Natalie ROOTs in 2019

Hi everyone! I'm Natalie. I'm located in Seattle, where I do communications work for a consulting firm. I get a lot of reading done during my bus commute. Otherwise, I do most of my reading curled up on the couch with my retired racing greyhound, Skeletor, or listening to audiobooks while doing chores and walking the dog.

This is my first year in this group though I have tracked books off my shelves before. Last year I got to 40, and this year I'd like to reach 50 in the hopes of actually making a dent in my TBR pile.

My goal with ROOTing is to just decrease my owned TBR pile, so for me, a ROOT is any book I own, even if I bought it this year.

Welcome to the ROOTers, Natalie! Happy ROOTing.

Welcome aboard and have a great reading year! I get a lot of reading done on the bus as well :)

>2 connie53: >3 rabbitprincess: Thank you both! Excited to be here -- hopefully being in this group will encourage me to go above and beyond my ROOTing goals.

Welcome to the group, Natalie! I feel sick if I read on the bus, so I'm kind of jealous of those who can!

Also, I love your greyhound's name! I have friends who also have a retired racing greyhound, she's a soppy old thing but really lovely.

Welcome! I hope you'll have fun here, it is very motivating to share the ROOTing successes!

>5 Jackie_K: Thanks! The downside of reading in the car is that when I started driving myself around I realized I had no idea where I was going because I had never looked at my surroundings during childhood, just down at a book :) Good thing there's GPS!

Skeletor goes by Skelly most of the time which suits him :) He's a big softie who loves to sleep and cuddle.

>6 MissWatson: Thank you! Now to actually start reading some books I own...

I finished my first ROOT of the year! Review crossposted from my 75 books group thread:



Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

After a flu pandemic wipes out most the Earth's population and shuts down civilization as we know it, we follow several characters with interconnected stories as they continue to exist past the outbreak, defying all odds. The book also jumps back and forth pre-pandemic and post-pandemic as we flesh out the stories and learn more about each of them.

What an amazing book. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time -- for the last 50 pages, I was so tense that after I finished, I let out an audible sigh and forced myself to relax my shoulders. I got really into it on the bus yesterday morning and honestly, finishing the workday so I could get back to this book was torture. So, so good. 5 stars.

>8 curioussquared: I liked Station Eleven as well! Love those books where you can't wait to get back to them :)

>9 rabbitprincess: It's the best feeling, isn't it? I also love those rare moments where the universe aligns and not only am I totally engrossed in a book, but I have no plans and can spend the entire day doing nothing but reading it.

>8 curioussquared: Ooh, sounds good. Adding to my Wishlist.

>11 originalslicey: Hope you enjoy!

2 ROOTs down: Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason by Helen Fielding

Bridget is finally dating Mark Darcy and is trying (probably a little too hard) not to screw it up. But paradise can't last long, and after a series of misunderstandings, the two are separated once again and Bridger is competing with her evil acquaintance Rebecca to win him back. Throughout the novel, Bridget handles dealing with her crazy mother, a disastrous Colin Firth interview, and being detained in a Thai prison, all while trying to get her dating life in check per the advice of her massive self-help book library

My second book off my own shelf this year! I enjoyed the first Bridget Jones novel when I read it several years ago, and the movie is always fun, too. While reading this book, though, I realized I may not have ever seen the second film! I know I've seen the third one, but I just literally cannot remember the second one at all. Anyway, this book was fun to listen to on audio, although Bridget is occasionally so over the top that I had to only half listen to some of the more embarrassing bits. After the part with the Colin Firth interview, I was curious how they handled that in the movie since Colin Firth actually plays Bridget 's love interest, Mark Darcy. Turns out they cut it from the actual film, but they did film it and include it in the movie extras. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend watching it -- you can find it on YouTube by searching Bridget Jones interviews Colin Firth.

Anyway, this was fun, but I don't see myself picking it up again. A solid 3 stars -- would have been 3.5 but I got annoyed with Bridget a few too many times :)

I never knew they filmed that - I just looked it up on YouTube and laughed quite a bit - even though she doesn't fall into a fountain like in the book...

>14 Caramellunacy: Yes, the interview they filmed was pretty different from the one in the book, but I felt they definitely captured the spirit of it!

Good luck with your ROOTs this year, Natalie! I need to get Station Eleven.

>16 mstrust: Thanks! Once I read it, my only regret was letting it sit on my shelf unread for any length of time :)

>8 curioussquared: And WOW, this book is translated into Dutch! On my wish-list it goes.

>18 connie53: Hooray for translations!

3 ROOTs down: We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler

Rosemary grew up with two siblings: Lowell, an older brother, and Fern, a sister close to her age. But at some point (Rosemary's memories are a little fuzzy), Fern disappears or is sent away, and later, when he's in high school, Lowell leaves town, too, leaving Rosemary as an older child with a closed-off mother and a father who drinks.

Now, as a slightly dysfunctional college student, Rosemary starts digging deeper into her past and her uncertain memories, and Fowler's narrative skillfully jumps back and forth in time from Rosemary's childhood to her college years to the present, where she's in her 40s, to expose the truth.

I wavered between 3.5 stars and 4 for this book, and eventually decided on a 4. I had a lot of trouble with Rosemary -- not only did I not like her at first, but I didn't understand why she was interesting, and it made the first part of the book difficult to get through. But this book has a big "reveal" about 1/4 or 1/3 of the way through -- I won't spoil it, but just know that if you're interested in reading it, don't read the cover blurb! Once I got to the reveal, I was hooked -- I still didn't love Rosemary as a character, but the book was fascinating and very well crafted and written. Recommended -- I think this would be a great book club book, too, as it definitely invites discussion.

Also, I picked this up simply because I enjoyed Fowler's The Jane Austen Book Club. I did end up enjoying this book, but if you're looking for a similar read, this is NOT it.

>20 curioussquared: Sounds interesting, Natalie. A B(ook)B(ullet) for me. This book is translated into Dutch and I've put it on my wish-list. And I will try to ignore the blurb. ;-))

>21 connie53: I hope you enjoy it! Seems like my thread has been dangerous for you so far with two book bullets! :)

>22 curioussquared: I just ordered the book mentioned in >20 curioussquared:.

When I've read it I will tell you what I think in my thread!

>23 connie53: Happy reading! I need to hunt down your thread :)

A few more ROOTs!



4 ROOTs down: March: Book 2 by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell

Such a powerful graphic novel -- I read book 1 back in September or October and now I can't figure out why it took me so long to get to this one. Book 3 is already underway. I don't have a ton to say except that everyone should read this trilogy, whether or not you're interested in graphic novels. Lewis and his co-author and illustrator do such justice to the civil rights movement and tell the story in a way that is compelling and understated while not glancing over any of the more shocking truths. Should be required reading in schools! 5 stars.



5 ROOTs down: The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer

At a high school summer camp for gifted art students in the 70s, six teenagers meet, form a group, and dub themselves "the interestings." We follow these six individuals throughout the novel as they grow up and shift to adulthood, focusing mostly on Jules Jacobson, wannabe comic actress, her best friend Ash Wolf, a talented dramatic actress and director, and Ethan Figman, animator, who marries Ash despite an unrequited love for Jules. As the characters age, get married, find jobs, and have kids, the book explores what it is to be talented and interesting and the implications of talent on an otherwise normal life.

This book reminded me a little bit of A Little Life but without the high stakes. I found it enjoyable, but a little long; I stalled about halfway through for about a week before picking it back up again and getting momentum and finishing it in a day. Definitely a captivating read, but I don't think it will have a lasting effect on me. 3.5 stars.

More ROOTs down!



6 ROOTs down: March: Book 3

What can I say? Just as good as the previous two, and a stunning conclusion. Gorgeous graphic novels, and a powerful series. 5 stars.



7 ROOTs down: The Family Trade by Charles Stross

Ugh, this was less good. This has been on my shelf for 10+ years and I wish I had chucked it long ago. Miriam is a tech reporter who discovers that her birth mother was from an alternate, medieval New England, and that she has the power to travel between the two worlds. It turns out that her birth family is a mafia-style power in the alternate world, and they use their world traveling ability to smuggle drugs and other goods for a premium price. Miriam is kidnapped and swept up into the family trade, but she soon finds herself resisting against the family's primitive plans to marry her off to a cousin to keep the family gift going.

Miriam was just an awful character for me. She spoke in cliches -- and not just cliches, but cliches from a poorly written 90s sitcom. In fact, the entire book felt dated. You know how sometimes you read a book written 100 years ago and you're surprised at how well the prose has stood the test of time? This was the opposite of that, and it was only published in 2004. She also had a lot of Mary Sue-like characteristics -- good thing she had all that doctoring training that she never used as a journalist! And that somehow she knows how to be a spy?

The worst thing about this book was that it had a non-ending. No resolution, just a clear message to go read book 2. I'll pass, thanks!

I'll give it 2 stars for writing -- I was actually drawn into the book and kept listening despite the occasional face-palm at something Miriam said. Just bad characters and poor plot.

I'm leaving for a vacation in New Zealand starting Monday providing the snow doesn't shut down Seattle too badly. I'm not sure I'll get any ROOTing down while I'm there, as I'm only bringing my kindle and don't count ebooks as ROOTs. But, you never know!

Have a great trip! Hope the weather holds up :)

Enjoy your trip!

Have a great trip, Natalie.

>13 curioussquared:

I read Bridget Jone's Diary a while before the movie came out and absolutely loved it. Someone handed down their copy of The Edge of Reason and I threw it in my basement with no plans to ever read it because I was too afraid of being disappointed. But a couple of years ago I was on a bit of a Bridget kick and decided to try it and it was sooooo much better than I expected. However, I was really frustrated with how she let her friends talk her into tanking her relationship with Mark Darcy. Frustrating! But that's Bridget Jones.

BTW the second movie is REALLY bad. Painful to watch. I loved #1 and like #3, but 2 was just awful. The films are quite different from all the books.

Anyway, it was fun coming across your thoughts on The Edge of Reason.

(And yes, her interview of Colin Firth is a riot)

>13 curioussquared:
Inspired by that very interview with Mr. Firth, I convinced Mr. Lunacy to watch the very long P&P with me as an extended Valentine's Day present. He had never seen it before and was not as impressed at the pond scene, but did insist that Wickham was a "blackguard" from very early on.

>32 Caramellunacy: Extended Vaentine's Day Present!

Very, very good idea!

Thanks for the well-wishes, everyone! The trip was fantastic -- Hobbiton was a highlight, of course :)

>31 Nickelini: Thanks for the heads up! I will not make an effort to watch the second movie :) Totally agree about how Bridget lets her friends talk her into things! She is her own worst enemy.

>32 Caramellunacy: Oooh, that's an excellent Valentine's Day present! I love that -- he is a total blackguard :) I don't think I could convince my boyfriend to watch P&P with me -- it's not really his style, lol. But it's one of my favorite things to watch with my mom or friends. I had a few friends over this weekend to watch another favorite -- The Importance of Being Earnest. Such a fantastic play and the movie is PERFECT.

I've been pretty bad about ROOTing lately, but I did get one done:



8 ROOTs down: The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge by M. T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin

The elves and goblins have been at war for as long as most people can remember. In a time of relative peace, when they discover what appears to be a goblin artifact, the elves decide to send it back to the goblin kingdom via ambassador in a gesture of goodwill. The elf chosen for this seemingly illustrious task is weedy historian Brangwain Spurge. Without further ado, Brangwain is sent via cannon shot to the goblin kingdom, with strict orders to report back via magical transmission as often as possible. Eagerly awaiting him is his goblin historian counterpart, Werfel, who is excited to welcome a fellow historian into his home, discuss elven and goblin culture, and show Brangwain around the goblin kingdom. But before they can be friends, Brangwain and Werfel will have to overcome ingrained differences and prejudices -- not to mention two whole kingdoms stacked against them.

This was such an interesting book! Told in alternating chapters of Anderson's prose and Yelchin's drawings (similar to The Invention of Hugo Cabret), the two authors create an extremely compelling world. This book is more than just a fantasy story -- the two authors use their storytelling mediums to show how appearances can be deceiving and impressions can be entirely wrong, as sometimes the words and images will totally contradict each other -- just like Werfel and Brangwain's impressions of what is going on. Really well done, and a really quick read once you get into it. I had trouble acclimating to the prose/images style the first few times I tried to start. One thing is certain -- I don't think anything Anderson writes is anything like anything else he has written. Despite that, I've enjoyed all of his books I've read for entirely different reasons. This is an Early Reviewers book I can cross off my to-review list! 4 stars.

>34 curioussquared:, Oh yes! The Importance of Being Earnest is a lovely movie! I love listening through the credits as Rupert Everett and Colin Firth get into an argument over their serenade...

>36 Caramellunacy: Yes! They're so great. My favorite scene is probably with the muffins. I love "But you've been christened already!" "Yes, but I haven't been christened for years."

I can hardly eat muffins in an agitated manner!

Okay, I got a few more ROOTs done!



9 ROOTs down: The Dragonfly Pool by Eva Ibbotson

When Tally is sent to boarding school for the first time, she's terrified it's going to be the kind of dreadful place she's ready about in books. But Delderton is a different kind of place, with no uniforms, kind teachers, and lots of freedom. When Tally organizes a trip with fellow students to a folk dancing festival in Bergania, she and her classmates soon end up on a quest to do what is right as most of Europe bends to Hitler's power.

Probably not my favorite Ibbotson, but still very enjoyable. I think the darker historical background of this one didn't allow the story to have quite the same whimsy as The Secret of Platform 13, Which Witch?, or Island of the Aunts. 3.5 stars.



10 ROOTs down: The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver

Taylor Greer wants nothing more than to get out of her small Kentucky town and avoid getting pregnant. She sets off on a road trip across American in her broken down car, and ends up coasting into Tuscon on two flat tires. Along the way, she picks up an abandoned Native American toddler, who she names Turtle. In Tuscon, Taylor and Turtle find a way to make a life together and start putting down roots in their community.

I loved this book! I've been meaning to read some Kingsolver for a long time and this just makes me wish I'd started sooner. This was my pick for my IRL book club and we discussed it last night. Lots of good insights! Unfortunately, while we were all in the kitchen, new puppy Otter chewed on the edges of one of my friends' library book copy :( I told her I'd pay any fines or replacement fees, but something tells me I'm going to have to watch out for my books around this puppy... Anyway, I loved Taylor's story and the ongoing relevance of the immigration conversations in this book, even though it was written in the 80s. 4.5 stars.

11 ROOTs down: Keeping the Moon by Sarah Dessen

Colie and her mom were always overweight. Then, her mom got fit, lost the pounds, and started a fitness empire. Despite her new skinny frame, Colie is still bullied at school, and she's never had any friends. When her mom embarks on a European tour to promote her videos and other products, Colie is sent to stay with her aunt in a small town where she knows nobody. Soon, she stumbles into a job at a diner, where she gets to know her fellow waitresses and starts to make... friends? And of course, there's Norman, the artsy, eccentric guy who rents out her aunt's basement....

This was a pretty mindless read, but enjoyable, as Dessen's books always are. I did feel like there was some weird mixed messaging in terms of weight in this book -- it feels like Dessen is trying to convey that size doesn't matter and nobody should be judged on their weight, but at the same time, Colie's story seems like it can only begin now that she lost about fifty pounds. This book was written about 20 years ago, and I wonder if that's its age showing, or just an awkwardly handled subject by Dessen. 3 stars.

12 ROOTs down: Maud by Melanie J. Fishbane

In this novel inspired by the life of Lucy Maud Montgomery, 14-year-old Maud lives with her grandparents on Prince Edward Island, goes to school, and dreams of going to college and becoming a writer. Throughout the novel, we follow her as she grows, through her first love, through moving to rural Saskatchewan with her father and stepmother, and through her return to the island, as she learns more about herself and her ambitions along the way.

I won this in the Early Reviewers program. I think I might not have been the target audience -- I like the Anne books, but I'm not a superfan, and that colored my opinion of this book, I think. The first half of the book honestly just feels like Anne of Green Gables rehashed -- Maud goes to school, gets into fights with some of the students, gets into trouble at home, etc. I have read a few novels by Michaela MacColl that are inspired by the early lives of famous authors, but MacColl usually creates her own original story out of the factural base, and I think that's what I was expecting here -- but this book just didn't seem very inspired and stayed maybe a little too close to the source material for a work of fiction. Maud was also pretty annoying in the younger years. As the book progresses and she gets older and moves to Saskatchewan, I found myself my drawn in by the story and enjoying it more. 3 stars, recommended more for Montgomery superfans.

>39 curioussquared: I keep meaning to try The Bean Trees. I think it's got the same character (Turtle) as Pigs in Heaven which I really enjoyed.

>42 Jackie_K: Yes, I recently learned there's a sequel :) Definitely pick up The Bean Trees -- it's a quick, satisfying read!

Hi Natalie, just popping in to see what you are reading. >39 curioussquared: Seems like an interesting book.

>44 connie53: Hi Connie -- thanks for stopping by! I have not been very good with the ROOTing lately as I just returned from a trip to France with my parents. I speak French and they don't so I was happy to act as translator, but I was so tired from thinking in another language all day every day that I barely got any reading done during the trip, and no ROOTs. I need to pick up the pace! Recent non-ROOT books I finished include Bridge of Clay, All Systems Red, and The True Queen.

13 ROOTs down: Transparent Things by Vladimir Nabokov

In this short novel, Nabokov writes about a mediocre man named Hugh Person, his four visits to Switzerland, and the impact each of those visits had on his life.

I'll read pretty much anything Nabokov writes and love it. One of my favorite authors, and some of the most gorgeous prose out there. This was a weird little book -- but aren't all of Nabokov's books weird little books? 5 stars.

14 ROOTs down: Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie

In cultural revolution China, two city boys are sent to a rural mountain village to be "reeducated" by the peasants. As they adjust to their new life, they meet another city boy, who they call Four-Eyes on account of his glasses. They also meet the little seamstress, a beautiful girl who is the daughter of the mountain's only tailor. When the two boys find out that Four-Eyes is hiding a forbidden stash of classics of western literature, including novels of Balzac, Dumas, and Flaubert, everything changes.

I really enjoyed this short novel. Sijie paints a perfect picture of the difficult life the boys are shoved into, and the powerful pull of the stories promised in the forbidden books. 4.5 stars.

Squeezed one more ROOT in for May!



15 ROOTs down: Masquerade by Melissa de la Cruz

Schuyler van Allen is a member of an old blue blood vampire family. After her grandmother's death, she travels to Venice with her human best friend Oliver to search for her grandfather. But as the two scour Venice, trouble is brewing at home in New York, too, as more blue blood vampires succumb to silver blood vampire attacks. Schuyler, her friend Bliss, and their frenemy, Mimi, aren't safe, especially when a new vamipire, Kingsley Martin, arrives on the scene at their high school.

This is basically Gossip Girl, but make it vampires. Not really my typical reading scene, but this had been on my shelf FOREVER (I think I got it as an ARC when I attended the ALA midwinter conference as a high schooler in 2007) and I needed something mindless. It went pretty fast, at least! Not a keeper, but well written enough that I could scoff at the characters and kind of enjoy the ridiculous plot without throwing the book across the room. 2 stars -- I'll probably donate this at some point.

16 ROOTS down: The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson

At the end of 13 Little Blue Envelopes, Ginny thought the last letter her late Aunt Peg left her was lost forever when her backpack was stolen on a beach in Greece. But then she gets a message from someone who found the letter -- but wants to meet in person and receive a cut of the sale of the art piece the letter apparently leads to. Ginny jets off to London and ends up on a wild road trip across Europe to solve the instructions in the last letter.

I read 13 Little Blue Envelopes several years ago and really enjoyed it, but didn't feel like it needed a sequel -- and didn't even know there was one until I found this at a used book sale. I liked the first book, and found this one to be just okay. Ginny came off as really annoying and REALLY young -- maybe it's just that I'm reading this one now that I'm a lot older! The side characters were fun, but also annoying at times. I did enjoy the road trip aspect but found parts of it unbelievable. 2.5 stars.

17 ROOTs down: A Separate Peace by John Knowles

Gene and Finny are best friends, students at a New Hampshire boarding school during World War II. During the summer session before their junior year, Finny creates a secret club where members must jump out of a specific tree into a nearby river as part of the terms of membership. When a terrible incident occurs at the tree, Gene and Finny's relationship is changed forever.

This is one of those books you might have read in high school; it wasn't on the curriculum for me. I thought this was okay. It had some very nice writing, and explored some interesting concepts, especially near the end, but on the whole, I had trouble caring very much about Gene and Finny's story. I read a few other reviews that mentioned being moved to tears by the ending. I cry at LITERALLY everything but had no emotional response to this one. I wonder if this is a book that would resonate more with men? 3 stars.

>50 curioussquared: Yeah, now that you mention this book I think one of the HS English classes read it, but not mine. The choice of class novels and plays usually depended on the teacher. And if you knew that beforehand, and you were like me, you could use that information to get your own copy of the book and not have to read the beat-up school copy 😁

>51 rabbitprincess: Yes! Gaming the book system was an important part of high school :)

>52 curioussquared: That’s “gaming” as in “not reading any of the set books and still passing”, you mean? The only set book that I’m sure I actually read was The Lord of the Rings (yes, really—Senior year, Queensland, 1965-66, so before it was famous).

>53 haydninvienna: Lol, more like just figuring out which classes read which books so you could read the best ones! I was too much of a goody two shoes not to read the books -- most of the time, anyway :)

18 ROOTs down: Gourmet Rhapsody by Muriel Barbery

A renowned food critic on his deathbed thinks back on the meals he has eaten and the places he has eaten them while trying to pin down the flavor he desperately wants to taste again before he goes. He lives in the same apartment building where Barbery's other book, The Elegance of the Hedgehog, takes place, and the POV jumps from the critic to some characters from the previous book to the critic's disillusioned family members.

Well, this definitely made me hungry. I'd say the best part of the book is just the descriptions of food and some brief flashes of French countryside life. This is a short novel, and there isn't much of a story -- mostly, the critic thinks about food, and those around him, including his wife, children, and the building concierge, think about how his pretentiousness when it came to food and dismissal of those who did not share his refined taste isolated him and pushed away everyone around him. 3 stars.

Whew, slowly making progress! I think 3 for June already is pretty good -- and I'm in the middle of four others off my shelf, too. Gotta get back on track!

19 ROOTs down: The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane

Henry Fleming, a young soldier in the Union army with no idea of the realities of war, confronts the enemy army and the enemy within himself as his regiment marches on the confederate soldiers.

This is one of those classics that has been on my shelf for ages and I figured I'd better get it over with. Not really my kind of thing (I'm starting to think I just don't care for American literature from this era very much) but I appreciated the language and writing style. I read that Crane wrote the book partly as an attempt to depict a soldier who talks about what he's feeling during war and battle instead of just recounting what he did without any emotion, and I think he succeeded there and find the book interesting in that light. My main problem was just Henry himself -- I found him to be pretty annoying as a character. Still, I'm glad I read it. 3 stars.

Also, I just skimmed Crane's Wikipedia article. I had no idea he died so young -- 28!

20 ROOTs down: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

A year after his father died in the September 11th attacks, nine-year-old Oskar finds a key in a vase in his father's closet. Convinced that the key will lead to a message or SOMETHING from his father, he embarks on a journey across all of New York to find what the key opens, meeting lots of characters along the way.

I loved this -- Oskar is a fantastic character and I loved living in his world and meeting the people who lived there, and exploring and learning about his New York. Really inventive writing -- Foer is able to go from sad to hilarious within a sentence. 4 stars.

21 ROOTs down: Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

This classic tale tells the story of two men who are confused when their esteemed friend Dr. Jeckyll starts associating with a hideous person named Mr. Hyde. After Hyde murders an innocent man and disappears, Jeckyll seems to become more and more withdrawn -- until they learn his horrible secret.

I thoroughly enjoyed this classic! Fun and perfectly spooky -- the tension builds throughout the story until the big reveal at the end. Four stars.

>59 curioussquared: Haha that Mr. Hyde looks really creepy!

>58 curioussquared: I like the sound of that. I loved his Everything is Illuminated.

>60 rabbitprincess: It's quite the cover, isn't it! I inherited it from someone, so can't claim to have purchased it :)

>61 Jackie_K: Enjoy! I own that one too -- a future ROOT!

>61 Jackie_K:, >58 curioussquared: I read both of the books mentioned and loved them both. So don't wait to long.

>63 connie53: Good to know!

22 ROOTs down: What-the-Dickens by Gregory Maguire

In the midst of some kind of hurricane, Dinah, her brother Zeke, and her baby sister Rebecca Ruth are at home with no power and a fast dwindling food supply with their older cousin Gage while their parents are out in the storm trying to get help for their mother's health problems. To pass the time and take their minds off of hunger, Gage begins to tell them a story about What-the-Dickens, an orphan tooth fairy trying to find his place in the world.

This was a weird, weird book, with a frame story that didn't really work. The main story with What-the-Dickens was kind of cute, kind of interesting sometimes, but still not super captivating. It read almost like a fable at times. 2.5 stars -- at least it's off my TBR shelf.

23 ROOTs down: Bloody Jack by L.A. Meyer

Mary Faber lives on the London streets with her gang, and they get by. But when the leader of the gang is killed, she decides to take her chances -- disguised as a boy and calling herself Jack, she joins the crew of the HMS Dolphin as a ship's boy. Adventure ensues as Jacky makes friends with the other boys and learns the sailor's life -- all while maintaining her deception.

This was such a fun read! Jacky is a great character and her undercover adventures spoke to my Tamora Pierce fan heart. I may continue in the series, but this is the only entry I own and I'm very behind in my ROOT reading at the moment so I'm not sure when I'll get to them. 4.5 stars.

24 ROOTs down: The Call of the Wild by Jack London

Stolen from his cushy life in California to be sold for use as a sled dog in Alaska, Buck must go back to his roots to learn how to survive in the harsh environment and working conditions.

I'm always pleasantly surprised when a classic novel is super readable, and this very much delivered. I had only read one of London's short stories before and I really enjoyed this novel. Parts are a little hokey, but it's overall a really successful and engrossing tale. 4.5 stars.

I'm slowly but surely ROOTing away. I've been better about sticking to ROOTs instead of library books recently, but then life decides to get busy and reading becomes the last thing on the list! Hoping to get at least one more ROOT done in July -- then I'll be only about a month behind where I should be, lol. Maybe I can squeeze another in somewhere.

Finishing a book and realizing it was a ROOT too is the best. Hooray for 24 so far!

>69 mstrust: Thanks!! Almost halfway!

25 ROOTs down: The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin

Tenar, known as Arha, is young, but she is high priestess of the nameless ones due to the timing of her birth. When a strange man who must be a wizard invades her underground domain, her first reaction is negative -- but soon, she finds herself intrigued.

Finally making good on my promise from earlier this year to read this series! This book builds slowly, but I was totally engaged halfway through. Le Guin is a master. 4 stars.

>66 curioussquared:
I loved Bloody Jack - I hadn't thought much about the Tamora Pierce feel, but I can definitely see it (and am a huge fan of hers). I need to pick up this series for a reread!

>72 Caramellunacy: I regret that I don't own more of the series so I can read them for more ROOTs!

26 ROOTS down: The RBG Workout by Bryant Johnson

This is a super cute, illustrated how-to guide that goes through Ruth Bader Ginsburg's normal workout routine written by her personal trainer, who she has described as one of the most important people in her life. Let me tell you... Justice Ginsberg is a badass. I would be challenged to do this workout from start to finish right now -- I'm out of shape, yes, but I'm also in my late 20s while RBG is in her late 80s. Pretty sure I could do it, but I would be pretty dead at the end.

Anyway, this is a fun little book and worth picking up just for the great illustrations of RBG in her Super Diva sweatshirt doing squats. 4 stars.

27 ROOTs down: Dog Songs by Mary Oliver

In this collection of poems about several different dogs from her life, Oliver sums up what it is to love and live with dogs. This is such a sweet collection, and anyone who has ever owned a dog will find themselves nodding along with certain descriptions and sentences. I've been wanting to read it for a while, and luckily found a remaindered copy on sale at Powell's while I was in Portland over the weekend. That counts as a ROOT for me! 5 stars.

28 ROOTs down: Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman

When their mother goes away on a trip, the children's father has a long list of things to do to keep the household running. When there's no milk one morning for cereal, the father steps out to the corner shop to get some -- but it takes him AGES. When he finally gets back, he explains why it took so long -- starting with the aliens invading the planet and the time machine.

This was a cute illustrated story, and I'm always up for some Gaiman, but it's definitely not my favorite of his works. Not sure why -- I just wasn't grabbed. 3 stars.

29 ROOTs down: An Earthly Knight by Janet McNaughton

In this retelling of Tam Lin, 16-year old Lady Jeannette of Avenell is working on assuming the position of lady of the house after her older sister is disgraced and bound for the convent. When news comes that young Tam Lin, rumored to have been abducted by fairies, has returned to old Carter Hall on her father's lands, Jenny finds herself drawn to the strange young man despite her father's orders to stay away.

This retelling felt very... pedestrian. The author is a historian and there are some interesting daily life details thrown in, but otherwise, this is an almost boring prose version of the ballad. It's not badly written, and there's nothing truly offensive, it's just not that great. None of the charm of the Pamela Dean version, not to mention Winter Rose or Fire and Hemlock. But hey, it's off my shelf now, and will fill a square in the Summer Book Bingo card I'm completing for my library. 3 stars.

30 ROOTs down: Mercy by Jodi Picoult

A small town in Massachusetts is shocked when the police chief's cousin drives up and announces that he has smothered his wife, who is lying, as if she could be sleeping, in the passenger seat. It turns out that this man, Jamie MacDonald, has killed his wife because she asked him to: dying of cancer, in lots of pain and with a diminished life, Maggie MacDonald wanted control over when and how she died. In the lead-up to Jamie's trial, the town is split over his guilt, right down to police chief Cam and his wife, Allie. And then, Cam and Allie are split by more than their opinions of Jamie when a woman name Mia comes to town and unwittingly infiltrates their lives and their marriage.

When I was in high school, my friends and I all read the same battered copy of My Sister's Keeper, and that inspired a short-lived love of Jodi Picoult in the group. I think a friend gave me this book for my birthday around that time; not sure how else it would have ended up on my shelf as this is totally not my kind of thing. The central issue of euthanasia/assisted death is an interesting one, but it's all wrapped up in mediocre women's fiction. Still, I finished it and it's off my shelf now. 2.5 stars.

31 ROOTs down: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

The classic story of revenge -- Edmond Dantes manages to escape after being wrongfully imprisoned for 14 years, and he makes sure everyone responsible gets their just deserts.

I'm embarrassed to admit how long it took me to read this. I think it was a pick for our book club in October... of 2017. So I made it around the 2 year mark, lol. Honestly, it didn't take me that long to read in total -- I just got super bogged down during the part in Italy with Franz and Albert. A really rewarding read in the end, though. 4.5 stars.

>79 curioussquared: I'm glad to see you liked this, it's one of my favourites. But I admit to skimming the Roman episodes when I re-read it, it's a good thing they usually cut that for movie adaptations.

>80 MissWatson: Yes, makes sense! A friend in book club who had read it before recommended I just skip those parts, but I'm a purist, of course, and I don't regret reading them at least once :)

Hi Natalie, just popping in to say hi!

>82 connie53: Thanks for stopping by, Connie! I need to pop by your thread as well :)

32 ROOTs down: Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell

This one just came out, but it counts as a ROOT per my rules :) In this cute graphic novel, seasonal friends Deja and Josiah spend their last night at their pumpkin patch job tracking down the girl Josiah has had a crush on for years -- as well as eating all the food they never got to try while they were working.

This was a little underwhelming plot-wise, but super cute nonetheless. Plus, it made me super excited for Fall!

>83 curioussquared: Please do, You are very welcome.

Oof, September has been rough at work and rough on reading as well. I finally finished another ROOT:



33 ROOTs down: Mad Ship by Robin Hobb

Book two in the Liveship Traders trilogy. Set directly after the events of book 1, Mad Ship follows several storylines, most of them somehow intertwined with the fate of the Vestrit trader family.

I read book one several years ago, so it was a little difficult to orient myself in this one, but listening on audio helped in this case, I think. At 34 hours, this one is a chunker and definitely longer than my normal listening fare. Took me a lot of dog walks to get through! I don't think I was fully invested until maybe 7-10 hours in, but now I'm involved and planning to listen to the final book too. 3.5 stars.

The Liveship Traders are my favorite Hobb books. So don't wait too long!

>87 connie53: I won't! It will be a ROOT, too :)

>88 curioussquared: Nice coincidence!

34 ROOTs down: Howards End by E. M. Forster

When Margaret and Helen Schlegel meet the Wilcox family while touring Germany, their lives become entangled with the other family and the family's estate, Howards End.

I loved this! I didn't expect to like it as much as I did. Easy to read, it felt very modern, and I loved Margaret and Helen and their conversations and lifestyles. 5 stars.

35 ROOTs down: Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell

Simon has fulfilled his destiny as the mage's heir. What comes next? He never expected to live through it.... After watching Simon wasting away on the couch for too long, Penelope decides enough is enough and takes Simon and Baz on a road trip to America to visit Agatha in San Diego. Once they get there, it becomes pretty clear pretty fast that not only is the magical world different in the USA, but none of them were really prepared for it.

I loved this and blew through it in a day. It starts out as a total romp and gets more serious as it goes on, but is pure fun the whole way through. Five stars. Can't wait for book 3! I have to say I was a little disappointed to learn that the "coming soon" announcement meant "coming soon in two years or so" instead of "it's finished and with the publisher" but I'll take it whenever it's ready.

I missed a ROOT earlier! I read this a few weeks ago.



36 ROOTs down: Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov

Three sisters living in a provincial town are dissatisfied with their lives and dream of returning to Moscow, their childhood home, where they are sure everything will be better.

This is my first Chekhov, I think. I enjoyed it -- it had a similar feel as Ibsen to me. I'm currently reading Howards End and am interested to see similar themes in these two works -- both have modern young women espousing the value and importance of work, especially for women. I'll develop my thoughts on that later :) They were published about 10 years apart, so...

I squeezed in one more ROOT for October:



37 ROOTs down: The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle

Chronicles the life and times of Robin Hood and his merry men, as they terrorize the Sheriff of Nottingham, take from the rich and give to the poor.

This book is fun to see the origins of the Robin Hood stories we've seen adapted time and again, but it does get old after a while. From what I understand, Pyle compiled the traditional Robin Hood stories and put them on a timeline. They read like the stories they are rather than a whole narrative, so I got a little sick of Robin's antics over and over and it took a while to get through. Still, I think it was interesting to go back to the source. 3 stars.

38 ROOTs down: Ship of Destiny by Robin Hobb

In this last book in the Liveship Traders trilogy, several threads come together as the scattered Vestrit family members find each other.

This last book in the Liveship Traders trilogy picks up right where book 2 left off. Even though I had just read book 2, it still took a while to get into just because there are SO many threads and characters we're following. I think Hobb did a good job of making us care about all of them, despite the many storylines -- my complaint about lots of books with multiple narrators *cough* GAME OF THRONES *cough* is that I just don't care about half the characters and want to skip to the people I actually want to read about. I didn't have that with these books at all, and I found all of the characters equally interesting, if not all equally likable. The climax when all of the characters who had been separate for so long finally come together was SO well done and super satisfying. This might be my favorite book of the series. 4.5 stars.

39 ROOTs down: The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

In 1969 in Kerala, India, twins Rahel and Estha's lives change when their cousin, Sophie Mol, comes to visit from London. Over 20 years later, Rahel returns to India from her disastrous American marriage and reconnects with Estha, who no longer speaks and spends his days endlessly walking the countryside. The two timelines intertwine and Roy jumps back and forth between the past and the present as the story is woven around the tragedy that surrounds Sophie Mol's visit.

This was my pick for IRL book club and to be honest, I feel a little bad that I made everyone read it. I had heard great things about this book, but I had a lot of trouble getting into it and I think I was the only person out of about ten who finished it. The writing is full of metaphors, some of which are gorgeous and clever, others of which only made the text more opaque for me. I had a lot of trouble telling which timeline I was in at any given time, and after finishing the book, I had to go and read a summary -- the timeline is so twisted that even though not very much happens, I wasn't even sure WHAT had happened. Some of the writing was gorgeous, and there would be 25-50 page stretches where I was really into it, but something would always pull me back out. This is a Booker winner I just didn't really get. 3 stars.

>95 curioussquared: I really struggled with this book too (I read it back in the late 90s/early 2000s, I think). Honestly, I really disliked pretty much all of the characters. The writing is beautiful, but I remember next to nothing about the book now other than that I didn't like the characters and was glad I'd finished it.

>96 Jackie_K: Agreed! The overarching theme that came out during book club was that everything was just so sad -- Roy's writing is already hard enough to read. Couple it with really unlikable characters and it becomes something of a slog. Definitely one of those books that I wanted to like but struggled with.

40 ROOTs down: The Art Forger by B. A. Shapiro

Claire Roth has been the pariah of the Boston art world ever since she tried to tell the truth about the painting she did under her boyfriend's name that ended up landing in the Met. When Aiden Markel, owner of the popular gallery Markel G, comes to her with a slightly shady proposition that would help recover one of the 13 paintings stolen in the Isabella Stewart Gardner heist, she only hesitates for a moment. But Aiden's proposition isn't everything it seems, and Claire soon starts to suspect that she's bitten off a little more than she can chew.

This is a fun book, especially if you're at all interested in art. The last third is fast-paced and exciting, and I read it super quickly just because I had to know what happened! It's not the greatest novel ever, and Claire is a pretty flat protagonist, but it's fun. 3.5 stars.

41 ROOTs down: Akata Warrior by Nnedi Okorafor

In this sequel to Akata Witch, Sunny continues her leopard education and faces the reality of being a free agent as her leopard life starts to leave her family life behind.

I love Nnedi Okorafor so much. There's a quote from Ursula K. LeGuin on the cover of this book that says something like, "There's more imagination in a page of Nnedi Okorafor's work than in whole fantasy epics," and I think that just about sums it up. Every page of this book (and the previous one!) feels fresh, new, and full of imagination, and it makes it a total delight to read. Also, I NEED to find a local place that serves some of the Nigerian food described in the book. Jollof rice? Pepper soup? Need to try them. Five stars.

42 ROOTs down: Dave at Night by Gail Carson Levine

After Dave's papa dies in an accident, his stepmother can't afford to keep him and his older brother Gideon. Dave's uncle Jack from Chicago volunteers to take Gideon, but nobody is willing or able to take care of Dave. So instead, he finds himself dumped at the Hebrew Home for Boys orphanage. Struggling to navigate his new life, Dave sneaks out at night and discovers a whole underworld of rent parties and jazz music, and he makes a few friends along the way.

This is very different from Levine's other books, but I really enjoyed it. A fun look at the Harlem Renaissance from a different perspective. My version also had an author's note from Levine where she explained that her father grew up in a similar situation and parts of the book were inspired by his life, which was really interesting. 4 stars.

43 ROOTs down: The Crucible by Arthur Miller

I didn't have to read this in school but somehow acquired a copy (I think it might have been something my brother had to read). I enjoy a play now and then so decided to pick it up. This isn't really my kind of thing, but it was a quick read and I can appreciate the power of Miller's metaphor. 3 stars.

>94 curioussquared: I loved the Liveship Traders Trilogy too. But then I love all books by Robin Hobb including the once she wrote under her real name; Megan Lindholm

>102 connie53: I haven't read all of Hobb's stuff, and I haven't read anything she wrote as Megan Lindholm, but I have liked what I've read! I read the Farseer Trilogy and the Fool trilogy all the way back in high school and loved them, and I'm thinking it might be time to re-read them :)

44 ROOTs down: Black Powder War by Naomi Novik

In this third installment of the Temeraire series, Laurence, Temeraire and their crew are summoned back to England from China via Istanbul as they have been ordered to pick up three dragon eggs that have been purchased from the sultan. The overland journey will be long and treacherous, but Laurence is confident that it will still be much faster than waiting for the boat to be repaired so they can sail by sea. But once their journey begins, it's clear that Laurence has underestimated the threats they'll face -- and the directions from which their threats will come.

I always forget how much I enjoy Temeraire until I'm halfway through one of these books and totally engrossed. The concept never fails to delight me (it's the Napoleonic Wars -- with dragons!) and I love Temeraire and Laurence's relationship. 4.5 stars.

45 ROOTs down: Flaubert's Parrot by Julian Barnes

Flaubert's Parrot is a collection of retired doctor-turned-Flaubert scholar Geoffrey Braithwaite's musings on the author from various directions and points of view. The titular parrot is important when Braithwaite realizes that two separate Flaubert museums house a stuffed parrot they claim is the one that Flaubert wrote about in one of his works, and he decides to figure out once and for all which parrot is the real one.

I enjoyed this! There's not a ton of plot, and it jumps seamlessly between fiction and non-fiction and different writing styles. Since I majored in French in college, I've studied both Madame Bovary and Sentimental Education and I think that context helped me enjoy this work. 4 stars.

46 ROOTs down: Siddhartha by Herman Hesse

Follows Siddhartha's journey to enlightenment from a young man to an old man, from poor to rich to poor again.

Meh, this is not my thing. I pretty much knew that going in, but it was there and it was short. Two stars.

Okay, I think this is the first time I have officially been on track to meet my ROOTs goal all year! Woohoo! And I have three more in progress, too, and one that I'm particularly close to finishing, so it shouldn't be long now :)

>104 curioussquared: I loved Temeraire too! But I thought the first books were the best. Maybe I got used to the concept and was not surprised anymore. But I read the whole series.

>108 connie53: I read the first book years and years ago and loved it, and I'm not sure why I never continued. But I reread it last year and loved it just as much, and finally read book 2 and now book 3 -- and I'm halfway through book 4 now! Not sure why I seem to need a kickstart for every book of this series, because I always enjoy the books when I start reading.

>107 curioussquared: Hurray!!

47 ROOTs down: A Dog's Life by Peter Mayle

In this short book, Mayle writes from the point of view of his rescue dog Boy, who tells of his rough beginnings and subsequent rescue by the Mayles, and shares his views on dogs, humans, food, and life in general.

This is a cute little book which is saved by Mayle's strong writing, but the point of view conceit gets old pretty quickly and I probably would have removed more stars had it gone on longer. You can tell Mayle really loves his naughty stray (enough to give him his own book!) which shines through the prose. Definitely not Mayle's best and not the place to start with his books, but if you can't get enough of Provence and you are a fan of dogs, this is an OK read. 3 stars.

48 ROOTs down: Empire of Ivory by Naomi Novik

In this next installment in the Temeraire series, Laurence and Temeraire are off to Africa to search for a cure for a dragon illness.

Book 4 picks up right where book 3 left off and is just as exciting. I enjoyed seeing some old friends who didn't appear in book 3, and as always I'm impressed with Novik's dedication to historical research. This is the last book in the series that I currently own, so my next mission is to hopefully find used copies of the ones I'm missing. 4 stars.

49 ROOTs down: The Firework-Maker's Daughter by Philip Pullman

Lila grew up without a mother, with only her firework-maker father to raise her. So she learned to make fireworks too, and quickly grew skillful, inventing new kinds of fireworks and ways to light them. But when she broaches the subject of becoming an actual firework-maker to her father, he is astonished, as she is a girl and he always planned to marry her off. So Lila enlists the help of a friend and a white elephant to carry out the firework-maker ceremony herself and prove to her father that she is worthy of being a firework-maker.

This was a cute short book that felt almost like a fable at times. Fun story and fun characters, but definitely for a younger audience and lacking the depth of Pullman's other works. 3 stars.

50 ROOTs down: The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger

Desperate to break into the magazine publishing world, Andrea decides to take a job as an assistant to the famously horrible Miranda Priestly, editor in chief of Runway magazine. It's no New Yorker, but everyone swears that Miranda will pull strings for anybody who manages to work for her a year...

The Devil Wears Prada is one of those easy movies I like to watch when it comes on TV (not that I have cable anymore!) and the book was just as fun. There were a few differences, but overall the movie really captured the spirit of the book. 4 stars.

51 ROOTs down: Eichmann in Jerusalem by Hannah Arendt

Just some light holiday reading, you know? This is Arendt's famous report on Adolf Eichmann, the Nazi leader responsible for solving "the Jewish question," and analysis of what made Eichmann tick. "It was sheer thoughtlessness that predisposed him to become one of the greatest criminals of the period," Arendt says of Eichmann. This report is the origin of the idea of "the banality of evil," and reading her analysis is truly chilling. 4.5 stars.

Woohoo, more than done with my goal! I should have a few more to contribute before the end of the year -- I'm in the middle of two more ROOTs and have a few more on deck after that. Although who knows, now that I'm done with my goal maybe I'll allow myself to spiral into a cycle of holiday re-reads. We'll see!

Congratulations on making your goal!

Congratulations!

Congrats on making your goal, Natalie!

I stopped reading Temeraire because it got a bit more of the same thing and there were those shiny new ones too.

>120 connie53: I can totally see that happening -- but still hoping I enjoy books 5 and 6, which I picked up at my favorite bookstore last week.

52 ROOTS down: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Clary is a normal high school student from New York who likes to draw and hang out with her best friend, Simon -- until she starts seeing people and things nobody else can see. She's quickly drawn into the world of the Shadowhunters, who are tasked with keeping the world free of demons. But things get complicated when Clary's mom disappears and her mom's best friend Luke warns her to stay away -- and Clary starts to wonder if there are some secrets in her past that her mom has kept hidden.

I've seen this series everywhere but never really felt a great desire to read it; it seemed kind of like the epitome of that "teen paranormal romance" category they had at Barnes and Noble for a while. I was pleasantly surprised by this book -- it was definitely predictable and not super well written, but it was also enjoyable and I can see why the series has been a smash hit. 3 stars; I don't intend to continue the series, but don't regret reading this one.

53 ROOTs down: Death in Venice by Thomas Mann

Aging German author Gustav von Aschenbach travels to Venice on a whim and there becomes obsessed with a beautiful young Polish boy staying in his hotel, Tadzio. As a mysterious disease takes Venice by storm and other tourists start leaving the city in droves, Gustav, though he finds out the nature of the disease, finds himself unable to leave Venice with Tadzio still there.

I had trouble getting into this and I'm not sure I would have finished if it weren't so short, but it did pick up in the second half. 2.5 stars.

54 ROOTs down: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

Eleven year-old Flavia de Luce, amateur chemist and detective, lives in the English countryside with her reclusive father and two silly older sisters, Daphne and Ophelia. One morning, after overhearing a heated conversation in her father's study with a mysterious man the night before, she goes down to the garden only to discover a dying man, who breathes his last word into her face. Flavia alerts the police, but is determined to solve the mystery herself -- since the police don't know about the conversation in her father's study the night before.

Overall, I enjoyed this -- Flavia is a fun character. But, she can also be a little much to handle -- sometimes the conceit worked, and sometimes I found it a little annoying. I don't think I'll be continuing the series, but I could also see myself being in the mood for Flavia again at some point.

55 ROOTs down: My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories edited by Stephanie Perkins

In this anthology, twelve YA authors offer fun, winter holiday-themed stories.

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would! I picked it up mostly because I saw Rainbow Rowell's name, and I'll read anything she writes. I liked Rowell's story, and also loved Kelly Link's, Matt de la Pena's, Stephanie Perkins', Gayle Forman's, and Kiersten White's. The rest were all enjoyable. The only one I found a little weird was Laini Taylor's -- I could see myself enjoying it if it had been in a fantasy anthology, but after a bunch of fairly realistic (or at least present-day set) stories, this one just really didn't fit. 4 stars.

56 ROOTs down: A Nameless Witch by A. Lee Martinez

The title nameless witch was cursed at birth to be ageless and strikingly beautiful -- not really what you want as a scary witch! But her mentor witch teaches her how to disguise herself as a nasty hag, in addition to all the magic. When her mentor is killed, our heroine leaves on a quest to find revenge and her destiny, along with Newt, her familiar -- a flesh-eating, violent demon in the shape of a duck.

This book started out interesting, clever, and funny -- who doesn't love a demon duck? -- but petered out for me about halfway through. It's fairly episodic, with our team of heroes going from adventure to adventure, and it just got old for me after a while. I think parts were a little too gross for me, too -- there are just some descriptions of violence/zombie-like activities that should have been funny but kind of just grossed me out. 3 stars.