tymfos major league 11 in 11 category challenge -- part 2

Hi! Welcome to Part 2 of my 2011 11 in 11 category challenge! All lurkers and posters welcome, as long as you're not spamming.

Part 1 was here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/97388

This year, I decided to simply give my categories names and NOT define them, and be free to use any books that can in any way fit the category name. I did a pretty good job of staying with my categories in 2010, but I was constantly tweaking the "definition" of what was included in several of them.

I also allowed more space for reading mysteries this year, and especially series -- trying new ones that have been recommended, and catching up with the next installment of old favorites. (That's the point of the "leadoff" and "on-deck" categories.)

In fact, in general, I'm just trying to allow more space for reading what I want to read.

These are the category names I've chosen. I reserve the right to move books around from one category to another later in the year to balance things out if books can fit in more than one category.


1. Pregame
2. Play Ball!
3. Leadoff
4. On-deck
5. Phantom players
6. All-Stars, MVP's, & Other Awards
7. Foul Play Territory
8. Fireballers, Rainouts, Steals, & Errors!
9. Away Game Travel Day (Cars, trains, boats & planes, etc.)
10. Team Physician & Front Office (Doctor, Lawyer, Indian chief)
11. Team Chaplain
extra category: Utility Players

I know these are odd categories, and a lot of them are baseball-related terms, but I'm putting my own "spin" on them so I can put many different types of books into them! I already have books in mind that fit, one way or another, as I view the categories. And the "utility players" category is for the books that don't fit into the regular lineup!

My original plan was to do 7 books in each of these 11 categories -- a 7-11 challenge -- for a total of 77 books. But, since it's August and I only need 1 more book to have 7 in all my categories (except the overflow category), I'm now aiming for 11 in each.

As a later development, I decided to have a main theme (or pair of themes) for each month:
January: "Cold white snow & ice of January"
February: "Black History Month"
March: "Spring Training / Mystery March"
April: "Autism Awareness Month --and Support Your Library" (for Natl. Library Week)
May: "May Murder & Mayhem -- & Motorsports"
June: "Justice, Journeys, and Jazz"
July: "Big League Cities"
August: "Anything Goes"
September: "Series & Sequels"
October: "Halloween"
November: "Fill in the Blanks"
December: "Holidays and (other) December Disasters"

These themes have been evolving over the course of the year, and continue to be subject to editing at any time. Not all of my reading will fit the monthly theme -- Early Reviewer books are totally exempt -- but I will try to include some aspect of the theme in at least half the books I read each month. Note that, like the categories, the book can fit the theme in any imaginable way.

I'm going to try to provide most of the following as a heading for each book, as applicable:

Challenge Book #
Title:
Author:
Copyright/Year of original publication:
Genre:
Subject:
Setting:
Main Characters:
Series:
Dates Read:
Number of pages:
Off the Shelf? (pre-2011):
Category for 11 in 11 challenge:
How does it fit the category?
Alternate category
Does it fit the Theme of the Month
How does it fit the theme?
My Rating:
Notes:

I'm also doing the 75 Challenge: http://www.librarything.com/topic/124115

and the Off-The-Shelf Challenge: http://www.librarything.com/topic/106328

The following entries will contain my 11 categories -- plus an overflow category for books that don't fit anywhere else.

I seriously doubt that I'll manage 11 books in each category, but -- having just about achieved the original goal of 7 in each -- I'm going to try.

glitter-graphics.com
Category 1: Pregame (OK, these are mostly ones I have to read because they are ER books to review)

1. Summer of Shadows, by Jonathan Knight
2. One Was a Soldier by Julia Spencer-Fleming
3. Pray for Silence by Linda Castillo
4. I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza doctor's journey by Isseldin Abuelaish
5. The Twisted Thread by Charlotte Bacon
6. The Reluctant Detective by Martha Ockley
7. Flip Flop Fly Ball by Craig Robinson
8. Trains of Discovery by Alfred Runte
9. Midnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid that Sparked the Civil War by Tony Horwitz
10. The Chalk Girl by Carol O'Connell
11. Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman by Robert K. Massie

CATEGORY COMPLETE!!

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Category 2: Play Ball!

1. The Ice Bowl by Ed Gruver
2. Satchel: the life and times of an American legend by Larry Tye
3. Murder at Wrigley Field by Troy Soos (audio book)
4. Women at Play: the story of women in baseball by Barbara Gregorich
5. For Love of the Game by Michael Shaara
6. Worth the Wait: Tales of the 2008 Phillies by Jayson Stark
7. Indian Summer: the forgotten story of Louis Sockalexis the first Native American in Major League Baseball
8. Murder at Fenway Park by Troy Soos (audio book)
9. The Summer Game by Roger Angell
10. Once Upon a Fastball by Bob Mitchell
11. Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball's Last Hero, by David Maraniss

AND THE FINAL CATEGORY IS COMPLETE!!!

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Category 3: Leadoff

1. Jar City by Arnaldur Indridason
2. A Drink Before the War by Dennis Lehane
3. The Wine of Angels by Phil Rickman
4. Real Murders by Charlaine Harris (Aurora Teagarden series book #1) Audio book
5. Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell
6. Tonight I Said Goodbye by Michael Koryta
7. Don't Look Back by Karin Fossum
8. Iron Lake by William Kent Kreuger (audio book)
9. In the Woods by Tana French
10. Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear
11. Blackman's Coffin by Mark de Castrique

CATEGORY COMPLETED!

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Category 4: On Deck (next book in series -- usually mysteries!)

1. White Nights by Ann Cleeves
2. Double Cross by James Patterson
3. Too Easy by Phillip DePoy
4. Easy as One, Two, Three by Phillip DePoy
5. Heaven's Prisoners (audio book -- abridged) by James Lee Burke
6. Black Cherry Blues by James Lee Burke (unabridged audio book)
7. Darkness, Take My Hand by Dennis Lehane
8. A Morning For Flamingos by James Lee Burke (unabridged audio book)
9. A Stained White Radiance by James Lee Burke
10.Devil Bones by Kathy Reichs
11. The Silent Hour by Michael Koryta (audio)

CATEGORY COMPLETE!

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Category 5: Phantom players

1. Ghosts and Specters of the Old South by Nancy Roberts
2. So Cold the River by Michael Koryta
3. Slave Ghost Stories by Nancy Rhyne
4. Only Call us Faithful by Marie Jakober
5. Cemetery of Angels by Noel Hynd
6. Ghosts of Boston Town by Holly Nadler
7. Nine Ghosts by R. H. Malden
8. In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead by James Lee Burke
9. The Harrowing by Alexandra Sokoloff
10.City of Masks: A Cree Black Novel by Daniel Hecht
11.Scottish Ghost Stories by Elliott O'Donnell

CATEGORY COMPLETED!

Possibilities:

Category 6: All-Stars, MVPs, and Other Awards

1. The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney (2006 Costa Award Book of the Year; long-listed for 2007 Orange Prize)
2. Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny
3. Morality Play by Barry Unsworth (Short List for 1995 Booker Prize)
4. Is it Just Me by Whoopi Goldberg
5. My Lord, What a Morning by Marian Anderson
6. Look Me In the Eye by John Elder Robison
7. Jade Visions: The Life and Music of Scott LaFaro by Helene LaFaro-Fernandez
8. The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America's Childhood by Jane Levy (audio book)
9. Home by Marilynne Robinson
10. Charm City by Laura Lippman (Edgar award winner)
11. The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes (Mann Booker Prize 2011)

CATEGORY COMPLETE!

Category 7: Foul Play Territory

1. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
2. Wolves of Fairmount Park by Daniel Tafoya (fiction)
3. Blacklandsby Belinda Bauer (audio fiction)
4. The Baptism of Billy Bean by Roger Alan Skipper
5. Don't Blink by James Patterson
6. The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo
7. A Welcome Grave by Michael Koryta
8. Dancing Made Easy by Phillip DePoy
9. Sacred by Dennis Lehane
10. A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny
11. Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King

CATEGORY COMPLETE!

Category 8: Fireballers, Rainouts, Steals & Errors

1. The Children's Blizzard by David Laskin
2. A Sudden Sea by R.A. Scotti
3. Stealing the General by Russell S. Bonds
4. The Neon Rain by James Lee Burke (audiobook)
5. Sorrow's Anthem by Michale Koryta
6. Triangle: The Fire That Changed America by David Von Drehle
7. Do You Know What it Means to Miss New Orleans by David Rutledge
8. 33 Men by Jonathan Franklin
9. Nemesis by Jo Nesbo
10.Lethal Legacy by Linda Fairstein
11.Tinder Box : The Iroquois Theatre Disaster 1903 by Anthony P. Hatch

CATEGORY COMPLETE

Category 9: Away Game Travel Day (Cars, Trains, Boats, and Planes, etc.)
1. Nights of Ice by Spike Walker
2. In the Blink of an Eye by Michael Waltrip
3. Faster Pastor by Sharyn McCrumb
4. A.J.: The Life of America's Greatest Race Car Driver by A. J. Foyt with William Neely
5. My Sweetest Victory by Alex Zanardi
6. The Hungry Ocean by Linda Greenlaw
7. One More for the Road by Ray Bradbury
8. The Ship and the Storm by Jim Carrier
9. The Eyes of the Amaryllis by Natalie Babbitt
10 Among the Heroes by Jere Longman
11 Thunderstruck by Erik Larson

CATEGORY COMPLETE!

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Category 10: Team Physician & Front Office (Doctor, Lawyer, Indian chief)

1. A Free Man of Color by Barbara Hambly
2. Medical Apartheid by Harriet A. Washington
3. Fever Season by Barbara Hambly
4. An Anthropologist on Mars by Oliver Sacks
5. Salem Witch Judge: The Life and Repentance of Samuel Sewall by Eve LaPlante
6. Judgment Calls, by Alafair Burke
7. The Right and the Power by Leon Jaworski
8. Missing Justice by Alafair Burke
9. Baltimore Blues by Laura Lippman
10.Nemesis by Philip Roth
11. The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly (audio)

CATEGORY COMPLETE!

Category 11: Team Chaplain

1. Troubling Biblical Waters by Cain Hope Felder
2. God Plays Piano, Too: The Spiritual Lives of Disabled Children by Brett Webb-Mitchell
3. Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom
4. Church Signs: Love and Laughter on the Road, photography by Donald Seitz
5. Traveling Light by Max Lucado
6. Psalms for Sojourners by James Limburg
7. The Eternal Now by Paul Tillich
8. Midwinter of the Spirit by Phil Rickman
9. Me, Myself, and Bob: A True Story about God, Dreams, and Talking Vegetables by Phil Vischer
10. Addiction and Grace by Gerald G. May
11. Growing Up Lutheran by Janety Letnes Martin & Suzann (Johnson) Nelson

CATEGORY COMPLETED!

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Utility Players (These didn't fit into a category)

1. Mary White by Caryl Ledner
2. Army Life in a Black Regiment by Thomas Wentworth Higginson
3. Up High in the Trees by Kiara Brinkman
4. Developing Talents by Temple Grandin
5. The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin
6. I'll be Watching You by Charles de Lint
7. The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd
8. Bull Run by Paul Fleischman

All the books that didn't fit into my regular lineup.

Ongoing Summary:
1. Pregame: 11 books CATEGORY COMPLETE!
2. Play Ball!: 11 books AND THE FINAL CATEGORY IS COMPLETE!
3. Leadoff: 11 books CATEGORY COMPLETE!
4. On-deck: 11 books CATEGORY COMPLETE!
5. Phantom players: 11 books CATEGORY COMPLETE!
6. All-Stars, MVPs, and other Award Winners: 11 books CATEGORY COMPLETE!
7. Foul Play Territory: 11 books CATEGORY COMPLETE!
8. Fireballers, Rainouts, Steals & Errors: 11 books CATEGORY COMPLETE!
9. Away Game Travel Day (Cars, trains, boats & planes): 11 books CATEGORY COMPLETE!
10. Team Physician & Front Office (Doctor, Lawyer, Indian chief): 11 books CATEGORY COMPLETE!
11. Team Chaplain : 11 books CATEGORY COMPLETE!
Utility Players: 8 books

Total: 129 books completed

Hi Terri, just checking in. Looking forward to continuing to follow your reading both here at the 11 in 11 and over at the 75!

Hi, Judy! Thanks for checking in!

I just moved Bury Your Dead from the almost-maxed-out On Deck category to the All Star / Awards category because it won the Agatha Award for Best Novel last year. So I have officially met the minimum goal of this challenge -- 7 in each category except for the overflow category -- and am moving on to try and get 11 in each group!

Congrats, Terri, on officially meeting your basic goal.

I need to somehow tie my 12 in 12 categories to baseball.

Congratulations, Terri! You're doing really well on your challenge, and I'm so impressed with your great organization of it!

I started out thinking I'd try for the full 11 in 11, then changed it to 7/11, and I'm thinking that will be about right for the year.

cool beans!

Thanks, Linda, ivy and bfertig!

I have my doubts about getting the 11 in each category. The last slots are always hardest to fit books into! But I feel good about the 7/11.

Oops! I started this thread, then kept posting on the old thread. What was I thinking? I'll copy those posts -- at least the ones I posted -- over here.

Challenge Book #13 B
Title: The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America's Childhood -- "enhanced" audiobook version
Author: Jane Leavy
Copyright/Year of original publication:
Genre: sports biography
Dates Read: finished 8/14/11
Off the Shelf (pre-2011)? Source?: No. Download from Overdrive via public library
Category for 11 in 11 challenge: All Stars
How does it fit the category? Hall-of-famers
Alternate Category:
Theme of the Month: Anything goes
My Rating: Not sure yet
Notes:

This is a tough one to review. Mantle was a complex character. He was an incredible baseball talent, whose impressive stats would have even been better if he hadn't played most of his career injured. He could be good-hearted and generous, but could be horribly crude and offensive. He was, in some ways, quite humble, but could be extremely selfish and thoughtless. He was a womanizer. He seemed to have no respect for women. Of course, his drinking was legendary.

He was also a childhood hero of the author. Trying to do him justice and be honest about him was a tough job for a writer. She opted for a somewhat non-traditional format focusing on key events in Mantle's life, rather than a simple chronological biographical narrative, which I found a little hard to follow at times. I think the audio format didn't help, because I couldn't just "look back" when I got confused. One minute we're at Billy Martin's funeral, and a bit later we're back at a point where he's still among the living.

I'm not sure what the "enhanced" part of the audio book was. Were the interludes read by the author, where she described her meeting with Mantle, in the original book? I'd need to see the print copy.

I was feeling pretty disgusted with Mantle and thoroughly unsympathetic. Then Leavy explored the issue of the abuse he apparently suffered as a child. I thought she handled that delicate subject pretty well. In a society where the role of "victim" often seems reserved for females, I find it important to discuss the reality that boys -- even, it appears, Mickey Mantle -- can be victims and that women/teenage girls can be perpetrators. Leavy makes a good case that Mantle showed a number of classic symptoms associated with survivors of childhood sexual abuse.

Leavy also explores the significance of Mantle's relationship with his overbearing father; how he spent his life in a futile attempt to be what he thought his father wanted him to be.

This was a complex book about a complex man. Leavy doesn't attempt to excuse or justify Mantle's behavior based on his personal baggage, but she does try to understand it. I think the book is at least moderately successful.

Challenge Book #14 b
Title: The Ship and the Storm: Hurricane Mitch and the Loss of the Fantome
Author: Jim Carrier
Copyright/Year of original publication: 2001
Genre: non-fiction/ weather-maritime disaster
Subject: Hurricane Mitch and an ill-fated ship
Setting: the Gulf of Honduras
Dates Read: finished 8/15/11
Number of pages: 263 plus map
Off the Shelf (pre-2011)? Source?: Yes
Category for 11 in 11 challenge: Travel Day
How does it fit the category? Boats
Alternate Category: Fireballers, Rainouts...
Theme of the Month: Anything Goes
My Rating: 3.7 stars
Notes:

This was a fascinating book about an unconventional cruise ship and a hurricane which refused to follow the computer models used to predict hurricane development and path.

The Fantome was a floating party under sail. Well, it really depended more upon its engines for propulsion, but the sails looked good. It began life as the Duke of Westminster's elegant schooner for cruising the French Riviera. It was owned for a time by Aristotle Onassis, though he apparently never used it. It wound up as part of the Windjammer Barefoot Cruises fleet, owned by Mike Burke -- an operator who did things his own way.

A storm which began as 1998's Tropical Wave 46 eventually became tropical storm Mitch -- and then, with unexpected swiftness and ferocity, Hurricane Mitch, at the time the 4th most powerful Atlantic storm on record, one of those rare monsters known as a Category 5 hurricane. And Mitch was an exceptionally unpredictable storm.

The ship and the storm would encounter one another in the Gulf of Honduras, among the Bay Islands which rarely see powerful hurricanes. The ship would take evasive action -- but was there anywhere to run?

This book vividly evokes how the good-time atmosphere of the Fantome was replaced by a battle for survival; how hurricane forecasters struggled to make sense of what computer models said about Hurricane Mitch, compared to the storm's actual behavior; and the misery of residents of the Bay Islands and coastal Honduras as they were assaulted by a storm that was supposed to go somewhere else.

I thought the phrasing was sometimes a bit awkward, but for the most part this was a compelling, thorough, and evenhanded look at a real tragedy. I wish there had been footnotes, but the source of information was often indicated within (or could be inferred from) the text. There was no bibliography; the book appears to have been largely based upon interviews, the subjects of which are noted in the Acknowledgments.

Challenge Book #15 B
Title: 33 Men: inside the Miraculous Survival and Dramatic Rescue of the Chilean Miners
Author: Jonathan Franklin
Copyright/Year of original publication: 2011
Genre: non-fiction
Subject: Rescue of 33 miners from collapsed mine after 69 days below.
Setting: Chile
Dates Read: 8/20/11 - 8/21/11
Number of pages: 300
Off the Shelf (pre-2011)? Source?: No; newly purchased from Borders going-out-of-business sale
Category for 11 in 11 challenge: Fireballers, rainouts, steals, errors (disaster category)
How does it fit the category? Disaster; it was an error for that dangerous mine to even be in operation
Alternate Category:
Theme of the Month: Anything goes
My Rating: 4 stars
Notes:

This is a marvelous account of the 2010 Chilean San Jose mine rescue by one of the few journalists given "inside" access at the rescue scene. Franklin handles the disaster without sensationalizing it. He provides information about aspects of the rescue not generally known, including the complexity of dealing with the trapped miners' health, both physical and mental. He comments thoughtfully on the media circus that gathered around the rescue site and the rescued miners. He also shows the role that politics played in how images of the rescue operation were controlled by the Chilean government, while giving credit for good decisions made by officials.

But the real focus is on the 33 men -- "Los 33" -- who were trapped 2,300 feet below the surface, and on the many rescuers who dedicated themselves to freeing the miners from their imprisonment deep in the mountain. I believe Franklin shows true respect for the miners. He acknowledges that there were some problems and divisions among the miners -- to be expected when 33 men are confined under extreme stress-- but doesn't point fingers or blame at individuals. When he names individual miners in the account, it is usually for praiseworthy actions.

Note: the book has no footnotes, but I would not expect any as it is based almost exclusively on the author's eyewitness experience at the rescue site and numerous interviews with the people involved.

I'm giving this book 4 stars. The rating probably would have been even higher, but in the book's Epilogue, "The Triumph of Hope," I felt that Franklin fell into spouting some of the very same "feel good" cliches and over-simplifications that he seemed to criticize the Chilean government for promoting, and glossed over some of the very difficulties that he'd spent a whole book documenting.

Challenge Book #16 B
Title: In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead
Author: James Lee Burke
Copyright/Year of original publication: 1993
Genre: mystery fiction
Subject: murder and the ghosts (literal and figurative) of the past
Setting: New Iberia, LA
Main Characters: Dave Robicheaux; FBI agent Rosie Gomez; actor Elrod Sykes
Series: Dave Robicheaux #6
Dates Read: finished 8/23/11
Number of pages: 344
Off the Shelf (pre-2011)? Source?: No, from public library
Category for 11 in 11 challenge: Phantom Players
How does it fit the category? phantom soldiers -- maybe paranormal, maybe psychological, maybe some of each
Alternate Category: Foul play territory, On Deck
Theme of the Month: Anything Goes
My Rating: 4.25 stars
Notes:

In my ongoing reading of the Dave Robicheaux series -- all of them, in order this time -- I've been looking forward to re-reading this installment of the series, which I read for the first time when it was new. The final third of the book, I simply read straight through and refused to put it down for something so mundane as going to bed at a reasonable hour. I was caught up in the mystery -- or mysteries. There are several -- that of a lynching which Dave witnessed as a youth, the remains of which have finally surfaced on the bayou; that of the murder of at least two prostitutes in modern-day New Iberia and environs; that of the phantoms Dave and those around him encounter. Ghosts? Dreams? Delusions? Hallucinations? All of the above? Burke is careful not to explain everything, but leaves room to explain away enough that the "ghost story" doesn't dominate the crime story, even while it illuminates issues involved. This is a great book -- gritty and grisly and beautiful by turns, giving lots of room for thought.

Challenge Book #17 B
Title: Home
Author: Marilynne Robinson
Copyright/Year of original publication: 2008
Genre: literary fiction
Subject: family estrangement and forgiveness
Setting: Gilead, Iowa
Main Characters: Rev. Boughton and his grown children Jack and Glory
Series: is a companion novel to Gilead
Dates Read: finished 8/25/11
Number of pages: 325
Off the Shelf (pre-2011)? Source?: No -- too new, purchased last week at a used bookstore
Category for 11 in 11 challenge: All-Stars, MVP's and other Awards
How does it fit the category? Orange Prize Winner
Theme of the Month: Anything Goes
My Rating: 3.9 stars
Notes:

I loved Gilead, which I bought last summer (or the summer before?) at a used book store. Last week, I found Home, featuring the same town and many of the same characters, at the same used book store. I dove right in. Whereas Gilead focused on the Ames family of Gilead, Iowa, this book focuses on the Boughton family. It's about the homecoming of Jack, the "problem child" of the family. The style and tone are very different from Gilead. I honestly didn't like it as much as Gilead, though it was very well-written. And it really was quite moving.

Challenge Book #18 B
Title: Nemesis (audio book)
Author: Phillip Roth
Copyright/Year of original publication: 2010
Genre: historical fiction / literary fiction
Subject: a crisis of faith and personal conscience during a polio epidemic and beyond
Setting: a Jewish neighborhood in Newark, NJ circa 1944; a Jewish camp in the Pocono Mountains
Main Characters: Bucky Cantor, playground director and phys ed. teacher
Dates Read: finished 8/29/11
Number of pages: N/A audio This book seemed rather short in length.
Off the Shelf (pre-2011)? Source: Library download from Overdrive
Category for 11 in 11 challenge: I'm forcing it into the "Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief" category
How does it fit the category? Deals with an epidemic (there's a doctor or two) and the summer camp in the story has a Native American theme
Theme of the Month: Anything Goes
My Rating: 3.8 stars
Notes: Brilliance Audio production

In 1944, there was no vaccine or cure for polio (though treatments existed which helped, to some degree, many who contracted the disease). Indeed, though it was known to be highly contagious, the mechanism of polio's spread was not yet understood. As a result, all manner of theories abounded regarding the risks, leading to a general state of paranoia during outbreaks of the disease. Who/what was to blame for its spread? Flies? The hot dog vendor? A mentally-challenged neighbor? Contaminated library books?

This story explores the grim reality of urban life in a polio outbreak. However, it is even more the story of a man's grim battle with his own thoughts -- his fear, his conscience, his doubts, his guilt, and his anger at God -- in the face of a disease he cannot control and a World War in which he was deemed too nearsighted to serve.

Bucky Cantor is the neighborhood playground director, and he watches helplessly as his young charges begin to sicken and die of polio. The reality of the situation eats away at him as he ponders the opportunity to escape the inner city for work as a camp counselor in the Pocono Mountains, where his girlfriend Marcia works. What is his duty to his young charges at the playground? Is his playground a killing field of contagion, or an oasis from even more dangerous situations?

I listened to the audio version of this book (a Brilliance Audio production) and found some parts compelling, some parts a bit tedious, and some parts mildly curious (such as the description of summer camp life in the 1940's). Then there were the moments that left me with an "oh, no!" on my lips and a sinking feeling in my stomach as I anticipated what manner of disaster loomed ahead. In the end the biggest tragedy is, perhaps, less a matter of germs and twisted limbs, and more a matter of psychology and twisted thoughts -- because sometimes our mental state can stunt our lives more than any physical ailment.

I can't believe it! I started this thread, then kept posting on my old thread. I'm really slipping.

Well, now I've at least copied the posts for the books since then onto this thread (posts 24 through 28). Hopefully I'll stay here now!

I have Linda (Whisper1) to thank for making me aware of this lovely little book.

Challenge Book # 19 B
Title: Eyes of the Amaryllis
Author: Natalie Babbitt
Copyright/Year of original publication: 1977
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Subject: family loss and love
Setting: a home by the sea
Main Characters: Gram, Jenny
Dates Read: 8/29/11
Number of pages: 126
Off the Shelf? (pre-2011): No, from library
Category for 11 in 11 challenge: Away game, travel day (cars, trains, boats, trains)
How does it fit the category? Jenny travels to stay with Gram; the sinking of a ship is important part of the history
Alternate category Fireballers, rainouts . . .
What is the theme of the Month? Anything Goes
My Rating: 4.1 stars
Notes:

How would you react if you stood on the shore and watched helplessly while a ship carrying a loved one was dashed on the rocks within your sight, and you could do nothing to help? Would you feel closer to your lost loved one by staying in that spot? Or would the place fill you with fear and anger?

Jenny goes to spend time with her widowed grandmother in a home by the sea, and is drawn into Gram's search for a "sign" of her long-lost sea captain husband. Jenny ponders, for the first time, the possibility of things that cannot be explained. This is a gentle tale is of mystery and imagination, and I loved it. It's set in an era of sailing ships and horses and buggies, but the themes are timeless.

Oh, Eyes of Amaryllis sounds good too. & btw, I love your little ghost image.

Eyes of the Amaryllis was a quick read, but quite touching, Katie.

Thanks -- glad you like my ghostie!

Challenge Book #20 B
Title: Dancing Made Easy
Author: Phillip DePoy
Copyright/Year of original publication: 1999
Genre: mystery (hard to categorize beyond that)
Subject: murder
Setting: Atlanta, GA
Main Characters: Flap Tucker, Dally Oglethorpe
Series: Flap Tucker #4
Dates Read: 8-30-11 through 9-1-11
Number of pages:292
Off the Shelf (pre-2011)? Source?: Yes, purchased from Amazon last year
Category for 11 in 11 challenge: Foul Play Territory
How does it fit the category? murder
Alternate Category: On Deck
Theme of the Month: September Series & Sequels
Does it fit the Theme of the Month? How? Yes, series
My Rating: 3.9 stars
Notes:

Phillip DePoy is one of my favorite authors. I love the quirky characters, wry humor, literary allusions, and arcane knowledge that fill the pages of so many of his books. Who else would build a murder mystery using an art show, a Billie Holiday song, the CDC, and the death of Gerard de Nerval (translator of Faust) as elements?

When the body of a woman is found strung up on a lamp post, and the police initially call it a "suicide," P.I. Flap Tucker -- still mourning the death of his friend Jamie -- is on the case. Actually, he's on the case for Jamie's murder, too, since the police probably have the wrong man in custody. The case gets more bizarre as another body shows up.

This was a quick, easy read -- the murders ar a bit grim, but presented without too much grisly detail. Ultimately, the plot got a little convoluted -- it took a mini info dump at the end to tie up loose ends -- and one police detective's behavior didn't quite make sense, but I'm not going to quibble over it too much. These are not books to take too seriously -- Flap can be flip, and that's fine. If you'd like an offbeat and entertaining mystery, Southern style, give this series a try.

ETA to add DePoy's other series, the Fever Devilin series, has many of the same good qualities as the Flap Tucker series -- the originality, the quirkiness -- but they are meatier, with more food for thought and a more lyrical style -- some really beautiful writing, incredibly descriptive.

#34 Thanks for the heads up to another interesting-sounding series. Just what I needed!

Sandy, I think that DePoy's other, more recent, series -- the Fever Devilin series -- is even better! The main character in that is a retired professor of folklore, so all kinds of neat southern folklore get worked into the mix.

#36 OK - now I've got to go find that one, too. :-)

Go for it, Sandy!

Challenge Book #21 B
Title: Nemesis
Author: Jo Nesbo
Copyright/Year of original publication: 2002
Genre: Scandinavian noir mystery fiction
Subject: bank robberies, death, and revenge
Setting: Oslo, Norway
Main Characters: Inspector Harry Hole
Series: Harry Hole #4, #2 in English translation
Dates Read: finished 9-3-11
Number of pages: 409
Off the Shelf (pre-2011)? Source?: No. Recent e-book purchase from Sony Reader Store
Category for 11 in 11 challenge: Fireballers, rainouts, steals, and errors
How does it fit the category? Opens with a bank robbery
Alternate Category: foul play territory, on deck
Theme of the Month: September Series & Sequels
Does it fit the Theme of the Month? How? Part of series.
My Rating: 3 stars
Notes:

After being blown away by the intricacy and originality of The Redbreast, I was disappointed by this next outing. IMO, this one was beyond intricate and original -- it was convoluted and implausible.

Set against the backdrop of immediate post-9/11 calls for vengeance, reaching Harry in Norway via the world news, the ultimate theme of this book is the human thirst for revenge. In some ways, it was very satisfying how this theme played out. But there were problems. There were really two main threads in this story -- one initiated by a bank robbery shooting, one by the suspicious death of one of Harry's old flames. The first thread, I really liked felt was quite well done. The second was the one I didn't like. While it was extremely clever and it fit the theme of the book perfectly, I eventually found it to be too implausible. There is also a third thread about a corrupt colleague, continued from the previous book, which continues to be interesting.

Let me add one disclaimer -- one of my least favorite standard plots in all of literature is that of someone being framed for a crime. Early on in this story, I could smell a setup coming, so I was wary of this book from the start.

I give Nesbo credit for cleverness, and for keeping me turning pages to see how it would all turn out, even during the parts I didn't like at all. But, ultimately, this one didn't work very well for me.

Challenge Book #22 B
Title: Sacred
Author: Dennis Lehane
Copyright/Year of original publication: 1997
Genre: noir mystery fiction
Subject: searching for a missing woman and a missing PI
Setting: Boston and the Tampa, Florida area
Main Characters: Patrick Kenzie, Angie Gennaro
Series: Kenzie & Gennaro #3
Dates Read: 9-3-11 through 9-4-11 (early a.m.)
Number of pages: 288
Off the Shelf (pre-2011)? Source?: No, from county library
Category for 11 in 11 challenge: Foul Play Territory
How does it fit the category? full of crime
Alternate Category: on deck
Theme of the Month: September Series & Sequels
Does it fit the Theme of the Month? How? Yes, 3rd in series
My Rating: 3.9 stars
Notes:

The high quality of this series continues, though this book may lack some of the depth of previous installments. This time, Kenzie & Gennaro are looking for the missing daughter of a powerful billionaire -- and for the private investigator who disappeared while on her trail. In this story, nothing and no one is as it appears, and it's best not to trust anyone. This book was almost impossible to put down, as the plot twisted and turned toward its conclusion. In some regards, the ending was a little over-the-top; but I can't think of an ending that would fit the story (and the characters involved) better.

Lehane displays his usual descriptive virtuosity, giving a rich, spot-on sense of place and atmosphere without overdoing it. I especially enjoy the sections set in Boston because I know that city pretty well, and Lehane captures its essence flawlessly. The characters and relationship of Patrick and Angie really shine.

Thanks for the review of Nemesis. I too loved The Redbreast and was looking to reading this next one eventually. I'll probably still read it, especially for the continuing storyline about the corrupt colleague, but I'll probably be less disappointed now, knowing that I shouldn't have extremely high expectations for it. :)

Ah, I have to get back to reading Lehane.

->41 mathgirl40:
Just a heads-up that The Devil's Star is also part of the Tom Waaler storyline.

41 Of course, you may like it better than I did. Thanks for stopping by!

42 Katie, I just love Lehane's writing!

43 Good! Thanks for the heads up. I was hoping that would be the case.

Challenge Book #23B
Title: Devil Bones
Author: Kathy Reichs
Copyright/Year of original publication: 2008
Genre: forensic crime mystery
Subject: bones found in a basement, mutilated body found by a lake: ritual murder suspected. Public hysteria and witch hunt
Setting: Charlotte, NC
Main Characters: Temperance Brennan, Detective Slidell, Detective Rinaldi
Series: "Bones," Temperance Brennan #11
Dates Read: finished 9/9/11
Number of pages: 302 plus author interview transcript
Off the Shelf (pre-2011)? Source?: No, from public Library
Category for 11 in 11 challenge: On Deck
How does it fit the category? next in series
Alternate Category (ies): Foul Play Territory, Team Physician
Theme of the Month: September Series & Sequels
Does it fit the Theme of the Month? How? Series
My Rating: 2.7 stars
Notes:

Tempe has two cases that appear to involve human remains and ritual. A Wicca coven meets near the site where the second set of remains was found. A conservative Christian councilman is mounting a witch hunt and clashing with Tempe, threatening her job. A pushy journalist is making things worse -- stirring the cauldron of emotion, so to speak. A detective is killed (and no, I won't tell you who).

This has to be my least favorite Bones novel, but I finished it. It was way too preachy in hammering home its worthwhile message of religious tolerance. While trying to undo stereotypes about practitioners of alternative spiritualities such Wicca, Santeria, etc. (teaching us that they're not Satanists and don't practice human sacrifice, which I already knew) Reichs seemed equally determined to reinforce secular stereotypes about Christians (as a bunch of intolerant, bigoted fools). I suppose it hit home because there are too many Christians who are that way, but it would have been nice if she'd thrown in a reasonable one or two along the way. Oh, the journalist was pretty much a stereotype, too.

There was much melodrama on the romance front and the political fronts, plus Temperance has trouble maintaining her temperance (throughout the series, she's been a recovering alcoholic).

When you pared it down to the mystery itself, it wasn't a bad read. I just got aggravated with all the melodrama and the stereotypes.

The nicest thing about the book was the dedication -- it was dedicated to law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty.

Challenge Book #24 B
Title: Among the Heroes: United Flight 93 and the Passengers and CVrew Who Fought Back
Author: Jere Longman
Copyright/Year of original publication: 2002
Genre: non-fiction / history
Subject: The "fourth plane" hijacked on 9/11 and the passengers who refused to let it be used as a weapon
Setting: The skies over NJ and PA; a field in Shanksville, PA
Main Characters: all those aboard the plane
Dates Read: 9/10/11 through 9/12/11
Number of pages: 273 plus sources and index
Off the Shelf (pre-2011)? Source?: Yes, purchased at Abraxis Books, Daytona Beach, FL in January of 2010.
Category for 11 in 11 challenge: Cars, trains, boats & planes
How does it fit the category? plane
Does it fit the Theme of the Month? How? No, read to commemorate 9/11
My Rating: 3.4 stars
Notes:

This book tells the story of United Flight 93, the one hijacked plane which did not reach the destination its hijackers intended on 9/11. All indications are that the passengers and crew rose up against the hijackers, causing the plane to crash into an abandoned strip mine in Shanksville, Somerset County, Pennsylvania.

This book is hard to rate. The subject matter and content are great. I'm not sure about how the writing was carried out. Admittedly, it's hard to write a book about 40 people and their loved ones. And the Longman really tried to help the reader see what was happening from the point of view of the various participants, rather than just spouting facts about them. Longman is to be commended for helping us to get to know (at least a little) each of the folks on Flight 93 and many of their loved ones. It's an inspiring story.

But there were a number of places where I had to go back and re-read for clarity, and clarity was, even then, not always forthcoming. There were some odd punctuation and word choices. Because the author incorporated so many points of view, the book jumped all over the place time-wise.

The section about the hijackers' preparation for their horrific deed was worded quite awkwardly. (He based the discussion on surviving documents which the terrorists would have used.) Perhaps he felt uncomfortable writing about the hijackers, but the writing felt really awkward in that section. For that matter, description (based on standard airline procedures) of the flight crew's preparation was a bit awkward, too. Perhaps those early chapter showed, more than other sections, that this was a journalist relatively new to book writing. The back of the book included at least a paragraph for each chapter regarding sources, so I feel Longman could have let the narrative flow a little more smoothly in the main text and used the "sources" pages to more fully explain the sources of his info. I felt that the writing improved, for the most part, as the book went along.

All in all, it was a highly ambitious and worthwhile writing project, carried off moderately well.

Challenge Book #25 B -- my 100th book of the year! (and it was a good one!)
Title: In the Woods
Author: Tana French
Copyright/Year of original publication: 2007
Genre: police procedural mystery fiction
Subject: murder of a young girl; a detective with a past; secrets
Setting: a village and archaeological site outside Dublin, Ireland
Main Characters: Detective Rob Ryan, Detective Cassie Maddox
Series: Dublin Murder Squad
Dates Read: finished 9-16-11 (early a.m.)
Number of pages: 429
Off the Shelf (pre-2011)? Source?: No, from Public Library
Category for 11 in 11 challenge: All-Stars, MVPs and Other Awards
How does it fit the category? Edgar Award winner
Alternate Category: Leadoff, Foul Play Territory
Theme of the Month: September Series & Sequels
Does it fit the Theme of the Month? How? Yes, first in a series
My Rating: 4.1 stars
Notes:

In the Woods was a great read -- suspenseful, literate, thought-provoking. I had trouble putting it down.

Detective Rob Ryan has a secret -- a terrible trauma that is even a secret from himself, because he can't remember it. Now he has a case that may -- or may not -- be related to that secret. A girl is dead, her body found in the midst of an archaeological dig. Is the murderer the same person responsible for the disappearances of two of Ryan's friends years ago?

In the Woods is a dark, complex story filled with vivid characters and settings.

Challenge Book #26 B
Title: The Lincoln Lawyer (audio book)
Author: Michael Connelly
Copyright/Year of original publication:
Genre: legal thriller
Subject: somewhat sleazy defense attorney gets a dangerous case
Setting: Los Angeles
Main Characters: Mickey Haller
Series: Mickey Haller #1
Dates Read: finished 9/17/11
Number of pages: n/a (audio)
Off the Shelf (pre-2011)? Source?: Overdrive Media library download
Category for 11 in 11 challenge: "Doctor, Lawyer. . ."
How does it fit the category? Lawyer
Alternate Category: foul play category, leadoff
Theme of the Month: September Series & Sequels
Does it fit the Theme of the Month? How? Yes, series
My Rating:3.7 stars
Notes:

I got this book because there wasn't another audio download available that I wanted, but it was pretty good. I liked the narrator -- I felt he set the mood and captured the characters well. The story is clever and suspenseful and I didn't guess the ending at all.

The story begins when a bail bondsman calls Mickey to tell him about a client who wants to hire him for defense. The client is a wealthy man with powerful family connections who has been accused of attempted rape, but he insists he's innocent. It's a "franchise" case -- the kind that can bring in an lot of money for an attorney.

Mickey has another case in his past, a poor man who went to prison for life for a crime he said he didn't do, but it was an "open and shut" case that there was no way to win. Both these cases are about to put Mickey into a life-and-death situation that he could hardly anticipate.

This is a tricky series, as the next book, #2 in this series, is apparently tied into another series (the Harry Bosch series), where it is book #14; and I think it's tied to yet a third series, too.

Challenge Book # 27 B
Title: Midwinter of the Spirit
Author: Phil Rickman
Copyright/Year of original publication: 1999
Genre: paranormal mystery
Subject: A female Deliverance minister (exorcist) battles evil
Setting: Hereford, England and surrounding area
Main Characters: Merrily Watkins
Series: Merrily Watins #2
Dates Read: finished 9/18/11
Number of pages: 537 plus closing credits
Off the Shelf (pre-2011)? Source?: No, inter-library loan
Category for 11 in 11 challenge: Team Chaplain
How does it fit the category? main character is a priest
Alternate Category: on deck, foul play territory, phantom players
Theme of the Month: September Series & Sequels
Does it fit the Theme of the Month? How? Yes, series
My Rating: 3.7 stars
Notes:

Merrily Watkins is an Anglican priest who has been asked by her bishop to train for Deliverance Ministry -- formerly, the position of Exorcist. Well, the modern, "trendy" young bishop wants to re-brand her as "Deliverance Consultant" complete with web page . . . in the meantime, and ancient evil stalks the environs of Hereford, and Merrily is landing right in the middle of it all.

I'll likely be coming back to edit these notes, because I'm still pondering this one. I think Rickman sets a great atmosphere, and draws detailed and complex characters (though a few of them seem to border on caricatures -- albeit vividly drawn ones -- until near the end). And I think he tackles some really timely and difficult issues regarding spirituality and the "old church" vs. "new age" split and whether it can be bridged in some ways. He also tackles the issue women clergy face -- particularly in some settings. And he "gets" the subtleties of mother-daughter relationships and the conflicts that happen. But I'm still digesting the story itself. I'm not quite sure what to think of it. It did keep me turning pages.

Terri, even without your additional digestion, Midwinter of the Spirit sounds interesting - and even though you labeled it a "paranormal" mystery. Off to learn more about it. I've already read Lincoln Lawyer and In the Woods and enjoyed them both. After reading Lincoln Lawyer, I went back to the beginning of the Harry Bosch series and have been working my way through them in order. I still haven't gotten back to Mickey Haller, but I've enjoyed Harry Bosch, and also Terry McCaleb - another related character who has some of his own stories.

Yes, Midwinter of the Spirit does sound good. WL feature doesn't seem to be working tonight though, dingnabbit! (did that sound piratical?)

50 Sandy, the book deals very much in the paranormal -- there is Evil with a capital E being confronted. I thought Rickman portrayed very well the conflict between Merrily, who senses true demonic forces at work, and others in the church who express the view that, in the modern era, Deliverance is really a ministry of psychology and who scoff at the notion of an actual, literal, exorcism.

I must warn you, there are some sections that I found rather disturbing.

Re: Connelly, I know I bought one of the earliest in the Bosch series, The Black Ice -- I remember buying it and cataloging it, and it is in the catalog of my "books at home." But I can't find it anywhere! I'm going to e-mail my MIL -- she borrowed a book last time she was here, and I'm wondering if it was that one. I just have a feeling . . .

51 Aye, Katie, rather piratical! ;) I must say, I generally find the LT "will you like it?" and "recommendations" features pretty useless in predicting what I'll like.

Ah, the WL is working now, so alas, I was not saved from your book bullet.

Have you tried the unrecommender? I find that rather amusing, and baffling. I've got a couple books by Haruki Murakami on my shelves. I've rated them highly. Still, the unrecommender lists his Wind-up Bird Chronicles and Kafka on the Shore as things I wouldn't like. & Marley and Me? Granted, I tend to go for the scientific dog behavior books instead of the cute pet story books, but I had that book until I loaned it to a friend. I almost couldn't finish it because being a dog trainer, I always know someone who is in the process of losing a dog. Why would a dog book of any sort be in my unrecommendations? Although I'll confess. I don't like Walter the Farting Dog, but not because Walter farts. It's because the illustrations are ugly.

Looks like you got me, too. I'll be looking for Midwinter of the Spirit.

For a while, I was a big fan of the Harry Bosch series. Not sure when I stopped or why. Now I'm afraid I might have to go back and start all over, unless I can figure out where I stopped. Prior to my LT days, that's for sure.

ETA: I just went and looked and I have 2 Connelly books in the TBR, one being The Black Ice. Might have to move him up the list for sometime next year.

53 It's been ages since I tried the unrecommender. I seem to recall that it unrecommended some books that I had in my catalog!

54 I hope you'll post what you think of it when you get around to it, Victoria.

55 Betty, I know how it is to lose track of where one is in a series -- I had to check 3 Kathy Reichs books out of the library to figure out which was the one I needed in order to pick up where I left off.

#56 I had to check 3 Kathy Reichs books out of the library to figure out which was the one I needed in order to pick up where I left off. - I used to do that all the time before I found LT. I love the series feature here that makes it super easy to keep track of exactly where I am in dozens of series. I used to have to read one entire series and then go on to another - and I really get tired of most authors if I read their books too close together. *sigh* I love it here!

Amen, Sandy! Now I only get lost on series I left off pre-LT . . . there are a few.

I'll admit, when LT first revealed the series feature I wasn't a huge fan but then I started reading more serial fiction and saw what a fantastic tool it is. I'd be lost without it.

Yes that's my problem with Harry. I read them pre-LT. There's so much available on LT, I sometimes forget about some of them. Like the series thing. Need to go look at that again.

I use that series feature a lot!

Yes - I went and checked it out - might be easier than the spreadsheet I've been keeping

The series feature is not infallible -- I've occasionally found that some of the more obscure series have wrong/conflicting information. But it's usually pretty useful.

But it's really easy to fix missing or wrong information in the series - it makes me feel really important to be able to make right something that no one else has done. Ha! Seriously, though, I like that each of us - who know as well as anyone how the series we love is organized - has the ability to share that with everyone else.

Yes, I've fixed a few favorites when I found obvious errors.

I'm getting closer to really filling my categories with 11 books each. There are over 3 months left in the year, and I only need to read:

1. Pregame: 4 books (Whether I get 11 in this category will depend on whether I win more ER books, as they go in this category. I have 2 more so far that I know about.)
2. Play Ball!: 3 books; (1 of those is in progress)
3. Leadoff: 2 books
4. On-deck: 1 books (1 of those is in progress)
5. Phantom players: 3 books (I'll easily fill those with the Halloween read!)
6. All-Stars, MVPs, and other Award Winners: 1 book (and it is almost finished!)
7. Foul Play Territory: 2 books
8. Fireballers, Rainouts, Steals & Errors: 2 books
9. Away Game Travel Day (Cars, trains, boats & planes): 1 book
10. Team Physician & Front Office (Doctor, Lawyer, Indian chief): category completed
11. Team Chaplain : 3 books, (1 is in progress)

Utility Players: 4 books (This is just for overflow that doesn't fit the other categories; I don't need to fill this!

I should be able to finish this OK. :)

I'll leave the fixing to those who are more computer savy than I. You've really been zipping through the books. I'm on my last one for my own challenge, but my is only 66 books. I'll keep going and try to fill in more books and see how far I get.

Terri, I think we've got about the same number of books to finish. I've had great quality in Sept but my reading totals are way down this month.

Still hoping to finish by around Thanksgiving.

67 Betty, I originally aimed for 7 in each category, but then decided to go ahead and try for more when I got to that point. I wouldn't be this far, though, if I hadn't started listening to and counting audio books this year. They allow me to "read" at times when I'm otherwise too busy to read.

68 Linda, I don't have a clue when I'll finish. A lot depends on what I read and how it fits into categories.

I just finished a good mystery -- though by an author you don't particularly like, Linda -- which completed the "MVP, All-Star, and Other Awards" category. (It was an Edgar Award winner.)

These days, I'm reading a baseball book that is going slowly for me, The Summer Game by Roger Angell. It's a collection of baseball columns he wrote during the 1960s and early 1970s. They are very well written. It's odd to think how much baseball has changed since then. I just finished one about the importance of the "reserve clause." At the time it was written, he couldn't imagine baseball surviving with anything like free agency. I'm not sure why it's taking me so long to read. Part of it is that I relegated it to be my "purse book," mostly reading it on lunch hour or waiting for appointments. But there must be a reason I'm not pulling it out of the bag to read more often at other times. (Maybe because the Phillies were so awful during much of the time covered??)

I'm also listening to an audio of The Silent Hour by Michael Koryta, last of the Lincoln Perry PI series. I don't particularly like the narrator. To me, he doesn't sound the least bit like a 40-something, street-wise PI from Cleveland.

Challenge Book #28 B
Title: Charm City
Author: Laura Lippman
Copyright/Year of original publication: 1997
Genre: mystery fiction/ PI
Subject: A newspaper story in print that wasn't supposed to be; a vicious attack on Tess's uncle; a mysterious greyhound
Setting: Baltimore, MD, USA
Main Characters: Tess Monaghan, Crow, the editorial staff of the Beacon Light
Series: Tess Monaghan #2
Dates Read: finished 9/23/11
Number of pages: 291
Off the Shelf (pre-2011)? Source?: Yes, gift from a friend on LT
Category for 11 in 11 challenge: All Stars, MVPs and other Award Winners
How does it fit the category? Edgar Award winner
Alternate Category: Foul Play Territory
Theme of the Month: September Series & Sequels
Does it fit the Theme of the Month? How? Yes, #2 in series
My Rating: 3.7 stars
Notes:

This was a pretty good mystery -- really two mysteries, as the two threads in the story are fairly distinct. A politically-charged news story that was supposedly "killed" by the Beacon Light newspaper editors is resurrected by a computer hacker, and hits the news stands. Havoc ensues. Tess Monaghan, former reporter and fledgling PI, is called in to investigate. At the same time, Tess's uncle has been savagely beaten; his one request before losing consciousness is for Tess to take care of his new greyhound. But someone else seems to have a mysterious interest in the animal. The story is quite clever, and nothing is quite as it seems.

My main complaint in this story is that I figured out one of the main bad guys too early. But I never figured out quite how he fit into the mess until it was revealed.

>69 tymfos: This was the first 'audiobook' year for me too and I love being able to 'read' at work. Although it makes me a little cranky when the phone rings in a dramatic section.

#70 I've read Lippman's first three books in that series. At some point, maybe I'll give her another try.

It takes a book like that to show you how much the game has changed. I'm reading a book about the building of Fenway Park 100 years ago and also that first season. The huge changes there are obvious but the recent ones are less evident, til you think about them, at least.

71 I can't listen to them at work (except lunch break) but they are nice during housework and exercise, and when I'm driving!

72 It's funny how some of the issues that were just arising then played out, and how other things got turned in completely different directions. For instance, at that time they were looking at the expanded season brought about by multi-divisional playoffs, and debating shortening the regular season. How many years later, and they may finally do that.

Today was a busy day, but one which worked well for listening to an audio book -- a long walk followed by lots of mindless housecleaning.

Challenge Book #29B
Title: The Silent Hour (audio)
Author: Michael Koryta
Copyright/Year of original publication: 2009
Genre: mystery fiction / PI
Subject: A deserted house, an old murder, obsession, and burnout
Setting: Cleveland, OH and environs; the Florida gulf coast
Main Characters: Lincoln Perry, PI
Series: #4 in Lincoln Perry, PI series
Dates Read: finished 9/24/11
Number of pages: N/A (audio)
Off the Shelf (pre-2011)? Source?: No, library download from Overdrive
Category for 11 in 11 challenge: Next in series
How does it fit the category? Next (and last!) in series
Alternate Category: Foul Play Territory
Theme of the Month: September Series & Sequels
Does it fit the Theme of the Month? How? Yes, part of series
My Rating: 3.65 stars
Notes:

An unusual and valuable property is abandoned by its owners, who disappear but leave a trust set up to pay the taxes. A paroled murderer comes to Lincoln Perry for answers. Someone eventually turns up dead; another PI, a cop, and an obsessive FBI man get involved; another body turns up; and there are mob connections, too. It's all very peculiar and complicated, and Lincoln waffles between wanting to sort it out and wanting to get out of Dodge and keep his loved ones safe from harm.

I really like Michael Koryta's writing and I like this series. I may have liked this one the least of the lot. There was a lot less action and a lot more introspection -- almost too much, at times. But it was an intriguing mystery, and a serious look at how obsessiveness about an ax to grind can cause a good investigator to lose perspective, make mistakes, and eventually hurt people.

Hi Terri - another one for my wishlist!

I haveCharm City on my list for next year. Glad to hear it's good as I did enjoy the first one. Unless I change my mind and read it this year. I have enough series going that I can fit something else in it's place next year, for sure. Maybe book 3.

Hi, Judy and Betty!

Challenge Book #30 B
Title: Trains of Discovery:Railroads and the Legacy of Our National Parks (Fifth Edition)
Author: Alfred Runte
Copyright/Year of original publication: this revised & expanded edition 2011
Genre: non-fiction
Subject: The role of the railroads in the development of the National Parks; railroad's possible role in continued preservation
Setting: All across America
Dates Read: finished 9/26/11
Number of pages: 150 plus sources and index
Off the Shelf (pre-2011)? Source?: Yes, LT Early Reviewer book, ERs always count as off the shelf
Category for 11 in 11 challenge: Pregame
How does it fit the category? ER book
Alternate Category: "Away Game/ Travel Day"
Theme of the Month: NA to ER books
My Rating: 4 stars
Notes: Many beautiful color illustrations

In Trains of Discovery, Alfred Runte brings to life both the public and behind-the-scene role that America's railroads played in developing our National Park system. Who knew that the railroad barons were among the early preservationists? Runte makes a convincing argument that this was a case of enlightened self-interest -- the railroaders wanted beautiful SCENERY for their passengers to view out the windows of their trains, not an ocean of billboards. The lure of marvelous scenery was used to promote travel on their railroads -- but all that promotion also popularized the establishment of the National Parks which have, in turn, preserved some of the most stunning landscapes in our nation.

Runte also comments on the present and possible future role of railroads in preservation, protecting vulnerable parks from the crowding, emissions, and acres of parking lots that accompany ever-increasing motor-vehicle traffic.

The book contains plentiful and beautiful illustrations, many in color, including period railroad posters, post-cards, dining car menus, and magazine ads, as well as paintings and photographs of some of America's most scenic spots.

Runte's earlier volumes had focused on the Western US, where the railroads had the most interest and influence in the development of the parks. But this volume includes information about sites in the East, too -- particulary in Pennsylvania (of great interest to me!) and New England.

At around 150 pages with many pages of illustrations, this was a quick read. But I'm sure I'll look back over it again and again to enjoy the wonderful illustrations.

This sounds like a very interesting book. I've been interested in reading about Henry Flagler since we went to Key West a couple of years ago. He built the railroad across the islands to Key West. I know around here, they have taken many of the old railroad beds and made them into bike/walking/running paths. On the wishlist it goes.

Betty, just so you know, the Flagler railroads are NOT dealt with at all in this book.

Flagler's railroad to Key West is an interest of mine, too. It was an amazing engineering feat for its time, especially the original Bahia Honda and Seven Mile bridges:

Yes - it was when we went there and drove all the way out from Miami that I thought it might be interesting to read about. Trains of Discovery sounds good anyway.

You two are making me homesick. I've got nearly three months before I make the drive to FL.

80 I read a book a while back about the Labor Day hurricane that struck when they were first trying to build the Overseas Highway -- and, of course, it had some background on the original railroad construction, too. Oh, what was the name of that book?

ETA to add Ah, it was Hemingway's Hurricane.

81 Sorry!

Challenge Book #31 B
Title: Maisie Dobbs
Author: Jacqueline Winspear
Copyright/Year of original publication: 2003
Genre: historical mystery fiction
Subject: Former nurse turned PI's war experiences impact post WWI investigation; societal changes brought about by WWI; horrors of war & aftermath
Setting: London and Kent, England before, during, and after WWI; an army medic unit in France during WWI
Main Characters: Maisie Dobbs, Maurice Blanche, Lady Rowan, Billy Beale, Captain Simon Lynch
Series: Maisie Dobbs #1
Dates Read: finished 9/29/11
Number of pages:294 plus reading guide
Off the Shelf (pre-2011)? Source?: No, loan from friend
Category for 11 in 11 challenge: Leadoff
How does it fit the category? first in series
Alternate Category: foul play territory
Theme of the Month: September Series & Sequels
Does it fit the Theme of the Month? How?
My Rating: 4 stars
Notes:

I'm having a hard time figuring out how to describe this book without spoilers, so I'll stick mainly with my impressions.

I've had people recommend this series to me for a while, and I put off reading it. Frankly, I think the name put me off a bit. "Maisie Dobbs." Sounds rather lightweight and peppy. Not so -- indeed, near the very end, the book brought me to tears. Maisie's put out her PI shingle, and handles a serious case in a serious way -- with intelligence, skill, and respect for local law enforcement. And in the process, she faces the ghosts of her past as an army nurse in WWI. The subject matter covered -- the horrors of war and the damage that lingers long after the guns stop firing -- is somber indeed, but Maisie's rise beyond her humble origins is inspiring. A very good and worthwhile book. I shall read more of Maisie's adventures!

Challenge Book #32 B
Title: Lethal Legacy (audio book)
Author: Linda Farstein
Copyright/Year of original publication: 2009
Genre: mystery fiction
Subject: murder and rare book/ map theft
Setting: New York, especially the New York Public Library
Main Characters: Alex Cooper
Series: Alex Cooper #11 (?)
Dates Read: finished 9/30/11
Number of pages: n/a (audio)
Off the Shelf (pre-2011)? Source?: No, download through Carnegie library Overdrive system
Category for 11 in 11 challenge: Bireballers, Rainouts, Steals, and Errors
How does it fit the category? deals with rare book/map theft
Alternate Category:foul play territory
Theme of the Month: September Series & Sequels
Does it fit the Theme of the Month? How? Yes, part of series
My Rating: 3 stars
Notes:

I love that a good bit of this book is set at the NY Public Library, and enjoyed all the details she included about that institution, and rare books & manuscripts and the work of rare book conservators. Some of it hit home. Who knew how much damage is done to library books by Post-it notes? Apparently, the invisible trace of adhesive that lingers is damaging to the paper, especially if the Post-it is left on for very long -- it thins the paper, makes lots of work for book conservators on routine volumes when they'd rather be dealing with real treasures.

Despite all that neat stuff, I didn't like the actual mystery much. It just seemed convoluted. They had to spend a whole chapter explaining it at the end, in dialogue with the chief detective, and I was still confused about who, what, when, where, why, and how -- and how it all fit together.

I listened to this on audio. I'd like to get hold of the actual book. Fairstein typically includes NY landmark properties and/or institutions in her books, and she usually includes an author's note about those landmarks and delineating the fact from the fiction about them in her story. But no author's note was included in the audio. I'd like to see if there is one in the printed volume, especially since she was dealing with the NY Public Library in this story.

Challenge Book #33 B
Title: A Trick of the Light
Author: Louise Penny
Copyright/Year of original publication: 2011
Genre: "village mystery" fiction
Subject: contrasts of light and dark, sobriety and addiction, revenge and forgiveness
Setting: Three Pines, Quebec, Canada
Main Characters: Armand Gamache and the usual suspects :)
Series: Three Pines Mysteries #7
Dates Read: 9/29/11 through 9/30/11
Number of pages: 336
Off the Shelf (pre-2011)? Source?: No, received yesterday from Amazon -- never made it to shelf!
Category for 11 in 11 challenge: Foul Play Territory
How does it fit the category? murder & deceit
Alternate Category:
Theme of the Month: September Series & Sequels
Does it fit the Theme of the Month? How? Yes, part of series
My Rating: 4.5 stars
Notes:

Enough has been said about this book over in the 75 Challenge group; I have little to add. The charming village of Three Pines hosts yet another murder, with all manner of suspects from within and without the village, and plenty of dizzying twists and turns in the figuring out of whodunit. There were also plenty of complimentary side-issues to go with the main course of the murder mystery.

I will say that the book left me feeling quite unsettled. Some have suggested that the Three Pines books might be considered cozies -- I beg to disagree. This book certainly didn't leave me feeling cozy. But it was very, very good. I loved how it explored the topic of forgiveness, and the ability of people to change.

>84 tymfos: - I got all excited about this book from your first paragraph only to feel let down by your second. I'm wondering if it would be less confusing reading rather than listening where one can turn back a page or two if needed. I love books about books and libraries and -you're right- that's news to me about Post-Its. I think I might put it on the wishlist anyway and give it a shot.

Jumped over to BM and found one available. Into the pile it goes.

>85 tymfos: I don't consider the Three Pines series as cozies either. The sleuth is not an amateur, so I define them as a police procedural. There's definitely a bit of a dark side there.

86 Betty, I think Lethal Legacy would probably be easier to follow in hard copy.

87 Lori, I would say that "police procedural" fits much better than cozy. I'm tempted to think that Gamache's approach is less about procedure and more about discernment. But there's plenty of regular detective work, too. Someone suggested the category of "village mystery." That fits, too. But definitely not cozy -- that dark side can't be ignored.

Maisie Dobbs sounds interesting. Not many characters are wwI nurses.

Well, former WWI nurse. But we do see her in action as a nurse in the book. One of the odd things about the first Maisie Dobbs book is that a whole, huge chunk in the middle is devoted to her earlier life -- it goes back to her youth, through her nursing years. It leaves the mystery, circa 1929, sitting there for like 150 pages and tells what happened before. On the one hand, I was impatient to get back to the mystery and see where it went; but the story of her early life was so compelling (and critical to what followed) that it was time and pages well spent.

Another series with a WWI nurse-turned-sleuth is the Bess Crawford series by Charles Todd. I haven't started it yet, but I plan to.

Most likely, the next mystery I read will be the first in the Bess Crawford series, A Duty to the Dead. I'll be sure to let you know how it is.

While she's not a nurse, Carola Dunn's Daisy Dalrymple series is set at about this same time.

I look forward to your comments on that one, Linda!

Challenge Book #34 B
Title: The Stepford Wives
Author: Ira Levin
Copyright/Year of original publication: 1972
Genre: speculative fiction? horror?
Subject: something sinister seems to be happening to women in a small town
Setting: Stepford, a small town full of secrets
Main Characters: Joanna and Walter Eberhart, Bobby Markowe
Series: NO
Dates Read: 10/1/11 - 10/2/11
Number of pages: 145
Off the Shelf (pre-2011)? Source?: No, a library patron's inter-library loan that was returned before it had to go back to the other library
Category for 11 in 11 challenge: Utility players
How does it fit the category? not sure where else to put it
Alternate Category: Foul Play territory -- but I decided not to put it there.
Theme of the Month: Halloween Horrors
Does it fit the Theme of the Month? How? Yes, creepy and horrible
My Rating: still thinking
Notes:

OK, I read excerpts of this book when it was first published in the 70's. Was it Ms. magazine that carried them? The subject matter certainly would fit that publication, and I was card-carrying radical feminist at the time, so that would have put it on my reading list. But that was a long time ago, so I can't be sure.

This is one where the hype on the dust jacket was prophetic: . . . there is a certain kind of woman who, from now on, will be known as a Stepford Wife. I think for many women -- in my generation, at least -- that is true.

It's a surprisingly short book -- the edition I read was 145 pages -- and goes by quickly. Two sittings of about an hour each finished it off for me. The chilling main premise was very timely for when it was published -- probably the height of the feminist movement, a time when women were still fighting for the most basic forms of equality -- and quite creative. I honestly don't think it seems that well written. But it's very effective.

I guess the strangest thing about it is that this story was written by a man. Given the horribly negative view of men -- seemingly all men -- that the book's premise implies, that seems a bit startling.

#90 I start the Charles Todd mystery. In this one, she's a WW1 nurse. I was wondering how they would pull it off but she's injured and home on leave.

It feels a lot like the Maisie Dobbs books.

Thanks for your review of The Stepford Wives. I enjoy Ira Levin as long as I put him in his context and read him simply for fun with no deeper meaning attached. Same with say, Ian Fleming...

94 I really want to get to that series, Linda.

95 Sounds like a good way to read him.

Challenge Book #35 B
Title: The Summer Game
Author: Roger Angell
Copyright/Year of original publication: compilation of articles written 1962-1972
Genre: non-fiction
Subject: baseball
Dates Read: Started August, 2011; finished 10-03-11
Number of pages: 320
Off the Shelf (pre-2011)? Source?: No, newly purchased this year at the Book Rack
Category for 11 in 11 challenge: Play Ball!
How does it fit the category? baseball
Theme of the Month: holdover from Anything Goes August
My Rating:3.3
Notes:

This book is a collection of baseball themed articles Angell wrote for The New Yorker between the years 1962-1972 There is some very good writing in this book. There were also some sections that I found less than engrossing, which is why it took me so long to get through it. At his best, Angell is witty and insightful. Always, he is a true fan of the game. I like the general commentary about the state of the game and the personalities better than a lot of the play-by-play descriptions he includes of key games -- but that's a general preference I personally have regarding sports writing.

I especially enjoyed reading about the Mets -- the pathetic 1962 variety, and the amazin' 1969 variety both have their heart warming elements -- and the Pirates.

Challenge Book # 36B
Title: Me, Myself, and Bob: a true story about God, Dreams, and Talking Vegetables
Author: Phil Vischer
Copyright/Year of original publication: 2006
Genre: memoir / Christian non-fiction
Subject: the rise and fall of Vischer's company Big Idea Productions (creator of Veggie Tales) and what Vischer learned from his experiences with it.
Setting: Chicago, IL
Dates Read: 10/4/11 -10/5/11
Number of pages:260
Off the Shelf (pre-2011)? Source?: No, brand new from Amazon
Category for 11 in 11 challenge: Team Chaplain
How does it fit the category? faith issues
Does it fit the Theme of the Month? How? NO
My Rating: 4.2 stars
Notes:

I love the Veggie Tales videos, so when I saw comments about this book, I had to read it. For one thing, I really had no idea what had happened behind the scenes with the Big Idea Productions company, nor how it turned out.

Vischer was a true pioneer in the field of CGI, breaking ground in what computers could do in the field of animation. He also wanted to do great things for God with his videos, promoting Christian values -- he wanted to keep doing bigger and bigger things. But sometimes big ideas can get too big to handle. I learned a lot reading about Phil's lessons via the school of hard knocks.

Vischer writes with good humor about the rise of his company and the troubles that followed, until the point where humor could not be found. Then, in the aftermath of disaster, he shares the insights gained when he was able to be honest with himself and God, and to learn and grow. This is a fascinating read for anyone who loves Veggie Tales; it's an important read (and cautionary tale) for Christians who have big ideas of serving God.

Challenge Book #37B
Title: Blackman's Coffin (audio book)
Author: Mark de Castrique
Copyright/Year of original publication: 2008
Genre: mystery fiction
Subject: Iraq war vet investigates one current and one very cold murder case
Setting: Asheville, North Carolina, USA
Main Characters: Sam Blackman, Nakayla Robinson
Series: Sam Blackman #1
Dates Read: started 9/29/11; finished 10/8/11
Number of pages: n/a (audio)
Off the Shelf (pre-2011)? Source?: No, library download from Overdrive
Category for 11 in 11 challenge: Leadoff
How does it fit the category? first in series
Alternate Category: foul play territory
Theme of the Month: holdover from last month's September Series & Sequels
Does it fit the Theme of the Month? How? Yes (for the month I started it), first in series
My Rating: 3.9 stars
Notes: Audio; narration pace was a bit quick in some portions/for some characters.

This is one of those rare titles (these days, anyway) that I chose on a whim without a recommendation. It was very good. I like the main character. Sam Blackman is an Iraq war vet who lost part of a leg; we meet him as he is about to be discharged from the VA hospital in Asheville, NC -- to which he'd been banished after he helped blow the whistle on horrid conditions at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington. He becomes involved with a mystery in Asheville that involves the Biltmore Estate; an unfinished manuscript by Thomas Wolfe; gold and emeralds; and murder. I love how he used the history and sites of the Asheville, NC area and the literary tie-in with Ashville native Thomas Wolfe. (Now I need to read Look Homeward, Angel!)

Blackman's Coffin sounds good, and I like the cover art.

>99 tymfos: I'm so glad to hear that Blackman's Coffin is as good as his The Sandburg Connection which I read via NetGalley. (It comes out this month.) I'm looking forward to going back and reading the others in the series.

100 That is cool cover are, isn't it, Katie? (Since I listened to it as a download, I didn't get to look at it much until I put it on my thread!)

101 And I'm glad to hear that the series has continued to maintain its quality, Lori.

Challenge Book #38B
Title: Full Dark, No Stars
Author: Stephen King
Copyright/Year of original publication: 2009
Genre: short fiction / subtle horror
Subject: The evil of which human beings are capable
Dates Read: finished 10/9/11
Number of pages:
Off the Shelf (pre-2011)? Source?: No, from public library
Category for 11 in 11 challenge: foul play territory
How does it fit the category? lots of foul play / evil of various kinds
Alternate Category:
Theme of the Month: Halloween Horror
Does it fit the Theme of the Month? How? Yes, it's part of Mac's Halloween list
My Rating: 4.2 stars
Notes:

This is heavy stuff. Well written. Dark. Tales from the creepy fringes of human behavior. Only one of the four stories has a definite supernatural aspect; another allows you liberty to decide what (of the seemingly impossible parts) is real and what is madness; the other two are strictly about the dark aspects of the human heart. It's all compellingly written.

Terri, I liked it so much that I drove across the mountain to go see Connemara, Sandburg's home. The weather was a little bad so I didn't get to see the goat farm that day, but I will go back!

104 And, Lori, I liked Blackman's Coffin so much, I'm contemplating a vacation to Asheville in the not-too-distant future!

Challenge Book #39B
Title: The Harrowing
Author: Alexandra Sokoloff
Copyright/Year of original publication: 2006
Genre: horror
Subject: college kids conjure up ancient evil
Setting: Mendenhall residence hall at "Baird College"
Main Characters: Robin, Patrick, Lisa, Martin, Cain
Series: NO
Dates Read: finished 10/12/11
Number of pages: around 240
Off the Shelf (pre-2011)? Source?: Yes, purchased at Book Barn
Category for 11 in 11 challenge: Phantom players
How does it fit the category? supernatural
Alternate Category:
Theme of the Month: Halloween Horrors
Does it fit the Theme of the Month? How? Yes, spooky
My Rating: 2.9 stars
Notes:

I've read books by Sokoloff before, so I had high hopes for this one. But this was her debut novel, and I don't think it quite measures up to some of her later efforts. Or maybe it's just my mood, or a matter of comparison -- the fact that I just read an especially masterful piece of horror by Stephen King

The initial elements of The Harrowing are somewhat time-worn but promising. Five students alone together in a huge, creepy dorm over Thanksgiving break. Big storm. Power failure. Candles. Ouija board. The atmosphere is well drawn: Sokoloff, a screenwriter, sets the scene vividly. There are definitely some chills in this creepy book. And I found it interesting how Sokoloff draws upon ancient Jewish mysticism, coupled with Freudian and Jungian psychology, for inspiration -- some fresh angles are explored. But I can't say it all quite works for me. The potential for subtle, sophisticated horror (inherent in the mysticism and the psychological angles) is eventually swamped by more sensational elements as the story moves toward its climax. In the final two chapters and epilogue Sokoloff attempts to draw it back to subtlety, but fails miserably (IMO), with the epilogue coming across like a carbon copy of so many other horror story epilogues, names changed to protect the innocent.

Terri, If you do decide to go to Asheville, please let me know when you are coming. Perhaps I can meet you over there. It's a short drive for me. I just have to cross the mountain! Malaprops is a wonderful independent bookstore. Tupelo Honey Cafe is about a block from it and is a great place to eat, although there are several other good places in that area too.

Thanks, Lori! But the main thing I wanted to see was the Biltmore Estate -- and after looking at their admission prices, we decided it wasn't in our family budget to visit. :(

Biltmore is expensive. A lot of folks around here just buy the season passes if they go and go several times (during different seasons). Maybe some day!

109 Maybe some day, Lori!

Challenge Book #40B
Title: City of Masks: A Cree Black Novel (audio book)
Author: Daniel Hecht
Copyright/Year of original publication: 2003
Genre: paranormal fiction
Subject: ghosts and family secrets
Setting: New Orleans (pre-Katrina)
Main Characters: Cree Black, Lila Warren, Paul Fitzpatrick
Series: Cree Black #1
Dates Read: finished 10/24/11
Number of pages: n/a (Audio)
Off the Shelf (pre-2011)? Source?: No, download from Net Library
Category for 11 in 11 challenge: Phantom Players
How does it fit the category? ghost story
Alternate Category: ?
Theme of the Month: Halloween Horrors
Does it fit the Theme of the Month? How? Yes, scary story
My Rating: 2.7 stars
Notes:

This first-in-series novel showed a LOT of early promise. It had a great, atmospheric setting -- a haunted old mansion in New Orleans. It had an interesting protagonist. Cree (short for Lucretia) Black is a former skeptic turned parapsychologist, with a PhD in psychology and who is a "sensitive" but tries (and largely fails) to bring some semblance of scientific method to her investigations. Her fellow investigator is Edward, who takes a totally scientific approach to investigating paranormal phenomena. I wish we'd seen more of Edward and his scientific instruments, but he appeared only via long-distance communication -- and in one somewhat out-of-place snippet set at the site of his own investigation in Gloucester, MA -- until the very end. And then his function was mainly as part of the "personal" angle of Cree's story.

Lila Warren tried to move back to Beaufort House, the historic family mansion, but is driven out and nearly to madness by something horrible. She calls in Cree to investigate, over the objections of her family and her psychiatrist Paul Fitzpatrick. And the adventure begins, with some genuine creepiness and also some "ick" factor, too. The whole thing just got too wrapped up with Cree's personal issues for my taste. She started out as a very interesting character, but by about halfway through I was getting very impatient with her -- and with the author for taking such a promising story and bogging it down in so much drivel. The "solution" to the mystery didn't ring true to me, either.

The problem with audio books is that you can't throw them across the room when they go bad -- because you'd break the equipment you need to listen to the really good ones.

Terri, City of Masks sounds vaguely familiar and I wonder whether I might have read it pre-LT, or maybe another of that series. However, from your comments I can see why it might have been forgettable and won't bother looking it up again.

I've been lurking here a long time and enjoying reading about your recent books - keep them coming!

Hi, Sandy! I'd say "forgettable" is a distinct possibility on that one. It's a shame, because the setting & characters had real promise.

Glad you're enjoying your lurking time here. Come by any time! I'm a bit bogged down / book funk-ish at the moment -- I have a bunch of stuff started that I'm just not getting through -- and not for lack of quality. I'm just a bit moody these days, I guess, and busy with other things. Also, my eyes are driving me crazy. I am waiting for new glasses (after the first pair I ordered were absolutely useless) and may fare better with books when they arrive.

One way I can tell when it's time for new glasses is when I don't enjoy reading - when it's too hard to focus on the print. Hopefully the new pair will work for you.

Thanks, Sandy. From your, er, keyboard to God's ears -- as they (almost) say.

I can see clearly now, the rain has gone;
I can see all obstacles in my way . . . "

Well, the rain hasn't gone -- it's still coming down -- but I CAN see clearly now. I just got my new glasses and they are WONDERFUL!!!!

I'm still getting used to them a bit, but I drove home; fine. I read some from a book; SOOOO much better! And the biggest surprise is how much easier it is to SEE THE COMPUTER SCREEN!!!

I'm doing a happy dance and praying God's blessings upon my optometrist, and all the wonderful folks at the optician's office!!!!

Weehoo!!!! Glad you're loving your new glasses. Now go test them out on a book!

Thanks, Katie! I did read for a while after work today. I could see the print quite clearly. :) Unfortunately, that didn't make me like the book any better. :(

Challenge Book #41 B
Title: Midnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid that Sparked the Civil War
Author: Tony Horwitz
Copyright/Year of original publication: 2011
Genre: non-fiction / history
Subject: Life of John Brown, culminating in his raid on Harper's Ferry and subsequent trial and execution
Setting: pre-Civil War US
Dates Read: finished 10/30/11
Number of pages: 290 plus notes, etc.
Off the Shelf (pre-2011)? Source?: Yes; LT ER book (they count as off-the shelf)
Category for 11 in 11 challenge: Pregame
How does it fit the category? ER book
Theme of the Month: Halloween Horrors
Does it fit the Theme of the Month? n/a (ER book) (Though Brown was convicted on Halloween, 1859!)
My rating: 4.3 stars
Notes: : LT ER book, bound uncorrected proofs

I received a free Early Reviewer copy (bound uncorrected proofs) of Midnight Rising through Library Thing's Early Reviewer program, and my review will be based on that copy.

Horwitz's account of John Brown and his famous raid on the Harper's Ferry armory is detailed but not overwhelmingly so. The character of the enigmatic man, John Brown, comes alive through excerpts of his own writing and that of contemporaries who knew him.

The book is divided into three sections. In the first, we learn basics of his upbringing by a sternly religious abolitionist father; his failed business dealings as a young man (presaging how lack of financial common sense would plague his anti-slavery work); and his increasingly radical abolitionist views. We follow him as he helps freed blacks in upstate New York, he battles in Bleeding Kansas, and lays the foundation for his audacious attempt at insurrection.

The second section focuses on the final months of preparation and the actual raid on Harper's Ferry. I found this section to be the least engrossing, relatively speaking. We see Brown again struggling with the "business" end of his endeavors. Organizational issues, dissension among his men, and the struggle to avoid detection are key parts of the drama here. Quite interesting to me were the roles of his daughter Annie and daughter-in-law Martha in keeping his endeavors hidden from prying eyes.

The final section details the aftermath of Brown's raid: the interrogations, trials, executions, and impact on public opinion. This was actually my favorite section of the book, because Horwitz skillfully made me realize the impact Brown's supposedly "insane" act had on the events which followed shortly thereafter. Horwitz examines the turning tide of opinion regarding Brown in the North, and how it impacted Southern actions. Horwitz also briefly follows some figures on both sides of the events -- and even the town of Harper's Ferry itself -- into the Civil War and beyond. And he examines the question: what, really, was John Brown's plan all along? Did what he said about his plan and what he did match? What was he thinking? While acknowledging that we can never really know the man's mind for sure -- beyond his desire to strike a blow against slavery -- Horwitz offers insights about how Brown's self-identification with certain Biblical figures may have figured into his thoughts.

Midnight Rising was an interesting, insightful book that I enjoyed reading and heartily recommend.

I'm reading his Confederates in the Attic book and no doubt will want to read more by this author. I like his style.

I was unsure about reading more by Horwitz, but I think I'll definitely give this one a try. Just as soon as the library gets it in.

117 Linda, regarding style, Midnight Rising is a different kind of reading experience than Confederates in the Attic (which I loved, by the way). At times, Confederates in the Attic had an almost, (what is the word?) quirky character due to some of the odd people and situations he encountered. (And then some of those folks were downright scary!) But, anyway, as I recall it involved current and personal experience by Horwitz. Midnight Rising is a more traditional historical narrative, but it is very well written and contains a lot of information I did not know about John Brown and his raid. It gave me a sense of what made the man tick and the overall arc of his tumultuous life and its impact on US history.

118 Hi, Sandy! May I ask, what had you read by Horwitz that you didn't like, and why?

Challenge Book #42B
Title: I'll be Watching You
Author: Charles de Lint, writing as Samuel M. Key
Copyright/Year of original publication: 1994
Genre: criminal suspense/horror/thriller
Subject: abused woman meets insane stalker
Setting: "Newford" (de Lint's fictional city)
Main Characters: Rachel Sorensen, Lily Kataboki, and a photographer with many names
Series: not exactly, one of several novels de Lint set in Newford
Dates Read: finished 10/31/11
Number of pages: 351
Off the Shelf? (pre-2011): No, inter-library loan
Category for 11 in 11 challenge: Utility Players
How does it fit the category? doesn't fit other categories
Does it fit the Theme of the Month Yes
How does it fit the theme? on Mac's Halloween reading list
My Rating:3.9 stars
Notes:

I was unsure, well into this book, whether I was going to like it. That is not a comment on the quality of the writing, merely on how it fit with my reading tastes. I didn't think I liked where it was going, and so I moved forward a bit reluctantly in my reading of it.

Well, somewhere along the line it drew me in and didn't let me go. This was a really clever tale of suspense, full of dark twists. It is a violent story, that's the nature of the tale, but I didn't think that the descriptions of the violence were overdone -- though the crimes were quite unpleasant. (But, then, is murder ever pleasant?)

I thought the characters got a little soap-boxy about women's issues -- abuse, society's pressures upon women to be beautiful -- and some of that dialogue didn't feel quite natural to me, but de Lint put his money where their mouths were, so to speak, and SHOWED us the damage and the issues his characters were talking about.

This was not my typical kind of Halloween read, but it certainly had its own kind of horror.

ETA to add I'm told that de Lint wrote several "darker" novels under the Samuel M. Key pen name during the 90's, and that they are quite unlike his usual work. Looking at the tags on most of his other works, I can see that.

The first Horwitz I read was Voyage Long and Strange, about European exploration in the new world. Long and tedious, more like. I'm not sure I even finished it. However, I loved Confederates in the Attic. So I was left not knowing what to expect next. Both are what you described as "current and personal experiences" on Horwitz's part. So I don't really know why I liked one but not the other. However, a straight historical narrative is more to my liking, plus we're all fascinated with the civil war it seems, so I'm looking forward to Midnight Rising.

Sandy, I didn't find Midnight Rising tedious at all. Brown was such a fascinating and complex man, it all seemed pretty interesting to me.

120 Ah, that makes sense. That book was originally released under his pen name. I heard de Lint talking once about his earlier books and he said that he would do them differently now, and what you said about I'll Be Watching You sounds like exactly the type of book he would be doing "differently." One of the things he mentioned was the right there violence. Of course, he doesn't back down from violence now, but he prefers to be more subtle and "off-stage" about it. I have one of de Lint's old books too, and I've put off reading it until I've read more of the books he's still proud of.

123 Katie, this was my first de Lint novel, and I'm not that familiar with him except for what I've read from other LT-ers. I didn't get a sense that these were "early" novels, because in his introduction he said that readers of his earlier stuff were a bit shocked by his first "darker" novel, which is why he adopted a pen name for these. I don't really know de Lint's chronology, though I see that he was born in 1951, which would make him 43 when I'll be Watching You was published in 1994.

I tried checking the publication dates of some of de Lint's other books. Frankly, LT is terrible for finding that particular piece of info -- the work details page rarely (never?) contains the publication date. It's such a basic piece of information, I don't know why it isn't readily available here. I'll have to go on another website and check.

What I do see is that, according to LT's series function, more than the Key novels are considered Newford novels. So I've changed my comments above a little.

Frankly, I see a lot of "fantasy" and "faerie" references in the keywords for most of his other novels. I'm not into fantasy, so those probably wouldn't appeal to me.

de Lint is known as a pioneer of "Urban" Fantasy - faeries in suburbia. The Borderlands shared world stories are perfect examples of urban fantasy.

Interesting, Katie. No faeries in the book I just read.

Challenge Book #43 B
Title: Thunderstruck
Author: Erik Larson
Copyright/Year of original publication: 2006
Genre: non-fiction/history
Subject: the development of wireless telegraphy by Marconi; a murder in London; the connection of the two
Setting: London and elsewhere, including the Atlantic Ocean
Dates Read: finished 11/7/11
Number of pages: 392 plus notes & sources and index
Off the Shelf (pre-2011)? Source?: library download (audio); Inter-library loan (book)
Category for 11 in 11 challenge: Away Game Travel Day (cars, planes, boats & trains)
How does it fit the category? importance of shipboard wireless and the significance of one special Atlantic crossing
Theme of the Month: Fill in the Blanks
Does it fit the Theme of the Month? How? Need for 11 in 11 category
My Rating: 3.95 stars
Notes: started this book on audio; switched to hard copy

Erik Larson does it again. This is the third book I've read by him, and they've all been winners. Here he uses somewhat the same formula as in Devil in the White City -- taking a great historical milestone and pairing it with a famous true crime of the era with which it has some connection. Here, the historical milestone is Marconi's development of wireless telegraphy -- the "true crime" angle is the story of a doctor named Crippen. I don't think this book succeeds quite as well as Devil in the White City, due to subject matter: while the story of the wireless is interesting and highly significant, it's not quite as fascinating as that of the "white city" Columbian Exposition of 1892. But it's a fine story told well.

Thunderstruck does sound good!

Lori, I really enjoyed it. And if you read it, be sure to take a look at the notes at the back. Larson has some wonderful stories about his research; the actual notes contain details he couldn't fit into the narrative, but that were too good to leave out entirely.

That's one reason I'm glad I switched over from audio to hard copy -- audios don't include notes. (Can you imagine an audio of someone reading footnotes?)

Good to know... Thanks Terri! My local library has both the audio and the hard copy. I have added the hard copy to my 'read it later' shelf in my library profile.

Glad to hear that you can get it from your library, Lori!

Challenge Book #44B
Title: Scottish Ghost Stories e-book
Author: Elliott O'Donnell
Copyright/Year of original edition publication: 1912
Genre: folklore (probably embellished)
Subject: haunted places in Scotland
Setting: Scotland
Dates Read: finished 11/11/11
Number of pages: 110 plus credits/copyright material
Off the Shelf (pre-2011)? Source?: e-book from Project Gutenberg
Category for 11 in 11 challenge: Phantom Players
How does it fit the category? ghosts
Theme of the Month: fill in the gaps
Does it fit the Theme of the Month? How? Yes, needed for 11/11 challenge
My Rating:
Notes:

As I understand it, author Elliott O'Donnel was an Irish writer and ghost hunter who collected stories of real hauntings. These stories, as I understand it, have their basis in actual claims of hauntings. An article I read suggested that the tales as O'Donnell published them were embellished a bit. Certainly the writing style is rather dramatic. He sets the scene well, and builds up the suspense nicely.

These stories are, naturally, rather old-fashioned in style. There are some issues in discussion of class and ethnicity that mark them as products of their time, but nothing too horribly offensive, IMO.

This was not a great read, but there were some good spooky stories.

This completes my Phantom Players category.

I'm getting closer to finishing this challenge:

For the "Pregame" category, I need to complete the ER book I'm reading and the next one when it arrives

I need 2 more in the "play ball!" category. I was thinking of reading the biography I recently bought of Roberto Clemente. But I'd probably better read something that's been on the shelf longer, to fit in my "off the shelf" challenge.

I need one in the "Fireballers, Rainouts, Steals, and Errors" (disaster) category. I've ordered Tinder Box: The Iroquois Theatre Disaster 1903 through Inter-Library loan.

In the "Team Chaplain" category, I need to finish the book I'm reading, and read one more.

#133 Terri, a couple of years ago, I read the "other" book on the 1903 fire. I'll be curious to hear how you like this one.

I didn't read many disaster books this year. I need to work in a Christmas disaster of some sort. Maybe the book about the sinking of the Chicago Christmas tree ship. Hmmm.

#134 Linda, I have December designated for holiday and disaster reads -- but I want to get this challenge finished by 12/12 if possible, and I need another disaster book to do it. I noticed among the reviews for Tinder Box that Furdog, who started the Disaster Buffs group on LT, said something to the effect that it is one of the best disaster books. That seemed like a good endorsement. I don't know how long it will take to get the book -- with inter-library loan, I never can tell when we first request the book, unless it's available from a library in our system.

Was Chicago Death Trap the one you read? I was looking at that, and it had good reviews, too.

I'm having a hard time getting any reading done. Even when I have time, I'm having trouble deciding what I want to read. I have the Catherine the Great bio going, but though good it's rather heavy reading and I need some kind of brain candy, too. I've had two different books started off the shelf this weekend, and abandoned each a chapter or two in. I'm battling what fits the challenges -- this one plus filling my books-off-the-shelf challenge -- and what I just want to read.

ETA to try and get the post to make more sense. I must have been really tired when I typed it.

I grabbed a fiction book last night. I thought it was the next in the series for me. When I saw it was the 6th instead of the 4th, I realized I still had a couple to read before I was ready for it. I just have to figure out which box #4 is in and switch out the titles on the TIOLI. I ended up settling for the non-fiction book I was reading, but I was really in the mood for brain candy! I'll try to dig out the next in the series this morning.

Hi, Lori! I've had that sort of thing happen to me, where I thought I had the next book in the series, but was ahead of myself. Hope you find the right one easily!

Today at the library, I found a novel to fit my "play ball" category. It's called Once Upon a Fastball by Bob Mitchell. I'm not sure how good it is, but it's an easy and enjoyable read at a time when that's what I need.

A patron brought an inter-library loan back early that I've been wanting to read, so I arranged to borrow it until it has to go back to its home library: Growing Up Lutheran is another lightweight read, and so far I've had a few chuckles from it. I should be able to wedge it into my "team chaplain" category.

I did finally finish a book I've been nibbling at for several months. It's one I read for a class years ago, but the tribulations of a couple of friends made me pull it out again for insight.

Challenge Book #45 B
Title: Addiction and Grace
Author: Gerald G. May, M.D.
Copyright/Year of original publication: 1988
Genre: non-fiction / religious
Subject: spirituality and addiction
Dates Read: finished 11/14/11
Number of pages: 181 plus notes, index
Off the Shelf? (pre-2011): Yes, had since a class I took in the early 1990's
Category for 11 in 11 challenge: Team Chaplain
How does it fit the category? faith-based
Does it fit the Theme of the Month? How? Yes, helps fill in a blank in my 11/11 challenge
My Rating:3.7 stars
Notes:

This book looks at addiction of all kinds -- the heavy-duty chemical addictions and even the less dramatic and recognizable attachments which can sometimes take over our lives -- from a spiritual standpoint. It deals mainly from a Christian standpoint, but does recognize the theme of detachment as prominent in eastern religions. I was very impressed with it when I read it for class, maybe a little less so now, but there are some good insights.

May argues that all human beings suffer from addictions of one kind or another (who, me? like to books maybe?) and that true liberation from attachments/compulsions (as opposed to merely substituting other addictions) comes only by the grace of God (thought some who experience this may not recognize the source of the gift).

I listened to this via audio book while driving and doing housework. I think it was Stasia who recommended this unusual and delightful story.

Challenge Book #46 B
Title: The London Eye Mystery (AUDIO BOOK)
Author: Siobhan Down
Copyright/Year of original publication:
Genre: YA
Subject: A special young man and his sister attempt to solve the disappearance of their cousin
Setting: London, England
Main Characters: Ted, Kat, and their parents; Aunt Gloria and Salim
Dates Read: finished 11/16/11
Number of pages: n/a (audio)
Off the Shelf (pre-2011)? Source?: No, audio download from library
Category for 11 in 11 challenge: utility players
How does it fit the category? doesn't fit other categories
Alternate Category:
Theme of the Month: Fill in the gaps
Does it fit the Theme of the Month? How? No, don't need for 11/11 challenge
My Rating: 3.9 stars
Notes:

This is a unique YA take on a "locked room" mystery. Ted and Kat's cousin Salim seenms to disappear from The London Eye, a giant sky ride, in mid-air. Ted, who has an unusual mind (the narrative suggests that he has Asperger's Syndrome, though his "syndrome" isn't named in the story), methodically explores facts and theories in an effort to solve the mystery. But adults around him refuse to take his ideas seriously.

This is a lovely story which reminds us that "different" doesn't equal "less able."

I don't know what's wrong with the touchstones. When I try to edit a post with multiple touchstones (such as my category lists) and add a new item with a touchstone, I lose the touchstones that were OK before I edited. I have to remove the brackets, save the entry that way, then go back and put in the brackets and make the appropriate touchstone choices where needed and re-save. A royal pain.

@ 141 -- The same thing is happening to me -- must be a site-wide issue. Hopefully it will be fixed soon!

>124 tymfos: - For finding publication dates for fiction, I sometimes use fantastic fiction.com. It's also good for keeping series in order and will tell you other names that authors write under.

>141 tymfos: & 142 I'm having the same problem, and was wondering if other people were too.

>140 tymfos: Added to my long wishlist!

In the past week, I've managed to finish off two short, quick, easy books.

Challenge Book #47B
Title: Growing Up Lutheran
Author: Janet Letnes Martin & Suzann (Johnson) Nelson
Copyright/Year of original publication: 1997
Genre: non-fiction; humor
Subject: see title
Setting: mostly US mid-west
Dates Read: finished 11/21/11
Number of pages: 227 (including illustrations) plus authors' note
Off the Shelf? (pre-2011): No, library (ILL snared when the patron returned it early!)
Category for 11 in 11 challenge: Team Chaplain
How does it fit the category? church-related
Does it fit the Theme of the Month Fill in the Gaps -- yes
How does it fit the theme? completes Team Chaplain category
My Rating: ?? Not sure I can rate this one.
Notes:

OK, this should really be called "Growing Up Scandinavian-Lutheran in the Rural Mid-West During the 1940's Through 1960's" as it mostly focuses on the variety of Lutheranism which fits that description. There are token mentions of German Lutherans (usually poking fun at them) and a few observations about changes since that time, but it is rooted in that general vicinity of time and space and ethnicity.

Mind you, I didn't grow up Lutheran, and my adult exposure to Lutheranism (with a 1-year exception) has mostly been among congregations of German background closer to the east coast, but I've heard stories. So I think this is pretty on-target for the sub-group of Lutherans upon which it focuses. Certainly some of it pertains to Lutherans of the era in general, and a bit carries over into churches I've known.

This is not great writing. It's gentle, homespun humor with lots of "in" jokes and satire. It includes lots of period photos, and such novelties as: Sunday bulletin excerpts; hymn titles with the page numbers from three different Lutheran hymnals included; church cemetery diagrams and cemetery association minutes, etc.

I needed a dose of gentle humor, and this worked well enough for my purposes. Recommended only for those with an affinity for the subject matter.

Challenge Book #48B
Title: Once Upon a Fastball
Author: Bob Mitchell
Copyright/Year of original publication: 2008
Genre: fiction; sports/ magical realism
Subject: historian and avid baseball fan Seth Stein travels back through time to significant moments in baseball and the life of his missing grandfather
Setting: Boston, San Francisco, and New York
Main Characters: Seth Stein, Gram Elsie and (the missing) Papa Sol Solomon
Dates Read: finished 11/22/11
Number of pages: 212 plus acknowledgments
Off the Shelf? (pre-2011): No, from public library
Category for 11 in 11 challenge: Play Ball!
How does it fit the category? about baseball
Does it fit the Theme of the Month Yes
How does it fit the theme? fills in gaps, needed in Play Ball category
My Rating: 3 stars
Notes:

This pleasant story tells the tale of Seth, who is pining for his missing grandfather -- with whom he shared a passion for baseball. But an unusual gift left for Seth by Papa Sol seemingly transports him through time -- to moments of import in baseball history and in Papa Sol's life. Along the way it explores the nature of history and our understanding of it; the nature of passion (particularly the passion of the rabid sports fan); issues of how well we really know the people around us (even our loved ones); and a number of odd quirks of numbers and words. In the end, it got a bit corny, but there was some food for thought and a decent amount of simple pleasure for the reader -- especially one who is fond of baseball.

With these two done, I only need to finish two books in progress -- ER copy of Catherine the Great and inter-library loan Tinder Box: the Iroquois Theatre Disaster 1903 -- and to read my other ER book The Chalk Girl by Carol O'Connell and one other baseball-or-football-related book.

For that final baseball book, I plan to read The Echoing Green: the Untold Story of Bobby Thomson, Ralph Branca, and the Shot Heard Round the World, by Joshua Prager. I chose this one because one of the baseball history moments featured in Once Upon a Fastball was Bobby Thomson's 1951 pennant-winning home run.

I'm hoping to finish these by December 12, so I can start fresh with my 12 in 12 challenge by then.

Only 4 books left - you can do it Terri!

I'm here to cheer you on, Terri. Also to send you some Thanksgiving wishes, have a nice holiday.

Thanks for the encouragement, Lori and Judy!!

I'm about halfway through Massie's Catherine the Great, which is the longest of the bunch. Fascinating book!

I'm just starting the others I need to read. To do it by 12/12, I have 19 days -- not quite 3 weeks. And I think the with the four books I'm doing, there are around 1250 pages left, total. That's about 65 pages per day average. That should be do-able. (Breaking it down and looking at it that way makes it seem more manageable.)

I have an audio book going, too, but it doesn't fit any of the category slots -- couldn't find an audio available that fit.

I keep hearing such great things about Catherine the Great. I hope I can get to it next year. I have a biography category in my 12/12 challenge, so I'm hoping to fit it in.

151 It's well worth a read, Lori!

We all listened to this book in the car during our trip to Virginia over Thanksgiving weekend.

Challenge Book #49B
Title: Bull Run (Audio Book)
Author: Paul Fleischman
Copyright/Year of original publication:
Genre: YA historical fiction
Subject: the early days of the US Civil War, as told by different people affected by the war
Dates Read: 11-24-11
Number of pages: N/A (audio)
Off the Shelf (pre-2011)? Source?: No, download from library
Category for 11 in 11 challenge: utility players
How does it fit the category? doesn't fit other categories
My Rating: 3.8 stars
Notes:

This book features a variety of narrators sharing the experiences of different folks affected by and participating in the US Civil War in its early stages. It represents experiences of civilians and military personnel, men and women, African Americans and caucasians, slaves and freedmen, native citizens and immigrants, young and old, wealthy folks and poor folks, educated folks and those lacking education. The audio was particularly effective because it used multiple narrators in the production. I think it gave a great sense of how many different people were affected in a variety of ways.

Challenge Book #50B
Title: The Chalk Girl
Author: Carol O'Connell
Copyright/Year of original publication: ER -- release scheduled for January 2012
Genre: mystery fiction / police procedural
Subject: grisly murder with a history
Setting: New York, NY
Main Characters: Mallory, Riker, Charles Butler, and "Coco"
Series: Mallory mysteries
Dates Read: 11/27/11 through 11/29/11
Number of pages: 373
Off the Shelf (pre-2011)? Source?: Counts as off the shelf -- LT Early Reviewer book
Category for 11 in 11 challenge: Pregame
How does it fit the category? ER copy
Theme of the Month: Fill in the blanks
Does it fit the Theme of the Month? How? needed to finish 11/11 challenge
My Rating: 4.3 stars
Notes:

Oh, what a treat to get wrapped up in a good mystery that's almost impossible to put down! Carol O'Connell has done it again, revealing even more facets of her amazing Mallory character while spinning a delicious, complex mystery that spans a decade and a half of pure evil. A brutal series of crimes in Central Park are more than a modern-day whodunit; they carry echoes of the past and whispers of conspiracy. Where will the evidence lead Mallory and her partner Riker?

The story begins with an almost surreal (and icky) scene of swarming rats. (Rats -- both the animal and human types of vermin -- are a theme throughout this disturbing but compulsively readable mystery.) There is the bewildering image of it raining rats and blood, and mysterious quotations -- from a journal, maybe? -- at the head of each chapter. O'Connel begins bringing it all together just as the reader is wondering what it can possibly all be about. Then there is the charming and compelling character of young Coco, a child with Williams syndrome. I knew little about Williams going into this book, and meeting Coco was an education in itself.

In many ways this book is about ongoing relationships -- those that nurture, those that are strained, and those that are patently toxic. The investigation reveals a web of deceit that stretches back over fifteen years in time, to the highest levels of New York's power structures, and involves a vast cast of characters linked by greed, self-preservation, power, money, and fear. Where will it all end? Who will pay, and how? Mallory is something of a law unto herself, defining and attending to justice (as she sees it) via any route her calculating mind can envision -- and her mind is nothing if not creative -- but can she avoid all the landmines in her path?

This was one roller-coaster ride on the dark side of life in New York.

Progress report: I have three books left for this challenge, which I hope to complete by December 12 (so I can start the 12 in 12 category challenge):

Catherine the Great by Massie (over 2/3 of the way done);
The Echoing Green by Prager (just started); and
Tinder Box : the Iroquois Theatre Disaster 1903 by Hatch (also just started).

Just tip-toed by your Chalk Girl review as I'm reading that one soon and didn't want to spoil the surprise - but it looks like you enjoyed it and that makes me happy. So excited about a new Mallory book!

155 It's a terrific series, and I really enjoyed this one.

Finishing off another category:

Challenge Book #51 B
Title: Catherine the Great : Portrait of a Woman
Author: Robert K. Massie
Copyright/Year of original publication: 2011
Genre: non-fiction / biography
Subject: Russian empress Catherine II
Setting: 18th century Russia
Dates Read: finished 12/1/11
Number of pages: 579 plus bibliography, notes & index
Off the Shelf (pre-2011)? Source?: Counts as off the shelf; LT ER book
Category for 11 in 11 or 12 in 12 challenge: pregame
How does it fit the category? early reviewers copy
Theme of the Month: is leftover from November's "fill in the gaps" category
Does it fit the Theme of the Month? How? finishes gap in pregame category
My Rating: 3.7 stars
Notes:

I enjoyed this book, and appreciated the scope and scholarship of it. However, I really didn't like the structure. In particular, I didn't like the last section, which consisted of more-or-less topical chapters, outside the chronological flow of the rest of the narrative. I'll have more to say when I post my formal review. It's quite possible that my longstanding love for Massie's book Nicholas and Alexandra led me to expect too much.

As far as personal reactions to the book, I started out really liking and admiring Catherine (especially compared to all the bozos who surrounded her in the years before she took the throne). In the end, the admiration dwindled somewhat. I think I had an especially difficult time stomaching what she did to Poland. (My husband's mother's family is Polish.)

I just found an error in my lists. When I saw that I had one more book counted in this challenge than on my 75 challenge lists, I went through to find the discrepancy. I had listed Tana French's In the Woods in both the All-Star (because it won an Edgar Award) and the Leadoff categories. So I have three books to finish to complete this challenge.

I'm striking it from the Leadoff category, so I can start another mystery series. Stay tuned for my choice.

Also, I abandoned Prager's The Echoing Green, which I wasn't enjoying. I'm going with David Maraniss' bio of Roberto Clemente. I've only read a little bit, but the writing is marvelous!

Now, what was I thinking? This morning, I said it would be easiest if I kept my twice-listed book in the "all star" awards category, and tried to read one to fill the "leadoff" (first in series) category? Duh! On my way home today, I finished listening to this year's Man Booker Prize winner, The Sense of an Ending, which didn't seem to fit anywhere when I started it. Plug that into the newly-discovered hole in my awards category, leave In the Woods in the leadoff category, and I'm back to only needing to finish two more books for this challenge. Why didn't I think of it sooner?

ETA touchstone

Challenge Book #52 B
Title: The Sense of an Ending AUDIO BOOK
Author: Julian Barnes
Copyright/Year of original publication: 2011
Genre: literary fiction
Subject: the vagaries of memory, history, and relationships
Dates Read: finished 12/1/11
Number of pages: n/a (audio)
Off the Shelf? (pre-2011): No, library download
Category for 11 in 11 challenge: "All Stars"
How does it fit the category? Man Booker Prize winner
Does it fit the Theme of the Month it fit's November, when it was started, because it filled a blank I found in my categories.
My Rating: 4 stars
Notes:

Through much of this book, I wondered "why is this a prize winner?" Oh the writing was lovely, and I did "get" the bit about how history (both the big picture and our own) is impossible to really see and know. But the story didn't seem like much of anything. However, somewhere in the final section of the book (roughly the last fifth) it all came together, and it really was quite marvelous.

Hi Terri, I've seen others have a very similar response to The Sense of an Ending. I quite liked the other Julian Barnes I have read, so this one is definitely on my wishlist.

Two more to go? Hooray, I'll be watching for the big finish!

Almost done one of them, Judy!

Hey, folks, I have a request: Our library staff is looking for the perfect book to donate as a memorial honoring the late husband of our Head Assistant Librarian. We've decided that a good novel which involves military planes from WWI or WWII would be the ideal book to remember him by.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Challenge Book #53B
Title: Tinder Box: The Iroquois Theatre Disaster 1903
Author: Anthony P. Hatch
Copyright/Year of original publication: 2003 (centennial year of the fire)
Genre: non-fiction / history / disaster
Subject: Deadliest theater fire in US history
Setting: Chicago, Illinois, USA
Dates Read: finished 12/2/11
Number of pages: 234 plus photos, introduction, acknowledgment, notes, bibliography, and index
Off the Shelf? (pre-2011): No, inter-library loan
Category for 11 in 11 challenge: Fireballers, Rainouts, Steals and Errors (finishes category)
How does it fit the category? Fire
Does it fit the Theme of the Month Yes
How does it fit the theme? Disaster -- and it happened in December, too.
My Rating: 4.2 stars
Notes:

Long forgotten by most people in the US, the Iroquois Theatre fire of 1903, in Chicago, was one of the deadliest disasters of the 20th century. The exact number killed will never be known, due to confusion at the scene and in the aftermath, but approximately 600 people were killed in a conflagration which swept through the overcrowded, brand-new, hurriedly-opened -- and dangerously incomplete -- theater. The death toll was higher than from the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

Author Anthony P. Hatch shows us the theater's shortcomings in no uncertain terms. He also introduces us to people and practices involved in the construction of the theater and approval of its clearly premature opening. We also meet some of the victims and survivors of the fire.

Hatch quotes Dr. H. L. Montgomery, one of the first physicians to work on victimes inside the theater:
I was with the Army of the Potomac during the Civil War. I rescued one hundred and fifty people during the Chicago fire. I have seen the wreckage of explosions. But I never saw anything so grimly horrible as this.

Hatch also demonstrates how the tragedy shocked the nation and the wider world. At the time, it had a global impact regarding issues of fire safety in public buildings. It led to massive changes in fire codes, and the development of a number of safety innovations.

I found the book reasonably complete and quite engrossing. Where some of the facts were confusing, well there was great confusion and contradictions in the reports of the fire at the time. The book includes a section of photos, many from the author's own collection. Hatch began his research 40 years prior to publication, so a great deal of thought went into the project.

This is a fascinating look at a terrible tragedy, including the factors which led up to it and its aftermath. It's also a call to look at places of public assembly in our own time. How much safer are we in public buildings today? I keep reading books about famous fires, and how they changed the fire safety laws -- but then there's always another deadly fire where the same mistakes were made.

Many thanks to the Altoona (PA) Area Public Library for furnishing this book to me at my local library via inter-library loan.

Hey, my grandmother is from Altoona! I know that's not relevant to anything, but I got excited when I saw you mention the town.

One to go, Terri?

I think the Hatch book is the other one about that fire. I need to add this to my wishlist.

163 I think Altoona is a neat town, Christina. Lots of railroad history there, and I'm a railroad buff.

164 Yes, one more book, Linda! And I'm over halfway through Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball's Last Hero by David Maraniss. Looks like my challenge will be ending with a solid book. I think I've read enough that I can already highly recommend this excellent biography. It more than makes up for the disappointment of the Leavy bio of Micky Mantle, The Last Boy.

Interesting thoughts on The Sense of an Ending. That one is on my TBR too. Good luck with your last book of the challenge!

Thanks! I hope you enjoy The Sense of an Ending.

And the final book!

Challenge Book #54 B
Title: Clemente:: The Passion and Grace of Baseball's Last Hero
Author: David Maraniss
Copyright/Year of original publication: 2006
Genre: biography (sports)
Subject: the late Hall-of-Fame right fielder Roberto Clemente if the Pittsburgh Pirates
Setting: Puerto Rico, Pittsburgh and other assorted places
Dates Read: finished 12/8/11
Number of pages: 354 plus acknowledgments, sources, notes, and index
Off the Shelf? (pre-2011): Not pre-2011
Category for 11 in 11 challenge: Play Ball!
How does it fit the category? baseball
Does it fit the Theme of the Month? How? Yesl The untimely death of this great athlete in a plane crash on December 31, 1972 was truly a disaster
My Rating:4 stars
Notes:

It's hard to believe that it will be 39 years this New Year's Eve since an overloaded plane carrying Roberto Clemente fell into the ocean off the coast of his native Puerto Rico. This biography of the baseball great is not perfect. It's a little too long, and a little too heavy on the hero worship -- though the title gives fair warning of that perspective. The reality is that despite Clemente's flaws -- and the author does admit that there were some -- it's hard not to lapse into some hero worship regarding Clemente. The baseball stats alone are enough to dazzle -- 12 consecutive Golden Glove awards, 3000 base hits, .317 lifetime batting average. His untimely death at age 38 in a plane crash while personally escorting relief supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua -- well, that says a lot about the humanitarian aspect of the man, and why he is so admired.

Author David Maraniss does a good job helping to explain Clemente's life and character in the context of the times in which he lived. He gives insights into the factors which influenced Clemente's actions on and off the field, and those factors which influenced the perceptions of him by the the American media of his time. He reminds us of the impact of the language barrier and racial prejudice, especially in the earlier years of Clemente's career.

Maraniss also gives a fascinating account of the circumstances which led to the plane crash -- again, placing the tragedy solidly in the context of other events which were taking place at the time.

The book could have used some editing, but overall it was a satisfying read.

Congratulations, Terri!

Are you starting the 12 in 12 right away?

Thanks! I'm starting it on the 12th -- my 12 in 12 on 12/12! Though, actually, I'm starting it now, because it includes all books finished after 12/12; and I don't intend to finish any before then, no matter how many I may have started when I get there. ;)

Congrats on finishing, Terri. Great job!!

I have two longish books that I'm reading. I should finish those this weekend and then intend to start counting whatever book I start after that.

Thanks, Linda!

Congratulations on completing your 11 in 11, Terri.

Congratulations on completing your challenge!

Congratulations! Well done!

Congratulations!

Thank you, thank you, Judy, Dave, Victoria, and Sandy!

I feel really good about how this challenge worked out. When I started I did not think that I'd manage 11 in each category, let alone with 8 in the "extra" category.

I'm still tinkering with categories for my 12 in 12 challenge, but I think I'm "close enough" to settled that I can start up on the 12th -- reserving the right to tweak categories as I see fit going along.

#177 reserving the right to tweak categories as I see fit going along - doesn't that go without saying?

True, Sandy! :)

Awesome job! Congratulations on finishing!