Tutu's 2013 Lazy Lighthouse Summer Days #3

This topic is a continuation of Tutu's #2 Spring in Maine

Summer is here and all the Lighthouses are open for tourists, tours, and a ton of romance and inspiration. These three are all within a twenty minute drive from my house and I walk out to, up to, or climb down on all of them at least once a month in the summer. It's really why we moved to Maine.



Left to right:

Marshall's Pt Lighthouse (famous in Forrest Gump) - Port Clyde ME
Owl's Head lighthouse - Owl's Head Maine (I can hear this one at night in the fog)
Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse - Rockland ME (the walk out on the one mile long breakwater is special....but not to be undertaken on a windy day!)

So here's where I'll start with 3rd quarter books. I left off at #69 for the year.




70. Sign of the Cross by Anne Emery ★★★★
71. A Wrongful Death by Kate Wilhelm ★★★1/2
72. A Cold White Sun by Vicki Delaney ★★★1/2
73. How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny ★★★★★
74. The 100 year old Man who climbed out the window and disappeared by Jonas Jonasson ★★★★1/2
75. Sweet Salt Air by Barbara Delinsky ★★★ 1/2

TA DaH.......75 complete. Let's Keep Going!!! See msg #48

Currently reading:


Print.........................Audio..................................Nook

All are review copies from publisher, the audio is one I'm also reading in print. So far they're all pretty good.

oooh! reserve How The Light Gets In for me- on the trip down, pretty please!

beautiful new thread!

Cheli....only if I get it done before I leave for Calif....if not, then Christmas???

New thread goodness, and BIG YIPPEE for Bob's book coming out soon!! Molto happy-oso for da man.

Lovely thread topper, Tina! I've visited and photographed all three of those lighthouses several times . . . yes, I did the walk out Rockland Breakwater . . . and fell (on the breakwater, not off of it) and skinned my knee, as I recall . . .

I was pleased to see, on your previous thread, how much you enjoyed Ordinary Grace. I thought it was great!

Tina - I just caught up on your previous thread. So exciting about Mr Tutu's forthcoming book. Tell him congratulations!!! And I completely agree about Jan Karon's books being the ultimate comfort reads. Happy new thread!

I found you! I love Jan Karon's books. I'm thinking I want to dig out my copies to re-read. I didn't realize the Krueger book was a stand-alone. I think I'll pick it up to read soon since it's not part of the series.

Lori...do read the Krueger book...It's one I really want to do for bookclub and delve into more deeply. I'll be anxious to see what others think of it.

Happy new thread -- Happy Louise Penny -- Happy Maine summer

love the lighthouses at the top - we don't see many of those in Missouri (ha!) and they always seem slightly exotic to me.

I picked up some book bullets on your last thread - but it's always good to come here and see what's new

Relax - I'm sure your reunion will be spectacular. Enjoy the summertime!

ETA - I love cold war thrillers - I'm looking forward to Mr Tutu's book

Yodeleeewhoooowhoooooo! I brought the fake-cronuts recipe to you as printed on the Pillsbury site. A couple of things to say: DON'T do the caramel thing, it's a giant mess and thoroughly icky to boot; DO make a double batch; and anyone's crescent rolls work fine, no need for Pillsbury.

Ingredients

2
cups vegetable oil
1
can (8 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
1
snack-size container (4 oz) vanilla pudding
2
tablespoons caramel sauce
1/4
teaspoon kosher (coarse) salt
1/2
cup powdered sugar
Milk
Additional caramel sauce, if desired
1
In deep fryer or 2-quart heavy saucepan, heat oil over medium heat to 350°F.
2
Separate crescent dough into 4 rectangles. Firmly press perforations to seal. Stack 2 rectangles on top of one another. Fold in half widthwise to make tall stack. Repeat with remaining 2 rectangles.
3
To make 2 doughnuts, use 3-inch biscuit cutter to cut 1 round from each stack; use 1/2-inch biscuit cutter to cut small hole in center of each round. Reroll remaining dough to cut third doughnut.
4
Fry doughnuts in hot oil 1 1/2 minutes on each side or until deep golden brown and cooked through. Drain on paper towels. Cool 5 minutes.
5
Carefully split doughnuts in half. Place pudding in decorating bag fitted with tip, and pipe some of the pudding onto bottom half of each doughnut. Top each with some of the caramel sauce; sprinkle with salt. Cover each with top of doughnut.
6
In small bowl, mix powdered sugar and enough milk for spreading consistency. Spread on tops of doughnuts. Drizzle with additional caramel sauce.

I myownself put lemon zest in the step-6 gunk. I also used pistachio pudding because it's what I had. I drained and cooled the donuts on wire racks over cookie pans lined with paper towels.

RD Gracie, danka, obrigado, origato gozeimas, muchas gracias and merci and 10Q....it's the pistachio pudding that put me over the top. It was my dad's favorite and anything pistachio goes to the top of my list. I have fond memories of an entire 14 day cruise with the two of us haunting the ice cream bar waiting for the pistachio to appear...

YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM she slinks off wondering how drunk she will have to get before she ignores the year's worth of WW points in one of these puppies!

I have titled these Richard's Fake Cronuts in my recipe file. Now must go track down the photo to put together with it.!

Okay - all this talk of pistachio pudding makes me want to make some Tops Salad that Mom used to make. It had pistachio pudding, cottage cheese, pineapple (drained), and maybe Cool Whip. I'll have to think on the recipe. It was one of my favorites back in the day. I know some people added miniature marshmallows to it, but my mom never did. I liked it better Mom's way (at the church potlucks).

My mom makes that one too!!! I'll get the recipe.

Back to books.....I finished How the light gets in --Louise Penny's new one due out in August. IT IS SO GOOD that I must find time to go back and read it again sometime very soon. Her best yet. I'll get a full review done before pub.

We had big meeting with marketing team for bob's book--lots to do, and more big bucks....no wonder books are so expensive! We're anxiously awaiting galley proofs due tomorrow.

::jealousjealousjealous::

Tina --
I found it online listed as Watergate Salad. I had the ingredients correct.

Lori

Lori...thanks...you've made me want to go buy some cool whip!

I may whip up a batch for Dad while I'm staying with him while my brother goes on vacation.

Way behind on everything LT, but wanted to say that I'm excited about Mr. Tutu's book, too!

Currently reading:


Print....................................................................................................Audio..................................Nook

The print and the ebook are review copies. The audio is just plain pure fun.

Hi Tina! Just wanted to let you know that my local library is heavily promoting the Maine Readers Choice Awards and I am current reading Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk. I am hoping to get all the shortlist books and the finalists read before voting is due. This is such an awesome program! Thanks for all your hard work in making it happen!

Heidi....thanks for letting me know. The program seems to be taking off -although a bit later than we would have liked. It's going great guns at my little library and people are really enjoying this group of books. Many have remarked how they would never have picked these up on their own. Our book discussion group has chosen to have these as our featured reads for the next couple months. Billy Lynn was one of my favorites btw....

NOt much reading getting done now that I'm embarked on the great birthday party/family reunion adventure. I did manage to finish the 100 year old man who climbed out the window and disappeared - what a hoot!! Also finished Transatlantic by Colum McCann. As usual with his work, it's fantastic.

I'm going to try to make some time later this year to read both of these again in longer more concentrated sessions. Both reads were disjointed due to too many interruptions and I often found myself having to backtrack to be sure where I was. Both books are written in broken time frames - a style which requires more brain investment than reading a lineal story, and my brain is so scattered at the moment that I'm not even sure what day it is.

We arrived last night having survived four days of nursing, mah jongg, and fun at Cheli's house, a long packed flight from BWI to Oakland and the drive to Modesto. We are now adjusting to the time change and about to embark on first of several visits to introduce grand daughter Kyla to relatives/friends who will not be at the Saturday do!

Keep reading people -- it's a whole lot better for the brain than party planning.

Have a great trip!

She must be enjoying herself because she's been quiet!

Oh I've been enjoying myself, but I've been quiet because between all the festivities and the heat, I AM JUST PLAIN EXHAUSTED. Really feeling my age. Food is good, but not all that healthy, and so filling up on carbs and booze leaves me rather ennervated.

Tonite we are feet up, just catching up a bit on email, facebook, and a quick pop-in here on LT. We still have a week of various family stuff to go here in Calif, then back to VA and Baltimore before heading north to Maine and my own bed.

Of course I have to go to work at the library less than 12 hours after my expected return, and I've already gotten the email that says the circulation desk computer has died, so it will not be a quiet session (I'm the IT person in addition to being the librarian/director).

Also, I have a brand new laptop, but managed to lock myself out of it at the beginning of the trip, so I'm still working on my old one. I'm going to have to slick and redo the new one. Since I have to do that, I've decided since I HATE windows 8 so much, I'm going to purchase a Windows 7 and load that on there . This time I'll set up two admin accounts like I always do so I won't lock myself out!!!!

Now, I'm off to listen to a nice soothing brain candy audio of one of Jan Karon's Mitford series ...about all my brain can handle right now.

I have heard so many horror stories of Windows 8. There are a few who say it is okay once you get used to it. I will eventually have to decide what OS my new computer will be. I know that my computer is getting old. I think I'd prefer Mac to Windows 8, but it will require the Crossover platform to run on it if I do that.

Chromium. The Google contender. So extremely simple and, I'm told, Mac-like. I haven't sworn at my Chromebook even once!

#72 A Cold White Sun: A Constable Molly Smith Mystery


I loved the setting of this one - it was a perfect read during an unexpectedly hot spell we had in Maine 
It’s the end of March and Trafalgar, British Columbia, is preparing for the last influx of skiers for the season. Constable Molly Smith becomes involved in assisting the homicide unit in solving the murder of a young teacher who was gunned down by a sniper while out on her normal walk early one morning.  No witnesses, but some tracks, a few pieces of forensic evidence, and several suspects.  There's a hapless husband, some hyper in-laws, two children left motherless, and the dog who was there when it happened. 

Was the victim stalking someone?  Is that person the killer? Who else could possibly want her dead.  She was a school teacher, a model mother, a young devoted wife.  Or was she?

While all this is happening, Molly begins questioning her own long-term relationship with a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police when she meets a handsome stranger on the ski slopes.  Surely this handsome fellow can provide more excitement than she's been used to up to now.

As with earlier books in this series, Vicki Delaney gives us good characters with motivations that drive the story, an excellent plot that produces many suspects but leaves us guessing until the end, and the exquisite setting of the Canadian ski slopes of British Columbia.  A lover of mysteries can't ask for much more.

Perfect hot-weather reading indeed. You're an effective spokeswoman for the series, Tina. Drat you!

Hi Tina! I hope you are having a wonderful trip...it sounds exhausting but fun!

I wanted to let you know I have read three books from the Maine Reader's Choice Awards shortlist so far: Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, The Yellow Birds, and Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore. All were fantastic in different ways and none of which were books I was looking for. I'm having so much fun reading through the list.

The Vicki Delaney series sounds fun....like I need another series to follow...sigh....

Heidi....so glad you're enjoying the books. We're starting to cull 2013 nominees, so yell out if you have a recommendation for literary fiction published in US in 2013, not part of series or trilogy. Currently I'm reading:

Currently reading:


Print.........................Audio..................................Nook

All are review copies from publisher, the audio is from the 2012 MRCA long list, the others are eligible to be considered for the long/short list for 2013.

Totally different settings, writing and scenarios, but each is definitely worth reading - so far.

I'll be posting some reviews here for the next few hours....we leave California tomorrow AM but I have some down time to veg since all the other relatives have left town, those who live here have rolled up the welcome mats, and granddaughter who is with us is finishing up The Fault in our Stars on the Nook says she's going to fall asleep early since she spent most of the day hiking through the giant Redwoods with her father at Calaveras State Park.

Glad the Vicky Delany book was good. It's been awhile since I read one of hers. I should track down another.

Sorry to hear of the computer woes . . . your own and at the library.

I haven't heard one good thing about Windows 8. I'm glad I don't have it.

I am SO FRUSTRATED. I have twice posted here a note about what I was reading, how life was going, and what's next for Tutu and Bob. I seem to have spent too much time around my son the satellite technician because my posts seem to be launching into outer space.

I think I will break into three different posts and see if that works. I

Ok...now back at Mom's in Baltimore....the reunion and wedding were fabulous on the west coast....the weather was gorgeous, and it was tons of fun to visit with almost 50 family members without having to do it at a funeral. I'm waiting for some pictures from the photographer to share.

Then after flight back east we helped our son Matt and his WONDERFUL fiancee Amy move into their beautiful mountain chalet they just bought in the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia. Tina and Bob made 26 moves in 19 years of Navy life, and after loading the van, driving the stuff 58 miles one way along snaking mountain roads in the infamous Virginia summer heat and humidity, and unloading at the other end (after climbing over 3000 feet up the mountain) we sat and watched a glorious sunset over the Mountains and rejoiced with this young couple who are embarking on their dream. We've decided to pass the moving mantle to that generation and offered to baby-sit instead of packing and lugging.

Now we are packing to leave tomorrow AM to return to Maine so we can GET WARM. Every place we go here in Maryland, Virginia (and even a lot in California) we about froze because people don't seem able to cope without AC cranked to no higher than 60. We have only gentle sea breezes to moderate the heat in Maine, and find ourselves more comfortable in the 70-85 temp range w/o AC. This constant in/out of freeze/heat is awful.

So once I get back to Maine I have a boatload of computer issues to deal with:

1. Slick and redo my brand new laptop - I've decided after much consultation with geeks I trust to bite the bullet and learn Windows 8 since it will be way too excruciating to try to "downgrade" from WIN 8 back to Windows 7.

2. Try to locate a new or refurbished Windows 7 PC t replace the very sick one for our circulation desk at the library because there is NO WAY I'm teaching the volunteer crew at the library to use Windows 8 (I can just barely get them to use the current system).

3. Get Office 365 loaded on all our laptops - both Mine and Bob's so we can stay connected.

4. I have to help Bob get an Amazon vendor account, paypal account, ME state tax account and webpage (almost finished) up and running to sell the book that launches in 3 weeks.

And then I have to get going on my Maine Readers Choice reading for the next batch - 2013 publications. My group is reading The Golem and the Jinni and they just sent me Chris Bohjalian's The Light in the Ruins

Currently reading:


Print.........................Audio..................................Nook

The One-Way Bridge is a Maine setting classic....loads of fun. I've had Zealot sitting on my Nook for over a month as a review copy from Net Galley so when all the bruhaha erupted over the infamous FOX NEWS interview erupted, I pulled it up to judge for myself. Quite interesting.

And I'm continuing my tromp through Kate Wilhelm's wonderful Barbara Holloway series. Can't wait to have a nice relaxing workout in the pool while I listen to this one.

Sounds like you had a fabulous trip Tina! I await with interest your thoughts on 2013 publications.

I finished A Land More Kind Than Home on this year's awards list and have now finished all the finalists. I have no idea which I will vote for now...I am torn. One book I like the best as a great story, one book I feel is the most important in terms of message, and they are all very very good books! What to do? LOL

We are off to Millinocket for a week of camping and hiking today. Hope to have decent weather for the week especially for Thursday when the group will be climbing Mt. Katahdin!

Okay, if you are biting the bullet for Windows 8 let me know if you find any great insights. I'm still muddling through.

Really pi$$ed,,,, I was reading One-Way Bridge on the ride home, and when I put the nook on sleep and returned after my stint at the wheel, the book had expired. Net Galley has archived it, so I'll have to get in the ILL queue until I get a chance to order it for our library later this week. SIGH....I had less than 100 pages to go...bummer.

Can you change the date/time on your nook to revert to an earlier date? I probably shouldn't be suggesting this but I believe the book expiration is triggered by the date registered with your nook. If you can change the date in your nook, you may be able to finish reading the book. Just a thought. ;-)

Lori....good idea, but since I have an avalanche of computer issues, both home and library, to deal with this week, I'm going to grab the "real"copy from our library order when it arrives next week and finish it then. The last thing I need is a messed up e-reader. I spend enough time helping patrons straighten out theirs so I don't want to be messing with mine.

Some day tho, I'm going to try that and see what happens!!

Well...for the moment, all computers are behaving themselves. I got to the library today to find that The One-Way Bridge (my Net Galley that expired) was at the top of the staff "to buy" list, so I ordered it and told them I got first dibs when it comes in so I can finish the 80 pages I have left.

Then I attacked the mail....both official and personal. Between those two stacks I received a boatload of books....mostly from the Maine Readers Choice Panel as we continue to cull this years books to recommend our list at the end of the year. My group is currently tasked to review at least the Golem and the Jinni which I am thoroughly enjoying, and next The Light in the Ruins by Chris Bohjalian.

After I finish those two, I have the following "suggested" books to consider:
The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud
The Lowland by JJhumpa Lahiri
A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra
The Daughters of Mars by Thomas Keneally
Americanah by Chimammanda Ngozi Adichie
The Son by Philipp Meyer
The Dinnerby Herman Koch - review coming up on this one - terrific!
NOS4A2 by Joe Hil
The Silence and the Roar by Nihad Sirees

And I also got an ARC of Tom Franklin's newest: the Tilted World. I so enjoyed his Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter that I'm really looking forward to this.

Now if I can just get Bob's marketing plan finished for his book that should be out by the end of this month (one more nit-picking adjustment to the cover and it adds another 5 days to production!!).

I am so so so so so behind on reviews. But at least I'm now back home with a lot less stress. I had a good long work out in the pool today, listening to another great Kate Wilhelm Barbara Holloway mystery. All these really strong deep "literary" works have to be interspersed with some different genres or my brain will burst.

And I just discovered that TA DAH...............I've finished 75! Actually even more. I just have to do a better job of tracking them. So I'm starting a new ticker, but will continue on from 76..... and will start a new list here.




76. The Dinner by Herman Koch ★★★★★
77. Transatlantic by Colum McCann ★★★★1/2
78. A Light in the Window by Jan Karon
79. Cold Case by Barbara Wilhelm ★★★★
80. The One-Way Bridge by Cathy Pelletier ★★★★1/2
81. The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker ★★★★★
82. Pope Bob by Bill Dodds ★★★1/2
83. Eventide by Kent Haruf ★★★★1/2
84. Someone Else's Love Story ★★★★1/2
85. These High Green Hills by Jan Karon (comfort re-read) ★★★
86. Blood Hollow by William Kent Krueger ★★★1/2
87. Mercy Falls by William Kent Krueger ★★★1/2
88. Copper River by WIlliam Kent Krueger★★★1/2
89. The Cat by Edeet Ravel ★★★★★
90. The Light in the Ruins by Chris Bohjalian ★★★★★
91. Through the Evil Days by Julia Spencer Fleming ★★★★1/4

Many happy 75s to come!

Congrats!

Okay, how did you do A Light in the Window when you loaned it to me?

Congrats on 75! Looks like you've got a lot of good reading coming up!

#73 How the Light Gets In



Louise Penny is so good that I now get scared when she publishes a new book in this series. I find myself worrying that at last she may have stumbled and, as is the case with so many writers of series, she might be losing her touch. FEAR NOT. The latest installment of the exciting, fascinating, and spectacular Chief Inspector Gamache series, How the Light Gets in, is every bit as good as any of the early entries. In fact, in my humble opinion, it's the best one yet. Penny just keeps getting better.

At the end of the previous book The Beautiful Mystery the reader could be excused for thinking that poor Armand was probably on his way out. Certainly, the carefully built relationships with his team were in shreds, his family devastated, his reputation crumbling. How the Light Gets In picks right up with those issues and expands them. Gamache is actually questioning his own abilities. Has he become impotent against the evil forces at large in his world? Can he no longer be sure that his homicide unit is the best in the country? Do his friends and family still respect him? Will he ever find the answers to the current mystery?

Called to the village of Three Pines to help friends cope with a mysterious death, Armand Gamache soon finds himself involved in another of Penny's twisted plots. Along the way, he continues to act as if none of his troubles exist: he is polite, urbane, studious, thoughtful, and ever the gentleman, all the while he is grieving for his lost friend Jean Guy Beauvoir, his lost reputation, and his unit's lost agents (who have been sent elsewhere in the bureaucracy of the Surète and force fed a story of his demise and degradation.) Gamache is introspective, respectful of everyone he investigates, and takes his time carefully putting all the puzzle pieces together, always aware of when a piece is missing.

Penny does an exquisite job of contrasting goodness with evil, black with white, dark with light and hope with despair. Just when the reader is ready to dissolve into overwhelming grief at the end of a beloved character or the dashing of a hope, Penny takes a turn in the road to lead the story down another path.

This is storytelling at its best.

These are characters so real one expects to walk into a bar or library and find them waiting to share a story or a drink.

Three Pines is a village so well described that when the MMA rail company's runaway trains crashed, exploded and burned the town of Lac-Meguntic in the eastern suburbs of Quebec last month, I immediately saw in those headlines the village of Three Pines going up in flames.

How the Light Gets In is so well written that I had to force myself to hide the book when I finished so I didn't immediately turn back to the beginning to start reading it again. And I will read it again, and again.

Publication date is August 27th, and pre-orders have already pushed this one into its second printing. Don't hesitate--Grab it as soon as it comes out. Many thanks to Louise Penny for the advance copy and opportunity to review it. I wonder if there's a next one?

Title: How the Light Gets In
Author: Louise Penny
Publisher: Minotaur Books, 2013, ARC 406 pages
Genre: Mystery - police procedural
Subject: murder investigation, police corruption
Setting: fictional village of Three Pines - eastern Canada
Series: Chief Inspector Gamache novels
Source: ARC from the author
Why did I read this book now? Louise Penny sent it to me for a review. Who could resist?

#74 The 100 year old Man who climbed out the window and Disappeared



This one was way too much fun. An absolute gem of a farce. As the title suggests, Allan Karlsson cannot face another mushy meal pulverized for old folks, nor does he wish to be surrounded by doddering, drooling old fools to help him celebrate his 100th birthday in the old folks home, so he climbs out the window of his room before the birthday luncheon, and sets off on an adventure. At the bus station, he is asked by a young man to "watch the suitcase" while the youngun goes to the rest room. The bus comes, Allan picks up the suitcase, thinking its owner is on the way, and embarks on a life of crime, mayhem and memory reflection that often begs our belief.  The suitcase's owner misses the bus, and Allan finds himself in possession of ......  well I don't want to spoil this one, but suffice it to say that Allan finds himself hiding out from the authorities, and not just because he doesn't want to go back to the home.

There is a trio of criminals reminiscent of the Three Stooges, a retired elephant who lives with Allan's new "family", guest appearances by practically every world leader who graced the planet during Allan's 100 years, incompetent police, and a winding plot that keeps the reader laughing even while saying "that can't possibly have happened." A total package of characters, settings, and plot twists. Something for everyone.

Author: Jonas Jonasson
Publisher: Hyperion 2012, paperback, 400 pages
Genre: Fiction, farce, comedy
Subject: crime, old age, world history
Setting: Sweden, Spain, Arizona, Pacific Islands, Russia
Source: Public Library
Why did I read this book now? It was recommended by a library patron.

Penny's. I want it now!

I want the Louise Penny asap. Thanks for the outstanding review, Tina!!

# 75 Sweet Salt Air



Barbara Delinsky's books have always appealed to me. Her newest Sweet Salt Air is much more than just a perfect summer read. The Maine setting is of course gorgeous, but the character development here is special. Two friends reunite after 10 years at the home where they summered together growing up.  One has a very famous doctor husband suffering from Multiple Schlerosis, the other has a secret.  There's a handsome loner with an attitude in residence at the other end of the island. These ingredients would be enough for most storytellers. But here, Delinsky adds a choice for the characters that makes keeping the 10 year old secret a moral dilemma. When the characters are faced with the quandry of whether to reveal the secret, the festering impasse becomes a matter of life and death.

This is way more than a beach read. It is a well-developed character study with the added features of romance and that beautiful Maine Island setting. The medical research forming the backbone of the story was presented in such a way as to avoid taking sides on some of the modern legal and ethical issues of stem-cell treatment and research, and yet was written to underscore many of the choices facing patients today as they decide whether to participate in trials, undergo new and untested treatments, etc.

I think it's one of Delinsky's best. Be sure to grab a copy. It's on the shelves now, so indulge yourself in a late summer treat.

Title: Sweet Salt Air
Author: Barbara Delinsky
Publisher: St. Martin's Press, 2013, 416 pages
Genre: fiction, romance,
Subject: multiple schlerosis, stem-cell treatments, privacy 
Setting: island off the coast of Maine
Source: ARC from the publisher
Why did I read this book now? The setting and the subject matter interested me.

Okay, put this on my pile for next time.

Cheli....on the pile...where ever that is at the moment.

My friend (other daughter) Autumn posted this today....couldn't resist....I've put it on Richard's thread if you want to vote.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/ariellecalderon/disturbing-cakes-that-should-burn-in-hel...
This is just one of 26 beauties -

The Porcupine with Human Teeth cake

I'm not complaining mind you, but after almost 48 yours of nothing but computers, (all three in question are up and running and I am reluctantly coming to terms with Windows 8), I decided to dig into the two huge boxes of books that were waiting for me when I returned from vacation last Sunday. Most were from the publishers for those of us on the MRCA Panel to read to select a long then a short list for next years awards. We haven't even had the voting for this year (it's going to be the first week in Sept). So now, I have a whole bunch more reading to do. Some of these are ones I've had my eye on. Others, I've never heard of. And frankly, some of them don't appeal to me at all.

So far my group has only been assigned two (Light in the Ruins and The Golem and the Jinni) and I've read Transatlantic and Ordinary Grace from this latest bunch, so we'll see. If anybody has any suggestions for what's good or not,feel free to pile on. I know there's no way I'll ever get them all done by the end of the year! Here's what arrived this week:

The Burn Palace by Stephen Dobyns
The Deep Whatsis by Peter Mattel
Sparta by Roxana Robinson
And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
The Flame Throwers by Rachel Kushner
Tenth of December by George Saunders
The Execution of Noa P. Singleton by Elizabeth l. Silver
The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls by Anton Disclafani
& Sons David Gilbert
The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer
No One Could Have Guessed the Weather by Anne-Marie Casey
Life after Life by Jill McCorkle
The Cat by edeet ravel
All That Is by James Salter
Telling the Bees by Peggy Hesketh
Transatlantic by Colum McCann
Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger

and I'm not sure how Tenth of December got on the list since I thought we'd agreed not to do short stories - it is one I'm definitely going to read tho. I really enjoy SS, and haven't had a good collection in awhile.

WOW. One full box. I am unable to help, other than to say The Golem & the Jinni appealed to me far more than I expected it to. Life After Life, the Atkinson one, hasn't enraptured me the way it has others. I didn't know Jill McCorkle had brought one out by that title, too.

Looks like your ROOTs have grown! Ha Ha!

RD--I too have found The Golem and the Jinni to be much more enticing than I expected. I read the Atkinson book and don't know if I'm gong to get to the McCorkle one or not too soon.

Fabulous review of How the Light Gets In. Delighted to know that Penny just keeps on giving; I'm not quite this far in the series, so I've still got this one to look forward to.

A quiet little plug, then I'll go away....Bob's book went live today in Kindle format - we are over the moon. Now if we can get the print copies from the publisher, I'll be able to settle back into some semblance of relaxed retired life style.

you can come my flying pig anytime...

I had to skip your review of How the Light Gets In because I am currently reading The Beautiful Mystery. I haven't read any of the potential candidates for the MRCAs, sorry!

Very exciting news about your husband's book! Congrats!

#76 The Dinner
Set in the Netherlands, this is not a book about food, but it is a book that highlights human kind's historical rite of gathering around a meal to enhance personal relationships. Presented in a series of chapters based on the courses of a formal dinner at a posh restaurant, the story concerns the families of two brothers who obviously have deep seated unresolved sibling jealousies.  Their wives and sons are central characters to the unfolding tale.  Each group has its own set of rivalries and problems.

While the story is framed as a chronicle of family rivalries, it is much more:  a dark tale of ethical dilemnas unearthed as each course is served, as the brothers and their wives make and receive cell phone calls, while outside, uninvited off-spring are running loose on the unsuspecting populace.

Briefly, without spoilers, the story is told by the younger brother Paul, who along with his wife Clare, does not want to be at this dinner.  He resents his older brother Serge - a successful politician who is poised to become the next prime minister. He feels Serge's son is the one responsible for all the trouble that nobody wants to talk about.  He resents Serge's success and notoriety, his pushing for this posh restaurant to show off, rather than going to a simple coffee-shop that he and Clare would have preferred.  Paul especially detests the sycophantic staff and their fawning over his brother.  Serge's wife Babette is alternately annoying, insightful, and cloying-- a thoroughly nasty piece of work.  The brothers are both aware of criminal activity on the part of their sons, but neither wants to admit to their suspicions.  The dance around the unspoken truth permeates the entire dinner.

How they negotiate the choices each parent faces as they try to view themselves as moral beings, as they think about their futures and the impact their choices will have on their individual families, the extended family, and ultimately even the country is a tightly drawn narrative.  By limiting the structure to a single dinner, and by having the agony of making menu choices and dealing with officious waiters a way of drawing out the dinner long enough to provide some space for back fill, the author has written an incredibly complex story in the guise of a simple tale of a dinner with its menu and accompanying conversation.

This is a book to be read again, and discussed with a group.  The many choices of both the characters and the author in how he chose to portray those characters is a tour-de-force.They are nasty, scary and altogether unlikable. Koch's ability to string the reader along this slippery slope is a tribute to his writing skills.   This is definitely one of my nominees for the best of the year.  The translation from the Dutch is superb.

Go find it. Read it.  Schedule it for your book group.

Title: The Dinner
Author: Herman Koch, translated from the Dutch by Sam Garrett
Publisher: Hogarth (2013), Edition: 1ST, Hardcover, 304 pages
Genre: Literary fiction, social satire
Subject: family relations, moral decisions
Setting: Netherlands
Source: Review copy from publisher
Why did I read this book now? It's being considered for the long list for the 2014 Maine Reader's Choice Award for literary fiction.

#77 Transatlantic
A wonderfully satisfying read for a number of reasons:

•  Connected short stories to form a larger story are a favorite genre. 


• The underlying setting - Ireland - is one I'm interested in but had not taken time to learn more about.


• The three main characters, Frederick O. Douglas, the flying team of Alcock and Brown, who flew across the Atlantic before Charles Lindbergh, and finally George Mitchell, the U.S. emissary whose flights between the US and Ireland helped cement the Good Friday accords are fascinating to read about.

Each character's story is told individually, but then McCann weaves in the lives of "smaller" but more important players - a fictional generational story of women whose relationships with the main characters (or their missions) ties the episodes together. The women make the story what it is. This is a sub-genre of fiction that works well in skilled hands like McCann.  The ability to weave together seemingly disparate lives, missions, outcomes and intentions is done brilliantly.  For awhile, the reader is left wondering  Apart from the interesting fictionalized accounts of each of the three main stories, is there a point?  But as the second part of the book unwinds, and the other characters begin to intertwine, the reader is treated to a surprising epiphany of McCann's thesis which appears to be that the US was very involved for centuries with Ireland: their people, their politics, their "troubles" with the English.

It certainly is a different format that takes a bit of work on the part of the reader, but McCann's prose is so clear and unfrilly that subtle meanings emerge almost subliminally.  This is going to be a talked-about and popular book because of the subject matter, but ultimately, it's the writing that should draw the highest praise.

Title: Transatlantic
Author: Colum McCann
Publisher:Random House (2013), Edition: First Edition, Hardcover, 320 pages
Genre: Historical fiction
Subject: Irish rebellion and "troubles"
Setting: US, Missouri, Newfoundland, Ireland
Source: Review copy from publisher
Why did I read this book now? Consideration for Maine Readers Choice 2014 longlist

#78 A Light in the Window by Jan Karon
#79 Cold Case by Kate Wilhelm

Pure comfort reads....two very different books, but two of my favorite authors.

The Mitford tales are my go-to's when I'm under severe stress....and the stress level here in TUTU land was way up there last month. The delightful story of Fr. Tim, his lady love Cynthia, and the assorted lovable Mayberry like characters in Mitford land never fail to soothe. I can fall asleep listening to these and have "read" them enough that I never feel like I have to rewind to catch up.

The Barbara Holloway series by Kate Wilhelm is just a absolutely excellent batch of detective, legal, personal, and other interesting sidelights. Like Linda Fairstein's stories, I'm always learning something new feel so disappointed when the story ends. I'm glad the cases are adjudicated (no one wants to sit on a jury any longer than they have to) but I always want to know more, to see into the future. And so far, I've not been disappointed. I've only got one more to go in the series, so Ms. Wilhelm had best get cracking.

#80 The One-Way Bridge


Cathy Pelletier knows her subject matter. She has captured the dialect, the life-style, the scenery, and the personalities of the fiercely independent population of Mattagash, "the last town in the middle of the northern Maine wilderness." The cover illustration opens the book as about-to-retire postman Orville Craft is confronted with the Moose mailbox of town resident and Vietnam vet Harry Plunkett. Plunkett has turned the mailbox so that Orville must insert the mail into the "$%X"end of the giant mammal container. Orville is convinced that Plunkett has it in for him.

The one -way bridge probably exists in many towns. In Mattagash, the unwritten rule states that when two vehicles approach the bridge from opposite ends, the car whose wheels enter the bridge first has the right-of-way. The other must back off and wait. This rule will eventually become central to the story.

But in addition to Orville and Harry, there's small time, homeless, jobless thug Billy Thunder. He's actually not homeless...he can sleep in his vintage Mustang convertible, except that the top won't go up, and winter is coming. And he's not actually jobless - he's a "salesman" of sorts and it's just that his suppliers (the thugs one step up in the food chain) are refusing to send him any more "supplies" until he pays what he owes. His resorting to selling faux goods of a slightly different composition nets him funds for a short time only. 

There are an assortment of other lovable, laughable characters, each one symbolic of a specific social ill, whether it's boredom, unemployment, divorce, empty nests, unfulfilled fantasies, or post traumatic stress. Pelletier has painted a picture of a town that is trying, of a citizenry that still has a can-do attitude, and of a way of life that seems at once surreal and actual. The dialect is spot on. The scenery is painted with a broad brush enhanced with subtle shadings.

Without spoilers, this is not just a fun or funny book. The life issues of a variety of inhabitants are addressed with empathy, compassion and well-researched knowledge of cause and effect. The drama that develops as Orville and Harry's feud escalates serves to highlight a myriad of problems residents would rather not contemplate. It's a deep book, and one that would make an excellent choice for book discussion groups.

If you want eccentric but credible characters, beautiful scenery, and poignant emotional situations, this one's for you.

Title: The One-Way Bridge
Author: Cathy Pelletier
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark (2013), Hardcover, 304 pages
Genre:  literary fiction
Subject: retirement, loneliness, boredom, unemployement - small town life
Setting: fictional town of Mattagash Maine
Source: E review copy from publisher through Net Galley
Why did I read this book now? The author and the subject appealed to me.

Abandoned book Zealot I've lost track of how many this is.

I had downloaded this one via Net Galley, but if it weren't for the hype from the FOX interview, I would have abandoned this one long before I did. While it is interesting, to a non-historian it quickly becomes dull and repetitive. To a believer, it becomes an interesting intellectual challenge to hold onto belief, while leaving one's mind open for the addition of historical facts.

I had no way to fact-check the author's assertions on the happenings, nor did I feel I wanted to challenge them.

Sorry, but I just couldn't make myself spend anymore time....I did read 100 pages.

I almost picked up The Dinner by Herman Koch today at the library but decided on The Orphan Master's Son instead as it is on this years Maine Reader's Choice Awards longlist. Now I wish I had grabbed The Dinner as well!

Is anybody else noticing that touchstones are not working? Grrrr.

Heidi....I can't wait to hear how you liked Orphan Master's Son I wanted to do that one with our book club, but several members thought the North Korean setting would be too dreary.

More new books for the long long long list for Maine Readers Choice....I'm always looking for feedback to whittle the pile into manageable proportions. Today's arrival include:

Heart of Palm by Laura Lee Smith
White Dog Fell from the Sky by Eleanor Morse
The Blood of Heaven by Kent Wascom
A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozekin

ETA....I just got an email that 6 more are on the way! Phew. I need to come up for air soon.

Edited to fix touchstones....

Hi Tina! You have ALOT of homework ahead of you with the 2014 long (long) list! I hope there are some great reads in there.

I started to read The Orphan Master's Son last night. It feels a bit dark and dreary for me at the moment so I put it down to read a Kristan Higgins romance. Hopefully that will put me back in the mood to read something serious.

I know how you feel about dark and dreary books. Many of these on the long long list are very ponderous and I've been sorting through them trying to vary the reading by subject and writing style. Last night I started the audio of Tenth of December and it's outstanding! I have a review to do for Nan Talese of Thomas Cahill's latest volumen of the Hinges of History series - this one is Heretics and Heroes - very slow going but interesting, and since I've read and own every book in the series, I was thrilled to get this one. Just wish the Galley proof had contained the photos....the pictures are often what makes these so fantastic.

I certainly can't complain about lack of reading material. I got 4 more today, and so took the time to divide them into boxes of books ranked by my inclination (or assignment) to read them. I stacked the ones that didn't interest me at all on the bottom, and the "dive in first" on the top.

We have White Dog Fell from the Sky at our library. It had good early reviews when we ordered it, and several folks have said it was good, but different.

The One-Way Bridge deserves an award for the cover. How cute! I may have to try to find a copy of that one. I'll see if it's still available via NetGalley.

:-( It's not still available on NetGalley.

Abandoned book: Killing Kennedy by Bill O'Reilly

Tried to read because my mother keeps asking if I'd read it. She's a big O'reilly TV fan, but never ever reads a book.....so I tried, but..I got it in audio, listened to the first hour, and said "that's it." If I want to listen to a news broadcaster drone, I;ll turn on the TV. I lived through the story once, didn't learn anything new in an hour, and almost had to raid the booze locker after listening to Bill....nuff said. Deleted said tome from my library.

Next batch of arrivals - I'm drowning here --

Silver Star by Jeannette Walls- I liked her Half Broke Horses but not THAT much.
Dirty Love by Andre Dubus III - again, loved Townie but not sure I need that much more domestic violence.
Night Film by Marisha Pessl - lots of buzz, I hope it's worth it.
Brewster by Mark Slouka - the blurbs made me put this one in the definitely read box.
You are One of Them by Elliot Holt.....not sure about this one either.

Be sure to pile on with comments....I'm in serious need of some weeding help. No way will I get all these done by Christmas.... even with some in audio.

I read both Half Broke Horses and Glass Walls by Jeannette Walls. They were just ok for me. I didn't know she had a new one coming out.

My problem with many of the award winning, literary fiction types books is that they are so depressing. And they are often about realistic topics which doesn't make for great escapism. Sometimes I just need to get out of my own head and those kinds of books do not help! I think that's why I liked Billy Lynn's Long Half Time Walk more than The Yellow Birds. Billy Lynn had the humor I needed to think about such a hard topic.

Absolutely agree about the tone of many of the newest ones. when I was going thru blurbs and reviews of this mountain I have to plow through, I found myself saying "NO....not another Iraq/afghanistan war book!" I know they're probably well written, and I know the subject is important to our soul as individuals and as a nation, but I find myself unable to endure a steady diet of them.

"Compassion fatigue" comes to mind - the feeling you get whenever you are pitched for money for some very worthy cause or other. I'm sure there must be a similar term for reading....

I'm trying to sprinkle some good mysteries (not necessarily cozies, but good escapist stories) and- even more than before- some fantasy in with all the doom and gloom. And I find myself re-listening to some of my favorite feel-goods like JD Robbs and Jan Karons, just to give the old brain some down time.

Last night we went out to dinner to our favorite little sushi place, then stopped at Wally world because I wanted a darning egg. I have a drawer full of socks that need darning, and I decided instead of throwing them away, I'd do some fix me up. I figure I can listen to an audio while I'm darning. We'll see.....

#81 The Golem and the Jinni


Fantasy and magic are not topics I normally enjoy. But this is a marvelous story about a golem (a clay figure brought to life through some ancient Jewish spell) and a jinni (a magical fire figure of Arabian fairy tale fame - think Aladdin) who meet in New York in the 1890's after having been brought to life by their various masters and spell binders. Their relationship blossoms as they come to realize the each recognizes the other's true composition.  They come to depend on each other even as they distrust the world at large.

The Golem was programmed by her master (now dead) to be able to read thoughts of others around her, and to be a wife but there doesn't seem to be a husband available since the master is dead.  A wise old Rabbi deduces her true identify, takes her in and tries to help her acclimate to society.

The Jinni has been trapped for over 1000 years in a metal flask and is released when a New York tinsmith rubs the vessel which has been brought to him to repair.  The tinsmith is Catholic, and there are wonderful religious discussions that take place in this area of New York where little Syria abuts the Jewish ghetto, and members of each community interact, adding another layer of richness to the story.

Helene Wecker deftly weaves Jewish and Syrian folklore, present and past incidents, historical period settings, exquisite descriptions of human emotion and religious traditions, into a story of love, promises made and broken, and makes the reader believe that this magical tale of loneliness, love, longing to belong, failure to assimilate and ultimately respect for diversity is something that actually might have happened....or could happen....or should have happened.

The reader easily slips into believing in the humaness of these characters, rooting for them to overcome the limitations of their construction - golems don't need to sleep for instance, and find eating rather boring and almost painful. Jinnis must avoid the rain, or their inner fire will be doused. The scene of the jinni trying to carry an umbrella whilst walking with the Golem is priceless.

Make no mistake, this is no simple fairy tale. There are fantastic characters who change identities and forms over the centuries and keep the reader (and the other characters) guessing as to their true identify and intentions. There are scenes from past lives in the Arabian desert.  These interactions with humans are even more interesting, as are the predicaments that constantly threaten to end the current existence(s) of the Golem and the Jinni.

A five out of five star read.  This is a praiseworthy debut work.  I can't wait to see what Ms. Wecker produces next.

Many thanks to Harper for the review copy in connection with the Maine Readers Choice award.

Title: The Golem and the Jinni
Author: Helene Wecker
Publisher: Harper (2013), Hardcover, 496 pages
Genre: Magical fantasy; historical fiction
Subject: Religious and folklore traditions
Setting: New York, Arabia
Source: Review copy from the publisher
Why did I read this book now? It's being considered for the 2013 Maine Readers Choice Award

#82 Pope Bob
I own both a Kindle and a Nook, and it's very rare that I don't have one or the other with me so that I always have something to read in case I get stuck in a line, or the doctor's running late, or I arrive early for a meeting, etc.

Last month, while I was waiting in an unusually long line at the grocery store, I reached for my Nook - I was in the middle of a great new book and wanted to continue with it - only to discover that I had picked up the Kindle by mistake.  I have distinctly different covers for both, but somehow had mixed them up.  I don't have as many books on this one, but did have a huge group of Amazon's daily "freebies" which I often download just to see if I might be interested.  If I don't like them, I delete them.  The title of this one had obviously grabbed me back in 2012 when I got it, so I decided to take a quick look.

This is a delightful book.  On the surface, it appears to be the story of an American priest who is one of those alcoholics who holds his liquor well and is a charming dinner companion.  As such, he makes his way up the ecclesiastical ladder, finds himself doing duty in Rome, and somehow ends up being chosen as the pope.  Here's where the story gets interesting.  He realizes he's in way over his head, but can't seem to figure out how to retire so he can just hug his bottle and go off into his foggy drunk dreamland.

So, while on a papal trip to Canada, he evades his keepers one morning as he sneaks out in search of a "little something" to clear his seriously hungover brain, goes off on a toot, and never returns.  This could have turned into a tongue-in-cheek satire but instead, the author takes the reader on a serious journey through the hell of recovering alcoholics, shows us a hopeful story about the 12 step program, a serious look at social and religious practices, a slight mystery, and introduces us to some of the most loveable (if disreputable) characters to inhabit the pages of a book in quite a while.  Ultimately it's a story of sin, sorrow, forgiveness, redemption, and conversion.

Although it certainly sings of Catholicism, it paints a clear picture of the church, its clergy and all their warts.  Dodds is a writer who is able to give us real people, who are real sinners, real friends, and who are willing to allow themselves to experience the grace they preach to others. A little gem.

Title: Pope Bob
Author: Bill Dodds
Publisher:Bill Dodds (2010), Amazon Digital Edition, 332 pages
Genre: fiction
Subject: alcoholism, papacy, catholicism
Setting: Washington state
Source: Amazon Kindle daily deal
Why did I read this book now? It was free and I liked the title.

#83 Eventide



This sequel to Plainsong is every bit a good as the first. I can't seem to get enough of Kent Haruf and his picture perfect portrayal of the Midwest. I'm a coastal person, but I have come to appreciate the way of life of the inhabitants of Holt Colorado and its environs. Eventide brings back the wonderful McPheron brothers, their ward Victoria and her daughter, we meet the hapless Wallace family in their dilapidated trailer, we meet Rose the social worker, and we see the hard-working, plain, loving, and giving way of life of the plains ranchers and small town merchants. It's another perfect piece of writing.

I simply can't get enough of Haruf's plain and simple scene setting and lyrical prose. There is not a wasted word, nor a wasted scene. His characters are real, the story is true to life, and although parts can be called extremely sad, they are simply statements of life as it is. The hope and grace he portrays in his characters keeps the story from being maudlin, and leaves the reader looking for more. If you haven't discovered this superb writer, run to your bookstore or library. You won't regret it.

Title: Eventide
Author: Kent Haruf
Publisher: Vintage (2005), Edition: Reprint, Paperback, 299 pages
Genre: contemporary fiction
Subject: life in small town
Setting: Holt Colorado
Series: Plainsong
Source: Public library
Why did I read this book now? I'd read the 1st and 3rd books, wanted to fill in the series.

#84 Someone Else's Love Story



Joshilyn Jackson just keeps getting better. This latest novel certainly exceeds the "southern fiction" genre label of her previous offerings "Gods in Alabama" and "BackSeat Saints". It's much more than just a chick-lit romance; it has a hint of mystery, and an assortment of men and women and relationships. As the title indicates, it's truly a story of relationships. The resolution of who is in love with whom and who will end up together is handled so beautifully that the reader doesn't even realize that these permutations of relationships exist until well into the story. As I read, I actually found I couldn't decide who should win the fair maiden's hand.

It's told as almost a series of small individual stories. The main character Shandi tells us her (almost) unbelievable story from the beginning in the first person. The story opens: "I fell in love with William Ashe at gunpoint in a Circle K." Then other characters' stories begin to emerge in the words of a neutral narrator. In addition to a love story, or several love stories, it is a story of friendship, of parenthood, and a tale of betrayal and forgiveness. There are plot lines about date rape, genetic research, and the power of suggestion.

This one is not going to be available until later this fall, but it would be a wonderful holiday gift for readers of southern stories, romance and good literary fiction. Put it on your list. It's going to be a winner.

Title: Someone Else's Love Story
Author: Joshilyn Jackson
Publisher: William Morrow (2013), e-review galley 352 pages
Genre: fiction
Subject: relationships; date rape; genetic research
Setting: Atlanta GA and surrounding area
Source: Edelweiss electronic review galley service
Why did I read this book now? It was available for review and I enjoy the author's works.

Pope Bob? Goodness! I wasn't 5-stars about The Golem and the Jinni, but very close; a deeply felt and smoothly built work, very unusal in a debut.

Joshilyn Jackson and I haven't been introduced.

RD darling....I think you would like Ms Joshilyn-- she often presents almost but not quite stereotypical perky quirky southern (dare I say ding dong?) belles who end up exhibiting brains, spunk, and remarkable powers of innovation and introspection. She manages to capture characters that combine the insouciance of "Mel's Diner" with a low dose of Pat Conroy's growing up angst.

I've read all of hers (I think) and can't remember one I didn't enjoy. Not Pulitzter level, but good solid character based fiction. Try them....I think you will like....

I will get around to Haruf. I forgot I had wanted to read him this month until you posted this. Now it's too late, and I'm already overcommitted with all the NetGalley reads for September.

>88 tututhefirst: I got a copy of Gods in Alabama for $3, so why not.

OOOO....just snagged a e-galley of the divine Julia Spencer-FLeming's newest due out in November. Since this one Through the Evil Days has an e-shelf life of very short proportions, I must accept my penance and drop all that ponderous Maine Heavy Lit reading and delve into this one. Oh shucks, oh darn, oh hurt me!

Bye all, will check in when I'm done....

Congrats on snagging that one, Tina. I think I've requested it, but I'm not 100% sure if I have or not. I've got so many downloaded right now that I fear I'll be reading all new stuff for a couple months.

#91 LOL Enjoy it Tina!

Fabulous reviews lately. I think I will have to give The Golem and the Jinni a try when I encounter it...sounds really interesting.

WARNING.....Get caught up on the Clare Ferguson/Russ Van Alstyne series by Julia Spencer-Fleming cause the latest one is another doozy of a roller-coaster! I finished Through the Evil Days over the weekend (review soon) and am now hanging by my very short stubby fingers on a cliff waiting for the NEXT ONE. The authoress is evil!

JSF is not quite in a league with Louise Penny, but her characters and their plights are certainly entertaining enough to keep the reader gasping for more. Stay tuned, catch up on the series (they really should be read in order) and go put your name on the list for a pre-order or your library's reserve list.

Meet Up Anyone?

As a died in the wool Donna Leon/Commissario Brunetti fan, this one is going to the top of the must visit list Venice here I come!

Tina, have you seen the Three Pines TV movie trailer yet? I confess to some strong doubts about this as it was announced. I'm far more excited now. Plus the latest book is so. darn. good!

a barrage of book bullets, as per usual

I haven't read Kent Haruf yet, but just the covers on his books are enough to justify having them.

Thanks for the heads up about the new Julia Spencer-Fleming book - I'm on the wait list for it at the library in the #26 position. A good spot which should guarantee me a copy on the first day.

I need to get cracking on the Julia Spencer-Fleming series. I've read only the first one. Same thing with the Donna Leon series. Only the first one there, so far, too.

#96 ZOMG! A Three Pines movie! I am so excited. I watched the trailer and Beauvoir is spot on for me but Gamache looks too young. And Clara looks too put together. Still I am all over that puppy when it comes out!

I've only read the first Julia Spencer-Fleming book too. I'll have to see if our local library has the next one.

Hey, when I went to check on the new Julia Spencer-Fleming book at her website, my Norton security software blocked the page as being a source of malicious downloads. I wonder if she's up to something, or if her site got hacked? Seems odd that a respected author would try any funny business with malware on her website, but it may have been hacked by outsiders.

The security program didn't lock me out until I clicked on the link for her new book -- then the warning alerts went up. So I went to Amazon to get the release date.

I just went to JSF's webpage and was able to click right through to the newest book. I suspect it was a hacking attack that you saw. When I do see things like that I always try to contact the page owner to let them know this is happening. It's the old "can't fix it if they don't know it's broken."

Anyhoo....hope you enjoy the newest one as much as I did.

I always want to contact them; but I'm never sure how to, safely, if my Internet Security is blocking their site as unsafe.

Some light reading to balance the doom and gloom of the current batch of Maine Readers Choice prelim reading

85. These High Green Hills by Jan Karon (comfort re-read) ★★★
Ms. Karon can always be depended on for comfort re-read

86. Blood Hollow by William Kent Krueger ★★★1/2
87. Mercy Falls by William Kent Krueger★★★1/2
88. Copper River by WIlliam Kent Krueger★★★1/2

These three were audios I listened to in quick succession. I had actually already read Copper River but it made more sense after I read the two that went before. I've now had an adequate dose of Krueger for a bit, but the Cork O'Connor character, combined with the Oinashe indian lore, the gorgeous UP Minnesota setting, and excellent plots is something I can depend on when I need a book that will keep me interested and engaged without making me feel like I'm eavesdropping on the shrink's couch.

#89 The Cat by Edeet Ravel


Stunning.....absolutely stunning story. I almost didn't read this after scanning the jacket blurb:

Single mother Elise is devoted to her son; he is her world. But that world is shattered in one terrifying moment when her son is killed in a car accident. Lost, angry, and desolate, Elise sees no point in going on, and longs to join her son. But despair is not an option; Elise must stay alive to take care of her son's beloved cat, Pursie.

Already this wasn't working for me.  I seem to have been inundated with dark, depressing books in this batch we've been reviewing for the Maine Readers Choice Awards for next year.  In fact, one of my fellow reviewers quipped that "Grim is the new funny."  I hope she didn't really mean it!

This one is elegant, lean writing at its best.  There isn't a wasted word.  While the reader can feel and understand the torture that Elise goes through, and can become immersed in the struggle, the detached dreamlike quality of the narration keeps it from becoming too maudlin, too ugly, or too unthinkable.  Having Elise herself narrate what it happening, and letting her memories surface to explain how and why she is grieving makes this a beautiful tale.

The cat is the excuse Elise uses to continue on, but the feline never becomes the real story.  Had that happened it would have been a travesty.  Instead, the good kitty stays in the background, available when needed, but never pushing into the limelight.  As Elise goes through the first few months of her self-imposed isolation, she deals with the memories of her own childhood, her feelings toward her mother, her son's father, her previous lover, and her only childhood friend.  Each of these characters is described with just enough detail to fit in, but never intrudes on the story which is essentially Elise's.

Although it's set in Canada, the setting could have been anywhere.  The time frame is a bit more important because the isolation and communications issues are very much influenced and framed by modern day media and communications devices.

In the end, Ravel manages to leave the reader with a sense of hope without closing the door on any possibilities.  I wish she had been able to expand the ending a bit more.  It seemed almost to say  "OK, now here's a way to solve this mess, I'll leave it right here."  Disappointing perhaps, but then again, this young woman is never going to have her life wrapped up with a pretty bow, so leaving the future open is quite realistic.

Right now, this one is very near (if not AT) the top of my list for 2013.  Go get a copy.

Title: The Cat
Author: Edeet Ravel
Publisher: Pintail (2013), Edition: Reprint, Paperback, 240 pages
Genre: literary ficion
Subject: Dealing with grief
Setting: Northeastern Canada
Source: Courtesy copy from publisher
Why did I read this book now? It's being considered for the long-list of Maine Readers Choice Award for 2013 books.

And Richard......not one word from you about the animal who is the title. She plays such a cameo roll, that you can just pretend it's a salamander ---- just do read this book. It is definitely one you will find worth the read.

...but...but...the TITLE is so ewww catly. Ugh! Do I gotta?

yes RD.....you gotta...

#90 Through the Evil Days


Back in March 2011, I finished One was a Soldier - the book preceding this one in the series about Clare Ferguson and Russ Van Alstyne. After reading the closing line, I threw the previous book across the room yelling - "NO....you can't leave us hanging like this!"

30 plus months later, we are finally able to pick up the story.  All of us who are fans of this wonderful cast of characters have been holding our collective breath to see what's going to happen.  I really hate to give too much away so that readers who have not read the earlier books can have the fun of catching up before this one hits the bookshelves November 5th.

But it does pick up just where the last one ended.  So let's catch up a bit. Clare Ferguson is an Episcopal priest and an Army Air National Guard Helicopter pilot.  After she returned from a very stressful tour in Afghanistan,  her PTSD led to drug and alcohol problems, not to mention testy scenes with the love of her life, Russ Van Alstyne.  Russ, recently widowed Vietnam era vet, is Chief of Police of Millers Kill NY, where Clare's parish is located.  After a long and tumultuous courtship, they have recently married and are determined to have the honeymoon they about were unable to have during the previous book.  Russ has found the perfect place - about an hour out of town on a quiet lake, there is a rustic cabin for sale.  It has no electricity, no plumbing, no phone line, and a big frozen pond where he is going to teach Clare the fine art of ice fishing. He wants to buy it, and this is the perfect opportunity for them to check it out to see if this could become their hideaway retreat.  Clare reluctantly agrees to check it out. After all, they're both veterans of Army survival training, so what's the big deal about no power, running water or phone?

The big deal is that Clare is under pressure from her vestry to resign because of some transgressions (the cliff hangar from the last book) and Russ is facing the dismantling of his small town police force by the town council who claim the state police can provide coverage for much less money.  Neither tells the other about the impending axes about to fall.  Each figures that a week away from pressure will guide them to an answer.  Neither counts on the storm of the century isolating them so totally that the situation becomes extremely dangerous.  Neither counts on a seriously ill 7 year old being kidnapped back in Millers Kill while the police force is understaffed.  Neither counts on becoming entangled with a gang of drug dealers operating nearby.

The story of Hadley Knox and Kevin Flynn - members of the MK police force whose on again, off-again relationship is off at the beginning of the book- find themselves thrown back together as partners when they are assigned to lead the search team for the missing child.  This relationship has quietly developed over the last several books, and I found myself especially interested in seeing it blossom.  In fact, it is becoming as compelling as the Clare and Russ story.

Spencer-Fleming is a master at blending multiple story-lines, a fairly large cast of characters and a setting untamed enough to foster all kinds of evil doings.  This one does not disappoint.  It is fast paced, taking place over a short week that to the participants must have seemed like a year.  It has new characters arriving, old friends still there (although a few are more on the fringes with this one), and a very well plotted mystery with several "Wow,  where did that come from?" plot twists.

And now, in her usual white knuckle routine, Spencer-Fleming leaves us yelling at the end again.  "NO---don't leave it like this!!!"  Please Julia,  don't make us wait another 30 months.   At least we'll have time to read the whole series again.  They are definitely books that don't get old with re-reading.

Go pre-order.  If this isn't the best one yet, it's sure close to whatever is.

>107 tututhefirst: *sigh* yes, ma'am *sigh*

#91 The Light in the Ruins


 In the past, I haven't been a huge Chris Bohjalian fan, but this one has changed my mind.  The Light in the Ruins is a tightly written mystery story with two plots and two narrators.

There is the story of Italian partisans battling the Fascists in Tuscany, and of the Rosati family, demi-royals who lived on a huge estate with hundreds of acres of wine grapes and an ancient Etrucan burial ground and who were viewed by the partisans as collaborating with the Nazis.

Then there is the story of a  murder in Florence in 1955  (the first of several by a serial killer who is one of the narrators of the book.)  The police detective assigned to the case is Serafina, the first female detective ever to hold this position in Florence.  As it turns out, Serafina grew up near the Rosati family who now appear to be the target of this demented killer.

As Serafina tracks her prey, she must also relive her days as a partisan, including the agony suffered when she was critically burnt and left for dead.  The victims' family does not immediately recognize or acknowledge her, and she is drawn into the story of their cooperation with the Nazis in the hopes of maintaining their lives and property.

I found this tale fascinating:  the background and story of the struggles of the Italian people during WWII were eye-opening.  Although Bohjalian does not overwhelm us with tons of information, he manages to present enough to help the reader fix the situation in overall historical perspective, and to understand the sympathies both of the Partisans and the collaborators.

Background material aside, it is the unraveling of the story of Serafina that dominates.  Her gradual reawakening to what happened to her, to her understanding of how the Rosatis were involved in her past, and how her past holds the clues to solving the mysteries of the murders of two of the Rosati women.  Convoluted, intertwined, and thoroughly engaging, this story is a spectacular example of the art of writing historical mysteries that impart good history, solid plotting, interesting characters, and a gorgeous setting.

Title: The Light in the Ruins
Author: Chris Bohjalian
Publisher: Doubleday (2013), Edition: First Edition, Hardcover, 320 pages
Genre: Historial fiction
Subject: Italian collaboration with Nazis; murder
Setting: Florence, Tuscany Italy
Source: Review copy from publisher
Why did I read this book now? It's being considered for the long-list for the 2013 Maine Readers Choice Award

Lost my ticker password, so here's a new one for the upcoming autumn. I'll also be keeping the list here (msg #111) starting at book #92.

This may be the place to mention several that I've pearl ruled in the past month - some of these that are on the recommended for consideration list for Maine Readers Choice, were definitely NOT going to be this reader's choice. Others were ones that I picked up whilst browsing through the library or the online downloads (or Amazon freebies) Among them:

9. Solitude of Prime Numbers- UGH UGH UGH....I've got a degree in math, but this was so boring it brought tears to my eyes

10. Master Butchers Singing Club - grabbed this because Louise Erdrich is supposed to be a good writer and I needed a North Dakota book to fill in my Fifty States challenge, but I grabbed the audio. It was narrated by the author - bad bad bad. Not sure the book is bad, but the narration stunk. Will try in print later.

11. Widow of Port Seaton - self pub'd I let the author talk me into. In SERIOUS SERIOUS NEED OF Editing....maybe maybe maybe if it lost about 1/3 of it's verbiage and was re-printed in a more user friendly font and format....

12. Glass of blessings - grabbed an e-version because several of you said I should read Barbara Pym.....sorry just didn't grab me

13. Tenth of December I started out really liking this one, but then it got really old really fast. A bit too much verbal diarhhea.

14. And the Mountains Echoed - really wanted to like this one, but it just dragged dragged and dragged...I even tried it in audio. May go back to it later

15. Enon - another one I sorta hafta read but compared to Edeet Ravel's The Cat (same premise) it is garbage. Way too many words to say way too little.

Continuing from msg #48 with Books Read

92. Thunder Bay William Kent Krueger ★★★★
93. Sparta: A Novel by Roxana Robinson ★★★★★
94. A New Song by Jan Karon ★★★1/2
95. A common Lifeby Jan Karon ★★★
96. Blood and Beauty: the Borgias, A Novel by Sarah Dunant ★★★★★
97. Heretics and Heroes: Thomas Cahill ★★★★1/2
98. We Need New Names NoViolet Bulawayo 3.8 stars
99/ Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler ★★★★
100. The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert ★★★★1/2
101. By Stone, By Blade, by Fire by Kate Wilhelm ★★★★
102. Someone A Novel by Alice McDermott ★★★★1/2
103. Light in the Mountains by Jan Karon ★★★ 1/2
104. Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn ★★★★
105. Fin and Lady by Cathleen Schine ★★★★
106. A Dying Fall: A Ruth Galloway mystery by Elly Griffiths ★★★1/2
107. Food Rules by Michael Pollan ★★★1/2
108. The House Girl by Tara Conklin★★★★1/2
109. The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton★★★★1/2
110. The Things I Learnt About Love by Sarah Butler★★★★
111. Montalbano's First Case by Andrea Camilieri★★★1/2
112. Eleven Pipers Piping by C.C. Benison ★★★1/2
113. Necessary Lies by Diane Chamberlain ★★★★ 1/2

told you about Enon

I'd like to borrow Light in the Ruins eventually but not until I get to WWII historically, I'm just cresting to the turn of the 20th century.

Cheli - it will be here -- maybe I'll make you come get it. :-)

I wish I had a sister who loaned me such interesting books! Everything you recommended is going onto the wishlist. Keep up the good work, Tina! (I wonder if there is a Missouri Readers Choice Award? I wonder if they need "readers"?)

Tell us how you really feel Tina! LOL
Actually I really love how honest your thoughts are about books. It lets me know I can count on your reviews. I guess I will be looking for The Cat on next year's long list, eh?

Agreed -- honest words about books are most helpful.

The Light in the Ruins sounds good. Our library has it; I'll probably read it when September Series & Sequels and Halloween Reads are over. Sounds like a good November kind of book.

Terri...I think Light in the Ruins would be great anytime but it will be a great one to curl up with as the days get shorter, the weather gets colder, and you need something to take your mind off the upcoming holidays. Enjoy.

Most folks seem sorry to see summer go, and I am, too, in a way -- but it is lovely to curl up on a cool night with a hot cup of tea and a good book!

#92 Thunder Bay by William Kent Krueger


Just when I thought the Cork O'Connor series might be in danger of growing stale, WKK manages to give us a whole new storyline. This one held me right from the start, and without giving away the plot for those of you who are fans, we'll just say that Henry Meloux, Cork's 90 year old Indian mentor suddenly ask Cork to help him find his 73 year old son on whom he has never set eyes! So we get Henry's life, story and some wonderful Indian tales in the process.

At the same time, Cork is stressed over some boyfriend problems his teenaged daughter is having, and the second story line adds much to the telling.

It's a great series. Most can stand alone, but when read in order they really build nicely.

Someday I'll get to #2. His stories always sound so interesting.

Okay - I'm going to have to grab the Bohjalian book from the library sometime soon. If I'm lucky, it will be on the shelf when I'm working this weekend.

Well...I've spent several hours today with Maine RC books....both reading Sparta which is turning out to be a 5+ stars so far. I am totally bowled over by how well this woman has captured the character of this young man returned from war.

Anyway, for the past week, we've been dropping off and picking up books. Bob's Strike from the deep isn't on the NYT list, but sales are steady. And the good folks at Maine State keep depositing boxes of books for my reading enjoyment and discernment. In the past two weeks, I've gotten

Let Him Go by Larry Watson
The Explanation for Everything by Lauren Grodstein
Children of the Jacaranda Tree by Sahar Delijani
A Hundred Flowers by Gail Tsykiyama
Is This Tomorrow? by Caroline Leavitt
Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler
Call Me Zelda by Erika Robuck
Margot: A Novel by Jillian Cantor
Lexicon by Max Barry
A Dual Inheritance by Joanna Hershon
Songs of Willow Frost by Jamie Ford
The Translator by Nina Schuyler
The Other Typist by Suzanne Rindell
Sisterland by Curtis Sittenfeld
The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty
Blood & Beauty by Sarah Dunant
Love, Dishonor, Marry, Die, Cherish, Perish by David Rakoff
Tomorrow There will be Apricots by Jessica Soffer
The People in the Trees by Hanya Yanagihara
Bobcat and other stories by Rebecca Lee
The Rathbones by Janice Clark
All the Land to Hold Us by Rick Bass
fin & lady by Cathleen Sohine
Mary Coin by Marisa Silver
Lookaway, Lookaway by Wilton Barnhardt
The Affairs of Others by Amy Grace Loyd
Save Yourself by Kelly Braffet
Palisades Park by Alan Brennert
The Secret River by
The Son by Philipp Meyer
The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud

So I spent a few hours, after Mah Jongg sorting into boxes by priority of reading. The first box contains the ones I MUST READ, the rest are mine for the commenting if I choose to dig in. Once we all decide on the short list (sometime around Dec:??) I'll have to read those I haven't read before.

If anyone has read any of these, let me know if I should bump it to the top of the list.

I haven't read any of those, Tina, but I am very interested in Lexicon. I have heard it spoken of on a couple of book podcasts and it sounds fun.

#93 Sparta: A Novel


Last night, I finished a real hard cover print book which I read in about 48 hours. I very seldom have the physical strength to hold a book for that long, or the mental wiring to single task and sit still for that lengthy a stretch, but Sparta: A Novel by Roxanna Robinson BLEW. ME. AWAY. I could not put this one down. I did not want to read another book about the Iraq war. I did not want to read anything else grim, dark, or depressing. But since it was one of my required reads for Maine Readers' Choice, I dove in and told myself to get it over with.

I can't begin to get my thoughts ordered enough to write this one the review it deserves, but I can sing its praises to the heavens. Have no doubt-- this is a meaty book, with a subject matter that many of us find distasteful, but it is an exquisite piece of writing...no extra words, no fluff, but bold, brazen, heart-wrenching; it's a panic attack-producing introspective look at what is happening to an entire generation of this country's (and maybe the world's?) young military aged people who have gone off to serve their country with high hopes of changing the world, only to return to a world they don't know, don't understand, and a world that doesn't seem able to understand them or help them cope with the traumas they've endured. They may come home in pieces physically, or they may return looking intact, but they are all fractured indelibly from what they've done, what they've endured, what they've seen and heard and smelt and experienced.

The story is about Conrad Farrell - New England upper middle class classics major in college, enamored of the ancient Spartans and the purity of their thoughts, who decides after graduation to do "something real.. something that will make a difference" by accepting a commission in the US Marines. As a Marine leader, he is responsible for his men, and goes off to Iraq to watch and engage in the carnage that was Fallujah and surrounding area battles. When he returns after four years, he is irrevocably changed and unable to settle back into a world he no longer recognizes.
"You don't get it. I'd love to do this....Change. I can't. Something's not working. All you do is tear me apart. I'd like to be back here with you all, but I'm not. You don't get it. I'm not here. I'm not home. I'm still there." p. 348

His family (parents, brother, sister and girl-friend) are devastated when their efforts to understand are scorned, all offers of help are ignored or rejected, when they see him sinking further and deeper into non-functioning desperation and are forced to stand by helplessly. His inability to articulate his problems compounds the tragedy. The VA is not much help. (The book is set in 2006). His mother, a professional therapist, is particularly upset:

"I know what I'm supposed to do....I do it all the time as a therapist...but I can't do it with Con. I can't do it.....I'm not supposed to reach out to him. He doesn't like it. I can see that. If he were a client, I'd tell myself to stop....I'm too afraid. I can't leave him alone....What kind of a therapist! What kind of a mother! I can't stop." p. 340

It should be required reading in high school, in college, at our military's officer training academies and War Colleges, and by all who are in the unenviable position of treating these returning veterans both physically and mentally. Ultimately, it's not only an indictment of our mental health care system, but of our national caring system, our national conscience, and the conflicted values of leadership theory.

Ultimately it's also a book about hope, and love and caring, and never giving up.

Definitely going to be on my top 5 of the year list. GO GET IT. GO READ IT.

Tina. Stop this immediately. I've already got The Cat *ughughickptui* sitting here glowering at me. Sparta: A Novel too?! As for Let Him Go, it's a really wonderful read. I'm a Watson partisan. I start from "I will almost certainly like this." But this book is a delicious morsel!

Okay, save it for me.

RD....already had the Watson book high up on the pile.....he's one of my favorites thanks to a rec from you several years ago.

Tina - It is about time I delurked to express admiration for the 31 book recent haul which has some of my own targets therein and for your goodsense in not continuing with Enon. The fellow won the Pulitzer for Tinkers, what on earth were they thinking?!

Whoa. Sparta sounds pretty amazing. I wouldn't be a very good Classicist if I didn't mention that the name and the allusion the the ancient Greeks is absolutely apt: Homer's Odyssey and Sophocles' Philoctetes, just to name a couple of works out of many, deal with just this issue, which is clearly an age-old one and not unique to us or our times.

Yes Amber, you are spot on to point out the references. The title is very apt, and the author does a great job in the text of pulling in the many classical references. Just one more reason I was so blown away.

Great review! I also do not want to read another war book but you have convinced me that Sparta is a must-read.

Wow, Sparta: A Novel sounds incredible. I'm putting it near the top of my list.

A big thumbs up from me!!

Fabulous review of Sparta, Tina!

I did purchase The Rathbones because it is one of my ancestral families. We have Fin & Lady and Songs of Willow Frost at our library.

And I have been posting too much here recently. I took a whole day off last weekend because my baby boy flew up to relieve us of our old (1996) Jeep to take back to the mountains of the Blue Ridge where he and his fiancee have just moved. It was terrific to spend a whole day with him, and to converse with a child who is now a thinking, literate, adult. WOW~

Since he left, I've spent this week sorting through the latest shipments of books from the Maine Readers Choice Folks. We're up to 118 books altogether, and with cartons of Bob's books sitting here - dwindling down with steady sales - and now my 8 cartons of variously sorted books, it's beginning to look like an episode from HOARDERS.

Here's the latest list - I won't jinx myself by saying the last box has arrived?? The *** are the ones my team has to read, the others may or may not be required when the short list is decided in DEC? JAN? FEB?

Wash Margaret Wrinkle
The Gravity of Birds Tracy Guzeman
The Painted Girls Cathy Marie Buchanan - read it already - it won't make my cut
The Sound of Things Falling Juan Gabriel Vasquez
The Longings of Wayward Girls Karen Brown
Snow Hunters Paul Yoon
The Hired Man Aminatta Forna
The View from Penthouse B Elinor Lipman
Burial Rites:A Novel Hannah Kent
The Goldfinch Donna Tartt
The Valley of Amazement Amy Tan
Mrs. Poe Lynn Cullen
The Good Lord Bird James McBride
Harvest Jim Crace
The Last Summer of the Camperdowns Elizabeth Kelly
Last Car over the Sagamore Bridge Peter Orner
A guide to Being Born Ramona Ausubel
A Maid's version Daniel Woodrell
The Funeral Dress Susan Gregg Gilmore
***The Luminaries Eleanor Catton
***Life after Life Kate Atkinson - already finished
***We Need New Names NoViolet Bulawayo
***Fools Joan Silver
***The Panopticon Jenni Fagan
The Sound of Things Falling Juan Gabriel Vasquez
Gravity of Birds Tracy Guzeman
Wash Margaret Wrinkle
The View from Penthouse B Elinor Lipman
Snow Hunters: A Novel Paul Yoon
The Longings of Wayward Girls Karen Brown
***The Signature of All Things Elizabeth Gilbert - got this as an ebook.
Babayaga Toby Barlow
The Woman who Lost her Soul Bob Shacochis
His Wife leaves Him Steven Dixon
Unchangeable spots of leopards
The Childhood of Jesus J. M Coetze
Paris was the Place Susan Conley
The Obituary Writer: A Novel Ann Hood
Cinnamon and Gunpowder: A Novel Eli Brown
Bleeding Edge Thomas Pynchon
The Dark Road Ma Jian
A guide for the Perplexed Dara Horn
***Someone Alice McDermott
Archangel Andrea Barrett
***It's not Love, It's Just Paris Patricia Engel
***Ten Things I've Learnt About Love Sarah Butler
The Explanation for Everything by Lauren Grodstein
Children of the Jacaranda Tree Sahar Delijani
Is This Tomorrow Caroline Leavitt
***Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald Anne Therese Fowler

YIKES....

I pearled Blood of Heaven last night....wasn't singing to me.

Forgot to mention that the first Maine Reader's Choice Award winner will be announced at the opening of the annual Bangor Book Festival tomorrow night. the Finalists were
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
A Land more Kind than Home by Wiley Cash
and
Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers

We've been sworn to secrecy until the grand announcement, but for being good little boys and girls and behaving nicely, we get to go to the big reception for free!

Cathy Pelletier (who wrote The One-Way Bridge) is the key-note speaker. I'll actually get to meet two of my reading teammates in person, so it looks like it will be a fun day.

I'll let you know who wins!

I don't know how you decide which to read first out of all those books, except that you've got one by Daniel Woodrell. Over in the Missouri Readers Group, he is one of our favorites. I'd start with him, if it were me.

Wow!! Talk about a big TBR stack. How will you ever choose?

Maybe I should explain how I "choose" what to read from this humongous (but mostly gorgeous) pile:

The committee to sort the long list (currently at 125 nominees) consists of 20 people divided into 5 teams. As of this evening, each team has been "assigned" 25 books from which we may suggest to the large committee those that we feel are worthy of the short list. We had a meeting tonight (over a few drinks and yum yums at the Bangor Sea Doggie before going to the Awards ceremony) and decided that we are looking for those books that not only produce AHA!! moments for us, but will most likely produce that same reaction in Maine readers. Hence if a team says none of its 25 books is worthy, then that bunch will probably get passed over.

OTOH, if a group says hey here's our top 2, but we really think you should also take a look at these other 2 or 3 also, then those will be thrown in. We're hoping to get the "short list (10-15 at most)" nailed down by the end of Feb 2014.
Then the entire committee will read ALL the 10-15 on the short list, vote and come up with the top 3-5 for the readers to vote on.

So right now I'm concentrating on the ones assigned to my Team (they are tagged MRC13, T-4 in my library.

Sandy...thanks for the lead tho on the Daniel Woodrell book The Maid's Version. I have that one in the box I definitely plan to read after I finish "my" list.

And the winner of the 2013 Maine Readers Choice Award is:
A Land More Kind Than Home by Wiley Cash

I am thrilled....it definitely got my vote!!

Here's the press release:

BANGOR, Maine-The Maine Readers' Choice Award Committee is pleased to announce the winner for the inaugural Maine Readers' Choice Award. The 2013 Award recipient is Wiley Cash for his debut novel, A Land More Kind Than Home. The award was announced at the opening ceremony of the Bangor Book Festival on October 4.
While Mr. Cash could not be present for the announcement he shared this sentiment. "There is no way I can express the shock I felt when I was notified that I'd won the Maine Readers' Choice Award. My book was in incredible company with GONE GIRL and THE YELLOW BIRDS. I have no idea how I was so fortunate to be invited to that party, but I was honored to be there. To be recognized by librarians and library patrons means a lot to someone who grew up in the public library system. Thank you."

Of course, when we met tonite, our momma mentor Valerie O. (the chairman of the MRCA committee) mentioned that she was so glad we were there because then she didn't have to ship books to us...."just swing by my car out in the parking lot, I've got a box for each of you." She promises that this should be the last of them (HAH!!!) So here's what I got tonite....(those that are my assignments are ***'d)

The Enchanted Life Rhonda Riley
Orphan Train Christina Baker Kline
The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow Rita Leganski
Whistling Past the Graveyard by Susan Crandall
Maya's Notebook Isabel Allende
The Ghost Bride Yangsze Choo
Help for the Haunted John Searles
***The House Girl Tara Conklin
***The Butterfly Sister Amy Gail Hansen
The Ocean at The End of The LaneNeil Gaiman
Visitation Street Ivy Pochoda
***We Are Water Wally Lamb
big brother Lionel Shriver

I'm also re-thinking a couple that I tossed aside based on discussions I had with two of my team members tonite. Methinks we need some snow here soon, so I can retreat w/o guilt to my reading chair.

I did get a big chunk of Blood and Beauty done on the almost 4 hour R/T to bangor (altho I confess to several pauses on the audio book to monitor the Sox game.)

Off to beddie bye .... have to work at the bibliotech tomorrow.

You've definitely got some popular authors there. I would have thought that the Maine Readers Award would have been limited to authors with a Maine connection (resident or setting), but it appears it is much broader from the lists that you've been posting. I may just not recognize some of these (such as Isabel Allende) as having a Maine connection, but it does look like you've got some interesting choices.

Would you please put the big winner on my pile?
And after you finish it, The Ocean at the end of the Lane.

>142 thornton37814: Lori.. The Maine Readers Choice is NOT a program for Maine authors. The aim is to expose Maine's readers to as broad a spectrum of good solid literary fiction as we can. The parameters are fiction published in the US during the year we are judging. This therefore gets us all more aware of wonderful authors we might have otherwise missed. I know it certainly has enriched the lives of my little library (where most of these volumes will eventually land). My reading group is ga-ga over this richness.

Cheli yes I'll put the Gaiman book on the pile for next time we meet up.

So guess I'd better get myself a copy of a land more kind than home, eh?

Reba....I haven't yet found anyone with a negative feeling about the book.

I already have that book on my Ever-Expanding List. Now maybe I should nudge it further toward the top of the list?

Tina ma amie, of the T-4 tagged books you haven't read yet, I've read We Need New Names and found it ~meh~ at best...by p30, you know the joke and need no further iterations of it to know the ending. The voice was...the best way...um. "Blah" is what I'm trying not to say.

I champ at the bit for The Luminaries to come to me. Illicitly, I fear, but to me it will come.

RD--Luminaries is also one that looked moh bettah to me than some of the others. Thanks for the opinion on we need new names. If I don't like it, I won't feel so guilty throwing (or plopping it) aside. If it catches my fancy, I'll just chalk it up to difference of insight.

I've been listening and reading Blood and Beauty - a good read, and one I'm going to finish, altho it's not in the AHA level...probably will get a solid 3.8-4 stars. It's been interesting to read at this point, since I just finished Thomas Cahill's latest Hinge of History - Heretics and Heroes: Ego in the Renaissance and Reformation a large chunk of which features the Borgia/Medici crowd.

I picked up tonite a small little tome on my list : Fools by Joan Sibley. I can't tell if it is an Olive Kitteridge style string of stories, or a group of themed but separate ones, but it does look intriguing and not so overwhelming at this point.

insomnia?

Noticed that everytime I try the touchstone for the Thomas Cahill book, "HERETICS AND HEROES...blah blah blah" it doesn't work, but it shows up in the (others) list. HOWEVER....

The LT listing for this has the title as "Heretics and Heroes: Ego in the Renaissance and the Reformation" while the cover of the galley proof I got from NanTalese (Doubleday) shows "Heretics and Heroes: How Renaissance Artists and Reformation Priests Created Our World".

All the bibliographic records I am finding are showing this latter title. So I suppose LT is going to have to fix the touchstone sooner or later.

IMHO, while the book itself is quite well done, and very interesting, the first title is far more fitting. But that's only MHO...sometime soon I'll get the review done since the pub date is Oct 29 and I hounded Doubleday enough for 2 years to get the galley so I'd best produce a review. LOL

ANYWAY

All that blather was a brain blip from my original intention to say that my reading has slowed -- too many ponderous decisions and bookss-- but that I've updated the list in msg#111

63 books added in October is impressive by any standards and certainly begs admission to the group of chronic accumulators (I'm scared to say hoarders) that would include myself, Luci, Linda (whisper) and Paul S to name a small few!

Oh man oh man Tina! What an embarrassment of riches you have in new books to read for the 2014 long list.

A Land More Kind Than Home was my least favorite of the three finalists for the 2013 award. However, that being said, it was still a compelling and well-written book.

I will say that as a Maine reader, this award has definitely enriched my life already. I read several books throughout August and September because they were on the 2013 lists that I never would have picked up otherwise. I plan on trying to read many of the books that wind up on the 2014 long list...and I am quite excited by the prospect.

Thanks Tina for all your hard work on this project and that extends to all of you who do the hard work of reading the books and coming up with the lists.

My only regret is that I missed the Book Festival AGAIN. Maybe next year.....

Heidi...thanks so much for your encouragement. Those of us who have this horribly onerous task (yeah....hurt me hurt me) really appreciate your thoughts. The feedback we are getting is extremely positive and we're very excited about having a good short list to present early next year.

#96 Blood and Beauty


In the historical epilogue to this lush novel author Sarah Dunant says

"More than many in history, the Borgias have suffered from an excess of bad press. While their behavior--personal and political--was often brutal and corrupt, they lived in brutal and corrupt times; and the thirst for diplomatic gossip and scandal, along with undoubted prejudice against their Spanish nationality, played its part in embellishing what was already a colorful story. Once the slander was abroad, much of it was incorporated into the historical record without being challenged. Spin, it seems, was a political art long before the modern word was introduced.

Subtitled, The Borgias, A Novel, this book is part of my reading list for consideration for the Maine Readers Choice Award.  It certainly is a worthy entry into the ring. While I had heard of the Borgias and their corruption over the years, I don't think I'd ever read anything that presented the story of this infamous family in such detail.  Certainly authors have leeway when writing fiction, and Dunant makes no claim to have us see this as a biography.  She has steeped herself in the history of the era, becoming as familiar as possible with source material, both fictional and archival.  Her previous books, such as Birth of Venus, In the Company of the Courtesan, and Sacred Hearts, have shown her mastery of the language, the customs, the politics and the scenery of the era but with fictional characters.  In this one, she tackles historical characters, treading carefully among the information available to present us with a plausible rendition of this well-known and oft-villified family.

Pope Alexander VI, born Rodrigo Borgia, ascends the throne of Peter after some intense backstage maneuvering.  He promptly makes his illegitimate son Cesare a cardinal at the age of 19, and begins marrying off his other children to various royal partners to form alliances to bolster his political ambitions.  This is a time when Italy was still not a unified country, existing instead as series of city-states, when the Holy Roman Empire was gradually disintegrating, when Spain's power was on the rise.  A Spaniard by birth, Alexander had to tread carefully through the politics of Italy, using the power of his office, as well as his love for his family to enhance his power, his wealth, and his ego.

His son Cesare, is a power hungry young man, well loved by all the ladies, unscrupulous in his relations with both church and state.  The world has been fed stories about Cesare's relationship with his sister Lucrezia, the Pope's only and very beloved daughter.  Dunant treats this relationship carefully, never allowing the undocumented rumors to overtake other possibilities.  Certainly the two were close, but here they are portrayed as being very politically astute siblings who are under the tight rein of their father the Pope. While they may have been pawns and playthings, the author is careful to also let us see the power these women held in the male dominated arena.

Dunant gives us a richly drawn portrait of the Pope, his off-spring, his enemies, his mistresses and relations, his offspring, his warts, his dealings with foreign countries, all the while showing us possibilities of humanity not often attributed to this family.  In addition, the customs, the fashions, and the history of the period are intricately described, taking the reader back to a time of rich but vile corruption, political perfidy, and horrifying treachery.

Historical fiction doesn't get much better than this. This is definitely Dunant's best work.  I read somewhere that there may be a sequel in the offing.  Let's hope so.  There's much more to this story that deserves a well-researched, objective, and humane look.

I also sampled a significant part of this one in audio.  Narrator Edoardo Ballerini does a stellar job of giving us the characters in different voices, accents, and attitudes.  The print copy includes an excellent family tree and map of the different political entities of the era, a definite plus for those of us needing a history refresher.

Title: Blood and Beauty:The Borgias, A Novel
Author: Sarah Dunant
Publisher: Random House (2013), Edition: First Edition, Hardcover, 528 pages Genre: Historical fiction
Subject: The Borgia Family
Setting: Italy at the turn of the 15th century
Source: review copy from the publisher

This one's a keeper...it's beautiful, it's exciting, it's a sink into to come up only to fill the teapot read. Definitely worthy of going to the next level of the competition. I'd liken it to Hilary Mantel's, but I like this one much better.

Another one for my pile, please.

Cheli....noted...

That sounds like a terrific read. Dunant packed a lot into 528pp!

#97 Heretics and Heroes: How Renaissance Artists and Reformation Priests Created Our World

The Hinges of History series has been one of my favorites since the first volume "How the Irish Saved Civilization" was given to me as a gift back in 1995. Since then, I've eagerly awaited a chance to dive into each new volume in the series. When Knopf Doubleday offered me a chance to review this one, I didn't hesitate to accept. I've had the galley since July, and have taken my time reading it, allowing Cahill's ideas and insights to bubble up, take form, and then slide into place in my world view of history.

Here's how the publisher blurbs the book:

In Volume VI of his acclaimed Hinges of History series, Thomas Cahill guides us through the thrilling period of Renaissance and Reformation (late fourteenth to early seventeenth centuries), so full of innovation and cultural change that the Western world would not experience its like again until the twentieth century. Beginning with the continent-wide disaster of the Black Plague, Cahill traces the many innovations in European thought and experience that served both the new humanism of the Renaissance and the seemingly abrupt religious alterations of the increasingly radical Reformation. This is an age of the most sublime artistic and scientific adventure, but also of newly powerful princes and armies, and of newly found courage, as many thousands refuse to bow their heads to the religious pieties of the past.  It is an era of newly discovered continents and previously unknown peoples.  More than anything, it is a time of individuality in which a whole culture must achieve a new balance, if the West is to continue.  

My impressions:

While he maintains a scholarly approach to the subject, Cahill writes in a conversational tone that immediately helps the reader settle into  the setting. We are simultaneously treated to a well-researched treatise on art, politics, and religion, their practices and motivations, ancient influences and contemporary thought  along with Cahill's insightful and often imaginative (dare I say sometimes even amusing?) interpretations. He examines poetry (and poets), drama (and playwrights), essayists (and writers), religious treatises (and the clergy and academics who wrote them), and military strategies and tactics (along with the popes, generals, and soldiers responsible), drawing out implications and conclusions I certainly would never have found on my own, no matter how much reading I did.

He uses his prelude entitled "Philosophical Tennis through the Ages," where he presents a very brief essay on the connections between the tag teams (my term not Cahill's) of Plato and Aristotle, Augustine and Thomas Aquinas, to set the stage for the enormous intellectual and cultural changes about to unfold in the world just emerging from the Middle Ages into the light of the Renaissance. He follows this with a discussion of Columbus, international trade, the growth of empires, and the budding of the Renaissance in Florence.

Next, he turns to the world of Renaissance artists expounding on the shift from Medieval piety to a more open appreciation of humanism. The finished book is planned to feature over 62 illustrative plates (I presume in color similar to the previous volume). However, my galley copy did not include these illustrations so it is difficult for me to comment on how well his explanations and descriptions confirm his conclusions. I have visited Florence and Rome, and had the opportunity to personally view about 10 of those works of art that I can specifically remember. I only wish I had had this book with me - I suspect I would have come away with a much deeper appreciation of what I was seeing! The book (and galley) also features 22 black and white illustrations that are well placed to demonstrate his points.

The final sections on the Reformation are my personal favorites. Having grown up in a household with one Roman Catholic and one Lutheran parent, I got a glimpse of religious belief, but my Catholic school background did not include any expanded discussion of Martin Luther other than to say that he was the blackguard who broke away from the church and founded the Lutherans. Cahill traces the beginnings of the reformation from before Luther beginning with a look at Erasmus and continues with a fairly developed picture of the condition of the politics of the day that drove the excesses Luther railed against. 

Then in a delightful Intermission entitled "Il Buono, Il Brutto, Il Cattivo" (the Good, the Bad and the Ugly) A Portfolio of Egos"   he reiterates the central theme:

“As we, the children of the West, look back across our history, we can only be dismayed by the violent clashes that occurred in the period we are now considering.  There is a scholarly theory (as well as a popular variant of it) that monotheism itself is responsible for the violence, because the worship of one God—by Jews from ancient times, by Christians from the time of Constantine forward when they gained political power, and by Muslims almost from their inception—necessarily encourages intolerance of other beliefs.” (p. 187)

He recounts from Columbus expanding the horizons of the known world with a vision of what could be, from the artists expanding the horizons of humanity's vision of itself and branches out to other aspects of the time with the ugliness of perverted religious ideas and power grabs in Holy Roman Empire and beyond.  Here we get a taste of additional players in the reformation arena, and the intertwining of politics and religion that have become the hallmark of cultural clashes that continue to this day.

Through the rest of the book, he highlights how the invention of moveable type and the spread of printed material, along with the increased education and literacy of the populace, and the translation of written texts (particularly the Bible) played a significant role in setting the stage for future changes to come at an ever increasing pace.

Cahill does not interrupt the flow of his conversation with endless footnotes.  References are discretely side-barred in an exceptionally eye-pleasing format. There are extensive bibliographic notes at the end of the book, but even these are in an informal format that is more likely to draw the reader to further exploring than an academically rigorous list of carefully formatted "mumbledy- jumble".

Although I am a huge fan of audio books, this is one book that I don't think would work in that format.  It is a visual delight (and I'm sure will be even more so with the addition of the color plates).  As an e-book, it would really only work on a color reader, tablet, or screen.

Cahill's words are thought-provoking.  The entire work is a feast for the brain and the senses.  I can't wait until it comes out on October 29th because this is one I'm ordering for my personal library. And then...I'm going to start the whole series again from the beginning.  It's been too long between volumes.  A final volume is planned, but no title or pub date has been announced.  Let's hope it doesn't take as long as this one.

Title: Heretics and Heroes: How Renaissance Artists and Reformation Priests Created Our World
Author: Thomas Cahill
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group (Nan A. Talese imprint) 2013
Genre: History
Subject: Art, religion, politics, history of 13th through the mid 17th centuries
Setting: Europe 1282-1669
Series: Hinges of History, volume VI
Source: Bound galley from the publisher
Why did I read this book now? It's a series I enjoy and the publisher asked me to do a review.

This was an especially interesting read coming just before I finished up my previous Blood and Beauty - both set in approximately the same period of history, and both dealt extensively with papal politics. Quite a duo to put on the same reading list.

For those of you running a PC with Windows, 7 , 8 or Vista try the new desktop theme at http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/beauty-of-books-download-theme.

Tis lovely my sweeties....

I've never read Cahill but I note that he's coming to my area to give a talk in upcoming weeks so I'm going to try to get there to hear him. This one sounds excellent.

That really is a beautiful site. It says "desktop theme" so I wonder if I can't download it and have it replace my current desktop but don't know how.

It brought back wonderful memories. I lived in Dublin in 1982 abd 83 and I used to go to the library at Trinity to read and just enjoy the beauty of the place.

I lied.....the theme doesn't work on VISTA. If you have Windows 7, just
put your mouse in the center of the desk top,
right click
choose Personalize
then in the theme section, look for more themes online
type in Beauty of books
download
save your theme.

I haven't done my Windows 8 computer yet.....but essentially you are personalizing your desktop, so just load away.

That explains it ... I'm on Vista.

I love it! thanks...

The book about the Renaissance artists and Reformation priests sounds interesting. I don't think I want to read it right now, but I'll try to keep it in mind. I know Reformation Day is coming up October 31, but I don't think I'll be ready for it by then either.

Continuing from msg #16.

I'm plowing through the Maine list, and have abandoned

16. The Rathbones by Janice Clark. I'm not even sure I can tell much about this - even tried it in audio, but just couldn't latch on. If it somehow makes the short list (and that's not happening since the short list nomination for this one would have to come from my group) then I'll go back and try to read the whole thing.

I'm not a gothic mystery kinda person and I think this is what this supposed to be, but the voice, (both written and spoken), the setting, all were grating, and not defined enough to give me anything to grab onto. This may be one of those books that needs uninterrupted time, and a positive expectation. I tried to give it the time, and the attention, and I certainly had no great expectations, good or bad - I specifically did NOT read the advance blurb since this was a "required" book for me. All well....

17. Red Knife a William Kent Krueger - I'm not sure if I've Od'd on these, but I was really having trouble following who was who and what the problem was, so I've put it aside and will come back to it in a few months. I don't want to sour my perception of a great series just because my brain was having a giant synapse breakdown or whatever...

18. Fools by Joan Silber. Another Maine read....short stories. About Anarchists in the 1940s, features Dorothy Day as one of the characters. The rest of the bunch don't grab me, their stores are all related, but sorry....they're boring, and the author's not getting me interested enough in their lives to drag myself through the remaining four stories. Maybe later.....

EGADS!!! I almost forgot......I also finished the audio version of How the Light gets in by Empress Louise......and OMG - it's even better in audio, and it's even better the 2nd time around. I may have to read this about seventy-eleven times before I tire of it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Onward. I'm currently reading
Z: A novel (one of my "requireds") and finding it much more enjoyable than I expected (I'm not an F.Scott Fitzgerald fan).

Ella Minnow Pea - a re-read for book club next week. I loved this book when I first read it, and am finding it even more enjoyable this time around - it is certainly much deeper than it's given credit for. I can't wait to see what our reading group thinks.

The Signature of All Things - another Maine book. I'm not a fan of Eliz Gilbert, but this one is really changing my mind. I'm loving it!

In fact these current have me so enthralled that all the Cork O'Connor and Fr. Kavanaugh comfort reads I stacked up, are falling into the background.

Gotta go do some more reading before the SOX appear tonite. A Paula Brunetti din din is soaking up the wine in the oven - spetzatini di vitello con melanzane should be even better with the mixed sauteed funghi I just threw in. Will serve the whole stew over some spinach fettucini. TA TA

Tina> I'm sorry to hear The Rathbones wasn't good. I purchased it pre-order because when I first heard about it, I thought it was based on one of my ancestors (or distant uncles). Although I thought it was fictitious to an extent, I thought it was based on real life to a certain extent. The more I've heard about it, the less convinced I've been that it was based on any real life family members or that it is something I'll enjoy. I'll probably still give it a try, but your review makes me despair that I ever heard about it to pre-order it.

The Signature of All Things sounds amazing. I did not love Eat, Pray, Love but Signature sounds right up my alley so I added it straight to my WL.

I am looking forward to watching our Sox tonight too. I just wish they weren't playing so late.

>170 thornton37814: Lori - I'm sorry if I turned you off The Rathbones too early. It just didn't seem right for me, but it may very well work for you. I'll be interested to hear your thoughts when you get to it.

Are you going to lend me How The Light Gets In?

I don't have the final book....only my signed ARC which I think will stay here at Red Oak Lane.

understandable

Wow, Tina, high praise for How the Light Gets In! I'm going to try to resist for another couple of weeks and enjoy the anticipation. (But it is sitting there on my "next up" table winking at me.)

Hmmm....seems Richard and I have a huge disparity in our assessment of We Need New Names. He obviously dislikes it enough to spew invective for several hundred words. I almost passed on reading this one because of his discourse (it's on thread # 23 should you have missed it.) However, since I couldn't quite figure why all the rancor, I decided not to try and to approach the book with a clear mind and read it as one of my "assignments" for the Maine Readers Choice award. Did it meet the requirements of that? Yes. Did I find it compelling enough to advance it to the next round - maybe. It is certainly IMHO a compelling read, one that grabbed me and held me. I certainly didn't have negative views. and since I don't know what the criteria are for the Booker prize (and I'm too damn tired right now to go look them up), I can't assess RIchard's rage at the book being considered for that honor.

I do know that in the past, I've often had my own personal differences about various books that appear on the lists for various awards. For example, the National Book Award short/long list was announced today. As part of my reading for the MRC panel, I've had to endure Tenth of December (short list) and Fools (long list) - neither of which grabbed me enough to even be able to finish them, far less recommend they make our final short list. Each of this semi-connected string of stories started well enough, but it seemed to me that the authors quickly ran out of steam after about the 2.5 story mark. After that, they both lost me.

I had no such reaction to Ms. Bulawayo = I was grabbed, repulsed, horrified, entranced, and immersed from the beginning to the end. Did I like the subject matter? NO. Did I like the characters - not particularly, but neither did I dislike them - and I certainly, unlike RIchard, didn't see this as any kind of polemic about gendered POV.

Ain't reading grand? Two people (or two hundred) can read the same book and each come away with an entirely different appreciation/perspective or ax to grind.

Some day I'll write a review. On to more reading...

But we agree wholeheartedly on Tenth of December! In fact, there isn't one single work of fiction on the NBA list that I want to read.

I did like the look of all the non-fiction candidates, though.

Richard....I too am thinking of loading my Christmas wish list with the Non-fiction items. One bad thing about being on this Readers Choice panel is that I'm mired in Literary Fiction. There is so much good other stuff (yes...even cozies) that I need to mix into my reading life or I fear my ability to enjoy/judge the lit fic becomes really stilted.

I'm susceptible to the "I can't believe I ate the whooooole thing" syndrome, too. Too much of a thing? Avoid thing for a long while. (I'm still avoiding marshmallows 47 years after making myself ill on them.)

Worse, a glut of Genre X causes me to see examples of it in a very jaundiced light.

Thank you both for sharing your opinions here! Civil discourse when we don't agree on a thing.....how refreshing!

Keep forgetting the password for my ticker, so since I have to do a new one anyway, and since it's really feeling like wintah these days, here's my latest. I usually do a new thread as we turn the quarter, but I think I may have enough room to get to the end of the year right here. We'll see..........

Whoa.....blow my socks off! While I was refreshing my memory to write my report for We need new Names I stumbled onto the author (NoViolet Bulawayo)'s blog. Her entry last week Country-gaming at the Beach was telling and astute. Whether you liked her book or not, the post is an eye-opener.

#98 We Need New Names


NoViolet Bulawyo's debut novel landed her on the short list of finalists for the 2013 Man Booker prize.  It also landed on the list for consideration for the 2013 Maine Readers Choice award. We Need New Names is a fictional account that has large elements of autobiography.  Told in the first person of a young girl named  Darling whose wonderful assortment of family and friends in her native Zimbabwe include Bastard, Chipo, Godknows, and her grandma Mother of Bones.  The preacher, Prophet Revelations Bitchington Mborro, proclaims from the top of a steep climb his flock must endure every sabbath before they can enjoy (or endure?) his prosyletizing posturing.  She paints a very realistic picture of life in Rhodesia (later Zimbabwe) and the pain the birth pangs of revolution imparted to everyday citizens: the hunger, the lack of privacy, lack of sanitation and education opportunities, and the disappearance of male family members who leave to go to work in the gold mines, often to return bringing no money but "the sickness" instead.

In the second part of the story, Darling manages to go to America where an aunt has agreed to sponsor her for a student visa in Detroit.  Her description of her first experience of snow is just one example of her exquisite descriptive abilities.  A sample from the chapter DestroyedMichygen:

What you will see if you come here (America) ...is the snow. Snow on the leafless trees, snow on the cars, snow on the roads, snow on the yards, snow on the roofs---snow, just snow covering everything like sand. It is as white as clean teeth, and is also, very, very cold.  It is a greedy monster too, the snow, because just look how it has swallowed everything;  where is the ground now? Where are the flowers? The grass? The stones?  The leaves? The ants?...As for the coldness, I have never seen it like this. I mean coldness that makes like it wants to kill you, like it's telling you, with its snow, that you should go back to where you came from. p.150

Is this one compelling enough to advance it to the next round? Maybe. It is certainly IMHO a compelling read, one that grabbed me and held me. In the end, it will depend on whether others are equally or more compelling. Ms. Bulawayo certainly deserves a good hard look.  I was grabbed, repulsed, horrified, entranced, amused and immersed from the beginning to the end. Did I like the subject matter? NO. Did I like the characters - not particularly, but neither did I dislike them.  Some are actually eccentric enough to be loveable.  This is a coming of age story that tells us not just the discouragements of her birthplace, but her disappointments when expectations of America don't quite fit her mind's picture.  As such, the brutality fits the realism of Darling's life.

Another note.  I also listened to large portions of this in audio format.  Narrator Robin Miles' melodic rendition of the dialect and names greatly enhanced my enjoyment of this story.  This is definitely an author to look for in the future. Many thanks to Reagan Arthur/Little Brown for making this review copy available.

Title: We Need New Names
Author: NoViolet Bulawayo (novioletbulawayo.com)
Audio Version Narrator: Robin Miles 
Publisher: Little Brown & Company, New York, 290 pages
Genre: literary fiction
Subject: coming of age in Zimbabwe
Setting: Zimbabwe, Detroit Michigan
Source: review copy from the publisher
Why did I read this book now? It's on the long-long list for the MRCA.

You know we disagree on this book's merits, Tina, but the blog post is indeed a good and powerful piece. I hope the author's next book will be more like that, less like this book.

Another definite consideration for jumping to next level of Maine Readers Choice Someone A Novel by Alice McDermott. Review forthcoming some day, but suffice it to say, this lady can take an absolutely ordinary woman, put her in a dull and lackluster setting, throw in a handful of nondescript characters and spin pure gold as the story of her life. Somewhat slow starting, but at only 231 pages, definitely worth the time spent.

Edited to correct touchstone.....please tell me how a touchstone for this book can point to The curious incident of the dog????

Onto the wish list...

I'm thinking about getting McDermott's book for my mom for Christmas. It looked like one she would enjoy. Glad to hear that you enjoyed it!

Shameless pimping follows.......

Bob's book Strike from the Deep was the featured book of the week in the Maritime Executive last week. In honor of veteran's day, the book will be featured as a Kindle Freebie Nov 8-10, so toodle on over and nab a copy. No Kindle needed...you can read on your whatever devices. If you do get a chance to read, reviews would be most welcome.

If you've seen the Tom Hanks movie and liked it, you'd love this one -- sorta similar with submarines and bad Russian guys thrown in.

99 Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler ★★★
100. The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert ★★★★1/2
101. By Stone, By Blade, by Fire by Kate Wilhelm ★★★★
102. Someone A Novel by Alice McDermott ★★★★1/2
103. Light in the Mountains by Jan Karon ★★★ 1/2
104. Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn ★★★★1/2
105. Fin and Lady by Cathleen Schine ★★★★

No time for reviews but some snapshots are due:

99. Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald A good solid 4 star - grabbed me much more than I expected. Learned lots, and had a great empathy for Zelda when I finished. Well done, well researched, very nicely organized, and a good framework for a histo-fictional-bio.

100. The Signature of All Things Definitely one of my considerations for going to the next round. All the elements were there for me NOT to like it, but in fact, I found it compelling. Botany combined with bio, combined with travel, great character development, long but not much could or should have been cut.

101. By Stone, byBlade, by Fire One of Kate Wilhelm's best. I love this series, and this one continues the Barbara Holloway tradition of taking on lost causes, finding new friends, and making us sit forward in our chairs waiting for just one more witness to blow the whole case open.

102. Someone: A Novel Alice McDermott certainly deserved a National Book award for this one. Short, sparse, spectacular. Would make a great christmas present.

103. Light in the Mountains Another comfort food for an overworked brain. Concluded my re-read of the whole Mitford series. Wish there could be more of these because her new and semi-continuing Fr. Tim series isn't nearly as fun.

104. Ella Minnow Pea This one was a re-read for book club. We unanimously voted that this book should be re-read every year in celebration of banned books week, and should be the poster child for any anti-censorship campaigns (listening RD?). A seriously underrated book.

105. Fin and Lady A surprise - one of my required MRC long list books. Slow take off, but found that once launched, I couldn't put it down. Quietly spell-binding. Not a barn burner, but deep, multi-dimensional character development driving a mundane plot.

Thanks for the tip about Bob's book, Tina. I've picked up a copy.

Enjoy Linda....can't wait to hear what you think.

I also picked up Bob's book for my Kindle. Looking forward to checking it out!

I wanted to let you know I got the entire long list from the MRC from the blog post and have worked my way through it highlighting the ones I think I'd like to try. I'm hopeful that I will be able to get most of them at my library or through interlibrary loan. I'm strangely very excited by the prospect of working my way through the list!

#100 The Signature of All Things

Title: The Signature of All Things
Author: Elizabeth Gilbert
Publisher: Viking Adult, 2013, e-galley
Genre: Historical Fiction  
Subject: Women's roles, botany  
Setting: England, high seas, South Pacific, Philadelphia PA  
Source: e-galley from the publisher  
Why did I read this book now? Reviewing for consideration for the Maine Readers' Choice Award.

This lovely book has been sitting in my "awaiting reviews" queue for almost a month. Although I have not been a big fan of previous Elizabeth Gilbert books, this one changed my mind. Her gentle, well-researched, and charming story of Alma Whittaker gives us a clear and perceptive look into the Age of Enlightenment and its interest in botany and its attitudes toward women. Alma is well-educated and shows us the world of gardening, plants, art, publishing, and exotic flora world-wide.

Alma's character is one that invites us to look at  early 19th century women in a new light. There are also other women of note in the story: her mother Beatrix, who is portrayed as a strong women with many talents, well educated and speaking several languages, but who is still often subservient to her husband, and who does not show her daughter any warmth or what we think of as motherly nurturing. She is raising a future botanist, a successor to herself (as it turns out) and is determined not to allow any feminine "weaknesses" to emerge in her daughter. There is Alma's adopted sister Prudence, raised in the same mold as Alma, and also not receiving (or giving) any warmth or friendship towards her sister. In the background is her mother's maid, Hanneke, who is always there to provide what little warmth Alma can expect from life, w.hile still maintaining her mistress Beatrix' stiff upper lip.

Her father, Henry Wittaker, is self-made man who has emigrated to American in 1776 after sailing the world with Captain James Cook.  Henry is a strong and central character throughout the story. In fact, Gilbert sees him as so significant that she devotes the first four chapters of the book to filling in his background and life motivations to show how they influenced his daughter's upbringing.

From the first though, the reader is drawn to Alma. She's not beautiful but she's brilliant, talented, stubborn, inquisitive, and determined to learn as much about the world of botany as she can. As she goes through life, she marries, separates from her husband, finds her true calling the in the world of mosses, cares for her widowed father, and finally, sails the world in search of her heart's dream. It's high drama, but every bit of it is believable. It's scientifically detailed, but it's gripping and easy to understand and enjoy. It's a romance, but it's certainly no bodice-ripper. It's historical fiction, and as such, it serves up a delicious slice of life during the age of high seas adventures, far-off lands, and life before the industrial revolution.

As I was finishing my draft of this review, our local TV station  - WCSH6 in Portland Maine - had an interview with Elizabeth Gilbert, where she describes the book as "Pride and Prejudice" meets "Master and Commander."  On their website they posted the "share" code for all to see. (I apologize for the 10 second commercial at the beginning of the clip.) It was a fun interview recapturing the charm I felt reading the book. It's a read I'm more than glad I finished, and one which I'm looking forward to reading again in the future. The e-galley was given to me by the publisher, Viking Adult, for review as one of the long listed books for the Maine Readers Choice Awards. It is certainly one I'm considering for nomination to the short list.

If you're interested in the interview, here's the link to the TV page

or you can see it at the end of my review on Tutu's Blog

Great review of The Signature of All Things, Tina! I'm thinking about getting that one for my mom for Christmas (and then borrowing it back after she reads it)!

Great review. I hadn't considered reading it but now I think it's going on my wish list.

More books finished
106. A Dying Fall by Elly Griffiths - I love this series but wonder if Griffiths is getting bogged down (Pardon the pun if you're familiar with the series). Ruth and/or Harry need a big push to get something more going in these tales of old bones, single moms and skittish fringe friends.

107. Food Rules - hadn't planned to read this one. I downloaded it to show one of my patrons how to use the process at the library, and was clicking through this morning to see if it was worth keeping to perhaps read next week on vacation, or whether to electronically return it early. It's a quick (less than an hour) read, with simple well intentioned "rules" about eating good healthy food. Since we're going to be spending thanksgiving with my son and his "mostly vegetarian" family, I'm going to buy a copy to give him. I know he'll enjoy it, and we can have some fun with some of the rules!!!

To whet your whistle (oh bad I know) one of my favorites "Don''t get your fuel from the same place your car does." Think about it.

197 (book 107) "Don''t get your fuel from the same place your car does." Think about it.

Hmmm. . . . one of my favorite grocery stores has the best health food section I've found . . . and gas pumps out front. So I'll pass on that one.

Wouldn't it be great if we could get gas N go's to have a healthy food section. Just some fruit, some bagged nuts, and whole grain breads would be good!

Happy Thanksgiving, Tina and Bob! Sorry it's coming with some mom-stress. Sending happy hugs to all the family!

I hope you had a good Thanksgiving, Tina!

Tina, my library has We need new names, so I'm planning to check that one out. And you may have convinced me to try the new Elizabeth Gilbert.

Well...I had a post all done and then went to open a photo to add and forgot to switch to a new tab, so I dumped everything. To recap, it's been a very different THanksgiving holiday trip than the one we originally had planned. Plan A envisioned us driving to Baltimore, picking up my 89 yr old Mom, then on to Alexandria VA to pick up my 13 yr old grand-daughter, and toodling on out to the Shendoah up the Blue Ridge to my son Matt's new abode atop a mountain (his lot abuts the Appalachian Trail).

However, on Sunday, Day before we left, Mom decided to fall at church. She cracked her pelvis (She already has one artificial hip) and her L3 & L4, ended up in a hospital. Then on Tuesday, a horrendous wind/ice storm brought a 55 ft cherry tree down on Matt's front porch and car. They lost power, water, heat, etc etc etc. Power and phone did not return until Thanksgiving night. Since we couldn't get to the mountain, the remaining members met at Grammies house (where we were stranded), sister #2 produced a turkey, and we had a great feast. Took mom a nice plate to supplement her hospital food.

So yesterday we got the go=ahead from Matt to come on out...heat, power and water were back on. We left Grammie in the hospital, picked up Kyla and ventured up the mountain. Last night we had another delicious turkey dinner with just our children and grandkids. (and new grand-dog).

I also discovered that I left the power chord to my laptop home. FOrtunately D-i-l has exactly the same machine, so I can charge up with hers.

Here's a couple shots to share...


The ice storm and the kids...

Ice = Satan. Glad no one was hurt, except economically.

Not much posting going on....real life is definitely in the way here. Quick recap: still slogging through the Maine Readers Choice long list. Great blog recap here. We're doing a series of cable TV broadcasts with the members of the committee (You Tube video coming next month).

Bob busy marketing (or pretending to since it's really Tina doing most of it) for his book. Big book signing tomorrow night at Penobscot Bay Maritime Museum. Lots of other projects have him spinning like a dreidel.

Library end of year work looms like a hangover : Annual budget is due, lots of paperwork due for grant apps, and federal program forms, annual reports, etc etc etc

89 year old Mom in hospital doing only so-so with broken pelvis and cracked vertebrae, son getting front porch fixed from 55 ft tree crashing down from last week's ice storm, and getting emergency mountain no power kit stocked (generator and/or woodstove on the list for the coming year)

Family funeral (for in-law relative) looming in a month....another trip to Baltimore to spend Christmas with Mom, and just plain lots and lots and lots of stuff ---no time to swim even. I got some short bit of reading done today waiting for annual mammogram, bi-monthly blood tests, and waiting to see if I was going to have a reaction to new pneumonia shot (what an excuse to read - let's hear it for NOOK).

So darlings, if I don't get back until the new Year, have a wonderful holiday. I'll be popping in to flash lurk at as many of you as I can over the next week or so...

This Real Life thing's a pain, isn't it, Tina? High-energy *whammy* for you and Bob!

Tina, Cheli called me a few days ago and caught me up to date with your mother.

It sounds like it could have been much worse. Still, the poor thing must be in pain.

The photos of your grandchildren are lovely!

I hope life slows down for you. It sounds like you have a lot on your plate. By the way, Cheli mentioned that because of your high praise she read The Light Between Oceans and she liked it.

I place it on request, and went to the library to pick it up today.

All good wishes for a relaxing evening.

Linda - I know you'll enjoy The Light Between the Oceans I definitely will have it on my Best of list for the end of the year.

Tina, sorry that life is providing so many hassles these days.

I just wanted to tell you that I've been totally struck by a book bullet from you, and to say thanks. I'm quite sure it was your review that put A Land More Kind Than Home on my radar. I checked it out on audio from the library to start last night, and just went back and checked out the e-book so I can keep reading when audio listening isn't appropriate. So far, I am very impressed by and totally caught up in the story.

I'm glad to see another person say they enjoyed The Light Between the Oceans. It's on my TBR list. I think it's moving up the list!

Lori, of all the books I read this year, (90+ so far) for me, it's the best.

Hi, Tina, I'm swinging by because the LT page on The Woman Who Lost Her Soul had your thread listed as one discussing that book. I skimmed through and did not see any mention, but I clearly could have missed it while skimming quickly.

Did you read it? Buy it? Any thoughts about it? My real life book group is considering reading it and as it is a sizable volume I am looking for some guidance from my LT buddies to decide whether I shall vote for it, or not.

Happy holidays to you and yours. I hope your Mom is doing well with recovery. I know 89 is not a good age for breaking hips and vertebrae. I too have two hip replacements and at 69 I have a very real concern about falling and breaking what I have.... so, I identify with this challenge facing your Mom and your family. I send as much positive energy as I can manage from far off Hawaii where I sit basking in lovely warmth and sun shine.

I look forward to your comments on The Woman Who Lost Her Soul.

Ah Karen.....I did mention The Woman Who Lost her Soul as one I received in the long, long list I received in connection with the Maine Readers Choice panel. It is not one I've been assigned to read so far, so I won't get to it until sometime next year (if at all). If the group that has been assigned this one advances it to the short long list in February, then I will be reading it along with 8 others to be nominated by my fellow panel members. At 640 ponderous pages, it's not one that I will be eagerly picking up on my own.

That is one of the considerations I was contemplating. I have a hard time with big books I'm reading on behalf of something other than my natural inclinations, like a book group. I think I will avoid voting for it, although I may read it at some point. I will most likely take longer than 4 weeks for me to finish.

Thanks for responding so quickly. I need to make up my mind today on my votes.

I second your decision. I'm really beginning NOT to have as much fun reading, so I've stopped the Award books for a bit, and am reading some pure fun books and have a few others I WANT to read lined up. In fact today, I spend a few hours with C.C. Benison and the fun Fr. Christmas series (I'm working on the 2nd one Eleven Pipers Piping. I also spent some time actually reading a magazine and perusing a few of the 100's of catalogs that have arrived in the last few weeks. I came across a wonderful article in the New York Times today: Caution Reading Can Be Hazardous.

Talking about how on earth judges can plow through hundreds of nominees, and pick a few and then one produced one of my favorite quotes from the article:

So you do the best you can. You don’t skim exactly, but you race, driving your eyes across the page, in the process forgoing much of the ordinary pleasure of reading. I sometimes thought of it as chain-sawing through books, tearing into them, grinding them up, leaving a wake of fluttering pages and bits of binding.

I love reading....I truly do....but I have to get a grip so that I can enjoy the reading. Back to something fun.

In a way I'm glad that I never get that many books to review, only the ones that I want, that interest me. Ones that I receive without being requested, sit at the bottom of my review pile for a longggggg time.

My sister, please enjoy what you read, or put it aside. Life is too short!

Oooph, I don't think I could handle that; I don't even ever request ER books, even ones that sound wonderful, because as soon as someone slaps an obligation on reading something, I balk like a mule. I'd say that sort of stubbornness is part of my charm, but that wouldn't fool anyone, eh? Ha!

On the other hand, there have been books my real life book group has chosen to read, and with which I struggled to finish, and in the end I was delighted to have read the book, and delighted to have a face to face conversation about it. Obligation does not always turn on my stubborn muscles, but certainly it does sometimes. Life is so damn complicated, and then it isn't.

Happy Monday every one.

Each of you makes a valid point. Many books I read because of some sort of obligation (book club, review, judging panel) turn out to be splendid....and often they are books I would never have picked up on my own. My only problem at the moment is that there are too many "haftas" sitting here and I wasn't allowing enough room for the ones I want to read just for fun. And the upcoming holiday season doesn't help. But don't worry, I'll get thru.

BTW all....just finished the newest (and firstest) Montalbano ....delightful, great short intro for anyone who has not met the irascible Sicilian ...makes me definitely want to do a selective re-read for next year. He's even great on TV -- Netflix has the DVDs...

Tina, so sorry to hear about your Mom's fall and hospital stay . . . Hope she is feeling better and will make a good recovery.

And good for you for throttling back on the "hafta" reading - sometimes we need a break!

Hope you have a good holiday season. LT will be here when the hoopla is over.

More books added to the List in msg 111
Still not ready to write full blown reviews, but these bear some commenting....

107. Food Rules by Michael Pollan ★★★1/2
A short concise and friendly compendium of many of Pollan's "Rules" gathered from his various other works (e.g., Omnivore's Dilemma & In Defense of Food. At less than 100 pages with less than 100 words per page, it is a truly delightful conversation starter.

108. The House Girl by Tara Conklin ★★★★.8
One of my "hafta reads" = a lovely surprise. I suspect it will be one of the year's sleepers. Essentially it tells the story of a young house slave who takes desparate measures to escape via the Underground Railway. Simultaneously, it tells the story of one of the abolitionists who helps her. The interweaving of their stories and their lives is told in beautiful prose, and with great understanding. A really really really good book.

109. The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton ★★★★.8
I certainly can see why this one made the Booker Short List. I have only read one other on the list We Need New Names and this one by Catton is a far better read. At 830 pages though it takes some work to get through. There are dozens of characters who take some getting acquainted with. There is a great deal of astrological reference (about which I confess to knowing little), there is a deeply convoluted mystery, a good deal of history, a fascinating setting (New Zealand in the 1860s), all combined in a true tour de force. Just not sure if I was breathless when I finished because it was SO good, or if I was just exhausted from finishing.... time will tell. It definitely is worth a re-read.

110. Ten Things I've Learnt About Love by Sarah Butler ★★★★ 1/2
Another wonderful surprise. I kept pushing this one away because I thought the title was dumb, and the cover blurb was doing nothing for me. But it was a "hafta" and it was definitely worth the effort. I really didn't catch on to the sneaky little secret that makes this book SO delightful until about 2/3 of the way through and must must must re-read it again to see what clues I may have missed. But what a great re-read it will be. Briefly, the story of two people, spinning their tops in parallel universes, each reviewing their lives in the form of lists of "Ten Things I...." - with a powerful ending.

111. Montalbano's First Case by Andrea Camilieri ★★★1/2
If you've never encountered Inspector Salvo Montalbano, the acerbic, smart-ass detective from Vigata Sicily, you have missed one of mystery writing's joys. Andrea Camillieri is still going strong at 88 and now gives us a true prequel to the amazing series. It's only 100 scant pages, reads very quickly, but gives the new reader a good deal to look forward to, and the veteran series lovers another piece of the wonderful Montalbano story. Perfect Christmas gift for anyone who loves Sicily, good detective stories and/or Italian food.

ooh - book bullets!

GEEZ....upon signing off at 9:05 I rebooted my laptop... I had been downloading WIndows 8.1 which was supposed to solve all the "issues" people have wih Windows 8. I JUST Got back on....the reboot was agonizingly (sorry about the awful adverb) slow. Meanwhile while I waited, I actually read 65 pages of my next "hafta" The Butterfly Sister - really has grabbed me. I thought it was going to be chick-lit, but methinks it is turning out to be much more complex. I'll let you know.

221>> Perfect Christmas gift for anyone who loves Sicily, good detective stories and/or Italian food. Hint, hint.

Sorry to hear about your mom and you have my sympathy for all the demands on your time. I'm glad you are taking time to read for fun and not obligation.

I wanted to let you know I have read two books off the Maine Readers Choice Award long list thus far: Night Film and The Ocean at the End of the Lane. I enjoyed both tremendously!

I also am a great fan of The Ocean at the End of the Lane.

Snow coming!!!! HOORAY... would like a big fluffy day to stay at home. Had a great time watching Navy pound Army in football today as I made bourbon balls, peanut brittle, almond spritz cookies, apricot macaroons, and a ton of apricot, cranberry, pistachio rum flavored biscotti. After all we have to have something to dip in coffee when we polish off the three berry scones I made for breakfast this AM. Sorry no pics, just too tired.

Off to finish an outstanding Audio of Necessary Lies by Diane Chamberlain. A really exciting surprise from my "hafta" list. Then tomorrow I want to finish The Butterfly Sister.

Here's a scattered review that I just posted on the blog:

#106 A Dying Fall



The publisher tells us this:
Ruth Galloway is shocked when she learns that her old university friend Dan Golding has died tragically in a house fire. But the death takes on a sinister cast when Ruth receives a letter from Dan written just before he died.

The letter tells of a great archaeological discovery, but Dan also says that he is scared for his life. Was Dan’s death linked to his find? The only clue is his mention of the Raven King, an ancient name for King Arthur.

I love this series but wonder if Griffiths is getting bogged down (pardon the pun if you're familiar with the series). Ruth and/or Harry need a big push to get something more going in these tales of old bones, single moms and skittish fringe friends.  While the mystery plot on this one was more linear than some of the earlier volumes in the series, it also felt flatter.  There were moments when I thought that Griffiths was actually trying to develop her main characters, and we certainly got more introspection scenes with Harry, but it still fell a bit flat. 

Although this one isn't as satisfying as previous episodes, I'll definitely check out another in the series when it appears in another year or so. Readers who enjoy this series have too much invested in these characters and Ruth's forensic paleontologist career to leave it dangling here.

Clare Corbett's narration is delightful.  She manages the many dialects and accents of various characters so well, that the listener instantly recognizes who is speaking.  Not only does she get the accents correct, but she manages to infuse her voice with an excellent rendition of the individual's personality. 

Title: A Dying Fall
Author: Elly Griffiths
Publisher: Quercus Publishing audio 2013
Narrator: Clare Corbett
Genre: Mystery (forensic detectives)
Subject: identity of ancient bones
Setting: Norfolk UK
Series: Ruth Galloway Mysteries
Source:  my own shelves (audio book)

#109 The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton


 The publishing blurb says: It is 1866, and young Walter Moody has come to make his fortune upon the New Zealand goldfields. On the stormy night of his arrival, he stumbles across a tense gathering of twelve local men who have met in secret to discuss a series of unexplained events: A wealthy man has vanished, a prostitute has tried to end her life, and an enormous fortune has been discovered in the home of a luckless drunk. Moody is soon drawn into the mystery: a network of fates and fortunes that is as complex and exquisitely ornate as the night sky.

Richly evoking a mid-nineteenth-century world of shipping, banking, and gold rush boom and bus, The Luminaries is a brilliantly constructed, fiendishly clever ghost story and a gripping page-turner. It is a thrilling achievement for someone still in her midtwenties, and will confirm for critics and readers that Eleanor Catton is one of the brightest stars in the international writing firmament.

Winner of the 2013 Man Booker Prize, this is a difficult book to get one's brain wrapped around.  It is dense, lengthy, and gimmicky,  often leaving the reader wondering when the story would ever pick up.  There are at least 15 major characters deeply involved in a mystery.  The mystery itself is revealed only as the story goes along.  The reader has to decide was there a murder?  If so, where is the body, and who committed the crime?  If not, then is there simply a missing person?  Why is he missing? where did he go?

As each player in the mystery tells and re-tells the story from his or her various perspectives, it becomes somewhat repetitive and is only tolerable because there is enough new/extra material revealed to keep tantalizing the reader to continue with the story. However, it wasn't until I got to page 600+ that I felt invested enough in the story to want to complete reading the book. At 848 pages, it requires a serious commitment of time, and is not easily read in short clips.  Often I found myself having to backtrack to refresh pieces of the story I hadn't yet committed to memory.

It is certainly a complex book, with layers of meaning, and a unique structure.  Catton frames the story on an astrological chart that is meaningful only to those who are conversant with the science.  To others, the use of this device is distracting and actually detracts from the story by making the reader feel the need to either ignore the astrological allusions and ponder what he might be missing or constantly take the time to go look up the references and lose track of the story itself.  I also felt the characters were not as strong as I would have liked.  Several were two-dimensional, and needed more development.  It would have really helped to know more about the motivations of those involved.

Overall I enjoyed the book, and felt it was worth the effort, but I know that I will have to read it again to see everything I know I missed.  This would actually be a book I would expect to be discussed, dissected and scrutinized at length in a graduate level English literature course.  Not for the faint hearted, but definitely worth the trouble for anyone who enjoys a good mystery or who is interested in the setting or time period. I also listened to portions of the book read by Mark Meadows.  The audio was published by Audible LTD.  I bought the audio copy for my own library.

Title: The Luminaries
Author: Eleanor Catton
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; First Edition, 848 pages
Genre: Historical fiction
Subject: Astrology, , New Zealand gold rush
Setting: Hokitika New Zealand
Source: Review copy from the publisher
Why did I read this book now? It's on the long list for the Maine Reader's Choice Award

In heartfelt gratitude for all the wonderful, trenchant, and balanced reviews you've given us, and sheer amazed awe at the work you do on behalf of so many others, and the generous and loving nature underneath it all, Tina:



Celebrate the return of the light with feasts, merriment, and gratitude for all the wonders of this wide green earth.

RMD

I also wish you a happy Solstice. I imagine you, like myself, are happy to have days creeping towards being longer light.

I've just finished our first Christmas letter in years....we had a lot of catching up to do, and decided it was time to get back in touch before friends started slipping away on us.

But I couldn't do that without wishing all of you a very very Merry Christmas and a very Happy Healthy New Year. Here's a shot of the happy Branco clan (only missing the newest grandson Adrian 3 1/2 who had gone to spend a week with his father while we all went to the reunion in California. All the family sends best wishes saying that any group that can make Tutu this happy deserves the bestest holiday you can have.


Back row is our son Matt with his fiancee Amy, daughter Lisa with her husband Jon
front row is granddaughter Kyla (Matt's daughter) , Tina and Bob.

Holiday prayers, best wishes, coffee, chocolates, fruit cake, cookies, good reading, warm fires, and mugs of your favorite libations to the best group of friends I've never laid eyes on. You all rock! May Santa bring the books of your dreams and a winning lottery ticket so you can have the book porn room of your dreams.

Oh, what a lovely family photo and holiday wishes! Wishing the same for you, too!

Thank you for your good wishes. You've reminded me I must bring my camera and tripod to the Christmas party tomorrow and try to capture another family picture. It has been two or three years, and oh my those kids grow up so dang fast. The youngest is 6 this January.

I hope your day is sweet, as you are!

Not quite…..but this is often what I’ve felt like these past couple weeks…

Hi…still alive here in Baltimore caregiving 89 yo mom, but no time to start my new thread…haven’t even wrapped up my 2013 stats, but I’m lurking here for a dose of sanity and to stay caught up on all my 75er friends. Heading back to Maine this weekend, and may surface enough sometime next week to start up. Meantime, I’m slowing ear-reading We are Water by Wally Lamb. It’s so good, I may have to drug Mom so I can have about 1 ½ hours quiet to finish it.

Drug her! You deserve a bit of peace and quiet and sleep will do her good.

Tried drugs.....she's still going strong after 4 hours!!!

*SNORK!*
I seriously just snorted right out loud.

Too bad there's no way to pull the plug on the Energizer Bunny!