PAUL C WITH A CLEAN SLATE IN '22 - Part 30

SCENES FROM MY PAST

Getting ever closer to my present. In 1994 I took a position with Siemens AG as Commercial Manager of a new power 440mw Combined Gas Cycle Power Plant being constructed in Pasir Gundang in the Southern Malaysian state of Johor Bahru about 10 miles from the main city Johor Bahru where I resided for the next seven years. Incidentally I was married in the Mosque at Pasir Gudang in 1996.

This is the much-maligned Johor Bahru (referred to by Lee Kuan Yew as "cowboy town").

The Opening Words

I do like to see what books get put forward for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction.
Shortlisted last year is Aftermath : Life in the Fallout of the Third Reich by Harald Jahner which I am currently absorbed in.



" The theatre critic Friedrich Luft experienced the end of the war in a basement. Down in a villa near Nollendorfplatz in Berlin, he had sat out the last few days of the final battle with a few other local people amidst the smell of 'smoke, blood, sweat and gunpowder'. It was safer in the basement than in the apartments, exposed as they were to crossfire between the Red Army and the Wehrmacht."

Interested ................................?

Books Read First Quarter

JANUARY

1. American Dream? A Journey on Route 66 by Khor Shing Yin (2019) 160 pp (AAC) - GN
2. The Forward Book of Poetry 2022 by Various Poets (2021) 155 pp - Poetry
3. Absolution by Murder by Peter Tremayne (1994) 274 pp - Thriller/Mystery
4. Somewhere Towards the End by Diana Athill (2008) 183 pp - (NF Challenge) NF
5. My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk (1998) 671 pp - (Asian Book Challenge{ABC}) Fiction; 1001
6. The Thief and the Dogs by Naguib Mahfouz (1962) 158 pp - (World Books/Food) Fiction
7. The Children Who Stayed Behind by Bruce Carter (1958) 216 pp - (BAC) YA Fiction
8. Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (2021) 114 pp - Fiction
9. Homeland Elegies by Ayad Akhtar (2020) 343 pp - (ABC) - Fiction (?)
10. Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings (1982) 192 pp - SF/Fantasy
11. Days in the History of Silence by Merethe Lindstrom (2011) 230 pp - Fiction/Holocaust
12. The Optimist's Daughter by Eudora Welty (1972) 208 pp - Fiction; Pulitzer
13. My Two Worlds by Sergio Chejfec (2008) - 103 pp Fiction/Rebecca NYC reads
14. Hana's Suitcase by Karen Levine (2002) - 131 pp Non Fiction / Holocaust
15. Last Train to Istanbul by Ayse Kulin (2002) 384 pp Fiction / Asian Book Challenge
16. Up With the Larks by Tessa Hainsworth (2009) 278 pp Non Fiction
17. Cheryl's Destinies by Stephen Sexton (2021) 88 pp - Poetry
18. Hotel Bosphorus by Esmahan Aykol (2001) 246 pp - Thriller/Mystery / Asian Book Challenge
19. The List of Books by Frederic Raphael (1981) 154 pp - Non Fiction / Reference
20. Disquiet by Zulfu Livaneli (2017) 163 pp - Fiction / Asian Book Challenge
21. Turkey : A Short History by Norman Stone (2017) 185 pp - Non-Fiction
22. Black Out by Ragnar Jonasson (2011) 247 pp - Thriller/Scandi
23. The Wild Iris by Louise Gluck (1992) 63 pp - Poetry
24. A Foolish Virgin by Ida Simons (1959) 216 pp - Fiction
25. Tarka the Otter by Henry Williamson (1928) 329 pp - Fiction / 1001 Books
26. The Elected Member by Bernice Rubens (1969) 224 pp - Fiction / Booker Winner

5,715 pages

FEBRUARY

27. The Nest by Kenneth Oppel (2015) 244 pp - Fiction
28. Ten Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World by Fareed Zakaria (2021) 156 pp Non-Fiction/ABC
29. Redemption Ground by Lorna Goodison (2018) 164 pp Non-Fiction
30. The Blue Between Sky and Water by Susan Abulhawa (2015) 288 pp Fiction /Asian Book Challenge
31. Door into the Dark by Seamus Heaney (1969) 44 pp Poetry
32. The Yellow Wind by David Grossman (1988) 218 pp Non-Fiction/Asian Book Challenge
33. Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders (2017) 343 pp Fiction / Booker Winner
34. If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin (1974) 197 pp Fiction
35. The Wrecking Light by Robin Robertson (2010) 90 pp Poetry
36. The Others by Sarah Blau (2018) 239 pp Thriller /ABC
37. Portable Kisses by Tess Gallagher (1992) 80 pp Poetry/ AAC

2,063 pages

MARCH

38. Rise Like Lions : Poetry for the Many edited by Ben Okri (2017) 258 pp Poetry
39. Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin (1958) 179 pp Non-Fiction
40. Intimacies by Katie Kitamura (2021) 225 pp Fiction / Asian Book Challenge
41. Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi (2013) 283 pp Fiction/ Asian Book Challenge
42. Songs of Mihyar the Damascene by Adonis (1961) 116 pp Poetry/Asian Book Challenge
43. Tales of the Tikongs by Epeli Hau'ofa (1983) 93 pp Fiction /Short stories
44. The Twits by Roald Dahl (1980) 87 pp Fiction /YA
45. The Historians : Poems by Eavan Boland (2020) 67 pp Poetry
46. Night Haunts by Sukhdev Sandhu (2007) 144 pp Non-Fiction
47. The Old Boys by William Trevor (1964) 170 pp Fiction
48. Autumn by Karl Ove Knausgaard (2015) 244 pp Non-Fiction/Memoir
49. The Fell by Sarah Moss (2021) 180 pp Fiction
50. Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner (1926) 203 pp Fiction
51. Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi (2018) 243 pp Fiction / Asian Book Challenge
52. Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney (2021) 337 pp Fiction

2,829 pages

Books Read Second Quarter

APRIL

53. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (1979) 180 pp Science Fiction/1001
54. Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy (1874) 389 pp Fiction/Re-read Reassessment
55. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark (1961) 128 pp Fiction/Re-read Reassessment
56. Mrs England by Stacey Halls (2021) 425 pp Fiction
57. The Moon and Sixpence by W Somerset Maugham (1919) 215 pp Fiction /Re-Read Reassessment
58. Poems : Giosue Carducci by Giosue Carducci (1907) 175 pp Poetry / Nobel Prize winner
59. White Mughals by William Dalrymple (2002) 501 pp Non Fiction / Shared Read (Stasia)
60. Weaveworld by Clive Barker (1987) 722 pp SF/Fantasy; BAC; Guardian Books
61. The Saddlebag by Bahiyyih Nakhjavani (2000) 253 pp Fiction /Asian Book Challenge
62. Pilgrims Way by Abdulrazak Gurnah (1988) 281 pp Fiction
63. A Village Life by Louise Gluck (2009) 71 pp Poetry/AAC wildcard
64. Brighton Rock by Graham Greene (1938) 269 pp Fiction/Re-Read Reassessment

3,609 pages

MAY

65. Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung (2017) 251 pp Fiction/Asian Book Challenge / Short Stories
66. Peterloo : Witnesses to a Massacre by Polyp (2019) 109 pp BAC / Graphic Book
67. Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid (1985) 148 pp 1001 Books
68. The Purloined Letter by Edgar Allen Poe (1844) 99 pp AAC/1001 Books/ Short Stories
69. Sovietistan by Erika Fatland (2014) 470 pp Non-Fiction/Travel
70. The Kids by Hannah Lowe (2021) 79 pp Poetry
71. Mouthful of Birds by Samanta Schweblin (2010) 228 pp Short Stories
72. The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles (2021) 420 pp Fiction
73. The Devil's Dance by Hamid Ismailov (2016) 405 pp Fiction / Asian Book Challenge
74. The Bell by Iris Murdoch (1957) 350 pp Fiction / Re-read
75. War : How Conflict Shaped Us by Margaret MacMillan (2020) 289 pp Non-Fiction
76. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (1859) 394 pp Fiction / Re-read

3,242 pages

JUNE

77. Has the West Lost It? by Kishore Mahbubani (2018) 91 pp Non-Fiction/Asian Book Challenge
78. Selected Poems : Anna Akhmatova by Anna Akhmatova (1985) 147 pp Poetry
79. The 3 Mistakes of My Life by Chetan Bhagat (2008) 258 pp Fiction/Asian Book Challenge
80. Murmur by Will Eaves (2018) 176 pp Fiction
81. Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay (1997) 194 pp Non-Fiction / BAC
82. The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue (2020) 295 pp Fiction/Capitals-Dublin
83. A Golden Age by Tahmima Anam (2007) 287 pp Fiction/ Asian Book Challenge
84. Promised You a Miracle by Andy Beckett (2015) 387 pp Non Fiction / History
85. Tomb of Sand by Geetanjali Shree (2018) 732 pp Fiction / Asian Book Challenge
86. The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare (1983) 135 pp Fiction
87. All the Names Given by Raymond Antrobus (2021) 77 pp Poetry
88. Batlava Lake by Adam Mars-Jones (2021) 99 pp Fiction / Capitals-Pristina
89. A Girl in Exile by Ismail Kadare (2009) 186 pp. Fiction / Capitals-Tirana
90. Ludmila by Paul Gallico (1959) 65 pp Fiction / Capitals-Vaduz
91. Zorrie by Laird Hunt (2020) 161 pp Fiction
92. First Love by Gwendoline Riley (2017) 167 pp Fiction / Capitals-London

3,457 pages

Books Read Third Quarter

July

93. Imperium by Ryszard Kapuscinski (1993) 337 pp Non-Fiction /ATW (Poland)
94. The Late Sun by Christopher Reid (2021) 77 pp Poetry
95. The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka (2011) 129 pp Fiction / Asian Book Challenge
96. Waiting by Ha Jin (1999) 308 pp Fiction / Asia Book Challenge
97. The Morning Gift by Eva Ibbotson (1993) 507 pp Fiction / Capitals- Vienna
98. Ex Libris by Anne Fadiman (1998) 125 pp Non-Fiction
99. I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman (1995) 188 pp Fiction
100. Tom Jones by Henry Fielding (1749) 877 pp Fiction /BAC / 1001 Books
101. Breathtaking by Rachel Clarke (2021) 217 pp Non-Fiction
102. The Mothers by Brit Bennett (2016) 275 pp Fiction

3,040 pages

August

103. The Man Who Planted Trees by Jean Giono (1953) 42 pp Fiction
104. The Master of Go by Yasunari Kawabata (1951) 182 pp Fiction / Asian Book Challenge
105. Nemesis by Rory Clements (2019) 445 pp Thriller / BAC
106. Aesop's Fables by Aesop (bc 570) 212 pp Fiction / 1001 books
107. Earthlings by Sayaka Murata (2018) 247 pp Fiction / Asian Book Challenge
108. Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami (2001) 176 pp Fiction/ Asian Book Challenge
109. A Distant Mirror by Barbara Tuchman (1978) 634 pp Non-Fiction

1,938 pages

September

110. Downsizing by Tom Watson (2020) 244 pp Non-Fiction/TIOLI #1
111. My Brilliant Life by Kim Ae-ran (2011) 203 pp Fiction / TIOLI #2 ABC Challenge
112. Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey (2020) 279 pp Non-Fiction/NF Challenge / TIOLI #6
113. High Windows by Philip Larkin (1964) 46 pp Poetry / TIOLI #16
114. Treacle Walker by Alan Warner (2022) 152 pp Fiction
115. The Barefoot Woman by Scholastique Mukasonga (2008) 153 pp
116. The Lonely Londoners by Sam Selvon (1957) 138 pp Fiction / 1001 Books

1,215 pages

Books Read 4th Quarter

October

117. Asterix le gaulois by Rene Goscinny (1961) 48 pp Graphic Novel/OPEN LIBRARY
118. The Murderer by Roy Heath (1978) 210 pp Fiction/ATW - Guyana
119. A Girl's Story by Annie Ernaux (2016) 156 pp Fiction / Nobel Winner
120. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (1959) 246 pp Fiction
121. Ransom by Michael Symmons Roberts (2021) 88 pp Poetry
122. The Crofter and the Laird by John McPhee (1969) 159 pp Non-Fiction/AAC/OPEN LIBRARY
123. Britain's Royal Families by Alison Weir (1989) 331 pp Non-Fiction
124. Jubilee Lines edited by Carol Ann Duffy (2012) 134 pp Poetry
125. 11.22.63 by Stephen King (2011) 740 pp SF/Fantasy
126. The Blue Sky by Galsang Tschinag (1994) 201 pp Fiction/Asian Book Challenge/ATW - Mongolia
127. The Punch by Noah Hawley (2008) 245 pp Fiction
128. Crewe Train by Rose Macaulay (1928) 277 pp Fiction / Capitals - Andorra la Vella
129. The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka (2022) 386 pp Fiction/Booker/ATW - Sri Lanka
130. Appaloosa by Robert B. Parker (2005) 290 pp Fiction /Secret Santa
131. There, There by Tommy Orange (2018) 290 pp Fiction
132. The Five by Hallie Rubenhold (2019) 352 pp Non-Fiction
133. A Journal of the Flood Year by David Ely (1992) 223 pp Fiction
134. The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna (2010) 445 pp Fiction / ATW- Sierra Leone

4,821 pages

November

135. Me by Elton John (2019) 376 pp Non-Fiction
136. The Rest of Love by Carl Phillips (2004) 66 pp Poetry
137. Selected Poems by Geoffrey Hill (2006) 276 pp Poetry
138. The Safety Net by Andrea Camilleri (2017) 299 pp Thriller
139. The Tradition by Jericho Brown (2019) 72 pp Poetry
140. The Sicilian Method by Andrea Camilleri (2017) 298 pp Thriller
141. The Sword in the Stone by T.H. White (1939) 209 pp SF/Fantasy / BAC
142. The Cook of the Halcyon by Andrea Camilleri (2019) 264 pp Thriller
143. Riccardino by Andrea Camilleri (2020) 294 pp Thriller
144. The Queen of Air and Darkness by T.H. White (1940) 103 pp SF/Fantasy / BAC
145. The Ill-Made Knight by T.H. White (1958) 202 pp SF/Fantasy / BAC
146. The Candle in the Wind by T.H. White (1958) SF/Fantasy / BAC

Currently Reading

BOOKERS, PULITZERS, NOBEL WINNERS, 1001 BOOKS FIRST ED. & ETC

I have an ongoing challenge to read all the Booker Winners, all the Pulitzer Fiction Winners, something by each Nobel and all the 1001 Books First Ed Books. I will track my progress here:

BOOKERS READ BY DEC 31 2021 : 35 / 58
BOOKERS IN 2022 : 2 (36 / 57)
The Elected Member by Bernice Rubens
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka

PULITZERS READ BY DEC 31 2021 : 19 / 94
PULITZERS IN 2022 : 1 (20 / 94)
The Optimist's Daughter by Eudora Welty

NOBEL LAUREATES READ BY DEC 31 2021 : 74 / 118
NOBEL WINNERS IN 2022 2 (76/119)
Poems by Giosue Carducci
A Girl's Story by Annie Ernaux

1001 BOOKS FIRST ED READ BY DEC 2021 : 319
1001 BOOKS IN 2022 8 (327)
My Name is Red
Tarka the Otter
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Annie John
The Purloined Letter
Tom Jones
Aesop's Fables
The Lonely Londoners

GUARDIAN 1000 BOOKS READ BY DEC 2021 : 349
GUARDIAN BOOKS IN 2022 5 (354)
My Name is Red
Lolly Willowes
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Weaveworld
Tom Jones

WOMEN'S PRIZE WINNERS READ BY DEC 2021 : 7 / 26
WOMEN'S PRIZE WINNERS IN 2022

BRITISH AUTHOR CHALLENGE



January - YA - The Children Who Stayed Behind by Bruce Carter
February - Mo / Renault
March - Between the Wars - Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner
April - Weaveworld by Clive Barker
May - Comics, Graphic Novels & Audiobooks - Peterloo : Witnesses to a Massacre
June - Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay
July - 18th Century - Tom Jones by Henry Fielding
August - Espionage - Nemesis by Rory Clements
September - Sequels/Adaptations etc -
October - The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna
November - Arthurian Tales - The Once and Future King by T.H. White

AMERICAN AUTHOR CHALLENGE



January - Graphic Books - The American Dream? A Journey on Route 66 by Khor Shing Yin
February - Tess Gallagher - Portable Kisses
March - Bernard Malamud
April - Louise Gluck (Wildcard) - A Village Life
May - Nineteenth Century - The Purloined Letter by Edgar Allan Poe
June - John Dos Passos
July - Gish Jen
August - Henry Louis Gates Jr
September - Pulitzers - The Optimist's Daughter by Eudora Welty
October - John McPhee - The Crofter and the Laird
November - Native American Themes - There, There by Tommy Orange

ASIAN BOOK CHALLENGE 2022

Here is the link to the General Thread
https://www.librarything.com/topic/337731#n7692635

These will be the monthly jaunts for the ABC challenge.

JANUARY - Europe of Asia - Turkish Authors link to thread
https://www.librarything.com/topic/338244
1. My Name is Red
2. Last Train to Istanbul
3. Hotel Bosphorus
4. Disquiet

FEBRUARY - The Holy Land - Israeli & Palestinian Authors
Link to thread : https://www.librarything.com/topic/339017
1. The Blue Between Sky and Water
2. The Yellow Wind
3. The Others

MARCH - The Arab World - Writers from the Arab world
link to thread https://www.librarything.com/topic/340000
1. Frankenstein in Baghdad
2. The Songs of Mihyar the Damascene
3. Celestial Bodies

APRIL - Persia - Iranian writers
link to thread : https://www.librarything.com/topic/340943#n7802013
1. The Saddlebag

MAY - The Stans - There are 7 states all in the same region all ending in "Stan"
link to thread: https://www.librarything.com/topic/341521
1. The Devil's Dance (Uzbekistan)

JUNE - The Indian Sub-Continent - Essentially authors from India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh
Link to thread : https://www.librarything.com/topic/342060#n7866381
1. The 3 Mistakes of My Life
2. A Golden Age
3. Tomb of Sand
4. The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida

JULY - The Asian Superpower - Chinese Authors
Link to thread : https://www.librarything.com/topic/342727#n7879104
1. Waiting by Ha Jin

AUGUST - Nippon - Japanese Authors
Link to thread : https://www.librarything.com/topic/343245#n7895968
1. The Master of Go
2. Earthlings
3. Strange Weather in Tokyo

SEPTEMBER - Kimchi - Korean Authors
1. Cursed Bunny
2. My Brilliant Life

OCTOBER - INDO CHINA PLUS - Authors from Indo-China and other countries neighbouring China
1. The Blue Sky

NOVEMBER - The Malay Archipelago - Malaysian, Singaporean and Indonesian Authors
1. Has the West Lost It?

DECEMBER - The Asian Diaspora - Ethnic Asian writers from elsewhere
1. Homeland Elegies
2. Ten Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World
3. Intimacies
4. Night Haunts
5. The Buddha in the Attic

I was able just about to cover the whole of the continent and I didn't include one for Russia as most of the authors are decidedly European in their ethnicity and leaning.

AROUND THE WORLD IN BOOKS SINCE 2021

Around the world in books challenge. I want to see how many countries I can cover without limiting myself to a specific deadline. Continued from last year.


1. United Kingdom - The Ways of the World by Robert Goddard EUROPE
2. Ireland - The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde EUROPE
3. Lithuania - Selected and Last Poems by Czeslaw Milosz EUROPE
4. Netherlands - The Ditch by Herman Koch EUROPE
5. Armenia - The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian ASIA PACIFIC
6. Zimbabwe - This Mournable Body by Tsitsi Dangarembga AFRICA
7. United States - Averno by Louise Gluck AMERICA
8. Australia - Taller When Prone by Les Murray ASIA PACIFIC
9. France - Class Trip by Emmanuel Carrere EUROPE
10. Russia - The Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov EUROPE
11. Denmark - Fear and Trembling by Soren Kierkegaard EUROPE
12. Democratic Republic of Congo - Tram 83 by Fiston Mwanze Mujila AFRICA
13. Canada - I Heard the Owl Call My Name by Margaret Craven AMERICA
14. Italy - The Overnight Kidnapper by Andrea Camilleri EUROPE
15. New Zealand - Dove on the Waters by Maurice Shadbolt ASIA PACIFIC
16. India - A Burning by Megha Majumdar ASIA PACIFIC
17. Libya - The Return by Hisham Matar AFRICA
18. Pakistan - Moth Smoke by Mohsin Hamid ASIA PACIFIC
19. South Korea - Diary of a Murderer by Kim Young-Ha ASIA PACIFIC
20. Morocco - The Curious Case of Dassoukine's Trousers by Fouad Laroui AFRICA
21. Thailand - Arid Dreams by Duanwad Pimwana ASIA PACIFIC
22. Norway - Echoland by Per Petterson EUROPE
23. Belgium - I Choose to Live by Sabine Dardenne EUROPE
24. Sweden - Still Waters by Viveca Sten EUROPE
25. Trinidad - Half a Life by VS Naipaul AMERICAS
26. Sudan - Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih AFRICA
27. Uruguay - Springtime in a Broken Mirror by Mario Benedetti AMERICAS
28. Syria - My Country : A Syrian Memoir by Kassem Eid ASIA PACIFIC
29. Ghana - The God Child by Nana Oforiatta Ayim AFRICA
30. Austria - Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E Frankl EUROPE
31. Germany - Cat and Mouse by Gunter Grass EUROPE
32. South Africa - No Turning Back by Beverley Naidoo AFRICA
33. Mauritania - Arab Jazz by Karim Miske AFRICA
34. Cuba - The Kingdom of This World by Alejo Carpentier AMERICAS
35. Nigeria - Notes on Grief by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie AFRICA
36. Portugal - The Return by Dulce Maria Cardoso EUROPE
37. Japan - Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids by Kenzaburo Oe ASIA PACIFIC
38. Senegal - At Night All Blood is Black by David Diop AFRICA
39. Malta - The Hiding Place by Trezza Azzopardi EUROPE
40. Chile - A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende AMERICAS
41. Lebanon - The First Century After Beatrice by Amin Maalouf ASIA PACIFIC
42. Spain - The Watcher in the Shadows by Carlos Ruiz Zafon EUROPE
43. Somalia - The Fortune Men by Nadifa Mohamed AFRICA
44. Malaysia - Strangers on a Pier by Tash Aw ASIA PACIFIC
45. Mexico - Sudden Death by Alvaro Enrigue AMERICAS
46. Latvia - The Hedgehog and the Fox by Isaian Berlin EUROPE
47. Malawi - Wolf Brother by Michelle Paver AFRICA
48. Turkey - My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk ASIA PACIFIC
49. Egypt - The Thief and the Dogs by Naguib Mahfouz AFRICA
50. Argentina - My Two Worlds by Sergio Chejfec - AMERICAS
51. Iceland - Black Out by Ragnar Jonasson - EUROPE
52. Jamaica - Redemption Ground by Lorna Goodison - AMERICAS
53. Palestine - The Blue Between Sky and Water by Susan Abulhawa - ASIA PACIFIC
54. Israel - The Yellow Wind by David Grossman - ASIA PACIFIC
55. Iraq - Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi - ASIA PACIFIC
56. Papua New Guinea - Tales of the Tikongs by Epeli Hau'ofa - ASIA PACIFIC
57. Oman - Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi - ASIA PACIFIC
58. Iran - The Saddlebag by Bahiyyih Nakhjavani - ASIA PACIFIC
59. Tanzania - Pilgrims Way by Abdulrazak Gurnah - AFRICA
60. Antigua - Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid - AMERICAS
61. Uzbekistan - The Devil's Dance by Hamid Ismailov - ASIA PACIFIC
62. Singapore - Has the West Lost It? by Kishore Mahbubani - ASIA PACIFIC
63. Ukraine - Selected Poems: Anna Akhmatova by Anna Akhmatova - EUROPE
64. Bangladesh - A Golden Age by Tahmima Anam - ASIA PACIFIC
65. Albania - A Girl in Exile by Ismail Kadare - EUROPE
66. Poland - Imperium by Ryszard Kapuscinski - EUROPE
67. China - Waiting by Ha Jin - ASIA PACIFIC
68. Greece - Aesop's Fables by Aesop - EUROPE
69. Rwanda - The Barefoot Woman by Scholastique Mukasonga - AFRICA
70. Guyana - The Murderer by Roy Heath - AMERICAS
71. Mongolia - The Blue Sky by Galsang Tschinag - ASIA PACIFIC
72. Sri Lanka - The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka - ASIA PACIFIC
73. Sierra Leone - The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna - AFRICA


Create Your Own Visited Countries Map

100 Books 100 Authors

Genre Picks

Fiction from the European Capitals

Books of the Month

BOUGHT AND READ IN 2022

1 Opium Abdoh
2 The Blue Between Sky and Water Abulhawa READ
3 Mornings in Jenin Abulhawa
4 There Was a Country Achebe
5 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Adams READ
6 The Wasington Decree Adler-Olsen
7 The Aeinid by Virgil
8 Trouble With Product X Aiken
9 The Naked Don't Fear the Water Aikins
10 What a Strange Paradise Akkad
11 Leave the World Behind Alam
12 The Angel of History Alameddine
13 The Pact We've Made Alammar
14 Cwen Albina
15 The Book of Three Alexander
16 Boys in Zinc Alexievich
17 Bitter Orange Tree Alharthi
18 The Bread the Devil Knead Allen-Agostini
19 Salt Lick Allison
20 The President's Gardens Al-Ramli
21 In the Country Alvar
22 Animalia Amo
23 A Golden Age Anam READ
24 The Bones of Grace Anam
25 The Good Muslim Anam
26 Fantasyland Andersen
27 The Abyss and Other Stories Andreyev
28 All the Names Given Antrobus READ
29 Twilight of Democracy Applebaum
30 Red Famine Applebaum
31 Dear Future Boyfriend Aptowicz
32 The Golden Ass Apuleius
33 Eichmann in Jerusalem Arendt
34 The Travelling Cat Chronicles Arikawa
35 Under the Blue Aristide
36 The Dollmaker Arnow
37 Mad Boy Arvin
38 A Kind of Intimacy Ashworth
39 Ghosted Ashworth
40 Stet Athill
41 A God in Ruins by K Atkinson
42 Transcription by K Atkinson
43 The British are Coming by R Atkinson
44 Dearly Atwood
45 The Testaments Atwood
46 The Push Audrain
47 Mansfield Park Austen
48 Northanger Abbey Austen
49 Bunny Awad
50 Tower Bae
51 How the World Thinks Baggini
52 The Dark Lake Bailey, S
53 A Peace of the World Baker- Kline
54 I Will Miss You Tomorrow Bakkeid
55 When We Were Birds Banwo
56 The Powerful and the Damned Barber
57 Heading Inland Barker, N
58 The Women of Troy Barker, P
59 Night Boat to Tangier Barry
60 Shadows on the Road Barry, M
61 King Cnut Bartlett
62 Last Days in Old Europe Bassett
63 The Inseperables Beauvoir
64 Promised You a Miracle Beckett READ
65 Two Tribes Beckett, C
66 Staligrad Beevor
67 Humboldt's Gift Bellow
68 The Victim Bellow
69 Lucky Breaks Belorusets
70 The Personal Librarian Benedict
71 The Mothers Bennett READ
72 A Manual for Cleaning Women Berlin
73 The Diary of a Country Priest Bernanos
74 The Autumn of the Ace Bernieres
75 Poetry Will Save Your Life Bialosky
76 The Wars of the Roses : The Bloody Struggle for England's Throne Bicheno
77 Civilisations Binet
78 Rift Birch, B
79 Britain 1851-2021 Black
80 The Manningtree Witches Blackmore
81 Lorna Doone Blackmore, RD
82 Selected Poetical Works of Blake Blake
83 The Others Blau READ
84 Heritage Bonnefoy
85 The Beast of the Camargue Bonnot
86 The Hiding Place Boom
87 Two Serious Ladies Bowles
88 Plain Pleasures Bowles
89 White Crysanthemum Bracht
90 Stay With Me Till Morning Braine
91 Illyrian Spring Bridge
92 The Ascent of Man Bronowski
93 Vilette Bronte, C
94 Wuthering Heights Bronte, E
95 Maud Martha Brooks, G
96 The Clocks in this House All Tell Different Times Brooks, X
97 Seven Ways to Change the World Brown
98 Assembly Brown, N
99 Stand on Zanzibar Brunner
100 Notes from a Small Island Bryson
101 Glory Bulawayo
102 Moneyland Bullough
103 Dark Avenues Bunin
104 The Shape of Things to Come Burch
105 Reflections on the Revolution in France Burke
106 Case Study Burnet
107 Evelina Burney
108 Junky Burroughs
109 Perfidious Albion Byers
110 The Poetry of Lord Byron Byron
111 The Road to Oxiana Byron
112 August 1914 : France and the Great War Cabanes
113 Money and Power Cable
114 The Ruin of Kasch Calasso
115 Multitudes Caldwell, L
116 Mr Palomar Calvino
117 Riccardino Camilleri REd
118 Three Light Years Canobbio
119 Careless Capes
120 The Kingdom Carrerre
121 The Lost Girls of Rome Carrisi
122 Nostalgia Cartarescu
123 Queenie Carty-Williams
124 O'Pioneers Cather
125 And the Ass Saw the Angel Cave
126 Don Quixote Cervantes
127 Moonglow Chabon
128 The School for Good Mothers Chan
129 Red Earth and Pouring Rain Chandra
130 Love and Longing in Bombay Chandra
131 Naked Earth Chang
132 Bestiary Chang, K-Ming
133 The Paris Library Charles READ
134 The Canterbury Tales Chaucer
135 The Immortals Chaudhuri
136 My Two Worlds Chejfec READ
137 Grant Chernow
138 The Wish Child Chidgey
139 Remote Sympathy Chidgey
140 Echoes from the City Christensen
141 Peril at End House Christie
142 Cursed Bunny Chung READ
143 The Hunt for Red October Clancy
144 Time and Power Clark
145 Civilisations Clark
146 I Wanna Be Yours Clarke
147 Breathtaking Clarke READ
148 The Dark Knight and the Puppet Master Clarke
149 The Sands of Mars Clarke, AC
150 The End of the Day Clegg
151 Hitler's Secret Clements
152 A Prince and a Spy Clements
153 The Death of Jesus Coetzee
154 The Boy With the Tiger's Heart Coggin
155 The Netanyahus Cohen
156 The Future of Capitalism Collier
157 A House and It's Head Compton-Burnett
158 Manservant and Maidservant Compton-Burnett
159 Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
160 Dignity Conran
161 Fate Consiglio
162 Confession of the Lioness Couto
163 Love in Idleness Craig
164 The Lie of the Land Craig, A
165 A Vicious Circle Craig, A
166 A Very Nice Girl Crimp
167 Dr Finlay's Casebook Cronin
168 Transit Cusk
169 Second Place Cusk
170 A Winter's Promise Dabos
171 The Anarchy Dalrymple
172 All Our Shimmering Skies Dalton
173 Damnation Spring Davidson, A
174 Kolymsky Heights Davidson, L
175 Beneath Another Sky Davies
176 West Davies, C
177 Justice on Trial Daw
178 Roxana Defoe
179 Bomber Deighton
180 Blood, Tears and Folly Deighton
181 The Profiteers Denton
182 Meditations of the First Philosophy Descartes
183 Trust Diaz
184 Martian Time-Slip Dick
185 They Dick, K
186 David Copperfield Dickens
187 A Spare Life Dimkovska
188 Desert Flower Dirie
189 Crime and Punishment Dostoevsky
190 The Gambler Dostoevsky
191 The Guts Doyle
192 Jerusalem the Golden Drabble
193 This Living and Immortal Thing Duffy, A
194 The Generation Game Duffy, S
195 In the Name of the Family Dunant
196 The Dud Avocado Dundy
197 Justine Durrell
198 Balthazar Durrell
199 Mountolive Durrell
200 Clea Durrell
201 White Eagles Over Serbia Durrell
202 Monsieur Durrell
203 Suspicion Durrenmatt
204 The Cry of the Go-Away Bird Eames
205 The Informers Easton Ellis
206 Murmur Eaves READ
207 The Mother Edwards
208 The Witches of St Petersburg Edwards-Jones
209 Manhattan Beach Egan
210 After the Sun Eika
211 Flamingo Elliott
212 The Rack Ellis
213 The Waiting Years Enchi
214 The Dangers of Smoking in Bed Enriquez
215 The Sentence Erdrich
216 Returning to Rheims Eribon
217 The Office of Historical Corrections Evans, D
218 Telephone Everett
219 The Trees Everett
220 Ex Libris Fadiman READ
221 The Volunteer Fairweather
222 In the Darkroom Faludi
223 Everything is True Farooki
224 Sovietistan Fatland READ
225 Wild Palms Faulkner
226 Soldier's Pay Faulkner
227 Colossus Ferguson
228 Doom Ferguson
229 The Days of Abandonement Ferrante
230 The Story of a New Name Ferrante
231 Then We Came to the End Ferris
232 The Europeans Figes
233 The Whisperers Figes
234 The Body Snatchers Finney
235 The Package Fitzek
236 Effi Briest Fontane
237 A Tall History of Sugar Forbes
238 The Good Soldier Ford
239 The Longest Journey Forster
240 The Outsider Forsyth
241 A New Name Fosse
242 The Other Name Fosse
243 In the Wolf's Mouth Foulds
244 The Turner House Fournoy
245 Booth Fowler
246 Padagogy of the Oppressed Freire
247 Political Order and Political Decay Fukuyama
248 Identity Fukuyama
249 Unsettled Ground Fuller
250 The Great Crash 1929 Galbraith
251 Everyone Knows Your Mother is a Witch Galchen
252 Take Nothing With You Gale
253 Small Circle of Beings Galgut
254 Portable Kisses Gallagher, T READ
255 The Lover of Horses Gallagher, T
256 Mrs Arris Goes to Paris Gallico
257 Fate is the Hunter Gann
258 Of Women and Salt Garcia
259 Treacle Walker Garner READ
260 The Checklist Manifesto Gawande
261 The Yellow House Gayford
262 My Cleaner Gee
263 Breakout at Stalingrad Gerlach
264 Surviving Autocracy Gessen
265 Enbury Heath Gibbons
266 Until I Find Julian Giff
267 Gigi Colette
268 The Gardens of Mars Gimlette
269 The Man Who Planted Trees Giono READ
270 The Day of Silence Gissing
271 The Death of a Mafia Don Giuttari
272 A Florentine Death Giuttari
273 Talking to Strangers Gladwell
274 The Fine Art of Invisible Detection Goddard
275 Coromandel Sea Change Godden, R
276 Elective Affinities Goethe
277 Wilhelm Meister Goethe
278 Darkness Visible Golding
279 The Double Tongue Golding
280 Olga Dies Dreaming Gonzalez
281 Redemption Ground Goodison READ
282 The Mother Gorky
283 The Dark Circle Grant, L
284 The Greek Myths Graves
285 Straw Dogs Gray
286 Old Men in Love Gray
287 The Heart of the Matter Greene
288 Brighton Rock Greene READ
289 Our Man in Havana Greene
290 A Burnt out Case Greene
291 The Quiet American Greene
292 The Human Factor Greene
293 The End of the Affair Greene
294 Down Among the Wild Men Greenway
295 Rose Nicholson Greig
296 The Zig Zag Girl Griffiths
297 Matrix Groff
298 Delicate Edible Birds Groff
299 The Storyteller Grohl
300 Liar Gundar-Goshen
301 Pilgrims Way Gurnah READ
302 Memory of Departure Gurnah
303 Dottie Gurnah
304 Paradise Gurnah
305 Admiring Silence Gurnah
306 Red Birds Haif
307 The Last Family in England Haig
308 Burntcoat Hall, S
309 The Familiars Halls
310 Mrs England Halls READ
311 The Foundling Halls
312 The Quarry Halls, B
313 The Last White Man Hamid
314 For the Glory Hamilton
315 The Pages Hamilton
316 The Left Handed Woman Handke
317 The Great Alone Hannah
318 The Four Winds Hannah, K
319 The 1619 Project Hannah-Jones
320 21 Lessons for the 21st Century Harari
321 The Art of Fielding Harbach
322 Below Deck Hardcastle
323 Enon Harding
324 Far From the Madding Crowd Hardy READ
325 The Mayor of Casterbridge Hardy
326 Tess of the D'Urbervilles Hardy
327 The Woodlanders Hardy
328 Jude the Obscure Hardy
329 I Who Have Never Known Men Harpman READ
330 The Other Black Girl Harris
331 Tender Harwicz
332 Shadowless Hasan
333 Ill Feelings Hattrick
334 The Wall Haushofer
335 Dear Child Hausmann
336 Pandora's Jar Haynes
337 The Mere Wife Headley
338 The Murderer Heath READ
339 The Paper Palace Heller
340 True at First Light Hemingway
341 Death in the Afternoon Hemingway
342 A Moveable Feast Hemingway
343 Never Again Hennessy
344 A Small Revolution in Germany Hensher
345 Too Far to Walk Hersey
346 The Glass Bead Game Hesse
347 Emergency Hildyard
348 Men Who Feed Pigeons Hill
349 A Brief History of the Anglo-Saxons Hindley
350 The Outsiders Hinton
351 A Man Hirano
352 A Lie Someone Told About Yourself Ho Davies
353 The Age of Empire Hobsbawm
354 The Age of Extremes Hobsbawm
355 Dominion Holland
356 Cathedral Hopkins
357 Moonflower Murders Horowitz
358 The House of Silk Horowitz
359 The Hunting Dogs Horst
360 Southernmost House
361 All Change Howard
362 The Windsor Diairies Howard
363 Only Killers and Thieves Howarth
364 The Book of Mother Huisman
365 An Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding Hume
366 Zorrie Hunt READ
367 The Evening Road Hunt, L
368 Jonah's Gourd Vine Hurston
369 Island Huxley
370 The Morning Gift Ibbotson READ
371 The Slaughterman's Daughter Iczkovits
372 Headlong Ings
373 In One Person Irving
374 Bullet Train Isaka
375 Klara and the Sun Ishiguro, K
376 Common Ground Ishiguro, N
377 The Prince of West End Avenue Isler
378 The Devil's Dance Ismailov READ
379 Fault Lines Itami
380 The Librarian of Auschwitz Iturbe
381 The Will to Believe James
382 The Golden Bowl James
383 The Tusk that Did the Damage James, T
384 The Loves Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois Jeffers
385 The Changeling Jenkins
386 Middle Passage Johnson, C
387 Fen Johnson, D
388 Wild Grass Johnson, I
389 My Monticello Johnson, JN
390 A Deeper Shade of Blue Johnston
391 Hitman Anders and the Meaning of it All Jonasson
392 The Pugilist at Rest Jones
393 Realm Divided Jones, D
394 Palmares Jones, G
395 Corregidora Jones, G
396 Breathe Joyce
397 A Girl in Exile Kadare READ
398 Prolgemena on any future Metaphysics Kant
399 Imperium Kapuscinski READ
400 Travels with Herodotus Kapuscinski
401 The Emperor Kapuscinski
402 The Sound of the Mountain Kawabata
403 Before the Coffee Gets Cold Kawaguchi
404 Breasts and Eggs Kawakami
405 All the Lovers in the Night Kawakami
406 Bessie Smith Kay READ
407 This is Going to Hurt Kay
408 Every Fire You Tend Kaygusuz
409 Ask Again, Yes Keane, MB
410 Complete Poems of John Keats Keats
411 For the Good Times Keenan, D
412 A Disaffection Kelman
413 The Transition Kennard
414 The Answer to Everything Kennard
415 The End of the World is a Cul-de-Sac Kennedy
416 Painting Time Kerangal
417 Roundabout of Death Khartash
418 Things in Jars Kidd
419 My Brilliant Life Kim READ
420 See Now Then Kincaid
421 A Gift of Love King, Jr
422 Writers and Lovers King, L
423 Beast Kingsnorth
424 River Kinsky
425 Intimacies Kitamura READ
426 A Separation Kitamura
427 Why We're Polarized Klein
428 The House in the Cerulean Sea Klune
429 Autumn Knausgaard READ
430 Winter Knausgaard
431 Spring Knausgaard
432 Summer Knausgaard
433 War and War Krasznahorkai
434 The Light That Failed Kratsev
435 Last Train to Istanbul Kulin READ
436 Gods Without Men Kunzru
437 Build Your House Around My Body Kupersmith
438 Grey Bees Kurkov
439 Salt Kurlansky
440 Cod Kurlansky
441 Telex from Cuba Kushner
442 The Answers Lacey
443 Paul Lafarge
444 Wherabouts Lahiri
445 Modern Gods Laird
446 Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures Lam
447 Maid Land
448 Good Neightbours Langan
449 The Couple Next Door Lapena
450 The Praetorians Larteguy
451 Lady Chatterley's Lover Lawrence
452 A Town Called Solace Lawson
453 Salka Valka Laxness
454 Silverview Le Carre
455 The Goose Fritz Lebedev
456 Free Food for Millionaires Lee, MJ
457 Songbirds Lefteri
458 Lanterne Rouge Leonard
459 The Grass is Singing Lessing
460 Hana's Suitcase Levine, K READ
461 Things I Don't Want to Know Levy
462 Real Estate Levy
463 The Cost of Living Levy
464 Days in the History of Silence Lindstrom, M READ
465 Severance Ling Ma
466 The Wind on the Moon Linklater
467 Pleasantville Locke
468 She Lies in Wait Lodge
469 Martin Eden London
470 The Kids Lowe READ
471 Foreign Affairs Lurie
472 The War Between the Tates Lurie
473 Border Songs Lynch
474 Crewe Train Macaulay READ
475 The Night the Rich Men Burned Mackay
476 Tenderness MacLeod
477 Mother Mother Macmanus
478 War : How Conflict Shaped Us MacMillan READ
479 Collected Poems : Louis MacNeice MacNeice
480 The Colony Magee
481 From India Mahadevan
482 Has the West Lost It? Mahbubani READ
483 The Cruel Way Maillart
484 Gossip from the Forest Maitland
485 Manchester Happened Makumbi
486 The Silent Woman Malcolm
487 Nocilla Dream Mallo
488 Nocilla Experience Mallo
489 Nocilla Lab Mallo
490 Fly Away Peter Malouf
491 Aue Manawatu
492 Seasons of Purgatory Mandanipour
493 The Glass Hotel Mandel
494 Tangerine Mangan
495 Buddenbrooks Mann
496 Shadowplay Marshall
497 Batlava Lake Mars-Jones READ
498 Sorrow and Bliss Mason
499 You be Mother Mason
500 The Four Horsemen Mayhew
501 Governing the World Mazower
502 How Beautiful We Were Mbue
503 How to Disappear McAllister
504 Child of God McCarthy
505 Suttree McCarthy
506 The Crossing McCarthy
507 All the Pretty Horses McCarthy
508 Cities of the Plain McCarthy
509 Blood Meridian McCarthy
510 Greenlights McConaughey READ
511 Shakespearean McCrum
512 The Mermaids Singing McDermid
513 Little Girl Lost McGilloway
514 Lean Fall Stand McGregor
515 Pure Gold McHugh
516 The Rules of Revelation McInerney
517 Paradais Melchior
518 Three Rings Mendelsohn
519 The Exhibitionist Mendelson
520 Lenin on the Strain Merridale
521 Carthage Must Be Destroyed Miles
522 Utilitarianism Mill
523 Norwegian by Night Miller, D
524 A Children's Bible Millet
525 Go Big Milliband
526 Paradise Lost Milton
527 Nathaniel's Nutmeg Milton, G
528 Four Soldiers Mingarelli
529 Age of Anger Mishra
530 The Bettr Half Moalem
531 Black Mamba Boy Mohamed
532 King of the City Moorcock
533 The Sport of Kings Morgan
534 The Naked Ape Morris
535 The Bluest Eye Morrison
536 Adventures in Morocco Morrison
537 Maps of Our Spectacular Badies Mortimer
538 My Year of Rest and Relaxation Moshfegh
539 The Fell Moss READ
540 Signs for Lost Children Moss
541 Nightcrawling Mottley
542 The Barefoot Woman Mukasonga READ
543 Lives of Girls and Women Munro
544 First Person Singular Murakami
545 Colorless Tsukuru Tasaki Murakami
546 Convenience Store Woman Murata
547 The Bell Murdoch READ
548 The Sandcastle Murdoch
549 Under the Net Murdoch
550 The Time of the Angels Murdoch
551 The Confusions of Young Torless Musil
552 Male Tears Myers
553 Beastings Myers
554 Pnin Nabokov
555 Pale Fire Nabokov
556 How High We Go in the Dark Nagamatsu
557 The Boat Nam Le
558 Blanche on the Lam Neely
559 Open Water Nelson
560 Ratlines Neville
561 Little Fires Everwhere Ng
562 Outlawed North
563 We Were the Mulvaneys Oates
564 The Man Without Qualities Oates
565 The Diving Pool Ogawa
566 The Memory Police Ogawa
567 Ten North Frederick O'Hara
568 Dog Park Oksanen
569 Rooms Oliver
570 The Ministry of Bodies O'Mahony
571 Running in the Family Ondaatje
572 Daydreams of Angels O'Neill
573 Almost Love O'Neill
574 Dark Neighbourhood Onwuemezi
575 The Nest Oppel READ
576 There, There Orange READ
577 Chouette Oshetsky
578 The Man Who Died Twice Osman
579 Wildland Osnos
580 Gentlemen Ostergren
581 The Swimmers Otsuka
582 The Buddha in the Attic Otsuka READ
583 The Portrait Otten
584 The Road to War Overy
585 Peaces Oyeyemi
586 The Book of Form and Emptiness Ozeki
587 Daughters of the Labyrinth Padel
588 Silent House Pamuk
589 The Red-Haired Woman Pamuk
590 Benjamin's Crossing Parini
591 Love in the Big City Park
592 Travelling in a Strange Land Park, D
593 Appaloosa Parker, R READ
594 The Dutch House Patchett
595 The Moon and the Bonfires Pavase
596 The House on the Hill Pavese
597 The Wanderers Pears
598 An Instance of the Fingerpost Pears
599 The Brothers York Penn
600 The Essex Serpent Perry
601 12 Rules for Life Peterson
602 Beyond Order Peterson
603 Mama Amazonica Petit
604 Prague Phillips, A
605 The Secret Lives of Church Ladies Philyaw
606 Capital in the Twenty First Century Piketty
607 Elena Knows Pineiro
608 The Sense of Style Pinker
609 The Colossus Plath
610 The Death of Socrates Plato
611 Poetics Poetics
612 The Glass Pearls Pressburger
613 Within a Budding Grove Proust
614 The Kingdoms Pulley
615 Some Tame Gazelle Pym
616 The Lady from Tel Aviv Rabai Al-Madhoun
617 The Italian Radcliffe
618 The Fountainhead Rand
619 The World Made Straight Rash
620 English Pastoral Rebanks
621 The Behaviour of Love Reeves
622 The Late Sun Reid READ
623 Daisy Jones and the Six Reid
624 The Wolf and the Woodsman Reid
625 The Way Back Remarque
626 Purposes of Love Renault
627 The Evenings Reve
628 The Wave Rhue
629 Hard Choices : What Britain Does Next Ricketts
630 Pandemic Riddle
631 A Shock Ridgway
632 First Love Riley READ
633 My Phantoms Riley
634 Stiff Roach
635 The Storm of War Roberts
636 News of the Dead Robertson
637 Beautiful World, Where are You? Rooney READ
638 Many Different Kinds of Love Rosen
639 Oreo Ross
640 This Sky One Day Ross, L
641 Looking for Mr Goodbar Rossner
642 Call it Sleep Roth, H
643 The Humbling Roth, P
644 Statistics Without Tears Rowntree
645 Sleeping on Jupiter Roy
646 My Dark Vanessa Russell, K
647 On Politics Ryan
648 Holes Sacher
649 Fireflies Sagasti
650 China Room Sahota
651 Ours are the Streets Sahota
652 Ariadne Saint
653 The Teacher of Cheops Salvado
654 Seasons in the Sun Sandbrook
655 Who Dares Wins Sandbrook
656 State of Emergency Sandbrook
657 Never Had it So Good Sandbrook
658 White Heat Sandbrook
659 The Tyranny of Merit Sandel
660 East West Street Sands
661 Push Sapphire
662 The Double Saramago
663 The Wall Sartre
664 Time's Monster Satia
665 The Collapse of Globalism Saul
666 The Power of the Dog Savage
667 Without a Claim Schulman
668 After Sappho Schwartz
669 Mouthful of Birds Schweblin READ
670 Ottoman Odyssey Scott
671 Son of the Century Scurati
672 Vertigo Sebald
673 The Butt Self
674 Desiree Selinko
675 Once Upon a River Setterfield
676 Mercies Sexton
677 Sonnets Shakespeare
678 King Lear Shakespeare
679 Selected Poetry of Percy Bysse Shelley Shelley
680 The World to Come Shepard
681 The Real Iron Lady Shephard
682 The School for Scandal Sheridan
683 The Stone Diairies Shields
684 Body Surfing Shreve
685 Should We Stay or Should We Go Shriver
686 Our Country Friends Shteyngart
687 Improvement Silber
688 Prep Sittenfield
689 Money and Government Skidelsky
690 The Country of Others Slimani
691 Spring Smith, A
692 The Road to Unfreedom Snyder
693 Orwell's Roses Solnit
694 The Gallary of Vanished Husbands Solomons
695 August 14 Solzhenitsyn
696 The Moon and Sixpence Somerset Maugham READ
697 Cakes and Ale Somerset Maugham
698 Of Human Bondage Somerset Maugham
699 The Painted Veil Somerset Maugham
700 The Razor's Edge Somerset Maugham
701 In America Sontag
702 The Dictionary of Animal Languages Sopinka
703 The Quest for Cosmic Justice Sowell
704 The Interpreters Soyinka
705 Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth Soyinka
706 The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie Spark READ
707 The Sign of the Beaver Speare, E READ
708 Light Perpetual Spufford
709 The New Oxford Book of War Poetry Stallworthy
710 My Cat Yugoslavia Statovci
711 The Grapes of Wrath Steinbeck
712 Closed Circles Sten
713 In Memory of Memory Stepanova
714 Seveneves Stephenson
715 Britain Alone Stevens
716 The Black Arrow Stevenson
717 Earth Abides Stewart
718 In the Days of Rain Stott
719 Dead Man's Embers Strachan
720 Oh William Strout
721 Roadside Picnic Strugartsky
722 Havana Year Zero Suarez
723 Asylum Road Sudjic
724 Sweet Bean Paste Sukegawa
725 The Last Green Valley Sullivan
726 The Silence of Scheherzade Suman
727 Law in a Time of Crisis Sumption
728 A World Without Work Susskind
729 How to be well Read Sutherland
730 Katalin Street Szabo
731 The Histories Tacitus
732 Animal Tadeo
733 Three Women Tadeo
734 The Listeners Tannahill
735 Blaming Taylor
736 Misbehaving Thaler
737 Picture Palace Theroux
738 The River Between Thiong'o
739 Learwife Thorp
740 Chinatown Thuan
741 The Great Level Tillyard
742 The Magician Toibin
743 The Books of Jacob Tokarczuk
744 Anna Karenina Tolstoy
745 This Sovereign Isle Tombs
746 Crashed Tooze
747 Swing Hammer Swing! Torrington
748 The Inequality Machine Tough
749 Lonely Castle in the Mirror Tsujimura
750 A Distant Mirror Tuchman READ
751 On the Eve Turgenev
752 Smoke Turgenev
753 Virgin Soil Turgenev
754 Vinegar Girl Tyler
755 Rabbit Redux Updike
756 The Neighborhood Vargas Lllosa
757 Another Now Varoufakis
758 Adults in the Room Varoufakis
759 Myra Breckinridge Vidal
760 Breakfast of Champions Vonnegut
761 The Order of the Day Vuillard
762 KL : A History of the Nazi Concentration Camps Wachsmann
763 The Castle of Otranto Walpole
764 Hench Walschots
765 The Cold Millions Walter
766 The Final Revival of Opal & Nev Walton, D
767 The Philosopher King Walton, J
768 Downsizing Watson READ
769 Fools Crow Welch, J
770 Remember Me Weldon
771 Two Hundred Years of Muddling Through Weldon
772 Kipps Wells
773 The Cutting Room Welsh
774 The Machine Gunners Westall
775 Harlem Shuffle Whitehead
776 Zone One Whitehead
777 The Classical School : The Turbulent Birth of Economics Williams, C
778 This is Happiness Williams, N
779 Four Letters of Love Williams, N
780 The Dictionary of Lost Words Williams, P
781 Resolution Wilson
782 Land Winchester
783 The Surgeon of Crowthorne Winchester
784 Still Life Winman
785 The Shepherd's Hut Winton
786 The Right Stuff Wolfe
787 Ten Great Works of Philosophy Wolff
788 The Female Persuasion Wolitzer
789 The Interestings Wolitzer
790 The Waves Woolf
791 The Years Woolf
792 The Man With the Compound Eyes Wu Ming-Yi
793 Trouble with Lichen Wyndham
794 Madam Wynne
795 20 Fragments of a Ravenous Youth Xiaolu Gao
796 Cold Spring Harbor Yates
797 Moscow Stations Yerofeev
798 Nightbitch Yoder
799 Briar Rose Yolen
800 Run Me to Earth Yoon
801 Fieldwork in Ukrainian Sex Zabuzhko
802 Ten Lessons for a Post- Pandemic World Zakaria
803 The Fellowship Zaleski
804 We Are All Birds Zayyan
805 The Hidden Pleasures of Life Zeldin
806 Between the Wars Ziegler
807 Black Shack Alley Zobel
808 The Attack on the Mill Zola
809 A Love Story Zola
810 The Conquest of Plassans Zola
811. Dominion by Peter Ackroyd
812. Dakota Kill by Peter Brandvold
813. The Romantics by Peter Brandvold
814. The Red Prince by Helen Carr
815. The House on the Lake by Nuala Ellwood
816. So Big by Edna Ferber
817. On Tangled Paths by Theodor Fontane
818. What You Have Heard is True by Carolyn Forche
819. A Fistful of Shells by Toby Green
820. Why We Get the Wrong Politicians by Isabel Hardman
821. The Junior Officer's Reading Club by Patrick Hennessey
822. Finisterre by Graham Hurley
823. Stalker by Lars Kepler
824. The Government of No One by Ruth Kinna
825. The Centurians by Jean Larteguy
826. The Flight Portfolio by Julie Orringer
827. The Devil in the Flesh by Raymond Radiguet
828. Ransom by Michael Symmons Roberts READ
829. So Sure of Death by Dana Stabenow
830. Germinal by Emile Zola
831. The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka READ
832. Triflers Need Not Apply by Camilla Bruce
833. We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
834. Mexican Gothic by Sylvia Moreno-Garcia
835. The Truants by Kate Weinberg
836. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
837. The Glamour Boys by Chris Bryant
838. Solar by Ian McEwan
839. Metamorphosis : Selected Stories by Penelope Lively
840. The City of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
841. Bonsai by Alejandro Zambra
842. Before My Actual Heart Breaks by Tish Delaney
843. The Other Slavery by Andres Resendez
844. The End of Everything by Katie Mack
845. The History of England : Volume VI - Innovation by Peter Ackroyd
846. Orlando King by Isabel Colegate
847. Orlando at the Brazen Threshold by Isabel Colegate
848. Agatha by Isabel Colegate
849. Leaving the Atocha Station by Ben Lerner
850. Exteriors by Annie Ernaux
851. K. by Roberto Calasso
852. Damned If I Do by Percival Everett
853. Meridian by Alice Walker
854. Outer Dark by Cormac McCarthy
855. A Place Called Winter by Patrick Gale
856. The Morning Star by Karl Ove Knausgaard
857. Melmoth by Sarah Perry
858. The Girls of Slender Means by Muriel Spark
859. Light of the Moon by Elizabeth Buchan
860. The First Kingdom : Britain in the Age of Arthur by Max Adams
861. Sea of Tranquility by Emily St John Mandel
862. The Prime Ministers We Never Had by Steve Richards
863. Traitor in the Ice by KJ Maitland
864. My Turn to Make the Tea by Monica Dickens
865. A Winter War by Tim Leach
866. The Muse by Jessie Burton
867. Free : Coming of Age at the End of History by Lea Ypi
868. The North Ship by Philip Larkin
869. Torch by Lin Anderson
870. Deadly Code by Lin Anderson
871. Boyhood Island by Karl Ove Knausgaard
872. Night Film by Marisha Pessl
873. Banquet for the Damned by Adam Nevill
874. Before the Fall by Noah Hawley
875. Aftermath : Life in the Fallout of the Third Reich by Harald Jahner
876. Captains of the Sands by Jorge Amado
877. Driftnet by Lin Anderson
878. Cousin Bette by Honore de Balzac
879. Tobacco Road by Erskine Caldwell
880. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
The Avignon Quintet (Comprising - Monsieur not counted as it is already on the shelves)
881. Livia by Lawrence Durrell
882. Constance by Lawrence Durrell
883. Sebastian by Lawrence Durrell
884. Quinx by Lawrence Durrell
The Studs Lonigan Trilogy
885. Young Lonigan by James T Farrell
886. The Young Manhood of Studs Lonigan by James T Farrell
887. Judgment Day by James T Farrell
888. Waking Up by Sam Harris
889. Collected Poems of Ted Hughes by Ted Hughes counting volumes added or replaced:
890. Recklings by Ted Hughes
891. Wodwo by Ted Hughes
892. Crow by Ted Hughes
893. Prometheus on His Crag by Ted Hughes
894. Season Songs by Ted Hughes
895. Gaudete by Ted Hughes
896. Orts by Ted Hughes
897. Cave Birds by Ted Hughes
898. Remains of Elmet by Ted Hughes
899. Moortown Diary by Ted Hughes
900. River by Ted Hughes
901. Flowers and Insects by Ted Hughes
902. Rain-charm for the Duchy by Ted Hughes
903. Birthday Letters by Ted Hughes
904. The Lonely Skier by Hammond Innes
905. A Twist of Sand by Geoffrey Jenkins
906. The Jewish War by Josephus
907. New Selected Poems by Philip Levine
908. Hidden Symptoms by Dierdre Madden
909. Books Do Furnish a Room by Anthony Powell
910. Temporary Kings by Anthony Powell
911. Hearing Secret Harmonies by Anthony Powell
912. Citizens by Simon Schama
913. Guiltless by Viveca Sten
914. The Sin of Abbe Mouret by Emile Zola
915. Inferno by Dante Alighieri
916. The Illustrated Woman by Helen Mort
917. Dart by Alice Oswald
918. Girlhood by Julia Copus
919. Sandettie Light Vessel Automatic by Simon Armitage
920. Wisdom of the Ancients : Life Lessons from our Distant Past by Neil Oliver.
921. On War Carl von Clausewitz
922. Crossroads by Jonathan Franzen
923. Istanbul by Orhan Pamuk
924. Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
925. Tell Them of Battles, Kings, and Elephants by Mathias Enard
926. The Years by Annie Erneaux
927. Life Among the Savages by Shirley Jackson
928. Dancing in the Dark by Karl Ove Knausgaard
929. The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt
930. The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida by Clarissa Goenawan
931. Selected Poems by W.H.Auden
932. A Harlot High and Low by Honore de Balzac
933. The Dead House by Harry Bingham
934. Brazzaville Beach by William Boyd
935. A Dry White Season by Andre Brink
936. The Tradition by Jericho Brown
937. Waiting for the Waters to Rise by Maryse Conde
938. Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline
939. The Tongue's Blood Does Not Run Dry by Assia Djebar
940. Masaryk Station by David Downing
941. I is Another by Jon Fosse
942. Caught by Henry Green
943. Back by Henry Green
944. Concluding by Henry Green
945. Hangover Square by Patrick Hamilton
946. A Conspiracy of Tall Men by Noah Hawley
947. The Major Works by Gerard Manley Hopkins
948. The Caveman by Jorn Lier Horst
949. Foster by Claire Keegan
950. The Stoning by Peter Papathanasiou
951. The Arctic by Don Paterson
952. The Age of Reason by Jean-Paul Sartre
953. Tonight You're Dead by Viveca Sten
954. Adam Bede by George Eliot
955. The Dark Valley by Valerio Varesi
956. Creatures of Passage by Morowa Yejide
957. His Excellency Eugene Rougon by Emile Zola
958. The Numbers Game : Why Everything You Know About Football is Wrong by Chris Anderson
959. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight trans by Simon Armitage
960. The Tenant by Katrine Engberg
961. This is the Night They Come for You by Robert Goddard
962. The Past by Tessa Hadley
963. The Goddess Chronicle by Natsuo Kirino
964. Some Rain Must Fall by Karl Ove Knausgaard
965. The End by Karl Ove Knausgaard
966. The Night Singer by Johanna Mo
967. Turning Blue by Benjamin Myers
968. Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl
969. If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio
970. Widening Income Inequality by Frederick Seidel
971. What Goes On : Selected and New Poems 1995-2009 by Stephen Dunn
972. Close Quarters by Michael Gilbert
973. The Story of the World in 100 Moments by Neil Oliver
974. Jawbone by Monica Ojeda
975. The King's Fool by Mahi Binebine
976. The Demon of Dakar by Kjell Eriksson

Added 976
Read 61

Book Stats

Next up is yours

happy new one!

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread, Paul

>20 figsfromthistle: Second thread in a row you have been first up, Anita. You keep doing that then I'll have to convert the virtual bookshelf to a real one!

>21 amanda4242: Thank you dear Amanda.

You will note that I have made a start on The Sword in the Stone.

>22 jessibud2: Thanks Shelley. Great to see you back posting in your normal numbers after a tough middle year. xx

Happy New Thread!

Missed the bookshelf award by 30ish minutes. Pesky job keeping me from the fun stuff :)

Ah, The Sword in the Stone. I have the The Once and Future King on the shelf. Its a compilation of 4 of the books in the series, including Sword. I'm sure I've read it in the past, but surprisingly it wasn't cataloged, so its been at least 15 years since I've done so. I should try again.

>25 mahsdad: Yes I have the same compilation of 4 books and I will read all of them this month all being well, Jeff.
I have four remaining in the Camilleri series and I am hoping to achieve the completion of those too.

Always a pleasure to have you drop by, buddy.

Happy new thread Paul!

>1 PaulCranswick: What a bright picture.

>27 quondame: Thanks Susan.

It isn't so easy to find flattering photos of my wife's hometown! Any how I have very fond memories of the place.

>23 PaulCranswick: I think I was first on six of your 30 threads - twice with two times in a row. :)

>24 PaulCranswick: I was very pleased to see The Sword in the Stone up there! I just finished that section of The Once and Future King last night. The version in the compilation is different than was originally published, but I think the revisions make it stronger as part of a series--except for cutting Madame Mim, which left chapter six weak.

>29 figsfromthistle: That is really impressive, Anita. I am honoured that you are so consistently quick off the mark xx

>30 amanda4242: Some of the modernist references in the story to newspapers and port wine and Agincourt are a bit confusing at first, Amanda, and I think that he is just being playful.

>32 PaulCranswick: I think it's part playful, in the sense that he's playing with the anachronistic nature of the legend itself, and partly as response to the times in which he was writing: it's very much an anti-war novel and the first part did come out on the eve of WWII.

>33 amanda4242: I get that too, Amanda. It is interesting that White moved to Ireland during the war and stayed there as something of a conscientious objector.

Happy new thread, Paul!

Well on your way to 1,000 books added, and maybe even 10,000 msgs on your threads ;-)

Happy new thread, Paul!

>24 PaulCranswick: Have fun reading. Yes, it is an anti-war book. But also about the makings of a good king. I can’t imagine White supporting nazi Germany in any way.

>35 FAMeulstee: I don't think 10,000 posts is on, Anita but there is an outside chance of 9,000 and that hasn't been done for a while. I passed 10,000 posts only once and it has only happened once as far as I can tell in any of the groups.

>36 EllaTim: No, he certainly was not a fascist, Ella, that much is beyond reasonable argument. Lovely to see you as always.

Happy New Thread, Paul.

Happy New Thread, Paul. I hope everything is going well on your side of the world. Aftermath: Life in the Fallout of the Third Reich sounds like a good one. I will have to add it to my audio list.

>38 Kristelh: Thank you Kristel x

>39 msf59: Thanks Mark. It is pretty decent thus far buddy.

Happy new thread!!

Why was it called a cowboy town?
I live in a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri in the US and it is often referred to as a cowtown, because in the beginning it was a center for the meat packing industries and stockyards. A lot of people have mixed feelings about the label Cowtown today, some love it while others loath it.
Just wondering if it was anything like that.

>41 hredwards: Thanks Harold. It is because Lee Kuan Yew used to say it was lawless like the Wild West!

Happy New Thread!

I was privileged to hear Tommy Orange speak at the native writers' conference I attended earlier this fall. He read some of the first pages of his sequel to There, There which included a stunning plot twist.

Anyhoo, I think his multitude of characters was trying to reflect the variety of urban Indians' experiences - many don't have a relationship with other members of their own or any other tribe. He said there are more urban Indians than those living on the various reservations - even though most of the native fiction takes place on the res.

Happy new thread Paul, from a fine country over the causeway!

>43 streamsong: Lovely to see you, Janet. I am utterly fascinated and very, very saddened by the plight of the Native Americans. Displacement is a theme prevalent in their writing isn't it? I will certainly look for Orange's sequel as I thought it was sort of set up for one.

>44 humouress: Hahaha thanks neighbour. "Fine" in this case being a play on the word as a sort of local in joke referring as it does to Singapore's habit a levying fines on its populace (and visitors) for an array of reasons which include not crossing the road properly and chewing gum in public.

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/345739

Happy new thread, Paul!

>46 SilverWolf28: Thank you, Silver. I guess 5 books will be completed this weekend which will give me a nice boost to my numbers.

>47 curioussquared: Thanks Natalie. Always lovely to see you here.

A little stuttering start today:

Wordle 510 5/6

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But safely home.

>1 PaulCranswick: Happy new thread!!

Happy new thread, Paul. You're a day ahead of me on Wordle. I'll have to see if I can do as well as you tomorrow.

>50 ocgreg34: Thank you, Greg!

>51 Familyhistorian: I think that there is a good chance that you will do so, Meg. Not one of my better efforts in truth!

Friday Lunchtime Additions

926. The Years by Annie Erneaux
927. Life Among the Savages by Shirley Jackson
928. Dancing in the Dark by Karl Ove Knausgaard
929. The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt
930. The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida by Clarissa Goenawan

I am getting ready for a few mammoth reads next year and Knausgaard will be a particular feature.

Happy new thread, Paul! I was pleased with my result in today's Wordle, getting it in four.

>54 bell7: I almost ended up with two guesses and no letters but I got there. Lovely as always to have you drop by, Mary.

Happy new thread!

I don't think I have ever managed to be first on one of your threads, Paul, but this is quite early for me! Happy new thread.

>53 PaulCranswick: The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida is a good book!

>56 drneutron: Thanks Jim!

>57 DeltaQueen50: And a veritable honour for me, Guru. xx Lovely to see you.

>58 ocgreg34: The author is highly talked about in the region, Greg.

Must say that I am particularly pleased with this one:

Wordle 511 3/6

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>53 PaulCranswick: Oh GAWD not Knausgard! No no no! Purge and forget before whatever pollutant is in his prose enters your brainstem like that stuff from catbox filler and makes you one of...Them. It would be such a loss if you had to be sacrificed to keep the literary world Pure.

>62 richardderus: Hahaha RD. Another of your favourites, I see!

Adore him. Worship him. Drink his bathwater.

*retch*

I'm watching for at least 75 more acquisitions this year!

#Worldle #295 1/6 (100%)
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https://worldle.teuteuf.fr

😉

>52 PaulCranswick: My efforts on that one matched yours, Paul. Fingers crossed that I do that for the next one as well as you did a lot better there.

Belated Happy New Thread, Paul.

Happy new thread Paul!
>1 PaulCranswick: A part of me always thinks pictures of cities this colorful are fake, I've never been to a place like that in real life and the vibrancy seems unreal. Also, you are incredibly close to 1,000 books acquired and here I just put myself on a book buying halt as I realized I've acquired well over 100 this year and have started getting very creative about finding space for them...I can't even imagine trying to allocate space for 1,000.

>64 richardderus: Don't do that for heaven's sake, it will be in his next book.

>65 thornton37814: I have a fairly big order pending from Book Depo for 30 titles which will move me nicely towards four figures for the year, Lori.

>66 humouress: Would be rather difficult for me to get that one wrong, Nina. xx

>67 Familyhistorian: Yeah I was pleasantly surprised with a three today, Meg.

>68 ArlieS: Thank you Arlie. Not so belated yet dear lady!

>69 WhiteRaven.17: I know what you mean, Kro. There are some beautiful clear days in Southern Malaysia but that does indeed look too good to be true.

>71 PaulCranswick: I'll confess I accidentally had some help before I started, on that one. I might have taken rather longer otherwise; she's a bit ... broader than I expected on the left there.

>70 PaulCranswick: Ew! Fair point, consider the comment retracted.

>73 humouress: I really would have not had anywhere near the same excuse. There are not many countries split in such a manner, Nina.

>74 richardderus: So considered, dear fellow!

>75 PaulCranswick: There have been a few island nations on Worldle - and, don't forget, there isn't a scale so it's very hard to judge the size.

>76 humouress: I am ok with the islands generally it is Central American countries, the Balkans and West Africa that are particularly tough because we are not used to looking at the shape of the individual countries without the surrounding ones attached.

>70 PaulCranswick: So at 135 read, you are bringing in around 1,000 books this year?!?! I just got 6 this weekend and I was feeling all excited. LOL. Where do you house them all?

Hi Paul, a belated Happy New Thread mate. Not been a good weekend so far, the Red Roses went down narrowly to the White Ferns 34 - 31, England RL went down to a golden point loss to Samoa in the Rugby League World Cup semi-final, just hope that England Cricket get to play without any reduction in overs and win the T20 World Cup.

Hope all is well at Chez Cranswick, we are both fine, Karen is at work as i type but only for another hour and 45 minutes.

Love and hugs to all the Cranswicks mate from both of us.

>78 Berly: I am fortunate to have a large apartment, Kimmers (almost 4,000 ft2) my house has 25 book shelves with six shelves each and the books are double stacked.

>79 johnsimpson: Thanks John. And my beloved team Leeds were on the wrong end of a 4-3 loss at Spurs with some extremely home-ground refereeing going on. That Kane's goal was allowed was simply outrageous with an assault on the keeper in the build-up.
I don't follow ladies rugby to be honest, John, but obviously I would have supported our own to beat NZ although Rugby really is their game! I am a little surprised that Samoa beat us in the RL semis but I feel we have ourselves to blame.
Let us see which England cricket team turn up. If they play as they did against India, we will win, but this is a good Pakistan side.

Much love to you and Karen buddy.

Wordle 512 5/6

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That was a struggle

But you made it! ; )

>81 PaulCranswick: It's different for everyone, isn't it. Both my sister and I wordled in 2 today, though our patterns were different. Mind you, even after all these years of living on different continents, I find we still think the same way and still say exactly the same thing at exactly the same time.

>82 Berly: I have only had two fails in about 250 games overall, Kimmers so I do usually expect to make it in 4.

>83 humouress: Depends hugely of course on your opening word. I fly away from convention in going completely random with my opening word taken from the cover of a book on my table.
It is a bit eerie though that both of you managed a two with that from a different starting point.

BOOK # 137



Selected Poems by Geoffrey Hill
Date of Publication : 2006
Origin of Author : UK
Pages : 276 pp

Undoubtedly one of the finest post-war British poets, Hill can be a difficult read and this Selection of his work is a tough read taken all together.

He has rhetorical gifts beyond almost any other - almost Shakespearean at times in his lilt and timbre. History, myth, nature and the religiosity or agnosticism of humankind are amongst his hyperbolic concerns. His poem on Churchill's funeral is a masterpiece and it is in his relatively shorter early work that I reveled the most.

I would recommend him but he demands a great deal of concentration to keep on his wavelength and, even myself who spent some time studying his work, cannot grasp anywhere near everything he is trying to tell me. Work to be declaimed and treasured but certainly more enjoyable in shorter gobbets.

This is a famous poem of his on the Holocaust:

September Song

born 19.6.32—deported 24.9.42


Undesirable you may have been, untouchable
you were not. Not forgotten
or passed over at the proper time.

As estimated, you died. Things marched,
sufficient, to that end.
Just so much Zyklon and leather, patented
terror, so many routine cries.

(I have made
an elegy for myself it
is true)

September fattens on vines. Roses
flake from the wall. The smoke
of harmless fires drifts to my eyes.

This is plenty. This is more than enough.

>85 PaulCranswick: Oh, doesn't that just sing a joyous peal!

*shudder*

Anyway, your execrable taste for poetry aside, I hope it's a good reading week ahead, PC.

>86 richardderus: Thanks RD, I think.

I have to admit that Hill was a bit heavy-going.

>87 PaulCranswick: If it was all like that, it was a dreary trudge towards the grave!

>88 richardderus: RD, you are in a jolly frame of mind today - I will certainly not prescribe some poetry for you today dear fellow. Light reading duties only!

As for me, I'm going to bring it home in the company of dear Montalbano!

Wordle 513 4/6

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Back to a more normal performance!

>90 PaulCranswick: I got yesterday's in 3 but only because of lucky guesses earlier. The only word I could think of that would work was the correct one.

>91 thornton37814: What we start with obviously makes a huge difference, Lori, but the overall stats often tell us a decent story. I certainly get more 4s than I get 3s and 2s and 5s.

>92 PaulCranswick: I forgot that sometimes I have to take it to the wire!

Wordle 514 6/6

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>93 PaulCranswick: *aaarrrgh* The dreaded guessing game day! EEEEUUUUU

>94 richardderus: Coming your way soon, dear fellow, coming your way soon!

BOOK #138



The Safety Net by Andrea Camilleri
Date of Publication : 2017
Origin of Author : Italy
Pages : 299 pp

I have coveted and saved up the last four installments of the Inspector Montalbano series with something akin to a dread of longing.

I wanted to pay homage. I wanted to binge. I wanted to wallow.

Salvo Montalbano doesn't really allow wallowing though, and this is a veritable feast of convolution. All our characters are employed to their best Mimi with his amorous propensity, Fazio with his factual acuity, Cat with his mangled devotion, Livia with her eruptive care, Ingrid with her seductive elusiveness and stumbling somehow surefootedly amongst them Montalba reigns supreme.

Great fun tinged with the sadness that I have only three more left.

>72 PaulCranswick: Back in the 90s I had a work commute that would take me along the coast from Malibu to Santa Monica, and mostly it was hazy or overcast, but every single clear day there was a long wall of studio vans along the highway capturing as much California beach paradise photography as the could.

>98 PaulCranswick: It's about time for me to queue up another Camilleri. I have 13 more to go..

>72 PaulCranswick: Some days in the tropics, when all is still, are stunningly clear.

You have fun days to come with Montalbano, Susan, if you have 13 left.

Bumper delivery from Book Depo:

931. Selected Poems by W.H.Auden
932. A Harlot High and Low by Honore de Balzac
933. The Dead House by Harry Bingham
934. Brazzaville Beach by William Boyd
935. A Dry White Season by Andre Brink
936. The Tradition by Jericho Brown
937. Waiting for the Waters to Rise by Maryse Conde
938. Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline
939. The Tongue's Blood Does Not Run Dry by Assia Djebar
940. Masaryk Station by David Downing
941. I is Another by Jon Fosse
942. Caught by Henry Green
943. Back by Henry Green
944. Concluding by Henry Green
945. Hangover Square by Patrick Hamilton
946. A Conspiracy of Tall Men by Noah Hawley
947. The Major Works by Gerard Manley Hopkins
948. The Caveman by Jorn Lier Horst
949. Foster by Claire Keegan
950. The Stoning by Peter Papathanasiou
951. The Arctic by Don Paterson
952. The Age of Reason by Jean-Paul Sartre
953. Tonight You're Dead by Viveca Sten
954. Adam Bede by George Eliot
955. The Dark Valley by Valerio Varesi
956. Creatures of Passage by Morowa Yejide
957. His Excellency Eugene Rougon by Emile Zola

Some picks are obvious.
Jericho Brown was because of Stasia's TIOLI challenge
Hamilton's book has been on my wishlist for ages
I am recollecting all the Rougon Macquarts.
I added work by career retrospective work of Auden and Hopkins both of whom are favourites
Don Paterson's newest release hits my shelves
and many others.

I am a happy chappy tonight and three more are still winging their way toward me.

43 to go!

>99 PaulCranswick: Henry Green! Maryse Conde! André Brink! I swaNEE, PC, you're a man on a mission to be unhappy aren't you.

Good Zolas, of course, and can't go too wrong with Assia Djebar. (Vast is the Prison is still my favorite.)

Merry weekend's reads.

>100 thornton37814: Lori, that is one count-down I am pretty sure to achieve!

>101 richardderus: No mention of Auden and Manley-Hopkins either RD from your favourite genre?!

Wordle 515 2/6

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Another sparkling day! Thanks to the back cover of The Sicilian Method by Camilleri.

Congrats on the book haul and the 2-fer on Wordle!! Happy day.

>104 Berly: Thank you, thank you Kimmers. xx

>103 PaulCranswick: I also wordled in two yesterday!

Happy mid week

>106 figsfromthistle: I am even happier now, Anita, since I am in such good company.

>103 PaulCranswick: Wow, congratulations on Wordle in two, Paul!
I needed four, had all letters in wrong order in the third guess.

>108 FAMeulstee: I have managed 2 a few times recently, Anita, but I am convinced that it is only luck over skill.

Congrats! So envious of your Wordle-in-two score! I only just managed it in 5. *grumblestupidstarterwordsgrumble*

>110 Storeetllr: I have had more than my share of fives and even sixes, Mary, and not many twos at all.

Another pretty decent day at the wordle office:

Wordle 516 3/6

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Impressive Wordling the last couple of days, Paul! Hope you're doing well and getting some good reading in this week.

>113 bell7: Apart from a meeting with lawyers tomorrow (Friday), I have three and possibly four whole days off coming up as Public Holidays are given for the public to have sufficient time to vote in the upcoming General Election.

>1 PaulCranswick: What a beautiful, colorful image!!!

Paul, please tell Hani that I am thinking of her as the first holiday of the loss of her mother approaches.

>115 Whisper1: Thank you, Linda. Lovely to see you dear lady.

Wordle 517 4/6

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I will be astonished if anyone gets that in one today or even two.

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/345932

Thank you, Silver and for your continued dedication to doing this. It is much appreciated. x

>119 PaulCranswick: You're welcome!

>117 PaulCranswick: It took me all 6 today. With my 3 starting words, I only got 2 letters out of place. it was a guessing game from there.

>120 SilverWolf28: Something that we started due to the pandemic should be kept going, I think. xx

>121 mahsdad: I have done pretty well recently, Jeff, but I claim no special skill - it is just the way the cookie crumbles, I guess.

BOOK #139



The Tradition by Jericho Brown
Date of Publication : 2019
Origin of Author : USA
Pages : 72 pp

This collection won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 2019.

Affecting in small doses but has the repetitive impact of a battering ram read too quickly so he is well worth a second and a third read to distinguish his various variations on his core themes - violence (especially sexual violence), mortality, sexuality and his difficult familial relationships.

The collection opens with the poem "Ganymede" and I don't think he betters it thereafter although the serveral poems all confusingly titled Duplex do come close;

A man trades his son for horses.
That's the version I prefer. I like
The safety of it, no one at fault,
Everyone rewarded. God gets
The boy. The boy becomes
Immortal. His father rides until
Grief sounds as good as the gallop
Of an animal born to carry those
Who patrol and protect our inherited
Kingdom. When we look at myth
This way, nobody bothers saying
Rape. I mean, don't you want God
To want you? Don't you dream
Of someone with wings taking you
Up? And when the master comes
For our children, he smells
Like the men who own stables
In Heaven, that far terrain
Between Promise and Apology.
No one has to convince us.
The people of my country believe
We can't be hurt if we can be bought.

A belated Happy new thread my friend.
Have a wonderful weekend!

Thank you, dear fellow. I hope to get around all the threads this weekend and catch up with all my friends.

>123 PaulCranswick: Well.

That was appalling! Bad message, if I've even understood it (I bet I haven't) and clunky, clanking sentences devoid of grace or intelligence.

I mean, oh goodness what lovely poetry!

>123 PaulCranswick: I don't understand poetry that chooses to run the lines over onto the next one and then adds the period. It's like they want all the lines to be the same length so it looks uniform and pretty on the page. Sometimes I can see the appeal of having an important word be capitalized and starting off the line, but over and over? Not my favorite form.

For example

"Who patrol and protect our inherited
Kingdom. When we look at myth
This way, nobody bothers saying
Rape...

>126 richardderus: I will certainly agree with you Richard that I am not overly happy at the direction modern American poetry is going in. This won the Pulitzer Prize and, whilst it has its moments, I think that the writer's backstory seems to carry more weight than his actual writing.

>127 Berly: Wouldn't argue with you particularly, Kimmers. Not my favourite method either - I am much more of a traditionalist myself. Jericho Brown certainly has talent and that is evidenced in some of the imagery he conjures and not really via his stylistic command or adherence.

Wordle 518 4/6

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Back to my average score today.

Happy Wordling Paul! And a nice weekend of course.

>130 EllaTim: Thanks Ella. It will be a Montalbano marathon for me as I aim to finish his last three outings over the weekend.

>123 PaulCranswick: You know what excellent poem you could have read instead? Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

Happy weekend.

>132 amanda4242: Yes indeed I could and I would have enjoyed it much more. I could also have read Armitage's The Death of King Arthur but I do reckon The Sword in the Stone is certain to get finished this weekend.

>133 PaulCranswick: I'm looking forward to your thoughts on The Sword in the Stone. Prepare yourself for a radical change in tone if you proceed to the second volume.

BOOK #140



The Sicilian Method by Andrea Camilleri
Date of Publication : 2017
Origin of Author : Italy
Pages : 298 pp

Convolution in Camilleri's books makes his mysteries a sort of cross-bred bedroom farce - replete with gastronomic pleasures, wonderfully drawn characters and more twists than a politician's tongue.

At the centre of the chaos as usual is Inspector Montalbano whom the reader loves even whilst he wholeheartedly disapproves of so much of what he does.

Great fun only tempered by the fact that I only have two of the regular series to go.

>134 amanda4242: There is no "if", Amanda. I will read the whole of The Once and Future King this month.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is excellent. I read it this year but not in the right month.

>136 PaulCranswick: Then prepare yourself for heartbreak, too.

>137 Kristelh: It doesn't really matter which month, Kristel. I early on set the rules in the challenge that there aren't really any strict rules and I know that Amanda carried that forward (as probably the egregious offender!).
I bought that book for Richard many moons ago and he gave it the thumbs up too which is startling considering his anathema to "poultry".

>138 amanda4242: Duly prepared. xx

Edging closer to a thousand additions this year with a Baker's dozen today:

958. The Numbers Game : Why Everything You Know About Football is Wrong by Chris Anderson
959. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight trans by Simon Armitage
960. The Tenant by Katrine Engberg
961. This is the Night They Come for You by Robert Goddard
962. The Past by Tessa Hadley
963. The Goddess Chronicle by Natsuo Kirino
964. Some Rain Must Fall by Karl Ove Knausgaard
965. The End by Karl Ove Knausgaard
966. The Night Singer by Johanna Mo
967. Turning Blue by Benjamin Myers
968. Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl
969. If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio
970. Widening Income Inequality by Frederick Seidel

Anderson is in view of the upcoming World Cup.
Armitage is a replacement and an outside bet to be read in the remainder of the month
Engberg and Mo are up and coming Scandi authors.
Knausgaard's two complete the set (sorry RD)
Myers and Hadley are authors I have enjoyed before.
Goddard is a favourite.
Pessl, Rio and Kirino are off kilter books that I am in the mood for recently.
Seidel is a poet I have heard mixed things about.

>140 PaulCranswick: Good you have Knausgårds My Struggle complete now, Paul.
In this I don't agree with Richard, as I enjoyed them a few years back. He really has a way with words that becomes addictive.
I started his Seasons Quartet, but didn't feel the same urge to continue. I might get back to it next year.

>141 FAMeulstee: I now have eleven of his books now, Anita and with one more I will make it a plan next year to work steadily through them. I love the editions that I have bought and I must say I am optimistic that I will be in your camp rather than RDs in terms of liking his books. I have read and really enjoyed one of his very thoughtful seasons books.

You're forgiven the Knausgaards because you got an Superintendant Taleb book! I didn't know anyone else knew about those. Bantam gave me a DRC but they aren't doing them in the US for some reason. (It's never explicitly said but if Taleb isn't a series character, I've never met one.)

Oh, and Armitage.

The hauls are always very interesting...windows into what you're thinking about right then. Plus vicarious concupiscence is risk-free!

>143 richardderus: I have got every single book published by Goddard and he never fails, RD.

I remember my passing of the Armitage to you, dear fellow, as one of my most successful purchases ever. I got more pleasure out of you enjoying that one than I ever have with books I bought for myself.

Vicariousness in concupiscence is a useful feat of imagination!

BOOK #141



The Sword in the Stone by TH White
Date of Publication : 1939
Origin of Author : UK
Pages : 209 pp

White's fabled retelling of the beginning of the Arthurian legend is a constant surprise.

The mixing of time periods including the introduction of the Robin Hood legend into the story with references to Agincourt, Crecy and Bolsheviks amongst many references in this playfully erudite and wise piece of fiction written at a time of great import for the world and those who preferred fantasy to fight.

There is a joyful communing with nature here that I hadn't really expected but puts White way ahead of his time in his understanding of man's tyrannical overseeing of his dominions.

Modern readers can still take something from White's messaging here which is universal, important and largely egalitarian.

>145 PaulCranswick: Oh my heck. It's been *decades* since I read that book. Luckily I encountered it before that Tolkien thing, or I'd've hated it...as it is, I was pretty lukewarm. Fantasy like that just ain't my favorite.

I do recall liking the time-period mixing.

>144 PaulCranswick: That was, hands down, the best work of poetry I've ever been exposed to. The tale is waaayyy trippy, of course, so it starts off with a leg up (!) and then there's Armitage's absolute mastery of poetic form and language...such a mastery that even *I* saw and appreciated it. Your crowning achievement in matching book to reader! Thank you for it, as ever, but also congratulations on the feat.

>146 richardderus: It is a little odd, RD, I think and preachy but allowances have to be made I suppose for when it was written.

I should send you his efforts with the Death of King Arthur too.

Wordle 519 2/6

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I got very excited as the letters revealed themselves! That is the closest I have ever come to a first guess win.

>145 PaulCranswick: I should get back to the TH White books. I did the audiobook of the first a year or so ago but felt I needed to read the next two. Never got round to picking up the next book though.
I read & enjoyed quite a few Arthurian books a few years ago when my daughter was studying English lit and we did some shared reads.

Perceval, the Story of the Grail by Chrétien de Troyes (1181)
Lancelot: the knight of the cart by Chrétien de Troyes (1181)
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by unknown (1397), translated by Simon Armitage
The Lais of Marie de France by Marie de France (1160)
There's a LT List of Arthurian Fiction that's possibly worth browsing through.
https://www.librarything.com/list/154/all/Best-Arthurian-Fiction
I also read Rosemary Sutcliff's trilogy - The sword and the circle, The Light Beyond the Forest & The Road to Camlann.

>149 avatiakh: I have read The Crystal Cave and the Rosemary Sutcliff books, Kerry and they are more 'straightforward' than White's books but somehow less compelling. I read also the Arthurian books of Bernard Cornwell who inverts the story a little in an interesting way.

Hi Paul! I loved The Once and Future King when I was younger, and am kind of afraid to reread in case I don't like it on reflection!

>151 banjo123: I would have thought that it would be a book that - if read in youth and enjoyed - could only improve by reading it when older as some of the subtle references would not be lost and its teaching more appreciated.

BOOK #142



The Cook of the Halcyon by Andrea Camilleri
Date of Publication : 2019
Origin of Author : Italy
Pages : 264 pp

I will preface my brief comments by saying that I always enjoy Camilleri's Montalbano stories. That said I was slightly disappointed by this one which read something like an outtake from the series and didn't seem to be in due order.

The Sicilian Method was one of the better episodes from the series and left us on a cliff hanger which I have, of course, no intention to explain here, and there was no continuation of the story that left us which such bated breath last time. This out of sequence outing is an enjoyable romp of a tale but I wanted to see what had happened to our main protagonist and I will now open the pages of his very last adventure on tenterhooks.

It is the time of year when thoughts start to turn towards planning for the coming year.

This year I have thoroughly enjoyed hosting the Asian Book Challenge but I am not sure that I can justify a second run at it. If anyone else wants to take on that mantle then I will happily hand over responsibility for it.

I was thinking that the Continent to the West of Asia (or largely so) deserves to feature at some stage so I wanted to gauges whether there would be any interest in an AFRICAN NOVEL CHALLENGE (so named so the initials coincide with Nelson Mandela's Party's initials).

I believe that there are prodigious writing talents teeming from Africa and its many-varied cultures that more than justifies a year long challenge. Do let me know your thoughts?

>154 PaulCranswick:, Paul, I think an African Novel Challenge will be popular. I do think we have not explored the Asian works throughly but I also think taking a break is a good idea.

>153 PaulCranswick: I read somewhere that this Montalbano was first written as a film script and also thought it didn't quite meet the usual standard.

>155 Kristelh: I will proceed to planning of an African Novel Challenge, Kristel. I do think that there is scope for another bash with Asia if anyone wants to take it on.

>156 avatiakh: I do so love the characters, Kerry, though I do think that the last two are a little out of step with the rest of the series and were obviously written in advance of some of the later books.

Hi, Paul. As usual, I see plenty of fine reading being done over here. The Once and Future King is a favorite of mine. I did a reread of it, about a decade ago and it held up well. I read and enjoyed the first few Inspector Montalbano books. I should return to them, at some point.

>158 msf59: Thanks Mark. Nice to see you here as always buddy.

>154 PaulCranswick: I think the ANC is a really good idea, PC. There's an entire Goodreads group dedicated to it, and you can find a HUGE trove of ideas for reads there.

Have a lovely coming week.

>160 richardderus: Thanks RD. If it generates close to the interest that the Asian Book Challenge has I will be very happy.

>154 PaulCranswick: I am pretty useless at challenges, I'm such a mood reader, but I'm sure I'd participate occasionally if you ran with it Paul. I've read a fair bit of African fiction over the years.

>154 PaulCranswick: I'm up for an African Novel Challenge.

>162 Caroline_McElwee: I'll run with it then, Caroline. I have covered much of the continent in my reading over the years but still have enough to discover to keep myself interested too in 2023.

>163 amanda4242: Brava, Amanda!

BOOK #143



Riccardino by Andrea Camilleri
Date of Publication : 2020
Origin of Author : Italy
Pages : 294 pp

Dear Inspector Montalbano,

Thank you for spoiling my sleeping patterns on 28 separate occasions.

Thank you for almost literally feeding me with the flavours of Sicily over the years and I do believe that there is a faint, but unmistakable aroma of Enzo's roasted mullet emanating from somewhere close to my reading table.

Thank you for sharing the unmistakably crystalline light of your created Vigata and for the sound of the sea gently lapping at the end of your postprandial jetty.

Thank you for allowing us to bask in the warmth of the characters that populated your world. The amorous Augello, the fastidious Fazio, the chaotic charmer Catarella, et al.

It is not perhaps surprising that you chose to say goodbye in a typically untypical manner. Obtuse in fact. Your professional life is all well and good but the lovely long-suffering Livia.....?

best regards from an ardent and not quite replete admirer.

Speaking of challenges, I've started finalizing next year's BAC.

https://www.librarything.com/topic/345635#n7982214

>166 amanda4242: I think you know for sure that I will be following along as well as I can, Amanda.

I have put up a planning thread for a proposed 2023 African Novel Challenge

https://www.librarything.com/topic/345985

I welcome comments and suggestions as always.

January will take us to Saharan Sands and the countries of the North of the continent - Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco.

Wordle 520 4/6

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On par today!

>140 PaulCranswick: 968. Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl

Oh, I really liked Special Topics in Calamity Physics although it was very controversial at the time I read it. People either loved it or hated it. I can't wait to see what you think of it! I do like Kirino's books as well. Both of these authors are kind of quirky and are writers whose books are fun to read.

>154 PaulCranswick: I would love for you to run an African book challenge in the new year. I didn't do as well as I thought I would do on your Asian challenge, but I did get some reads in. I love that you incorporated your Asian challenge into the TIOLI challenges because that helped pull others into the Asian challenge as well. I hope you have the same thought in mind going forward with your African books challenge. My focus this past year was to try to read more books either by African-American authors or by African authors. Your coming challenges would be wonderful for my reading list!

>170 SqueakyChu: It caught my eye on the shelves of Kino, Madeline. I had heard of her book Night Film but I wasn't familiar with this one.

I will look to do something similar to tie the challenge with an African themed challenge in the TIOLIs as often as I can, Madeline.

>170 SqueakyChu: I liked Night Film as well, but a bit less than Special Topics in Calamity Physics. People who don’t like gimmicks in books did not like Night Film. Gimmicks in books don’t bother me at all. I’ll be curious to learn if you like this book too.

>172 SqueakyChu: They look like books to get tucked into on long winter nights, Madeline, so I need to relocate soon and take advantage of some of those!

Wordle 521 5/6

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Slightly slow off the starting grid today!

I’m in awe of your book acquisitions this year, Paul. Do you keep the ones you’ve read or move them along somehow?

>175 Familyhistorian: Thanks Meg. So far this year I haven't given any of my books away. I am thinking about a small cull but also the addition of two new bookshelves to take up some of the slack!

BOOK #144



The Queen of Air and Darkness by T.H. White
Date of Publication : 1940
Origin of Author : UK
Pages : 103 pp

Part two of The Once and Future King deals on a surface level with Arthur's overcoming the Gaelic uprisings and forming the Roundtable and also the begetting of Mordred. On a deeper level this is about conscience, the art of Kingship and when it is morally acceptable to wage war. This is particularly notable for the date of publication as the war with Germany was on its full point of escalation.

It is in this short book that Arthur comes to the realisation of what will make him a great king whilst at the same time sowing the seeds of his later doom.

I woke up very asthmatic this morning and took a half day leave to get myself treated a little. I am still a bit grey around the gills but not struggling to breathe at least.

I may also have been the surprise of England hitting Iran for six goals in Qatar last night. Our next match is the gold ole US of A.

>178 PaulCranswick: Sorry for such a bad start of the day, Paul.

Impressive numbers for England against Iran.
Today an even bigger surprise when Saudi Arabia beated Argentina 2-1 !

>179 FAMeulstee: Thanks Anita. Argentina were tournament favourites so it is a huge shock and I must admit that I was rooting for the underdogs. My pick to win the whole thing were your country, but even though they won yesterday, I wasn't overly impressed.

Paul, hope your day and breathing get much better. Grey around the gills doesn't sound so good.

>181 mdoris: I have had a couple of naps, Mary and I am feeling a tad better. Takes a fair bit to knock me over all together. xx

Lovely to see you.

Get well Paul!

>177 PaulCranswick: I found The Queen of Air and Darkness particularly moving: Arthur has such potential to make the world so much better, but, as you say, he's also sown the seeds of his destruction.

I wish White hadn't cut out so much of the Orkney sections from the original; the titular queen is hardly in the book at all!

Hope you feel better soon!

>183 Kristelh: Thanks Kristel. Woke up with a zinging headache but breathing clear. Oh well!

>184 amanda4242: I found the ideas on kingship both wistful and philosophical, Amanda. Certainly frames the importance of the wider tale.

Wordle 522 5/6

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Best said, at least I got there in the end.

BOOK #145



The Ill-Made Knight by T.H. White
Date of Publication : 1958
Origin of Author : UK
Pages : 202 pp

Part three of The Once and Future King and Arthur, poor Arthur, starts to have the walls closing in on him.

This is essentially the story of Lancelot - the "Ill-Made Knight" and his longing for God and more obviously for the story Arthur's Queen. As in virtually all other versions of the tale, I find Lancelot and Guinevere annoying creatures and this serves to increase my sympathies for the King, albeit he is a cuckolded fool.

With Merlin entrapped and Mordred in court, Arthur deserves far better than Lancelot and his obnoxious Queen.

>187 PaulCranswick: It appears I have more sympathy for Lancelot and Guinevere than you do! Gwen did get on my nerves a bit, but poor Lance, twisted in knots by his love for Arthur, Gwen, and God, and getting zero sympathy when Elaine rapes him, he kind of breaks my heart. And I would say Arthur is willfully blind rather than a fool: Merlin told him exactly what would happen between his best friend and his wife, but he chooses to ignore it because he loves them both. In the end I think if they had all been a little more saintly or a little more sinful, they all would have been a lot happier.

>188 amanda4242: A little more sinful is probably the antidote for all three of them. I suspect that White had plenty of sympathy for Lancelot and would have preferred to include scenes of more intimacy with Arthur but I don't think the 1950s was quite ready for that re-imagining.

I do prefer Lancelot to Guinevere who I think comes out extremely badly from the relationship. I have much more sympathy with Elaine than with Guinevere but all of them - even Arthur in his way - let selfishness get the better of them.

>189 PaulCranswick: I suspect that White had plenty of sympathy for Lancelot and would have preferred to include scenes of more intimacy with Arthur

I suspect you're right given the amount of emotional intimacy between Arthur and Lancelot.

>190 amanda4242: Almost completed the final installment with a growing sense of sadness.

>191 PaulCranswick: The last chapter left me a sobbing wreck.

>192 amanda4242: Yikes!

>193 PaulCranswick: Yes. And just so you understand how big a deal that is: I sit dry eyed through Bambi.

>194 amanda4242: Hahaha yes I know you are a tough-nut!! Even I welled up watching Bambi.

Last movie that made me cry was 1997'S Italian move 'Life is Beautiful" which I loved so much.

Bambi got me thinking......top ten favourite movies anybody?

Mine in no particular order:

1. The Searchers
2. Dead Poets Society
3. Life is Beautiful
4. The Shawshank Redemption
5. Snatch
6. Betty Blue
7. The Witness
8. Thunderbolt and Lightfoot
9. The Graduate
10. Get Carter

A book delivery via Book Depo today which means I just have one outstanding book from my last order.

971. What Goes On : Selected and New Poems 1995-2009 by Stephen Dunn
972. Close Quarters by Michael Gilbert

The late Stephen Dunn is one of my favourite American poets and I was put onto him by Mary Beth in the group a number of years ago.
Michael Gilbert is a Golden Age British crime author - this is his debut book.

Here's the Thanksgiving readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/346030

>198 SilverWolf28: Yippeee, Silver, I can be a honorary American once again!

Paul,
Saw a headline today that made me laugh.
"Friday's football match between England and the USA is serious business. The loser has to keep James Corden."

>196 PaulCranswick: First three:

1. Back to the Future
2. The Shawshank Redemption
3. La Bamba
4. Harry Potter (the early ones)
5. OUTLANDER (skipping the horror!)
6. Love Actually
7. Thelma and Louise

>196 PaulCranswick: That's like asking me to name my ten favorite books! How do I decide?!

In no particular order, and with the understanding my choices may change if you ask me again in an hour:

The Princess Bride
The Silence of the Lambs
Notorious
Casablanca
Call Me By Your Name
From Russia With Love
Life of Brian
Secretary
Young Frankenstein
This Is Spinal Tap

any list that begins with The Princess Bride and ends up This is Spinal Tap is worthy of admiration, Paul. Would you consider adding Best in Show in an hour?

I just picked up Joy Harjo's newest one, Weaving Sundown in a Scarlet LIght, in which she selects 50 poems from 50 years of her writing, and I'm pretty geeked up about it. I'm not her biggest fan, but this sounds exciting.

I hope all is well with you and Hani and the younger Cranswicks.

>200 hredwards: You made me laugh in turn, Harold. That is quite the incentive!

>201 m.belljackson: One shared, Marianne. I did like La Bamba.

>202 amanda4242: I was ready to change mine already, Amanda! Some good ones on your list for sure. I do agree that From Russia With Love is THE Bond movie.

>203 jnwelch: Lovely to see you, Joe. I haven't got any Joy Harjo on my shelves and that looks the ideal place to start.

These are the ten movies that first come to mind:

Novecento
Die Wand
La dolce vita
Casablanca
Das Leben der Anderen
The human condition trilogy
Fitzcarraldo
Dead poets society
Paris Texas
Rashomon

>206 FAMeulstee: Only seen three of those, Anita, but winners all.

>207 PaulCranswick: I presume you have seen Casablanca, and Dead poets society. And which one is the third?

>208 FAMeulstee: The third one was Paris, Texas but I also noticed La Dolce Vita so it should have been four!

>209 PaulCranswick: Four isn't bad for my rather Eurocentric top 10 :-)

>210 FAMeulstee: I do like European movies, Anita, especially French ones and I could easily have put either Jean de Florette or Manon des Sources on my list as well as already having Betty Blue there.

Lots of good movies mentioned, but not Seven Samurai? And because it made me laugh more than any other movie I've ever seen, The Wrong Box. I'm also a Marx brothers fan, so I'd need something of theirs on any favorites list.

>212 quondame: I have a similar predisposition to the movies of Laurel and Hardy, Susan, but I couldn't decide what to put there and therefore finished up omitting them altogether! Films like Stir Crazy always make me laugh too as did the Monty Python movies and especially The Meaning of Life.

BOOK # 145



The Candle in the Wind by T.H. White
Date of Publication : 1958
Origin of Author : UK
Pages : 125 pp

The first part charmed me. The second part put me to pondering. I disapproved of much of the third part but the concluding book elevates the sequence to greatness.

Extremely moving and tightly plotted. The characters of both Arthur and Lancelot are elevated just as Mordred evil intent is fully revealed. Although, the story is well known to all of us the getting there is still painful as revealed in White's flowing style.

Much recommended.

Wordle 523 4/6

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I should have got this one in three

I was just thinking Jean de Florette and Manon of the Springs and The Mission and some early Woody Allen movies, (the funny ones).

>216 mdoris: The cinematography in the two French films is simply divine isn't it? I remember The Mission being quite a brooding piece and Allen's early movies are funny but I struggle to watch him today in the knowledge of his subsequent behaviour.

Happy Thanksgiving from Bottle Tree Farm

Thank you, Karen. My friends here always make me feel like a honorary American here.

Greetings "honorary American"! Thinking of you and thankful of your LT presence!

I’m thankful for you and all you do, Paul, on this US Thanksgiving holiday, and every day!

>196 PaulCranswick: Shawshank has long been my favorite film. Second place might be Wings of Desire. I'm thinking about the films that have prompted me to purchase the DVD. So The Searchers would make the list and I would have to put Lonesome Dove in 3rd place I think. I would also have to include at least two, three maybe four films from my favorite director, Yasujiro Ozu, so let me put Late Spring and an Autumn Afternoon on there. After that it gets harder ... Grave of the Fireflies, About Time, Out of Africa. Miyazaki films, well I've got ten there at least.

Thank you for the Thanksgiving greetings Paul.

>220 Carmenere: Thank you Lynda, that honorary tag means a lot to me.

>221 Storeetllr: Thank you Mary. So kind of you to say so.

>222 RBeffa: It is difficult, I think Ron, not to include Shawshank in such a list. The Searchers is my favourite movie but I am embarrassed to admit that I haven't seen Lonesome Dove.

>222 RBeffa: Kiki's Delivery Service is an all time favorite - no villains, no violence and the most delightful city in all imagination.

>225 quondame: Films don't have to have expletives, too much "action", or violence to be wonderful do they, Susan?

>226 PaulCranswick: Well it's hard to develop story where the only real conflict is internal and so much easier to say something precious is in danger and needs all sorts of exertions to save. Of course both are true, but one is easier to film, and as I've said Seven Samurai is also a favorite - possibly because of the score, or more likely Toshiro Mufune in his very impressive prime.

>227 quondame: If one is easier to film then surely when the other is pulled off it becomes more memorable? Sometimes mayhem and violence are appropriate to the movie being made sometimes it becomes simply gratuitous and sometimes even then can be enjoyed exactly because of that when it turns to poking fun at the violence.

>225 quondame: My daughter's koi betta fish is named Kiki and we love that film.

>229 RBeffa: If the fish gets a sister would your daughter call it Wanda, Ron? :D

Wordle 524 4/6

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My brain wasn't working too well this early morning.

>228 PaulCranswick: Exactly! That is what makes Kiki's Delivery Service such a extraordinary delight. Even in Howl's Moving Castle Miyazaki inserted violence which I felt entirely unnecessary.

>229 RBeffa: A benign beta? Hmm.

>232 quondame: There are a few simple, tender and gentle stories that touch me to the quick and it is often the same with books too. Plainsong for example is such a gentle book but expresses itself so beautifully.

>196 PaulCranswick: Seen and liked half of your list Paul

>202 amanda4242: Yes, to Casablanca and Life of Brian!

And to Novecento

For one of Miyazaki Spirited Away

From China Raise the Red Lantern

Oci ciornie by Nikita Mikhalkov,
Stalker by Tarkovsky

And then of course, Laurel and Hardy, Buster Keaton, and Charlie Chaplin, and I love the Pink Panter movies.
And to finish it off The Shining

>234 EllaTim: Some good stuff up there, Ella.
Lovely to see you. xx

>230 PaulCranswick: groan.
>232 quondame: he is not a fighter. Very sweet for a fish.

>236 RBeffa: Sorry Ron but I just couldn't help myself!

>196 PaulCranswick: I’m sure most people will shake their heads at some of my favorite films, all of which I’ve rewatched more than once and most of which I own. Here’s my list, in no particular order:

Shawshank Redemption
The Green Mile
Independence Day
Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Extended Versions
The Time Bandits
Enchanted April
Lion in Winter
Lawrence of Arabia
Casablanca
Lonesome Dove
BBC’s Pride and Prejudice
BBC’s Lion, Witch and Wardrobe
The Scarlet Pimpernel (1982)

(Oops, went over 10, so consider the last 3 to be bonuses.)

That doesn’t take into consideration the children’s films I’ve watched with Ruby in the last couple of years, some of which were outstanding.

>238 Storeetllr: Lord of the Rings is close to my favourite book (sorry RD) so I am a tad hard on the admittedly impressive film adaptations. I thought that the casting was simply wonderful and closely captured Gandalf, Aragorn, Frodo, Sam, Legolas, Gimli etc pretty much as I had imagined them.

The Time Bandits was fun and Lawrence of Arabia is Leeds' Peter O'Toole in his absolute pomp. If I had to choose between that one and Doctor Zhivago though I would watch the latter more often.

>238 Storeetllr: Time Bandits and Lion in Winter are both excellent films! If I had been making my list on a different day they both might have been on it.

>240 amanda4242: Mine has changed a little since Tuesday too!

>196 PaulCranswick: Interesting selections, Paul.

My ten favorite movies, in no particular order...

1. White Christmas
2. The Last of Sheila
3. Session 9
4. Spoor
5. Amélie
6. The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Disney version...don't judge)
7. Playtime
8. Clue
9. Rocketman
10. Rope

>202 amanda4242: Young Frankenstein is such a classic!!!

>238 Storeetllr: I'm totally in with The Time Bandits, Lion in Winter, Lawrence of Arabia, and Casablanca. I liked the TV serial of Lonesome Dove, but maybe not top tenish. But the 1980 P&P would make my list.

>242 ocgreg34: No judging here, Greg, your picks are as good as anybody else's (except mine hahaha)!

>243 ocgreg34: That would be a good pick, but is it a pick?

>244 quondame: Plenty of love for Time Bandits, here, and why not? I love the George Harrison song that closes it out as well by the way.

A subdued Friday lunchtime at the Bookstore:

973. The Story of the World in 100 Moments by Neil Oliver
974. Jawbone by Monica Ojeda
975. The King's Fool by Mahi Binebine

I find Neil Oliver hugely entertaining, if sometimes a little scary.
Ojeda is an Ecuadorian author and I don't think I have any of those.
Binibine is Moroccan and ready for next year and the African challenge.

And when I got home the balance of my Book Depo delivery was waiting:

976. The Demon of Dakar by Kjell Eriksson

Third in a well regarded Scandi series.

>196 PaulCranswick: 10 fave films Paul? A hard one. As hard as choosing favourite books.

Wings of Desire
Blade Runner
The Tango Lesson
Ghost Dog
Fitzcaraldo
On the Black Hill
A Month in the Country (based on J L. Carr novel)
Dolls
Excalibur
Being John Malkovitch
Les Double Vie de Veronique

Oops I listed 11. I could more than double it with the works of Kurosawa, Wenders, and many non-English language films.

I hope you are feeling better now.

>249 Caroline_McElwee: Just woke up feeling a little nauseous, Caroline, which is not wonderful but I hope that a glass of water and slowly imbibed two ristretto coffees will bring me around.

Nice list. I especially recall watching Excalibur and the rather saucy version of the Arthurian tale told.

Wordle 525 4/6

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Back to back average.

Just watched the England v USA game in the World Cup and it was a poor spectacle but the USA creditably shaded it in a 0-0 draw. England virtually qualify and the USA will join us if they beat Iran.

Tyler Adams a star of my club Leeds United was immense as skipper of the USA.

>252 PaulCranswick:. And hooray for Tyler Adams! I root for him, because we share a last name. We watched the last bit of the game, and were pleased with the performance of our men.

It will be great if you do a Africa challenge. I am not so good at reading books for these challenges, but I do like African literature.

>248 PaulCranswick: I recognized the "Kjell" first name (actually I'll always remember Kjell Kvale, the executioner of Jensen) but I have a raft of Kjell Ola Dahl thrillers and a story collection Everything Like Before: Stories by Kjell Askildsen not Eriksson. So now I need to poke around to learn about this guy.

>253 banjo123: I was rooting for Tyler almost despite myself, Rhonda. Guy is so committed I always feel he doesn't deserve to be on the losing side. With Jesse Marsch as our coach (I am one of a minority of Leeds fans that like him after the chaotic football of Bielsa), Adams and Aaronson among our best players and a slew of young players coming through it is an interesting time to support my famous old club and listen to the USA chants resounding when we are doing well!

>254 richardderus: RD, his first three Ann Lindell books were very highly praised but he seems to have disappeared lately.

>252 PaulCranswick: Disappointing match last night, from an England fan's point of view. Wales is pretty much out of contention now unless they beat us. Nothing is impossible - let's hope we don't go back to that old complacency.

>256 humouress: It was disappointing, Nina. I thought England we really poor.

Happy Weekend, Paul. I hope all is well. I wish I was more of a fan of soccer. So much of world is enraptured right now. I do like seeing the USA involved, even if they are slightly out of their league.

>249 Caroline_McElwee: Nice list but the stand outs for me are Wings of Desire and Fitzcarraldo. Blade Runner is pretty fantastic too. I never heard of The Tango Lesson.

I am nearly as big of a film geek, as I am a book geek, so I have to share my favorites. The top five, in whatever order, rarely change but anything goes after that. I could do top 50-75 with no problem.

1- The Godfather (Godfather II is pretty great too)
2- 2001: A Space Odyssey
3- Vertigo
4- Casablanca
5- Taxi Driver
6- The Rules of the Game
7- La Dolce Vita
8- Apocalypse Now
9- Seven Samurai
10- The Seventh Seal

>258 msf59: I'm not so sure that they are out of their league, Mark. I am fairly positive that they'll make the last 16 at least. The fact that two of their number and the captain play for my club Leeds United will, even if I didn't naturally have a soft spot for you guys, make me want you to do well.

>259 msf59: I liked most of those, Mark. I thought that Apocalypse Now was a hard watch but a powerful movie nonetheless.

Geez Guys on the movies > Uber-Violence! No wonder people turn to "Love Actually."

And, have you ever watched that most perfect of movies > "Back to The Future" >?

>261 m.belljackson: I saw you picked three up above Marianne and one of your picks (Shawshank) was also on my list. I am not a fan of egregious violence in movies either to be honest.
I think of my own top ten, only the last one, Get Carter (the Michael Caine one) had much in the way of violence in it - even The Searchers was more the hint of brutality than scenes depicting them.

Nice to see you, dear lady. xx

btw I actually enjoyed watching Four Weddings and a Funeral and Love Actually!

Wordle 526 3/6

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A rather lucky three today

>262 PaulCranswick: Hi . Edited my Movie List @ #201 to add:

4. Harry Potter (the early ones)
5. OUTLANDER (skipping The Horror)
6. Love Actually
7. Thelma and Louise

>239 PaulCranswick: I used to read LOTR every year or two, so I was terribly disappointed in the films at first. Then my friend gifted me the extended version DVDs each Christmas for 3 years. Now, having seen the extended versions numerous times, and having considered why the changes were made, I love them as much as I love the books, which I recently reread.

I hate to confess it, but I never watched Dr. Zhivago, so I can’t compare.

I should mention that I’m not a huge film buff. Or TV buff. And when I do feel like watching something, I tend to go for something I’ve already seen and loved. It’s limiting, I know. I’m trying to do better and be more open to new stuff, but too often I’m disappointed. Except for most new films my granddaughter chooses.

>240 amanda4242: They’re great, aren’t they?!

>244 quondame: Lonesome Dove almost didn’t make the list because I haven’t watched it for years. Not sure it would be a favorite if I did. Hmm, perhaps I will watch it and see if it held up.

>259 msf59: I debated about The Godfather, but, because I don’t own a copy, I left it off my list. It’s pretty great, though, Mark! 2001 would have made the list a couple of years ago, but then I tried to watch it. Maybe it was my mood, but I found it sooo sssllloooow.

>264 m.belljackson: Well, I suppose, Harry Potter had to be on your list given your support for the books, Marianne. I haven't seen them all but I do remember Belle being hugely fond of them. Certainly a stellar cast.

>265 Storeetllr: I also cannot really comment on some of the selections of our peers, Mary, for the simple reason that I haven't seen them. I do not watch much television other than some sports and some sit-coms and I tend to get my news online (subs to several papers and magazines) so I can only assume that many of the selections would blow me away.

>266 Storeetllr: I really should watch Lonesome Dove as it is a genre that I do really adore.

>267 Storeetllr: I also get that with The Godfather. I do love the movies (well 1 & 2) but they are on the long side.

>165 PaulCranswick: Lovely review of the final Montalbano book, Paul. It feels odd to say that I’m sorry you’ve finished the series, but you know what I mean. I’ve only read the first 16 so I have quite a few in front of me.

I always struggle to think of my favorite movies - so much depends on my mood. Or maybe just the memory of where or with whom I saw it. But off the top of my head:

Casablanca
Chinatown
Fargo
It’s a Wonderful Life (my other favorite Xmas movie is Elf)
Goodfellas
Them!
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (original)
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Midnight in Paris (I hesitate to add it being a Woody Allen film)
Shaun of the Dead or Hot Fuzz

>270 Copperskye: I felt like 26 of 28 was actually the last Montalbano book, Joanne. He had those last two saved up and they really were not in synch with how the story panned out elsewhere.

Casablanca is on so many lists, Joanne, but I have to confess not having seen the whole movie and only selected scenes of it, so I really can't put it on my list. I guess I should go and get Sam to play it again!
Butch Cassidy was one of the very first movies I ever saw at the cinema (Zulu and Jungle Book were the other two I recall but I cannot remember in which order I saw them) so I am fond of it and think that the two of them were enormously cool.
My mum's favourite movie was Cool Hand Luke which starred Mr. Newman.

>271 PaulCranswick: That’s good to know about the Montalbano books, Paul.

Born Free was the first movie I saw in the theater. Jungle Book was not too far behind. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Cool Hand Luke. I only saw the first Godfather movie a couple years ago. It’s almost as hard to see all the good movies as it is to read all the good books.

>272 Copperskye: Born Free was a song I used to sing very regularly as a kid because me Mum liked Matt Monroe - From Russia With Love was another of his too.

Cool Hand Luke is a very moving film.

>261 m.belljackson: Yes, there are some very violent films on my list but at least half are not, like Casablanca & The Rules of the Game. I tend to lean toward the dark, in my reading and movie watching. It is how I roll. I also love lighter entertainment like Back to the Future and ET.

>265 Storeetllr: >266 Storeetllr: I also LOVE the first 3 LOTR films. The second Hobbit set...not so much. I also absolutely adored the Lonesome Dove series. That casting was amazing- especially Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones.

>270 Copperskye: That is a great list, Joanne- especially the top 5, along with Butch & Sundance. Chinatown, It's a Wonderful Life and Fargo could have made my list.

>271 PaulCranswick: I hope you can find time to watch Casablanca. Old Hollywood at its very best. I am also a big fan of Cool Hand Luke and Newman in general.

>274 msf59: Hi Mark - don't know about Rules of the Game,
but Casablanca is not quite a walk in the park with three men shot
and a gun pointed at the owner.

On a lighter note, you might enjoy the newest paintings on the Johndavid Anderson website.

ps to Paul > I added "Thelma and Louise" to my original Movie List - many great and fun performances in that one!

>274 msf59: I think it does depend on context, Mark. Violence would have been gratuitous in, say, Tootsie, but without any in Apocalypse Now it wouldn't have worked. It is always each to his own (within the bounds of decorum and legality of course) but I would err towards the side of Marianne in preferring Tootsie let's say over Apocalypse Now as something to sit and watch. I will watch Casablanca all the way through one of these days.

>275 m.belljackson: Thelma and Louise is a good movie, Marianne, for sure.......but the point always made about women drivers.......!

Hey - Each of my 3 Husbands always said that I was the better driver -

and none of them was a slouch behind the wheel !!!

>277 m.belljackson: And just to help further, Hani is a much better driver than me. Yasmyne has a licence and mirrors Penelope Pitstop whilst Kyran admits to being scared to drive and has not even tried to learn to drive (he is 23 already).