Streamsong Bookin in 2014 Part 3

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Streamsong Bookin in 2014 Part 3

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1streamsong
Nov 2, 2014, 8:16 am



If you haven't been to my thread before, welcome! I am a fifty-plus microbiologist in a research lab; I live in a beautiful creek bottom in Western Montana where I am surrounded by spectacular mountains and lots of wildlife. My middle aged golden retriever is my companion on adventures. My cat stays home and contemplates how lucky she is to be the only sane one in the family. I have half a dozen horses and two adult children who live about an hour away.

I'll probably read about a hundred books again this year:




I am becoming buried in what I call Planet TBR--so I will be trying to read 50 - 75 books acquired before January 1, 2014. This is incredibly hard to do with all the great reading everyone here does. I visit a thread, read a great review and a new book or three makes it to my house,

I have a thread going in the 2014 ROOT (Read Our Own Tomes) challenge.
http://www.librarything.com/topic/162971#4431027




To keep myself in the geologically oldest part of the Planet, I'm giving myself points for each book I read, with older books getting more points.

Here's how it works:

1. ROOTS cataloged into LT in 2006 --8 points
2. ROOTS cataloged into LT in 2007--7 points
3. ROOTS cataloged into LT in 2008--6 points
4. ROOTS cataloged into LT in 2009--5 points
5. ROOTS cataloged into LT in 2010--4 points
6 .ROOTS cataloged into LT in 2011 --3 point
7. ROOTS cataloged into LT in 2012-- 2 point
8. ROOTS cataloged into LT in 2013 -- 1 point
9. ROOTS not previously entered into LT but which have been around the house pre-2014 (many of these are pre-2006)--1 point

The goal this year is 185 points (My goal in 2013 was 160 points and I achieved about 120 points)




2streamsong
Modifié : Déc 29, 2014, 9:52 am

CURRENTLY READING

I usually have way too many books going at the same time.



- Rabbit, Run - John Updike - audiobook in the car
- A Place of My Own - Michael Pollen - November TIOLI #9 Homesteading; ROOT 2010
- Collapse - Jared Diamond - Green Dragon Group Read; ROOT 2008;


and a year-long group read of N. T. Wright's Christian Origins and the Question of God - now onto volume 2: Jesus and the Victory of God


And here's my list of
Recently Finished but not Reviewed:



- The Last Queen of Sheba - Jill Hudson LTER; TIOLI #11. ; 2014

3streamsong
Modifié : Nov 2, 2014, 10:46 am

BOOKS READ

January

1. Yellowstone Has Teeth - Marjane Ambler - - ROOT 2013; (1point)
2. The Great Courses: Great World Religions: Christianity (The Teaching Company) - Luke Timothy Johnson - - ROOT 2012; (2 points)
3. The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis - - ROOT acquired 2008 = 6 ROOT points
4. On Sal Mal Lane - Ru Freeman - - purchased 2013; 9. Read a book by the author of one of your favourite books of 2013; ROOT; = 1 ROOT point;
5. We Like It Wild - Bradford Angier - Canada geocat challenge; ROOT 2008 = 6 ROOT points
6. Mrs. Dalloway - Virginia Woolf - Real life book club; purchased 2013 ROOT; = 1 ROOT point;
7. My Antonia - Willa Cather - - audiobook in the car; January American author challenge (library -1st non-Root of the year!); January TIOLI #3. Read a book that has a connection with the number "14" (ISBN with 14)

FEBRUARY
8. 1066: The Great Courses - Jennifer Paxton - (audiobook in the car) - ROOT 2012 = 2 ROOT points
9. Sherlock Holmes: The Montana Chronicles - John S Kirkpatrick - Catagories: mystery, US & arches-cat trick; acquired 2013 - ROOT; = 1 ROOT point;
10. I and II Timothy/Titus (People's Bible Commentary) - Armin W. Schuetze (2/13); ROOT acquired pre 2006 = 8 ROOT points
11. The Hamlet - William Faulkner - American author challenge; TIOLI #13. Read a book you share with a LT Legacy Library; 1001 Books to Read Before You Die; from library
12. Curse of the Pogo Stick - Colin Cotterrill - - MysteryCat Feb series book; - Feb TIOLI #4. Read a book that has an older person as a main character ; - ROOT 2013 = 1 ROOT point
13. Pilgrim at Tinker Creek - Annie Dillard - - group read; Feb TIOLI #15-personal story; ROOT - acquired 2008 = 6 ROOT points
14. Hosea/Joel/Amos (People's Bible Commentary Series) - Paul E. Eickmann-Feb TIOLI #1- library of the LT member with the greatest weighted number of books which match your own; (due to my having this series, most of my heaviest weighted similar libraries belong to Lutheran Churches; ROOT pre 2006 = 8 Root points
15. Five Days at Memorial - Sheri Fink - ; February TIOLI #7 - remove a book from your physical presence when you are done reading;audiobook in the car; library
16. The Lives of Girls and Women - Alice Munro - RL Book Club - purchased 2014 -
17. The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon - Alexander Mccall Smith- audiobook in the car; LTER 2013; ROOT; = 1 ROOT point;
18. Stop Being Mean to Yourself - Melodie Beattie - Feb TIOLI #15-personal story; (ROOT 2009)
19. - Om-Kas-Toe: Blackfeet Twin Captures an Elkdog - Kenneth Thomasma - RandomCat -Children's Book; TIOLI #10; A Book with a pet you have owned (ROOT 2007) =

MARCH
20. Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith - Jon Krakauer - audiobook in the car - March TIOLI ##8: Read a book about an injustice - ROOT 2013 = 1 ROOT point
21. The Stars My Destination - Alfred Bester - - GD Group Read; March TIOLI #2 -word suggesting an end in the title - purchased 2014
22. John (People's Bible Commentary) - Gary P Baumler ROOT # 17; Acquired pre-2006 = 8 ROOT points. Possible reread(?)
23. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian - Sherman Alexie - - audiobook in the car; March TIOLI #8 Read a book about an injustice; library
24. Dakota by Gwen Florio - LTER 2014; TIOLI #9 - Read a book whose title's initial letter spells out DAYLIGHT, on a rolling basis
25. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking - Susan Cain March RL book club
26. All The Pretty Horses - Cormac McCarthy - March American Author read; Geocat challenge - Mexico and the Caribbean ;March TIOLI #3 - Read a book with a word in the title that starts with a vowel; 1001 Books; library
27. Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson; RL Bookclub (Nov 2013); ROOT #18; purchased 2013 = 1 ROOT point (66/185) -

4streamsong
Modifié : Nov 2, 2014, 10:50 am

APRIL
28. The Property - Rutu Modan - GeoCat Eastern Europe; April TIOLI #12 - Read a book that takes place in an Eastern European country; graphic novel; library -
29. - Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief - Lawrence Wright - Science Religion and History group read; April TIOLI # 10 - rolling tags; audiobook from library -
30. - Morality for Beautiful Girls - Alexander McCall Smith - March RandomCat: Book With a Bird on the Cover; April TIOLI #3. Read a book by an author or in a series or about a topic of which you have multiples on your TBR/wish list; Root #18 2011 = 3 ROOT points; - reread? (would have previously listened to the audiobook)
** (Not counted in yearly numbers)** - Mr Wuffles by David Wiesner -
31. - Jazz - Toni Morrison - American Author Challenge, April TIOLI #2 Read a book whose title and author have two Qs, two Zs, or one of each; library -
32. - The Door - Margaret Atwood - Atwood April, April TIOLI # 13. Read a book in a genre you haven't yet read from in 2014 (poetry); RandomCat poetry, (library) =
33. - The Orchardist - Amanda Coplin - April TIOLI # 10 - rolling tags; Library Brown Bag Book Club; - purchased 2014 -
34. - Flu by Gina Kolata - Science Religion and History Group Read; April TIOLI #10 - rolling tags; ROOT #19/50- 2013; 1 ROOT point -
35. - Dugouts and Dreams - Frank C Tillson - April TIOLI # 9. Read a collection of World War I poetry or a book about World War I poets or poetry; (My parents' collection - Great Uncle Frank); 2014
36. - The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest - Stieg Larsson - April MysteryCat Scandicrime; April TIOLI # 10 (rolling tags); audiobook in the car-


MAY
37. Exit Wounds by Rutu Modan - May TIOLI #12- challenge from May in a previous year - graphic novel - library -
38. The New Testament and the People of God - N. T. Wright Group Read of the Series in the Category Challenge group; Root #20 2013 = 1 ROOT points
39. A Study in Scarlet - Arthur Conan Doyle - ROOT 2012 = 2 ROOT points -
40. The Optimist's Daughter - Eudora Welty - 1001 Books. American Author Challenge. TIOLI #3 - Read a book where the title is Somebody's Something. Library
41. The Rosie Project - Graeme Simsion - audiobook in the car; April Autism Awareness; library
42. Numbers: People's Bible Commentary - Paul W. Kuske - ROOT #22/50; acquired 2006 = 8 ROOT points (81/185)
43. Alias Grace - Margaret Atwood - Atwood April, 1001 Books to read Before you Die; May TIOLI # 5. Read a book with a word in the title that could be something good; library
44. The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston - May Murder & Mayhem; ROOT #23/50; acquired 2013 - 1 ROOT point-
45. The Hare With the Amber Eyes - Edmund de Waal -RL Book club - purchased 2014 -

JUNE
46. Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut - June American Author; 1001 Books; June TIOLI # 1 Read a book whose author’s first and last name end in the same letter; audiobook in the car; library
47. The Life of an Ordinary Woman - Anne Ellis - May RandomCat - mothers; June TIOLI #17: Read a book which has a "don" word on any page with the number 57; ROOT #24/50 acquired 2008 = 6 ROOT points; US map challenge: Colorado
48. The Penelopiad - Margaret Atwood - Librarything group read; - June TIOLI #14. Read a book you've been reluctant to read (matched read); world map challenge - Greece (location); library
49. Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now - Maya Angelou - ROOT #25/50 not added to LT when acquired = 1 ROOT point (89/185); June TIOLI #9. Read a book that doesn't have a person on the cover
50. A Religion of One's Own - Thomas Moore - LTER- 2013 ROOT #26/50; 1 ROOT point =90/185; June TIOLI #7: Read a book you said you would read before but didn't
51. Obadiah Jonah Micah People's Bible Commentary - Cyril W Spaude - Personal challenge reading through Bible with commentaries. ROOT (#27/50) pre 2006 = 8 ROOT points
52. Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher: The Epic Life and Immortal Photographs of Edward Curtis - Timothy Egan - June TIOLI #13: Read a book that is over 336 pages or 11 hrs; audiobook in the car
53. Hebrews People's Bible Commentary - Richard E. Lauersdorf - ROOT #28/50; acquired pre 2006 = 8 points
54. Raven Girl - Audrey Niffenegger - library
55. The Lighthouse - PD James; MysteryCat - Police procedural; GeoCat - islands and bodies of water; Random Cat - name of rose (Garden Light); TIOLI #15. Read a book by a grandmaster; ROOT 29/50 acq'd 2008 = 6 ROOT points 112/180
56. Cinder - Marissa Meyer - audiobook - June TIOLI #12. Read a book with a body part on the cover (shared read); library

5streamsong
Modifié : Nov 2, 2014, 10:52 am

JULY
57. Spider Woman's Daughter - Anne Hillerman - TIOLI #4. Start a series and continue if you want; library
58. Buddha - Karen Armstrong - May GeoCat - India; TIOLI #13. Read a book by a living author who is older than you are; world challenge: India; ROOT 30/50 from 2007 = 7 ROOT points 119/180
59. Proverbs People's Bible Commentary - Roland Cap Ehlke - ROOT 31/50 acquired pre 2006 = 8 ROOT points (127/180)
60. Cat's Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut - audiobook in the car - TIOLI #19. Read a book whose author is from a country that competed in the 2014 World Cup
61. The Maltese Falcon - Dashiell Hammett - Mysterycat challenge: Noir/hardboiled; TIOLI #9. Read a book about art theft or art forgery; 50 States map - California; - audiobook in the car; library
62. Pudd'nhead Wilson - Mark Twain - American Author Challenge; TIOLI # - ROOT 2013 =#32/50; acquired 2013 = 1 ROOT point = 128/180
63. Road Dogs - Elmore Leonard - started for July Mystery cat: Noir/hardboiled but didn't fit because it wasn't a mystery; - ROOT 2013 = #33/50; 1 point = 129/180 - audiobook in the car
64. Crossing to Safety - Wallace Stegner - RL book club; purchased 2014

AUGUST
65. Not for Everyday Use: A Memoir - Elizabeth Nunez - LTER
66. We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves - Karen Joy Fowler TIOLI #8. Read a book with an amusing LT tag; purchased 2014
67. Teaching at the Top of the World - Marilyn Forrester - GeoCat Challenge: Arctic/Anarctic; ROOT # 34/50; acquired 2013 for 1 ROOT point = 130/180; State map: Alaska
68. Before the Dawn: Recovering the Lost History of Our Ancestors - Nicholas Wade - 2nd quarter Science, Religion & History group read - library
69. Scarlet - Marissa Meyer - audiobook in the car; TIOLI #10. Read a book with a title that is also catalogued by a different author; library
70. The Long Farewell - Michael Innes - MysteryCat: British Detective; GeoCat: Western Europe; Random Cat: school/academia; TIOLI #4. Read a book set in or about Scotland, by a Scottish author; ROOT # 35/50; acquired 2013 = 1 ROOT point 131/180
71. Sarah's Key - Tatiana de Rosnay - geocat- Western Europe; TIOLI # 2. Read a book with a Top 50 Event listed in its CK; ROOT #36/50 - 2011; given to me by my cousin = 3 Root Points 134/185
72. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Robert Pirsig - RL bookclub; August TIOLI #8. Read a book with an amusing LT tag ROOT #37/50; not previously entered into LT = 1 ROOT point - 135/185
73. The Plot Against America - Phillip Roth - August American Author Challenge; 1001 Books; TIOLI #9. Read a book that starts with "The" then 1, 2, 3 or 4 words after in rolling order; state map >11 streamsong: : New Jersey; audiobook from library
74. 1 Dead in Attic - Chris Rose - Aug TIOLI #13. Read a book about tropical cyclones/ a hurricane; ROOT #38/50; acquired 2012 = 2 ROOT points 137/185

SEPTEMBER
75. Men at Arms - Terry Pratchett - September Series and Sequels; Sept TIOLI #15. Read a book which has a military term in the title; ROOT owned prior to 1/1/14, but not previously cataloged
76. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail - Cheryl Strayed - audiobook from library -RandomCat Toronto Film Festival; September TIOLI #11: Read a book that was first published after 1950 and adapted to film or tv; US map challenge: Oregon
77. Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah People's Bible Commentary - James J Westendorf - purchased 2014
78. David & Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits and the Art of Battling Giants - Malcolm Gladwell - RL Book Club - purchased 2014; TIOLI - #2: Read a book by a living author who is younger than you
79. One of Our Thursdays is Missing - Jasper Fforde ; audiobook from library; Mystery Cat -Bibliomystery; TIOLI #14. Read a book that is part of a series and whose author's first or last name is five or six letters; September series and sequels
80. The Living Reed by Pearl S Buck - Geocat Challenge - Eastern Asia (Korea); TIOLI #13. Read a book that is epic in nature or scope; ROOT #40/50; Acquired 2007 = 7 ROOT points; World Map - North and South Korea
81. Take the Reins - John L Moore ROOT #41/50; acquired 2007 = 7 ROOT points; TIOLI #22. Read a book from the 900 section of the Dewey Decimal System
82. Giovanni's Room - James Baldwin - American author challenge; 1001 Books; library; September TIOLI #19 - Noun in title

6streamsong
Modifié : Déc 29, 2014, 9:58 am

OCTOBER
83. 2 Chronicles (People's Bible Commentary) - Paul O. Wendland - Personal reading through the Bible with commentaries challenge; acquired 2014
84. Unbroken - Lauren Hillenbrand - audiobook in the car; ROOT #42/50- acquired 2012 = 2 ROOT points 154/185; September Eastern Asia Geocat challenge - Japan; Oct TIOLI #10. Read a book with both orange and black on its cover; World Map - Japan
85. Spirit Tailings: Ghost Tales from Virginia City, Butte and Helena - Ellen Baumler - TIOLI #14 - Read a book that is dark; ROOT # 43/50 acquired 2013 = 1 ROOT point =155/185
86. The Underground Girls of Kabul: In Search of a Hidden Resistance in Afghanistan - Jenny Nordberg - LTER; TIOLI #5. Read a book with an S and a T in the title that you've never read before; World map - Afghanistan
87. - Simply Sane - Gerald May - The_Hibernator's Suicide and Mental Illness Read; TIOLI #1: Read a book with a species of bird named in the narrative (martini /4; pattern /5) ROOT #44/50 2009 = 5 ROOT points
88. - The Namesake - Jhumpa Lahiri - Real Life Bookclub; TIOLI # 7. Read a book whose title starts with a letter of HALLOWEEN in rolling order;ROOT #45/50 - acquired 2012 = 2 ROOT point2 - 162/185; US map: Massachusetts
89. - Age of Innocence -Edith Wharton - American Author Challenge; October TIOLI #4: Read a book that is older than you (by publishing date); 1001 Books; audiobook from the library
90. Blue Like Jazz - Donald Miller - RandomCat Book bullet from a fellow LT'er; ROOT #46/50; Acquired 2009 = 5 ROOT points (167/185) TIOLI #1 - Bird name within the text of the book (penquin)

NOVEMBER

91. Roald Dahl's Book of Ghost Stories - Roald Dahl - Halloween Spooky Reads on the 75; TIOLI #20: Read a book with a word in the title related to death or the afterlife; Bitterroot Library Book Sale 9/24/2014
92. The Apostle Paul (The Great Courses - Luke Timothy Johnson - audiobook in the car; ROOT 2011 = 3 ROOT points (170/185); November TIOLI #5. Read a book with an embedded word in the title
93. Blue Shoes and Happiness - Alexander McCall Smith - Sep MysteryCat: World Mysteries; Oct TIOLI # ; ROOT #48 acq'd 2011 = 3 ROOT points = 173/185
94. Can't we Talk About Something More Pleasant - Roz Chast - TIOLI # 10. Read a book as an act of remembrance; library
95. I Am Malala - Malala Yousafzai - Catagory biography group read; Nov TIOLI #6. Read a book whose title starts with a one letter word; audiobook; world map: Pakistan - library;
96. The Boys in the Boat - Daniel James Brown - RL Bookclub; November TIOLI #14. Read a book in which the title contains an object or noun from a children's nursery rhyme or hand game; (What are Little Boys Made Of?); purchased 2014
97. Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End - Atul Gawande - #13 TIOLI # 13"I Am Thankful for:" - purchase, 2014

DECEMBER
98. The Foreign Correspondent - Allen Furst - TIOLI #16 - Read a book with nothing to do with Christmas; audiobook in car; acquired 2014
99. Justice - Larry Watson - December - American Authors Challenge; TIOLI #14 - Book Bingo category (short stories); library-
100. The Man Who Loved China - Simon Winchester - audiobook in the car; library
101. Murder for Christmas: 26 Tales of Seasonal Malice - Thomas Godfrey ROOT (not added when acquired); TIOLI #2; MysteryCat - Cozy mysteries
102. The Last Queen of Sheba - Jill Hudson LTER; TIOLI #11. ; 2014

7streamsong
Modifié : Déc 10, 2014, 10:15 am

AMERICAN AUTHOR CHALLENGE

Mark's American Author Challenge 2014 (downside--I have only a few of these on Planet TBR)

✔ January: Willa Cather - My Antonia -
✔ February - William Faulkner - The Hamlet
✔ March - Cormac McCarthy - All the Pretty Horses
✔ April - Toni Morrison- Jazz - library
✔ May - Eudora Welty - The Optimist's Daughter
✔ June - Kurt Vonnegut - Slaughterhouse- 5; Cat's Cradle
✔ July - Mark Twain Pudd'nhead Wilson / Those Extraordinary Twins
✔ August - Philip Roth - The Plot Against America -
✔ September - James Baldwin- Giovanni's Room
✔ October - Edith Wharton - The Age of Innocence
November - John Updike -
✔December - Larry Watson - Justice: Stories

*************************************

1001 BOOKS TO READ BEFORE YOU DIE


-I've read 88 books from the combined list prior to January 1, 2014. And according to statistician extraordinaire JonnySaunders, at the beginning of this year's challenge my average 1001 book previously read is a 359 page tome written in 1950.

Goal: 12

89. ✔ Mrs. Dalloway - Virginia Woolf - 1927
90. ✔ The Hamlet by William Faulkner - 1940
91. ✔ The Lives of Girls and Women by Alice Munro - 1971
92. ✔ All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy - 1992
93. ✔ Jazz by Toni Morrison - library - 1992
94. ✔ The Optimist's Daughter - Eudora Welty - library - 1972
95. ✔ Alias Grace - Margaret Atwood - library - 1996
96. ✔ Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut - (1969)
97. ✔ Cat's Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut
(98. Hound of the Baskervilles - Arthur Conan Doyle Read October 2013 but did not add to 1001 list)
99. ✔ The Maltese Falcon - Dashiell Hammett - (1930)
100. ✔ The Plot Against America - Phillip Roth - (2004)
101. ✔ Giovanni's Room - James Baldwin - (1956)
102. ✔ Edith Wharton The Age of Innocence - (1920)

Here's my thread on the 1001 group: http://www.librarything.com/topic/163173

8streamsong
Modifié : Nov 11, 2014, 9:42 am

MYSTERY CAT CHALLENGE
-from the 2014 category challenge group-

I can fill almost all of these from the Planet TBR which should reduce the planet a bit!

January: - Professional Detective (not policeman):
Sherlock Holmes: The Montana Chronicles - John S Fitzpatrick - (cat trick) - (2013) - finished in February
February: - Mystery Series -
Curse of the Pogo Stick - Colin Cotterill (2013)
The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon - Alexander McCall Smith - LTER - (2013)
March: - YA and Children's Mysteries - Skipped
April: - Nordic Mysteries -
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest - Stieg Larsson - audiobook - library
May: - Classic and Golden Age Mysteries
A Study in Scarlet - Arthur Conan Doyle
June: - Police Procedurals
The Lighthouse - PD James (ROOT 2008) cat trick
Spider Woman's Daughter - Anne Hillerman or library; finished 7/4
July: - Noir and Hard-Boiled Mysteries
Maltese Falcon - Dashiell Hammett - library - audiobook
August: - British Mysteries
The Long Farewell - Michael Innes - Cattrick! ROOT 2013
September: - Book-Themed Mysteries
One of Our Thursdays is Missing - Jasper Fforde - audiobook from library
October: - Global Mysteries
Blue Shoes and Happiness - Alexander McCall Smith (finished November)
November: - Historical Mysteries
December: - Cozy Mysteries

RANDOM CAT CHALLENGE

January: Beginnings, doorways

On Sal Mal Lane - Ru Freeman (beginning of Sri Lankan Civil War) ROOT from 2013
Sherlock Holmes: The Montana Chronicles - John S Fitzpatrick - (archways on cover - cat trick) - finished Feb - ROOT 2013
February : Children's or YA book
Om-Kas-Toe: Blackfeet Twin Captures an Elkdog - Kenneth Thomasma (ROOT 2007)
March: Book With A Bird on the Cover
✔ - John (People's Bible Commentary) - Gary P Baumler (ROOT pre-2006)
✔ - Morality for Beautiful Girls - Alexander McCall Smith - (Root 2011) (finished in April)
April: Poetry
✔ - The Door - Margaret Atwood - library
✔ - Dugouts and Dreams - Frank C Tillson
May: Mothers
✔ The Life of an Ordinary Woman - Anne Ellis; ROOT 2008 (finished June 1)
June: Name of a Rose
The Lighthouse - P.D. James - (Morning Light Rose) cat trick
July: Books about books
August: Back to School (includes school subjects):
- Teaching at the Top of the World - Marilyn Forrester
- The Long Farewell - Michael Innes - Cattrick! ROOT 2013
September: Theme from Toronto Film Festival
- Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Coast Trail - Cheryl Strayed
October Theme: Read a book bullet from a fellow LT'er:
- Blue Like Jazz - Donald Miller
November: Natural or Man Made Disaster:

9streamsong
Modifié : Nov 2, 2014, 4:35 pm

GEO CAT CHALLENGE
From the 2014 Category Challenge

- Hopefully I can fill almost all of these with ROOTS - listing below ones that fit

January - Canada and the US:
- We Like It Wild by Bradford Angier - (Canada)
- Sherlock Holmes: The Montana Chronicles (USA) - John S Fitzpatrick - (cat trick) finished in Feb
- My Antonia - Willa Cather (subspeciality: Immigration)
February - Middle East and North Africa
- Stop Being Mean to Yourself - Melodie Beattie - Algeria, Egypt - (acq'd 2009)
March - Central America, Mexico and Caribbean
- All the Pretty Horses - Cormac McCarthy - Mexico - (library)
April - Eastern Europe
- The Property - (Poland) Rutu Modan - library
May - South Asia (India etc)
- Buddha - Karen Armstrong - (ROOT 2007) - (finished 7/5)
- June - Islands and Bodies of Water
The Lighthouse - P. D. James - (ROOT 2008) - cat trick
July - Polar Regions
- Teaching at the Top of the World - Marilyn Forrester - finished 8/05/2014 ROOT2013
August - Western Europe
The Long Farewell - (England, Italy) - Michael Innes - Cattrick! ROOT 2013
- Sarah's Key - (France, Italy) - Tatiana de Rosnay - ROOT 2011
September - East Asia (China, Japan, etc.)
- The Living Reed - Pearl S Buck - (Korea) ROOT 2007
October - South America
- One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez - (Columbia) - 1001 - started 2013
- The Beak of the Finch - Jonathan Weiner (Galapagos Islands/Ecuador)
November - Australia and Oceania
- Island of the Color Blind - Oliver Sacks
December - Sub-Saharan Africa
- Of Water and the Spirit - Patrice Malidoma Some -(2008)
- Woman in the Mists - Farley Mowatt - (2011)
- various #1 Ladies' Detective Agency - (2011)
-The Mottled Lizard - Elspeth Huxley - (2013)
- The Constant Gardener - John Le Carre - (2013)

10streamsong
Modifié : Juil 8, 2015, 3:31 pm

BOOKS ACQUIRED IN 2014




I would like to keep this number at half or less of the number of ROOTS read.
Current number of ROOTS completed: 48
Current Number of Books Acquired in 2014: 57
+ Number of books added from Mom & Dad's library: 19 = 75
Current Number of Books Acquired in 2014 that I've Read ( ) : 18/57 - 3 in progress; Final total = 31.6% read; 39 unread; Read in 2015: 7 + 3 from Dad's library + /4 Jane Austen

1. Lives of Girls and Women - Alice Munro - February RL Book Club
2. The Stars My Destination - Alfred Bester - Feb Green Dragon group read
3. Dakota - Gwen Florio LTER 2/5
4. - 2 Chronicles (People's Bible Commentary) by Paul O. Wendland (2/17 ordered 12/2013)
5. ✔ 2015 General Epistles (People's Bible Commentary) by Mark A. Jeske (2/17 ordered 12/2013)
6. Nahum/Habakkuk/Zephaniah (People's Bible Commentary) by James J. Westendorf (2/17 ordered 12/2013)
7. The Lochsa Story - Bud Moore 2/24 FOL shelf
8. The Thirtymile Fire: A Chronicle of Bravery and Betrayal by John N. Maclean 2/24 FOL shelf
9. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking - Susan Cain 3/5 RL bookclub
10. Not for Everyday Use - Elizabeth Nunez - LTER - rec'd 3/6/2014
11. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand - Helen Simonson - AAUW sale 4/11/2014
12. We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves - Karen Joy Fowler - ARC- AAUW sale 4/11/2014
13. Alas, Babylon - Pat Frank - AAUW sale 4/11/2014
14. The Casual Vacancy - J.K. Rowling - AAUW sale 4/11/2014
15. The 19th Wife - David Ebershoff - AAUW sale 4/11/2014
16. The Orchardist - Amanda Coplin - 4/17 April RL book club
17. The Hare With the Amber Eyes - Edmund de Waal 4/29 May RL Book Club
18. The Merry Misogynist - Colin Cotterill 5/3
19. Slash and Burn - Colin Cotterill 5/3
20. ***Reading*** Jesus and the Victory of God - N. T. Wright
21. The House at Otowi Bridge: The Story of Edith Warner and Los Alamos by Peggy Pond Church 5/15
22. Tongues of Fire - Karen Armstrong - 5/20
23. The Underground Girls of Kabul - Jenny Nordberg LTER 6/15
24. ✔ 2015 Disco for the Departed - Colin Cotterill - 7/6
25. ✔ 2015 Angle of Repose - Wallace Stegner - whoops- ordered the wrong Stegner for the book club
26. Crossing to Safety - Wallace Stegner July RL book club
27. The Dream of the Earth - Thomas Berry
28. The Last Queen of Sheba - Jill Francis Hudson - LTER
29. The Foreign Correspondent - Alan Furst - audiobook - 7/26 FOL shelf
30. Anarchy and Old Dogs - Colin Cotterill - Book Exchange 8/19/2014
31. ✔ 2015 Barren Grounds: The Story of the Tragic Moffatt Canoe Trip by Skip Pessl 8/20/2014 LTER
32. ✔ 2015 Beijing Bastard - Val Wang LTER
33. David & Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits and the Art of Battling Giants - Malcolm Gladwell RL book club 9/15/2014
34. Roald Dahl's Book of Ghost Stories - Roald Dahl - Bitterroot Library Book Sale 9/24/2014
35. Lost in My Own Backyard - Tim Cahill - Bitterroot Library Book Sale 9/24/2014
36. The Egg and I - Betty MacDonald - Bitterroot Library Book Sale 9/24/2014
37. The Yellowstone Story Volume 1 - Aubrey L Haines - Bitterroot Library Book Sale 9/24/2014
38. The Burgess Boys - Elizabeth Strout - Bitterroot Library Book Sale 9/24/2014
39. War Trash - Ha Jin - Bitterroot Library Book Sale 9/24/2014
40. Women of the Silk - Gail Tsukiyama - Bitterroot Library Book Sale 9/24/2014
41. Old Filth - Jane Gardam - Bitterroot Library Book Sale 9/24/2014
42. ✔ 2015 Tehran Noir - Salar Abdoh - LTER 10/10/2014
43. The Royal Wulff - Keith McCafferty 10/11/2014 - Festival of the Book
44. A Fact & Fiction Reader - Missoula Area Writers - Festival of the Book
45. Death Comes to Pemberley - P.D. James 10/15 - freebie at library
46. Outfoxed - Rita Mae Brown - 10/15 - freebie at library
47. The Gray Ghost Murders: A Sean Stranahan Mystery by Keith McCafferty - I met this author at the Montana Festival of the Book last week. This is the second in the series, and was the one chosen by Oprah for her mystery list. 10/15 - freebie at library
48. Three by Annie Dillard: The Writing Life, An American Childhood, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek - by Annie Dillard (I've read one, have a second already on Planet TBR and one new one. I'll probably replace two of mine and keep this one) 10/15 - freebie at library
49. Playing God in Yellowstone: The Destruction of America's First National Park - by Alston Chase - 10/15 - freebie at library
50. Listening to Whales: What the Orcas Have Taught Us by Alexandra Morton - I'm not familiar with this book or author at all, but, well, orcas ... 10/15 - freebie at library
51. Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande 10/27/2014
52. The Things They Carried - Tim O'Brien - 10/31/2014
53. The Boys in the Boat - Daniel James Brown 11/11/2014 - RL bookclub
54. ***Reading*** Jane Austen: Four Novels - Jane Austen 11/11/2014
---- ✔ 2015 Pride and Prejudice
---- ✔ 2015 Mansfield Park
---- ✔ 2015 Sense and Sensibility
55. ✔ 2015 Let Sleeping Dogs Lie - Rita Mae Brown - LTER rec'd 11/28/2014
56. Boundaries: When to Say Yes How to Say No - Henry Cloud - 12/6/2014 (Cheri)
57. ✔ 2015 Daring Greatly - Brene Brown - 12/6/2014 - counselor rec

These are books from my parents' collection as Mom is downsizing and getting ready to move from her house into senior living. Even though they are more books coming into the house, I'm putting them in a separate 'acquired' collection than the ones above.

1. The Expeditions of Willis Partridge - Abelard Schuman - childhood favorite
2. Curious George - H. A. Rey - childhood copy
3. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen - Paul Torday - Dad's
4. Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo - Hayden Herrera - Dad's
5. A Century of Home Cooking from Heritage Crossroads Country - Mom's
6. The Last Valley - A. B. Guthrie, Jr inscribed by author to Dad
7. Life on the Mississippi - Mark Twain - more of Aunt Clara's set
8. Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain - more of Aunt Clara's set
9. Tough Trip Through Paradise - Andrew Garcia - Dad's
10. Dugouts and Dreams - Frank Tillson - Dad's Uncle Frank
11 ✔ 2015 Dreams for Sale - Frank Tillson - Dad's Uncle Frank
12. ✔ 2015 The Cock-Eyed Muse - Frank Tillson - Dad's Uncle Frank
13. They Left Their Tracks - Howard Copenhaver - Dad's
14. Big Sky Ghosts - Debra D Munn - Dad's
15. The Bloody Bozeman - Dorothy M Johnson
16. Frontier Omnibus - John W. Hakola
17. Mission Among the Blackfeet - Howard L. Harrod
18. Goodbye Picasso by David Douglas Duncan
19. Bedside Book of Bastards - Dorothy Johnson
20. ✔ 2015 Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats - T. S. Eliot

11streamsong
Modifié : Jan 21, 2015, 1:36 pm

World Map: (2014 reads)

Algeria: Stop Being Mean to Yourself - Melody Beattie - (location)
Afghanistan: Underground Girls of Kabul - Jenny Nordberg - (location, Swedish author)
Australia: The Rosie Project - Graeme Simison - (location, author)
Austria: The Hare With Amber Eyes - Edmund de Waal -(location)
Botswana: The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon - Alexander McCall Smith - (location, resident author)
Canada: --British Columbia: We Like it Wild - Bradford Angier - (location, resident author)
------------ Ontario : Lives of Girls and Women - Alice Munro (6/1) - (location, author)
------------ Ontario: Alias Grace - Margaret Atwood - (location, author)
China: The Man Who Loved China - Simon Winchester 12/2014 (location)
Egypt: Stop Being Mean to Yourself - Melody Beattie - (location)
France: Sarah's Key - Tatiana de Rosnay - (author, location)
Germany: Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut - (location) (6/1/14)
Greece: The Penelopiad - Margaret Atwood - (location) - (6/7/2014)
India: Buddha - Karen Armstrong - (location) 7/5/2014
Israel: Exit Wounds by Rutu Modan - (location, author)
Italy: Monster of Florence - Douglas Preston - (location, co-author)
Japan: Unbroken - Lauren Hillenbrand (location) 10/13/2014
Korea (North & South): The Living Reed - Pearl S Buck September 2014
Laos: Curse of the Pogo Stick - Colin Cotterill - (location, resident author)
Mexico: All the Pretty Horses - Cormac McCarthy - (location)
Pakistan: I Am Malala - Malala Yousafzai - (author, location)
Poland: The Property by Rutu Modan - (location, Israeli author)
Sri Lanka: On Sal Mal Lane - Ru Freeman - (location, author)
Sweden: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest - Stieg Larsson - (location, author) - (4/30)
Trinidad & Tobago: Not For Everyday Use - Elizabeth Nunez
UK: England: Mrs Dalloway - Virginia Woolf - (location, author)
US: Yellowstone Has Teeth - Marjane Ambler - (location, author)


visited 26 states (11.5%)
Create your own visited map of The World

I'm checking this site out to see if I like the map better - mostly to see if more of the small countries show up:

Traveling the World in Books 2014

Make yours @ BigHugeLabs.com

*******************************************************

US Map: (2014 reads)

Alaska: Teaching at the Top of the World - Marilyn Forrester - 8/5/2014
California: The Maltese Falcon - Dashiell Hammett - 7/17/2014
Colorado - The Life of an Ordinary Woman - Anne Ellis - (6/1/2014)
Louisiana - Five Days at Memorial - Sheri Fink
Massachusetts - The Namesake - Jhumpa Lahiri
Mississippi - The Hamlet - William Faulkner
Missouri - Pudd'nhead Wilson - Mark Twain
Montana: - Sherlock Holmes: The Montana Chronicles - John S Fitzpatrick
Nebraska: My Antonia - Willa Cather
New Jersey : The Plot Against America - Phillip Roth - 8/30/2014
New Mexico: Spider Woman's Daughter - Anne Hillerman 7/4
New York: Jazz - Toni Morrison
North Dakota: Dakota - Gwen Florio
Oregon: Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail - Cheryl Strayed
Texas: All the Pretty Horses - Cormac McCarthy
Utah: Under the Banner of Heaven - Jon Krakauer
Vermont: Crossing to Safety - Wallace Stegner
Virginia: Pilgrim at Tinker Creek - Annie Dillard
Washington: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian - Sherman Alexie
Wisconsin: Crossing to Safety - Wallace Stegner
Wyoming: Yellowstone Has Teeth - Marjane Ambler


visited 21 states (42%)
Create your own visited map of The United States

12streamsong
Modifié : Déc 29, 2014, 9:56 am

FAVORITE BOOKS READ IN 2014




- Crossing To Safety - Wallace Stegner
- Mrs. Dalloway - Virginia Woolf
- The Lives of Girls and Women - Alice Munro -
- The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian - Sherman Alexie
- Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegutt

Nonfiction:


- Five Days at Memorial - Sheri Fink
- The Underground Girls of Kabul - Jenny Nordberg
- The Hare With Amber Eyes - Edmund de Waal
- Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher - Timothy Egan

-Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief by Lawrence Wright
- The Boys in the Boat - Daniel James Brown

****************************
STATISTICS FOR BOOKS READ IN 2014
**********************************

***** 102 -TOTAL BOOKS COMPLETED IN 2014 ****


49 - Books Read from the towering MT TBR (owned prior to Jan 1, 2014); ROOTS challenge
- Rereads from my shelves
34 - Books from library or borrowed
18- Books acquired 2014

FORMAT
72- Dead Tree Books
26 - Audiobooks
2 - combination of dead tree and audio
- other

GENRE
46- Fiction
2 - Christian fiction
3- classics (not on the 1001 list)
13 - 1001 Books to Read Before You Die
9 - general fiction
2 - fantasy/sf/sff
- horror, suspense
15 - mystery/thriller
5 - Young Adult
1- children's fiction

52 ---Non-Fiction
13 -Christianity
1 - Essays/ Newspaper columns
13 - Memoir/biography/autobiography
2 - History
4 - Psychology/sociology/self help
6 - Religion (not Christian, or not exclusively Christian)
6 - Science/Medical/Natural Science
1 - Travel
1- True Crime

3 - Books of Short Stories or essays
2 - graphic novel
1 - graphic non-fiction
2 - poetry
- plays
- Other

AUTHORS

53 - Male Authors
45 - Female Authors
1- Mix of male and female

55 - Authors that are new to me
42- Authors I have previously enjoyed
2 - Rereads

Multiple books read in 2014 by same author:
3 - Margaret Atwood
3 - Alexander McCall Smith
2 - Luke Timothy Johnson
2 - Marissa Meyer
2 - Rutu Modan
2 - Kurt Vonnegut

Nationality of Author:
1- Australia
6 - Canada
19 - England
1 - France
2 - Israel
1 - Pakistan
3 - Scotland (UK)
1 - Sri Lanka
2 - Sweden
1 - Trinidad and Tabago
65- USA

Birthplace or residence of Author if different from nationality:
- 3- Botswana
- 1- China
- 1- Italy
- 1 - Thailand
2- USA -

Language Book Originally Published in:
87- English
1 - French
2 - Hebrew
1 - Swedish
2 - ?

BOOKS FROM MY SHELVES
Of the books I've read this year:
7 - cataloged into LT 2006 or before
5 - cataloged into LT 2007
6 - cataloged into LT 2008
2- cataloged into LT 2009
- cataloged into LT 2010
4 - cataloged into LT 2011
5 - cataloged into LT 2012
17 - cataloged into LT 2013
4 - acquired previously but uncataloged until 2014 (have lots of these!)
18 - acquired 2014
34 - borrowed from library 2014

13streamsong
Nov 2, 2014, 8:39 am

Unpacked and open for business.

I haven't done any reviews of books read in October, so that will be the first order of business.

14Donna828
Nov 2, 2014, 3:10 pm

Janet, I will be reading I Am Malala soon, too. I had an errand to do at church that took me by the library. I keep forgetting that our little library has a decent budget for new books. This one jumped into my hands! I look forward to learning more about this remarkable young woman.

15streamsong
Nov 2, 2014, 4:17 pm

Thanks for stopping by, Donna. Malala will be interesting and I'll look forward to seeing what you think about it. There's currently a group read over in the category challenge as a shared biography. It will also be sort of a pre-screen as 87 yo Mom was wondering if it would work for the BC at her retirement village.

Most of the books I'm planning to read will be off my shelves for the last few months of the year. The exceptions, of course, are Mark's American authors read (Rabbit Run) coming up soon!) and my RL book club (Boys on the Boat later this month).

And all those LTER reviews I need to get caught up on.

And a few book bullets that I have already requested from the library and am on the waiting list.

I'm sure there will also be book bullets that I have not yet even imagined but will hit their mark as I traverse the threads.

Uh, oh sounds like reading as usual rather than concentrating on finishing my pyramid shaped ROOTS challenge ....

16streamsong
Modifié : Nov 2, 2014, 4:49 pm

First review of the October books:



84. - Unbroken - Lauren Hillenbrand
How It Fit Into My Current Reading:

- September Eastern Asia Geocat challenge – Japan (finished in October);
- World Map - Japan
- Oct TIOLI #10. Read a book with both orange and black on its cover;
- audiobook in the car;
ROOT #42/50- acquired 2012 = 2 ROOT points 154/185;

I'm not sure what to say about this one since it's been reviewed and discussed widely.

Louis Zamperini , headed for trouble, was in scrapes with the local police from the time when most kids are beginning to read. But when his brother forced him into running in a school track program, Louis found out he enjoyed it. And he found that he could be good, even great.

He smashed high school and open records for the mile run. Although he was not at his physical peak when he ran in the Berlin Olympics, he impressed everyone, even Adolf Hitler, with a tremendous burst of speed during one race.

He was widely regarded as the man who would accomplish the first four minute mile.

But then World War II intervened and Louis became a bombadier in the South Pacific. When his plane went down in the ocean, he and another man survived in an open life raft longer than any other downed American, battling lack of food and water, relentless sun, sharks eager to pull the men from the raft and even a Japanese strafing. But his rescuers were Japanese, and Louis spent the rest of the war under the most brutal conditions imaginable, being starved and tortured in a Japanese POW camp and seeing his friends die around him.

Once again Louis managed to beat the odds and return home at the end of the war to his eagerly awaiting friends and family. Re-entry into normal life was tougher than Louis had imagined. He was no longer able to run due to an injury he received while a POW. His new marriage and baby daughter were at risk as he self-medicated what what we would now call PTSD and depression with oceans of alcohol.

And then, once again, his life course changed as he was reluctantly dragged to a Billy Graham Crusade.

A remarkable story of courage and an unwillingness to admit defeat.

17qebo
Nov 2, 2014, 4:31 pm

>15 streamsong: I'm trying to tie up loose ends for the year, and I keep getting distracted... I've starred the group reads you mention, Collapse (which I have and think I partially read a few years ago) and I am Malala (on my WL)... My track record for group reads is lousy, though. I've just this past week finished The Selfish Gene, a month after the deadline, don't know when I'll get around to discussing / reviewing.

18streamsong
Modifié : Nov 2, 2014, 5:43 pm

>16 streamsong: Katherine, I've been working on Collapse for several months now - hope to get it done this month LOL.

And I never did make it to The Selfish Gene. I think we overbooked on the Science Religion and History group reads. There is a bit of discussion going on about how to do it differently next year.

19streamsong
Modifié : Nov 2, 2014, 5:16 pm



85. Spirit Tailings: Ghost Tales from Virginia City, Butte and Helena - Ellen Baumler -
How It Fits Into My Current Reading:

- Halloween/Spooky read on the 75'ers group
- October TIOLI #14 - Read a book that is dark
ROOT #43 - Acquired 2013 = 1 ROOT point

When you live in a part of the Old West, settled by miners during gold, silver and copper rushes, you have disputes. You also have citizen-riven justice like Virginia City's famous Vigilantes and then, well, you have ghosts.

This is a fun collection of stories from mining camps-turned-cities published by the Montana Historical Society. The local histories are the star and are quite entertaining. The subsequent ghost stories lack something in the chills-along-the-spine department and read more like third person accounts of neutral events.

One definite chill, though, in an account of a haunted hotel in Nevada City with a deep male voice saying, "Get Out". Pretty standard ghost stuff, except that a friend's brother captured a deep male voice saying that same thing in the same location when her brother was videotaping a tour they were taking.

An entertaining October read.

20drachenbraut23
Nov 5, 2014, 7:10 am

HI Janet,

was coming over here in the hope to see your review of The Underground Girls of Kabul. Howevever, I see you are planning to read I am Malala which is on my WL already. I just would love to find out a little more about this amazing young Girl who went though so much in her efforts to fight for the Girl's right for education.

Looking at your books I thought you might would enjoy I am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced I came across this book a couple of years back when I read in the National Geographic about the ongoing problems of child marriages across several countries across the globe. This was a heart breaking, but at the same time hope bringing book.

21streamsong
Nov 6, 2014, 8:20 am

Sorry to tease you, Bianca. I'm working on the review, but I feel really uninspired writing reviews lately and I'm so far behind.

Thanks for the recommendation of I Am Nujood. It sounds very interesting and I will put it on the old wishlist.

22ronincats
Nov 7, 2014, 9:51 pm

Lovely ambitious new thread, Janet!

23drachenbraut23
Nov 8, 2014, 8:28 am

>21 streamsong: No worries, there Janet. We can compare notes when I finished my copy of the book :)

Wish you a wonderful weekend.

24streamsong
Nov 8, 2014, 9:56 am

Hi Roni-- Heehee - the lists are getting long, aren't they! I took part in far too many challenges this year in an attempt to read more books off my shelves. And it's worked, but I miss reading more of the new books that everyone is talking about.

Hi Bianca - I hope you have a nice weekend, too! See if you can find a copy of the Afghani movie Osama. I think you'll find it interesting.

I have far, far too many things to get done today. Winter is coming fast and I am way behind on the outside work, due in part to my back acting up, and in part to a bit of depression - not unusual for me as the days get shorter. Mid afternoon I'm taking my mother to meet up with my son and daughter in Missoula, about an hour away to celebrate my daughter's birthday. We plan on eating at a very nice ethnic restaurant (North African, Middle Eastern, etc). I haven't been there before but it has great reviews and they ship their spice mixes throughout the United States via Amazon. They even have a spice of the month club with spices & recipes sent each month. I think I'd enjoy that on my Christmas list!

25streamsong
Modifié : Avr 13, 2015, 9:09 am

And finally my review for one of the most interesting books I've read this year:



86. The Underground Girls of Kabul: In Search of a Hidden Resistance in Afghanistan - Jenny Nordberg
How It Fits My Reading Now:

- LTER
- October TIOLI #5. Read a book with an S and a T in the title that you've never read before

Swedish journalist Jenny Nordberg was waiting to interview a female member of Afghan's Parliament whom she calls Azita.

She was sitting in Azita's parlor being entertained by Azita's daughters when one had a surprising confidence - “My brother is a girl”, the little girl said.

So begins Nordberg's foray into the Afghan practice bacha posh (dressed up like a boy).

Nordberg found the practice not as rare as Westerners might guess. Many Afghanis admitted to knowing one of these girls, if not directly than as 'my cousin's cousin' or 'a girl in the next village' way. As to why this practice is not more recognized in the west – as Azita says Westerners, especially aid societies for Afghan women, are often better at instructing than listening.

These girls whose families choose to dress them as boys do so for many reasons. All of them reflect the realities of living in a culture where boys are valued and girls are not. First off, women need a male escort to travel outside their homes. Again. this is much easier if one has a son in the family.

In Azita's case, if she had not had a son, running for political office would have been much more difficult for her. She would have been judged by many as having deserted her duty by giving up childbearing before a son was produced. The other alternative to having one of her daughters dress as a son would to have been to let her husband take another wife (in his case a third) to produce a male heir.

Some believe that dressing a daughter as a son is a sort of magic – that being in the constant presence of a boy child means that the next child will also be male. Nordbend believes that there is evidence that this practice is very old and dates to the pre-Islamic era.

Another somewhat magical belief is that a woman can willfully determine the sex of her child, so that bearing a female child is seen as an act of defiance.

And then there are the families that would like their daughter to have an education and see this as the only way to achieve this.

For any and all of the reasons, these girls take on all the characteristics, mannerisms and bravado of a boy. They are accepted in society as boys until shortly before puberty; at that time a son may instantly turn back into a daughter. This process is relatively easy as Afghanistan does not issue birth certificates. The local mullah (holy man) often proclaims the birth and sex of a newborn. Obviously, then the mullahs may be in complicity when a girl becomes bacha posh at birth.

Although most bacha posh marry, (the only path open to Afghani girls) a few refuse to turn back into girls and become 'honorary uncles' living with the women of a household, but dressing and acting as men throughout their lifetimes.

Muslim fundamentalists, however, forbid the practice and it was treated harshly under the rule of the Taliban. The acclaimed Afghani movie Osama tells the bleak story of one girl who attempted this under Taliban rule.

This was an incredibly intriguing look at gender roles from a very different, non-Western point of view. I came away from this book with a much greater understanding of life in a conservative Muslim nation, as well as sadness for the necessities of bacha posh.

Highly recommended.

26connie53
Nov 9, 2014, 1:44 pm

Hi Janet, just stopping in and waving.

I hope winter will be kind to you!

27streamsong
Nov 10, 2014, 9:31 am

Thanks for stopping by, Connie.

There was a typhoon that bounced along the southern parts of Alaska and is now making it's way through our region and heading east. I woke up to several inches of snow. We're supposed to have bitter cold this week - lows down to 0F and highs in the teens. Brrrrrrrr - Way too early!

28connie53
Nov 10, 2014, 2:31 pm

I do a 'BRRRRR' too! That's ....cold, very cold!

29streamsong
Modifié : Nov 16, 2014, 9:50 am

And still continuing with October reading:



87. Simply Sane by Gerald May
How It Fit My Reading Now:

- The_Hibernator's September/October Suicide and Mental Illness Read;
- TIOLI #1: Read a book with a species of bird named in the narrative (martini /4; pattern /5)
- ROOT #44/50 2009 = 5 ROOT points

The subtitle of this book, “The Spirituality of Mental Health” piqued my curiosity since it is an intersection of two of my interests.

Message: Struggling against the person you really are and not paying attention to what is going on now will make you very unhappy. At the same time, while you need to drop the impossible struggle for perfection, you must recognize that change may be part of the authentic self that you need to become.

I found much of the book to have a Zen -like koan quality without the author actually mentioning Buddhism. This book was written in 1982, before some of the more recent popular works on Buddhist practices in psychology, such as those on mindfulness, were published. This seems to be an ancestor of those more recent and to me, at least, more relevant books.

30streamsong
Nov 15, 2014, 12:12 pm

Well, we definitely got our winter weather this week. It's currently about 2F out there this morning along with the 2-3 inches of snow that fell this week.

Even with the cold, I did go to the Joan Baez concert in Missoula on Tuesday night. Wow. At 72, her voice is still amazing and she is still awesome. Listening to her sing 'Where Have All the Flowers Gone' on the evening of Veteran's Day brought me to tears. It was a total privilege to be there. Go, if she comes anywhere close to where you are.

The random lady next to me told me she had been to a concert of Baez's 5-10 years ago where everyone rode a ski gondola up a mountain and then listened to her sing in a sort of natural amphitheater at the top, surrounded by mountain peaks and sunset. Wish I could have been there!

My main book is The Boys in the Boat for book club on Thursday. So far, so good.

I also picked up my ILL copy of Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? which I've read great reviews in several people's threads.

But my audio copy of Rabbit Run had been checked out by someone else. The nerve! It looks like I'll be late in this month's AA challenge.

31drachenbraut23
Modifié : Nov 15, 2014, 2:53 pm

Hello Janet. Brilliant Review of The Underground Girls of Kabul I am almost 1/2 way through and think it is absolutely great. When I have got time I will also try to track down the movie and watch it.

What annoying with the library copy of Rabbit Run. I listened to the book last year and thought it wasn't a bad story, but it didn't thrill me either. Curious to see what you think once you finished.

32streamsong
Nov 16, 2014, 9:34 am

Hi Bianca - thanks for stopping by. I always appreciate your comments.

I sat down to read a few pages of Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? and finished it in one sitting. Elderly parents are an extremely tough subject, and I identified with many of Roz Chast's dilemmas and worries. I was hoping it would be one that I could share with my mother and get some dialogue going, but I think she would be offended and not see the humor in the situations. So I started reading the introduction of Being Mortal which is a less humorous look at the same hard questions and which has also gotten stellar reviews here on LT.

33streamsong
Modifié : Nov 16, 2014, 1:07 pm



88. The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
How It Fit My Reading Now:

- October Real Life Bookclub;
- October TIOLI # 7. Read a book whose title starts with a letter of HALLOWEEN in rolling order;
- state map: Massachusetts
ROOT # 45/50; acquired 2013 = 1 ROOT point

As a young man in India, Ashoke Ganguli was reading a book of Nikolai Gogol's short stories when there was a horrendous train crash. Ashoke was pulled from death in the wreckage when a rescuer noticed the movement of the fluttering pages.

Ashoke and his new bride Ashima, moved to the United States soon after they were married in order for Ashoke to go to schoo. He thend then moved on to a career in US acadamia. His bride, Ashima, is a housewife, isolated by her lack of English. She finds her friends among other Indian immigrants.

It is the Indian custom to give children 'pet' names that are used by the family and friends, and also a 'good' name, which is a formal auspicious name . Their American born son was given Gogol as his pet name. Since a pet name is never used in formal or legal situations, it did not matter to his parents that this name is neither Indian nor American and, and, as Gogol says “not even a proper first name” but a surname. But mix a lost letter from his Grandmother who had chosen the boy's 'good' name, with a bit of American bureaucracy, and Gogol becomes his official name, much to the owner's unhappiness.

Gogol is a self-identified ABCD :American Born Confused Desi. It's a slightly perjorative term used regarding the first generation of Indian Americans, struggling to find their place. Gogol finds himself navigating the complex Indian culture of his parents, as well as the American culture which he longs to be part.

It's both a coming-of-age story and a modern immigration story as a boy finds his place, standing atop several worlds. It's a story I was glad to share. Recommended.

34streamsong
Modifié : Nov 16, 2014, 1:06 pm



89. The Age of Innocence - Edith Wharton
- How It Fits Into My Reading:

- American Author Challenge;
- October TIOLI ##4: Read a book that is older than you (by publishing date);
- 1001 Books;
- audiobook from the library

When Newland Archer contemplates taking a bride, he decides on the very suitable and conventional May Welland. But then he meets May's cousin, Ellen Olenska. She's a somewhat scandalous woman of dubious past since she fled an abusive marriage with a European count aided by his male secretary.

Newland finds her fascinating and begins to question whether he can be happy with his conventional life with May.

In Victorian New York, ruling social mores are iron-clad and so Newland must make his choice whether to stray outside the conventions of the day.

This was a gentle, slow moving story with bits of wit and wisdom scattered like stars throughout.

However, having just read Giovanni's Room which undertook some of the same themes of conventionality versus love, this one lacked the spark and sizzle and down right unforgettable-nes of that one.

Age of Innocence is the much more 'enjoyable' read, but Giovanni's Room will haunt me forever.

35drachenbraut23
Modifié : Nov 16, 2014, 1:37 pm

>32 streamsong: Janet. Odd that you just finished reading Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? I started the GN this morning and got about a bit more 1/2 way through and talked with my sister about it, because so far I only see little humor in it. Sorry. Some of her comments she makes just "rub me the wrong way" (is that a phrase you would use in English?) and when I discussed this with my sister, we both felt that I may be a bit sensitive when it comes to old people. I felt some of her comments were quite rude and disrespectful and others where I thought they were so spot on. However, I will finish it first and will than decide what I think.

I loved Being Mortal and I did need a tissue from time to time. I think this is a great book to read with an elderly person who hasn't given the future any thought.

A Tale For The Time Being would be a good book for a book club, if they enjoy epistolary style, tossed in with magical realism. I do know that some people didn't enjoy that. It did work absolutely fantastic for me. There are lots of themes which could be discussed in more detail such as bullying and suicide.

I wish you a wonderful remaining Sunday :)

36EBT1002
Nov 16, 2014, 4:03 pm

Hi Janet, I loved The Boys in the Boat but of course it is set where I live and work.
I've put Being Mortal on my wish list.
I highly recommend A Tale for the Time Being. I loved it and I'm not a huge fan of magical realism. For me, there wasn't that much of a magical realist edge to it.

37streamsong
Modifié : Nov 17, 2014, 9:40 am

>35 drachenbraut23: Hi Bianca - I understand what you're saying about Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?. I was hoping to be able to share this one with my Mom, but I think she would find it offensive, too. 'Rubbing the wrong way' is definitely a phrase Americans use and understand.

For me, though, it made me laugh at the sad absurdity of some situations. I could so see myself in the daughter thinking "What a good daughter I am!' only to have everything go splat almost immediately after that thought. For instance, once Mom fell and was having a lot of pain in her leg to the point she couldn't walk on it. I finally convinced her three days later it really needed to be seen and took her to the ER for XRays. Luckily, there wasn't a break, but I had the ER doctor lecturing me about 1. abusing the emergency room (after seeing her horrible arthritis on the xrays, he backed off that one) and 2. how I was negligent in letting Mom (whom the doctor treated as totally incompetent) live alone. There was no 'letting'. She was insisting on staying in her house. Both Mom & I left that one in tears.

I figure Mom & I are in Chapter 11 of the book (she's left her home this summer and is now in an independent senior apartment/assisted living). I say 'we' since it's sort of like the phrase 'we are pregnant'. It's a hard balancing act to help her out and at the same time manage my own life.

Being Mortal is definitely giving me some insight into the independence issues.

38streamsong
Nov 17, 2014, 9:38 am

>36 EBT1002: Thanks for stopping by, Ellen!

With two strong recommendations, I'll definitely suggest A Tale for the Time Being to the book club. At the November meeting, we start making suggestions for books and then vote on a year's worth at the December Christmas party & pot luck.

I think I'll also suggest The Narrow Road to the Deep North and perhaps The Underground Girls of Kabul although that last one may be a bit hard to find enough inexpensive copies.

I'm loving all the historical stuff in Boys in the Boat - WWII, Hitler, Great Depression, Dust Bowl and the personal stories. I'm having a harder time warming up to the sections about the sport itself.

39streamsong
Modifié : Nov 22, 2014, 10:24 am

Last of the October books!:



90. Blue Like Jazz - Donald Miller
How It Fits Into My Reading Now:

- October RandomCat: Read a book bullet from a fellow LT'er;
- Oct TIOLI #1 - Read a book with a bird in the text, but not in the title (penguin)
- ROOT #46/50; Acquired 2009 = 5 ROOT points (166/185)

The subtitle of this book is "Nonreligions thoughts on Christian Spirituality", which I think is a bit misleading. They essays are definitely Christian – just a slightly different form than your standard church theology.

I’ve had this on my TBR stack for several years. I’m really glad I finally got around to it. Donald Miller tells of his spiritual walk during his college and early adulthood. It’s a time when many question what they believe, and often, if they are raised in a Christian home, it’s the first time their faith is truly intellectually challenged. Miller chose a different path than many college bound Christians – he chose Reed College which he calls one of the most liberal colleges in the Pacific Northwest. There he found his faith grew by leaps and bounds.

One of my favorite college scenes was the confessional booth he and a small group of friends set in the middle of a very wild college festival. But in this confessional booth, Miller did not expect their guests to confess their sins, but apologized for the wrongs Christianity had inflicted on others throughout history. And that certainly got the attention of many of the dyed-in-the-wool atheists who stopped there. How do you argue with someone who is humbly and sincerely apologizing?

From the opening words: “I once listened to an Indian on television say that God was in the wind and the water, and I wondered at how beautiful that was because it meant you could swim in Him or have Him brush your face in a breeze”, to the closing “Much love to you and thanks for listening to us sing” I loved this book. I wished I had read it when I was in college, so I did the next best thing: I just bought a copy for my nephew, a junior in high school. I’ll be looking for more by Donald Miller.

4.5 stars

40streamsong
Nov 19, 2014, 1:06 am

Oh, dear. I seem to have a wandering fur person applying to live here.

Last week, one morning when it was below zero, I startled a cat who was under the tarp on my haystack. The cat took off like a streak, but sat in the nearby bramble bushes and meowed sadly for the 15 minutes I was out there. It wouldn't come to me, though, so I just left it be. It was so cold that morning that I wanted to do a bit of howling myself.

This morning here it was again, under the tarp. This time it was very friendly. When I stopped scratching its ears, it reached out with a very soft paw and pulled my hand back to scratch some more. It stood its ground while my golden retriever sniffed it. Nice fur, not thin, it has obviously not been on its own for long. Again, there were lots of sad meows so I caved and fed it and gave it some water. Did I mention it's a lady cat and, uh, somewhat round?

It was here again tonight; the haystack was meowing as soon as I was in earshot. I fed the horses in the front pen before I went back to the house for cat food. The little cat amused itself while it was waiting by washing the top of the retriever's head. "Is this your dog? I like dogs. I've always wanted to have a dog as a bestie".

There are just too many coyotes n owls n hawks n things for this to be an outside cat. So I guess I'll have to break down, take it to the vet, get it tested for FLV and see if it truly is a multi-cat package deal before I let it in the house with my other cat.

I suppose it could have someone looking for it so I'll do all the usual stuff, but I think this is a case of someone taking their 'well-rounded' mom cat out to the country for it to find a new home before it has kittens. Grrr. In this weather, it's hard to believe.

41qebo
Nov 19, 2014, 9:18 am

>40 streamsong: multi-cat package deal
I have two cats acquired from a colleague who lived in the country; the package deal appeared in his barn suddenly in July, which is at least more civilized. Grrr indeed. (Oh, but we'll all want to see photos.)

42streamsong
Modifié : Nov 22, 2014, 10:48 am

The little cat is still around. I've dubbed her Elsa since she showed up in a blizzard. She and Ginny, the golden retriever, are besties. She washes Ginny's ears anytime they come close enough. Ginnie bows and begs her to play. Last night when I was out feeding, the two were curled up together watching as I chipped ice. I tried to convince Elsa to come in, but she panicked and wouldn't - fought when I tried to carry her. There is supposed to be another storm move through today, so she may change her mind.

I'm not sure how Callie, the cat in residence, will accept another cat. Callie is scared to death of all other cats. She's also not crazy about people. She's a middle age rescue and won't be changing her attitudes anytime soon. She doesn't want to be a cuddle cat, but I don't think she wants anyone else applying for the position, either.

43streamsong
Nov 21, 2014, 9:22 am



91. - Roald Dahl's Book of Ghost Stories - Roald Dahl
How It Fits Into My Current Reading:

- Halloween Spooky Reads on the 75;
- TIOLI #20: Read a book with a word in the title related to death or the afterlife;
- Bitterroot Library Book Sale 9/24/2014



Roald Dahl has always been a fan of the supernatural scare. Before the TV series The Twilight Zone began, Dahl envisioned a similar show with a weekly ghost story. In prepration he read hundreds of them and found only a dozen or so to his liking. While the show did not take off, he continued to read ghost stories and this is a collection of his favorites.

These fourteen stories include some by well known authors such as Edith Wharton. They are the old -fashioned story without great globs of gore. Many times you don't realize you are dealing with a ghost until the ending.

I enjoyed them as a good October read, but there was nothing spectacularly spooky about any of them.
Recommended for those who like their ghost stories shivery but not terrifying.
3 stars

44streamsong
Modifié : Nov 30, 2014, 11:49 am



.92. The Apostle Paul (The Great Courses - Luke Timothy Johnson
How It Fits Into My Current Reading:

- November TIOLI #5. Read a book with an embedded word in the title
- audiobook in the car;
- ROOT #47/50 - acquired 2011 = 3 ROOT points (169/185)

This is another of the really good Coursera/The Great Courses series, this one by well-known New Testament scholar, Luke Timothy Johnson.

Johnson examines Paul's ministry through the New Testament Acts of the Apostles and through Paul's letters. He examines the authenticity controversies of several of them and also looks at content as well as the intention behind the content.

I listened to this audio several times, as I listened to the relevant sections as I a, doing my 'reading through the entire Bible with commentary' project. To finish it up, I now listened to all the sections in their proper order, one additional time.

I think I'd have to re-listen several more times to have a good grasp on this subject matter. I'll also look for more by Dr. Johnson.

Recommended – 4 Stars.

45drachenbraut23
Nov 22, 2014, 10:29 am

>37 streamsong: I finished Can't we talk about something more Pleasant and still have quite mixed feelings about the book. Some aspects made me absolutely laugh, because they were so spot on, but there were still some things which just made me cross. However, I felt the GN addressed the ensuing problems of elderly parents quite well and I actually felt sorry for Roz Chast by the end of the book. I can understand quite well all the daunting issues and this and Being Mortal together highlight quite a few important issues to look at. Not just from the financial side, but also the emotional complications involved.

I hope to wrap up The Underground Girls of Kabul tonight at so far I am just amazed at this book, such an interesting read.

I also finished Burial Rites by Hannah Kent last night, another brilliant read. I couldn't remember if you read this already, but this could be a good book for a book club as well.

Love your cat story. So, once you have taken her to the vet and nobody is going to claim her, she will be your new edition to the household?
I would love to see some pics of her :)

46streamsong
Modifié : Nov 22, 2014, 2:17 pm

>45 drachenbraut23: Hi Bianca - Yes, couldn't agree with you more, on CWTASMP. I'm really glad I read it and it truly helped me recognize some of what I was feeling - but I won't be sharing it with Mom. Being Mortal on the other hand, is very interesting to me as well as a fairly quick read and I hope I can share that book with Mom. Even if she's not interested in reading Being Mortal, between the two books I have a lot to think about it and hopefully they will help me understand her a bit better.

No, I haven't read Burial Rites. I'll take a look at that one, too, for the book club. Thanks for the recommendation!

Elsa the stray cat is now hiding somewhere inside. Hopefully, she'll emerge soon, so I can put her in the back bathroom with a litter box (I have no idea if she's litter trained) and keep her separate until the vet checks her out. Callie, the cat-in-residence met the situation with a few indignant howls and a hiss or two. She then spent an hour or so guarding her two favorite toys and is now perched on the back of a chair where she can feel safe and yet spot the intruder when she emerges.

I'd like to keep Elsa. We'll see what the vet says about whether kittens are on the way, health issues etc.

I'll try to get a pic or two. She and the retriever are really cute together. I've never seen a dog so bonded with a stray cat.

47streamsong
Modifié : Nov 24, 2014, 7:31 am



93. Blue Shoes and Happiness - Alexander McCall Smith
How It Fits Into My Reading Now:

- started for Oct MysteryCat: Global Mysteries;
- Nov TIOLI #15. Read a book where the title or author's name contain a "traditional" Thanksgiving holiday item, though not necessarily food
- ROOT #48 acq'd 2011 = 3 ROOT points - 172/185

Another enjoyable entry in the No 1 Ladies' Detective series. Like the others of this serie that I've read, it's filled with warmth and gentle humor, along with a bit of a Botswana twist. I've read lots of mysteries this year since I've been reading along with the MysteryCat challenge, but sometimes it's a nice change to read one where a bit of blackmail doesn't leave a pile of bodies. These are great as a sparkling palette cleanser between more serious reads.

48streamsong
Modifié : Nov 26, 2014, 11:46 am



94. Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? - Roz Chast

How It Fits Into My Current Reading:

- mostly chosen because of the subject and I've seen many favorable reviews on friends' threads
- TIOLI #10. Read a book as an act of remembrance
- library

This is Roz Chast's graphic non-fiction (illustrated memoir) about her parents' old age, decline and eventual deaths. We see them become increasingly more frail and unable to live on their own, requiring more help in day to day tasks.

Chast pulls no punches. In her story, I see the story of my own parents and I see myself as she struggles with time and money to help her parents. She doesn't always do it with grace – who can be perpetually gracious when juggling one's own career and family with the needs of parents, who also need increasingly more time? She tries to inject a bit of humor, but it often the humor comes off as a very sad wry wink at fate as when her father, once a professor and lover of words, is robbed of his words by Alzheimer's.

I had hoped to be able to share this one with my 88 year old mother to generate some conversation. My father passed away in a nursing home last year, and I so wish we could have done things differently. But while this book absolutely nails my experiences with my aging parents, it's not going to be shared with Mom. I think she would find it rather depressing and be offended at some of the humor.

Still, if you have an aging loved one in your family, or want to contemplate your own future, I think this book is quite thought provoking and recommended. 4 stars.

49drachenbraut23
Nov 27, 2014, 7:45 pm

I wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving with your family Janet :)!

>48 streamsong: Excellent review of Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? I am still pondering what I would like to say about it *grin*

Finshed with The Underground Girls of Kabul and thought it was a brilliant book. Jenny Nordberg highlighted the longstanding issues in Afghan society incredible well and after reading the book I can see that Afghanistan still has a long and rocky road ahead, until they may will be able to achieve any changes within their social structure. I also found it incredible interesting that she mentioned the "Hidden Girls" across the world, throughout history.

50streamsong
Nov 28, 2014, 9:38 am

Thanks for stopping by, Bianca.

That's an interesting point about The Underground Girls of Kabul. Darn, there was so much interesting stuff in there it was hard to keep track of it all. It's definitely a book that I could read again.

51streamsong
Nov 29, 2014, 10:24 am

Yay! I won the audiobook of Ha Jin' s newest book, A Map of Betrayal from the November LTER. I really wasn't going to request any more LTER books until I get caught up on my reviews, but I have an almost non-existent audiobook queue, so I went for it.

And I received my October LTER win, Rita Mae Brown's Let Sleeping Dogs Lie on an otherwise downer of a day. It was like getting a little present in the mail and cheered me up immensely. :-) I love her horses and foxhunting mysteries (Yay! she gets the horses right!).

I love the variety I get to read through the ER program.

I'm currently reading my July LTER, The Last Queen of Sheba, religious historical fiction of the relationship between the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon. This is a British author, Jill Francis Hudson, and so is quite a bit more subtle than some of the US Evangelical Christian fiction I've read. :-) This is her only book published in the US, but she has several more published in Britain, and they might be worth seeking out.

The rest of my neglected LTER TBR queue:
- Barren Grounds: The Story of the Tragic Moffatt Canoe Trip by Skip Pessl I actually received two copies of this one and will send the second copy to anyone who would like it.
- Beijing Bastard - Val Wang
- Tehran Noir - Salar Abdoh
- new to the queue Let Sleeping Dogs Lie
- and waiting to receive: A Map of Betrayal - audiobook

So here it is in black and white. I promise ..... hmm well, how about **probably won't** request any more until I get these caught up.

52streamsong
Nov 30, 2014, 9:46 am

My beloved x husband passed away yesterday.

There's no place in this world for an x spouse to grieve.

53streamsong
Modifié : Nov 30, 2014, 11:50 am



95. I Am Malala - Malala Yousafzai
How It Fits Into My Current Reading

– Catagory challenge biography group read;
- Nov TIOLI #6. Read a book whose title starts with a one letter word;
- world map: Pakistan
- audiobook; – library;

This year, 2014, at age 16 , Malala Yousafzai won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Malala grew up in a family that believed in educaton. Her father had had a dream of running a school and began one shortly after he finished his own education. With only a few students and a less-than-ideal building close to a river used for discarding garbage, Malala's father slaved his way into becoming a respected headmaster of a growing school. He also was a vocal advocate for all children receiving an education.

Malala grew up in the school, an avid student at the top of her class and also soaking in her father's ideals. She convinced her father to provide scholarships for several children whose families were too poor to be able to afford the fees such as kids who picked through the mountains of garbage at the local dump.

The political situation in Pakistan is very unstable, however, and became increasingly so as the Taliban moved into power. The Taliban did not want girls to attend school at all and wanted boys to learn a very proscribed short list of subjects. Malala's father's views became increasingly under fire and the family feared that he would be targeted. At this time Malala was approached by a Western News organization and encouraged to write a blog about her experiences under the Taliban using a pseudonym but occasionally let details of her real life slip through. She also became an experienced speaker, advocating for the rights of girls' education.

Malala's father did not believe that the Taliban would hurt a child. And then one day, the school bus that Malala was riding in was stopped by armed men in black.

This is a courageous story of a very courageous girl. Her views and commitment seem to be beyond one of her age. One might attribute this to ghost writing, but I've heard her interviewed on PBS and she is obviously a very well spoken and thoughtful person with a wisdom far beyond her years. While reading, I often wondered if I would have had the courage to allow my daughter to act as Malala did.

The audiobook was extremely well done. The introduction is read by Malala herself. The rest of the book is read by actress Archie Panjabi, who does a truly excellent job and makes the book come to life.

4 stars.

54qebo
Nov 30, 2014, 11:58 am

>52 streamsong: I'm so sorry. I hope you can find some place, even if social conventions are lacking.

55Familyhistorian
Nov 30, 2014, 8:45 pm

>52 streamsong: I am sorry for your loss. Even though he was x he was still part of your living history. It is good that you are at a place where you can say that he was beloved - I still have ambivalent feelings over the loss of my x.

56streamsong
Déc 1, 2014, 12:55 am

Thank you, >54 qebo: & >55 Familyhistorian:.

It's a stressful time. Last night I got punched in the gut by the news. Today I've been kicked in the teeth a couple times.

57ronincats
Déc 1, 2014, 1:02 am

You always have a connection to an ex--I'm so sorry for your loss.

58streamsong
Déc 1, 2014, 1:13 am

Thanks, Roni.

Yeah, we were married 29 years before he fell in love with someone else. I still loved him. I have cried oceans.

I am a fool.

59drneutron
Déc 1, 2014, 9:04 am

I'm so sorry for your loss, too.

60scaifea
Déc 1, 2014, 12:43 pm

I'm so sorry. Keeping you in my thoughts...

61jolerie
Déc 1, 2014, 10:19 pm

*De-lurking* to give you a hug....

62drachenbraut23
Déc 3, 2014, 9:51 am

*big hug* Janet. No you are not a fool. 29 years is almost 1/3 of your life and I really feel with you. I keep you in my thoughts as well.

63streamsong
Déc 4, 2014, 8:21 am

Thank you for the kind words Jim, Amber, Valerie & Bianca.

It's been a very humbling week with lots to think about and lots of regrets.

64streamsong
Modifié : Déc 13, 2014, 10:12 am

With all going on this week I'm finding short stories the way to go and I'm enjoying an anthology of Christmas-related mysteries by well known authors from the book Murder for Christmas by Thomas Godfrey. There are 26 stories. That's one a day until Christmas plus one for Boxing Day.



So far I've read:
John Collier's Back For Christmas (3.8 stars)
Woody Allen's Mr Big - Meh 2 stars
Arthur Conan Doyle's The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle - Reread but I couldn't remember how it came out 3.8 stars
Agatha Christie 's The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding - I think it's possible I haven't read a Hercule Poirot story before - very entertaining! 4 stars
Today's Selection: Damon Runyun's Dancing Dan's Christmas

I've also started Justice by Larry Watson for the American Author's Challenge. It's a series of short stories (the first one was an excellent novella) with characters mentioned in Montana 1948.

I think I'll recommend Watson's latest book Let Him Go to the RL book club for next year. We usually read one Montana book if we can fit it in.

The library has let me know that my copy of Rabbit Run has reappeared. It doesn't sound like very jolly holiday reading, but I'll start it after finishing my current audiobook The Foreign Correspondent by Alan Furst. This one isn't working very well for me on audio. I don't know if it's because I horribly distracted right now or if the plot twists and turns are a bit much on audio. Whenever I finish a disc, I immediately listen to it again since I feel I've lost so much of the story.

65evilmoose
Déc 5, 2014, 10:30 am

So sorry to hear of your loss - sending hugs.

66countrylife
Déc 6, 2014, 6:55 pm

I'm sorry for your loss. Even if he bore the title "ex", it doesn't x-out the devotion that you once shared and the memories. May your memories warm your heart as you grieve.

67streamsong
Modifié : Déc 7, 2014, 3:13 pm

Thank you, Megan and Cindy. Hugs help.

So, after watching Shark Tank a week or two ago, I bought myself one of these:



It's called a Kitchen Safe. You put whatever you want in it, set the timer, and it is locked. There is **no** override on the timer. If you want what's in there before the set time, the only thing to do is to break the base, which I think would be quite hard (sledgehammer-ish) to accomplish.

I'm using mine for chocolate. I bought myself a container of gourmet chocolate at Costco yesterday. I take out one piece, relock it, and that's it for 24 hours for me.

This silly gadget has been a bit of fun in an otherwise bleakish week. It can also be used for TV remotes, game cartridges, internet devices, credit cards, whatever you have trouble with overusing. I wonder if my brother and his family would be insulted if I sent them one for Christmas.

http://www.thekitchensafe.com/

68Familyhistorian
Déc 7, 2014, 5:13 pm

Ooh, some of them are also see-through. I am not sure if that would be good or bad. If you could see what is in there you would know you hadn't misplaced something but if you really craved something it might make it more difficult.

Chocolate is a helpful way of getting through rough times. (( Hugs))

69EBT1002
Déc 8, 2014, 1:28 am

>67 streamsong: Awesome.

70streamsong
Modifié : Déc 8, 2014, 9:11 am

Yeah, I would have been all over that chocolate last night without the safe.

I'm not sure about one as a present for a home with kids in it, though. I'm afraid my two high school age nephews could think of all sorts of nefarious plots against their brother using it.

I'm getting very little reading done right now. I did finish listening to the audio of The Foreign Correspondent and have replaced it with The Man Who Loved China

71AuntieClio
Déc 9, 2014, 9:07 pm

Janet, I am so sorry to hear about your ex. *hugs*

72streamsong
Modifié : Déc 11, 2014, 9:30 am

Last night I went to a craft session at the library to learn how to make a wreath from old book pages. This is not the one I made, but it looks pretty similar:



I made mine from a turn of the century cookery book - the books had already been de-paged when we got there. In this case, I think I would have rather had the book which looked charming ... illustrations included a young girl in a maid's uniform demonstrating various cookery techniques. But, for books that have loose pages or are out of date and not interesting, it's a clever idea. Old encyclopedias with gilt edge pages would make very pretty larger wreathes as would old sheet music.

There are YouTube videos on how to craft these if anyone's interested.

73ronincats
Déc 11, 2014, 11:26 am

Looks interesting--I would think pages from picture books would do well too.

That safe is rather amazing, and the only way I could safely have chocolate in the house. No see through for me, though--that would be way too frustrating.

74streamsong
Déc 11, 2014, 1:29 pm

>73 ronincats: - yes! I thought about picture books, too. Those well loved books where the pages are no longer attached or have some pages colored on could have a whole new life.

Yes, I love the safe. Lots of fun.

The clear ones would be useful if you needed to know that you hadn't locked your car keys in there somehow and were seriously contemplating breaking it.

75connie53
Déc 17, 2014, 1:13 pm

Hi Janet! So sorry to hear about your loss!

And I can't find an update on Elsa! Does she live with you now?

I want to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

76EBT1002
Déc 21, 2014, 12:28 am

Hang in there, Janet. I know this has been a tough few weeks.


77streamsong
Déc 21, 2014, 9:37 am

Thank you, Ellen. It has been rough, but I'm starting to feel some peace. Both kids will be here on Christmas Day which I am very thankful for.

Hi Connie - well little cat Elsa (so named because a month ago E showed up in a blizzard and sang sadly in the bushes for several days before letting me actually get a glimpse) has been to the vet and isn't the cat I thought. She's a he, a neutered male. This is very funny and a bit embarrassing as I have owned and raised cats and dogs and horses and all that stuff for fifty years. So what I thought was a half-grown female is a 4-5 year old very petite (although rather round) male. I'll have to call the Humane Society tomorrow and update his stats in case someone is looking. He's so friendly, and was in really good condition, as well as being neutered. He's got a story... how did a once loved cat end up in my haystack in a blizzard? He and my scared-of- everything resident cat are slowly working things out.

So Elsa has been renamed Cree, which is a Native American Tribe that lives a bit east of here. It also sounds a bit like the call of a hawk or in my mind, at least, the scream of a dragon. :-)

78streamsong
Modifié : Déc 21, 2014, 10:26 am

I've done very little reading and no reviewing in the last few weeks.

But yesterday, I finished the audio of The Man Who Loved China, book #100 for the year.

79connie53
Déc 21, 2014, 3:40 pm

Cree sounds real good! And no need to be embarrassed at all about misjudging the gendre of the cat. I'm sure he will find a good home at your place.

80ronincats
Déc 22, 2014, 12:01 am

I do think a picture of Cree is in order!

81connie53
Déc 23, 2014, 2:22 pm

A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

82ronincats
Déc 23, 2014, 10:41 pm

Janet, it's Chrismas Eve's eve, and so I am starting the rounds of wishing my 75er friends the merriest of Christmases or whatever the solstice celebration of their choice is.

83scaifea
Déc 24, 2014, 10:34 am

Happy Holidays!

84qebo
Déc 24, 2014, 11:37 am


Happy Holidays!

85jolerie
Modifié : Déc 25, 2014, 1:09 pm

From our family to yours!

86AuntieClio
Déc 24, 2014, 9:02 pm



Janet, I'm so happy to have made your acquaintance this year. Looking forward to continuing in 2015.

87streamsong
Déc 25, 2014, 10:12 am

Thank you for the Christmas greetings! Six inches of snow overnight made this like living inside a Christmas card!



And here's the link to the Western Montana facebook page if you want to see more of our spectacular scenery (you'all come visit, hear?)

https://www.facebook.com/westernmontana

as well as The Discover the Bitterroot page:

https://www.facebook.com/DiscoverTheBitterroot

Last night I had Christmas Eve dinner with my mother at her retirement community, Sapphire Lutheran Home.

The menus was:

Oyster Stew (or shrimp cocktail)
Caesar Salad
Pheasant Breast (or salmon)
Strawberries Jubilee (although they didn't set it on fire - sad face)

It was one of the best meals I have eaten here in the metropolis of Hamilton, Montana. I can't tell you how impressed I am!

88kidzdoc
Modifié : Déc 25, 2014, 10:14 am



Merry Christmas from Atlanta! No snow here...

89drachenbraut23
Déc 25, 2014, 12:17 pm



Love that Elsa is a Cree now - LOL and that he found a good home with you!

Wish you and your family a restful Christmas and a Happier New Year!

90PaulCranswick
Déc 27, 2014, 1:09 am

91countrylife
Déc 27, 2014, 10:54 am

What a nice Christmas Eve dinner! Is your mother liking her retirement community?

92streamsong
Déc 28, 2014, 9:54 am

>88 kidzdoc: & >90 PaulCranswick: Thanks for stopping by! Hope your holidays were nice!

>89 drachenbraut23: Thanks, Bianca. I know you're enjoying your holiday with your family.

>91 countrylife: Mom is liking it more and more now that the bad weather is here and she doesn't have to drive to find companionship, entertainment and help with errands. Unfortunately her health problems continue to escalate - her RA is getting worse limiting her mobility, and she is also developing shortness of breath. I'm afraid this next year will be challenging.

93streamsong
Déc 28, 2014, 10:12 am

No reviews done this past month and I just don't have the motivation right now to get caught up. So I'll list what I've read since the end of November:



96. The Boys in the Boat - Daniel James Brown - RL Bookclub; November TIOLI #14. Read a book in which the title contains an object or noun from a children's nursery rhyme or hand game; (What are Little Boys Made Of?); purchased 2014



97. Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End - Atul Gawande - Nov TIOLI # 13 "I Am Thankful for:" - purchase, 2014



98. The Foreign Correspondent - Allen Furst - TIOLI #16 - Read a book with nothing to do with Christmas; audiobook in car; acquired 2014

94Donna828
Déc 28, 2014, 10:12 am

>67 streamsong:: I need a kitchen safe. I made too many goodies this year. Gave a lot away, but there is still two kinds of fudge around to tempt me. My plan is to eat as much as I want (within reason) in the next few days and toss it out on January 1st!

>72 streamsong:: I am not very crafty but that wreath looks like something I would like to have. I have some old books with yellowing pages that might make interesting wreaths. We'll see if I get to it. Ha!

I hope 2015 is a good year for you, Janet. I know it was hard for you to lose your ex-husband and to find a new home for your mother. I'm glad she likes the company there -- the food sounds delicious! Enjoy your newest family member. That is a funny story about how Elsa became Cree. I love that name!

95streamsong
Déc 28, 2014, 10:16 am



99. Justice - Larry Watson - December - American Authors Challenge; Dec TIOLI #14 - Book Bingo category (short stories); library-



100. The Man Who Loved China - Simon Winchester - audiobook in the car; library; Group Read: Science Religion & History



101. Murder for Christmas: 26 Tales of Seasonal Malice - Thomas Godfrey ROOT #49/50 (not added when acquired); TIOLI #2; MysteryCat - Cozy mysteries

96streamsong
Déc 28, 2014, 10:21 am

>94 Donna828:. Thanks for stopping by, Donna!

I need to finish at least one of the two ROOTs I have in progress by the first in order to finish my ROOTS challenge of reading 50 books owned before 1/1/2014. It's the best I've done on a ROOTS challenge. I've also managed to acquire less books in 2014 - not that Planet TBR shrunk, but it didn't grow quite so fast :-)

97drachenbraut23
Jan 1, 2015, 8:59 am



Janet, I couldn't find your new thread yet, therefore - just stopping by to wish you a wonderful New Year in 2015!

98streamsong
Jan 3, 2015, 11:15 pm