Paruline is conquering Mount TBR in 2017

Hi everyone and welcome to my thread!

I finally found some time after the holidays to decide on this year's theme and to set up my thread. Even though I'm an avid user of my local library, I usually receive books at Christmas and on my birthday, and often receive gift cards for bookstores. That, plus a couple of book sales each year, means that I've accumulated a small stack of books and I'd like to make them a priority in 2017.

Knowing myself, if I only read from my bookshelves, I'll lose interest pretty quickly. So, to make room for new titles, library books, LT recommendations, and serendipity, I'll allow myself one library book after each two books read from my shelves.

Onward!

From the 1001 books to read before you die

Potential reads:
La reine Margot
The once and future king
Love in a cold climate
Birdsong - done!
The radiant way - currently reading
Catch 22
Absalom, Absalom
Z
The long dark tea-time of the soul - done!
Maîtres anciens
Giles Goat Boy
Memento Mori
Wild Harbour - done!
The Gormenghast novels - Titus Groan done!
Silas Marner - currently reading

Science-fiction and fantasy

Potential reads:
The diamond age
The blue sword - done!
Lion's blood
Alas, Babylon - done!
Gateway - done!
The Unit - done!
The Mote in God's eye
Timescape
The Postman
The lathe of heaven - done!
The forever war - done!
Le monde de Narnia

Non Fiction

Potential reads:
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek - done!
The sea around us
Black like me - done!
The house of all sorts
Bachelor Brothers' bed & breakfast - done!
Gift from the sea - done!
A zoo in my luggage
The invisible history of the human race - done!
Gumbo Ya-Ya
One river

Children's books and YA

Potential reads:
Old Yeller - done!
The Yearling

LT rec

Potential reads:
Papillon
Peste & Choléra
Village diary
The sweetness at the bottom of the pie - done!
The enchanted April
The glass blowers
Tiny sunbirds, far away
Pied Piper - done!
The stone angel

Other reads not on my TBR pile:
The lost honor of Katharina Blum - done!
Sexing the cherry - done!
Laika - done!
The fifth wave - done!

Yay, welcome back!! :D Let me know if you'd be interested in a Stone Angel buddy read. I have that one lined up for reading this year :)

Good luck with your 2017 reading!

Welcome back and happy reading!

>7 rabbitprincess: Let me know when it would be a good time for you and we'll read it together!

>8 Tess_W: >9 MissWatson: Thank you! I'm glad to be back. For my 8th year! I can hardly believe it. Where does the time go?

Lovely to see you all set up and I see plans for some great books!

Great to see you back!

You have some excellent reads planned for this year. Looking forward to following along.

I like your intention of only allowing yourself a new book after reading two off your shelf. Good luck! I hope you have a wonderful year of reading!

­>11 DeltaQueen50: >12 lkernagh: >13 VivienneR: >14 mamzel: Thanks for the warm welcome! See you on your threads!

Ah, there you are. Great to see that you're back. I hope you do get to read Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away. It's very good.

­>16 VioletBramble: Glad you found me!

>10 paruline: Probably sometime in the spring, at this rate! Maybe in May?

1- L'honneur perdu de Katharina Blum (The lost honor of Katharina Blum)



A searing condemnation of the sensation-mongering press (and its gullible readers), whose innuendos and half-truths ruin the reputation of a hard working, upright young woman. Still relevant.

Tally:
Books off the TBR pile: 0
Books from the library: 1

3.5/5

2- The forever war



Fighting several light years from your home planet means that each time you come back from the front, years and centuries might have passed, disconnecting you from society. Interesting insight.

Tally:
Books off the TBR pile: 1
Books from the library: 1

4/5

3- Black like me



True account of a white man chemically darkening his skin, spending 6 weeks in the segregated American south and describing the experience. Heartbreaking in the description of the casual racism, brutality and cruelty he encountered. Important account of something that happened in living memory.

Tally:
Books off the TBR pile: 2
Books from the library: 1

4/5

>20 paruline: I have more Haldeman on my TBR. Looking forward to it.

4- The Unit



In this imagined future, childless and spouseless older persons are brought to the Unit to live out their remaining days in "productive ways" for society. In this gilded prison, Dorrit discovers deep friendships and even love, but at what cost? Reminiscent of Never let me go.

Tally:
Books off the TBR pile: 3
Books from the library: 1

4/5

>21 paruline: I will be reading this very soon.

>24 luvamystery65: Let me know what you think!

Dropping a comment so that I get to follow your thread - happy reading! (I'm a little behind, so apologies for the generic comment - better to come, I hope.) :)

>21 paruline: - Taking a BB for Black Like me.

>23 paruline: - Happy to see you like The Unit and even better, I now have a suggestion for a similar read!

>26 -Eva-: Glad you found me!

>27 lkernagh: Both The Unit and Never let me go are pretty good. Hope you enjoy them when you get to them :)

5- Sexing the cherry



At least now I know what happened to the twelve dancing princesses. Don't expect a plot but it was enjoyable.

Tally:
Books off the TBR pile: 3
Books from the library: 2

3.5/5

6- Wild Harbour



Terry and Hugh are pacifists and don't want to be conscripted in a war but they also don't want to be ostracized and judged (and maybe jailed) by their countrymen for failing to enlist. The only remaining solution is to hide in Scotland and live off the land while war slowly but surely catches up with them. Recommended.

Tally:
Books off the TBR pile: 4
Books from the library: 2

4/5

7- Laika



Graphic novel detailing the life of the first being sent into space, within the context of the US-Russia space race. Although I wasn't a fan of the drawings (the humans looked grotesque), I learned a lot.

Tally:
Books off the TBR pile: 4
Books from the library: 3

4/5

>23 paruline: I loved Never Let Me Go, so I'll take a BB for The Unit.

>29 paruline:
I've been meaning to read Winterson, but haven't gotten around to her yet. Why is there not more time in the day for reading? :)

>32 LisaMorr: I hope you like it!

>33 -Eva-: I know, so little time :(

Hello! Is this thing on? Sorry for the long absence, I'm ready to come back :)

>35 paruline: Yaaaay! We should get together this summer!

>36 rabbitprincess: definitely!

So I had a reading slump in February, where nothing I read was interesting, except graphic novels and library books. Of course, that meant that my challenge was already falling to the way side.

Oh well, I'll keep reading my TBR pile when the mood strike and not try to force it.

But in the meantime, here are a few quick reviews.

8- La faim (Hunger)



First person account of a starving - and quite hysterical - artist, and a vicious circle where hunger dampens the artist's production, without which he can't eat.

3/5

9- Gateway



Framed as a discussion between a star prospector who struck rich and his robot psychologist, we see the life of prospectors who use the spaceships of an extinct species to explore the galaxy.

4/5

10- Les enfants de la mer (Children of the sea)



Wonderful illustrations, but slow story development about a young girl's investigation of disappearing sea creatures. I also found it hard to get emotionally invested in what was presented as an abstract mystery.

3.5/5

Welcome back!

>38 paruline: - Boo to reading slump and Yay to see you back posting!

>40 paruline: Gateway sounds intriguing! You had me at "robot psychologist."

>44 christina_reads: It's a classic for a reason I think.

11- The drowned world



Quite an interesting imagining of a future where the world's temperature have gone up and melted the poles and how that affects the psychology of a group of people.

The writing style was a bit irritating though, with too many similes.

3/5

12- The postman always rings twice



A woman and her lover try to get rid of the husband and get away with it. Must have been shocking in its casual violence and sexuality when it was published. Suspenseful.

3.5/5

>43 lkernagh: Good to be back!

13- Habibi



Adult graphic novel with gorgeous illustrations but a bit of an unfocused storyline.

4/5

14- Gift from the sea



Thank you mysterymax for giving me this inspirational book about life and relationships.

4/5

15- Birdsong



WWI as seen through the eyes of a British officer at the front and the tunnellers in his unit. A smaller part of the book deals with the officer's granddaughter trying to understand the war through his diaries.

4/5

16- Mouse Guard



The Mouse Guard protects the mice civilization from predators and other dangers, but realize slowly that there is a traitor in their midst. Gorgeous illustrations.

4/5

17- Saga vol 6



This series perked up a bit in this volume by focusing on new allies and coalitions that work to reunite Hazel with her family.

4/5

18- Watchmen



I can see the appeal of having morally ambiguous superheroes, especially as it was groundbreaking at the time. However, I was not really a fan of either the drawings (too dark) or the story lines.

3/5

19- Old Yeller



Straight storytelling that does not take away from powerful emotions. A classic for a reason.

4/5

20- Bachelor Brothers' bed and breakfast



This was wonderful and just the right book to get out of a reading slump. A chronicle of a B & B - run by two bachelor brothers - that caters to voracious readers. If you liked 84, Charing Cross Road you will love this. A must for book lovers.

4.5/5

>56 paruline: Okay, that comparison to 84, Charing Cross Road got me! Book bullet taken!

>57 christina_reads: I hope you like it!

21- Pied Piper



Written while WWII was ongoing, we follow an elderly English gentleman caught behind enemy lines in France that tries to come back home. Over the course of his journey, he becomes responsible for an ever growing number of children. My first Nevil Shute but certainly not my last. Wonderful.

4.5/5

22- The Lathe of Heaven



Given unlimited power, how would you build a better world? Would your vision of paradise be another person's nightmare? Our protagonist is faced with just such a situation.

Le Guin never disappoints. Great speculative fiction with great characters.

4.5/5

23- Titus Groan



Things are being shaken up in the castle of Gormenghast: an male heir has been born. The villain Steerpike will use the event to try to gain favour and power. This is pretty much it, as the plot is very thin compared to the long descriptions of grotesque characters and of the sprawling castle. Recommended if you like atmospheric reads.

3.5/5

24- Adaptation



After a car accident, Reese wakes up in a government medical facility. After they 'patch her up', she starts having strange experiences. Government conspiracies or just being a teenager? Sometimes it's hard to tell :)

3/5

>59 paruline: Yaaaay!! Glad you liked it!

I loved Pied Piper when I read it and if you are planning on reading more Nevil Shute don't miss A Town Called Alice, it's a great read as well.

>56 paruline: - A book I have never read and will probably enjoy. BB taken! Like >57 christina_reads:, you got me with the comparison to 84, Charing Cross Road.

24- The fifth wave



Fairly standard alien invasion story, where our young protagonists have to battle aliens that look human.

3,5/5

>67 paruline: I hope you'll enjoy it :)

25- The Autobiography of an Ex-colored Man



Considered a foundational text of the Harlem renaissance, this is the 'autobiography' of a light coloured man able to pass as white, and the experiences that pushed him to choose that path.

4/5

26- The Blue Sword



A classic chosen one story, where a young orphan girl is being sent to her uncle's retired fort town. The native people recognize her as having a potentially significant role in their upcoming battle with invaders. They kidnap her, and teach her about their culture and she ends up saving the day.

Pretty good adventure story but it includes a pet peeve of mind, where an outsider, after a few weeks of immersion in another culture, is better at everything than the natives of that culture.

4/5

27- The Invisible History of the Human Race



Very good lay science book about the various factors (genes, history, culture) that shape who we are. If ancestry and inheritance are topics of interest to you, you should give it a try.

4/5

28- The Jungle



An illuminating look about life in Chicago for immigrants at the turn of the 20th century (hint: it was very hard) and about the meat industry (hint: it was very heartless). I took out a star because I felt very preached at in the last quarter of the book, which took me out of the narrative. But still, a classic.

3/5

>71 paruline: So glad you enjoyed The Blue Sword!

29- Valérian les mauvais rêves



Was interested in getting acquainted with the story before seeing the movie. Good little story about a spatio-tempo agent that goes to the Middle Ages to counter the evil purposes of another agent. Laureline is delightful.

4/5

30- The Wind in the Willows



Not much I can add to the existing reviews of this book. I found it a bit dated, but it does make one wish to spend all summer drifting lazily in a boat.

4/5

>75 AHS-Wolfy: I also want to get around to watching the movie at some point. Glad to see you enjoy the source material.

>77 paruline: The movie's special effects were spectacular but I feel they misread the relationship between Valerian and Laureline as described in the graphic novel. Still worth seeing though.

31- Les enfants terribles (The holy terrors)



Two siblings, Paul and Elisabeth, play a game throughout their teenage and young adult years. This game consists of trying to get a rise or reaction from the other through upending the stakes. Eventually and not surprisingly, things get messy when other people get involved.

3/5

32- The sweetness at the bottom of the pie



Aspiring chemist 11-yr old Flavia de Luce will try to solve a murder and absolve her father of it in the process. Quite a complicated resolution but what kept my attention was the look into the post-war trauma of England.

4/5

33- Winnie the Pooh



Started reading it to my daughter and realized I had actually never read it myself. Glad I finally did.

4/5

34- Sarah, plain and tall



Another children's book.

Told from the point of view of two children whose widowed father has advertised for a mail-order bride. Sarah, plain and tall, arrives for a one-month trial and the children are anxiously hoping she will like them enough to stay and be their new mother.

4/5

>80 paruline: I love Flavia!

­>83 paruline: Have you read the rest of the series? I don't know if I want to make the time investment...

35- Shikasta



Very confusing at first, this civil servant's account of the fall from grace of the planet Shikasta offers a lot of food for thought. Other perspectives are added throughout the text in the form of diary entries, letters, and official memos.

There are some interesting musings on environmental degradation, the reasons that push some people to become terrorists, anarchism, the clash between generations, and mental illness among others.

The book becomes less successful imo when Lessing tries to extrapolate from the situation prevalent in 1979 (when the book was published) to what it would be now and with a bit of a Deus ex machina resolution at the end.

Hard going at first, but eventually rewarding.

3.5/5

>84 VioletBramble: I've read them all. The one set in Canada, As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust, is not so good but the rest of the series is excellent

36- My hero academia volume 1-8



Really enjoying this series. In a society where 80% of the population has superpowers, would-be heroes train at the Hero Academia where they will learn to control their powers, work in teams, and defeat supervillains. It's also very character driven, and a page turner.

I will continue with the series. Recommended.

4/5

37- Underground to Canada



Julilly and her friend Liza escape slavery and travel through the Underground Railway to reach freedom. Although geared towards middle grade children, I found a lot of food for thought in this story and was especially interested in the historical figures and events depicted.

3.5/5

38- Dragon Song



An engaging coming of age story in a land of dragons. Menolly is forbidden to do what she loves most of all (sing) because she's a girl and her family thinks this would disgrace them. But once she runs away, her gift will allow her to tame fire lizards and to eventually connect with others who respect her abilities.

4/5

39- Cannery Row



How to throw a party.

4/5

40- Warm bodies



Zombie story told from the point of view of the zombies. Heart warming (pun intended).

4/5

41- The long dark tea-time of the soul



Dirk Gently investigates the realm of North gods. Douglas Adams sure knew how to turn a phrase. Quite funny but several plot holes.

3,5/5

42- Annihilation



The narrator is part of the 12th expedition into Area X, that has been cut off from the world for decades. Almost all members of previous expeditions have met a gruesome fate. Intriguing enough that I'll probably continue with the series at some point.

3,5/5

Stopping by to get caught up. Warm Bodies has been on my "To Read" list for a while now... I just keep forgetting about it. I usually steer clear of zombie stories as 'heart warming' isn't what comes to mind when thinking about zombies. ;-)

I am in the process of catching up with everyone's threads. You've had some really good reads there. I loved your description of Cannery Row. It made me chuckle.

>94 paruline: I think you'll like it. It's light-hearted and fun.

>95 lkernagh: I'm so behind on everybody's thread, and on my own! I'll try to catch up this week-end.

Hi Paruline, stopping by to wish you and your loved ones peace, joy and happiness this holiday season and for 2018!

Thanks Ikernagh!

Just stopping by to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season. We were supposed to be driving to my parents' place but because of a severe weather warning, decided to stay put until tomorrow. I'll try to put up all my book reviews - I'm so behind - and get caught up on everyone's thread.

Yikes, weather warning! I hope that weather calms down by the time I get home (Saturday).

>98 VivienneR: I hope you had a safe journey - or maybe just stayed put for a while longer! I had a hair-raising drive home yesterday (mountain road, narrow, winding, steep hills, covered in ice, no shoulders, clifftops, logging trucks!!) but it was only -7 so it could have been worse. Happy New Year!

43- Solitude



Beautifully told story of a young woman's self-actualization despite a disastrous marriage. The Catalan mountains provide a gorgeous setting and are almost a character.

4/5

44- Grayson



A young swimmer training in the sea off the California coast comes across a baby gray whale separated from its mother. She swims several miles with him looking for his mother and hoping to reunite both family members.

A bit too esoteric for my taste but nice.

3,5/5

45- Pilgrim at Tinker Creek



Plotless writing that took me over a year to get through. There are some gorgeous passages about the author's description of her exploration of nature but ultimately this book was not for me.

2,5/5

>102 rabbitprincess: I like the cover on that one!

Happy new year!

46- Casino Royal



Dated, sexist, racist, but could make a good movie if handled right. Oh wait.

2,5/5

47- Alas Babylon



Written at the height of the cold war, this book explores what would have happened if there had been nuclear war between the Soviets and the US. In Florida, a small town is spared by the fallout and people of all backgrounds come together to survive. Pat Frank was very good at describing without endorsing the social environment prevalent at that time and place.

4/5

48- Mon vieux et moi



Short novella about a recently-retired man that decides to adopt an elderly man and take care of him at home. Interesting meditation on aging and on the responsibilities associated with care.

3/5

49- La ferme de cousine Judith (Cold Comfort Farm)



Pretty funny parody of all the pastoral novels of the 19th century. Flora Poste, newly orphaned, calls upon relatives to take her in and sets about putting everything and everyone right at Cold Comfort Farm.

4/5

50- Putain de mort (Dispatches)



A free-lance journalist reports on the Vietnam war, the soldiers, their fears, other journalists, superstition in the face of death, rock & roll and the local culture.

3/5

51- Meurtriers sans visage (Faceless killers)



When the dying elderly victim of a brutal robbery's last word is "stranger", local detective Wallander has to solve the crime while also protecting immigrants from retaliation.

Nice read for a wintery evening.

3,5/5

52- This world we live in



The main characters from the first two books of this series meet in the third installment. What could have been an interesting clash of philosophies instead turned into non stop bickering.

I will not continue with the series.

3/5

53- The invisible man



Violent, unpredictable, megalomaniac Griffin finds the means to become invisible and realizes that instead of solving his problems, being invisible just compounds them.

3,5/5

54- Les treize horloges (The 13 clocks)



An evil Duke gives impossible tasks (and failure is punishable by death) to any suitor that comes for the hand of his niece. But will the impoverished minstrel complete his task in time?

Some clever word play make this an enjoyable read.

3,5/5

55- L'assassin qui est en moi (The killer inside me)



Told in the first person by the Sherif of a small town in Texas, who during the day is thought of as a lovable if slightly daft member of the community, but turns into a sadistic murderer when no one is looking. Because, who will ever suspect the Sherif?

Very well done.

4/5

56- Swallows and Amazons



Good adventure story featuring incredibly stressful behaviour for this mother's heart (children boating without life jackets, building fires...)

4/5

And that completes my reviews for 2017!

Books off the TBR pile: 20
Books acquired: 12

Favorite books read in 2017:
Bachelor Brothers' Bed and Breakfast
The lathe of heaven
Pied Piper

Honorable mentions (thought provoking, moving, or otherwise noteworthy):
Alas Babylon
Black like me
Wild Harbour
Shikasta
The lost honor of Katharina Blum
Warm bodies

Opposite of favorites read in 2016:
Casino Royal
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek

See you at the 2018 challenge!