Familyhistorian's 2019 Reading Adventure part 9

2. My name is Meg and this is my sixth year as one of the 75ers. At the end of last year, I became overwhelmed with finishing off my challenge books and library holds. Somehow the joy of reading lost some of its sparkle and the books on my shelves kept growing. That wasn't working so this year I signed up for fewer challenges and have set myself a personal challenge of reading more from my own shelves. I also couldn't keep up with all the threads I had starred last year so I have to be smarter about LT time as I want to keep up with the threads I follow as well as find more time for my writing, genealogy and other adventures. With over half the year gone, reading my own books seems to be taking a back seat to library holds and keeping up with threads is still beyond me.

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My latest posts are articles about a variety of topics related to history and genealogy. You can see the posts at: A Genealogist's Path to History

Little Free Library

Books culled in 2019

January 3

February 6

March 8

April 11

May 7

June 11

July 3

August 6

September 8

October 5

November 2

Challenges

Reading Through Time

January-March 2019 - 20th Century: World War I (1914-1918) - A Question of Honor by Charles Todd - DONE
April-June 2019 - 20th Century: Between Wars (1919-1938) - So Much Life Left Over by Louis de Bernieres - DONE
July-September 2019 - 20th Century: WW2 (1939-1945) - Scholars of Mayhem by Daniel C. Guiet and Timothy K. Smith - DONE
October-December 2019 - Modern History (1946-present day) - Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe - DONE

Monthly

January: "I Will Survive" - Krakatoa by Simon Winchester - DONE
February: "Be My Valentine" - The Hypnotist's Love Story by Liane Moriarty DONE
March: "Downtown" - The Blitz Detective: Fifth Column by Mike Hollow - DONE
April: "The Wonderful Emptiness" - The Great Central Plains of America - Only a Few Bones: A True Account of the Rolling Fork Tragedy and Its Aftermath by John Philip Colletta DONE
May: "Myths"
June: "Cryptography & Code Breaking" - Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shatterly DONE
July: "Travel" - The Darwin Affair by Tim Mason - DONE - Road Through Time: The Story of Humanity on the Move by Mary Soderstrom - DONE
August: "Philosophy and Religion" - The Cartoon Introduction to Philosophy by Micheal F. Patton and Kevin Cannon DONE
September: “Women Pioneers” - Sisters in the Wilderness: The Lives of Susanna Moodie and Catharine Parr Trail by Charlotte Gray - DONE
October: “Something Lost” - Bright Young Things: A Modern Guide to the Roaring Twenties by Alison Maloney - DONE
November: “Marginalized People” - The Stopping Places: A Journey Through Gypsy Britain by Damian Le Bas - DONE
December: “Let’s Go Retro”

2019 Nonfiction Challenge

January: Prizewinning books, and runners up. - The Massey Murder by Charlotte Gray - DONE
February: Science and Technology: Innovations and Innovators. - The Epigenetics Revolution by Nessa Carrey - DONE
March: True Crime, Misdemeanors and Justice, Past and Present Day - A Treasury of Victorian Murder: Compendium Vol. 1 by Rick Geary - DONE - Murder by Milkshake by Eve Lazarus - DONE
April: Comfort Reads - Only a Few Bones: A True Account of the Rolling Fork Tragedy and Its Aftermath by John Philip Colletta - DONE Ancestral Journeys: The Peopling of Europe from the First Venturers to the Vikings by Jean Manco - DONE
May: History. In this case, my cutoff date is 1950. Viking Britain: A History by Thomas Williams DONE
June: The Pictures Have It! - Woman Rebel: The Margaret Sanger Story by Peter Bagge - DONE - Two of The Talented Thomsons by John A. Libby Fine Art - DONE - An Age of License: A Travelogue by Lucy Knisely - DONE
July: Biography & First Person Yarns - Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity and Love by Dani Shapiro - DONE - The Road Through Time: The Story of Humanity on the Move by Mary Soderstrom - DONE
August: Raw Materials: Animal, Vegetable, Mineral - A Brief History of Tea: The Extraordinary Story of the World's Favourite Drink by Roy Moxham - DONE
September: Books by Journalists - Blood, Sweat and Fear by Eve Lazarus - DONE
October: Other Worlds: From Spiritual to Fantastical
November: Creators and Creativity - Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee by Casey Cep - DONE
December: I’ve Always Been Curious About…

Books read in 2019

Books read in 2019

First quarter

January

The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee
All True Not a Lie In It by Alix Hawley
A Fever of the Blood by Oscar de Muriel
Lending a Paw by Laurie Cass
No Fixed Address by Susin Nielsen
Fortunately the Milk by Neil Gaiman
The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman
Kissed a Sad Goodbye by Deborah Crombie
Ravished by Amanda Quick
Plaid and Plagiarism by Molly MacRae
The Massey Murder by Charlotte Gray
Murder on Millionaires Row by Erin Lindsay
Old Filth by Jane Gardam
A Killer in King's Cove by Iona Whishaw
Barracoon by Zora Neale Hurston
Stand Firm: Resisting the Self-Improvement Craze by Svend Brinkmann
The Poison Squad: One Chemist's Single-minded Crusade for Food Safety at the Turn of the Twentieth Century by Deborah Blum
Things I Don't Want to Know: A Living Autobiography by Deborah Levy
A Dedicated Man by Peter Robinson
Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883 by Simon Winchester

February

A Midsummer Night's Scream by Jill Churchill
Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield
The Darkness by Ragnar Jonasson
Anne of Green Gables: a graphic novel by Mariah Marsden
Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind by Ann B. Ross
Miss Treadway and the Field of Stars by Miranda Emmerson
Evil Under the Sun adapted by Didier Quella-Guyot
The Man in the Wooden Hat by Jane Gardam
The Hypnotist's Love Story by Liane Moriarty
Last Friends by Jane Gardam
The Wrong Kind of Blood by Declan Hughes
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
Blacklands by Belinda Bauer
The Cut Out Girl by Bart van Es
Land of Marvels by Barry Unsworth
The Epigenetics Revolution by Nassa Carey
Exiles of Erin: Irish Migrants in Victorian London by Lynn Hollen Lees

March

One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson
The Body in the Wardrobe by Katherine Hall Page
King Arthur: The Making of the Legend by Nicholas J. Higham
Stitches: A Memoir by David Small
Death on the Family Tree by Patricia Sprinkle
A Question of Honor by Charles Todd
Tuesday's Gone by Nicci French
Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan
The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang
A Treasury of Victorian Murder: Compendium Vol. 1 by Rick Geary
How the Marquess Was Won by Julie Anne Long
The Lost Man by Jane Harper
Murder by Milkshake by Eve Lazarus
Killing the SS by Bill O'Reilly
Murder at the Manor by Lesley Cookman
The Chess Men by Peter May
Heirs and Graces by Rhys Bowen
Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss
Fifth Column by Mike Hollow

Books Read in 2019

Second Quarter

April

Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women's Anger by Rebecca Traister
Dreaming in Code: Ada Byron Lovelace, Computer Pioneer by Emily Arnold McCully
The Stylist by Rosie Nixon
Burden of Memory by Vicki Delany
Paris by the Book by Liam Callanan
This is What Happened by Mick Herron
The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer
Tightening the Threads by Lea Wait
The Canadian Receipt Book
Garden of Lies by Amanda Quick
Hidden Heart by Nora Roberts
Elyza by Clare Darcy
The Escape by Mary Balogh
A Nose for Death by Glynis Whiting
Ancestral Journeys: The Peopling of Europe from the First Venturers to the Vikings by Jean Manco
Dark in Death by J. D. Robb
Courting Mr Emerson by Melody Carson
Only a Few Bones: A True Account of the Rolling Fork Tragedy and its Aftermath by John Philip Colletta
Death Comes Silently by Carolyn Hart
These Truths: A History of the United States by Jill Lapore

May

Season of Storms by Susanna Kearsley
The Hangman's Row Enquiry by Ann Purser
Queen of Hearts by Rhys Bowen
Out of Bounds by Val McDermid
The Wages of Sin by Kaite Welsh
Murder in the Merchant City by Angus McAllister
So Much Life Left Over Louis De Bernieres

June

Old Baggage by Lissa Evans
Woman Rebel: The Margaret Sanger Story by Peter Bagge
Braking for Bodies by Duffy Brown
Hum If You Don’t Know the Words by Bianca Marais
Death in a Darkening Mist by Iona Whishaw
Not Fade Away: How to Thrive in Retirement by Celia Dodd
Two of the Talented Thomsons by John A. Libby Fine Art
Drama by Raina Telgemeier
Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly
Memories of the Future by Siri Hustvedt
The Earl’s Mistress by Liz Carlyle
Underground: A Human History of the Worlds Beneath Our Feet by Will Hunt
An Age of License: A Travelogue by Lucy Knisely
Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal
Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez

Books read in 2019

Third quarter

July

Dangerous to Know by Renee Patrick
Instructions for a Funeral by David Means
Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love by Dani Shapiro
Heat Wave by Maureen Jennings
Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz
Night of a Thousand Stars by Deanna Raybourn
The Marvels by Brian Selznick
Vox by Christina Dalcher
Black Sheep by Georgetta Heyer
The List by Mick Herron
Over my Dead Body by Rex Stout
The Armada Boy by Kate Ellis
The Outcast Dead by Elly Griffiths
A Twist in Time by Julie McElwain
The Darwin Affair: A Novel by Tim Mason
Report for Murder by Val McDermid
Road Through Time: The Story of Humanity on the Move by Mary Soderstrom
The Diary of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell
Mad Blood Stirring by Simon Mayo
Arrowood by Mick Finlay
The Unquiet Heart by Kaite Welsh

August

The Spies of Shilling Lane by Jennifer Ryan
When Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson
Gin and Panic by Maia Chance
The Foundling by Georgette Heyer
How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny
The Strange Death of Fiona Griffiths by Harry Bingham
Scholars of Mayhem by Daniel C. Guiet and Timothy K. Smith
Family Trees: A History of Genealogy in America by François Weil
Murder at the Brightwell by Ashley Weaver
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Stout
The World According to Fannie Davis by Bridgett M. Davis
An Old, Cold Grave by Iona Whishaw
The Corpse with the Diamond Hand by Cathy Ace
Every Secret Thing by Susanna Kearsley
A Brief History of Tea: The Extraordinary Story of the World’s Favourite Drink by Roy Moxham
Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn
love in lowercase by Frances Miralles
The Cartoon Introduction to Philosophy by Micheal F. Patton and Kevin Cannon
‘Til Death Us Do Part by Amanda Quick

September

Fat Mutton and Liberty of Conscience: Society in Rhode Island, 1636-1690 by Carl Bridenbaugh
Queen of the Sea by Dylan Meconis
Portsmouth Historic Dockyard Souvenir Guidebook by Victoria Ingles
Witch Hunt by Shirley Damsgaard
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Hadden
Mesmerized by Candace Camp
Leverage in Death by J.D. Robb
The Union Street Bakery by Mary Ellen Taylor
Sully: My Search for What Really Matters by Chesley B Sully Sullenberger III with Jeffrey Zaslow
IQ by Joe Ide
Crime Scene by Jonathan and Jesse Kellerman

Books read in 2019

Fourth quarter

October

Blood, Sweat and Fear: The Story of Inspector Vance, Vancouver's First Forensic Investigator by Eve Lazarus
Calamity in Kent by John Rowland
The Girl Who Knew Too Much by Amanda Quick
Sisters in the Wilderness: The Lives of Susanna Moodie and Catherine Parr Traill by Charlotte Gray
Somebody Killed His Editor by Josh Lanyon
The Gendered Brain: The new neuroscience that shatters the myth of the female brain by Gina Rippon
A Gentlewoman’s Guide to Murder by Victoria Hamilton
Malice in the Palace by Rhys Bowen
The House on Tradd Street by Karen White
A Willing Murder by Jude Deveraux
Baking with Kafka by Tom Gauld
Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue
Darkest Hour: How Churchill Brought England Back from the Brink by Antony McCarten
Bright Young Things: A Modern Guide to the Roaring Twenties by Alison Maloney

November

The Howard Hughes Affair by Stuart Kaminsky

Books acquired in 2019

Books acquired in September

Death of a Ghost by Margery Allingham
Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers
The Mitford Murders by Jessica Fellowes
The Light Over London by Julia Kelly
Full Disclosure by Beverley McLachlin
A Necessary Murder by J.J. Tjia
The American Boy by Andrew Taylor
Pastels by Leslie B. DeMille
Clapton: The Autobiography by Eric Clapton
Conan Doyle for the Defense by Margalit Fox
Bibliophile: An Illustrated Miscellany by Jane Mount
Roughing it in the Bush by Susanna Moodie
The Women's Land Army by Vita Sackville-West
The Second Coming of the KKK by Linda Gordon
Flight of the Highlanders: The Making of Canada by Ken McGoogan

Books acquired in October

Sensational Victoria: Bright Lights, Red Lights, Murders, Ghosts & Gardens by Eve Lazarus
Cold Day in July by Stella Cameron
Still Me by Jojo Moyes
Park Avenue Summer by Renee Rosen
A Short History of the Railroad by Christian Wolmar
The Lady and the Highwayman by Sarah M. Eden
Truth Be Told: My Journey Through Life and the Law by Beverly McLachlin
Cut You Down by Sam Wiebe
Murdered Midas: A Millionaire, His Gold Mine, and a Strange Death on an Island Paradise by Charlotte Gray
Investing in Murder by E J Lister
The Corpse with the Golden Nose by Cathy Ace
The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal
The Fire in Fiction by Donald Maas
Bloodlust & Bonnets by Emily McGovern
Singapore Sapphire by A. M. Stuart
How the Scots Created Canada by Paul Cowan
Britain Yesterday & Today by Janice Anderson & Edmund Swinglehurst
Agnes, Murderess by Sarah Leavitt
Direct Action Gets the Goods: A Graphic History of the Strike in Canada by the Graphic History Collective

Welcome to my new thread!

Wow, that was quick! Happy new thread, Meg!

>14 ronincats: Quick? It felt like it took forever to set it up, Roni! Thanks for the new thread wishes.

Happy New Thread, Meg! Have a great week!

Happy new thread, Meg!

Happy new thread. I noticed the link to your blog and have bookmarked it.

Happy new thread, Meg!

Happy New Thread, Meg!

Lovely hotel lobby display up there - Utah?

We saw the Darkest Hour film, which the author of the book also wrote, I'm pretty sure. I haven't read the book, but the film was excellent. It caused to visit Churchill's underground war rooms, which was quite an experience.

>16 msf59: Thanks Mark. I hope your week goes well too and that your snow disappears!

>17 katiekrug: Thanks Katie!

>18 RebaRelishesReading: Hi Reba, I hope you enjoy the blog posts!

>19 jessibud2: Hi Shelley, and thanks!

>20 jnwelch: Hi Joe, the photo is of the lobby of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in Salt Lake City. They always have a good display in their lobby. The building is very interesting and we got a more behind the scenes tour when we got to talking to one of the volunteers after we went there for lunch one day.

I was impressed by the book of the Darkest Hour: How Churchill Brought England Back from the Brink. I didn't realize there was a film. I'll have to hunt that out and plan a trip to the underground war rooms - sounds interesting.

Happy new thread Meg my dear.

Happy new thread, Meg!

>23 johnsimpson: Hi John, and thank you!

>24 FAMeulstee: Thanks Anita!

Happy new thread, Meg.

>26 PaulCranswick: Thanks Paul. Good luck with your reading plans for the rest of the year!

Happy new year!

>28 drneutron: Really, is it that time already, Jim?

Happy new thread, Meg. I haven't been around much lately but I am finding that I sit a little longer at my computer everyday so I am finally getting some visiting done.

>30 DeltaQueen50: Hi Judy, good to see that you are able to spend longer on the computer now. I'm behind too but I don't have as good an excuse as you do.

Happy new thread, Meg! I've gotten hopelessly behind on threads myself and will be somewhat sporadic in posting anywhere but my own thread for the rest of the year.

Happy new thread!

>32 bell7: Thanks Mary! It's hard to keep up especially when life gets busy.

>33 figsfromthistle: Thanks Anita!

Thanks for reminding me about Dreaming in Code, the Ada Lovelace book.

Always fascinated to read more about her and her role in the early years of Computer Programming

Happy newish thread, Meg. I love the topper.

>35 magicians_nephew: I had heard of Ada Lovelace but didn't know the strange details of her life until I read the book, Jim. It was a good one.

>36 BLBera: Hi Beth, it is a very seasonal topper, isn't it?

169. Still Me by Jojo Moyes

There weren’t very many books for sale at the Salt Lake City airport when I picked up Still Me. I didn’t look that closely or I would have noticed that it was the middle book in a trilogy. But that probably wouldn’t have stopped me from buying it. As I said, there weren’t very many books for sale.

The main character in the book was Louisa Clark who was coming to New York from England to take up a position in a household on Park Avenue. She got to experience the life of the super rich from afar but things went wrong, with both her long-distance relationship with the man she left behind in England and with her new job. How she dealt with her new circumstances and made a life for herself in New York was the main part of the story, one that was able to stand on its own with out the first or last book in the trilogy.

Meg--Happy newer thread! And belated congrats on passing 2x75. : ) Glad you lucked out with the 2nd in a trilogy read. Phew!

Happy new thread, Meg. You did some great reading this year.

Happy New Thread, Meg. I accidentally went to your "other" new thread....
Have a great weekend!

>29 Familyhistorian: Year, thread, what’s the diff? 😂

>39 Berly: Hi Kim and thanks re my reading numbers. I'm aiming for 200 and looks like I might make it. Yeah, next time I'll check closer when I pick up a book in the airport, not like there was much choice though.

>40 Ameise1: Thanks Barbara, the books have been going down easy this year. Fast reads of all the library holds have also helped.

>41 EBT1002: Thanks Ellen, I don't know where that other thread came from. It just sort of cloned itself - weird.

>42 drneutron: Ha Jim, I thought you were maybe rehearsing for January early.

170. Becoming by Michelle Obama

Michelle Obama’s story was at once interesting and readable. It was such a great reminder of a civilized and forward-thinking time in the White House. My knowledge of the US electoral process is limited so I found the parts about working the campaign trail enlightening. The parts about Michelle’s early life were as fascinating as the inside look at the family in the White House.

She also humanized the many White House staffers, a group who I had never really thought about. I wonder how they are fairing under the present administration?

This week's blog post is for remembrance day and is about a forgotten army, the Land Army. It's at A Genealogist's Path to History

171. The Body Lies by Jo Baker

The story begins with a short passage about an unnamed body in a wooded spot. Was it the main character in the future of someone else? With this in mind the story begins. Some of the events in The Body Lies you can see coming like what happens to the main character’s marriage but others rachet up the tension as it is hard to see how they will end. The story was a thriller with a literary edge and a very believable heroine. It was also a scarily true depiction of how women are seen in the world and how they are damned for following their own instincts.

Happy Sunday, Meg. Hooray for the wonderful Becoming! Michelle Rules! And I have The Body Lies on my list.

>46 Familyhistorian: Jo Baker is rattling up quite a body of work. Three books in the last four years and all of which were well received.

Have a great Sunday, Meg.

I thought The Body Lies was very good, too, Meg.

>47 msf59: Happy Sunday back at you, Mark. Enjoy your long weekend. Becoming was amazing as was The Body Lies.

>48 PaulCranswick: I didn't realize that Jo Baker had written three books, Paul. I've read two which were very different from each other. You have me curious about the one that I have missed so I will have to hunt it down. I'd wish you happy Sunday but yours is probably almost done by now, have a great week!

>49 katiekrug: Hi Katie, wasn't The Body Lies good. It portrayed the way that women think and how that puts them at odds with organizational procedures in such a realistic way.

I just checked with my library's website and they have a few more than 3 books by Jo Baker. Not that I will be able to pick one up this time. I have 7 holds waiting for me to pick up, that's on top of the 3 that I have at home now. How did that happen?

That's a good and encouraging review of Becoming, Meg. We have it, but I haven't read it yet.

>54 jnwelch: I'm sure you will enjoy Becoming when you get to it, Joe, but it might make you wish for things past.

>54 jnwelch: - Agree with Meg (>55 Familyhistorian:) but though I know you aren't a big audiobook fan, this is one you might consider trying on audio as she reads it herself and that adds an extra layer of warmth, authenticity and real delight. just saying... :-)

Hi Meg, have a great week ahead. I'm off to put on a new Fentanyl patch. It looks like I'm on day 4 of a 3-day patch, which explains my gout pain! Careless of me.

>56 jessibud2: Did the audiobook come with photos, Shelley? There were lots of photos in the book.

>57 richardderus: I hope the new patch does the trick, Richard. It's hard to keep track of all the end dates and deadlines, isn't it? There just seem to be more of them all the time.

I can't remember, Meg. There usually is a final disc with a pdf file of photos in such books though my computer hasn't always worked to allow me to see them in other such books. I did buy the hard copy because I wanted to own it (and see the photos) but borrowed the audio from the library because I wanted to have her read to me!

172. The Bookshop of Yesterdays by Amy Meyerson

I almost bought The Bookshop of Yesterdays twice, the cover with all of its books signaled that it would be a book for me. It really was. It was about a bookshop so it ticked that box but it also included a family’s history and a mystery so definitely ticked those boxes too.

Miranda Brooks had her future all planned out with a job as a teacher and a live-in boyfriend soon to be husband but her life was thrown off kilter when her estranged uncle left her a failing bookshop. Why had he done that? She had to go and find out what it was all about and discovered there was a family mystery behind everything. The bookshop and the mystery were just the thing to change all her carefully laid plans.

>60 jessibud2: Well, it's good that photos are included in some form with that kind of a book, Shelley. I have never tried an audiobook and that would be a good one to start with if I were so inclined but I'm more of a visual person so I haven't been tempted.

>61 Familyhistorian: - I have this one on my shelf but haven't got to it yet (that's a familiar refrain around here...;-) The cover called my name, too!

>63 jessibud2: Maybe the cover designers know what catches our eyes. Books are an easier draw than all those naked male chests and female backs that seem to be on a lot of current covers, though.

>64 Familyhistorian: - I had a conversation about this on my last thread, I think but I have been noticing a TON of covers lately showing pictures of people from the back. I actually asked at several stores I was in if this was a deliberate thing or some sort of publishers trend. Many of the staff hadn't noticed until I pointed it out but on one front display table at Chapters, for example, I would guess that at least 80% of the books displayed on that one table had cover pictures of *backs*. It's all I notice now!!

Weird. And yeah, books about books, especially with cover pictures of books, will get me every time! :-)

Whoa! Hit by a BB with The Bookshop of Yesterdays. I just added it to the WL.

>64 Familyhistorian: I remember the conversation about showing people from the back. I just didn't remember where I had seen it, Shelley. I recently saw a photo on someone else's thread showing a library display with covers with naked male chests and a signing about loosing one's shirt. I can remember where I ran across that either but maybe noticing all the covers with peoples' backs beats noticing all the ones with naked male chests?

>66 jnwelch: Did the books on the cover catch your interest too, Joe? I hope you enjoy The Bookshop of Yesterdays.

>61 Familyhistorian: Drat! I'll Elfster it and see if someone wants to give me one.

>61 Familyhistorian: That sounds like a fun book and I had a couple of Audible credits available so now its on my phone :)

>69 richardderus: Good luck with that, Richard.

>70 RebaRelishesReading: I hope you like it, Reba.

173. A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum

The Ra’ad family brought their traditional ways of life with them when they immigrated to Brooklyn. When the parents were looking for a bride for their oldest son, they found him a good biddable wife in Palestine, Isra.

A Woman is No Man was told from the point of view of the women in the story, Isra, her mother in law, Fareeda and Isra’s oldest daughter, Deya and it bounces between the 1990s and 2008 to 2009. Isra had disappeared by the later dates and Fareeda was bringing up her four granddaughters, still trying to follow the tradition of marrying them off before they finished high school.

It was Deya’s resistance and search for what happened to her mother that provided the energy behind the story. What had really happened and could the family find a new way of living in America?

Hi Meg!

A very belated happy new thread.

>45 Familyhistorian: As always, an interesting blog post and a good reminder that more than soldiers serve and sacrifice in all wars.

>46 Familyhistorian: I checked The Body Lies out from the library but alas! returned it unread last month. I’ll keep an eye out for a copy of my own so I can pick it up when the right energy is there.

>61 Familyhistorian: Sounds wonderful, just added The Bookshop of Yesterdays to my wish list.

>73 Familyhistorian: At last, one I can ignore! Thanks. Most kind of you.

>74 karenmarie: Hi Karen, thanks re the blog post. You really should try to get to The Body Lies. It's a good one! The Bookshop of Yesterdays seems to be popular with LTers. I bet its all those books on the cover!

>75 richardderus: I aim to please, Richard, but I'm about to post another review. Maybe this one will catch your fancy but its been out for a while so you might have already read it.

174. Still Midnight was the first of her Alex Morrow series and it was a page turning police procedural with a significantly compromised character as the main police protagonist.

The story was told from various points of view so we got to know the bumbling crooks, the family of victims as well as the cops. There were plenty of drama and family ties to go round and it was hard to tell if the victims were innocent or bent as well. Then again, you might have second thoughts about the female cop who was attempting to investigate the crime.

I'm running into a lot of writing deadlines at the same time and my library holds keep coming in so I've been doing a lot of writing and reading. You'd think they would go together well but they both take time away from each other.

Today is predicted to be our last day of no rain for a while so the plan is to take a trek to the library and pick up the holds that are waiting. There are 5 now on top of the ones that I have at home. I just hope there are some thin ones in there so I can fit them all in my bag.

Last night was the monthly BCGS meeting and, of course, it had a military theme. Lots of people brought in info on their military ancestors. One member's father had been in the prisoner of war camp where the great escape was pulled off. She brought in her father's book which had cartoons and paintings done by the prisoners. Some really good stuff in there. It was similar to the autograph book that my father had from his time in the RAF when he was stationed in Burma. I don't have custody of the book but I have access to digital scans of the pages. I really should do some research on them.

There was also a speaker last night. His talk was about military research and, of course, mainly concentrated on Canadian records but he was able to find out more about one of our member's uncles who was mentioned in dispatches - which was a commendation. The speaker was able to find out more about why the uncle received the mention. Now I need to see if I can find out similar info about my father's actions as he also received a mention in dispatches. Looks like I will be busy!

Hi Meg, I see you enjoyed the first of the Alex Morrow series, I am just about to read the 4th book in that series. I am a fan of Denise Mina!

>80 DeltaQueen50: Hi Judy, sometimes I see an author in action and just know that I will like their stories. That's what happened with Denise Mina. I'd like to read another in the Alex Morrow series soon but I guess I better read all the library holds I brought home first.

Happy Friday, Meg. A Woman is No Man sounds good, so you recommend it?

I loved A Woman Is No Man, Meg, as well as The Body Lies. Good luck keeping up with the library books!

>82 msf59: Hi Mark, A Woman is No Man is really good IMHO. Hope you are enjoying a weekend off, or at least that the route is treating you well this Saturday.

>83 BLBera: They were both such good books, Beth. I am working on those library books but there are now more holds waiting for me at the library. I did finish another one though. Review coming up.

175. Time After Time by Lisa Grunwald

The story in Time After Time centered around Grand Central Station in New York. Joe worked there as a leverman, working the rails that guided the trains. He met Nora there and they became a couple. The only problem was that Nora died in a subway accident at Grand Central Station in 1925.

This was a poignant story of a couple whose love was restricted by Nora’s inability to leave the station and Joe’s ties to family which were strong in the years surrounding WWII. But the couple had dreams beyond their stolen moments. As the years passed and Joe aged while Nora didn’t it was plain that there would be no happily ever after for the couple. It was a sad but lovely tale.

>78 Familyhistorian: Read it! Ha-ha, got away from another dratted...

>86 Familyhistorian: ...book bullet. *sigh*

>87 richardderus: I thought you might have read the Mina, Richard. Have you read the whole series?

Time After Time is a good one and new, I think, if the holds list is anything to go by.

Last night I got together with my former co-workers. One of them is a woman who loves to cook and many of my male co-workers love to eat, the laksa station by the stove saw lots of action although the guys can't eat as much as they used to.

As we were sitting around the table the conversation naturally turned to working out and healthy diets. A couple of the guys have gout (go figure). One of the women talked about a gym where she had her husband had signed up for a 6 week free trial. It sounded more like a total commitment thing were you gradually changed your habits like adding all veggie days and stuff like that but eventually you were supposed to committee to no sugar and no alcohol. That was were she quit (her husband hadn't lasted that long). That would have been my no go point too, if I had made it that far. Image no more chocolate or wine - just no.

I'm a little ways into The Bookshop of Yesterdays (we're at Billy's funeral), and I'm enjoying it so far. What caught my attention: the combination of inheriting a failing bookshop for unknown reasons, and a family mystery to be solved. Plus anything with "bookshop" or "bookstore" in the title is going to turn my head. :-)

P.S. Agreed on no chocolate or wine = just no, and I'm not even a big chocolate fan. The best idea is exercise and moderation, as far as I'm concerned.

Hi Meg!

I keep wanting to give Denise Mina a try but I understand her work might make it hard to be at home alone at night?

And I'm adding The Bookshop of Yesterdays to my wish list.

The Body Lies and A Woman is No Man were both good recent reads for me, too!

Oh, and no chocolate? no wine? Just no.

>90 jnwelch: Ah yes, I was forgetting that you used to work in a bookstore so a character getting left one would get your attention, Joe.

I'm with you on the chocolate and wine. I'm a big fan of both.

>91 EBT1002: Hi Ellen, the Denise Mina I read was really good. I will get to the next one in the series as soon as my library holds let up. I read it at night and live by myself so don't think you would have any worries. lol

I might have picked up a BB or two from your thread which is why I read A Woman is No Man, I think.

>92 EBT1002: No chocolate or wine would take some fun out of life, wouldn't it?

176. The Library at the Edge of the World by Felicity Hayes-McCoy

Hanna grew up on the West Coast of Ireland and couldn’t wait to get away. But she retreated from London after her marriage partner turned out to be a self-serving cheater. She walked out of the marriage with her daughter, a chip on her shoulder and no support from her well-to-do ex. Living with her mum was taking its own toll and she made plans to move into a run-down house her aunt left her. The renos would be doable on her library salary. But the community planning committee put that under threat. The projected plans would also further isolate seniors and threaten the livelihood of all but a few businesses. Unlikely circumstances bring the underdogs together to fight the local government resulting in a heartwarming tale.

177. Reproduction Ian Williams

The style of Reproduction was so different that I almost put it down after the first few chapters but I persevered. The reward was a different narrative of the random way people can get together to reproduce and form families - or not.

The focus moves from character to character and we are privy to their inner thoughts in all their messiness and repetitiveness as well as some of their weird and reprehensible habits. It really shows how unconnected people are so that it is amazing and often accidental that they get together to reproduce at all.

Happy Wednesday, Meg. I hope your week is going well. Glad you had a nice visit with your former co-workers.

>96 Familyhistorian: - And it's the Giller winner! I think I may try this one at some point

>95 Familyhistorian: I'm actually reading that one right now so I'm not reading your review closely!

>96 Familyhistorian: I must obtain one soonest! And, as Shelley notes, it's now a Giller winner.

Happy reading, Meg.

>97 msf59: Morning Mark, the visit with coworkers was fun but most of my week has been spent wrestling with writing dialogue for graphic novel type posters. It's more difficult than it appears.

>98 jessibud2: Hi Shelley, I was in the middle of reading the book when I tuned in to the Gillers. I was surprised when he won and finished reading the book soon after. In the author photo on the book cover he has long hair so he looks a bit different from when he was on stage. In the book's acknowledgement he wrote: "And to everyone who asked, When are you going to get a haircut? the answer is, When I finish Reproduction."

>99 thornton37814: I've seen mixed reviews on The Library at the Edge of the World, Lori, but I liked it. I hope you are enjoying it too.

>100 richardderus: I didn't even know that it was nominated for the Giller, Richard, so it was a bit of a surprise when I tuned in to the show and saw that it won. Funnily I also have library holds on two of the other Giller short list books, Small Game Hunting at the Local Coward Gun Club and Lampedusa and I didn't know they were being considered for the Giller either. I picked them up as BBs from various LT threads. We are a dangerously well read bunch!

178. Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee by Casey Cep

Part true crime novel and part autobiography, Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee told the tale of Reverend Willie Maxwell, a firm believer in the pursuit of mammon in the form life insurance policies. He held a lot of policies on relatives who kept on turning up dead. Everything looked to be going his way until he was shot in front of a church load of witnesses attending the funeral of his adopted daughter.

The subsequent trial seemed to be the perfect vehicle for a true crime book. Harper Lee was anxious to find the facts behind this crime and the life of the Reverend Maxwell to write about this story and finally write a second book. Harper Lee’s book was never written and that fact was used as the springboard for a look at the life of the famous author.

It was well done but I found the true crime part and the career of Reverend Maxwell more interesting than the story of Harper Lee. Perhaps that is because To Kill a Mockingbird was a shadowy presence throughout much of Lee’s story and I have never read the book. Maybe I should remedy that.

>102 Familyhistorian: - Ha, I noticed that on the CBC site, when I clicked on his name. He looked like a rebel kid there but when I watched the Gillers on tv, he looked very good. :-) (I know you are not a CBC aficionado, but one CBC radio host, Tom Power, was among the audience and I sure wish he'd get a haircut and some decent clothes. I think it's part of his *persona* but for someone as talented and intelligent as he is, he just looks like a slob. Even at such a dress-up event as The Giller Awards. Oh well. Mostly, I hear him on radio so who cares. ;-)

I am just about to head off to the library again to pick up some more holds. They keep on coming in thick and fast and it is becoming a bit of a struggle to keep up as they have to be read quickly because other readers are waiting. As of today I have 8 books with holds at home and 6 waiting at the library. I'm taking 3 back and am not sure how many I will pick up this week.

Going back are:
Reproduction
Furious Hours
Time After Time

Still to be read at home are:
The Man Who Saw Everything
Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland
The Stopping Places
Superior: The Return of Race Science
A Woman of No Importance

I'm not sure which ones I will pick up but waiting are:
The Catalogue of Shipwrecked Books
Good Talk
The Flatshare
Nature's Mutiny
Good Omens
Stony the Road

>106 jessibud2: Ian Williams cleaned up real good, Shelley. I didn't notice anyone looking like a slob in the Giller audience though.

>108 Familyhistorian: - Jann (Arden) actually called upon Tom to escort someone up to the stage at one point. It's how I even noticed he was there, lol! I think he was wearing his trademark plaid shirt, not tucked in or anything. :-)

>104 Familyhistorian: This group is extremely hazardous to one's random-chance reads percentage. Books you'd never, ever hear of, still less about, will zoom in and out of focus multiple times around here!

>105 Familyhistorian: I'd say do read it, but with a healthy dose of "oh, really?" ever at your 21st-centurian's elbow.

>109 jessibud2: Ha, that doesn't even stick out in my memory but I could have missed it. I was on my computer at the same time.

>110 richardderus: The more times they zoom in and out of focus, the more familiar they become until you just have to read them!

I generally carry a healthy dose of "oh, really?" with me at all times, Richard. Might be because of the decades of being an insurance adjuster.

>105 Familyhistorian: That one is on my "read soon" list. I'm thinking it will be over Christmas break although I might get to it before then.

>113 thornton37814: It is an interesting one that has caught some LT buzz, Lori. I hope you enjoy it when you get to it.

I only picked up four of my library holds yesterday. I left Good Omens and Stony the Road: Reconstruction, White Supremacy, and the Rise of Jim Crow to pick up next week. Did anyone see Gate's show about reconstruction?

There is an interesting interview with Gates on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SDHE6290Bc about reconstruction and suppression and the parallels with what is happening today.

Yesterday I goofed off, I only did a few minutes work on the words for the graphic novel style posters, but then again, I did write my blog post for today and posted an answer to one of the homework questions for my fiction writing course so maybe I did some work. Then I met a friend for dinner and we went to see "The Good Liar" and the nearby cinema. It was really good but a bit violent in places.

I am starting to wonder if I can keep up with all of my library holds. The main problem is that most of them are nonfiction so no real fast reads among the bunch.

>116 Familyhistorian: I place holds on library books cautiously because I know I request too many ARCs! An audiobook came in the other day, and I wondered if I'd finish it before it was due. Then I remembered I'm driving to Cincinnati and back the first part of the week so I should easily complete it.

179. Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations by Mira Jacob

All the LT warbling about Good Talk got me interested so I had to read it. It was a very personal and perceptive work about being considered “other” in America today. There were so many events and episodes that Jacob lived through like 911 and the aftermath and the recent US elections that she was experiencing as not just an American citizen but also through another layer of identity being a visible member of a minority. Trying to explain the meaning of things to her son really underlined how convoluted and scary their experience in America has been and will continue to be.

>117 thornton37814: Well, I don't have the ARC problem and have unlimited holds at the library so I tend to go wild. I put a bunch of them on pause while I was travelling so many of them are coming to me at the same time. Enjoy your audiobook, Lori.

>51 Familyhistorian: She has actually written 7 novels already, Meg, but the last three have been successful internationally.

Have a great weekend and I'll be interested to see if you can make it to 200 books this year.

>120 PaulCranswick: I was wondering when I found more than three books by Baker, Paul. Ha, I think I will definitely make it to 200 this year. I have to get all my library holds read and back to the library within 3 weeks and they keep coming in batches of 4 every week.

180. The Mysterious Affair at Castaway House by Stephanie Lam

It said it was a mystery and was set back in history, both the ‘20s and ‘60s. It sounded perfect for me but, somewhere along the way, I got lost in the two narratives unfolding in The Mysterious Affair at Castaway House and put it down. I eventually picked it up again and finished the tale which revolved around Castaway House and related people who were affected by things that happened in both eras. All was not as it seemed which had tragic consequences.

Hi Meg!

>105 Familyhistorian: I think you should definitely read To Kill A Mockingbird. I just read Furious Hours recently and really liked it, but as you noted above, TKaM is a shadowy presence. Lee’s early success really stunted her and this ultimately fruitless pursuit of another book is fascinating in terms of TKaM.

>118 Familyhistorian: Ohhh, nicely said re Good Talk, Meg. I don't think a capsule review could get much better than that. I'm glad the book struck home with you.

>123 karenmarie: Hi Karen, I knew that To Kill a Mockingbird was a classic but I didn't know the story behind its fast rise or Harper Lee's inability to write a second book until I read Furious Hours. I will definitely have to read Harper Lee's book that started it all.

>124 jnwelch: Thanks Joe. When I first saw the book I was surprised by how thick it was for a graphic novel. Now I know it was because she had a lot to say!

181. The Man Who Saw Everything" by Deborah Levy

In The Man Who Saw Everything, Saul Adler’s life was a continuous repeating loop between England and Germany, his studies, his lovers and the consequences of his actions. He lived through some interesting times in recent history but his life had a narrow focus, his own gratification. He may have been the man who saw everything but he didn’t understand or truly empathize with others so his connections were tentative at best. It was a strange but interesting exploration of memory.

Happy Sunday, Meg. Hooray for joining the Good Talk Club! Such a fine read. I am also glad you enjoyed The Man Who Saw Everything. Not always an easy read, but rewards abound.

>128 msf59: Hi Mark, Good Talk was really good but I knew it would be after all the LT warbling. The Levy book was a bit odd, really. But then the other work that I read by her seems that way too.

I hope you are enjoying your Sunday and have lots of time off this week!

>129 Familyhistorian: I think "a bit odd" was a really good description. I kind of wish she'd write another one from the ex-girlfriend's perspective!

>122 Familyhistorian: Would you recommend this one? I do like historical mysteries.

>130 charl08: The continual reappearance of the zebra crossing on Abbey Road threw me off a bit and I wasn't quite sure what it meant in the end. But, you're right, a novel from the ex-girlfriends perspective would be interesting, Charlotte.

The Castaway House book would probably have been a better one for me if I had read it straight through rather than reading a bunch of other books at the same time. So a guarded recommendation, I would say.

>127 Familyhistorian: Hm. On balance, I think not; sounds like something the writing will either make or break, and I'm not a big Levyite.

Happy new week, Meg!

>132 richardderus: I think that you would need to be a Levyite for that one, Richard. I hope your week is going well, better than it has been lately, anyway.

182. The Stopping Places: A Journey Through Gypsy Britain by Damian Le Bas

All my library holds have resulted in some outstanding non-fiction reads. One of these was The Stopping Places: A Journey Through Gypsy Britain which recounts the author’s quest to find the old stopping places that the gypsies used to frequent. He is one of the Roma, although he is sensitive about the fact that he doesn’t look it. This probably adds to his ability to be a good guide to the history and lore of his people. It was a very interesting read.

I went to pick up my library holds early this week due to the planned 3 day bus strike which starts tomorrow if there is no agreement on a contract. Skytrain, which is what I take to the downtown library, will be running but it will be the only transit option. I can just imagine what that will be like!

Oh dear Meg, a transit strike. Sorry to hear about that.

>136 mdoris: Hi Mary, they negotiated past the deadline last night and the strike was averted. They did make a lot of people lose some sleep though.

183. A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy who Helped Win World War II by Sonia Purnell

It was World War II and the war was not going well for England. After France was overrun, they desperately needed intelligence to conduct the war against Germany. They also needed a way to organize the resistance forces in France. That’s when they dreamed up the Special Operations Executive or SOE with no idea, really of how to train operatives.

Virginia Hall, an American woman with a prosthetic leg, finagled her way into the SOE and was one of the first agents to be sent to France. They were extremely lucky to have someone like her who could run any number of operations, not that most of those men had any faith in her abilities, she was a woman after all.

The book told the story of Virginia’s war, both with the enemy and with the men who employed her both in England and in the US. It was a well researched account of what she was able to do despite all the forces against her.

>86 Familyhistorian: my grandfather was a switchman for the New York City trolley car system.

Several times a day he would go out to 72nd street in Manhattan where Broadway and Columbus avenue cross, and use a big long heavy iron bar ( a lever?) to switch the trolley cars to go up Broadway or go up Columbus.

It was a good job in the time of the depression and he lived nearby .

Another voice urging you to read to Kill a Mockingbird or come back to New York and see the play currently running on Broadway

So pleased to hear the strike is averted. Such a thing would create such a tough situation.

>139 magicians_nephew: Isn't it fascinating how the transit systems had those strange jobs to make them run that you would never even think about as a user.

Both of those To Kill a Mockingbird options sound good, Jim, although the New York one might cost a tad more.

>140 mdoris: It was a last ditch negotiating effort, Mary. From the sounds of it the union gave in a lot more than the employer so we will see if the contract is ratified. All the people who rely on transit must have breathed a sigh of relief although it might have inclined more of the driving public to support transit if they had to contend with all of the traffic that having no buses would put on the roads.

184. The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary

And now for something a bit lighter, The Flatshare was an unputdownable novel. The premise was that Leon worked nights and he was looking for someone to share his flat during the hours he wasn’t there. Hey, this was London so people would go for that given the tight and pricey housing market. Tiffy was trying to find a place of her own to get away from a relationship that was no longer working. So, Leon and Tiffy ended up sharing his apartment but the idea was that they would never meet. (Leaon would spend weekends at his girlfriend’s).

But we all have an idea of how this would go, right? Added to the mix were Leon’s younger brother who was desperate to get out of prison with his brother’s help, and Tiffy’s friends and manipulative ex. It was a page turner of a story which took some twisty turns.

Well I'm knackered. Black Friday has caught on here in a big way and I started Christmas shopping today and also picked up some deals for myself but I went to two very crowded malls to do it. I had a mental list of the things that I wanted and was able to get most of them. There also may have been a short foray into a bookstore. One of the books that I bought was To Kill a Mockingbird so I should get to that in the near future.

>144 Familyhistorian: - You are either very brave or just crazy! I have a hard enough time on Boxing Day, with sales. I gave that up years ago. You couldn't pay me to go anywhere near a mall today! ;-)

>144 Familyhistorian: I stayed home with the cats today. I actually had a sinus headache until late afternoon. I did complete a small cross-stitch project needed to go in the sock for the sock exchange at the education sorority meeting Monday night. I'd been unable to find one like I wanted for purchase so I went through my cross-stitch stash and found something with the "theme" I needed it to match. I'll try to post it after the exchange. I took a photo after completing the stitching but before finishing. I'll try to remember to take a photo with the finished ornament before Monday.

>143 Familyhistorian: The Flatshare sounds like an interesting one! Hope your head feels better tomorrow and the closest I got to Black Friday shopping was dropping off my son at the mall for his work shift. There were absolutely no parking spaces!! I can only imaging the lines inside. No thanks.

>145 jessibud2: I made the mistake of going to a mall on Boxing Day once. It was much more crazy than both malls were yesterday, Shelley. A lot of people confine themselves to the online Black Friday sales. There were line ups at many of the stores that I went to yesterday but it was actually easier to get help at the stores that I went to for a pair of jeans and a pair of boots that it was normally. They probably had extra staff on.

>146 thornton37814: That sounds like a productive use of your time, Lori. I look forward to seeing the photo of your cross-stitch project.

>147 Berly: Hi Kim, The Flatshare was really good and I noticed that it is now out in paperback when I was in the bookstore yesterday. The parking lot was pretty full at the mall I drove to yesterday but there were spaces so I found one easily. I went to the first mall fairly early when a lot of people would have been at work so that probably helped. I walked to the second mall as it was later in the day and by then the line ups were longer - well, to be honest one of the stores was an electronics store, so of course it was a bit of a zoo but I found something I had made a mental note of in the summer and it was the last one so it was worth standing in line for.

It was actually fun seeing all the people bustling around. That is except for the man who came up to berate the cashier I was at for not having salespeople on hand to help him when he was looking for stuff. I am not sure what he felt gave him the right to come back up to the till while I was standing there having waited for my turn in line. Maybe arrogance and a sense of entitlement? Sometimes I wish I was a more imposing figure so people would think twice about yelling over my head or bossing me around.

Hi Meg!

Glad you liked The Flatshare - I'm looking forward to reading that one.

>151 katiekrug: It is so good, Katie. I didn't want to put The Flatshare down when I was reading it.

>143 Familyhistorian: I'll be cheering you on to 200 books in December, Meg.

My own hopes of reaching goals have been dashed by a disastrous November where I only managed 1 book and that on the cusp of the new month.

I will now concentrate on reading somethings that catch my fancy and some poetry to get over the 75 line.

Have a lovely weekend.

Hi Meg - The Stopping Places sounds great, onto the list it goes. I also enjoyed The Flatshare and A Woman of No Importance. I listened to it and the readers were very good.

I hope the headache is better.

>153 PaulCranswick: Sorry to hear about your reading woes, Paul, but 75 is still the official goal, so there is that. Enjoy your reads!

>154 BLBera: Hi Beth, I had to go back to see what headache you were talking about. That was in Lori's post, not mine. I rarely get headaches any more since I retired.

I hope you enjoy The Stopping Places. It was interesting to see a way of life that I was not aware of but was probably happening right under my nose at some points in time.

185. Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe

I am not sure whose thread I saw the book Say Nothing on but I knew I had to read it. I remember seeing news clips about the ongoing troubles in Northern Ireland without knowing much about the history of the fight or really who was fighting who. That may be because the history of Ireland and its conflicts goes far back in history with strange moves by both the British and the Irish that led to an ongoing war of sorts, a conflict with no end in sight.

The book brought a lot of the people in the more recent past into light, the fighters and the victims, the deluded and the underhanded. No one come out looking good in this account, not the Provisional IRA, the Royal Ulster Constabulary, the Loyalists or the British Army who were supposed to be neutral police but turned out to be anything but neutral.

It was good to find out the history and to have context for parts of the Black Cab Tour that I took when I was in Belfast.

>157 Familyhistorian: Civil wars are the very worst, as it's relative murdering relative not soldier killing soldier. The mechanical death-dealing of warfare is suspended and the cruelest and vilest things are done for "the cause."

Yuck.

Sending best wishes, Meg.

Happy Sunday, Meg. Good review of A Woman of No Importance. I have added it to the list. I know I did my share of warbling about Say Nothing, after reading it, a few months ago. It will be a top read of the year for me, for sure. I hope you had a good weekend.

>158 richardderus: Save us from those who think they have right on their side combined with family feuds when it comes to civil wars then, Richard. Definite yuck. Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

>159 msf59: It might have been the review on your thread that caused me to hit my library's hold button, Mark. Say Nothing was a good one as was A Woman of No Importance. I hope your weekend was a good one that will give you the energy to make it through to the next one.

186. Superior: The Return of Race Science by Angela Saini

My latest read was Superior: The Return of Race Science. In it, Angela Saini shines the spotlight on how science is used and perverted to show up the difference between “races” so that certain ones come out looking superior to others. Her research was extensive as she covers subjects like biodiversity, origin stories and castes. It was an eyeopener in many ways but unlike in her book Inferior: How Science Got Women Wrong-and the New Research That's Rewriting the Story, I didn’t have any of those ah ha moments remembering how something similar had happened to me because of my gender. I was not I the same receiving position for this book. I would not have been classified as being on the receiving end of negative effects because of my race.

Perhaps that was why it was harder for me to agree wholeheartedly with what she said. She did raise a lot of relevant points, however. But it was her characterization of DNA ancestry tests as bad because they further the aims of racists looking for proof of how “white” they are that really gave me pause. DNA tests, like many other things, can be subverted to support racial claims but they can also show how interrelated we are. Having said that, it was still an interesting and well researched book which sounds a note of caution about the way that science is being perverted.

>162 Familyhistorian: Not only DNA tests, almost everything can be used for good or for bad, Meg.
I have Inferior on my library wishlist, Superior is not translated yet.

>163 FAMeulstee: That's unfortunately true, Anita, but DNA tests hit particularly close to home for genealogists. I really enjoyed Inferior, I hope that you do too and that you get to read it soon.

>162 Familyhistorian: That was a good one! I really need to get to Inferior.

>165 drneutron: I preferred Inferior, Jim, but that's probably because I could more easily relate.

So, I was looking at the number of posts on my thread and thinking about all the books I have to read to get to my goal of 200 and all of the Christmas Greetings that LTers spread around. I think this thread will just get too long by the end of the year so I'm going to start another one.