The very booky adventures of evilmoose - Part I

Welcome to the wonderful world of 2016 books!

I'm Megan, an Australian/Canadian lurking in the Canadian Rockies. I mostly read audiobooks, as that way I can "read" and clean/cook/run/ride/etc. Although in 2015 there was a lot less running, biking, and skiing than I would like, after injuring my knee. I'm hoping this year will be a return to form on that front. But I'd still like to try and get through another 100 books or so, and keep up the non-fiction numbers again.

This was my effort to created an abbreviated an reasonable 'to read' list for 2016. Unfortunately I kept getting excited about more books, and the whole thing ended up out of control. Again.

I try to choose from this list, or from one of the challenges, as my first choice when deciding what to read next, but life doesn't always work out that way. I've started to try and note down where I got book recommendations from, but frequently don't remember!

MY ENORMOUS TO READ LIST (112)
✓ Chinua Achebe - Things Fall Apart
✓ Edward Albee - Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf
✓ Mitch Albom - The Five People You Meet In Heaven (BBC top 100)
• Honore de Balzac - Pere Goriot (Somerset Maugham's 10 best novels)
• Honore de Balzac - The Black Sheep (recommended by Greg Proops)
• Samuel Beckett - Malone Dies
✓ Samuel Beckett - Waiting for Godot
• Saul Bellow - Herzog
• Saul Bellow - The adventures of Augie March
• Lauren Beukes - Zoo City (charl08 recommend)
• William Boyd - Armadillo
• Andre Brink - Praying Mantis (charl08 recommend)
• Andre Brink - Rumours of Rain (can't find audiobook) (LT recommendation)
• Mikhail Bulgakov - The Fatal Eggs
• John Bunyan - Pilgrim's Progress
• AS Byatt - Possession (BBC top 100)
✓ Chekhov
• Erskine Childers - The Riddle of the Sands
• Kate Chopin - The Awakening
✓ J.M. Coetzee - Disgrace (won awards)
• J.M. Coetzee - Boyhood (charl08 recommend)
• Joseph Conrad - Nostromo
• James Crumley (via Greg Proops)
• Charles Dickens - David Copperfield (BBC top 100)
• Charles Dickens - Bleak House (BBC top 100)
• Benjamin Disraeli - Sybil
• Fyodor Dostoevsky - Demons
✓ William Faulkner - As I Lay Dying
• Henry Fielding - Tom Jones (Somerset Maugham's 10 best novels)
• Ford Madox Ford - The Good Soldier
• Ford Maddox Ford - Parade's End
• E.M. Forster - Where Angels fear to tread
✓ Karen Joy Fowler - We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves (2014 Booker nominee)
✓ George MacDonald Fraser - Flashman (Greg Proops recommendation)
• William Gadis - J R
✓ Neil Gaiman - First of the Sandman novels
• Nancy Garden - Annie on my mind
• Lewis Grassic Gibbon - A Scots Quair
• Alisdair Gray - Lanark
✓ Graham Greene - The End of the Affair
• Thomas Hardy - Far From The Madding Crowd (BBC top 100)
• Henrich Harrer - The White Spider
• Samantha Hayes - Until You're Mine
• John Irving - A Prayer for Owen Meaney (BBC top 100)
• Henry James - The Portrait of a Lady
✓ Jerome K. Jerome - Three men in a Boat
• James Joyce - Ulysses
✓ Franz Kafka - The Trial
✓ Jack Kerouac - On The Road (BBC top 100)
• Jack Kerouac - The Dharma Bums
• Arthur Koestler - The Ghost in the Machine
• Arthur Koestler - Darkness at Noon (I read this in 2009... and forgot?)
• Milan Kundera - Immortality
• D.H. Lawrence - The Rainbow
✓ John Le Carre - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
• Kathy Lette & Gabrielle Carey - Puberty Blues
• Primo Levi - If Not Now, When? (LT recommendation)
• Penelope Lively - The Photograph (after reading 75ers LT reviews BAC)
• Eric Lomax - The Railway Man
✓ Barry Lopez - Crossing Open Ground
• HP Lovecraft - The call of Cthulhu & other weird stories
• Scott Lynch - The Republic of thieves (Gentlemen Bastards #3)
• Thomas Mann - Magic Mountain
• Ngaio Marsh - Death in Ecstasy (ANZAC leftover)
• Gabriel Garcia Marquez - Clandestine in Chile
• Gabriel Garcia Marquez - One Hundred Years of Solitude
• W. Somerset Maugham - The Trembling of a Leaf
• Cormac McCarthy - No Country for Old Men
✓ Carson McCullers - The heart is a lonely hunter (because AAC 75er reviews)
✓ Helen MacDonald - H is for Hawk (based on Vulpes Libris review, EBT, streamsong, etc...)
✓ China Mieville - Iron Council
• David Mitchell - Ghostwritten
• Timothy Mo - The Redundancy of Courage (LT recommendation)
• Haruki Murakami - Sputnik Sweetheart
• Haruki Murakami - Hard-boiled Wonderland
• Vladimir Nabakov - Despair
• V.S. Naipaul - A House for Mr. Biswas (LT recommendation)
✓ Flannery O'Connor - Wise Blood
• Joyce Carol Oates - The Gravediggers Daughter
• John O'Hara - Appointment in Samarra
✓ Chuck Palahniuk - Fight Club
• Sharon Kay Penman - The Sunne in Splendour
• Arturo Perez-Reverte - The Dumas Club
✓ DBC Pierre - Vernon God Little (2003 Booker winner)
• Thomas Pynchon - V
• Samuel Richardson - Clarissa
✓ William Ritter - Jackaby (because Micky Fine review)
• Gregory David Roberts - Shantaram (Miles recommended)
• Salman Rushdie - Shame (LT recommendation)
• Vikram Seth - A Suitable Boy (BBC top 100)
✓ Nevil Shute - On the Beach
✓ Stendahl - The Red and Black (Somerset Maugham's 10 best novels)
• Neal Stephenson - Quicksilver
• Neal Stephenson - Anathem
• Neal Stephenson - Zodiac
• Graham Swift - Waterland (LT recommendation)
✓ Donna Tartt - The Secret History (BBC top 100)
• Sheri Tepper - Gibbon's Decline and Fall (Roni recommended for feminist rage reasons)
• Lionel Terray - Conquistadors of the Useless (NF)
• William Makepeace Thackeray - Vanity Fair (BBC top 100)
• Leo Tolstoy - Resurrection
• William Trevor - The Children of Dynmouth (LT recommendation)
• Ivan Turgenev - Fathers and Sons
• John Updike - Rabbit Run
✓ Patrick White - Voss
• Zoe Wicomb - You can't get lost in cape town (charl08 recommend)
• Alec Wilkinson - The Ice Balloon
• Tennesse Williams - A Streetcar Named Desire
✓ Simon Winchester - The Professor and the Madman
✓ Tom Wolfe - Bonfire of the Vanities

Plus
• 8 female translations
• 8 re-reads
• 11 non-fiction books
• 38 political books.... that take up far too much room to list.

And some of the books I'm reading belong the various lists: BBC - The Big Read top 100 books; 1001 books; Booker Prize shortlist

BRITISH AUTHOR CHALLENGE
✓ JAN: Susan Hill - The Woman in Black
✓ JAN: Barry Unsworth - Sacred Hunger (Booker winner)
✓ FEB: Agatha Christie - The Murder at the Vicarage
• FEB: William Dalrymple - Return of a King
✓ MAR: Ali Smith - How to be both (Booker shortlist)
✓ MAR: Thomas Hardy - Jude the Obscure (BBC top 100)
• APR: George Eliot - Middlemarch (BBC top 100)
• APR: Hanif Kureishi - The Buddha of Suburbia
• MAY: Jane Gardam - God on the Rocks (Booker shortlist)
• MAY: Robert Goddard - Into the Blue (probably)
• JUN: Lady Antonia Fraser
✓ JUN: Joseph Conrad - Victory (after starting to read a review recommended by Richard Ayoade)
• JUL: Bernice Rubens - The Elected Member (Booker Winner)
• JUL: H.G. Wells
✓ AUG: Diana Wynne-Jones - Howl's Moving Castle
✓ AUG: Ian McEwan - Saturday
• SEPT: Laurie Lee - As I walked out one midsummer morning
• SEPT: Doris Lessing - The fifth child
• OCT: William Golding - Rites of Passage
• OCT: Kate Atkinson
• NOV: Len Deighton
• NOV: Rebecca West
• DEC : Yorkshire writer: Agnes Grey/Arthur Ransome/Bronte

CANADIAN AUTHOR CHALLENGE
✓ JAN: Robertson Davies - What's bred in the bone (Booker shortlist)
✓ JAN: Kim Thúy - Ru OR Man
• FEB: Helen Humphreys - The Frozen Thames
• FEB: Stephen Leacock
✓ MAR: Farley Mowat - Never Cry Wolf
• MAR: Anita Rau Badami
✓ APR: Margaret Atwood - Penelopiad
✓ APR: Michael Crummey - Sweetland
• MAY: Michel Tremblay
• MAY: Emily St. John Mandel
• JUN: Timothy Findley
• JUN: Joseph Boyden
• JUL: LM Montgomery
• JUL: Pierre Berton
✓ AUG: Mordechai Richler - Solomon Gursky was here (Booker shortlist)
• AUG: Gabrielle Roy - The Tin Flute
• SEPT: Miriam Toews - All my puny sorrows
• SEPT: Dany Laferrière
• OCT: Lawrence Hill
• OCT: Jane Urquhart - The Whirlpool or The Stone Carvers
✓ NOV: Michael Ondaatje - The English Patient (Booker winner)
• NOV: Margaret Laurence - The Stone Angel
• DEC: Alice Munro - The Beggar Maid (Booker shortlist)
• DEC: Rawi Hage - Carnival

PULITZER PRIZE CHALLENGE
✓ Michael Chabon - The amazing adventures of Kavalier & Clay
✓ Jeffrey Eugenides - Middlesex
• Arthur Miller - Death of a Salesman
✓ E. Annie Proulx - The Shipping News
• Wallace Stegner - Angle of Repose

2016 books read - First quarter

January (9 books)
1. Peter Carey - Jack Maggs (audiobook) ★★★★½
2. Robertson Davies - What's bred in the bone (audiobook) (CAC) ★★★½ or ★★★★?
3. Susan Hill - The Woman in Black (audiobook) (BAC) ★★★
4. China Mieville - Iron Council (audiobook) ★★★
5. Graham Greene - The End of the Affair (audiobook) ★★★★½
6. Neil Gaiman - The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes ★★★★
7. Michael Chabon - The amazing adventures of Kavalier & Clay (audiobook) ★★★★½
8. Simon Sebag Montefiore - Young Stalin (audiobook) ★★★★½
9. William Faulkner - As I Lay Dying (audiobook) ★★★½

February (6 books)
10. Chinua Achebe - Things Fall Apart (audiobook) ★★★½
11. Barry Unsworth - Sacred Hunger ★★★
12. Mitch Albom - The Five People You Meet In Heaven ★★★
13. Jeffrey Eugenides - Middlesex ★★★★
14. Edward Albee - Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf ★★★★
15. Jerome K. Jerome - Three Men in a Boat ★★★★

March (6 books)
16. DBC Pierre - Vernon God Little ★★★½
17. Chuck Palaniuk - Fight Club ★★★★½
18. Ali Smith - How to be both ★★★★½
19. Farley Mowat - Never Cry Wolf ★★★★½
20. Patrick White - Voss ★★★★½
21. Tom Wolfe - Bonfire of the Vanities ★★★★½

Second quarter
April (9 books)
22. Franz Kafka - The Trial ★★★★
23. Thomas Hardy - Jude the Obscure (audiobook) (BAC) ★★★½
24. George MacDonald Fraser - Flashman ★★★
25. Helen MacDonald - H is for Hawk ★★★★½
26. J.M. Coetzee - Disgrace ★★★★
27. Carson McCullers - The heart is a lonely hunter (audiobook) ★★★½
28. Barry Lopez - Crossing Open Ground ★★★½
29. Greg Proops - The Smartest Book in the World ★★★★
30. Margaret Atwood - Penelopiad ★★★½

May (6 books)
31. Michael Crummey - Sweetland ★★★½
32. Rainbow Rowell - Carry On ★★★½
33. Robert Bevan - Critical Failures (Caverns and Creatures) ★★½
34. Anton Chekhov - The Cherry Orchard ★★★½
35. John Le Carre - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy ★★½
36. Neil Shute - On the Beach ★★★

June (5 books)
37. Flannery O'Connor - Wise Blood ★★★
38. Susan Cain - Quiet: The Power of Introverts ★★★★½
39. Simon Winchester - The Professor and the Madman ★★★½
40. Samuel Beckett - Waiting for Godot ★★★★
41. William Ritter - Jackaby ★★★½

Third quarter
July (3 books)
42. Agatha Christie - The Murder at the Vicarage ★★★
43. Oliver Sacks - Uncle Tungsten ★★★★
44. Vladimir Nabakov - Despair ★★★★

August (10 books)
45. Diana Wynne-Jones - Howl's Moving Castle ★★★★
46. Jack Kerouac - On The Road ★★★★½
47. Joseph Conrad - Victory ★★★★½
48. Saul Bellow - The Adventures of Augie March ★★★½
49. Matt Besser - Upright Citizens Brigade Comedy Improvisation Manual ★★★★
50. The Cordillera - Volume 7: Literature & Art from the World's Toughest Bike Race
51. Yasmina Reza - God of Carnage (play) ★★★½
52. Naomi Novik - Uprooted ★★★½
53. E. Annie Proulx - The Shipping News ★★★★
54. Donna Tartt - The Secret History ★★★★½

September (8 books)
55. Chic Scott - Deep Powder and Steep Rock: The Life of Mountain Guide Hans Gmoser ★★★★
56. Kim Thúy - Ru ★★★★
57. Stendahl - The Red and Black ★★★
58. Mordechai Richler - Solomon Gursky was here ★★½
59. Ian McEwan - Saturday ★★★★½
60. Anton Chekhov - The Seagull ★★★★
61. Neil Gaiman - The Sandman: The Doll's House ★★★★
62. Karen Joy Fowler - We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves ★★★★

Fourth quarter
October (2 books)
63. Michael Ondaatje - The English Patient
64. Neil Gaiman - The Sandman Vol 3: Dream Country

December (8 books)
65. Haruki Murakami - Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World
66. Neil Gaiman - The Sandman Vol 5: A Game of You
67. Neil Gaiman - The Sandman Vol 7: Brief Lives ★★★★½
68. Gabriel Garcia Marquez - One Hundred Years of Solitude
69. David Ives - St. Francis Preaches to the Birds
70. Ernest Hemingway - The Old Man and the Sea
71. Ford Madox Ford - The Good Soldier
72. Mikhail Bulgakov - Flight

Welcome back, Megan! *stars thread*

What a gorgeous opening, Megan. Happy reading 2016.

Some ambitious reading plans there!

>2 evilmoose: That is a very ambitious book list Megan. Good luck.

Impressive lists, Megan! I also intend to read The Adventures of Augie March, The Trial, All My Puny Sorrows and Ru in 2016.

Welcome back!

Those are very long lists, Megan! Wishing you luck and a Happy New Year!

Great to see your thread up, Megan!

Happy New Year, Megan!

Dropping off my star on your lovely, snowy thread....

Happy new year, Megan! Glad to see you back again!

>9 kidzdoc: Happy new year to you too Daryl - My plan of today is to add a star to every book in my personal To Read list if someone else mentions it - so now all the ones you're planning to read have extra stars! I fully expect this grand plan to be swiftly derailled in short order.

>6 Ameise1: Thanks Barbara, and happy reading and a merry new year to you too. Thanks for dropping by :)

>7 thornton37814: Hah, yes! And I had to go through my actual To Read list to cull it down to what you see above. I don't expect to actually get through them all, but it's nice to be working through the list, even slowly... because I swear it grows every year by as much as I read.

>8 Oberon: Thanks Erik - it's ok, I have somewhat realistic expectations about how much of the list I'm likely to get through, but one can dream!

>10 drneutron: Thank you! The pleasure is all mine, I assure you.

>11 Familyhistorian: Long indeed - indicative of my lack of booky self control. I may not buy them like crazy, but I certainly plan to read them at a mad rate!

>12 lkernagh: Thanks Lori, likewise *goes to visit*

>16 MickyFine: Thanks Micky, and a merry new year to you too! Quite a few on my To Read lists seem to be thanks to recommendations or reviews from you :)

And now for the round-up of last year! *drumroll*
STATS OF 2015

Total books - 104
Author gender - 73 men, 31 women
Format - 86 audiobook, 13 paper, 5 e-book

Challenges
British Author Challenge: 33/24 (woo!)
Aust. & NZ Author Challenge: 7/12 (hard to track down some of these, then I just lost momentum)
My To Read List: 19/49
On the go to read list (2015): 12/19
LT recommendations list: 16/25

Abandoned books - Cate Kennedy - The World Beneath, Hannah Kent - Burial Rites, Umberto Eco - The Name of the Rose

Total pages read - 40, 039
26 books over 500 pages, 2 of those over 1000
Average book length: 385 pages

Non-fiction: 12 books (favourite was Jenny Nordberg - Underground Girls of Kabul)

TOP 5 RECENTLY PUBLISHED

Andy Weir - The Martian, Rainbow Rowell - Eleanor & Park, Ernest Cline - Ready Player One, Nayomi Munaweera - Island of a thousand mirrors, Katherine Addison - The Goblin Emperor

True stand outs of the year were in the older books, I started to feel sorry for the things I'd read published in the last 10 years, because how were they supposed to compare to Les Miserables? So I added the new books category. As ever, hard to pick just 5, and ask me next week and my answer would probably be different. I was tempted to pick Station Eleven instead of The Goblin Emperor, but thought that it's getting plenty of attention as it is, so I'd go for the different option.

TOP 5 OLDER READS (not counting re-reads)

Victor Hugo - Les Miserables, Rohinton Mistry - A Fine Balance, W. Somerset Maugham - The Painted Veil, Peter Carey - The True History of the Kelly Gang, Iris Murdoch - The Sea, the Sea

Happy New Year!

I also read The Sea, the Sea in 2015, Megan. I loved it. Yours has a lovely cover.
It was my first Murdoch but it will not be my last.

I see that you abandoned Burial Rites, Megan. What didn't you like about it?

Love your thread topper and I loved your Christmas munchkin photo!

We in the balmy south-of-you-a-few-hundred miles have temps hovering in the zero range. How are you making out?

I really like how you split your favorites into recently and older publishing groups. I'm planning to read (finally!) Les Miserables this year and haven't yet gotten to The Martian.

I'm looking forward to your bookish and other adventures this year. Do you think your knee will be up for the insanity of the great bicycle race?

Happy New Year Megan!



"I wish you never-ending dreams
and the furious desire to realise some of them."
— Jacques Brel

Your list of 112 books is inspiring! I've added "Somerset Maugham’s 10 greatest novels" to the CK section by tagging the 10 books on the list, and was glad to see I've read half that list so far, and have all the books on my tbr, with War and Peace to be tackled no later than very soon this month. I found Le Père Goriot by Balzac simply brilliant, for what it's worth. Love your list of favourite classics; really enjoyed three of those, and looking forward to reading A Fine Balance and Les Miserables, both of which I have on audio—I am as big a fan of audiobooks as you seem to be!

Happy reading!

Have a wonderful bookfilled 2016, Megan.

>19 ronincats: Thanks for stopping by Roni :)

>20 xymon81: Hah, nice tardis - happy new year!

>21 EBT1002: It is a lovely cover isn't it? And one of my few paper books of 2015, so I have vivid memories or curling up in my hammock with it. It was my second Murdoch, and she certainly has a way with her, I really enjoy her writing, it just seems so... intriguing? Mysterious?

>22 kidzdoc: It may have been that the audiobook reading didn't help, but the characters just didn't feel authentic to the time and place. It just felt like someone had decided they wanted to write a book set in Iceland, because it's such an interesting place, and went forth an researched and... it just did not feel natural. And I didn't enjoy the writing enough to let me settle into the book, it just kept rubbing me the wrong way every time I tried to listen to more of it.

>23 streamsong: Thanks! And I'm assuming zero fahrenheit, in which case, yes, we've been about the same, often a few degrees colder overnight, and colder again when you take wind chill into account. It hasn't been warming up an awful lot during the day, despite the promise/threat of a chinook coming through. I definitely recommend both Les Miserables and The Martian - the latter is good as an audiobook, if you're feeling so inclined.
And I don't think I'll be doing the long bike race. My knee still isn't feeling recovered enough for me to start putting in the kind of time on the bike that I would need to be ready in June. I am on the waiting list for an MRI though, and have started seeing a different physio to see if a fresh set of eyes can help solve the problem. I am signed up for a 75km classic ski race that's... gosh, in just a few weeks now. And hoping to do at least three shorter bike races this summer, as well as a lot of overnight camping adventures - then hopefully be in fantastic shape to do the Tour Divide in 2017!

>24 Smiler69: Hah, inspiring is much better than alarming! I've not read any Balzac, so am looking forward to that - and in general enjoying working my way through classics that I've somehow missed up until now. I hope you have a wonderful time with A Fine Balance and Les Miserables - they were probably my two favourite books of last year, both in audiobook form :)

>25 PaulCranswick: Thanks Paul! I faithfully pledge to incite a group nudey run through your thread if you disappear for another long spell.

Happy New Year Megan! I'm glad to see The Painted Veil among your top reads for last year. It was one of my top reads as well, although it didn't make my top 5.

Sorry you didn't like Burial Rites... I wonder whether that was the audiobook, in part? I enjoyed it, and it was remarkable that the author was in her 20s.

I may have to re-read The Sea, The Sea. It was my first Murdoch, read v.v. long ago (the early 80s) and having just begun to re-read her books, I may need to make that a priority.

Finishing The Magic Mountain is on my list, too. As is some Joyce, but the short stuff, not Ulysses!!

What other Murdoch have you read and would you recommend it? I want to read more of her works.

I'm sorry to hear that Burial Rites didn't work for you. I don't know that I can evaluate whether it's because it was in audio format. I very much enjoyed it in print.

Holy smokes, you're organized! Well done, you. I'm inspired.

Nice roundup of 2015 reads! You abandoned Burial Rites? I gave the paper book to my sister for Xmas last year, I hope she likes it. Not that I think she will read it, but one can hope. What made you ditch it?

The Sea, The Sea is one I have wanted to read for ages, but am put off by the other Murcoch I read (The Accidental Man). Argh, too many books!

Hi Megan - I've just posted the ANZAC challenge for Jan/Feb, if you want to take a look at it: http://www.librarything.com/topic/211011

Hi Megan. Love the topper picture. And all the TBR lists and the best of lists... I'm going to give Middlemarch a go this year, but perhaps I should try adding a few more classics too. I've never read Les Miserables, although I wept my way through the musical as a teenager.

Good luck with the knee. I'm finding all sorts of new muscles (that complain afterwards) with increasing the swimming, but not quite been brave enough to book for a big outdoor swim in the Lake District that I've been mulling over. Only two k but wondering about effects of the temperature!

Hi Ilana - starred your thread for 2016. I hope to be following the Canadian Author challenge as well.

Sorry - sorry -sorry Megan . Two threads open and I posted this on the wrong one! What I meant to say was
Starred your thread for 2016 Megan!

Belated Happy New Year Megan - just drive by dropping a star :)

Happy New Year, Megan! Dropping my star. LOVE your thread topper!

Love your thread topper. What amazing scenery!! We got a scant two inches today, but I loved it! We tried to have a snow ball fight, but the snow was just too powdery. Went for a beautiful walk instead. : )

Happy New Year Megan! I hope your knee heals up so you can get back out in the real world.

>34 SandDune: LOL! :-) Well, thank goodness you didn't have that slip-up on Richard's thread, Rhian. He'd have barred you from His Presence forever for such an unpardonable offence! :-)

Sorry, couldn't help myself!

Happy New Year, Megan. I love your best of list.

>27 cbl_tn: Happy new year! I read The Painted Veil when I was home sick, and thus was able to complete absorb myself in it without any distractions - and was more emotionally susceptible than I may have otherwise been. I think it makes a difference!

>28 Chatterbox: It could very well be - sometimes a poor reading can really ruin a decent book. I usually try and make a note of those books, so I can go back and give them a second chance. Ooh, that was a while ago - I've been amazing myself with some re-reads of books I last read as a teenager, life experience provides a vastly different reading experience! And I'm trying to decide whether I should try an easier Joyce to start with - or just go for the whole hog, while I'm at it.

>29 EBT1002: I quite enjoyed The Bell - they're the only two of hers I've read, but I'm hoping to read more too, so would love any other recommendations you come across!

>30 QuiteTheHuman: It's all an illusion! Although it does seem to be pretty effective at getting me through some of the books I've been really wanting to read, particularly for the first quarter of the year, when all the optimism of making the lists is still fresh :)

>31 LovingLit: Thanks Megan :) And hang on, I'll copy paste the answer I gave elsewhere: "It may have been that the audiobook reading didn't help (note - I think it really didn't), but the characters just didn't feel authentic to the time and place. It just felt like someone had decided they wanted to write a book set in Iceland, because it's such an interesting place, and went forth an researched and... it just did not feel natural. And I didn't enjoy the writing enough to let me settle into the book, it just kept rubbing me the wrong way every time I tried to listen to more of it." - and if it helps at all, it seems like An Accidental Man is far less popular than The Sea, the Sea... or you could try The Bell, which I think was shorter. Both of those garner better ratings on LT at any rate.

>32 avatiakh: Ooh, thanks, I will probably try and dip into the ANZAC challenge again this year - *crossing fingers that it magically overlaps somehow with books I was hoping to read anyway*

>33 charl08: Thanks Charlotte - and oh, you must read Les Miserables - it's enormous, but it flew by compared to books I've read that are half the size (I'm looking at you, Charles Dickens). It's a wonderful wonderful book. I was inspired by enjoying the recent movie musical version - and decided I really had to add it to my list of classics to read. .... and 2k outdoors in a lake sounds like madness to me, but I've never been much of a swimmer. I'll bike and run for hours on end, but 2 kilometres of swimming sounds so far as to be impossible. But can you not wear a nice cosy wetsuit and accomplish it in relative warmth (based from knowing other people who do such mad things)?

>34 SandDune: *gasp of shock and outrage* .... I accept your challenge to a duel! *slaps Rhian across the face with a glove*

>35 BekkaJo: Thank you, and a happy new year to you as well :)

>36 Crazymamie: Thanks Mamie! *cradles star lovingly, plants it, then waters it a little*

>37 Berly: Thanks B - it is pretty amazing around here... sometimes I forget, and take it for granted, but the snowy mountains really are spectacular, particularly at dawn (which is conveniently around 8.30am at the moment)

>38 The_Hibernator: Thanks Rachel! I'm optimistic, one way or another I'm going to get back into the swing of things this year.

>39 Smiler69: More cheekiness in my thread! Whatever is the world coming to? :)

And after a rather hectic few days, I've magically managed to finish three books without writing about them here. I was busy making a wedding cake (gasp! - I will try and get photos, it did end up looking pretty majestic, in a very non-traditional way) and attending a full day how-to-coach session for cross-country skiing (I'll be teaching a group of 5 year olds), and then attending afore-mentioned wedding. And then succumbing to an angry immune system that informed me I wasn't really over my cold yet, and could I please stop running around, and being stressed about wedding cakes.


1. Peter Carey - Jack Maggs (audiobook)
Ooh, that Peter Carey has a lot up his sleeve doesn't he? This is the third book of his I've read, and they're all very different, but very well written, and very enjoyable reads. An entertaining re-take of Great Expectations, with a bit of a sense of humour about itself, and far more pleasant to read than other versions of Dickensian London I've come across (yes, I'm looking at you again Dickens, you and your tedious prose).
★★★★½


2. Robertson Davies - What's bred in the bone
Quite enjoyed most of this, after getting over my problems with the narrator (Frederick Davidson - some of the voices he does for characters are just jarring, it can make quite an irritating listen). I broke a usual rule to listen to the second of a trilogy - I wanted to read some Davies thanks to the Canadian Author Challenge, but he's one of those dratted authors who writes largely in trilogies. This was fine to read as a stand-alone though, and it was the one of his books that had been shortlisted for the Booker. It tells the story of Francis Cornish, with the assistance of... well, we'll call them angels, for the sake of simplicity. The book begins with his obituary, and then goes back to tell the story of his childhood, coming of age, and how he became the man he was. At times fascinating, but to me it felt like it petered out a little towards the end. Enjoyable, but it didn't dazzle me as it did some of the other LT reviewers. (May be a four star if I didn't have to listen to Frederick Davidson)
★★★½


3. Susan Hill - The Woman in Black
Lovely gothic ghost story. Great for what it is, but it is just a gothic ghost story. British Author Challenge - author 1 complete!
★★★

I need to get to the library to pick up a Susan Hill book.

Great start to your 2016 reading, Megan!

>43 evilmoose: very fond of Peter Carey like good sippin whiekey, he sneaks up on you - in a good way.

Saying hello and Happy New year to our resident Moose.

Wishing you a most lovely weekend, Megan.

Three book, a wedding cake and a wedding!! You have been busy. I see you are a real Dickens fan, LOL. And I totally agree with you on how annoying narrators can be. And I'll just add how I despair when I can't gloss over boring parts or lists in audio. So there! Hope you get well very soon. : )

>43 evilmoose: Yeah. Pretty much that's all there is to say about Woman in Black. It was a stereotypical ghost story. Great mood-setting from Hill, but other than that nothing special.

Hope you had a great weekend.

Wow, you have been busy! Kudos on making a wedding cake. I hope you have lovely week, Megan!

>46 magicians_nephew: He does, he really does. A a very merry new year to you too *nods*

>47 Ameise1: I hope you had a lovely weekend Barbara. That hut is wonderful too, just my kind of thing :)

>48 Berly: It has been a little hectic! Not being able to skim over boring sections is a major drawback of audiobooks - although it does force me to try and pay attention to poetry, songs, and battle scenes that the author no doubt slaved over, and which I rarely give the attention they deserve. I usually try and give a narrator at least half an hour to an hour, by then I can usually adjust to irritating quirks. But sometimes they just start randomly mispronouncing a word, or an Australian character will pop up, and I'm walking around the house going "Argh! That's a terrible accent!" or "Argh, that's not how you pronounce x!"

>49 The_Hibernator: Yep, I concur. And hopefully your weekend was lovely too *desperately tries to catch up on threads*

>50 lkernagh: Very busy! And thank you, I hope your weekend was as lovely as mine, but a little warmer :)

---

So in the last week, since the wedding, I've also had pink eye, then a square dance (so much fun) then my first day out ski touring in far too long. And now I'm busy planning games and songs as I'm volunteer cross-country ski coaching a group of 5 year olds. I missed the first session due to the wedding (but thankfully I have a co-coach), but tonight will be my first night.

But here are some photos of the ski touring on the weekend though, it was a wonderful day (if a little on the chilly side), and we skied 28km, making it to a wonderful little lodge that serves tea:

Sorry to hear about your pink eye. It's always awful especially when skiing. Wonderful photos. I'm looking forward to my ski holiday but have to wait almost five weeks.

>51 evilmoose: Good luck with the 5 year olds. Coaching small children has been a good experience for me as it teaches patience (and causes me to drink). How many kids are you coaching?

>52 Ameise1: Thankfully it had skied up by the time I went skiing - it was thankfully not too bad and only lasted a couple of times. The first time I've ever had it as far as I know! And five weeks should disappear in no time, and you'll be off skiing :)

>53 Oberon: Hah, I've had people recommend I bring a flask of Baileys for myself (and a can of whipped cream, to spray into the kids mouths at the top of each hill). There are 11 in our group, which is unusually large, but there are two of us coaching, plus parent helpers most weeks - both of us have never coached before, but have enthusiasm! Because of where we live though, there is one child of an Olympic cross-country skier in our group, plus kids of mountain guides, and plenty of other high-achieving athletes. It's a little intimidating, but handy to have kids who are already pretty strong skiers (we got the strongest group of 5yo).

>54 evilmoose: Wow. I was sort of thinking you would be doing a lot of putting on equipment and picking up kids who fell over but it sounds like you are going to have some potentially talented kids. At least you have some help and aren't doing it yourself. Good luck.

Love the photos - sounds like a great idea to teach kids when they are small enough to fall over and get up again quickly. Although with the squirty cream on offer I'd have to reconsider my non-skiing position...

Wow, those images are amazing, a different world.

Really love the photos that you shared! And a flask filled with Baileys is inspired!!

Gorgeous pictures! I used to be an avid down hill skier, what with living in Vancouver. I was certainly never a talented 5 year old skier, but my highschool began offering ski lesson's and travel to the mountain when I was in Grade 8. So of course I was part of the Ski Club for my five years at high school and continued to ski after my first child was born. After that, it just got so expensive to take a family of 4 skiing . I did cross country ski a few times, but not very often. As far as Ru vs Man , both are short books. Ru did win Canada's Governor General award, as well as being short/ longlisted for 9 other prizes, so perhaps Ru might be the better book - or so I found. Either way , the books are very short. Best of luck .

>55 Oberon: Well that's over *collapses* ... I think the hardest part about it was constantly trying to headcount the eleven 5-year olds who were ours, while an additional 160 kids, plus coaches, parents, and general public were all skiing around. It's quite tricky to balance keeping them moving and warm, with keeping them entertained, challenging them with something new, and helping out the weaker skiers without having the really strong skiers acting out with boredom. For 1.5 hours. And we're figuring out a plan of attack for next week!

>56 charl08: Thanks :) And yes, it's great that they get to learn early. We're lucky to have such a great cross-country ski facility in town. Some of the kids are more hesitant, but others are just skiing down hills backwards, jumping 180s, and generally being absolutely fearless. Squirty cream is always on offer, there have to be some perks :)

>57 LovingLit: It really is - and didn't realise how much I'd missed it until I was out there again. It's just amazing.

>58 Crazymamie: Thanks Mamie! After tonight, I am convinced that a flask of Baileys is the best possible approach.

>59 vancouverdeb: Thanks Deb - it definitely can get expensive (and time consuming) to get out skiing with a family. Everything is just so accessible here, plus having just one child makes things easier. I still feel disinclined to get out downhill skiing with him that often - it always seems like a lot of driving and effort (obviously I'm not much of a resort skier). I'm looking forward to dragging him out on more ski touring type expeditions though. We're trying to organise more hut trips with other families, which should be fun. And Ru it is! Provided it's in at the library when I try.

Beautiful pictures!

All of that, and I've managed to read some more books too:


4. China Mieville - Iron Council (audiobook)
I think I like the idea of China Mieville more than I actually end up liking his books. Amazing world building, interesting ideas, some very cool concepts, but again, I felt a bit disengaged with the characters and plot. Ah well. I'll have to remember to only read him when I'm really in the mood for that sort of thing. It's not that I don't recommend it, it's just that I.... don't necessarily recommend it. It does involve a train though.
★★★


5. Graham Greene - The End of the Affair (audiobook)
Amazing writing from Graham Greene, a thoroughly absorbing tale. What is it about tragic stories that always moves me so?
★★★★½

>62 evilmoose: I think I like the idea of China Mieville more than I actually end up liking his books. Yeah, that's me too. :)

Great photos, Megan!

I think the hardest part about it was constantly trying to headcount the eleven 5-year olds who were ours

Yikes. That's at least 10 too many 5 year olds...

I love the photos from your ski day, Megan. It brings back some very fond memories for me. :-)

I have had The End of the Affair on my shelves for a while and your comments definitely make me want to get to it this year. It's supposed to be the year of the TBRs....

I'm reading the second in the Simon Serrailler series by Susan Hill and finding it to be a great mystery read.

Hi Megan! Of course you would recommend Oscar and Lucinda, since you hail from Australia. :) But the book does look good. FYI - my first date was a ski date with my now husband at Whistler, which at the time was so much less developed than it is now. I recall being in my 3 weeks away from my due date with my eldest son and my husband dragging me out to a ski shop to purchase new boots! :)

>63 drneutron: You can just imagine me grabbing your arm and swinging you around square dance style, in celebration of agreement (I went to a square dance on the weekend, and have wanted to swing people around and do-si-do ever since.

>64 kidzdoc: Thanks :) And you may well be right!

>65 EBT1002: Hurray for fond ski memories! Are yours ski touring memories, or just fun days out in the mountains. And yes, go forth and read The End of the Affair! *gazes hypnotically*

>66 vancouverdeb: Heh, yes. And oh oh, my first 'date' with my now husband was also a ski date. It wasn't originally organised as such, but ended up that way. It was also the first time I ever saw snow (I was 21) so very exciting, we were cross country skiing though. And hah, you reminded me, after my water broke and we just had to sit around at home waiting for a while, my husband went and put a summer coat of wax on all of our skis (nothing quite like productive procrastination... it was already August by then!).

Hey ! I was also 21 - just turned 21 the day before I went on my first date with my now husband. We've now been married for 32.5 years. We dated for 18 months. And we have a just turned 31 year old son and a 25 year old son. Difficult to believe at times. Time does go fast. Men and their skis and waxing. I can't remember if I purchased boots that day, or persuaded my husband that at 36 weeks of pregnacy, my feet might be bigger than usual. I don't think I had any swelling, but I remember the caution that feet might be bigger than usual at the end of one's pregnancy and who wants to purchase new ski boots that might not fit a few months later.

>68 vancouverdeb: Hah, the ski boots thing sounds just like something my husband might do. I know my feet were definitely much bigger than usual towards the end of my pregnancy, especially as it was summer. We did a multi-day hike when I was about 32 weeks along, and even then I ended up having to take off my hiking boots and hike in sandals.

6. Neil Gaiman - The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes
Reading this graphic novel has been on my to-do list for a couple of years now. And I finally did it! And I'm glad I did, although I'm not a big graphic novel/comics reader, Neil Gaiman's story telling shines through. And it was adequately horrifying at times too. It is a little rough and uncertain, and apparently later Sandman books are better, after the team settled into the format. I'll be trying to track down a few more over the course of the year.

For those who aren't familiar with the story, a few idiots try to summon and trap Death, but instead get her brother, the Sandman. And there are consequences! And then after decades, he finally breaks free, and there are even more consequences! Grim battles and fates ensue. And then at the end you get to meet Death (who I'm familiar with from seeing so many people cosplay as her).
★★★★

>51 evilmoose: Beautiful photos! And it your skiing looks like so much fun, even though I've never been on skis in my life.
Good luck with your very ambitious reading list, you've got a lot of great ones to choose from.

>65 EBT1002: it's supposed to be the year of the TBRs ...me too.

The End of the Affair may be one to quickly add to my tbr so I can then claim to be reading one from my tbr pile. Ah ha! I got round that quickly :)

Megan, I wish you a relaxed weekend.

>72 LovingLit: I like your style.

Have you seen the film with Ralph Fiennes? I liked it a lot.

>70 evilmoose: I've been meaning to read this series for awhile as well. I need to finish Attack on Titan and The Walking Dead first though.

Yuck on having contracted pink eye! Poor you. Thank you for sharing the pictures of your ski tour. I soooooo miss snow!

I have a bit of a hit and miss with Mieville's books. I have not read Iron Council. As you say, Mieville is fantastic with his world builds. I find there is usually - except for in Un Lun Dun a certain moody/broodiness of the characters that I tend to disconnect with.

>70 evilmoose: - Oh, is this your first dip into Gaiman's Sandman series? if so, you are in for a treat! The artwork is so experimental and works wonderfully with Gaiman's stories!

Happy Sunday Megan!

>70 evilmoose: I hope you continue with the series. They get better over time.

>62 evilmoose: I have the Colin Firth narration of The End of the Affair, if it's such a great tale, perhaps I should bust it out. It won an Audie.

La,la,la,la!! No. No more new series!! Maybe later.... : ) Love the skiing pictures.

>74 charl08: maybe I need to start my own new challenge called "read the book see the film".

>78 The_Hibernator: Rachel: Whoa, whoa, whoa. Whoa. Colin Firth as a narrator?! Oh, where has this information been all my life?!

Morning, Megan!

I leave my thread alone for a few days, and when I return it's full of people discussing Colin Firth! This is most excellent.

>71 mstrust: Thank you - I didn't get on skis (or even see snow) for the first time until I was 21. It was initially very very weird. And I'm looking forward to this year of reading, although I still go rogue occasionally, it's hard to go wrong with a lovely list like that :)

>72 LovingLit: Hah, I totally do that. As long as you add it to the list, you still get to cross it off, thus proving you are accomplishing something.

>73 Ameise1: Thanks Barbara, that's a lovely photo. My weekend was just the right combination of relaxation and adventure in the end :)

>74 charl08: >80 LovingLit: A film with Ralph Fiennes you say? I like Megan's idea - I did that with The Big Sleep and it worked well, and with The Martian as well.

>75 xymon81: Join me this year! I'm planning to keep going (if slowly, to prolong the pleasure)

>76 lkernagh: Thanks Lori - and snow really is lovely. You're right, I don't really connect with any of his characters either. I did really enjoy The City and the City though, his style really worked for me there. But otherwise... I appreciate what he does, but don't know if I'll keep trying to read more. And yes, my very first Sandman! I'm looking forward to the rest.

>77 Oberon: Ah, I'd heard that. I thought I should start at the start though, just because. I'm really looking forward to getting to the later ones.

>78 The_Hibernator: Mmm, yes, that's how I 'read' the book. It was very nice. I just chose to believe he was personally reading me a bedtime story, much as I did with Alan Rickman. You should listen to it immediately!

>79 Berly: Yes, now! New series for everyone, immediately!

>81 scaifea: Yes indeed, Colin Firth, sitting there, reading you a book. I thoroughly recommend it! (Morning Amber!... Hang on, it's evening now. Ah well)

Happy weekend, Megan. Stay safe and warm.

>83 Ameise1: Nice socks Barbara!

Have a lovely weekend, Megan.

>81 scaifea: Well, I think Colin Firth has only narrated that one book. And that (and the Audie) were the only reasons I bought the book. But I still haven't listened to it more than a year afterwards. I guess I really should since you say it's a great story.

First up, in the amazing adventures of Megan, I skied 72km on Sunday. From Lake Louise to Banff - it's a loppet, partly on proper trails, partly on rather adventurous 'rustic' and 'adventurous' 'trails'. So now I'm rather sore. It was a beautiful warm, sunny day, which helped contribute to slow snow conditions, but was still rather lovely.



The race started on the Lake about half an hour before sunrise, and so we skied off into the dawn. I took the photo above not long after sunrise.


7. Michael Chabon - The amazing adventures of Kavalier & Clay (audiobook)
This was wonderful fun. I don't really know much about the history of comic books, but I somehow was convinced by Chabon that the whole thing was fascinating. And the eponymous Jewish cousins whose story is told are really interesting characters. This one gets a disclaimer that it certainly wouldn't be for everyone, but I ... yep, I don't have time to write a proper review, and a lot of other people have done a great job on the LT page. Go read those if you think it might even be a little interesting for you!
★★★★½


8. Simon Sebag Montefiore - Young Stalin (audiobook)
I can see why someone recommended this to me. Great, readable history of Stalin's early days, as a rather handsome rascal who got up to all sorts of no good. As I read, I gradually found all of the Russian history I'd studied come trickling back into my brain. I'm interested in checking out some of Montefiore's other books now. And I don't know if I'd either forgotten or never realised exactly how revolutions are funded (lots of bank robberies in this case!)
★★★★½

>83 Ameise1: Thanks Barbara, and I hope your weekend was lovely too. I was definitely safe and warm, but not with my feet up!

>84 PaulCranswick: Thanks Paul! *note to self, must visit other threads*

>86 evilmoose: What beautiful scenery and well worth the sore muscles. Well Done! I loved Cavalier and Clay and I am glad you did too. As to Young Stalin, I am not normally into NF, but I am getting hit with all sorts of book bullets--thanks for another one!

>86 evilmoose: I'm nervous to read Kavalier and Clay as its my friends favourite book. It can never live up to her experience of reading it. But, I still want to one day

Nice job on the 72 km ski day!

I so love the area around Lake Louise and Banff and envy you the chance (and ability!) to make that ski trek! My first adventure on x-country skis was across Lake Louise, giving me a v. inflated idea of my own abilities, natch. I took to a trail and promptly was utterly miserable and incompetent. I fled back to the downhill slopes, pronto. (That's where I skied as a kid, so...) I was never one of those horribly overconfident stunt kids, but I just loved whisking down a blue piste, and still have fun, though the way my hips and knees behave these days, I'm increasingly doubtful that this is a good idea. My father, however, took up x-country for a while when he lived in Calgary.

Montefiore is on my list, though I'm more interested in vol. 2 of his Stalin book. He has written two novels about the Stalinist era that you might find interesting -- evocative, if not great.

>86 evilmoose: Lovely photo and an impressive distance for skiing. Sounds tiring and fun.

You are reminding me that I need to get back to Cavalier and Clay - I got abut halfway through it when i read it before, but then I was not in the proper mood for it. I set it aside, but I do want to finish it - I did love the writing. And you hit me with Young Stalin - adding that one to the list.

Happy Wednesday to you!

Um, you skied 72 km and you're rather sore. I'd be dead. :)

And I loved Banff when I was there years back.

Kudos for skiing 72km from Lake Louise to Banff! The scenery must have been spectacular. I love cold sunny days with snow on the ground.

9. William Faulkner - As I Lay Dying (audiobook)
I made the mistake of glancing at wikipedia before I started this book, and saw 'black comedy'. 'Good', I thought, 'I enjoy black comedies'. But this was rather more on the black side, and less on the comedy. And it's definitely an amazing, pioneering book, using stream of conciousness from many different viewpoints to tell a rather dark and depressing tale. But I didn't actually enjoy it much, I was feeling overwhelmed by the bleakness (and horrified by some of the overly effective imagery). So: glad to have read it, will not read again.
★★★★

Yeah. I really didn't care for that one. You were more generous with your rating than I would have been - read it prior to LT, and truly it left a bad taste in my mouth.

Happy Saturday, Megan!

Wow. 72km. The most I've ever done in one day is 58km for the American Vasaloppet.

>88 Berly: Definitely amazing scenery :) And I'm on a bit of a non-fiction bender these days, there are more and more of them creeping into my reading.

>89 LovingLit: Oh, well in that case, it's about a couple of geeky guys who do weird things variously with comics, women, cardboard boxes and escapology, and it's reasonable, but not mind-blowing, so don't get too overexcited. (There, does that help lower expectations?) And thank you! Now I'm wondering if I should try for 100km... on easier trails....

>90 Chatterbox: I'm incredibly lucky to live here - I get exasperated when some of my friends in town get snobbish about the views - one in particularly was dubious about the beauty of this route, on the grounds that other areas were more spectacular. "Oh, I'm sorry, are the amazing jagged mountains insufficiently snow-capped? Is the light of the sunrise a little too dazzling, or is it just an inferior shade of pink?!" :) Having fun on skis is definitely a good way to spend ones time though, no matter how or where you manage it.

And evocative is a good way to describe him - I've added him to my list of books to chase up later. Suspiciously it's growing at the same rate as my books read this year.

>91 Oberon: Thanks Erik! Tiring and fun sums it up - the cheeses and wine afterwards were wonderful also.

>92 Crazymamie: Ah yes, it is one you probably need to be in the right sort of mood for. Worth trying to pick up again though when you are in that mood. Happy... February! Monday February! Monday evening February night!

>93 drneutron: Heh, when I just finished I was wondering for a few minutes. Luckily I perked up again pretty quickly :) It is a wonderful place *sigh*

>94 lkernagh: Thank you! It was gorgeous - I'm trying to learn to love the cold and sunny days, but secretly I prefer bare ground... the snow definitely has its advantages though.

>96 Crazymamie: Yeah, I was a little torn. If I rated on pure enjoyment it would not get more than 3 stars. But I felt obliged to upgrade the rating a little based on appreciating the skill involved.

>97 The_Hibernator: Heh, you say that as if it's considerably less than 72km! I'm sure you could have polished off the extra 14km if you had to :) I'd love to do some more loppets, it seems like a great excuse to go and ski in beautiful locations. I recommend the Kangaroo Hoppet if you're ever in Australia in winter!

10. Chinua Achebe - Things Fall Apart (audiobook)
Hmm, this is hard to rate. It's set in Nigeria, before and after colonialism, and telling the story of Okonkwo, a stubborn sort of man holding fast to tribal traditions and life. I did enjoy it, learning things about a different culture. It felt like such a gentle meandering story though (not gentle in terms of what happens, there's plenty of violent death)... but, I was never hooked. Particularly with the realisation that things were never going to end well, with a title like that. Post-colonialism and the clash of cultures rears up... things did indeed fall apart.

Oh, and Peter Francis James did a solid job of reading the audiobook, if you're that way inclined.
★★★★

>95 evilmoose: your rating gives a higher impression than your description! I gave it the same rating but my review gave the impression that it should have been nearly a 5 star read. :)
I hadn't heard that it was a black comedy, just that it was bleak. So that is want I was expecting. That could account for it. Maybe the 'comedy' aspect of it comes from the fact that the narrators are in such a despairing position, they just dig themselves deeper and deeper into what anyone else would have altered, in some way, in any way, if possible.

>101 evilmoose: I loved this one, I think I did rate this one 5 stars. I love my reads dark!

Re: your ski not being pretty enough....sheesh. It doesn't all have to look like a chocolate box, which in this case it actually does, so...double sheesh! ;)

>101 evilmoose: Oh, thank goodness. I thought I was the only person in the world who doesn't just absolutely love this one! Ha!

>86 evilmoose: "I skied 72km on Sunday. From Lake Louise to Banff..." Oh MY!!! That sounds wonderful!!!
My skiing was much less ambitious. I grew up in Florida so I came to winter sports rather late in life and never really mastered either cross country or alpine skiing. I think if I had learned either or both at a younger age, I would have been an enthusiast as I did enjoy them. Still, with the aging knees, I have set aside both kinds of skis for now. I have snow shoes instead. :-|

Lake Louise and Banff are, however, in a part of the world that I absolutely love. I've been there once (in summer) and the hiking was spectacular.

I think I will get around to reading As I Lay Dying one of these days but I'm forewarned. :-)

>102 LovingLit: Hmm, I think I should go back and revise some of my recent ratings. Too many books were getting the benefit of the doubt when I really didn't enjoy them particularly - I try to avoid guilt rating, but I still end up doing it! (Where you give a book a higher rating because you feel sorry for it, or you feel bad that you didn't enjoy it more) If I hadn't seen the 'black comedy' descriptor my expectations would have been in a very different place I think.

And heh - I definitely enjoy a good tragedy, my top two books last year were Les Miserables and A Fine Balance, which definitely have their moments... hmm, I think I need to try something different, I've been reading a string of books with themes that just overlap too much.

>103 scaifea: Yep, nope, not a huge lover. Although I do feel guilty for not liking it more, so there's that!

>104 EBT1002: It was terribly wonderful! And I'm a late adopter too, growing up in Australia I didn't see snow til I reached my 20s - but cross country skiing turned out to be close enough to running and cycling that it became my sort of thing. And oh golly, aging knees - do you know how hugely fast the 50+ and 65+ age categories are in the cross-country skiing races? Both men and women in their 70s can effortlessly flow past me, and make me feel like an uncoordinated young moose. The winning times in those categories are scarily close to the overall winning times too. (I will admit to preferring the mountains in summer - hiking, running and biking is just glorious, and I feel like the mountains aren't trying quite so hard to kill me in summer)

11. Barry Unsworth - Sacred Hunger
This is my second Unsworth; the other was The Ruby in her Navel. And although I enjoyed this more, I still sadly fall on the non-Unsworth-fan end of the spectrum, and shan't try another of his. Interesting moments, but overall tedious. For the last half of the book I was just desperately wishing for it to be over.

This was read for the British Author Challenge, and is a Booker Prize Winner.
★★★


12. Mitch Albom - The Five People You Meet In Heaven
I enjoyed the ending, and it was a sweet premise, but overall I wasn't blown away. One from the BBC Book List Challenge (which was never actually from the BBC, but was just a bit of a meme that got about, but is still a good list of books).
★★★ (stars reduced after some thought)

I just got the audiobook version of Sacred Hunger; I like Unsworth as a novelist, so hopefully will find that I enjoy this more than you did!

Am NOT an Albom fan, or a fan of this genre of book as a whole, I confess.

>106 evilmoose: Sorry the Unsworth didn't do it for you. I am thinking of trying The Ruby in her Navel as there has been enthusiasm for it round the threads.

>107 Chatterbox: You probably will, most people seem to! It wasn't terrible. And I did finish reading it. For me his books seems to be just missing something. And the more I think about that Albom book, the more I wrinkle up my nose and think "really?"...

>108 charl08: Most people seem to really enjoy it, I think Barry Unsworth is just one of those authors who just doesn't work for me. I think both of them are reasonable novels, there's just no emotional resonation for me, and that makes a big difference in my enjoyment of a book.

Happy weekend, Megan.

>100 evilmoose: Well, I suppose I COULD have finished off 14km more if I'd been chased by a hungry bear. Or if I'd been expecting to go that far to begin with. But 58km seemed perfect at the time.

#106 I'm with you on the Unsworth - and I still have a third to go. Wah! I think you sum it up perfectly for me - 'interesting moments but overall tedious' is exactly it.

13. Jeffrey Eugenides - Middlesex
My second Pulitzer book of the year, and I quite enjoyed this one too. Although it seemed a bit long - there was a lot of material in there that made it drag a little in places. Another family/generational story - it's not technically a genre, but by golly there are a lot of them about. The Middlesex of the title refers to a family home, and to the gender of the protagonist. Cal(liope) was raised thinking she was a girl, but then the quirks of genes interfere. There is a lot of time spent telling the story of her immigrant grandparents, and then her parents, before we get into her/his story and coming of age.
★★★★

>110 Ameise1: Many thanks Barbara!

>111 The_Hibernator: Heh, it's amazing how when you know how far you have to go, it can be almost impossible to go any further. There's few tortures worse than getting to the distance you think you have to travel, and then finding out you're not done.

>112 BekkaJo: I hope you enjoyed the finish at least! Or rather, being finished, at any rate.

Disappointed to see that Sacred Hunger fell flat for you, Megan. Hope that some of the other BAC picks will do better.

Have a lovely weekend. xx

>113 evilmoose: that has been on my list for an age...the Pulitzer challenge might help me with that one! (my semester starting in a few weeks will not)

>115 PaulCranswick: As am I Paul - I thought maybe I'd have better luck with my second Unsworth, but alas, it was not to be *dramatically sweeps back of hand up to forehead and swoons against wall*

>116 LovingLit: Yes, try it, try it - it had been on my list for ages too, although it wasn't at all what I thought it was going to be about. I'm rather happy to be done with studying again for the time being! Good luck with your new semester :)

Happy Valentine's Day, Megan!

I enjoyed Middlesex too.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

BB Middlesex, my local library has got an audiobook of it. Wishing you a great start into the new week.

*waves at Megan* Catching up. Slowly.

Hope everything is well with you Megan and that you'll have a great weekend. xx

What?! No Megan since she swooned back on February 13th? Hope all is well. : )

Just catching up on your thread, Megan but looks like you haven't been here in a while. I hope all is well.

Happy weekend, Megan.

Missing you, Megan. xx

Hello, many and wondrous visitors! I had a massive case of readers block in February, and then when I finally recovered I had lost the habit of coming to LibraryThing, and got distracted with lots of exciting lifey things - like having a knee that's finally feeling a lot better! And doing more ski races. And coaching the kids cross-country skiing group. And having a few excellent weekend adventures.

>118 Crazymamie: Happy belated Valentine's Day to you Mamie! And also Happy St.Patrick's Day :)

>119 The_Hibernator: Middlesex was great wasn't it? And I just realised today that Jeffrey Eugenides also wrote The Virgin Suicides, which I also really enjoyed, although in a very different way.

>120 Berly: Happy Valentine's Day to you too Kimbers - and happy St. Patricks' Day. And Happy Pi Day!

>121 Ameise1: I hope you've got to Middlesex .. .and thank you for the lovely crocus. That is a crocus isn't it? The buds are finally appearing on trees around here, although we still have plenty of snow and ice around.

>122 MickyFine: *waves at Micky* Hope you're enjoyed the relatively warm winter we're having :)

>123 PaulCranswick: Hoya Paul! Thanks for visiting me during my lamentable absence. I shall be over with tea, scones and gratuitous something or over momentarily.

>125 Familyhistorian: All well, I've just been having a terrible lapse in presence on the internet. The lack of book reading for a couple of weeks didn't help, I really fell of the wagon for a while there.

And now, here are a couple of photos from my absence:


Riding fat bikes


Ski racing in fun attire


I made a rainbow cake!


A family ski trip out to a hut

Now, the update of the books I've actually read is on its way :)

The rest of my February books... after being in a bit of a book funk for a while, I tried to kick things off with a couple of short easy reads at the end of the month.


14. Edward Albee - Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf
Not exactly light reading, but I'm trying to start including some classic plays in my reading as well - I only really studied Shakespeare at school, and didn't touch on many other playwrights, so there are a lot of classics I've never seen or read. Trying to address the gaps in my education! This was definitely not a light or funny read, but the interplay of relationships is very interesting.
★★★★


15. Jerome K. Jerome - Three Men in a Boat
Great fun, this tale of good English chaps out for a boating and camping adventure rung incredibly true for someone who has been out on the kind of trips where you just imagine you'll be up at dawn enjoying the sunrise, or sleeping out under the stars. But in reality sunrise is cold and windy and miserable, and your eyes are all gritty because you didn't get enough sleep. And sleeping out under the stars just means you're eaten alive by bugs, and have to retreat into your sleeping bag where you get too hot and can barely breathe. And the relationships between the friends are likewise hilarious. These days camping trips tend to go smoothly, because we've all been doing them for years - but in my late teens and early 20s, an awful lot of my camping trips and adventures seemed to pan out like the ones in this book.
★★★★

>128 evilmoose: Nice to see you are doing better things with your time than internet related activities Megan. That is a pretty valid excuse for your absence.

I enjoyed Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? when I saw it staged. It can certainly be dark and vicious. Oddly, the staging I saw featured Patrick Stewart so I could never quite keep my brain focused on the play as I kept waiting for him to order the firing of phasers. His Star Trek persona made it hard to think of him as too petty. Anyway, welcome back - hope your snow holds out long enough for a few more skiing adventures.

#128 LOVE those leg warmers!

Glad all is well :)

Looks like you had a great time off from the online world and all that exercise more than off set the rainbow cake!

Looks like you're having a lot of fun, and that cake is amazing!
"Not exactly light reading" is very true in regards to Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. I really liked that one, even though they're ripping each other apart. If you want to continue in this vein, you might like the play of The Lion in Winter.

Glad to see you back. You must have a great time with your skiing. BTW it is a snowdrop.

>130 Oberon: Dark and vicious is a good way to describe it. It would be good to actually see it staged - there should be a word for that feeling when you are used to an actor in one context, and then see them in another and have difficulty adjusting to them being in the new context. One skiing adventure down for this weekend, and another two-night family hut ski trip planned for next weekend!

>131 BekkaJo: They are wonderful leg warmers - and were very popular out on the course :)

>132 Familyhistorian: Heh, definitely. Although that cake was alluringly delicious.

>133 mstrust: Thanks! And ooh, thanks for the recommendation.

>134 Ameise1: Aha - hope you're having an excellent weekend Barbara :)

March books to date: (Super brief 'reviews' because otherwise I'm never going to get caught up again)


16. DBC Pierre - Vernon God Little
Entertaining, dark satire on school shootings. I started to lose interest towards the end though.
★★★½


17. Chuck Palaniuk - Fight Club
I enjoyed the movie a few times, way back when. Really enjoyed the novel too though. Captivating existentialism.
★★★★½


18. Ali Smith - How to be both
The audiobook has George's story first, of the two interlinked stories that are told. I really enjoyed the story of the grieving girl and the painterly angel.
★★★★½


19. Farley Mowat - Never Cry Wolf
Farley Mowat is definitely a great story-teller. Very entertaining to listen to his tales as a lowly barely-competent researcher working within unwieldy bureaucracy, and then getting to know a family of wolves.
★★★★½


20. Patrick White - Voss
Some amazing writing in this Australian classic tale of explorer and humanity. Although am I terrible for not enjoying the inevitable ending?
★★★★½


21. Tom Wolfe - Bonfire of the Vanities
Glad to finally get to this - one of those books I can't believe I'm only just reading now. Good old 80s Wall Street.
★★★★½

>128 evilmoose: Great outdoor photos, Megan! And that cake looks amazing!

More gorgeous photos! I'm glad you were gone for positive reasons, Megan. I may have asked you this already, but I ask everyone when they read Three Men in a Boat, have you read To Say Nothing of the Dog? Because if you haven't, then you need to now.

Hi Megan, Drove past Canmore yesterday on a day trip out of Calgary into the mountains and waved in your direction as we were going by!

Woohooo! You are back! And I LOVE those ski leg warmers. Awesome. : ) Okay, your books aren't bad either.

I always try to get my book Group to read plays - "Virginia Woolfe" is a good play to read.

I love reading O'Neill's plays too "Long Days Journey Into Night" is a favorite and "Iceman Cometh" which we saw recently with Nathan Lane in Brooklyn

Have a wonderful Easter.

Megan, I wish you a fabulous weekend.

>136 evilmoose: I was sort of scrolling up through your books and thinking "how cool -- a whole host of 4.5-star reads!" I did get to the one 3.5-star (which, I know, is still pretty good), but in any case I'm glad you had such a streak of excellent reads. I also really liked How to be both and I have Never Cry Wolf waiting for me at the library. I'll pick it up this weekend.

Speaking of which, have a lovely weekend, Megan!

(By the way, after the talk about snow adventures, I did get to do some snowshoeing in Montana last week. It was so fun and so beautiful!)

By the way, the rainbow cake looks pretty and delicious!

>136 evilmoose: I'm always pleased to see another fan of How to be Both, I enjoyed it do much last year. Hoping a cheap paperback copy turns up in my future!

Love the ski pictures. Looks like you have been busy.

>137 kidzdoc: Thanks Darryl :) It was delicious too.

>138 ronincats: Heya Roni - no I haven't, but I've added it to my list now!

>139 lkernagh: Aww - I was there and metaphorically waving back at you.

>140 Berly: Hah, apparently my being back didn't last very well, I promptly fell into another book rut and disappeared for another 2 weeks! And thank you, the leg warmers are definitely wonderful. So much fun to wear. I actually ended up being invited on a hut trip with a few other families, and a couple of them had been at the race, and I when I told them I'd been there and what I was wearing they definitely remembered me :)

>141 magicians_nephew: Oh, I can imagine plays would be good for book groups - short, but lots to talk about. Thanks for the extra recommendations *adds to list*

>142 PaulCranswick: Happy belated Easter Paul!

>143 Ameise1: Thanks Barbara, I hope yours was likewise wonderful :)

>144 EBT1002: Yes, I was definitely on a good run. Sadly I've now for the second time hit a book I'm uninspired about right now, and have gotten distracted listening to podcasts instead of audiobooks in my listening time.

Oh, snowshoeing in Montana sounds great - I'll have to get to your thread and hope there are photos. (And I'm looking for an excuse to make that cake again)

>146 Berly: Happy Easter Kimbers :)

>147 mstrust: Happy Easter Jennifer!

>148 charl08: Happily very busy with fun stuff - and How to be both really was a great read, and one that I'm actually recommending to others too. Sometimes I enjoy a book and feel like other people won't necessarily like it too.

>149 weird_O: Happy Easter Bill - those peep things look tasty. At least the way I'm imagining them tasting :)

And to make up for the lack of books, here are a couple of photos from our Easter multi-family hut trip (12km ski in to get there, 9 adults, 8 kids, 2 nights, no running water) and from hiking last weekend:


The huts


One of the bigger kids reading to the five year olds.


Out for a ski near the hut


We built the most amazing luge run for the toboggans - I had a blast (I think the kids had fun too)


Getting ready to ski out


Out hiking - my little Jedi

Lovely pictures - I'm not sure if I like the Jedi or the cute reading picture best. Looks like a great trip.

Your rainbow cake was amazing (way up there). And your Ski racing in fun attire looks like it was accompanied by legless friends!! But it was just a white table cloth!

>158 Ameise1: Thanks Charlotte - it's been a fun few weeks, if unproductive on the reading front.

>154 LovingLit: Ah, but it's not a white table cloth, it's a table built from snow!

Excellent photos! Thanks so much for sharing!

What fabulous photos, Megan! The little Jedi is my favorite - oh, what joy!

Wonderful photos! Happy weekend, Megan.

22. Franz Kafka - The Trial
Praise be, I've actually finished a book! I've been very distracted with podcasts and music listening recently, and keep going days without getting anywhere on a book. But here it is, I finished The Trial - I thought I'd read it before, but I was thinking of The Stranger by Albert Camus instead - the similarities of having protagonists on trial in an existentialist sort of novel. The wild bureaucracy in this novel is of course absurdly wonderful. Mostly absurd. It does remind me of work a little though.
★★★★½

>159 evilmoose: I love this book. Saw it last year as a play.

>160 Ameise1: Same here, Barbara. Fliss and I saw The Trial at the Young Vic in London last year, which featured Rory Kinnear in the role of Josef K.

>156 scaifea: Thanks Amber :)

>157 Crazymamie: He's been having such fun being a Jedi - the light saber is going on every single hike these days

>158 Ameise1: Thanks Barbara, I hope your weekend was wonderful too. And hmm, a play? Sometimes I wished I lived in a city so I could go and see plays a little more easily.

>161 kidzdoc: Oooh, see that sounds very fun *note to self, plan to see plays when visiting the big city*

23. Thomas Hardy - Jude the Obscure
Well, that wasn't terribly uplifting. Certainly a beautifully written tragedy, and one that I had trouble putting down. Ahead of it's time, and dealing with issues of religion, social class, and sexuality. But something about the characters made me feel as if I was reading the book through a layer of dirty glass - they never felt quite real, never quite came into sharp focus. And so I don't feel compelled to give it a maximum star rating.
★★★½

>162 evilmoose: Good idea, Megan. I love the theatre, and nothing makes me more happy than seeing a fabulous play, especially in the company of good friends like Fliss (even more than reading a great book).

24. George MacDonald Fraser - Flashman
Suitably silly. This is one I'd heard recommended by Greg Proops, which makes sense as he's a bit of an anglophile (I think) - and this tells the story of Flashman, the bully from Tom Brown's School Days, after he's expelled and goes off to become a reluctant war hero. I read Tom Brown back when taking the Modern Sport & Society course as one of my History subjects at university - taught by a delightfully excitable Scotsman with a shock of white hair. I actually took this course mainly just so I could have him teaching me again, after taking another course with him. I have vivid memories of a warm summer day in class, and a lawnmower going back and forth outside the window, making it difficult for him to be heard. In the end he got so frustrated he threw open the window and startled the poor man by unleashing a torrent of Scottish-accented German obscenities at him. Ahh, he was wonderful.

But anyway, I enjoyed the satire, and it was well executed and ridiculous - but at the same time, Flashman is a genuinely awful person.
★★★

Ah, that's about two books down on my TBR pile for this month! I've managed to collect a few from the series and have meaning to read it for years. Glad you enjoyed it!

25. Helen MacDonald - H is for Hawk
I finally got to this book after reading so many great reviews for it all over the place since it was published (especially from fellow 75ers). I started reading (listening) to it yesterday, and couldn't put it down - it really is a fascinating read. I feel suddenly compelled to go out and acquire a bird of prey and start training with it. MacDonald does a great job of reading her own audiobook, as she covers grief, depression, a childhood obsession with birds, her acquisition of a goshawk, and the subsequent training of it - and the comparison of her experience with that of T.H.White (written about in The Goshawk). Recommended.
★★★★½

LOVE the pictures of the cabin and the snow adventures. I think I will pass on the Obscure Jude, but I am psyched you like H is for Hawk--I have that one coming up for RL book club in a few months. : )

Happy sunday, Megan. I hope you'll get the chance seeing a play in a city.

26. J.M. Coetzee - Disgrace
Blame, guilt, social inequality, racial tensions, rape and desire, disgrace and the nature of salvation, in post-apartheid South Africa. I didn't feel any attachment to any of the characters, and yet it was a compelling read. But not easy.
★★★★

>168 Berly: Thanks Kim - and yay, more people reading H is for Hawk, I was thinking it would be an interesting book club one.

>169 Ameise1: Thanks Barbara - it might be a while... maybe I should deliberately try and go to the city for a play.

I'm glad you enjoyed H is for Hawk, Megan. I thought it was quite interesting.

>159 evilmoose: Favorite podcast(s)? (hint hint)

>172 EBT1002: Hmm, I wouldn't recommend my favourite podcast! It's a very acquired taste - it's called Harmontown, and is by Dan Harmon, the showrunner of the TV show Community. And he does it with Jeff Davis (from Whose Line Is It Anyway). But don't listen to it! A few of my improv friends and I have been messing around starting to create our own podcast too, which I also don't recommend you listen to! But I have enjoyed Serial too, and am just starting listening to series 2 of it.

27. Carson McCullers - The heart is a lonely hunter
Loneliness, poverty, futility, struggle, racial and political tensions. Well written, but I didn't fall in love with it.
★★★½

28. Barry Lopez - Crossing Open Ground
Lovely and varied collection of essays. Initially it seemed dry in comparison to the recent Farley Mowat book I'd read, but there was a beauty to Lopez's more subdued story telling.
★★★½

>175 evilmoose: Nothing subdued about the cover though, Megan - that looks an interesting read.

Have a great Sunday.

29. Greg Proops - The Smartest Book in the World
Probably only of interest to those who enjoy the work of the comedian Greg Proops, this is very much a book version of his podcast The Smartest Man in the Room. It's the sort of book that is more of a rambling collection of essays and thoughts, and works well for picking up at random. I enjoyed it as an audiobook - lots of Proops' thoughts about books, poetry, art, movies, his distaste for the Oxford comma, and more baseball than I'm really interested in.
★★★★

>177 evilmoose: You had me right up until the baseball. Although I will have a look for the podcast!

>177 evilmoose: *shakes head in disgust* I always enjoyed Proops when he was on Whose Line but now that I now he's opposed to the Oxford comma... Shame. ;)

Your books are looking like they have been worth their reading times lately! Good to see.
My ex bf was so enamoured with Barry Lopez...he just loved him. I have read Crossing Open Ground twice, but have not made it to any other books of hs.

>180 LovingLit: Of course when boyfriends get too enamoured of Barry Lopez that is how they become ex-boyfriends!

Have a great weekend, Megan.

Just catching up here!! Hi.

Glad you enjoyed Disgrace. I've read Foe and Waiting for the Barbarians and enjoyed both of them. I have Disgrace lying around the house somewhere.

>178 charl08: I found I could just ignore the baseball parts... I mean, be enlightened by and inspired to fall in love with baseball?

>179 MickyFine: I know, I had much the same reaction. Simply appalling for an otherwise intelligent and entertaining man.

>180 LovingLit: I have had a pretty good run - it helps to be working my way through such a list of classics or well-recommended recently published works. I could definitely read another of Barry Lopez's books.

>181 PaulCranswick: Hah, thanks Paul! Will have to get over to your thread to get caught up.

>182 Berly: Heya Kim! Being behind on LT threads seems to be a running theme for pretty much everyone :)

>183 The_Hibernator: Ooh, Disgrace is the only Coetzee I've read so far. I would definitely like to read more but if the others are anything like Disgrace I think they'll be best padded with some fluffy easy reading.

Anyway, I've been stuck on one book for a while, not helped by a bike trip out west to go riding bikes in the Squamish area - no pics of me riding, but here are a couple I took:

Looking at your biking photos, I say Huzzah! to you and yours. We ain't nearly that adventurous. But we like to watch.

Great pictures. I think Disgrace is the darkest Coetzee I've read. Boyhood is a pretty sweet memoir, considering the grim political context.

Happy weekend, Megan.

Happy new week Megan!

Those are some ambitious bike rides!! LOL

30. Margaret Atwood - Penelopiad
This was short and vaguely entertaining, but not my favourite of Atwood's works. She's certainly done a lot of research, but I wasn't sold on the re-telling.
★★★½

31. Michael Crummey - Sweetland
Eh. It was interesting to get an insight into Newfoundland. It really bugged me that the audiobook was read by the same man who does China Mieville's works - he is great for weird fiction, and I've gotten used to him reading other things occasionally to, but he DOES NOT sound like a Newfie. That aside, it was a nice enough story with the revealing of family background and the survival of a man alone, but I was sufficiently uninspired that it took me a long time to get through it.
★★★½

>185 weird_O: Huzzah for those who watch then!

>186 charl08: Oh, well that's good to know, I'll feel a little more tempted to pick up more in the future.

>187 Ameise1: Thanks Barbara, I hope your weekend was excellent.

>188 The_Hibernator: And a happy new week to you too Rachel!

>189 Berly: I'm all about the ambitious bike rides :) Most normal people are horrified by the sort of thing I get up to. I say it's all genetic.

32. Rainbow Rowell - Carry On
I was really looking forward to reading another Rainbow Rowell, but this is my least favourite of hers so far. It was too much a tongue in cheek play on the Harry Potter world, and all the wizards/vampires and such books about these days. It seemed to spend far too much time being super self aware, so much so that I never really got into the plot. Which was pretty weak anyway. Sure, it was kind of nice when the people kissed, but aside from that, I was underwhelmed. Sorry Rainbow Rowell, I usually think you're super awesome.
★★★½

33. Robert Bevan - Critical Failures (Caverns and Creatures)
I started listening to this on a roadtrip with friends, after one loaned it to me. It's an entertaining concept - a group of friends get together for a session of Dungeons and Dragons that is more about the drinking than the game play. They're not taking things very seriously, and then they end up transported into the world of game, as the characters they were playing. Hilarious. Wacky hijinks ensue, they take time adjusting to this new reality, and they are forced to learn some valuable lessons - except instead of really ending, it's just all a set up for the next book, and there's no sense of completion in this one.
★★½

34. Anton Chekhov - The Cherry Orchard
Short and sweet, my first Chekhov :)
★★★½

Just cycling through to wish you a wonderful weekend, Megan.

Stopping by to get caught up and I notice that you are reading the Flashman books. Love the review, but considering I seem to see stacks of books from the series every time I wander into my favorite book store, at some point I will cave and start reading the it. There are times when I just need silly satire or otherwise mindless "stuff" to distract the mind from the insanity of work life ;-)

Soooo sad you did not fall in love with The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. I loved that one but I am sap/sucker for that kind of story.

Glad to see you had outdoor fun out Squamish way!

No comment on Sweetland as I am horrifyingly behind with my challenge reading. I really need to work on that.

Wishing you a lovely week, Megan.

Well, this is the biggest fall off the LibraryThing bandwagon I've ever had. Largely prompted by a prolonged spell of under-inspiring books. Including quite a few books which I feel should have been inspiring, but just weren't.

I'll try and get up to date with what I've read!


35. John Le Carre - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
I feel like a terrible person for not enjoying this - maybe it was the audiobook making it hard to follow, but things seemed to keep jumping to and fro, I had trouble keeping track of what was going on, and I just didn't care about any of the characters. Rating: meh.
★★½


36. Neil Shute - On the Beach
This gets points for being a dystopian novel written in 1957 - interesting to read a decades old take on a familiar subject. This was all nuclear war, not zombies though. But my problem with it was just how 1950s it was - as the world around them died, life went on almost as usual in Australia. Despite the fact everyone was doomed to die within a year or two, for some reason all the workers kept turning up and serving the upper class, allowing them to dine out at restaurants and purchase things from stores. Society was so busy keeping a stiff upper lip that it couldn't possibly disintegrate.

And the female characters! Wildly embarrassing damsels who were stupid and emotional and had to be calmed down and taking care of by the stoic and rational men. Gah.
★★★

>196 PaulCranswick: Thanks for stopping by Paul! I'll have to potter over to your thread and get caught up, hope things are going well.

>197 lkernagh: Flashman books are definitely along the same lines as Jeeves in terms of fluffy distraction. I am also on board with the wildly-behind-in-my-challenge-reading. I'm in a bit of a book funk in general really. Hope things are going well for you!

37. Flannery O'Connor - Wise Blood
Symbolism and monotony, I didn't get into this and appreciate it. Sorry, novel. Maybe there just weren't enough common cultural touch stones? I don't know.
★★★


38. Susan Cain - Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking
Fascinating reading on the science behind introversion. It's left me feeling even more confused about who I am though, and why. Thoroughly recommended reading to everyone though - for extroverts to understand the introverts in their life, and for the introverts to understand themselves.
★★★★½

>200 evilmoose: I really enjoyed Quiet as well. Good to see that you found one good book in that lot, Megan.

I do need to get to Quiet one of these days. What I really need is to get my husband to read it, but fat chance of that.

39. Simon Winchester - The Professor and the Madman
Largely non-tedious non-fiction about the compilation of the first Oxford English Dictionary. It was interesting to see how close to the truth that episode of Blackadder was.

Sea: "Big blue wobbly thing that mermaids live in"
★★★★


40. Samuel Beckett - Waiting for Godot
Existential banter and dark comedic turns. Must re-read.
★★★★

Oooh, people!

>201 Familyhistorian: Heya Meg - yes, Quiet is my favourite of the batch I've read - which I'm nearly up to date on now. I feel like I might be over-rating some of them, but I was in such a book funk that I feel guilty.

>202 ronincats: I'd love to get my husband to read it too. But because he's a bigger introvert than I, plus is 'on the spectrum' as they say now. And I'm really curious about the cross-over between the two. We can both get overwhelmed by big noisy group gatherings, but is it for different reasons? It's all very interesting.

And for a brief update of what I've been up to while I've been struggling with my reading:

Riding my bike a lot, now that I'm feeling nearly un-injured finally. I've done a couple of races and ended up on the podium both times (woo!)


Riding a new trail that has been built just south of town - it's amazing, and will be a destination trail for many. Come visit!


Cheering on a friend doing the Tour Divide bike race (the race I was hoping to be doing last year! and am now aiming for next year). A couple of us ended up doing a mini bike tour along the start of the Tour Divide route, just as a taster:


And plenty of hiking adventures with the offspring:

Wonderful pictures - and so glad to hear that you are now injury free. The new trail looks like a winner.

I still haven't read Quiet - but really want to. Must track down my copy.

>205 evilmoose: Congratulations on your wins!

>206 charl08: Well, nearly injury free anyway. I still can't go running without stirring things up again. And yes, go forth and read Quiet immediately!

>207 mstrust: Thanks Jennifer :)

41. William Ritter - Jackaby
Poking fun at the whole Sherlock mythology, a young adult fiction book that's a little silly, but entertaining enough.
★★★½


42. Agatha Christie - The Murder at the Vicarage
Maybe I wasn't in the mood, but this really wasn't my favourite Agatha Christie. I did find all of the business with the clock wonderfully enjoyable though. I always love it when a murder comes with a broken clock, and it's even better if the clock is usually kept at 15 minutes fast, and an unreliable servant knew what time it was because she heard the church bells chiming. And yet Wilkins walked straight up from the 7.45pm train from Glasgow, and how could he have possibly made it to the scene of the murder at the time he said he did... (ok, that last bit didn't happen - I do love the Agatha Christie murder-mystery tropes though).
★★★

>209 evilmoose: I love the Jackaby books and think they're utterly delightful. And the covers... *swoon*

Wonderful pics and adventures and congrats on your wins!

I'm glad to hear your knee is a lot better.

Did you hear that a grizzly just killed a mountain biker on the East side of Glacier Park? I think the Tour Divide race goes along the west side, but surprised griz just ain't friendly.

I see you've had some good reads lately. I loved Professor and the Madman. Quiet I found enjoyable for the first half, but became a bit disenchanted with it towards the end.

Megan--Woot! Woot! on making the podium. : ) Glad you are injury free--stay that way! I loved Quiet and hope that your upcoming books are equally as good.

A visit to your thread always leaves me feeling the need to be energetic and then calling for more coffee. xx

Have a lovely weekend in those wide open spaces.

Where have you cycled off to Megan? Come back and see us all soon. xx

>215 PaulCranswick: I'm back! I fell off the internet for a while. I rode my bike a long way a few times, and won another race or so.

Here are a couple of photos!





>211 streamsong: Yes, tales of that grizzly killing reverberated throughout the bike-packing world. You're always relying on an element of luck when you're riding your bike in grizzly territory. But I guess it's the same every time you drive your car on a highway too.

43. Oliver Sacks - Uncle Tungsten
I've been reading to listen to this for ages. Some entertaining chemistry stories. Interesting and all. I have been having trouble reading though, and some of this non-fiction required wading..
★★★½


44. Vladimir Nabakov - Despair
Gloriously mad, Nabakov does a wonderful unreliable narrator. And why are Russian's always murdering people in the books I read? Enjoyed this.
★★★★

45. Diana Wynne-Jones - Howl's Moving Castle
I've watched this movie before, but apparently didn't remember much of it, because I was completely baffled by the book. Maybe I should rewatch the movie now. I love Studio Ghibli, but was always vaguely disturbed by the way old Sophie was drawn.
★★★★


46. Jack Kerouac - On The Road
Great fun. Read in book form, and it felt right, and now I want to go on a mad road trip.
★★★★½

47. Joseph Conrad - Victory
Really enjoyed this, Conrad is wonderful. The writing was glorious, and it was thought provoking and engrossing.
★★★★½


48. Saul Bellow - The Adventures of Augie March
Eh, another bildungsroman? I've read enough of these recently it seems, and this one never grew on me. I wasn't looking forward to anything, I was just wishing it over. Occasionally a chapter would come along that interested me. Meh.
★★★½


49. Matt Besser - Upright Citizens Brigade Comedy Improvisation Manual
I've been slowly making my way through this, reading here and there, but I sat down this weekend and polished off the whole thing, after my improv troupe had a particularly strong show on Thursday night. Valuable resource, probably of no relevance to anyone else in the 75ers!
★★★★★


50. The Cordillera - Volume 7: Literature & Art from the World's Toughest Bike Race
I helped edit this one again, and finally got around to reading the sections I wasn't responsible for editing. It's stories from the 2015 Tour Divide, the one I was going to race before I injured my knee. Bittersweet, and hugely variable in quality, but still enjoyable.
★★★★

And that's me up to date again, finally! Running behind on reading totals from last year, I've been struggling to enjoy books this summer, and have abandoned a couple, and been close to abandoning others (Augie March, I'm looking at you).

Lovely to see you back safely Megan and so blase about winning races and braving the grizzlies.

Howl's Moving Castle: I've not seen the movie yet, but I've heard that it's *really* different from the book, so so wonder you were confused.

And I felt exactly the same way about The Adventures of Augie March. Exactly.

Love your penguin classic covers. I quite like bildungsroman, so despite being forwarded by your goodtaste (and Amber's) may well pick this up (especially if I see it with this cover).

I love the pictures of your little one in dramatic scenery. Would totally buy a book of your pictures with that theme. There is something very appealing about a kid having all those adventures in wild places (safe in the knowledge a parent is only as far away as behind the camera, of course).

>216 evilmoose: Won another race? Pics or it didn't happen.

>218 evilmoose: I liked the movie adaptation. It is an odd setup and I thought Studio Ghibli did a good job with the imagery (as they do with most things).

>223 Oberon: Hah!Well this one didn't have any podium shots - it was an unsupported bikepacking race. Fourteen of us started - two females, twelve guys - heading off to ride 557km (346mi) with ~4000m (13,200ft) elevation gain. All but three of us scratched. I finished in about 30 hours 15 minutes. Second place came in a little over an hour after me, and third was at least eight hours after us.

This was the bike I was racing, as it was set up:


The start line:


Selfies while riding one-handed into the sunset (it wasn't always that flat!):


And the route (which will only probably make sense to the Canadians):

>224 evilmoose: Well, if the podium consists only of those who managed to finish I suppose that is a good excuse. That looks pretty hardcore. Congrats on finishing, in first place no less!

Congratulations, Megan!

>224 evilmoose: That's a very intense race. did you do the mountain half of the loop first?

>227 MickyFine: No, it was out to Drumheller first. Then into Beiseker in the late afternoon, into Water Valley around 2.30am, stop for an hour, then up to the high point of the course by dawn, and back to Cross Iron Mills for midday. It felt more epic than intense. Lots of very cool birds around. And Alberta is beautiful!

>228 evilmoose: I'm a local so I'm partial to Alberta beauty already. Glad you enjoyed the ride in addition to kicking general butt. :)

Congrats on the race Megan!

>225 Oberon: Hardcore indeed! Well done, Megan, I am proud of you. I am sure if I lived near you in Canada, I would get fit again in no time. xx

51. Yasmina Reza - God of Carnage (play)
I read this because a local ... play group?... company? ... whatever... because they were auditioning for it. I'll be away when it's on, so didn't audition, but a few friends did, and I was curious. Conclusions? The two male roles are way more fun than the two female roles, and I found it kind of reminiscent of Edward Albee, but not quite as good - and on reading other reviews, I'm unsurprisingly not the first to have had that opinion. It probably makes for an entertaining enough play though.
★★★½


52. Naomi Novik - Uprooted
Oh, you're another special snowflake who has extraordinary magical powers despite being overlooked, plain and clumsy? How amazing! *rolls eyes* Ok, this was an entertaining enough read, but I'm obviously a little sick of that trope. And despite feeling pretty YA, there are some definite adult themes (read: sexy times and some violence) - so don't let a precocious 9 year old read it, unless you're ok with them getting the Judy Blume - Forever... experience.
★★★½

53. E. Annie Proulx - The Shipping News
Well this was an enjoyable tale, and I'm glad I read the book, because then I got to read all the great little knot illustrations and such that came at the start of every chapter. The more I read about Newfoundland, the more I long to go there (although not live there, brr). Harsh landscape, quirky and interesting characters. The local newspaper reminds me of the Northern Territory News, which if you haven't read, I suggest it's worth checking out.
★★★★


54. Donna Tartt - The Secret History
Enjoyed more than The Goldfinch, this spends more time in story, less time wallowing about in literary greatness. Fascinating, and with the sense of disconnection from real life that I remember from my life on campus. You lived in a weird bubble where almost anything was possible. Fate, ancient Greece, group dynamics, alcohol, life. Definitely a book to read at least once.
★★★★½

55. Chic Scott - Deep Powder and Steep Rock: The Life of Mountain Guide Hans Gmoser
Really enjoyed this - the biography of a local, who founded a company I worked for, written by another local, about many familiar names and places. Hans was definitely a man who led an inspiring life (he was awarded an Order of Canada). I want to go and climb mountains now.
★★★★½


56. Kim Thúy - Ru
Finally got around to reading this book, from the Canadian Author Challenge back in February or so! Delicious series of vignettes, elegant and simple, if scattered.
★★★★

>226 kidzdoc: Thanks Darryl :)

>230 The_Hibernator: Thanks Rachel!

>231 PaulCranswick: Yes Paul, move to Canada, fitness is guaranteed, there are so many fun things to do! (Disclaimer: One's definition of fun may vary from mine)

And a couple of photos from weekend adventures over the past month or so:

Hiking by glaciers on the Iceline trail in Yoho National Park, on our way in to spend a couple of nights in the Stanley Mitchell Hut.


The other family who was with us on our canoe camping trip on Maligne Lake, in Jasper National Park. We camped on an island for two nights!

57. Stendahl - The Red and Black
Eh, don't know if it was the audiobook read, but I didn't love this. I was never drawn into either story or characters, and struggled to finish it. For those who don't know - classic French literature, set in the 1800s, following a young ambitious provincial man.
★★★

OMG I totally lost track of you, your star must have dropped off :(

>224 evilmoose: sounds like you came first in that description, and that even finishing at all was an amazing achievement. I am in awe....

>235 evilmoose: I am going to have to stop visiting your thread. I feel like an irredeemable coach potato every time I visit.

>238 Oberon: Oh no, don't do that!

Here, look, this is a photo of some m&ms I sorted by colour before eating them all:



>237 LovingLit: Hola Megan! I'm glad you're back :) I've been visiting threads, but it's so long since I've commented I find it hard to know what to say - I feel like I'm wandering into a house party and randomly interjecting into a conversation other people are having with a complete non sequitur... and then everyone will look at me as if I'm mad, and then I'll blush, stare at my feet, and slowly back away and go hide in the kitchen *cough*

>239 evilmoose: Oh good. I'm glad I'm not the only one who sorts small candies by colour before consuming them. :P

>240 MickyFine: It is the only rational way to eat such things.

It could be worse.

>239 evilmoose: Its funny because brown used to be the most common and by your package its really lacking.

> 242 I've seen that in real life too, such as someone sorting the bin in the front of Walmart that has the boxes of candy into the types instead of a big heap.

>243 xymon81: Yeah, I remember way back when there were light brown m&ms too, and most packets were dominated by the light and dark brown ones. I wonder what the actual production ratios are for general consumption m&ms these days?.... *googles* Ok, it looks like as of 2008, for milk chocolate the claimed blend was 24% blue, 20% orange, 16% green, 14% yellow, 13% red, 13% brown. However, at least a few people have studied this, and found their claimed colour distribution to be inaccurate. (Honestly, there aren't that many blue m&ms)

Do you think that blend varies by country? Very tempted to buy a packet now to find out...

>245 charl08: In order to be statistically significant, I think you should probably buy at least 10 packets. It's for science!

58. Mordechai Richler - Solomon Gursky was here
I found the wandering shapelessness annoying. I was not absorbed at any point. Booker, schmooker. (It was shortlisted... I'm planning to read the winner from that year, Possession, some time in the next month or two though)
★★½


59. Ian McEwan - Saturday
Now, this novel only made it to the Booker longlist, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I heard someone compare it to Mrs Dalloway, in that each was just largely the internal monologue of the main character, and largely touching on seemingly inconsequential daily happenings, but with deeper concepts and themes. I found it was beautiful (and enjoyed it much as I enjoyed Mrs Dalloway.
★★★★½

60. Anton Chekhov - The Seagull
I feel more enlightened than I was previously. I'm really enjoying going through and reading/listening to some classic drama. My education never really touched on much drama. Except Shakespeare, and Equus. I have vivid memories of going to see a live performance of Equus with our English teacher and feeling embarrassed when the full frontal nudity came along - largely because she was so enthusiastic about it I think.
★★★★


61. Neil Gaiman - The Sandman: The Doll's House
Gloriously horrifying reading. Neil Gaiman has a way with words. I don't love some of the artwork though.
★★★★


62. Karen Joy Fowler - We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves
Yep, enjoyed this too. Some sections stood out more than others, but overall eloquent, and more than just your standard family fiction.
★★★★

And now I'm all caught up on books again! September has been good - with some graphic novels and plays helping to balance out some less enjoyable doorstops that I waded through. (How do you wade through a door stop? Good question Megan.)

Slowly, in my experience...

Hope you like Possession. I must admit I skipped the Victorian poetry bits and just read the story, but loved it still.I have the Richler from the library but have yet to crack the spine.

Congrats on winning the grueling bike race!!! And on all your many and varied books. ; ) Carry on!

>247 evilmoose: Yikes, I was just about to pick up that one by Richler but set it down again quickly!

Have a great weekend, Megan.

>239 evilmoose: lol, so much of your post reminds me of me. (not just the sorting m & m's by colour, and then taking a picture of them, and then eating them)

LT is the perfect place for me to pop in and mumble some random out of context comment and pull it off! In RL I would do wht you describe, and then ruminate on it...blowing it all out of proportion. *cough*

I am sure that you are still spinning those wheels, Megan.

Wherever you have cycled to, books in pannier I'm sure, I trust that you will have a delightful weekend.

Popping in to say Hi!!

Still missing you over here, Megan

Wouldn't it be nice if 2017 was a year of peace and goodwill.
A year where people set aside their religious and racial differences.
A year where intolerance is given short shrift.
A year where hatred is replaced by, at the very least, respect.
A year where those in need are not looked upon as a burden but as a blessing.
A year where the commonality of man and woman rises up against those who would seek to subvert and divide.
A year without bombs, or shootings, or beheadings, or rape, or abuse, or spite.

2017.

Festive Greetings and a few wishes from Malaysia!

This is the Christmas tree at the end of the Pacific Beach Pier here in San Diego, a Christmas tradition.

To all my friends here at Library Thing, I want you to know how much I value you and how much I wish you a very happy holiday, whatever one you celebrate, and the very best of New Years!

Megan--Merry Day-After Christmas!! Missing you here. Hope you are staying warm. : ) Hugs.

Looking forward to your continued company in 2017.
Happy New Year, Megan

Hope to see you in 2017!!

Hello all! I've abandoned LibraryThing terribly in recent months, and indeed, books in general. Book reading has been a struggle, and life has been overwhelming. And busy. I didn't even make it to 75 books! *hangs head in shame* But I did read more than 70.

Here's the paltry two I managed in October:

63. Michael Ondaatje - The English Patient
Set in an abandoned military hospital in Florence towards the end of WWII this is the story of four damaged people drawn to the same place and each other. Did not love it. Oh well.

64. Neil Gaiman - The Sandman Vol 3: Dream Country
I remember enjoying this... nothing more.

And then - November. I read no books. How can this be? But it was so.

But December, I attempted desperately to reclaim some honour. Very basic reviews, no attempts at stars or prettiness, I want to get on and plan 2017!

65. Haruki Murakami - Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World
Fun. I enjoy Murakami's surrealism.

66. Neil Gaiman - The Sandman Vol 5: A Game of You
Enjoyed this. Ah, Gaiman, you crazy wordsmith you.

67. Neil Gaiman - The Sandman Vol 7: Brief Lives ★★★★½
Great. Really enjoyed.

68. Gabriel Garcia Marquez - One Hundred Years of Solitude
Yes, good book, I'm a bit sick of multi-generation family history stories. I feel a bad person for this, but it's a sad fact of life.

69. David Ives - St. Francis Preaches to the Birds
A short play I've been cast in. I'm a vulture! It feels a stretch to include it as a book, but ah, I'm doing it anyway.

70. Ernest Hemingway - The Old Man and the Sea
Good re-read. Appreciated more than when I last read it in my early 20s.

71. Ford Madox Ford - The Good Soldier
Great. A good listen (audiobook, of course).

72. Mikhail Bulgakov - Flight
Really loved listening to this. Fantastic play.

Megan you are back! Great to see you again. I think falling three books shy of 75 is hardly a basis for shame. Here is to hoping that you will be creating a 2017 thread.

>262 evilmoose: BTW, your thread seems to be in some form of weird stealth mode and does not show up in my feed of starred threads. It wouldn't surprise me if a lot of other LT members are not seeing your thread despite starring it.

I can't find you...!

Post a link here please. : 0

Ha!! Your name isn't in your thread title and that's why I couldn't find you.

Here she is!!

http://www.librarything.com/topic/245529#