CBL Reads and Walks in 2022 - Mile 3
Questo è il seguito della conversazione CBL Reads and Walks in 2022 - Mile 2.
Conversazioni75 Books Challenge for 2022
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Hi! I'm Carrie, a 50-something librarian in East Tennessee. I've been reading everything I can get my hands on since the age of 4. My favorite genre is mystery (especially historical mysteries), but I also enjoy reading literary fiction, history (including social history and biographies of historically significant people), literary travel, genealogy/family history, and art history.
I have a ~11-year-old Shih-tzu, Adrian, who brings me a lot of joy. I adopted him from the Humane Society almost 9 years ago, so his age is estimated, and he could be a little bit older than that. I am very grateful for his vet, who pulled him through a gallbladder scare last spring. He seems to have lost most of his hearing in the last year, and he is starting to show some symptoms of dementia, which thankfully seems to be progressing very slowly. He is still full of life and enjoys riding in the car, gazing out the window and napping in the sun, greeting his canine friends on our walks in the neighborhood, and playing with his toys. He is often the cause of canine paralysis while I read or watch TV.
I started walking more in 2020 in an effort to raise my fitness level, and I maintained that habit in 2021. I am thrilled with the results, but it's cut into my reading and LT time. A friend's twice monthly genealogy chats have inspired me to spend more time in family history research. The research is also paying off, but again, at the expense of reading and LT time. I've also recently learned to knit, and this is cutting into my reading and LT time as well. I've made enough progress with the knitting that I don't have to concentrate as hard, so I have been able to add audiobooks to the mix while I knit.
Here's Adrian in his usual spot in the bed. He takes his half out of the middle. ;-)
I have a ~11-year-old Shih-tzu, Adrian, who brings me a lot of joy. I adopted him from the Humane Society almost 9 years ago, so his age is estimated, and he could be a little bit older than that. I am very grateful for his vet, who pulled him through a gallbladder scare last spring. He seems to have lost most of his hearing in the last year, and he is starting to show some symptoms of dementia, which thankfully seems to be progressing very slowly. He is still full of life and enjoys riding in the car, gazing out the window and napping in the sun, greeting his canine friends on our walks in the neighborhood, and playing with his toys. He is often the cause of canine paralysis while I read or watch TV.
I started walking more in 2020 in an effort to raise my fitness level, and I maintained that habit in 2021. I am thrilled with the results, but it's cut into my reading and LT time. A friend's twice monthly genealogy chats have inspired me to spend more time in family history research. The research is also paying off, but again, at the expense of reading and LT time. I've also recently learned to knit, and this is cutting into my reading and LT time as well. I've made enough progress with the knitting that I don't have to concentrate as hard, so I have been able to add audiobooks to the mix while I knit.
Here's Adrian in his usual spot in the bed. He takes his half out of the middle. ;-)
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Best of 2022
A Scandal in Bohemia by Arthur Conan Doyle (5) - Review
A Traveller in Time by Alison Uttley (5) - Review
Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love by Dani Shapiro (4.5) - Review
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle (5) - Review
Hana's Suitcase by Karen Levine (4.5) - Review
The Perpetual Curate by Margaret Oliphant (4.5) - Review
The Nazi Hunters by Neal Bascomb (4.5) - Review
Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll (4.5) - Review
A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett (4.5) - Review
The Liberators: America's Witnesses to the Holocaust by Michael Hirsh (5) - Review
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (4.5) - Review
Around the World on Two Wheels by Peter Zheutlin (5) - Review
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (5) - Review
Paradise of the Blind by Thu Huong Duong (4.5) - Review
Happiness by Aminatta Forna (4.5) - Review
The American Agent by Jacqueline Winspear (4.5) - Review
Grimms' Tales for Young and Old translated by Ralph Manheim (4.5) - Review
A Scandal in Bohemia by Arthur Conan Doyle (5) - Review
A Traveller in Time by Alison Uttley (5) - Review
Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love by Dani Shapiro (4.5) - Review
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle (5) - Review
Hana's Suitcase by Karen Levine (4.5) - Review
The Perpetual Curate by Margaret Oliphant (4.5) - Review
The Nazi Hunters by Neal Bascomb (4.5) - Review
Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll (4.5) - Review
A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett (4.5) - Review
The Liberators: America's Witnesses to the Holocaust by Michael Hirsh (5) - Review
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (4.5) - Review
Around the World on Two Wheels by Peter Zheutlin (5) - Review
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (5) - Review
Paradise of the Blind by Thu Huong Duong (4.5) - Review
Happiness by Aminatta Forna (4.5) - Review
The American Agent by Jacqueline Winspear (4.5) - Review
Grimms' Tales for Young and Old translated by Ralph Manheim (4.5) - Review
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Books Read in July
96. Around the World on Two Wheels by Peter Zheutlin (5) - completed 7/5/22
97. Red Mandarin Dress by Qiu Xiaolong (3.5) - completed 7/9/22
98. Spider's Web by Agatha Christie (3.5) - completed 7/10/22
99. The Vicar of Wrexhill by Frances Trollope (4) - completed 7/18/22
100. The Rubber Band by Rex Stout (4) - completed 7/24/22
101. The Templars' Last Secret by Martin Walker (3.5) - completed 7/26/22
102. The Chocolate War by Martin Walker (3.5) - completed 7/26/22
103. Typical American by Gish Jen (4) - completed 7/29/22
104. Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare (3) - completed 7/31/22
Books Read in August
105. The Story of Babar, the Little Elephant by Jean de Brunhoff (3) - completed 8/1/22
106. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (5) - completed 8/3/22
107. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak (4) - completed 8/3/22
108. Destination Unknown by Agatha Christie (4) - completed 8/8/22
109. They Fought Like Demons: Women Soldiers in the Civil War by DeAnne Blanton & Lauren M. Cook (4) - completed 8/9/22
110. Slaves in the Family by Edward Ball (4) - completed 8/17/22
111. The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare (4) - completed 8/19/22
112. A Taste for Vengeance by Martin Walker (3.5) - completed 8/21/22
113. The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa (4) - completed 8/21/22
114. The Dragonfly Pool by Eva Ibbotson (3.5) - completed 8/24/22
115. The Other Girl by Erica Spindler (3.5) - completed 8/28/22
116. The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (3.5) - completed 8/28/22
117. A Personal Record by Joseph Conrad (4) - completed 8/30/22
Books Read in September
118. Transient Desires by Donna Leon (4) - completed 9/3/22
119. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick (3.5) - completed 9/5/22
120. The Lady from the Black Lagoon by Mallory O'Meara (3) - completed 9/8/22
121. The Red Box by Rex Stout (4) - completed 9/11/22
122. A Better Man by Louise Penny (3.5) - completed 9/16/22
123. Life and Times of Michael K by J. M. Coetzee (3.5) - completed 9/19/22
124. Pachinko by Min Jin Lee (3.5) - completed 9/21/22
125. Hickory Dickory Dock by Agatha Christie (3.5) - completed 9/23/22
126. The Wit and Wisdom of Shakespeare by Darrel Walters (4) - completed 9/28/22
127. Jane Fairfax by Joan Aiken (3) - completed 9/29/22
Books Read in October
128. Company by Samuel Beckett (3) - completed 10/2/22
129. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert (3.5) - completed 10/7/22
130. All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days by Rebecca Donner (4) - completed 10/9/22
131. The Pine Barrens by John McPhee (4) - completed 10/20/22
132. Light Thickens by Ngaio Marsh (4) - completed 10/20/22
133. Miss Marjoribanks by Margaret Oliphant (4) - completed 10/21/22
134. The Musgrave Ritual by Arthur Conan Doyle (3.5) - completed 10/28/22
135. Paradise of the Blind by Thu Hương Dương (4.5) - completed 10/29/22
136. Happiness by Aminatta Forna (4.5) - completed 10/31/22
Books Read in November
137. The Body in the Castle Well by Martin Walker (4) - completed 11/2/22
138. The Resident Patient by Arthur Conan Doyle (3.5) - completed 11/2/22
139. Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann (4) - completed 11/13/22
140. The Lost Ravioli Recipes of Hoboken by Laura Schenone (3.5) - completed 11/13/22
141. The Greek Interpreter by Arthur Conan Doyle (3.5) - completed 11/14/22
142. The American Agent by Jacqueline Winspear (4.5) - completed 11/15/22
143. The Naval Treaty by Arthur Conan Doyle (4) - completed 11/21/22
144. Too Many Cooks by Rex Stout (3.5) - completed 11/24/22
145. Shakespeare Basics for Grown-ups by E. Foley & B. Coates (3.5) - completed 11/30/22
Books Read in December
146. The Shooting at Chateau Rock by Martin Walker (3.5) - completed 12/3/22
147. Oystercatcher by Martin Walker (3) - completed 12/13/22
148. A Birthday Lunch by Martin Walker (4) - completed 12/14/22
149. The Family Chao by Lan Samantha Chang (4) - completed 12/23/22
150. How to Be a Heroine by Samantha Ellis (3) - completed 12/26/22
151. Give Unto Others by Donna Leon (3) - completed 12/29/22
152. Winter's Tales by Isak Dinesen (4) - completed 12/30/22
153. Grimms' Tales for Young and Old translated by Ralph Manheim (4.5) - completed 12/30/22
96. Around the World on Two Wheels by Peter Zheutlin (5) - completed 7/5/22
97. Red Mandarin Dress by Qiu Xiaolong (3.5) - completed 7/9/22
98. Spider's Web by Agatha Christie (3.5) - completed 7/10/22
99. The Vicar of Wrexhill by Frances Trollope (4) - completed 7/18/22
100. The Rubber Band by Rex Stout (4) - completed 7/24/22
101. The Templars' Last Secret by Martin Walker (3.5) - completed 7/26/22
102. The Chocolate War by Martin Walker (3.5) - completed 7/26/22
103. Typical American by Gish Jen (4) - completed 7/29/22
104. Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare (3) - completed 7/31/22
Books Read in August
105. The Story of Babar, the Little Elephant by Jean de Brunhoff (3) - completed 8/1/22
106. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (5) - completed 8/3/22
107. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak (4) - completed 8/3/22
108. Destination Unknown by Agatha Christie (4) - completed 8/8/22
109. They Fought Like Demons: Women Soldiers in the Civil War by DeAnne Blanton & Lauren M. Cook (4) - completed 8/9/22
110. Slaves in the Family by Edward Ball (4) - completed 8/17/22
111. The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare (4) - completed 8/19/22
112. A Taste for Vengeance by Martin Walker (3.5) - completed 8/21/22
113. The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa (4) - completed 8/21/22
114. The Dragonfly Pool by Eva Ibbotson (3.5) - completed 8/24/22
115. The Other Girl by Erica Spindler (3.5) - completed 8/28/22
116. The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (3.5) - completed 8/28/22
117. A Personal Record by Joseph Conrad (4) - completed 8/30/22
Books Read in September
118. Transient Desires by Donna Leon (4) - completed 9/3/22
119. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick (3.5) - completed 9/5/22
120. The Lady from the Black Lagoon by Mallory O'Meara (3) - completed 9/8/22
121. The Red Box by Rex Stout (4) - completed 9/11/22
122. A Better Man by Louise Penny (3.5) - completed 9/16/22
123. Life and Times of Michael K by J. M. Coetzee (3.5) - completed 9/19/22
124. Pachinko by Min Jin Lee (3.5) - completed 9/21/22
125. Hickory Dickory Dock by Agatha Christie (3.5) - completed 9/23/22
126. The Wit and Wisdom of Shakespeare by Darrel Walters (4) - completed 9/28/22
127. Jane Fairfax by Joan Aiken (3) - completed 9/29/22
Books Read in October
128. Company by Samuel Beckett (3) - completed 10/2/22
129. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert (3.5) - completed 10/7/22
130. All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days by Rebecca Donner (4) - completed 10/9/22
131. The Pine Barrens by John McPhee (4) - completed 10/20/22
132. Light Thickens by Ngaio Marsh (4) - completed 10/20/22
133. Miss Marjoribanks by Margaret Oliphant (4) - completed 10/21/22
134. The Musgrave Ritual by Arthur Conan Doyle (3.5) - completed 10/28/22
135. Paradise of the Blind by Thu Hương Dương (4.5) - completed 10/29/22
136. Happiness by Aminatta Forna (4.5) - completed 10/31/22
Books Read in November
137. The Body in the Castle Well by Martin Walker (4) - completed 11/2/22
138. The Resident Patient by Arthur Conan Doyle (3.5) - completed 11/2/22
139. Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann (4) - completed 11/13/22
140. The Lost Ravioli Recipes of Hoboken by Laura Schenone (3.5) - completed 11/13/22
141. The Greek Interpreter by Arthur Conan Doyle (3.5) - completed 11/14/22
142. The American Agent by Jacqueline Winspear (4.5) - completed 11/15/22
143. The Naval Treaty by Arthur Conan Doyle (4) - completed 11/21/22
144. Too Many Cooks by Rex Stout (3.5) - completed 11/24/22
145. Shakespeare Basics for Grown-ups by E. Foley & B. Coates (3.5) - completed 11/30/22
Books Read in December
146. The Shooting at Chateau Rock by Martin Walker (3.5) - completed 12/3/22
147. Oystercatcher by Martin Walker (3) - completed 12/13/22
148. A Birthday Lunch by Martin Walker (4) - completed 12/14/22
149. The Family Chao by Lan Samantha Chang (4) - completed 12/23/22
150. How to Be a Heroine by Samantha Ellis (3) - completed 12/26/22
151. Give Unto Others by Donna Leon (3) - completed 12/29/22
152. Winter's Tales by Isak Dinesen (4) - completed 12/30/22
153. Grimms' Tales for Young and Old translated by Ralph Manheim (4.5) - completed 12/30/22
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Books added in July
39. Soon by Morris Gleitzman (Thingaversary purchase)
40. The Vicar of Wrexhill by Frances Trollope (free ebook)
41. Understanding and Using Baptismal Records by John T. Humphrey (purchased)
42. Pennsylvania Research: County and Township Records by John T. Humphrey (purchased)
43. Pennsylvania, Keystone to Progress by E. Willard Miller (purchased)
Books Added in August
44. Defeated Enemies by Corrie ten Boom (library book sale)
45. A Personal Record by Joseph Conrad (free ebook)
46. The Poetical Works of John Keats (library book sale)
Books Added in September
47. Paradise of the Blind by Thu Huong Duong (purchased)
48. Happiness by Aminatta Forna (purchased)
49. Miss Marjoribanks by Margaret Oliphant (free ebook)
Books added in October
50. Bird Man: The Many Faces of Robert Stroud by Jolene Babyak (purchased)
Books added in November
Books added in December
51. Oystercatcher by Martin Walker (purchased)
52. Fashionable Goodness: Christianity in Jane Austen's England by Brenda S. Cox (gift)
53. After the War by Carol Matas (Christmas swap gift)
54. Address Unknown by Kressmann Taylor (Christmas swap gift)
55. An Island of Our Own by Sally Nicholls (Christmas swap gift)
56. The English Boys by Julia Thomas (Christmas swap gift)
57. The Son of the House by Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onuobia (Christmas swap gift)
58. Random Passage by Bernice Morgan (Christmas swap gift)
59. The Sea Gate by Jane Johnson (Christmas swap gift)
39. Soon by Morris Gleitzman (Thingaversary purchase)
40. The Vicar of Wrexhill by Frances Trollope (free ebook)
41. Understanding and Using Baptismal Records by John T. Humphrey (purchased)
42. Pennsylvania Research: County and Township Records by John T. Humphrey (purchased)
43. Pennsylvania, Keystone to Progress by E. Willard Miller (purchased)
Books Added in August
44. Defeated Enemies by Corrie ten Boom (library book sale)
45. A Personal Record by Joseph Conrad (free ebook)
46. The Poetical Works of John Keats (library book sale)
Books Added in September
47. Paradise of the Blind by Thu Huong Duong (purchased)
48. Happiness by Aminatta Forna (purchased)
49. Miss Marjoribanks by Margaret Oliphant (free ebook)
Books added in October
50. Bird Man: The Many Faces of Robert Stroud by Jolene Babyak (purchased)
Books added in November
Books added in December
51. Oystercatcher by Martin Walker (purchased)
52. Fashionable Goodness: Christianity in Jane Austen's England by Brenda S. Cox (gift)
53. After the War by Carol Matas (Christmas swap gift)
54. Address Unknown by Kressmann Taylor (Christmas swap gift)
55. An Island of Our Own by Sally Nicholls (Christmas swap gift)
56. The English Boys by Julia Thomas (Christmas swap gift)
57. The Son of the House by Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onuobia (Christmas swap gift)
58. Random Passage by Bernice Morgan (Christmas swap gift)
59. The Sea Gate by Jane Johnson (Christmas swap gift)
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Books Read in March
48. A Sherlock Holmes Devotional by Trisha White Priebe (2.5) - completed 3/1/22
49. The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb by Arthur Conan Doyle (4) - completed 3/3/22
50. A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro (3.5) - completed 3/6/22
51. The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet by Arthur Conan Doyle (3.5) - completed 3/6/22
52. The Doctors Blackwell by Janice P. Nimura (4) - completed 3/9/22
53. The Nazi Hunters by Neal Bascomb (4.5) - completed 3/12/22
54. Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson (4) - completed 3/12/22
55. The Adventure of the Stockbroker's Clerk by Arthur Conan Doyle (3.5) - completed 3/12/22
56. Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder (4) - completed 3/15/22
57. Unto Us a Son Is Given by Donna Leon (4) - completed 3/15/22
58. The Adventure of the Gloria Scott by Arthur Conan Doyle (3.5) - completed 3/17/22
59. Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll (4.5) - completed 3/18/22
60. Diary of a Provincial Lady by E. M. Delafield (3) - completed 3/20/22
61. Letters of a Woman Homesteader by Elinore Pruitt Stewart (4) - completed 3/24/20
62. The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf by Mohja Kahf (3.5) - completed 3/24/22
63. The Fixer by Bernard Malamud (4) - completed 3/29/22
64. The Storm by Frederick Buechner (3.5) - completed 3/31/22
Books read in April
65. Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi (4) - completed 4/2/22
66. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (3.5) - completed 4/5/22
67. All That She Carried by Tiya Miles (4) - completed 4/9/22
68. A Familiar Wilderness by S. J. Dahlman (3.5) - completed 4/15/22
69. The Patriarch by Martin Walker (3.5) - completed 4/20/22
70. My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me by Jennifer Teege (4) - completed 4/24/22
71. Reflecting the Glory by N. T. Wright (3) - completed 4/24/22
72. Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell (4) - completed 4/25/22
73. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt (3.5) - completed 4/27/22
74. Broken Verses by Kamila Shamsie (3.5) - completed 4/30/22
75. Heaven and the Afterlife by James Garlow and Keith Wall (3.5) - completed 4/30/22
Books Read in May
76. Ethel & Ernest by Raymond Briggs (4) - completed 5/1/22
77. The Women of the House by Jean Zimmerman (3) - completed 5/8/22
78. Richard II by William Shakespeare (4) - completed 5/8/22
79. Fatal Pursuit by Martin Walker (3.5) - completed 5/12/22
80. The Bodies in the Library by Marty Wingate (3.5) - completed 5/12/22
81. Life in the Iron Mills by Rebecca Harding Davis (3) - completed 5/13/22
82. A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett (4.5) - completed 5/21/22
83. The Liberators: America's Witnesses to the Holocaust by Michael Hirsh (5) - completed 5/22/22
84. The League of Frightened Men by Rex Stout (4) - completed 5/27/22
85. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (4.5) - completed 5/29/22
Books Read in June
86. Imagined London by Anna Quindlen (3.5) - completed 6/5/22
87. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon (4) - completed 6/15/22
88. Miss Mackenzie by Anthony Trollope (3.5) - completed 6/16/22
89. Trace Elements by Donna Leon (3) - completed 6/17/22
90. Miss Mapp by E. F. Benson (3.5) - completed 6/22/22
91. See the Cat: Three Stories About a Dog by David LaRochelle; illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka (4) - completed 6/23/22
92. The Stranger in My Genes by Bill Griffeth (4) - completed 6/24/22
93. Summer by Ali Smith (4) - completed 6/30/22
94. Coriolanus by William Shakespeare (4) - completed 6/30/22
95. Clear Light of Day by Anita Desai (4) - completed 6/30/22
48. A Sherlock Holmes Devotional by Trisha White Priebe (2.5) - completed 3/1/22
49. The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb by Arthur Conan Doyle (4) - completed 3/3/22
50. A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro (3.5) - completed 3/6/22
51. The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet by Arthur Conan Doyle (3.5) - completed 3/6/22
52. The Doctors Blackwell by Janice P. Nimura (4) - completed 3/9/22
53. The Nazi Hunters by Neal Bascomb (4.5) - completed 3/12/22
54. Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson (4) - completed 3/12/22
55. The Adventure of the Stockbroker's Clerk by Arthur Conan Doyle (3.5) - completed 3/12/22
56. Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder (4) - completed 3/15/22
57. Unto Us a Son Is Given by Donna Leon (4) - completed 3/15/22
58. The Adventure of the Gloria Scott by Arthur Conan Doyle (3.5) - completed 3/17/22
59. Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll (4.5) - completed 3/18/22
60. Diary of a Provincial Lady by E. M. Delafield (3) - completed 3/20/22
61. Letters of a Woman Homesteader by Elinore Pruitt Stewart (4) - completed 3/24/20
62. The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf by Mohja Kahf (3.5) - completed 3/24/22
63. The Fixer by Bernard Malamud (4) - completed 3/29/22
64. The Storm by Frederick Buechner (3.5) - completed 3/31/22
Books read in April
65. Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi (4) - completed 4/2/22
66. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (3.5) - completed 4/5/22
67. All That She Carried by Tiya Miles (4) - completed 4/9/22
68. A Familiar Wilderness by S. J. Dahlman (3.5) - completed 4/15/22
69. The Patriarch by Martin Walker (3.5) - completed 4/20/22
70. My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me by Jennifer Teege (4) - completed 4/24/22
71. Reflecting the Glory by N. T. Wright (3) - completed 4/24/22
72. Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell (4) - completed 4/25/22
73. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt (3.5) - completed 4/27/22
74. Broken Verses by Kamila Shamsie (3.5) - completed 4/30/22
75. Heaven and the Afterlife by James Garlow and Keith Wall (3.5) - completed 4/30/22
Books Read in May
76. Ethel & Ernest by Raymond Briggs (4) - completed 5/1/22
77. The Women of the House by Jean Zimmerman (3) - completed 5/8/22
78. Richard II by William Shakespeare (4) - completed 5/8/22
79. Fatal Pursuit by Martin Walker (3.5) - completed 5/12/22
80. The Bodies in the Library by Marty Wingate (3.5) - completed 5/12/22
81. Life in the Iron Mills by Rebecca Harding Davis (3) - completed 5/13/22
82. A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett (4.5) - completed 5/21/22
83. The Liberators: America's Witnesses to the Holocaust by Michael Hirsh (5) - completed 5/22/22
84. The League of Frightened Men by Rex Stout (4) - completed 5/27/22
85. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (4.5) - completed 5/29/22
Books Read in June
86. Imagined London by Anna Quindlen (3.5) - completed 6/5/22
87. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon (4) - completed 6/15/22
88. Miss Mackenzie by Anthony Trollope (3.5) - completed 6/16/22
89. Trace Elements by Donna Leon (3) - completed 6/17/22
90. Miss Mapp by E. F. Benson (3.5) - completed 6/22/22
91. See the Cat: Three Stories About a Dog by David LaRochelle; illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka (4) - completed 6/23/22
92. The Stranger in My Genes by Bill Griffeth (4) - completed 6/24/22
93. Summer by Ali Smith (4) - completed 6/30/22
94. Coriolanus by William Shakespeare (4) - completed 6/30/22
95. Clear Light of Day by Anita Desai (4) - completed 6/30/22
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Books Added in March
Books Added in April
7. The Ordnance Survey Puzzle Book (gift)
8. The Easy Life in Kamusari by Shion Miura (free ebook)
9. The Puma Years by Laura Coleman (free ebook)
10. North to Paradise by Ousman Umar (free ebook)
11. Where the Desert Meets the Sea by Werner Sonne (free ebook)
12. To the Sky Kingdom by Tang Qi (free ebook)
13. The Ardent Swarm by HYamen Manai (free ebook)
14. The Caiman by Maria Eugenia Manrique (free ebook)
15. Mother Dear by Nova Lee Meier (free ebook)
16. An Eye for an Eye by Carol Wyer (free ebook)
Books Added in May
17. Housekeeping By Design: Hotels and Labor by David Brody (free ebook)
18. Christmas at Fairacre by Miss Read (library book sale)
19. Open Your Hymnal Again by Denis K. Loock (library book sale)
20. This Night's Foul Work by Fred Vargas (library book sale)
21. Around the World on Two Wheels by Peter Zheutlin (Thingaversary purchase)
22. A Meditation on Murder by Robert Thorogood (ebook Thingaversary purchase)
23. The Killing of Polly Carter by Robert Thorogood (ebook Thingaversary purchase)
24. Grimms' Tales for Young and Old translated by Ralph Manheim (gift)
25. Map It! : Atlas of Brainy Challenges by Rand McNally (gift)
26. The Lost Ravioli Recipes of Hoboken by Laura Schenone (Thingaversary purchase)
26. The Pine Barrens by John McPhee (Thingaversary purchase)
27. Slaves in the Family by Edward Ball (Thingaversary purchase)
28. The Magnificent Maps Puzzle Book by Philip Parker (gift)
Books Added in June
29. Miss Mackenzie by Anthony Trollope (free ebook)
30. Miss Mapp by E. F. Benson (free ebook)
31. They Fought Like Demons: Women Soldiers in the Civil War by Deanne Blanton & Lauren M. Cook (Thingaversary purchase)
32. By the Grace of the Game: The Holocaust, a Basketball Legacy, and the American Dream by Dan Grunfeld (ebook Thingaversary purchase)
33. 100 Bible Verses That Made America by Robert J. Morgan (ebook Thingaversary purchase)
34. Constable on the Hill by Nicholas Rhea (ebook Thingaversary purchase)
35. The Stranger in My Genes by Bill Griffeth (Thingaversary purchase)
36. Seeking Whom He May Devour by Fred Vargas (Thingaversary purchase)
37. The Listening Road by Neil Tomba (Thingaversary purchase)
38. The Unanswered Letter by Faris Cassel (Thingaversary purchase)
Books Added in April
7. The Ordnance Survey Puzzle Book (gift)
8. The Easy Life in Kamusari by Shion Miura (free ebook)
9. The Puma Years by Laura Coleman (free ebook)
10. North to Paradise by Ousman Umar (free ebook)
11. Where the Desert Meets the Sea by Werner Sonne (free ebook)
12. To the Sky Kingdom by Tang Qi (free ebook)
13. The Ardent Swarm by HYamen Manai (free ebook)
14. The Caiman by Maria Eugenia Manrique (free ebook)
15. Mother Dear by Nova Lee Meier (free ebook)
16. An Eye for an Eye by Carol Wyer (free ebook)
Books Added in May
17. Housekeeping By Design: Hotels and Labor by David Brody (free ebook)
18. Christmas at Fairacre by Miss Read (library book sale)
19. Open Your Hymnal Again by Denis K. Loock (library book sale)
20. This Night's Foul Work by Fred Vargas (library book sale)
21. Around the World on Two Wheels by Peter Zheutlin (Thingaversary purchase)
22. A Meditation on Murder by Robert Thorogood (ebook Thingaversary purchase)
23. The Killing of Polly Carter by Robert Thorogood (ebook Thingaversary purchase)
24. Grimms' Tales for Young and Old translated by Ralph Manheim (gift)
25. Map It! : Atlas of Brainy Challenges by Rand McNally (gift)
26. The Lost Ravioli Recipes of Hoboken by Laura Schenone (Thingaversary purchase)
26. The Pine Barrens by John McPhee (Thingaversary purchase)
27. Slaves in the Family by Edward Ball (Thingaversary purchase)
28. The Magnificent Maps Puzzle Book by Philip Parker (gift)
Books Added in June
29. Miss Mackenzie by Anthony Trollope (free ebook)
30. Miss Mapp by E. F. Benson (free ebook)
31. They Fought Like Demons: Women Soldiers in the Civil War by Deanne Blanton & Lauren M. Cook (Thingaversary purchase)
32. By the Grace of the Game: The Holocaust, a Basketball Legacy, and the American Dream by Dan Grunfeld (ebook Thingaversary purchase)
33. 100 Bible Verses That Made America by Robert J. Morgan (ebook Thingaversary purchase)
34. Constable on the Hill by Nicholas Rhea (ebook Thingaversary purchase)
35. The Stranger in My Genes by Bill Griffeth (Thingaversary purchase)
36. Seeking Whom He May Devour by Fred Vargas (Thingaversary purchase)
37. The Listening Road by Neil Tomba (Thingaversary purchase)
38. The Unanswered Letter by Faris Cassel (Thingaversary purchase)
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Books read in January
1. Love, Loss, and What I Wore by Ilene Beckerman (3.5) - completed 1/1/22
2. The Adventure of the Cardboard Box by Arthur Conan Doyle (short story) (3) - completed 1/1/22
3. To the Heart of the Storm by Will Eisner (4) - completed 1/1/22
4. So Many Beginnings by Bethany C. Morrow (3) - completed 1/2/22
5. A Scandal in Bohemia by Arthur Conan Doyle (short story) (5) - completed 1/3/22
6. The Adventure of the Abbey Grange by Arthur Conan Doyle (short story) (4) - completed 1/4/22
7. The Man with the Twisted Lip by Arthur Conan Doyle (short story) (3.5) - completed 1/5/22
8. The Valley of Fear by Arthur Conan Doyle (4) - completed 1/7/22
9. Silver Blaze by Arthur Conan Doyle (short story) (4) - completed 1/8/22
10. A Traveller in Time by Alison Uttley (5) - completed 1/9/22
11. The Adventure of the Red-Headed League by Sherlock Holmes (short story) (4) - completed 1/9/22
12. The Adventure of the Empty House by Arthur Conan Doyle (short story) (3.5) - completed 1/10/22
13. The Final Problem by Arthur Conan Doyle (short story) (3.5) - completed 1/11/22
14. The Adventure of the Yellow Face by Arthur Conan Doyle (short story) (3) - completed 1/13/22
15. Last Train to Istanbul by Ayse Kulin (4) - completed 1/15/22
16. I Could Chew on This: And Other Poems by Dogs by Francesco Marciuliano (3.5) - completed 1/15/22
17. Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love by Dani Shapiro (4.5) - completed 1/16/22
18. The Adventure of the Dying Detective by Arthur Conan Doyle (short story) (4) - completed 1/16/22
19. The Adventure of the Norwood Builder by Arthur Conan Doyle (short story) (3.5) - completed 1/18/22
20. A Case of Identity by Arthur Conan Doyle (short story) (4) - completed 1/20/22
21. His Last Bow by Arthur Conan Doyle (short story) (3) - completed 1/23/22
22. The Sign of the Four by Arthur Conan Doyle (3.5) - completed 1/24/22
23. The Resistance Man by Martin Walker (3.5) - completed 1/26/22
24. Pere Goriot by Honore de Balzac (3.5) - completed 1/30/22
25. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (4) - completed 1/31/22
Books Read in February
26. The Adventure of Black Peter by Arthur Conan Doyle (short story) (3) - completed 2/1/22
27. The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle (5) - completed 2/2/22
28. Hana's Suitcase by Karen Levine (4.5) - completed 2/3/22
29. Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare (4) - completed 2/5/22
30. The Chalk Circle Man by Fred Vargas (4) - completed 2/6/22
31. The Five Orange Pips by Arthur Conan Doyle (3) - completed 2/6/22
32. A Chosen Exile: A History of Racial Passing in American Life by Allyson Hobbs (3) - completed 2/11/22
33. The Property by Rutu Modan (4) - completed 2/11/22
34. The Boscombe Valley Mystery by Arthur Conan Doyle (3.5) - completed 2/12/22
35. The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge by Arthur Conan Doyle (3) - completed 2/13/22
36. The Perpetual Curate by Margaret Oliphant (4.5) - completed 2/18/22
37. The Adventure of the Red Circle by Arthur Conan Doyle (4) - completed 2/19/22
38. The Children Return by Martin Walker (3.5) - completed 2/19/22
39. The Body Farm by Patricia Cornwell (4) - completed
40. The Reigate Puzzle by Arthur Conan Doyle (4) - completed 2/21/22
41. A Market Tale by Martin Walker (4) - completed 2/23/22
42. The Adventure of the Priory School by Arthur Conan Doyle (4) - completed 2/23/22
43. The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor by Arthur Conan Doyle (4) - completed 2/24/22
44. The Adventure of the Second Stain by Arthur Conan Doyle (4) - completed 2/25/22
45. The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle by Arthur Conan Doyle (4.5) - completed 2/26/22
46. Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari (2.5) - completed 2/27/22
47. The Adventure of the Three Students by Arthur Conan Doyle (4) - completed 2/27/22
1. Love, Loss, and What I Wore by Ilene Beckerman (3.5) - completed 1/1/22
2. The Adventure of the Cardboard Box by Arthur Conan Doyle (short story) (3) - completed 1/1/22
3. To the Heart of the Storm by Will Eisner (4) - completed 1/1/22
4. So Many Beginnings by Bethany C. Morrow (3) - completed 1/2/22
5. A Scandal in Bohemia by Arthur Conan Doyle (short story) (5) - completed 1/3/22
6. The Adventure of the Abbey Grange by Arthur Conan Doyle (short story) (4) - completed 1/4/22
7. The Man with the Twisted Lip by Arthur Conan Doyle (short story) (3.5) - completed 1/5/22
8. The Valley of Fear by Arthur Conan Doyle (4) - completed 1/7/22
9. Silver Blaze by Arthur Conan Doyle (short story) (4) - completed 1/8/22
10. A Traveller in Time by Alison Uttley (5) - completed 1/9/22
11. The Adventure of the Red-Headed League by Sherlock Holmes (short story) (4) - completed 1/9/22
12. The Adventure of the Empty House by Arthur Conan Doyle (short story) (3.5) - completed 1/10/22
13. The Final Problem by Arthur Conan Doyle (short story) (3.5) - completed 1/11/22
14. The Adventure of the Yellow Face by Arthur Conan Doyle (short story) (3) - completed 1/13/22
15. Last Train to Istanbul by Ayse Kulin (4) - completed 1/15/22
16. I Could Chew on This: And Other Poems by Dogs by Francesco Marciuliano (3.5) - completed 1/15/22
17. Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love by Dani Shapiro (4.5) - completed 1/16/22
18. The Adventure of the Dying Detective by Arthur Conan Doyle (short story) (4) - completed 1/16/22
19. The Adventure of the Norwood Builder by Arthur Conan Doyle (short story) (3.5) - completed 1/18/22
20. A Case of Identity by Arthur Conan Doyle (short story) (4) - completed 1/20/22
21. His Last Bow by Arthur Conan Doyle (short story) (3) - completed 1/23/22
22. The Sign of the Four by Arthur Conan Doyle (3.5) - completed 1/24/22
23. The Resistance Man by Martin Walker (3.5) - completed 1/26/22
24. Pere Goriot by Honore de Balzac (3.5) - completed 1/30/22
25. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (4) - completed 1/31/22
Books Read in February
26. The Adventure of Black Peter by Arthur Conan Doyle (short story) (3) - completed 2/1/22
27. The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle (5) - completed 2/2/22
28. Hana's Suitcase by Karen Levine (4.5) - completed 2/3/22
29. Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare (4) - completed 2/5/22
30. The Chalk Circle Man by Fred Vargas (4) - completed 2/6/22
31. The Five Orange Pips by Arthur Conan Doyle (3) - completed 2/6/22
32. A Chosen Exile: A History of Racial Passing in American Life by Allyson Hobbs (3) - completed 2/11/22
33. The Property by Rutu Modan (4) - completed 2/11/22
34. The Boscombe Valley Mystery by Arthur Conan Doyle (3.5) - completed 2/12/22
35. The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge by Arthur Conan Doyle (3) - completed 2/13/22
36. The Perpetual Curate by Margaret Oliphant (4.5) - completed 2/18/22
37. The Adventure of the Red Circle by Arthur Conan Doyle (4) - completed 2/19/22
38. The Children Return by Martin Walker (3.5) - completed 2/19/22
39. The Body Farm by Patricia Cornwell (4) - completed
40. The Reigate Puzzle by Arthur Conan Doyle (4) - completed 2/21/22
41. A Market Tale by Martin Walker (4) - completed 2/23/22
42. The Adventure of the Priory School by Arthur Conan Doyle (4) - completed 2/23/22
43. The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor by Arthur Conan Doyle (4) - completed 2/24/22
44. The Adventure of the Second Stain by Arthur Conan Doyle (4) - completed 2/25/22
45. The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle by Arthur Conan Doyle (4.5) - completed 2/26/22
46. Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari (2.5) - completed 2/27/22
47. The Adventure of the Three Students by Arthur Conan Doyle (4) - completed 2/27/22
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Books acquired in January
1. The Valley of Fear by Arthur Conan Doyle (free ebook) - 1/2/22
2. Book Lust to Go by Nancy Pearl (purchased) - 1/3/22
3. I Could Chew on This: And Other Poems by Dogs by Francesco Marciuliano (gift) - 1/15/22
4. The Property by Rutu Modan (purchased) - 1/22/22
Books acquired in February
5. The Perpetual Curate by Margaret Oliphant (free ebook) - 2/2/22
6. The Storm by Frederick Buechner (purchased) - 2/11/22
1. The Valley of Fear by Arthur Conan Doyle (free ebook) - 1/2/22
2. Book Lust to Go by Nancy Pearl (purchased) - 1/3/22
3. I Could Chew on This: And Other Poems by Dogs by Francesco Marciuliano (gift) - 1/15/22
4. The Property by Rutu Modan (purchased) - 1/22/22
Books acquired in February
5. The Perpetual Curate by Margaret Oliphant (free ebook) - 2/2/22
6. The Storm by Frederick Buechner (purchased) - 2/11/22
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American authors challenge
JANUARY - Graphic novels and/or non-fiction
Love, Loss, and What I Wore by Ilene Beckerman (3.5) - completed 1/1/22
To the Heart of the Storm by Will Eisner (4) - completed 1/1/22
FEBRUARY - Wild card
The Body Farm by Patricia Cornwell (4) - completed 2/20/22
MARCH
Bernard Malamud - The Fixer (4) - completed 3/29/22
APRIL - Wild card
A Familiar Wilderness: Searching for Home on Daniel Boone's Road by S. J. Dahlman (3.5) - completed 4/15/22
MAY - 19th century author
Life in the Iron Mills by Rebecca Harding Davis (3) - completed 5/13/22
JULY
Gish Jen - Typical American (4) - completed 7/29/22
AUGUST
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. - The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song (3.5) - completed 8/28/22
SEPTEMBER
OCTOBER
John McPhee - The Pine Barrens (4) - completed 10/20/22
NOVEMBER - Native American authors, themes, and history
Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann (4) - completed 11/13/22
JANUARY - Graphic novels and/or non-fiction
Love, Loss, and What I Wore by Ilene Beckerman (3.5) - completed 1/1/22
To the Heart of the Storm by Will Eisner (4) - completed 1/1/22
FEBRUARY - Wild card
The Body Farm by Patricia Cornwell (4) - completed 2/20/22
MARCH
Bernard Malamud - The Fixer (4) - completed 3/29/22
APRIL - Wild card
A Familiar Wilderness: Searching for Home on Daniel Boone's Road by S. J. Dahlman (3.5) - completed 4/15/22
MAY - 19th century author
Life in the Iron Mills by Rebecca Harding Davis (3) - completed 5/13/22
JULY
Gish Jen - Typical American (4) - completed 7/29/22
AUGUST
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. - The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song (3.5) - completed 8/28/22
SEPTEMBER
OCTOBER
John McPhee - The Pine Barrens (4) - completed 10/20/22
NOVEMBER - Native American authors, themes, and history
Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann (4) - completed 11/13/22
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British authors challenge
JANUARY - Children's Classics
A Traveller in Time by Alison Uttley (5) - completed 1/9/22
FEBRUARY - Wild Card
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle (5) - completed 2/2/22
MARCH - Interwar Period
Diary of a Provincial Lady by E. M. Delafield (3) - completed 3/20/22
APRIL
Kamila Shamsie - Broken Verses (3.5) - completed 4/30/22
MAY - Comic books/graphic novels & audiobooks
Ethel & Ernest by Raymond Briggs (4) - completed 5/1/22
Richard II by William Shakespeare (4) - audio completed 5/8/22
Fatal Pursuit by Martin Walker (3.5) - audio completed 5/12/22
JUNE
E. F. Benson - Miss Mapp (3.5) - completed 6/22/22
JULY - Georgian era
The Vicar of Wrexhill by Frances Trollope (4) - completed 7/18/22
AUGUST - Espionage
Destination Unknown by Agatha Christie (4) - completed 8/8/22
SEPTEMBER - Retellings, continuations, and non-series prequels & sequels
Jane Fairfax by Joan Aiken (3) - completed 9/29/22
OCTOBER
Aminatta Forna - Happiness (4.5) - completed 10/31/22
NOVEMBER
DECEMBER - Books about books
How to Be a Heroine by Samantha Ellis (3) - completed 12/26/22
JANUARY - Children's Classics
A Traveller in Time by Alison Uttley (5) - completed 1/9/22
FEBRUARY - Wild Card
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle (5) - completed 2/2/22
MARCH - Interwar Period
Diary of a Provincial Lady by E. M. Delafield (3) - completed 3/20/22
APRIL
Kamila Shamsie - Broken Verses (3.5) - completed 4/30/22
MAY - Comic books/graphic novels & audiobooks
Ethel & Ernest by Raymond Briggs (4) - completed 5/1/22
Richard II by William Shakespeare (4) - audio completed 5/8/22
Fatal Pursuit by Martin Walker (3.5) - audio completed 5/12/22
JUNE
E. F. Benson - Miss Mapp (3.5) - completed 6/22/22
JULY - Georgian era
The Vicar of Wrexhill by Frances Trollope (4) - completed 7/18/22
AUGUST - Espionage
Destination Unknown by Agatha Christie (4) - completed 8/8/22
SEPTEMBER - Retellings, continuations, and non-series prequels & sequels
Jane Fairfax by Joan Aiken (3) - completed 9/29/22
OCTOBER
Aminatta Forna - Happiness (4.5) - completed 10/31/22
NOVEMBER
DECEMBER - Books about books
How to Be a Heroine by Samantha Ellis (3) - completed 12/26/22
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Asian books challenge
JANUARY - Turkish authors
Last Train to Istanbul by Ayse Kulin (4) - completed 1/15/22
FEBRUARY - Israeli & Palestinian authors
The Property by Rutu Modan (4) - completed 2/11/22
Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari (2.5) - completed 2/27/22
MARCH - The Arab World
The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf by Mohja Kahf (3.5) - completed 3/24/22
APRIL - Persia - Iranian authors
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi (4) - completed 4/2/22
MAY - The Stans
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (4.5) - completed 5/29/22
JUNE - The Indian Subcontinent
Clear Light of Day by Anita Desai (4) - completed 6/30/22
JULY - Chinese authors
Red Mandarin Dress by Qiu Xiaolong (3.5) - completed 7/9/22
AUGUST - Japanese authors
The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa (4) - completed 8/21/22
SEPTEMBER - Korean authors
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee (3.5) - completed 9/21/22
OCTOBER - Indochina
Paradise of the Blind by Duong Thu Huong (4.5) - completed 10/29/22
NOVEMBER - The Malay Archipelago
DECEMBER - The Asian diaspora
The Family Chao by Lan Samantha Chang (4) - completed 12/23/22
JANUARY - Turkish authors
Last Train to Istanbul by Ayse Kulin (4) - completed 1/15/22
FEBRUARY - Israeli & Palestinian authors
The Property by Rutu Modan (4) - completed 2/11/22
Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari (2.5) - completed 2/27/22
MARCH - The Arab World
The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf by Mohja Kahf (3.5) - completed 3/24/22
APRIL - Persia - Iranian authors
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi (4) - completed 4/2/22
MAY - The Stans
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (4.5) - completed 5/29/22
JUNE - The Indian Subcontinent
Clear Light of Day by Anita Desai (4) - completed 6/30/22
JULY - Chinese authors
Red Mandarin Dress by Qiu Xiaolong (3.5) - completed 7/9/22
AUGUST - Japanese authors
The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa (4) - completed 8/21/22
SEPTEMBER - Korean authors
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee (3.5) - completed 9/21/22
OCTOBER - Indochina
Paradise of the Blind by Duong Thu Huong (4.5) - completed 10/29/22
NOVEMBER - The Malay Archipelago
DECEMBER - The Asian diaspora
The Family Chao by Lan Samantha Chang (4) - completed 12/23/22
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Nonfiction challenge
JANUARY - Prizewinners & nominees
Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love by Dani Shapiro (4.5) - completed 1/16/22
FEBRUARY - Welcome to the Anthropocene
Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari (2.5) - completed 2/27/22
MARCH - Espionage
The Nazi Hunters by Neal Bascombe (4.5) - completed 3/12/22
APRIL - Armchair traveling
A Familiar Wilderness: Searching for Home on Daniel Boone's Road by S. J. Dahlman (3.5) - completed 4/15/22
MAY - From Wars to Peace
The Liberators: America's Witnesses to the Holocaust by Michael Hirsh (5) - completed 5/22/22
JULY - Books by journalists
Around the World on Two Wheels by Peter Zheutlin (5) - completed 7/5/22
AUGUST - Cross genre
Slaves in the Family by Edward Ball (4) - completed 8/17/22
SEPTEMBER - Biography
The Lady from the Black Lagoon by Mallory O'Meara (3) - completed 9/8/22
OCTOBER
NOVEMBER - Books about books
Shakespeare Basics for Grown-Ups by E. Foley & B. Coates (3.5) - completed 11/30/22
DECEMBER - As you like it
How to Be a Heroine by Samantha Ellis (3) - completed 12/26/22
JANUARY - Prizewinners & nominees
Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love by Dani Shapiro (4.5) - completed 1/16/22
FEBRUARY - Welcome to the Anthropocene
Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari (2.5) - completed 2/27/22
MARCH - Espionage
The Nazi Hunters by Neal Bascombe (4.5) - completed 3/12/22
APRIL - Armchair traveling
A Familiar Wilderness: Searching for Home on Daniel Boone's Road by S. J. Dahlman (3.5) - completed 4/15/22
MAY - From Wars to Peace
The Liberators: America's Witnesses to the Holocaust by Michael Hirsh (5) - completed 5/22/22
JULY - Books by journalists
Around the World on Two Wheels by Peter Zheutlin (5) - completed 7/5/22
AUGUST - Cross genre
Slaves in the Family by Edward Ball (4) - completed 8/17/22
SEPTEMBER - Biography
The Lady from the Black Lagoon by Mallory O'Meara (3) - completed 9/8/22
OCTOBER
NOVEMBER - Books about books
Shakespeare Basics for Grown-Ups by E. Foley & B. Coates (3.5) - completed 11/30/22
DECEMBER - As you like it
How to Be a Heroine by Samantha Ellis (3) - completed 12/26/22
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AuthorCAT (Category challenge)
JANUARY - Indigenous Authors
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (4) - completed 1/31/22
FEBRUARY - 19th century authors
The Perpetual Curate by Margaret Oliphant (4.5) - completed 2/18/22
MARCH - Authors first published at age 40 or later
The Doctors Blackwell by Janice P. Nimura (4) - completed 3/9/22
Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder (4) - completed 3/15/22
Unto Us a Son Is Given by Donna Leon (4) - completed 3/15/22
APRIL - Debut authors
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi (4) - completed 4/2/22
MAY - Authors from your own country
The League of Frightened Men by Rex Stout (4) - completed 5/27/22
JUNE - Nonfiction authors
Imagined London by Anna Quindlen (3.5) - completed 6/5/22
The Stranger in My Genes by Bill Griffeth (4) - completed 6/24/22
JULY - Asian authors
Red Mandarin Dress by Qiu Xiaolong (3.5) - completed 7/9/22
AUGUST - Prize winning authors
The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa (4) - completed 8/21/22
The Dragonfly Pool by Eva Ibbotson (3.5) - completed 8/24/22
SEPTEMBER - African authors
Life & Times of Michael K by J. M. Coetzee (3.5) - completed 9/19/22
OCTOBER - Authors in translation
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert (3.5) - completed 10/7/22
Paradise of the Blind by Duong Thu Huong (4.5) - completed 10/29/22
NOVEMBER - Authors who set their books against real events
The American Agent by Jacqueline Winspear (4.5) - completed 11/15/22
JANUARY - Indigenous Authors
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (4) - completed 1/31/22
FEBRUARY - 19th century authors
The Perpetual Curate by Margaret Oliphant (4.5) - completed 2/18/22
MARCH - Authors first published at age 40 or later
The Doctors Blackwell by Janice P. Nimura (4) - completed 3/9/22
Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder (4) - completed 3/15/22
Unto Us a Son Is Given by Donna Leon (4) - completed 3/15/22
APRIL - Debut authors
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi (4) - completed 4/2/22
MAY - Authors from your own country
The League of Frightened Men by Rex Stout (4) - completed 5/27/22
JUNE - Nonfiction authors
Imagined London by Anna Quindlen (3.5) - completed 6/5/22
The Stranger in My Genes by Bill Griffeth (4) - completed 6/24/22
JULY - Asian authors
Red Mandarin Dress by Qiu Xiaolong (3.5) - completed 7/9/22
AUGUST - Prize winning authors
The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa (4) - completed 8/21/22
The Dragonfly Pool by Eva Ibbotson (3.5) - completed 8/24/22
SEPTEMBER - African authors
Life & Times of Michael K by J. M. Coetzee (3.5) - completed 9/19/22
OCTOBER - Authors in translation
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert (3.5) - completed 10/7/22
Paradise of the Blind by Duong Thu Huong (4.5) - completed 10/29/22
NOVEMBER - Authors who set their books against real events
The American Agent by Jacqueline Winspear (4.5) - completed 11/15/22
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CATWoman (Category challenge)
JANUARY - Biography/Autobiography/memoir by women
Love, Loss, and What I Wore by Ilene Beckerman (3.5) - completed 1/1/22
Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love by Dani Shapiro (4.5) - completed 1/16/22
FEBRUARY - Women in translation
The Chalk Circle Man by Fred Vargas (4) - completed 2/6/22
The Property by Rutu Modan (4) - completed 2/11/22
MARCH - Women pioneers
The Doctors Blackwell by Janice P. Nimura (4) - completed 3/9/22
Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder (4) - completed 3/15/22
Letters of a Woman Homesteader by Elinore Pruitt Stewart (4) - completed 3/24/22
APRIL - Women of color
All That She Carried by Tiya Miles (4) - completed 4/9/22
MAY - Classics by women
Life in the Iron Mills by Rebecca Harding Davis (3) - completed 5/13/22
JUNE - Books set in cities or about cities by women
Imagined London by Anna Quindlen (3.5) - completed 6/5/22
JULY - Women in science
AUGUST - Children's/YA/Graphic novels
The Dragonfly Pool by Eva Ibbotson (3.5) - completed 8/24/22
SEPTEMBER
OCTOBER - Women and crime
Light Thickens by Ngaio Marsh (4) - completed 10/20/22
JANUARY - Biography/Autobiography/memoir by women
Love, Loss, and What I Wore by Ilene Beckerman (3.5) - completed 1/1/22
Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love by Dani Shapiro (4.5) - completed 1/16/22
FEBRUARY - Women in translation
The Chalk Circle Man by Fred Vargas (4) - completed 2/6/22
The Property by Rutu Modan (4) - completed 2/11/22
MARCH - Women pioneers
The Doctors Blackwell by Janice P. Nimura (4) - completed 3/9/22
Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder (4) - completed 3/15/22
Letters of a Woman Homesteader by Elinore Pruitt Stewart (4) - completed 3/24/22
APRIL - Women of color
All That She Carried by Tiya Miles (4) - completed 4/9/22
MAY - Classics by women
Life in the Iron Mills by Rebecca Harding Davis (3) - completed 5/13/22
JUNE - Books set in cities or about cities by women
Imagined London by Anna Quindlen (3.5) - completed 6/5/22
JULY - Women in science
AUGUST - Children's/YA/Graphic novels
The Dragonfly Pool by Eva Ibbotson (3.5) - completed 8/24/22
SEPTEMBER
OCTOBER - Women and crime
Light Thickens by Ngaio Marsh (4) - completed 10/20/22
15cbl_tn
ShakespeareCAT
JANUARY - King Lear
Pere Goriot by Honore de Balzac (3.5) - completed 1/30/22
FEBRUARY
Much Ado About Nothing (4) - completed 2/5/22
MARCH - Book based on a Shakespeare play
The Storm by Frederick Buechner (3.5) - completed 3/31/22
APRIL - Hamlet
Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell (4) - completed 4/25/22
MAY - Shakespeare's kings/medieval history
Richard II (4) - completed 5/8/22
JUNE - Ancient history
Coriolanus (4) - completed 6/30/22
JULY - Justice
Measure for Measure (3) - completed 7/31/22
AUGUST - Lesser known works
The Comedy of Errors (4) - completed 8/19/22
SEPTEMBER - Sonnets/Poems
The Wit and Wisdom of Shakespeare by Darrel Walters (4) - completed 9/28/22
OCTOBER - Macbeth
Light Thickens by Ngaio Marsh (4) - completed 10/20/22
NOVEMBER - Books about Shakespeare/the Globe
Shakespeare Basics for Grown-Ups by E. Foley & B. Coates (3.5) - completed 11/30/22
DECEMBER - A Winter's Tale
Winter's Tales by Isak Dinesen (4) - completed 12/30/22
JANUARY - King Lear
Pere Goriot by Honore de Balzac (3.5) - completed 1/30/22
FEBRUARY
Much Ado About Nothing (4) - completed 2/5/22
MARCH - Book based on a Shakespeare play
The Storm by Frederick Buechner (3.5) - completed 3/31/22
APRIL - Hamlet
Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell (4) - completed 4/25/22
MAY - Shakespeare's kings/medieval history
Richard II (4) - completed 5/8/22
JUNE - Ancient history
Coriolanus (4) - completed 6/30/22
JULY - Justice
Measure for Measure (3) - completed 7/31/22
AUGUST - Lesser known works
The Comedy of Errors (4) - completed 8/19/22
SEPTEMBER - Sonnets/Poems
The Wit and Wisdom of Shakespeare by Darrel Walters (4) - completed 9/28/22
OCTOBER - Macbeth
Light Thickens by Ngaio Marsh (4) - completed 10/20/22
NOVEMBER - Books about Shakespeare/the Globe
Shakespeare Basics for Grown-Ups by E. Foley & B. Coates (3.5) - completed 11/30/22
DECEMBER - A Winter's Tale
Winter's Tales by Isak Dinesen (4) - completed 12/30/22
16cbl_tn
Group reads
The Resistance Man by Martin Walker (3.5) - completed 1/26/22
A Chosen Exile: A History of Racial Passing in American Life by Allyson Hobbs (3) - completed 2/11/22
The Children Return by Martin Walker (3.5) - completed 2/19/22
The Doctors Blackwell by Janice P. Nimura (4) - completed 3/9/22
Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson (4) - completed 3/12/22
Unto Us a Son Is Given by Donna Leon (4) - completed 3/15/22
All That She Carried by Tiya Miles (4) - completed 4/9/22
The Patriarch by Martin Walker (3.5) - completed 4/20/22
The Women of the House by Jean Zimmerman (3) - completed 5/8/22
Fatal Pursuit by Martin Walker (3.5) - completed 5/12/22
Miss Mackenzie by Anthony Trollope (3.5) - completed 6/16/22
Trace Elements by Donna Leon (3) - completed 6/17/22
Around the World on Two Wheels by Peter Zheutlin (5) - completed 7/5/22
The Templars' Last Secret by Martin Walker (3.5) - completed 7/26/22
They Fought Like Demons: Women Soldiers in the Civil War by DeAnne Blanton & Lauren M. Cook (4) - completed 8/9/22
A Taste for Vengeance by Martin Walker (3.5) - completed 8/21/22
Transient Desires by Donna Leon (4) - completed 9/3/22
The Lady from the Black Lagoon by Mallory O'Meara (3) - completed 9/8/22
All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days by Rebecca Donner (4) - completed 10/9/22
Miss Marjoribanks by Margaret Oliphant (4) - completed 10/21/22
The Body in the Castle Well by Martin Walker (4) - completed 11/2/22
The Lost Ravioli Recipes of Hoboken by Laura Schenone (3.5) - completed 11/13/22
The Shooting at Chateau Rock by Martin Walker (3.5) - completed 12/3/
22
Give Unto Others by Donna Leon (3) - completed 12/29/22
The Resistance Man by Martin Walker (3.5) - completed 1/26/22
A Chosen Exile: A History of Racial Passing in American Life by Allyson Hobbs (3) - completed 2/11/22
The Children Return by Martin Walker (3.5) - completed 2/19/22
The Doctors Blackwell by Janice P. Nimura (4) - completed 3/9/22
Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson (4) - completed 3/12/22
Unto Us a Son Is Given by Donna Leon (4) - completed 3/15/22
All That She Carried by Tiya Miles (4) - completed 4/9/22
The Patriarch by Martin Walker (3.5) - completed 4/20/22
The Women of the House by Jean Zimmerman (3) - completed 5/8/22
Fatal Pursuit by Martin Walker (3.5) - completed 5/12/22
Miss Mackenzie by Anthony Trollope (3.5) - completed 6/16/22
Trace Elements by Donna Leon (3) - completed 6/17/22
Around the World on Two Wheels by Peter Zheutlin (5) - completed 7/5/22
The Templars' Last Secret by Martin Walker (3.5) - completed 7/26/22
They Fought Like Demons: Women Soldiers in the Civil War by DeAnne Blanton & Lauren M. Cook (4) - completed 8/9/22
A Taste for Vengeance by Martin Walker (3.5) - completed 8/21/22
Transient Desires by Donna Leon (4) - completed 9/3/22
The Lady from the Black Lagoon by Mallory O'Meara (3) - completed 9/8/22
All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days by Rebecca Donner (4) - completed 10/9/22
Miss Marjoribanks by Margaret Oliphant (4) - completed 10/21/22
The Body in the Castle Well by Martin Walker (4) - completed 11/2/22
The Lost Ravioli Recipes of Hoboken by Laura Schenone (3.5) - completed 11/13/22
The Shooting at Chateau Rock by Martin Walker (3.5) - completed 12/3/
22
Give Unto Others by Donna Leon (3) - completed 12/29/22
17cbl_tn
Reading Projects: Sherlock Holmes
The Adventure of the Cardboard Box (3) - completed 1/1/22
A Scandal in Bohemia (5) - completed 1/3/22
The Adventure of the Abbey Grange (4) - completed 1/4/22
The Man with the Twisted Lip (3.5) - completed 1/5/22
The Valley of Fear (4) - completed 1/7/22
Silver Blaze (4) - completed 1/8/22
The Adventure of the Red-Headed League (4) - completed 1/9/22
The Adventure of the Empty House (3.5) - completed 1/10/22
The Final Problem (3.5) - completed 1/11/22
The Adventure of the Yellow Face (3) - completed 1/13/22
The Adventure of the Dying Detective (4) - completed 1/16/22
The Adventure of the Norwood Builder (3.5) - completed 1/18/22
A Case of Identity (4) - completed 1/20/22
His Last Bow (3) - completed 1/23/22
The Sign of the Four (3.5) - completed 1/24/22
The Adventure of Black Peter (3) - completed 2/1/22
The Hound of the Baskervilles (5) - completed 2/2/22
The Five Orange Pips (3) - completed 2/6/22
The Boscombe Valley Mystery (3.5) - completed 2/12/22
The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge (3) - completed 2/13/22
The Adventure of the Red Circle (4) - completed 2/19/22
The Reigate Puzzle (4) - completed 2/21/22
The Adventure of the Priory School (4) - completed 2/23/22
The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor (4) - completed 2/24/22
The Adventure of the Second Stain (4) - completed 2/25/22
The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle (4.5) - completed 2/26/22
The Adventure of the Three Students (4) - completed 2/27/22
A Sherlock Holmes Devotional by Trisha White Priebe (2.5) - completed 3/1/22
The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb (4) - completed 3/3/22
A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro (3.5) - completed 3/6/22
The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet (3.5) - completed 3/6/22
The Adventure of the Stockbroker's Clerk (3.5) - completed 3/12/22
The Adventure of the Gloria Scott (3.5) - completed 3/17/22
The Musgrave Ritual (3.5) - completed 10/28/22
The Resident Patient (3.5) - completed 11/2/22
The Greek Interpreter (3.5) - completed 11/14/22
The Adventure of the Cardboard Box (3) - completed 1/1/22
A Scandal in Bohemia (5) - completed 1/3/22
The Adventure of the Abbey Grange (4) - completed 1/4/22
The Man with the Twisted Lip (3.5) - completed 1/5/22
The Valley of Fear (4) - completed 1/7/22
Silver Blaze (4) - completed 1/8/22
The Adventure of the Red-Headed League (4) - completed 1/9/22
The Adventure of the Empty House (3.5) - completed 1/10/22
The Final Problem (3.5) - completed 1/11/22
The Adventure of the Yellow Face (3) - completed 1/13/22
The Adventure of the Dying Detective (4) - completed 1/16/22
The Adventure of the Norwood Builder (3.5) - completed 1/18/22
A Case of Identity (4) - completed 1/20/22
His Last Bow (3) - completed 1/23/22
The Sign of the Four (3.5) - completed 1/24/22
The Adventure of Black Peter (3) - completed 2/1/22
The Hound of the Baskervilles (5) - completed 2/2/22
The Five Orange Pips (3) - completed 2/6/22
The Boscombe Valley Mystery (3.5) - completed 2/12/22
The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge (3) - completed 2/13/22
The Adventure of the Red Circle (4) - completed 2/19/22
The Reigate Puzzle (4) - completed 2/21/22
The Adventure of the Priory School (4) - completed 2/23/22
The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor (4) - completed 2/24/22
The Adventure of the Second Stain (4) - completed 2/25/22
The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle (4.5) - completed 2/26/22
The Adventure of the Three Students (4) - completed 2/27/22
A Sherlock Holmes Devotional by Trisha White Priebe (2.5) - completed 3/1/22
The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb (4) - completed 3/3/22
A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro (3.5) - completed 3/6/22
The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet (3.5) - completed 3/6/22
The Adventure of the Stockbroker's Clerk (3.5) - completed 3/12/22
The Adventure of the Gloria Scott (3.5) - completed 3/17/22
The Musgrave Ritual (3.5) - completed 10/28/22
The Resident Patient (3.5) - completed 11/2/22
The Greek Interpreter (3.5) - completed 11/14/22
18cbl_tn
Other Reading Projects
Holocaust Reading
Last Train to Istanbul by Ayse Kulin (4) - completed 1/15/22
Hana's Suitcase by Karen Levine (4.5) - completed 2/3/22
The Property by Rutu Modan (4) - completed 2/11/22
The Nazi Hunters by Neal Bascomb (4.5) - completed 3/12/22
My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me by Jennifer Teege (4) - completed 4/24/22
The Liberators: America's Witnesses to the Holocaust by Michael Hirsh (5) - completed 5/22/22
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon (4) - completed 6/15/22
Summer by Ali Smith (4) - completed 6/30/22
1,000 Books to Read Before You Die
Love, Loss, and What I Wore by Ilene Beckerman (3.5) - completed 1/1/22
Pere Goriot by Honore de Balzac (3.5) - completed 1/30/22
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (4) - completed 1/31/22
Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder (4) - completed 3/15/22
Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll (4.5) - completed 3/18/22
Diary of a Provincial Lady by E. M. Delafield (3) - completed 3/20/22
Letters of a Woman Homesteader by Elinore Pruitt Stewart (4) - completed 3/24/22
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (3.5) - completed 4/5/22
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt (3.5) - completed 4/27/22
A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett (4.5) - completed 5/21/22
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon (4) - completed 6/15/22
Clear Light of Day by Anita Desai (4) - completed 6/30/22
The Story of Babar, the Little Elephant by Jean de Brunhoff (3) - completed 8/1/22
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (5) - completed 8/3/22
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak (4) - completed 8/3/22
Slaves in the Family by Edward Ball (4) - completed 8/17/22
A Personal Record by Joseph Conrad (4) - completed 8/30/22
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick (3.5) - completed 9/5/22
Company by Samuel Becket (3) - completed 10/2/22
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert (3.5) - completed 10/7/22
Winter's Tales by Isak Dinesen (4) - completed 12/30/22
Grimms' Tales for Young and Old translated by Ralph Manheim (4.5) - completed 12/30/22
Agatha Christie
Spider's Web novelized by Charles Osborne (3.5) - completed 7/10/22
Destination Unknown by Agatha Christie (4) - completed 8/8/22
Hickory Dickory Dock by Agatha Christie (3.5) - completed 9/23/22
Rex Stout
The League of Frightened Men (4) - completed 5/27/22
The Rubber Band (4) - completed 7/24/22
The Red Box (4) - completed 9/11/22
Holocaust Reading
Last Train to Istanbul by Ayse Kulin (4) - completed 1/15/22
Hana's Suitcase by Karen Levine (4.5) - completed 2/3/22
The Property by Rutu Modan (4) - completed 2/11/22
The Nazi Hunters by Neal Bascomb (4.5) - completed 3/12/22
My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me by Jennifer Teege (4) - completed 4/24/22
The Liberators: America's Witnesses to the Holocaust by Michael Hirsh (5) - completed 5/22/22
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon (4) - completed 6/15/22
Summer by Ali Smith (4) - completed 6/30/22
1,000 Books to Read Before You Die
Love, Loss, and What I Wore by Ilene Beckerman (3.5) - completed 1/1/22
Pere Goriot by Honore de Balzac (3.5) - completed 1/30/22
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (4) - completed 1/31/22
Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder (4) - completed 3/15/22
Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll (4.5) - completed 3/18/22
Diary of a Provincial Lady by E. M. Delafield (3) - completed 3/20/22
Letters of a Woman Homesteader by Elinore Pruitt Stewart (4) - completed 3/24/22
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (3.5) - completed 4/5/22
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt (3.5) - completed 4/27/22
A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett (4.5) - completed 5/21/22
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon (4) - completed 6/15/22
Clear Light of Day by Anita Desai (4) - completed 6/30/22
The Story of Babar, the Little Elephant by Jean de Brunhoff (3) - completed 8/1/22
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (5) - completed 8/3/22
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak (4) - completed 8/3/22
Slaves in the Family by Edward Ball (4) - completed 8/17/22
A Personal Record by Joseph Conrad (4) - completed 8/30/22
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick (3.5) - completed 9/5/22
Company by Samuel Becket (3) - completed 10/2/22
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert (3.5) - completed 10/7/22
Winter's Tales by Isak Dinesen (4) - completed 12/30/22
Grimms' Tales for Young and Old translated by Ralph Manheim (4.5) - completed 12/30/22
Agatha Christie
Spider's Web novelized by Charles Osborne (3.5) - completed 7/10/22
Destination Unknown by Agatha Christie (4) - completed 8/8/22
Hickory Dickory Dock by Agatha Christie (3.5) - completed 9/23/22
Rex Stout
The League of Frightened Men (4) - completed 5/27/22
The Rubber Band (4) - completed 7/24/22
The Red Box (4) - completed 9/11/22
20cbl_tn
>18 cbl_tn: Thank you! All finished now! It took a while to wait for the touchstones to load in all the lists, and then I had to change some of them to the right book.
21quondame
>20 cbl_tn: Yep, that's a lot of touchstones.
22cbl_tn
>21 quondame: That's one reason I put off starting a new thread until this weekend! The other was that I needed to catch up on reviews. I fell behind when I was sick at the beginning of last month.
23PaulCranswick
Happy new thread, Carrie.
>18 cbl_tn:
We are pretty much neck and neck this year reading wise although you have done better on these two than I have in 2022 so far
>18 cbl_tn:
We are pretty much neck and neck this year reading wise although you have done better on these two than I have in 2022 so far
24cbl_tn
>23 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul! It's been a good reading year so far! Hard to believe we're halfway through already.
25PaulCranswick
>24 cbl_tn: Exactly so, Carrie!
27cbl_tn
>26 drneutron: Thanks, Jim!
28thornton37814
I need to start a new thread. I meant to do it Saturday but ended up going to the cross stitch store and stitching with the people there. It was fun to sit with other people and stitch. (I actually went to Johnson City to the PetsMart to avoid the Sevierville and Knoxville crowds. The cross stitch store was a side benefit, but I already suspected I might sit and stitch. I needed a few fibers and I was interested in the new Punch Needle and Primitive Stitcher magazine and in one of the new Brenda Gervais designs they had posted to their FB page. I got both of those. Then they had a stash of free patterns left over from the local embroiderer's guild pattern swap. I only got a few--the ones I thought I might really stitch. One will be a challenge for me if I do it. It has a lot of specialty stitches, but I really like the design, and it has the Creation verses from Genesis.)
29cbl_tn
>28 thornton37814: Sounds like fun!
31cbl_tn
>30 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita! Yes, it's my typical view of Adrian - the top of his head while he's sleeping!
32cbl_tn
96. Around the World on Two Wheels by Peter Zheutlin
In 1894, Jewish wife and mother Annie Kopchovsky, for reasons known only to herself, undertook to circumnavigate the world on a bicycle within fifteen months. She became known to the world as Annie Londonderry. More than a century later, her great-grandnephew, a freelance journalist, reconstructed her story, largely from the newspaper accounts that followed her around the globe. Annie left widely conflicting accounts of her experiences and her personal life. Zheutlin’s reconciliation of numerous inconsistencies no doubt represents countless hours of organizing material and comparing details. This enterprising Victorian woman’s story gives readers a glimpse of late Gilded Age popular culture, as Zheutlin provides context for Annie’s journey with information about early bicycle manufacturing and cycling clubs, the women’s movement of the era, and contemporaries who undertook similar challenges.
5 stars
33cbl_tn
97. Red Mandarin Dress by Qiu Xiaolong
When Shanghai’s Chief Inspector Chen is asked to look into a politically charged corruption case, he begs off with the excuse that his studies for his literature course won’t give him enough time for it. He’s been meaning to enroll in a literature course, so what better time than now? Chen’s course also keeps him away from headquarters as his colleagues investigate a serial murder case in which the victims are found wearing red mandarin dresses. Even though he is officially on leave, Chen works behind the scenes to help his partner Yu identify and catch the serial killer.
I didn’t enjoy this series installment as much as I’ve liked earlier books in the series. It’s been several years since I read the last book in this series, but Chen seemed more impulsive than the Chen I remembered. It seems surprising that Chen could decide to take a leave of absence or go on vacation without letting his employer know what he was doing. This book didn’t include as much poetry as I remember from previous books in the series, but classical Chinese literature is more prominent in this one. I didn’t enjoy the descriptions of food, particularly the “cruel dishes”. There wasn’t enough of Yu’s wife, Peiqin, a sharp woman whose insight is often helpful in investigations, and Yu’s father, Old Hunter, only appears at the other end of a telephone and readers don’t even get to hear his voice.
I liked the historical antecedents of the crime in China’s Cultural Revolution, and what amounts to an insider’s perspective of that era. Chen’s reflections on the differences between between Chinese culture and philosophy and Western culture and Freudian psychology were also interesting.
3.5 stars
34cbl_tn
98. Spider's Web by Agatha Christie; adapted by Charles Osborne
The disposal of a corpse holds a lot of comedic possibilities, and it’s been used in memorable films such as The Trouble with Harry, plays such as Arsenic and Old Lace, and even in the staging of the opera Gianni Schicchi. It should be no surprise that Agatha Christie would take a stab at this plot. This is one of Christie’s original dramas that wasn’t based on an earlier novel or story. Charles Osborne provides a readable novelization of Christie’s play, but while the plot is obviously Christie’s, it doesn’t read like a novel Christie would have written. Christie had a knack for conveying action through dialogue. Osborne’s novelization is heavy on description, and it reads as if he turned stage directions into prose without much editing (which is probably exactly what he did).
3.5 stars
36cbl_tn
>35 bell7: Thanks, Mary!
37BLBera
Happy new thread, Carrie. You are approaching 100! I don't see that your reading has slowed. Around the World on Two Wheels sounds fascinating. I'm going to search for it.
38tymfos
Hi, Carrie! Wow, you've almost read 100 already, and we're just slightly past halfway through the year! My own reading has been very sporadic this year.
39cbl_tn
>37 BLBera: >38 tymfos: Thanks, Beth & Terri! My numbers are artifically inflated because of all the Sherlock Holmes stories I read during the winter months. (Or rather, listened to while I learned to knit.) They've all been published separately so I added them to my library so I could review them, but even the longest stories didn't take much more than an hour of listening time.
I read the Sherlock Holmes stories because I was using a devotional book based on the stories, and I wanted to read the story before reading the devotion based on it. I can't recommend the devotional book, but I loved the stories, and I'll probably read the rest next winter when I'm not spending as much time outdoors.
I like my current devotional book a lot better. It's animal stories. We can learn a lot from our animal friends!
I read the Sherlock Holmes stories because I was using a devotional book based on the stories, and I wanted to read the story before reading the devotion based on it. I can't recommend the devotional book, but I loved the stories, and I'll probably read the rest next winter when I'm not spending as much time outdoors.
I like my current devotional book a lot better. It's animal stories. We can learn a lot from our animal friends!
40lindapanzo
Wow, you've read lots this year, including many good books.
In the second half, I'm hoping to read more Bruno books, among other things.
In the second half, I'm hoping to read more Bruno books, among other things.
41cbl_tn
>40 lindapanzo: I'm glad you're enjoying the Bruno books! I am doing OK keeping up with reading, but falling way behind on posting and reviewing.
42cbl_tn
99. The Vicar of Wrexhill by Frances Trollope
The Mowbray family was part of the gentry of the English village of Wrexhill. To the great misfortune of his family, Charles Mowbray died just weeks after Reverend Cartwright became the vicar of Wrexhill. Mowbray made an unusual will, leaving most of his estate to his youngish widow instead of to his son. This led to a rift with the will’s co-executor, which in turn led to the widow’s growing reliance on the new vicar. The Machiavellian vicar uses the trappings of religion to gain control over the widow and many of the young women of Wrexhill, and to inflict suffering on those who are canny enough to see through his pretenses.
Trollope’s dialogue is overly flowery and doesn’t ring true. She evidently didn’t have Austen’s gift for authentic dialogue. However, her characterization of the wicked vicar is chillingly realistic. I had a hard time tearing myself away from this novel when I needed to do other things. It seems like the kind of plot that would translate well to screen, and I’m surprised it hasn’t already been done.
4 stars
43cbl_tn
100. The Rubber Band by Rex Stout
Private detective Nero Wolfe takes on two seemingly unrelated cases linked by a beautiful young woman. If Wolfe manages to absolve her of charges of theft, she may end up being charged with murder. Between Wolfe’s brains and his assistant Archie’s leg work, the reader can be sure that the pair will solve both puzzles.
Archie Goodwin’s first-person narration is the key to this series’s enduring appeal. Archie’s sarcastic wit softens the edges of Wolfe’s irritating personality. He’s often irritated by Wolfe’s eccentricities, but his irritation is tempered by respect and even affection for his boss. Readers see Wolfe through Archie’s eyes, and that makes all the difference.
4 stars
44cbl_tn
101. The Templars' Last Secret by Martin Walker
The apparently accidental death of a woman spraying graffiti on a cliff below a medieval castle becomes more complicated when the authorities learn that the dead woman was an activist and an archaeologist with a far-fetched theory that suddenly becomes more plausible after her death. Once again, St. Denis municipal policeman and army veteran Bruno is seconded to the Brigadier since the case has international implications. Bruno is also being shadowed by a Haitian lawyer and aspiring politician who is writing a report on municipal policing. Even though she is there only to observe, Amélie’s social media and internet searching skills prove helpful in the investigation. Meanwhile, Bruno is preparing for the wedding of his archaeologist friends, Horst and Clothilde.
This series has settled into a predictable but entertaining formula, where criminals and/or terrorists descend on the Dordogne and divert Bruno’s attention from St. Denis’s minor police matters to international affairs. It walks a fine line between thriller and cozy village mystery, with just enough from each genre to tempt readers out of their comfort zones. It’s nice to see familiar faces from earlier books in the series make an appearance in this book. However, readers should beware that these appearances generally come with spoilery references to their first appearance in the series.
3.5 stars
45cbl_tn
102. The Chocolate War by Martin Walker
The short stories in the Bruno series highlight the town of St. Denis and Bruno’s role as the municipal policeman. The simpler plots showcase Bruno’s conflict management skills in resolving fairly minor interpersonal conflicts. The stories also have something to do with food, one of Bruno’s off-duty interests. In this story, Bruno makes peace between Senegalese market vendors and the local cafe owner who is losing market day business to their cheaper coffee sales.
3.5 stars
46cbl_tn
103. Typical American by Gish Jen
Yifeng, the only son in a Chinese family, goes to the United States to study engineering, with plans to return to China. After the Communist takeover in China, Yifeng, now known as Ralph, is unable to return to China. He is reunited with his older sister, Theresa, and together they make a new, typically American, life.
This is both a family story and a character study. The family unit of Ralph, Theresa, and Ralph’s wife, Helen, is central to the novel, and the story would be incomplete without any one of them. The author’s quirky writing style resonated with me, and I look forward to reading more of her work, maybe with a reading group.
4 stars
47cbl_tn
104. Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare
When Claudio is condemned to hang for getting his fiancee Juliet pregnant before their wedding, the Duke of Vienna’s deputy, Angelo, offer’s Claudio’s sister, Isabella, a way to save her brother’s life. Angelo will spare Claudio’s life if Isabella, a novitiate preparing to become a nun, will sleep with him. Isabella would rather see her brother die than lose her virtue, but nevertheless she tells her brother of Angelo’s offer. It seems Claudio would rather live than allow his sister to keep her virtue, so Isabella steels herself to do what she must to save her brother’s life. Fortunately, the Duke of Vienna hasn’t actually gone away. He’s disguised himself as a friar, and in this disguise he is able to come up with a solution that will make everyone happy.
In a way, the issue still feels contemporary in these days of MeToo. However, I didn’t find much comedy in this plot, nor many sympathetic characters.
3 stars
48PaulCranswick
Good to see you back posting, Carrie.
I haven't read or seen Measure for Measure but the Bard was as prolific as he was without peer.
I haven't read or seen Measure for Measure but the Bard was as prolific as he was without peer.
49cbl_tn
>48 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul! I have been spending a lot of time outside in what would normally be my posting time. I miss all my friends here, though!
50cbl_tn
July Recap
Books owned: 2
Books borrowed: 1
Ebooks owned: 1
Ebooks borrowed: 3
eAudiobooks borrowed: 2
Best of the month: Around the World on Two Wheels by Peter Zheutlin
Worst of the month: Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare
Books owned: 2
Books borrowed: 1
Ebooks owned: 1
Ebooks borrowed: 3
eAudiobooks borrowed: 2
Best of the month: Around the World on Two Wheels by Peter Zheutlin
Worst of the month: Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare
51cbl_tn
105. The Story of Babar, the Little Elephant by Jean de Brunhoff
When a hunter kills his mother, the little elephant Babar is so frightened that he runs away and ends up in a big city. He buys himself some nice clothes and accepts a nice Old Lady’s invitation to live at her house. Time passes, and then Babar has an unexpected meeting with his elephant cousins, who have run away. When their mothers come to fetch them, Babar decides to return to the forest with them, where he will become the king of the elephants.
The story and the lovely illustrations have enchanted generations of children. It doesn’t appeal so much to this adult. There doesn’t seem to be much substance to the story, although I might feel differently about it if I had fond childhood memories of reading it. Also, I don’t like stories where animals die.
3 stars
52cbl_tn
106. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
I watched the movie The Wizard of Oz so many times as a child that I practically had the film memorized, but I had never read the book it was based on. Some of the details in the book were changed in the film version. (For instance, Dorothy’s shoes are silver in the book, not red as in the movie.) There are scenes in the book that were left out of the movie. Despite the differences, the book is just as enjoyable as the film. I enjoyed traveling the yellow brick road with Dorothy and Toto, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion. And I can’t imagine a narrator who could better Brooke Shields’ audio performance.
5 stars
53cbl_tn
107. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Pretend wolf Max gets a little too rambunctious in his solitary play, so his mother sends him to bed without his supper. In Max’s imagination, his room turns into a jungle full of wild beasts who frolic wildly with him until he tires and turns into a calm and hungry little boy.
As a child, my brother and I didn’t play wildly indoors as Max does in the book. Running and yelling were outdoor activities for us. I have no memory of reading this book as a child, but if I did, I must not have related to Max because I couldn’t picture myself in his shoes.
4 stars
54tymfos
Hi, Carrie! The Vicar of Wrexhill sounds interesting.
55Donna828
Catching up with you, Carrie. I’ve been lax about visiting threads this summer. I like how you have been keeping up with the ‘1000 books before you die’ list. I need to see if any of my reads this year fit that category and tag them.
You have me intrigued about Around the World on Two Wheels. I love travel books of every kind and the history would be a bonus. Of course, my local library doesn’t have this. Another one to look for at the upcoming library book sale.
You have me intrigued about Around the World on Two Wheels. I love travel books of every kind and the history would be a bonus. Of course, my local library doesn’t have this. Another one to look for at the upcoming library book sale.
56cbl_tn
>54 tymfos: Hi Terri! I was surprised by how much I enjoyed The Vicar of Wrexhill. I'm glad I gave it a try!
>55 Donna828: Hi Donna! I have been horrible about visiting threads. I have been outside every chance I get. I'd be happy to send Around the World on Two Wheels to you as soon as it comes back to me. I loaned it to a friend at church. Just send me a PM with your address!
>55 Donna828: Hi Donna! I have been horrible about visiting threads. I have been outside every chance I get. I'd be happy to send Around the World on Two Wheels to you as soon as it comes back to me. I loaned it to a friend at church. Just send me a PM with your address!
57cbl_tn
108. Destination Unknown by Agatha Christie
Top scientists are disappearing from Western nations, among them Thomas Betterton. His young bride insists she knows nothing about it, but British intelligence suspects otherwise. When Mrs. Betterton dies in an accident in Morocco, as fate would have it, a suicidal young Englishwoman with similar features is persuaded to assume Mrs. Betterton’s identity. As Hilary Craven is drawn deeper into danger, she finds a renewed will to live.
This stand-alone Christie is more spy novel than murder mystery. Some readers will likely find the cold war plot dated, yet with a few minor changes it could resemble contemporary conspiracy theories.
4 stars
58cbl_tn
109. They Fought Like Demons: Women Soldiers in the Civil War by DeAnne Blanton & Lauren M. Cook
Before reading this book, I was aware of one or two women who fought in the U.S. Civil War disguised as men. After reading this book, I now know that there were many more than one or two. It seems like women soldiers were an open secret during the war, and many, if not most, of the combatants were aware that there were women in their midst.
With few surviving letters or journals written by women soldiers, the authors pieced together mentions of women soldiers from official records, newspaper accounts, letters and journals written by men who served, and memoirs and recollections of war veterans. The bibliography and end notes show evidence of extensive research, yet much of the evidence is indirect. The authors accepted at face value the account of Melverina Elverina Peppercorn’s service as recounted in the 1916 memoir of Elizabeth Avery Meriwether, yet Melverina and her brother Alexander the Great don’t appear in contemporary censuses, Find-a-grave memorials, etc. It seems more likely that Melverina was either a pseudonym for someone whose identity Meriwether wanted to protect or a composite of women who served in the Civil War.
4 stars
59alcottacre
>57 cbl_tn: I do not remember ever reading that one. I will have to see if I can find a copy.
>58 cbl_tn: That one sounds good too! Into the BlackHole it goes.
Have a super Saturday, Carrie!
>58 cbl_tn: That one sounds good too! Into the BlackHole it goes.
Have a super Saturday, Carrie!
60cbl_tn
>59 alcottacre: Thanks, Stasia! Do you listen to audiobooks? The audio of Destination Unknown is narrated by Emilia Fox and it was an Audie Award finalist. I will be on the lookout for more books read by her. I really liked her performance.
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110. Slaves in the Family by Edward Ball
Several generations of author Edward Ball’s South Carolina forebears were large slave-holding rice planters. Ball grew up hearing stories about the family’s past, and as an adult he became interested in locating descendants of persons who had been enslaved by the Ball family, at least some of whom were likely related to him by blood. Many of the Ball family papers survive and are dispersed among several archival repositories. Ball was able to trace several slave families back to the first African arrival.
Had Ball written this book just a decade or so later, it might have looked quite different. Genealogical DNA testing companies were in their infancy at the time Ball was writing this book. DNA testing might have confirmed Ball’s suspicions about the paternity of some of the persons enslaved by Ball family members. Several years later, Ball wrote The Genetic Strand in which he uses DNA to explore family mysteries. I want to read this book to see if it sheds more light on the lives of those who are profiled in Slaves in the Family.
This is an important book for many reasons. The author wrestles with the legacy of slavery for both descendants of enslaved persons and descendants of their enslavers. It’s also a history of rice plantation culture, a history of Charleston, and a history of South Carolina during the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. I found it a little hard to follow as the structure is only somewhat chronological. The chapters alternate between a chronological history and contemporary memoir of Ball’s meetings with descendants of Ball slaves. I noticed quite a bit of repetition in the narrative that ought to have been edited out of such a long book. I read the paperback edition, from which the author’s account of his visit to Africa has been removed.
4 stars
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111. The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare
Shakespeare set this farce about identical twins in the ancient world. Early in the play, the father of one set of twins explains how the pairs were separated in a ship wreck. This background prepares the audience for scene after scene of mistaken identity as the Syracusan and Ephesian pairs move about Ephesus. I read along as I listened to the Arkangel audio production and laughed aloud at the characters’ confusion. It doesn’t pay to think too deeply about the plot.
4 stars
63cbl_tn
112. A Taste for Vengeance by Martin Walker
At the request of his friend Pamela, St. Denis municipal policeman Bruno Courrèges looks into one of Pamela’s cooking school guests whose failure to arrive at the appointed time worries her. Bruno, the newly appointed head of the Vézère Valley police, calls on his new colleagues for assistance. It’s not long before they find the missing woman and her Irish lover dead. On first appearance it seems to be a murder-suicide, but things don’t quite add up. Since the case appears to have ties to international terrorism, Bruno once again partners with his old lover, Isabelle, to solve the case. Meanwhile, Bruno is excitedly optimistic that the captain of St. Denis’s girl’s rugby team will be named to the French national team. However, news of Paulette’s unplanned pregnancy throws this into doubt.
Long-time series readers have by now come to expect Bruno’s major case to involve terrorists and for Bruno to be seconded to the Brigadier. Bruno’s new appointment adds a twist to the series formula as Bruno tries to figure out his chain of command. I didn’t care for the unplanned pregnancy plot line.
3.5 stars
64alcottacre
>60 cbl_tn: I do listen to audiobooks. I will have to see if I can find that one. Thanks for the mention!
>61 cbl_tn: I agree with you that some judicious editing could have been used in the book. I rated it a 4 just as you did.
Have a great rest of your week, Carrie!
>61 cbl_tn: I agree with you that some judicious editing could have been used in the book. I rated it a 4 just as you did.
Have a great rest of your week, Carrie!
65cbl_tn
>64 alcottacre: Thanks, Stasia! Today is "hump day" so I'm already looking forward to the weekend!
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113. The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa
A single mother working for a housekeeping agency is assigned to keep house for a retired mathematics professor with memory problems. Due to an accident he suffered years earlier, his short-term memory lasts only eighty minutes. Each morning when the housekeeper arrives, it’s as if the professor is meeting her for the first time. Despite these limitations, the housekeeper and the professor form an unlikely friendship, strengthened by the professor’s affection for her 10-year-old son, whom he nicknames Root, the language of mathematics, and their shared love of baseball.
This novel beautifully depicts how someone with a mental disability can affect someone else’s life for the better. The housekeeper and her son were both transformed by their relationship with the professor. I’d love to read this with a book group. I think it would spark meaningful discussion.
4 stars
67cbl_tn
114. The Dragonfly Pool by Eva Ibbotson
As Europe seems headed toward another war with Germany, 11-year-old Tally’s family decides to accept an offer to send her to a boarding school in Devon. Tally soon gets over her homesickness at Delderton, a progressive school where children thrive. Kindhearted Tally easily makes friends with the other children. When an opportunity presents itself for the children to participate in a folk dancing festival in the European kingdom of Bergania, Tally wills it to happen. There she meets Karil, the young prince of Bergania, and their friendship changes both of their lives.
I would have loved this book as a child. As an adult reader, I found the children’s worldview too idealistic. It seems to me that the Delderton contingent would be right at home in Lake Wobegon, where “all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average.”
3.5 stars
68cbl_tn
115. The Other Girl by Erica Spindler
After a life-changing incident when she was a troubled fifteen-year-old, half a lifetime ago, Miranda Rader has made something of herself. Now she is a police officer in small town Louisiana. Then the gruesome murder of a college professor dredges up the past, and it has Miranda questioning herself and her relationship with her friends and colleagues. When evidence found at the crime scene points to Miranda as the culprit, she fears for her safety. It seems like her partner Jake is the one person she can trust. Or can she?
This thriller is short enough to read in a single evening, and that’s a good thing, because most readers will want to keep reading until the truth is revealed. Seasoned readers of this genre will likely guess the murderer’s identity pretty easily, and they probably won’t be fooled by the halfhearted red herrings the author throws in at the last minute. The sense of place isn’t as strong as I would have liked. It could have been set in a small town just about anywhere in the U.S. However, the characters are interesting, and it’s satisfying to see Miranda’s growth through the course of the novel.
3.5 stars
69cbl_tn
116. The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
This companion book to a PBS series looks at the history of the Black church beginning with the arrival of the first Africans in what is now the United States. Not surprisingly, the text is comprised of quotes from scholars and other eminent persons interviewed for the series. I really like Dr. Gates’ interviewing style, and I think I would have appreciated this content more in the television format.
This book’s strength is its close examination of the social, cultural, and political significance of the Black church in American culture. Its influence extends to all segments of the U.S. population. Gates writes of a tension between the customs that developed in the North, where practices seemed to emulate those of the white churches, and the South, where worship practices grew out of the praise houses of slaves. It seems that this tension still exists, and that there are still a variety of worship preferences within the Black church.
Dr. Gates and most of his interviewees seem to eschew the literal interpretation of Scripture. However, a 2021 Pew Research Center report on the “Religious beliefs among Black Americans” indicates that 44% of Black adults believe that the Bible is the Word of God and should be taken literally, 38% believe the Bible is the Word of God but should not be taken literally, and 16% believe the Bible was written by people. A majority of Black Protestants (56%) believe that the Bible is the Word of God and should be taken literally, while a majority of Black Catholics (57%) believe that the Bible is the Word of God but should not be taken literally. Education makes a difference as well. Nearly half (49%) of Black Americans with some college or less believe that the Bible is the Word of God and should be taken literally, while just 32% of Black American college graduates believe that the Bible is the Word of God and should be taken literally. Dr. Gates and most of his interviewees would seem to fall into the Black American college graduate category.
Dr. Gates writes from the perspective of a religious observer rather than an active church member. (In the epilogue he describes himself as an “avid spectator”.) It would be interesting to compare an “insider’s” (active churchgoer’s) view of the Black church and see how it might differ from the perspective offered here.
3.5 stars
70cbl_tn
117. A Personal Record by Joseph Conrad
Readers who are curious about how Joseph Conrad went from sailor to novelist will appreciate this brief memoir. Stream of consciousness might be an apt description of its style, as one recollection leads to another, then another, and another. Conrad gives readers a glimpse of his childhood, his decision to go to sea (rare for a young man from land-locked Polish Ukraine), his choice of the English language, the writing of his first novel (Almayer’s Folly), and his friendship with Stephen Crane.
4 stars
71cbl_tn
August Recap
Books owned: 4
Books borrowed: 4
Ebooks owned: 1
eAudiobooks borrowed: 4
Best of the month: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Worst of the month: The Story of Babar, the Little Elephant by Jean de Brunhoff
Books owned: 4
Books borrowed: 4
Ebooks owned: 1
eAudiobooks borrowed: 4
Best of the month: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Worst of the month: The Story of Babar, the Little Elephant by Jean de Brunhoff
72cbl_tn
118. Transient Desires by Donna Leon
Venice’s Commissario Guido Brunetti almost ends up out of his depth in this installment in the long-running series. As Brunetti and his colleague Claudia Griffoni look into a nighttime accident on the laguna in which two American young women were badly injured, they soon identify the Italian young men who abandoned them near a hospital. As they learn more about the young men, they see that one of them is extremely frightened of his uncle/employer. Brunetti eventually discovers the reason for the young man’s fear, and it’s worse than he imagined. He calls in favors with other agencies to try to put a stop to the criminal activity he uncovered.
Most of the time, Brunetti must be satisfied with learning the truth rather than seeing justice served.
4 stars
73cbl_tn
119. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
In this post-apocalyptic novel, many humans have left Earth for Mars and other colonies to escape Earth’s inevitable decay. Androids assist with off-Earth colonization, but they aren’t supposed to be on Earth. Rick Deckard is a San Francisco-based bounty hunter who tracks down and destroys rogue androids. The new Nexus-6 android are challenging the bounty hunters’ techniques for identifying androids.
The one quality that distinguishes humans from androids is empathy, yet it seems to be a quality that humans are in danger of losing. Every home has an empathy box, where individuals can fuse with other humans through the person of Wilbur Mercer. Mercerism seems to be a rough allegory of Christianity, with Mercer as a Christlike figure in an endless loop of suffering, ascending a desert hill, then descending to the netherworld where he brings the dead back to life, then repeating his suffering ascent and descent ad infinitum.
There’s a lot to unpack in this novel. I have not watched the film Blade Runner, but from what I’ve read and heard about it, I think the message of the film is fundamentally different from the book’s essence. It’s too bad the author died just before the film was released. I’d love to know what he would have thought about the film and how far it might have strayed from his vision.
3.5 stars
74thornton37814
>72 cbl_tn: I'm not reading that one closely because I still need to listen to it. I forgot and downloaded a P. D. James ahead of it though. Hopefully I can make it through that one quickly and get to Brunetti.
75cbl_tn
>75 cbl_tn: You may not want to read the next one too closely, either!
76cbl_tn
120. The Lady from the Black Lagoon by Mallory O'Meara
Artist, background actor, and model Milicent Patrick left her mark on the film industry with her design for the Creature from the Black Lagoon. Patrick worked in special effects and makeup design before film credits started acknowledging the contributions of special effects teams. She was also a woman in a man’s world. As a result, Patrick’s contribution to the design of the Creature had been all but forgotten until author O’Meara made it her mission to give Patrick the credit she deserves.
Author O’Meara writes passionately about her subject, but the telling suffers from O’Meara’s inexperience as a researcher. (O’Meara worked as a veterinary technician before changing careers to film production.) She relied mainly on interviews to gather information. Occasionally someone would steer her toward archival material, but she admits to spending only a few hours in libraries and archives. Since O’Meara is challenging the historical narrative, she should have supplied source notes to back up her claims. (There is a bibliography, and there are endnotes, but the endnotes are commentary, not source notes.) Several times she mentioned that she was unable to find information about some of the people who surrounded Patrick. I was able to quickly find information about several of these individuals using sources O’Meara said she had used - Ancestry.com, Newspapers.com, and FamilySearch.
3 stars
77thornton37814
>75 cbl_tn: I finished it last night.
78cbl_tn
121. The Red Box by Rex Stout
Nero Wolfe has a plethora of clients in his latest case involving the death of a fashion model from eating a poisoned chocolate. Llewellyn Frost hires Wolfe, even managing to lure him out of his brownstone to interview suspects in their natural habitat. Frost wants to protect his cousin Helen, another model who witnessed the death. After a second murder, Frost gets cold feet, so Helen hires Wolfe to carry on with the investigation. At a certain point, it becomes clear that a red box holds the solution to the murders. But where is the box?
Wolfe’s exceptional powers of deduction exasperate his assistant Archie, Inspector Cramer of the police, and perhaps most readers. He holds his cards close to his chest, yet there are enough clues for a perceptive reader to guess the motive for the murder and the murderer’s identity. Wolfe, Goodwin, and Inspector Cramer make references to the cases in the earlier books in the series, but not in a spoilery way. It’s savvy marketing that might nudge readers to buy the earlier books to find out what they missed!
4 stars
79cbl_tn
122. A Better Man by Louise Penny
After a demotion, Armand Gamache is back where he started, as chief of homicide in the Sûreté. But not quite, because there is another chief of homicide for two more weeks. Gamache’s son-in-law, Jean Guy Beauvoir, is leaving in two weeks for a new job in Paris, taking Gamache’s daughter, Annie, with him. They’ll work together on one last case, with Beauvoir in the lead and Gamache as his second in command. As too-rapidly melting ice threatens catastrophic flooding, the small homicide team looks for a missing pregnant woman, the wife of an abusive husband. Just as ice can be deceptive, this case may not be what it appears to be on its surface. Meanwhile, artist Clara Morrow is the subject of a Twitter storm over her latest series of miniatures. The critics who built up her reputation as an artist are now tearing it down.
This novel isn’t paced as well as I’ve come to expect of Penny. The flooding crisis peaks too early in the novel. However, the biggest problem with the book is that
3.5 stars
80cbl_tn
123. Life & Times of Michael K by J. M. Coetzee
Michael K thinks his life and his mother’s will be better if they can leave their unnamed South African city for the rural town that was his mother’s childhood home. He was wrong, as his situation goes from bad to worse. Michael K wants only to be left alone to live off the land, but he can’t escape notice from warring factions. It doesn’t seem to matter which side will come out on top, as neither side has anything to offer Michael. This novel explores questions of social marginality and human existence in a way that reminded me somewhat of The Grapes of Wrath. Both novels left me with a similar feeling of desolation.
3.5 stars
81cbl_tn
124. Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
This family saga follows four generations of a Korean family through most of the 20th century, first in Korea under Japanese occupation, and later in Japan, where the Japanese discriminated against Korean immigrants. Teen-aged Sunja becomes pregnant by an older Korean businessman who, as the adopted son of a wealthy Japanese family, maintains ties in both Korea and Japan. Rather than become Hansu’s mistress, Sunja accepts an offer of marriage from a kind and gentle minister, Isak. Despite their differences in personality and temperament, Noa, Sunja’s son by Hansu, and Mozasu, Sunja’s son by Isak, end up in similar circumstances in the world of pachinko.
I was immersed in the setting and the characters’ lives from the very beginning. I found the religious aspect of the novel intriguing, and the status of Korean immigrants in Japan was new to me. This book will appeal to readers who enjoy family sagas and historical novels with a strong sense of place.
3.5 stars
82cbl_tn
125. Hickory Dickory Dock by Agatha Christie
When his paragon of a secretary makes several mistakes on a single page of typing, Hercule Poirot is concerned. As it turns out, Miss Lemon is worried about her sister and the student boarding house she manages, which has been plagued by a string of petty thefts and other mischief. Since Poirot is at loose ends, he pays a visit to the boarding house, where he senses something very wrong beneath the surface. When one of the students dies, apparently by her own hand, Poirot deduces it was murder. Poirot serves as a sounding board for Inspector Sharpe as he investigates the sudden death.
I wish Christie had given readers more of Miss Lemon when she had the chance in this novel. I did enjoy meeting her sister, who shares some of the same no-nonsense qualities that make Miss Lemon such a valuable secretary. Unusually for Christie, this book also suffers from a surfeit of characters who share too many similarities of age and circumstance. I do enjoy the audio recordings of this, and other Poirot novels, read by Hugh Fraser, who played Hastings in the British TV series. David Suchet is the definitive Poirot for my generation, and Fraser seems to model the voice of his Poirot on Suchet’s portrayal.
3.5 stars
83cbl_tn
126. The Wit and Wisdom of Shakespeare by Darrel Walters
After engaging with retired university professor Walters’s analysis of 32 of Shakespeare’s sonnets, readers should have confidence to tackle the remaining sonnets on their own. Walters presents each sonnet in the same format – the text of the sonnet, Walters’s single sentence summary of its essence, a diagram of the sonnet including definitions of archaic words and expressions, and a two-page description and interpretation.
Walters warns readers not to “miss the forest for the trees” by getting caught up in speculation about the identity of the young man or the dark lady for whom Shakespeare wrote the sonnets. Critics have filled books with theories about their identities without reaching a definitive conclusion. Controversies about such things as the identities of the original recipients may distract readers from appreciating each sonnet on its own merit.
4 stars
84cbl_tn
127. Jane Fairfax by Joan Aiken
Jane Fairfax is a secondary character in Jane Austen’s Emma. Aiken imagines a back story for Jane, with only the last third of this novel occupying the same chronological space as Austen’s Emma. I found it entertaining, yet I couldn’t completely buy into Aiken’s characterization of Jane Fairfax.
3 stars
85cbl_tn
September Recap
Books owned: 1
Books borrowed: 1
Ebooks borrowed: 5
eAudiobooks borrowed: 3
Best of the month: Transient Desires by Donna Leon
Worst of the month: Jane Fairfax by Joan Aiken
Books owned: 1
Books borrowed: 1
Ebooks borrowed: 5
eAudiobooks borrowed: 3
Best of the month: Transient Desires by Donna Leon
Worst of the month: Jane Fairfax by Joan Aiken
86PaulCranswick
>84 cbl_tn: Still it is a clever supposition, Carrie, taking a minor character from a very celebrated novel and building a new novel around them. It also often goes in a completely different direction to that we would have imagined ourselves.
87cbl_tn
>86 PaulCranswick: It takes a very confident writer to take on such beloved novels and characters!
88cbl_tn
128. Company by Samuel Beckett
A man lies alone in the dark thinking thoughts. I’d rather think my own thoughts than read Beckett’s. I enjoy my own company more.
3 stars
89cbl_tn
129. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
In 19th century France, a bored doctor’s wife has affairs with two men, and in the process, she runs up debts she can’t repay. I was as bored as Emma at some points in the book. I had little sympathy for her because her troubles were largely of her own making. I did feel sorry for her naïve husband, and really sorry for the daughter whom both parents largely neglected. Simon Vance’s outstanding narration made the story more interesting than I otherwise would have found it.
3.5 stars
90cbl_tn
130. All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days by Rebecca Donner
American expat Mildred Harnack and her husband, German economist Arvid Harnack, formed a Nazi resistance movement in Berlin and paid with their lives. Drawing from Mildred’s letters, various interviews, and archival documents, Donner pieces together an account of the rise of the Nazi party and the beginning of the Second World War. The use of present tense adds intensity to the narrative. While this approach feels fresh, it also lacks some context of parallel events and personalities who were unknown to Mildred. As Mildred’s great-great-niece, Donner had access to Mildred’s letters and other family material not previously available to other researchers.
4 stars
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131. The Pine Barrens by John McPhee
McPhee explores the natural history and culture of New Jersey’s Pine Barrens in this book developed from articles originally published in The New Yorker. Although the Pine Barrens is not geographically in Appalachia, its local culture seems very familiar to this southern Appalachian native. I was drawn to this book when I learned through family history research that a many-times great-uncle and cousins operated the Batsto Furnace from the late eighteenth century to the mid-nineteenth century. Batsto gets a couple page mention in this book.
The New York Times revisited the Pine Barrens in a 1985 article, speaking to the son of McPhee’s local guide, Fred Brown. In the twenty years between McPhee’s book and the NYT article, tourists and industry discovered the Pine Barrens. Did the attention from McPhee’s book hasten the inevitable “wheels of progress”?
4 stars
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132. Light Thickens by Ngaio Marsh
Director Peregrine Jay and his management team have put together a superior cast for a run of Macbeth at the Dolphin Theatre. Tension builds as the cast rehearses for several weeks before opening night, with a prankster taking advantage of the superstition surrounding the play to sow discord. A few weeks into the play’s run, the unthinkable happens, and one of the actors is found dead at the end of the performance. Scotland Yard’s Chief Superintendent Roderick Alleyn is in the audience that night. Despite being on the scene when the murder was committed, Alleyn is as baffled as anyone. Alleyn knows as well as anyone that this isn’t the first time that death has visited the Dolphin.
Marsh takes her time setting the stage for the murder, which doesn’t occur until more than halfway through the book. She treats readers a Cliffsnotes-like summary of Macbeth, with much focus on the interpretation and staging of the play during rehearsals. How the reader feels about Shakespeare may influence how much the reader enjoys this book.
4 stars
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133. Miss Marjoribanks by Margaret Oliphant
Lucilla Marjoribanks is still at school when her mother dies. From that point on, Lucilla claims her life’s goal is to “be a comfort to papa”. It’s Lucilla herself who defines what “being a comfort” means. Dr. Marjoribanks is known for the hospitality of his dinners, with his guests being mainly the men of Carlingford. Upon Lucilla’s return from school at age 19, she organizes Thursday evenings for the ladies, with the men joining them after their dinner. Lucilla determines to devote ten years to being “a comfort to papa” before marrying, thinking that she’ll probably have “gone off” in ten years’ time. She has no lack of potential suitors during this time, including her cousin, Tom; Mr. Cavendish, whose ability to flirt is so useful to Lucilla’s Thursday evenings; and archdeacon Mr. Beverly.
Lucilla is an unconventional heroine. She knows it, Carlingford knows it, and her author surely knows it. Her high opinion of herself and her abilities could easily come across as arrogant, yet time after time events and circumstances prove that she accurately judges her own value.
4 stars
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134. The Musgrave Ritual by Arthur Conan Doyle
In this story, Holmes recounts to Watson one of his earliest cases presented to him by his old schoolmate, Reginald Musgrave. The family butler had disappeared after being caught rummaging among family papers containing the Musgrave Ritual, a strange rite that has been observed in the Musgrave family for some 200 years. Holmes took great satisfaction at the beginning of his career of succeeding where the police failed. This story has some similarities to the adventure stories of Robert Louis Stevenson and others during the period, although using the intellectual Holmes as narrator reduces the emotional suspense.
3.5 stars
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135. Paradise of the Blind by Duong Thu Huong
Hang, a Vietnamese woman, came of age in the aftermath of the Vietnam War. Hang never knew her father, a teacher driven into exile during the land reform era by a local Communist party leader who was also his brother-in-law. Hang’s Aunt Tam, her father’s sister, lavishes affection on her young niece as the sole member of her generation to carry on the family line. Hang’s mother increasingly devotes her meager resources to support her party member brother and his family. Hang embodies the tension between the two sides of her family.
This novel depicts a beautiful but broken country. A great loneliness permeates the novel. Hang’s mother and her Aunt Tam pull her in different directions, trying to force her to choose between the two sides of her family. As she tries to do her duty to both families, Hang’s isolation grows, yet she is still young enough to dream of a different future.
4.5 stars
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136. Happiness by Aminatta Forna
Ghanian psychiatrist Attila is in London to deliver the keynote address at a professional conference. Wildlife researcher Jean is in London to study the urban fox population. A chance meeting on a London bridge develops into a new friendship, and perhaps something more, as the two strangers bond over the search for a missing boy.
I love the community that forms in this urban novel. Jean has developed a network of service workers – hotel doormen, street sweepers, and traffic wardens among them – who band together in the common cause of searching for the lost boy. The actions and interactions of these characters challenged me to pay closer attention to my surroundings and the people I encounter on a daily basis.
I am intrigued by the psychological aspects of Forna’s writing. As in The Memory of Love, one of Forna’s main characters is a psychiatrist specializing in post-traumatic stress in the aftermath of war. Forna acknowledges the influence of Boris Cyrulnik’s Resilience in shaping her story. I would love to explore this novel with a reading group. I think it could spark a great conversation about resilience and overcoming past trauma.
4.5 stars
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October Recap
Books owned: 3
Books borrowed: 1
Ebooks borrowed: 1
eAudiobooks borrowed: 2
eAudiobooks owned: 2
Best of the month: Happiness by Aminatta Forna
Worst of the month: Company by Samuel Beckett
Books owned: 3
Books borrowed: 1
Ebooks borrowed: 1
eAudiobooks borrowed: 2
eAudiobooks owned: 2
Best of the month: Happiness by Aminatta Forna
Worst of the month: Company by Samuel Beckett
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137. The Body in the Castle Well by Martin Walker
When Bruno’s friend Florence calls to voice her concern for a missing American graduate student who had quickly warmed her way into their circle, he sets out to look for her at the last place she had been seen. The night before, Claudia had been among a couple of dozen attendees at a program held at a local castle. Bruno’s dog, Balzac, leads Bruno to a well in the castle courtyard, where it seems the young woman fell to her death. To all appearances, this was a tragic accident, but since Claudia’s family were politically connected, Bruno’s superiors want to leave no stone unturned. What if Claudia didn’t fall, but was pushed into the well? Who might have wanted her dead?
This series installment is more like the cozy mysteries I love than many of the other series books since the suspects don’t include international terrorists. No terrorists meant no need for Isabelle to be a part of the investigation, which also made me happy. (Bruno really needs to forget about her and move on with his life.) I’m always drawn to mysteries involving art and art history, and I wish that aspect of the plot had been developed more than it was. I liked Amélie when we met her in The Templars’ Last Secret, so I was glad to see her again in this book. The subplot of Bruno organizing a Josephine Baker concert for Amélie suited the cozier feel of this series installment.
4 stars
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138. The Resident Patient by Arthur Conan Doyle
Holmes takes on a case from a doctor with an unusual financial arrangement. The doctor has a patron, Blessington, who pays for his consulting rooms and other expenses in exchange for a part of the doctor’s earnings and the comfort of having a doctor nearby. The doctor has a new patient, a Russian nobleman, who suffers from catalepsy. The Russian’s son goes with him to his appointment and stays in the waiting room while the doctor examines his father. After their second visit, Blessington accuses the men of having searched his rooms in his absence. The doctor takes Holmes and Watson to see Blessington. Holmes, being Holmes, suspects what’s behind Blessington’s fear, but he is unable to prevent what happens next.
This case is similar to several others in the Holmes canon,
3.5 stars
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139. Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
When the United States government created the Osage reservation, it was unaware of the extensive oil reserves underneath the surface. The oil boom brought great wealth to the Osage. It also brought great trouble. The powers that be viewed the Osage as an inferior race, incapable of managing their own wealth, and they appointed guardians to manage the Osage’s oil riches. It wasn’t uncommon for guardians to exploit their ward’s property for their own benefit.
During a period of several years in the 1920s, many Osage died violently during a “Reign of Terror.” No one knew who would be struck down next. Those who knew who was responsible for the murders weren’t talking. The corruption of local and state officials provided an opportunity for J. Edgar Hoover’s fledgling FBI to demonstrate its effectiveness on its way to becoming a national law enforcement agency.
The evidence and testimony uncovered by the FBI is disturbing enough. The added details Grann uncovered nearly a century later are even more disturbing. This is a story that could only be told from this distance in time. Would-be writers of that era would have risked their lives by probing as deeply into the evidence as Grann has done.
Until six weeks ago, I had never heard of FBI agent T. B. “Tom” White, and now he seems to pop up everywhere I turn. After his success with the Osage murder investigation, he went on to become the warden of Leavenworth prison, where he crossed paths with my distant cousin.
4 stars
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140. The Lost Ravioli Recipes of Hoboken by Laura Schenone
Food writer Schenone documents her quest to discover the Genoese roots of her great-grandmother’s ravioli recipe. After interviewing several aunts, uncles, and cousins, Schenone makes a couple of trips to Genoa to look for ravioli makers who still use traditional methods and ingredients.
The food history is great, but the memoir is awkward. Schenone seems reluctant to probe too deeply. It feels like she’s allowing readers into her living room, dining room, and kitchen after she’s tidied them up for guests, while keeping the doors to her living space firmly shut.
3.5 stars
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141. The Greek Interpreter by Arthur Conan Doyle
Sherlock Holmes introduces his friend and associate Watson to his brother, Mycroft, in this adventure. Holmes and Watson have a “nature vs. nurture” conversation in which Holmes expresses his belief that Mycroft has the superior intellect but is too lazy to make any effort to test his conclusions. That makes it all the more remarkable when, after telling Holmes and Watson about an unusual problem faced by an acquaintance, a Greek interpreter, Mycroft actually leaves his club to aid a woman in distress.
The first of Mycroft Holmes’s rare appearances makes this story memorable. Mycroft makes his eccentric brother Sherlock seem normal by comparison.
3.5 stars
103PaulCranswick
>101 cbl_tn: I simply love ravioli, Carrie. I think I can put up with a stilted biography to get hold of some lost recipes!
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>103 PaulCranswick: Then I think you'd enjoy this one! I had no idea that ravioli has such a long history, or that it's so difficult to make.
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142. The American Agent by Jacqueline Winspear
When a young American female journalist is found murdered, Maisie’s friend Robert MacFarlane of Scotland Yard asks her to investigate the case. Maisie will be working with American Mark Scott, whom she first encountered in Hitler’s Germany in Journey to Munich. Maisie has to use her time wisely. The Blitz is underway, and Maisie and her friend Priscilla spend several evenings a week driving an ambulance. Maisie spends long weekends at home in Kent with her father, her stepmother, and the girl Anna she hopes to adopt.
I love listening to the audio version of this series. Reader Orlagh Cassidy is perfect for the voice of Maisie, and her performance adds extra depth to the experience. The series transition from the aftermath of the First World War to the beginning of the Second has had its ups and downs. This novel succeeds, I think because Maisie seems much more at home investigating a murder than she does spying for the government.
4.5 stars
106bell7
>100 cbl_tn: My book club will be reading that next year, in January. I'm interested in reading it but I'm going to have to brace myself for it all, I think.
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>106 bell7: Yes. The writing isn't terribly gruesome, but the injustice will likely leave you seething, like it did me.
108PaulCranswick
Thank you as always for books, thank you for this group and thanks for you. Have a lovely day, Carrie
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>108 PaulCranswick: Thank you Paul! I am thankful for all of my LT friends and our shared love of books and reading.
110Familyhistorian
I'm finally catching up with a few threads. I hope that all is well with you, Carrie.
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>111 Carmenere: Thanks, Lynda! Merry Christmas!
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>113 SandDune: Thank you! I love the gnome!
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>115 quondame: Thank you! Merry Christmas to you!
117PaulCranswick
Malaysia's branch of the 75er's wishes you and yours a happy holiday season, Carrie.
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>117 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul! Same to you!
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143. The Naval Treaty by Arthur Conan Doyle
An old schoolfriend of Watson’s turns to Sherlock Holmes to clear his name after the disappearance of important papers in his custody. Percy Phelps was copying the treaty in his office after hours. He left his office for a few minutes to find the commissionaire, and when he returned, the treaty was missing. When all the other suspects were cleared, suspicion fell on Phelps, and he collapsed under the mental strain. His fiancée has been caring for him in the home she shares with her brother. Naturally, Holmes succeeds where others have failed, discovering the location of the missing treaty and thus restoring his client’s honor.
I enjoyed the mix of national security and domestic elements in this story, and I like it better than Doyle’s later and similar story, “The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans.” The circumstances surrounding the missing treaty seem to be an unsolvable puzzle, yet it barely challenged Holmes’s powers of deduction. His explanation is so logical that it’s a wonder the solution wasn’t obvious to everyone!
4 stars
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144. Too Many Cooks by Rex Stout
Although private detective Nero Wolfe rarely leaves his New York brownstone, his reputation as a gourmand leads to an invitation to deliver the keynote address to an intimate gathering of the world’s greatest chefs. The book opens with Wolfe and his assistant, Archie Goodwin, on a train headed for the Kanawha Spa in West Virginia. From conversations on the train and at the spa after their arrival, it’s apparent that chef Philip Laszio is universally disliked. When Laszio is murdered while supervising a tasting contest, all clues point to one suspect. However, Wolfe realizes that there is more to this case than meets the eye. Will he survive long enough to expose the real killer?
This is the kind of impossible crime that made Wolfe such a famous fictional detective. The book was written in the Jim Crow era and set in the southern U.S., and several of the spa’s African American staff are crucial witnesses. While other characters in the book use highly offensive racial slurs for the African American service workers as well as for other ethnic minority characters, Wolfe never uses this offensive language, and he treats the African American staff with respect.
3.5 stars
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145. Shakespeare Basics for Grown-Ups by E. Foley & B. Coates
For an introduction to Shakespeare’s works, you could do worse than this non-exhaustive overview by Foley and Coates. The chapters cover Shakespeare’s life and times, Shakespeare’s language and style, the comedies, the histories, the tragedies, and the poems. Each of the three chapters on the plays features three or so plays as representative of that genre. Added content includes a family tree of the characters in the histories, one-sentence summaries of each of Shakespeare’s plays, a chronology of the plays, a brief thematic index of the plays, brief biographies of famous Shakespearean actors, and other trivia about the bard and his works. It’s a useful refresher for readers who haven’t spent time with Shakespeare since their school days.
3.5 stars
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November Recap
Books owned: 2
Ebooks borrowed: 2
eAudiobooks borrowed: 2
eAudiobooks owned: 3
Best of the month: The American Agent by Jacqueline Winspear
Books owned: 2
Ebooks borrowed: 2
eAudiobooks borrowed: 2
eAudiobooks owned: 3
Best of the month: The American Agent by Jacqueline Winspear
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146. The Shooting at Chateau Rock by Martin Walker
After talking to the son of a local farmer whose sudden death left his children disinherited, Bruno looks into the circumstances surrounding the death. The man was being treated for a heart condition, so his death was no surprise to his doctor. However, shortly before his death, the farmer had taken out an insurance policy and sold his farm to finance life in a luxury retirement home that seemed out of his league. Meanwhile, Bruno is spending time with the expat owners of Chateau Rock – an aging rock star and his much younger wife, who are planning to sell their property as part of an amicable divorce. Bruno has coached their two young adult children, one of whom is also a musician. The musician son, Jamie, arrives home for a last visit accompanied by other musicians, including his soon-to-be Ukrainian fiancée. Eventually Bruno discovers a connection between the insurance company and the Chateau guests.
The sub-plot about Bruno’s dog, Balzac’s, first mating experience is superfluous. It mainly serves as an excuse to bring in Bruno’s on-again/off-again lover, Isabelle. I have an inverse liking for Isabelle. I like her less and less as Bruno becomes more and more attracted to her. The spoilery title signals exactly where this story is heading. After giving readers a break in the last book, Walker returns to the international crime angle. So far in the series, we’ve had Basque terrorists, Arab terrorists, Irish terrorists, and now Ukrainian/Russian terrorists. Bruno’s Dordogne sounds lovely, but perhaps not the safest place to visit!
3.5 stars
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147. Oystercatcher by Martin Walker
This short story in the Bruno series takes Bruno out of his familiar territory to the Bay of Arcachon, where he’s part of a team trying to catch oyster thieves. Oysters are a staple for French Christmas and New Year celebrations, and the team expects the thieves to be active during this season. Bruno uses the trip as an excuse for a getaway with his lover, Isabelle. Naturally, Bruno and Isabelle end up at ground zero for the capture of the thieves.
I didn’t enjoy this as much as I have enjoyed the other Bruno short stories. The short stories usually feature St. Denis, its food, and Bruno’s close circle of friends. The food and friends are missing, and we just have Bruno and Isabelle, who is my least-favorite character in the series.
3 stars
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148. A Birthday Lunch by Martin Walker
In this short story, St. Denis policeman Bruno is planning a birthday lunch for his friend, Florence, and searching for the perfect gift for her. Food and friends are at the heart of this story. For once, Bruno isn’t working in this short. The element of mystery is provided by the artifacts of the region’s earliest cultures. Like most of the Bruno shorts, it will be appreciated most by readers who are already familiar with the series and its recurring characters.
4 stars
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149. The Family Chao by Lan Samantha Chang
In the days leading up to Christmas, three brothers, the children of Chinese American immigrant restaurateurs, are home for the holidays. The mother, Winnie, has moved into a Buddhist nunnery, and a special lunch in her honor presages the disaster that will soon befall the family with the death of father Leo. Leo’s death could have been a tragic accident, or it could have been murder. The subsequent trial of one of the sons brings to light the prejudice lurking below the surface in this small Wisconsin town.
This book explores the Chinese American immigrant experience from several perspectives – Chinese born immigrants, their first-generation American born children, and Asian children adopted by white parents. The characters have made different choices regarding assimilation into the broader regional and national culture. The trial brings a measure of cohesion to the immigrant community as they perceive the racism that drives the course of justice. It’s easy to forget that this is a murder mystery, until an unexpected twist at the end of the book brings the mystery to the forefront again.
4 stars
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150. How to be a Heroine by Samantha Ellis
The author, a playwright and a first-generation Iraqi Jew raised in London, views her life history through the lens of fictional heroines. I gleaned some new insights from the literary criticism at the heart of this book, but I couldn’t get past the gimmicky vibe of a grown woman searching for a role model in the pages of fiction. I can accept that the author may have experienced a delayed adolescence as a result of her sheltered upbringing. However, adults in their mid- to late-thirties should be past the stage of life where you try on different personality traits until you find your niche. I suspect that’s true for this author, and that her life story is retrofitted to the pitch for this book.
3 stars
128FAMeulstee
>127 cbl_tn: Congratulations on reaching 2 x 75, Carrie!
129quondame
>127 cbl_tn: Congratulations on doubling the goal Carrie!
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>128 FAMeulstee: >129 quondame: Thank you! With any luck, I'll finish 5 more before the year is out!
131karenmarie
Hi Carrie!
Alas, it's line in the sand and onward to next year's threads, I'm afraid. One of my new year’s resolutions is to be a better LT friend.
Alas, it's line in the sand and onward to next year's threads, I'm afraid. One of my new year’s resolutions is to be a better LT friend.
132Familyhistorian
Have a Happy New Year, Carrie!
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>131 karenmarie: >132 Familyhistorian: Thank you, Meg & Karen!
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151. Give Unto Others by Donna Leon
Commissario Guido Brunetti agrees to do a favor for a former neighbor because her mother had been kind to his mother. Her daughter has confided in her that some unspecified danger threatens her husband and, by extension, herself. Her concern for her only child motivates her to seek out her old acquaintance in the Questura. Guido enlists the help of his colleagues Griffoni, Vianello, and Signorina Elettra to do some unofficial exploring. Their research soon leads them to a dodgy charity founded by the former neighbor’s husband. Will Guido and his colleagues finally pay the price for their off-the-books investigative methods?
I found this latest Brunetti novel less satisfactory than most of the series books that precede it. First of all, it’s not a homicide investigation. Secondly, Brunetti has had back-of-his-mind worries about his team’s unorthodox investigations throughout most of the series without these fears being realized, so why would it be any different this time? The tension feels exaggerated. The main thing this book accomplishes is to show that
3 stars
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152. Winter's Tales by Isak Dinesen
Most of the stories in this collection kept me spellbound. Most stories are set in Dinesen’s native Denmark, with occasional ventures into France, Germany, Norway, and other European countries. One story-with-in-a-story is set in Tehran. Dinesen was a master of short story literature. I happened to read this collection as I reached the end of a months-long read of Ralph Manheim’s translation of Grimms’ fairy tales, so I noted the influence of fairy tales and legends on Dinesen’s work.
4 stars
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153. Grimms' Tales for Young and Old translated by Ralph Manheim
As a child, I loved to read fairy tales more than anything else. My grandmother had a collection of Grimms’ fairy tales and Andersen’s fairy tales, and I grabbed one or the other off of her bookshelf at the first opportunity on each visit. I had never read anything like Ralph Manheim’s translation of Grimms’ fairy tales. It reads like exactly what it is – a transcription of oral stories and legends, with the voice of the teller unobscured by an editor. Some stories have multiple variations with slight differences between them. This collection makes it clear that the stories had a social purpose and were used to encourage positive character traits and discourage negative character traits. Manheim’s translation belongs in the libraries of all readers with more than a casual interest in fairy tales and legends.
4.5 stars
137lindapanzo
Happy New Year, Carrie!!
