how they so stunningly remade themselves -- recreated everything that had made them Japanese -- into a new Japan when the war ended because the atomic bombs destroyed two cities, their way or life, and their belief in the divinity of the emperor.

>213 Limelite: I am a jack of all trades! I teach at the highschool level Modern World History (Renaissance to modern day) and Modern American History (The opening of the west to modern day). Then I teach for 2 universities Western Civ (dawn of creation through Reformation), The Holocaust, and Research Skills. My speciality is WWII-more specifically the Holocaust (which was my thesis) and my minor was Russian History--more specifically The Bolshevik Revolution.

>203 Limelite: I loved that book and gave it **** 1/2 stars. But then I love everything by David Mitchell. I like it how his books are all linked together.

Hi Limelite!



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

Thank you karenmarie for your good wishes.

Which reminds me. . . Happy Christmas to all who celebrate in any form and best wishes for an excellent New Year of reading to all!

Merry Christmas to you as well!

Season's greetings to you too!

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