PAUL C in the War Room - Eighth with the Princes in the Tower

Edward V and Richard, Duke of York were the Princes in the Tower who disappeared shortly after their removal to the Tower of London for their "safety" by their uncle Richard (soon to be Richard III). Whilst they were never found foul play was of course suspected with most suspicion on Richard himself but many also believe that it could have been the work of Henry Tudor.

Opening Words

I am reading The Brothers York : An English Tragedy by Thomas Penn which is a tremendous prequel to his The Winter King about Henry VII





"On 2 February 1461, dawn broke clear and freezing over the Welsh Marches. At an obscure Herefordshire crossroads in the valley of the River Lugg an army was deploying in battle formation. Its commanders, whose land this was, had chosen their position well, their flanks protected by an escarpment on the right and, on the left, the river. Ahead it broadened into meadow, the Roman road slicing through the frost-encrusted plain. Along that road, from the south, their enemies were coming."

Interested...............................?

Books Read

January

1. Dear Future Boyfriend by Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz (2000) 90 pp Poetry / 150Y Challenge 15/150
2. Pax Romana by Adrian Goldsworthy (2016) 420 pp Non-Fiction / War Room / 150Y Challenge 16/150
3. The Lantern Bearers by Rosemary Sutcliff (1959) 306 pp Fiction / War Room / 150Y Challenge 17/150
4. Black Hearts in Battersea by Joan Aiken (1964) 286 pp Fiction / BAC / 150Y Challenge 18/150
5. Carthage Must Be Destroyed by Richard Miles (2010) 373 pp Non-Fiction / War Room / 150Y Challenge 19/150
6. When We Were Warriors by Emma Carroll (2019) 248 pp Fiction / War Room / 150y Challenge 20/150
7. Double Indemnity by James M Cain (1936) 136 pp Thriller / 150Y Challenge 21/150
8. Persian Fire by Tom Holland (2005) 376 pp Non-Fiction / War Room / 150Y Challenge 22/150

February

9. North Woods by Daniel Mason (2023) 369 pp Fiction 150Y Challenge 23/150
10. The African by JMG Le Clezio (2004) 106 pp Non-Fiction / 150Y Challenge 24/150
11. The British are Coming by Rick Atkinson (2019) 564 pp Non-Fiction / War Room
12. Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather (1927) 297 pp Fiction 150Y Challenge 25/150
13. Redcoat by Bernard Cornwell (1987) 405 pp Fiction / War Room / 150Y Challenge 26/150

March

14. Fatal Colours by George Goodwin (2011) 239 pp Non-Fiction / War Room / 150Y Challenge 27/150
15. R.S. Thomas : Selected Poems by R.S. Thomas (2003) 343 pp Poetry / BAC / 150Y Challenge 28/150
16. The Maiden by Kate Foster (2023) 370 pp Fiction
17. The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan (2024) 334pp Fiction / Warm Room
18. The Wren, The Wren by Anne Enright (2023) 273 pp Fiction
19. The Brothers York : An English Tragedy by Thomas Penn (2019) 572 pp Non-Fiction / War Room
20. Pet by Catherine Chidgey (2023) 323 pp Fiction
21. Brotherless Night by VV Ganeshanathan (2023) 341 pp Fiction
22. Breakdown by Cathy Sweeney (2024) 217 pp Fiction
23. Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas (1954) 108 pp Drama / BAC / 150 Y Challenge 29/150
24. Bosworth: Psychology of a Battle by Michael Jones (2002) 220 pp Non-Fiction/ War Room / 150Y Challenge 30/150

Currently Reading

The War Room



JANUARY - Ancient Wars (Greeks/Romans/Persians/Carthage/Egyptians/Alexander, etc) https://www.librarything.com/topic/356820
1. Pax Romana by Adrian Goldsworthy
2. The Lantern Bearers by Rosemary Sutcliff
3. Carthage Must Be Destroyed by Richard Miles
4. Persian Fire by Tom Holland

FEBRUARY - The American War of Independence : https://www.librarything.com/topic/358097#n8402612
1. The British are Coming by Rick Atkinson
2. Redcoat by Bernard Cornwell

MARCH - The War of the Roses : https://www.librarything.com/topic/358941
1. Fatal Colours by George Goodwin
2. The Brothers York : An English Tragedy by Thomas Penn

APRIL - Wars of Religion
MAY - Napoleonic Wars
JUNE - English Civil War
JULY - Colonial Wars

AUGUST - WW2
1. When We Were Warriors by Emma Carroll
2. The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan

SEPTEMBER - American Civil War
OCTOBER - American Follies (Korea, Vietnam, Gulf-War, Afghanistan)
NOVEMBER - WW1
DECEMBER - Spanish Civil War

WILDCARD - Pick your own fight

British Author Challenge (Hosted by my friend Amanda)



JANUARY - Joan Aiken & Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle : Black Hearts in Battersea
FEBRUARY - Emma Newman & Ronald Firbank
MARCH - Welsh Writers : Selected Poems R.S. Thomas; Under Milk Wood

American Author Challenge (Hosted with occasional assistance this year by my friend Linda)



JANUARY - Mark Twain
FEBRUARY - Susan Sontag
MARCH - Truman Capote

150 YEARS OF BOOKS

150 years; 150 books; 150 authors; 15 months

Done:
Row 1 : 1874


Row 2 : 1889


Row 3 : 1904, 1908, 1910, 1915


Row 4 : 1923, 1927


Row 5 : 1936, 1937, 1945


Row 6 : 1954, 1958, 1959


Row 7 : 1964, 1966


Row 8 : 1987


Row 9 : 1994, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005


Row 10 : 2010, 2011, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2023

Women's Prize List



Current Ranking
1. Brotherless Night by V.V. Ganeshanathan READ
2. Western Lane by Chetna Maroo READ
3. The Maiden by Kate Foster READ
4. The Wren, The Wren by Anne Enright READ

A Trace of Sun by Pam Williams
Ordinary Human Failings by Megan Nolan
Hangman by Maya Binyam
Soldier Sailor by Claire Kilroy owned
8 Lives of a Century Old Trickster by Mirinae Lee owned
Nightbloom by Peace Adzo Medie owned
In Defence of the Act by Effie Black
Restless Dolly Maunder by Kate Grenville owned
River East, River West by Aube Rey Lescure owned
Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad owned
The Blue Beautiful World by Karen Lord owned
And Then She Fell by Alicia Elliott

Up next Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad

Paul's Alternative Women's Prize Longlist

Current Ranking

1. Pet by Catherine Chidgey READ
2. Tom Lake by Ann Patchett READ
3. The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan READ
4. Breakdown by Cathy Sweeney READ

5. Night Wherever We Go by Tracey Rose Peyton owned
6. I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai owned
7. Julia by Sandra Newman owned
8. Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward owned
9. Loot by Tania James owned
10. Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood owned
11. The Middle Daughter by Chika Unigwe owned
12. Absolution by Alice McDermott owned
13. The House of Broken Bricks by Fiona Williams owned
14. The Fraud by Zadie Smith owned
15. Penance by Eliza Clark owned
16. Land of Milk and Honey by E Pam Zhang owned

Next up Loot

Books Added

January books 1-31
https://www.librarything.com/topic/357215#8360403

February books 32-73
https://www.librarything.com/topic/358698#8432568

March books 74-

74. The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan
75. Dazzling by Chikodili Emelumadu
76. Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad
77. Loot by Tania James
78. The Girls by Lisa Jewell
79. The Lost Wife by Susanna Moore
80. The Middle Daughter by Chika Unigwe
81. Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward
82. Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood
83. The Maiden by Kate Foster
84. Brotherless Night by VV Ganesshanathan
85. The Wren, The Wren by Anne Enright
86. Restless Dolly Maunder by Kate Grenville
87. River East, River West by Aube Rey Lescure
88. Nightbloom by Peace Adzo Medie
89. The Blue, Beautiful World by Karen Lord
90. 8 Lives of a Century Old Trickster by Mirinae Lee
91. Julia by Sandra Newman
92. I Have Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai
93. The House of Broken Bricks by Fiona Williams
94. A Dictator Calls by Ismail Kadare
95. Night Wherever We Go by Tracey Rose Peyton
96. Breakdown by Cathy Sweeney
97. The Sweet Science by A.J. Liebling
98. Soldier Sailor by Claire Kilroy
99. After You Were, I am by Camille Ralphs
100. Strange Flowers by Donal Ryan
101. Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas
102. Tell by Jonathan Buckley
103. Headshot by Rita Bullwinkel
104. The Burgundians by Bart Van Loo

Book Stats

Books Read : 24
Pages Read in completed books : 7,316 pp

Longest book : The Brothers York : 572 pp
Shortest book : Dear Future Boyfriend : 90 pp
Mean book length : 304.83 pp

Books written by men : 13
Books written by women : 11

Non-Fiction : 8
Fiction : 12
Poetry : 2
Thriller : 1
Drama : 1

1920's : 1 book
1930's : 1 book
1950's : 2 books
1960's : 1 book
1980's : 1 book
2000's : 5 books
2010's : 6 books
2020's : 7 books

UK Authors : 13
US Authors : 6
Ireland Authors : 2
France Authors : 1
Malaysia Authors : 1
New Zealand Authors : 1

Nobel Winners : 1 (79/120)
Carnegie Medal Winners : 1 (6th overall)

Read : 24 books
Added : 104 books

Change to TBR : +80

Welcome to my eighth thread of 2024.

Happy new one

Happy new thread Paul!

Happy new thread too.

Happy new thread!

>14 figsfromthistle: Thank you, Anita

>15 quondame: Thanks dear Susan

>19 PaulCranswick: Thanks Kerry. Lovely to see you here so early.

>20 atozgrl: Thank you, Amanda. x

Happy new thread, Paul! I figure I'd better jump in now, before your thread gets away from me like the last few have.

holy- heya paul happy new thread!

>20 atozgrl: I'm happy to see you anytime, Irene. xx

>21 Owltherian: Nice to see you, Lily and thanks.

My uncles pitbull is keeping me up with his barking, and my uncle keeps coughing loudly, so i cant sleep.

Happy new thread!

Happy New Thread, Paul!

Happy new thread, Paul!

Happy New thread Paul!

>23 Owltherian: I'm not picking a fight with a pitbull, Lily.

>24 dianeham: Thank you, Diane

>25 vancouverdeb: Thanks Deb.

>26 FAMeulstee: Thank you, Anita.

>27 Kristelh: Thanks Kristel, always a pleasure to see you here.

Happy New Thread, Paul. I have been listening to another great British band- Radiohead. The Bends, Ok Computer & I am currently making my way through Kid A. Pioneers.

>31 msf59: Thanks Mark.

I have most of their stuff, but I have to be in the mood to listen to them. I really love a couple of songs off OK Computer. Karma Police and No Surprises.

Happy new thread Paul.

Thank you, dear neighbour.

>28 PaulCranswick: He's a sweet boy, just loud, and very heavy.

Someone called me dyslexic yesterday T^T

>28 PaulCranswick: Good to know and has really strong jaws.

>29 PaulCranswick: Dyslexia rules KO.

>37 PaulCranswick: Yeah, but he is still a sweetheart.

I guess, not when u were called it rudely and i have some of the symptoms, so that's kind of fun, and I'm about to go to my mums grave so i will be offline for a while

Happy New Thread Paul!!

>38 Owltherian: There is nothing to be ashamed about in having dyslexia.

>39 hredwards: Thank you, Harold. Lovely to see you here.

Happy new one, Paul!

BOOK #19



The Brothers York: An English Tragedy by Thomas Penn
Date of Publication : 2019
Origin of Author : UK
Gender of Author : Male
Challenges : The War Room.

Read one book on the War of the Roses and I guess it should probably be this one.

Brilliantly written narrative history and surpasses his excellent book on Henry VII. Some Ricardian's criticize his portrait of Richard and other than the culpability for the Princes in the Tower he is portrayed quite fairly. His bravery, tenacity and excellent administration set against the turbulence of the times he was living in.

Highly recommended.

>41 drneutron: Thank you, Jim.

>40 PaulCranswick: Yeah, if i do have it then i will be bullied beyond what i already am.

>1 PaulCranswick: Happy new thread! (I'm currently halfway through The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver...)

>44 Owltherian: You are bullied because of dyslexia?

>45 ocgreg34: Thanks Greg. I haven't read that one yet buddy but it is on my shelves!

>42 PaulCranswick: Very interesting sounding project, indeed. The true talent of RIII is so lost in Shakespeares calumnies.

Oh, happy new thread, too.

Happy new thread, Paul

>46 PaulCranswick: No, im bullied because of my height

>47 richardderus: As a Yorkist, RD, I have things I really liked about this one but, even though I didn't agree with all his observations I thought it was brilliantly written.

>48 ArlieS: Thank you, Arlie

>49 Owltherian: So I take it that you are not 6ft 5. As a shortie I would be in your camp. Can't say that I have ever been picked on unduly because of my lack of inches.

Happy new thread, Paul!

Happy new thread, Paul!

>52 bell7: Thank you, Mary

>53 EllaTim: Thanks Ella.

>51 PaulCranswick: Height in humans is of course the product of several factors, but in the genetic component “short” genes are dominant and “tall” ones recessive. Obviously shortness must be more adaptive and efficient. That’s my story, anyway.

>51 PaulCranswick: I am not, i am 4'11 or 5'1

>55 booksaplenty1949: Hahaha that works for me too. I'm 5 foot 5 1/2 (or at least I used to be) and I always insisted that the half inch was vitally important.

>56 Owltherian: That is merely petite, Lily.

>57 PaulCranswick: Yep, and of course, all of my friends are giants, well compared to me at least.

>58 Owltherian: Similar problem to me as I was always the shortest in my class.

>59 PaulCranswick: It kinda sucks, and they always run around and i struggle to keep up with them, bc i have a very small bit of Cerebral Palsy, and the short legs doesn't make it better.

>55 booksaplenty1949:, Love this, short is good for survival!!! I was always the shortest. Most of the teasing was never meant as mean and I was short. In second grade I was made the basketball team’s mascot because I was so small. I have one granddaughter who is 5’10 and has size 11 or 12 feet. I have no idea where she came from. It’s those recessive genes I guess.

>60 Owltherian:, so Lily, it’s not just that you’re short but you also have a challenge being coordinated and therefore you’re probably not athletic. Those are factors that can make a difference when you’re in school but once you have those years behind you, life evens out a bit.

>61 Kristelh: Yes. Clearly you have tallness within, while remaining low to the ground and consequently less vulnerable.

>62 Kristelh: I have gym next year- and I keep failing it due to me being not very tall at all, and people kept aiming for me, which got me hit right in the face with glasses I might add, and add to the insults like 'short ass' etc. but I try my best to get through it, even if that means crying when I get home, or during class.

>64 Owltherian:, I was never good at balls flying at me and often got hit and I also wore glasses and they were often broke. If you have a little bit of CP you should get some kind of break in gym class I would think. You might have to ask tho.

>65 Kristelh: I have a very small spot of it on my brain, and i also may have ADHD & Autism as well so that makes the bullying way worse.

Hi Paul

Your comments about The Wren, The Wren on your last thread: I came away from this book therefore with the feeling that although I didn't especially like it I could appreciate its worthiness and right to be. Award-ish certainly (and I guess it will get shortlisted for the Women's Prize) but not wholly the stuff I like to read often. pretty much sum up my feeling of Anne Enright's oeuvre. I'm a fan of Irish writing, but I've not so far out and out loved one of her books.

I have Actress on the shelf, still to be read.

How is Hani enjoying being back at home, or is she missing her granddaughter?

>60 Owltherian: If people are like that go your own pace, Lily.

>61 Kristelh: My own twin brother is almost 6 feet tall so I was the runt of the litter so to speak. Amongst my kids, Yasmyne the eldest is the shortie, Kyran and Belle being tall for locals here and of average height in the UK.

>62 Kristelh: That is a tremendous point, Kristel, these things do have a habit of equalizing.

>63 booksaplenty1949: I like that idea of tallness within!

>64 Owltherian: Everyone is different, Lily, but I always thrived in sports. School cricket captain, school soccer captain (I played sweeper), scrum half in the rugby team, holder of several athletics records at my school (then). If sports is not your thing (and you have other issues to overcome) excel in something else.

>65 Kristelh: Despite my eyesight (or maybe because of it) my hand/eye coordination was always very good. I'm sure that you are right about dispensation in gym if you bring to attention cerebral palsy.

>66 Owltherian: Is this self-diagnosed, Lily, or are you having proper treatment, Lily?

>67 Caroline_McElwee: Caroline, I can see why she is lauded without really ever quite enjoying what she is writing!

>71 PaulCranswick: Welllll- my mother says i may have it since i kind of act like it i guess.

>70 PaulCranswick: Guess so, i really don't like sports, but i excel in choir.

>68 PaulCranswick: yeah, guess so

>72 Owltherian: When did you lose your mum, Lily?

>73 PaulCranswick: When i was about 5 years old, and my stepmum says i may have ADHD or Autism, but idk i kind of do the things that are associated with both

>74 Owltherian: Unless your stepmum is a medical professional, then I guess it is just a throwaway comment on your behaviour without fully understanding the impact it can have. If you think she may be right go and see a doctor who knows about these things.

>75 PaulCranswick: My siblings have ADHD, my mum says she has undiagnosed ADHD, and my father has Autism, which i guess i can possibly get it from them.

It is interesting how height works out in families. I'm the shortest of my 4 siblings, at 5 '3 and my brother is 6'4. But I've always been quite happy at 5 '3.

>76 Owltherian: Autism is highly heritable, Lily. So if your Dad is autistic it does increase your own chances of having it.

>78 PaulCranswick: Yeah, i think its also mostly inherited by the father, into the child while ADHD is with the mum.

>77 vancouverdeb: 5 ft 3 ins is a good height for a lady, Deb. Hani is also the same height.

>79 Owltherian: You could be right, Lily, I am not an expert on this.

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/359476

>81 SilverWolf28: Thank you, Silver.

I just realized- i have so many phobias- and i just had to watch one on TV...

>83 Owltherian: I have a phobia against phobias, Lily!

I suppose:
I don't like rats at all they give me the creeps
I am slightly claustrophobic

>84 PaulCranswick: I have quite a few phobias which include:
Aphenphosmphobia (not so severe, its like being touched without consent)
Astraphobia (Severe)
Claustrophobia (slight)
Emetophobia (VERY severe)
Glossophobia (somewhat)
Necrophobia (severe)
Scoptophobia (Not so severe)
Thalassophobia (VERY severe)
Coulrophobia (a lot)
Acrophobia (slight)

>85 Owltherian: That is more than "quite a few".

>86 PaulCranswick: Guess you can say that, some of them are more severe than others.

>87 Owltherian: You have collected a fair few there. At least you don't have an allergy to lists!

I suppose I have asthma which is borne of a number of allergies particularly to chills and dust.

>88 PaulCranswick: yeah, at least i dont have a phobia of lists.

My Friday afternoon mini haul:

97. The Sweet Science by A.J. Liebling
98. Soldier Sailor by Claire Kilroy
99. After You Were, I am by Camille Ralphs
100. Strange Flowers by Donal Ryan

Two from Ireland (one of them the 11th book I have managed to track down on the Women's Prize longlist), 1 book of poetry so hot off the press it doesn't even have a touchstone yet and one classic sports book.

>90 PaulCranswick: I gave #100 2 1/2 stars

>90 PaulCranswick: Yikes that isn't very good!

>59 PaulCranswick: Paul, I was always the tallest in my class, usually towering over everybody. That is not much fun either, believe me. Especially since i was always on the husky side as far as weight.

Way behind here, Paul. Happy newish thread!

Being short can be good and bad. It means stretching a lot which helps keep you limber when older but it also means climbing on shelves to get things in grocery stores and checking luggage on planes rather than fighting with the overhead bins. Driving and airbags are also concerning. I was told to sit further back from the steering wheel but my response was that I was less likely to get in an accident if I could actually reach the brake pedal. I'm 5' but my brothers are 5'11 and 6'3 so I'm not too sure about the affect of the recessive gene.

>94 Familyhistorian: If a (short) couple each had one short and one tall gene, then their children could could inherit a) two short genes, in which case they would be short b) a short and a tall gene, in which case they would also be short c) two tall genes, in which case they would be tall. But a tall couple would have only tall children. There are other, non-genetic factors, of course, such as diet, notably calcium intake during childhood.

My family runs tall - my father was 6'6" as is my brother. I'm the "shrimp" at 6'3". My wife is 6'0" & was a scholarship college basketball player. My sons are both 6'4" & my daughter is 5'9". I've got a 14 year old grandson who is 6'3" & growing, and a 12 year old grandson who is 5'10" & hasn't even hit puberty yet...

>96 ChrisG1: How- my family is short, and i am the shortest of my family, besides my little brother, who is 10.

>93 hredwards: I used to play rugby at school level, Harold and I played scrum-half which is the fellow who puts the ball into the scrum and takes it out again and works closely with his forwards. They all towered over me but I wasn't so easy for them to get hold of either.

>94 Familyhistorian: I have noticed these days, Meg, that the top shelf in the bookstore is very difficult for me to reach and I often have to swallow my pride and ask for assistance from strangers - the book you are interested in is always the one that is the most difficult to get to!

>95 booksaplenty1949: My suspicion is that breast feeding is important in helping a child's growth (completely unscientific suspicion too). Yasmyne was bottle fed and is the shortest in the family whilst Kyran and Belle both feasted directly from their mum and are big for their age group.
May be a complete coincidence but I do notice that breast fed children tend to grow better than bottle fed ones.

>96 ChrisG1: Wow Chris! I am glad that I don't sit behind you guys in the cinema!

>97 Owltherian: I don't have anyone in my immediate family who is noticeably above 6 ft tall, Lily.

>100 PaulCranswick: i dont either, and i think my brother stole everyone's height, he is over 6 feet at least, and is taller than everyone except one person.

>99 PaulCranswick: Perhaps the calcium in breast milk is better absorbed.

>101 Owltherian: I don't think I want to be really tall, Lily. I may suffer from a lack of oxygen in the thinner air up there!

>98 PaulCranswick: The forward pass was introduced relatively late to Canadian football. Before it caught on, my father, at 5’6, was an effective quarterback on his school team because his manoeuvres behind the forward line of six-footers were difficult for the opposing team to spot.

>102 booksaplenty1949: Possibly but it is something that is an impression not a comment as a result of any actual study I am aware of.

Looking at a quick google search the NIH actually states the opposite and that babies who are formula fed tend to grow longer. John Hopkins and others are very clear though that they consider that breast fed children tend to be healthier.

>103 PaulCranswick: That is quite true.

>104 booksaplenty1949: Yes, I can identify with that too. I was very quick over short distances which enabled me to evade those big lumps who wanted to grind me into the mud!

Today is Hani and my 28th wedding anniversary. Somehow she has put up with me for four lots of seven years already. We have had our ups and downs as most couples will but I never met anyone with a bigger heart and someone I know who is unreservedly and always on my side.
I wouldn't swap her for a gold pig!

Awwww thats so cute! Happy anniversary!!!

>109 Owltherian: Thank you Lily. I have been married for approximately double your lifetime!

>108 PaulCranswick: Happy anniversary!

Happy anniversary!

>111 amanda4242: Thank you, dear Amanda. I hope to celebrate it by completing Pet by Catherine Chidgey today.

>110 PaulCranswick: Yep, my father cant seem to hold a marriage for even that long, his most recent marriage only lasted 4 years.

>112 quondame: Thanks Susan. As I told my wife lovingly this morning, I would have received a lesser sentence than 28 years for armed robbery. With good behaviour I could have gotten out in say 20!
She didn't laugh.

>114 Owltherian: He could be a reincarnation of Henry VIII of course!

>116 PaulCranswick: Heh, he's only had two wives.

>108 PaulCranswick: Apropos of an earlier comment you made about your school I googled it/you a few weeks ago and came upon a Facebook? page with what looked like your wedding photo. Great to see that the years have treated you well. May you have many more!

Happy Aniversary Paul and Hani. Nice picture.

Happy Anniversary Paul

>117 Owltherian: You did rather give the impression, Lily, that he was a bit more active in matrimony than that!

>118 booksaplenty1949: I need to go and look for that! I sometimes wish that time stood still a little more but then again there wouldn't be any new books.

>119 Kristelh: Thank you, Kristel. We will go out and try a new Mexican restaurant later this evening. Seems quite a while since just the two of us had a date night!

>120 dianeham: Thank you, Diane. I hope you and you husband stay in a positive state of mind over the weekend, dear lady. You are both very much in my thoughts and prayers right now.

>121 PaulCranswick: Well he has made many girlfriends, including my own mother, but only got married twice. I also cried today so that's greatish.

>122 PaulCranswick: thank you, Paul. My husband is the most positive guy you could meet. And the nicest. Even in the hospital he’s pleasant to everybody and all the staff stop by his room because of that. Years ago when we didn’t have much money I told him I couldn’t sleep because I kept counting up all our bills and how much we made. He said - why don’t you try counting your blessings? I thought he was out of his mind.

Paul, you need to sign up to a better anniversary and special occasion joke service. One that will supply you with material that will improve the remain years of your sentencemarriage.

>108 PaulCranswick: Great picture of you and Hani, very handsome couple! Happy 28th anniversary to you both!

>123 Owltherian: Oh I see, Lily.

>124 dianeham: He sounds like my kind of guy, Diane. I find that courtesy and being pleasant to people is becoming an all too rare commodity these days so much so that it becomes a source of comment. I think someone's true self can be gauged by how they communicate with Security guards, receptionists, waiters, waitresses, bus conductors, gas pump attendants and so on.
Positivity in life is so so important and you sound like a lucky lady to have found one of the good ones.

>125 quondame: Hahaha true that Susan but the old ones are often the best!

People say that love is blind
They also say that marriage is an institution
So is it an institution for the blind?

The three rings of marriage in order?
Engagement ring
Wedding Ring
and
Suffering!

>126 mdoris: Thank you Mary and very nice of you to say so but I do of course know which of us steals the show (and it isn't me).

>127 PaulCranswick: add to that list nurses, phlebotomists, cleaners, people delivering food. And Michael was a security guard in a casino and later worked in a prison. Even the prisoners liked him. Excons see him in stores etc and they’re like - hey sarge, how you doing!

P.S. I’d like to keep him around for at least another decade. He turned 71 two days ago.

>128 PaulCranswick: The need for quip surgery is acute. Please have them removed with all possible haste.

>129 dianeham: I like that story, Diane. He is certainly a man after my own heart, I try my best to be respectful to everybody and get quite down on myself if I lose my cool in any given situation and speak without really thinking.

>130 dianeham: Amen to that - at least 10.

>131 quondame: Hahaha or at least before she sees them!

Happy new thread to you and happy anniversary to you both - Have a wonderful day!

Have a wonderful day celebrating!

>121 PaulCranswick: Time effectively stood still for the gods on Mt Olympus but it didn’t seem to make them notably happier. In fact, they were fascinated by humanity—-beings who actually had something to lose when they made decisions and took risks.

>134 SirThomas: Thank you dear Thomas.

>135 figsfromthistle: Thanks Anita. I am currently uncomfortably full after a Latin American meal.

>136 booksaplenty1949: When I reread The Iliad a few years ago I was rather taken aback by just how interfering the Gods were!

>138 PaulCranswick: Absolutely. Their own unchanging existence—-no skin in the game—-obviously bored them silly.

Happy Anniversary and Good You Two found Each Other!

Happy Anniversary to the both of you!

>95 booksaplenty1949: Interesting correlation with early calcium intake. There was still rationing during my first few years which probably weight in on the height issue.

>98 PaulCranswick: In my observation, shelves are taller than they used to be, Paul. The refurbished grocery store in my area is particularly bad especially in the milk section and, of course, the smaller cartons of milk are on the top shelf!

>108 PaulCranswick: Congrats!

Im back from my grandparents, and i already miss them.

>141 Familyhistorian: Generally taken to explain why the Dutch are the tallest people in Europe.

>139 booksaplenty1949: That is an interesting precept isn't it; that the Trojan war was a product of the boredom of the Gods.

>140 m.belljackson: Thank you, Marianne. I still feel uncomfortably full this morning; I had a Cuban beef stew and Hani had a Brazilian dish with assorted seafood.

>141 Familyhistorian: Thanks Meg. It is completely unfair that most of the stuff we want is on the top shelf and beyond our reach!

>142 ArlieS: Thanks Arlie. 28 years has mostly flown by.

>143 Owltherian: Aw, that's sweet. I loved my Gran the most in all the world, Lily, and although it is 30 years since she passed, there isn't a day that I don't think about her.

>144 booksaplenty1949: Yes, that is an interesting fact with the Dutch being the tallest people on the planet on average.

Belated Anniversary congratulations, Paul and Hani!
"I wouldn't swap her for a gold pig!" Love this.

>148 Donna828: Thank you, dear Donna. My phrase is a fairly typical Northern English expression, and in this instance perfectly true.

>145 PaulCranswick: Dr Johnson famously observed that when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight it concentrates his mind wonderfully. The knowledge that someday we will die has a less urgent but still important cumulative effect on the way we live.

Belated happy anniversary, Paul!

>150 booksaplenty1949: Dr. Johnson was a wise chap, and I think he is right I am sure that the relative proximity of our mortality would focus our minds somewhat. I suppose it is in a way the same idea as the carpe diem idea.

>151 bell7: Not so belated yet, Mary, and thank you. Hani is still trying to sleep off the impact of the calorie intake last night.

>147 PaulCranswick: Even when its the first day of coming home i miss them a bunch.

>153 Owltherian: It is good being close to your grandparents, Lily.

>154 PaulCranswick: yeah, although i rarely visit them.

>155 Owltherian: When I was a boy of about eight to ten I used to walk up my village every day and spend an hour or two with my Gran. She was a wonderful storyteller and loved to read. It is genetic!

>156 PaulCranswick: Seems like it and i have started two new books, both by Nora Roberts & their names are Chasing Fire & Identity

>144 booksaplenty1949: I was in a hotel in London at breakfast and remember most of the other guest were Scandinavian. We were standing at counters to eat and they were intimidating towering above me.

>146 PaulCranswick: Not most of the stuff, just the more interesting articles, Paul.

I shrunk. I was 5’8" now I’m 5’6"

>157 Owltherian: Happy reading!

>158 Familyhistorian: Scandinavian people do seem quite tall even by European standards, Meg. I don't stand out as being quite so short here in Malaysia, thankfully.

>159 dianeham: Me too, Diane. I think I have trimmed 1/2 inch so far!

>158 Familyhistorian: And at 5’ 11” the average Swedish man is still an inch shorter than the average Dutchman.

Happy belated anniversary Paul!

It is good not being too tall. My youngest brother is 2m tall, not so strange for dutch standards, but he has to take care entering a room, has trouble finding clothes that fit. And it isn’t best for the body either, more chances of back pain. I’m the runt of the family.

Happy Anniversary, Paul. When can we expect a reunion? I am sure you miss each other dearly.

>163 EllaTim: Historically, Dutch people were short. I’m sure that many older buildings were not constructed with people your brother’s height in mind. A challenge.

Hi Paul. Behind again… Happy newest thread, number 8, which, of course, makes me very happy.

>1 PaulCranswick: I have never ready any nonfiction about the fate of the boys, but read The Daughter of Time and remember really liking it.

>108 PaulCranswick: Belated Happy Anniversary to you and Hani.

>162 booksaplenty1949: That is indeed true!

>163 EllaTim: That is giant proportions, Ella.

>164 msf59: I guess you must have skimmed a little, buddy. Hani and I are together at the moment and celebrated our anniversary together with a Latin American meal. Great to see you as always, Mark.

>165 booksaplenty1949: Surely part of evolution has been in increased human height.

>166 karenmarie: Yep your favourite #8 already, Karen.

The War of the Roses is possibly my favourite part of British history despite its utterly flawed ending,

>168 PaulCranswick: https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/countries-with-the-shortest-average-heights.... Not an expert in human evolution, but this table of the world’s shortest populations seems to regard nutrition in childhood as a key factor in adult height. Certainly the improvement in this area in “developed” countries has made a big difference.

>43 PaulCranswick: Happy newish thread! I will be adding this one to my TBR list. I am *fascinated* by the princes in the tower. Dan Jones had an interesting interview on his History Hit podcast recently and the historian made a strong case for the princes surviving.

Happy belated anniversary. Bob and I are working on 32 years.

>159 dianeham: I have shrunk too same as you from 5'8" to 5' 6". Maybe we should stand on our books when we are measured! I want those extra inches when I get on the scales.

Happy belated anniversary! (I'm behind on the wishes just as I am on the threads.)

>170 booksaplenty1949: The correlation between rich/tall and poor/short is pretty clear isn't it but only explains things part way, I guess.

>171 witchyrichy: There were so many theories about the Princes, Karen, and I am not in anyway as qualified as Dan Jones to comment but my own theory was that the cunning Henry Tudor had the boys knocked off such that suspicion and blame would fall on the much maligned Richard.

The 75ers does seem a place of long lasting relationships thank fully.

>172 mdoris: You are starting from a very good height for a lady, Mary!
Standing on books is a good idea. I want the works of Trollope and then I'd be taller than our Dutch friends!

>173 thornton37814: Thank you, Lori. Lovely to see you here. xx

>168 PaulCranswick: Height in humans is not an upward sloping straight line. I vividly remember reading as a child that 6' in Cro-Magnon man was not unusual. An article I read in Smithsonian mag in the early '90s said human height took a hit when agriculture was displacing hunting & gathering. And a documentary on US public television said nutrition, not just your own but that of your grandparents (IIRC it skips a generation), of course plays a big role in height. I feel like I once read that distance from the equator also played a role, but I don't remember what that source was.

Here's one online reference:
https://australian.museum/learn/science/human-evolution/how-have-we-changed-sinc....

>176 ReneeMarie: You are most probably right and I certainly don't claim any expertise in the subject. There is some common sense that things would stall or reverse in long periods of transition.

>172 mdoris: Count me as yet another shrunken book lover. I want my extra inch back!

>178 ArlieS: Hahaha Arlie, I fear that 'tis gone forever.

BOOK #20



Pet by Catherine Chidgey
Date of Publication : 2023
Origin of Author : New Zealand
Gender of Author : Female
Pages : 323 pp
Paul's Alternative Women's Prize Longlist

If Catherine Chidgey was not already seen as a purveyor of literary fiction this would have been quickly labelled as a psychological thriller. It is a superior one at that but much more besides.

It is tension filled but its universal themes of love, friendship, faith, family and grief make this a very complex and excellent novel indeed.

I don't do spoilers in my reviews as you all know but I do make the occasional recommendation and I strongly recommend this book.

>169 PaulCranswick: Wouldn’t Henry Tudor have become king in any event on Richard’s death, since Richard had no direct heirs? Or might he have had an heir, eventually?

Heya Paul!

>181 booksaplenty1949: It seems that they were both eying up the same lady! We could have finished up where we were anyway depending upon the strength of a mother's genes.

>182 Owltherian: Hi Lily.

>183 PaulCranswick: How are you on this fine uh- possible Monday for you.

>184 Owltherian: I still have a swollen eye, Lily. Not really sure why.

>185 PaulCranswick: Oh nooo- have you tried putting ice on it?

>180 PaulCranswick: I really enjoyed that one too. I had no idea going in that it would be about a teacher's pet, I expected an animal of some sort.

>186 Owltherian: Yeah but not really working.

>187 avatiakh: I think that the pen on the cover sort of tipped me off, Kerry, but it wasn't quite the novel I expected either and the tension at times was palpable.

>188 PaulCranswick: Hmm- try chilled ice tea bags- if ice doesnt work

>188 PaulCranswick: I will look funny doing that, Lily, whilst I am supposed to be fasting!

>190 PaulCranswick: Oops- then hmm maybe witch hazel?

>190 PaulCranswick: I have put the cream the doctor gave me and taken eye drops (just about allowable) and will wait for the evening to try other things, Lily.

>192 PaulCranswick: Ah, i kind of feel bad for you right now, I've had eye pain before- but it was never swollen.

>188 PaulCranswick: Her previous book was The Axeman's Carnival about a pet magpie, so I probably got the books slightly mxed up in m mind before I started.

>193 Owltherian: I'll be ok, Lily x

>194 avatiakh: I want to speed up the reading of Remote Sympathy now having read that and enjoying it so much. I also have The Wish Child on the shelves.

>195 PaulCranswick: I hope you get better soon then.

>195 PaulCranswick: I've read both those, they are really good. I've also read her picturebooks about her cat and have the magpie book on my shelves.

>196 Owltherian: Thanks Lily. It is already a little better.

>197 avatiakh: She can certainly write vividly and tells a good story well, Kerry.

>198 PaulCranswick: Thats good, at least its getting better.

Hi Paul! Catching up on your runaway thread. In no particular order, if I can remember:

Happy 28th to you and Hani! Please, please take Susan's advice on the ... erm 'joke' front.

I tell people that I'm 5 foot and a half. It doesn't work in metric - but my secret is that it's a half inch, not half a foot.

My husband tells me that the Dutch used to be the shortest people as a nation, on average, in Europe. Then they built dykes, put cows on the resulting fields and increased their dairy intake - and now they're the tallest (in Europe).

My takeaway on breast milk vs formula is that breast milk should be more nutritionally balanced (provided the mum is getting a decently balanced diet, of course) whereas the nutritional value of formula would depend on what the manufacturers put into it so it would probably vary by brand.

When my kids were born, we were encouraged to breast feed. I forget what the source was, but I hear that in my mum's time, it was the big brands pushing formula - ever in search of the dollar.

I don't think I've heard of most of those phobias on Owl's list, to be honest. I'd have to go and look them up. My dad has a couple of issues which seem to have bypassed me and gone straight to my son.

That is interesting, that tall genes are recessive. When my son complains next about not getting any height via his genes (which used to be my own complaint) I can tell him that, and tell him to thank his lucky stars that he is taller than me ;0) He's also taller than his dad, but his 15 year old brother is (presumably) still growing. I'm actually the tallest of the ladies in my immediate family - but there's only about an inch between my mum, my sis and me (not counting any shrinkage - but I haven't measured in years).

>183 PaulCranswick: Looking at the excellent Richard III Society website https://richardiii.net/about/ I see that they contend that the Wars of the Roses didn’t really end until Henry VIII, an heir with both York and Lancaster cred, took the throne. Also saw that Prince Richard, the current Duke of Gloucester, is the Patron of the Richard III Society. Makes sense, of course—-just seems hard to realise that Richard III and the current mild-looking man in a blue tie share the same name and title.

>200 humouress: I have to add my experience of being a member of La Leche League when I was a young mother, they were wonderfully supportive of new mothers & breastfeeding and I stayed in the group for several years. I had a copy of their The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding at the time.
I remember being in Hawaii when I was pregnant with my first and was amazed to see a little girl run over to her mum for a feed, I had only thought it was for babies but slowly my attitude changed.

>199 Owltherian: Still improving, Lily.

>200 humouress: Hahaha Nina (and Susan) my days of stand-up are well behind me!
Bring in the cows then if you need a taller population.

>203 PaulCranswick: Thats great :)

>201 booksaplenty1949: It is only right that the Ricardian society is headed up by the Duke of Gloucester isn't it?
Thomas Penn earlier wrote the excellent The Winter King about the reign of Henry Tudor (Henry VII) which was at pains to explain how paranoid he was about potential threats and or Yorkist rivals and claimants to the throne. It also went through how he eliminated all of them.

>204 Owltherian: I am hopeful that tomorrow it will almost be ok again.

>206 PaulCranswick: I hope so, having a swollen eye must hurt

>98 PaulCranswick: I was always lousy in sports. I remember one high school game of soft ball, I was in the outfield and the ball soared overhead and came straight to me and I caught it! I don't know who was more amazed, myself or my teammates.
also in college as basic classes I had to take a Physical Education class. I hated gym. But I picked a class that was a half semester of jogging, and a half semester of basketball. Seemed fairly easy.
One day not far into the basketball half, the teacher who was the head basketball coach for the school came over to me and said, "If I can teach you to shoot a basket in this class I will consider it the highlight of my coaching career."

>108 PaulCranswick: Happy Anniversary!! You guys are so cute!!

>116 PaulCranswick: Hope his wives don't end up the same!! :)

I had to take a physical education class- I took fencing . One of my friends took dance and danced into a side mirror. The instructor told her to just show up and she would pass.

Spend a splendid week ahead, PC.

>205 PaulCranswick:
This paranoia about potential heirs also explains some of Henry VIII's desperation to have a male heir. (Silly chauvinistic society that he came from is to blame for that.)

>207 Owltherian: More uncomfortable than painful, Lily.

>208 hredwards: The exasperated basketball coach made me smile, Harold.

>209 hredwards: Thank you, Harold. Cute is normally not the first adjective people come up with for me!

>210 hredwards: Hahaha quite true!

>211 torontoc: It is funny, Cyrel, but I was a bit like that with art. I was excused art by my form teacher and she allowed me to read in class instead as some of my artistic "creations" offended her sensibilities!

>212 richardderus: Thank you, RD, and the very same to you dear fellow.

>213 benitastrnad: Well yes, Benita, especially when one considers just how effective a ruler his daughter, Elizabeth, became.

Hi Paul! That's a wonderful anniversary photo of you and Hani. Here's to another 28 years!

I made note of your recommendation for Pet. The public library has a couple of copies, one print and one ebook, so I'll see if I can work it in soonish.

>218 cbl_tn: Thank you, Carrie.
I think that you will enjoy Pet.

>213 benitastrnad: They have corrected that. Charlotte (as William's 2nd born child) is now directly in line behind George.

>108 PaulCranswick: A belated "Happy Anniversary" from me, Paul. Please tell Hani I said "Congratulations" for putting up with you for all these years, lol.

At 200+ posts behind, I am not going to try and catch up but wanted to check in now that I am back home.

Happy whatever, brother :)

>214 PaulCranswick: I would expect it to be, and i wish i could give you a hug right now, but alas i can not.

>220 humouress: Three of our greatest monarchs in different ways were the Bettys and Victoria. I am not a royalist but I see no reason if we are to have them why women should not have an equal place in the line of succession.

>221 alcottacre: Hahaha I do sometimes wonder myself, Stasia!
Lovely to see you, sis xx

>214 PaulCranswick: I am a lover of hugs even in these chilly days of political correctness, Lily, but at least I can report that my eye is almost back to its wholly imperfect best.

Sorry I missed the reunion, Paul. It got lost in the post madness. I am so glad you were able to share this anniversary together.

>225 msf59: No worries Mark, I know what it is like to try and keep up when the threads are fizzing. Your visits are always appreciated buddy.

>174 PaulCranswick: I think your theory is as good as any. It is such a mystery even the US Institutes of Health has gotten involved.

>227 witchyrichy: I am no expert, Karen, but if I look at some of the nonsense organisations like NIH spout, it doesn't seem to matter at all.

Happy Anniversary! And wishing you many, many more!

>180 PaulCranswick: Pet sounds really good. I love the occasional psychological thriller, as long as it doesn't spook me too badly, living as I do by myself outside of town. I wish my library system had a copy. :( I'll keep an eye out for it.

I took orienteering in college for one of my PE credits. We'd mark maps and then use compasses and calculate things like true north and azimuths and have to find a specific point. It was taught by one of the ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corp - don't know if they are still in existence either) instructors. I thought it would be useful since the soon to husband was a wildlerness ranger. I'm sure all of that has been replaced by phone location map apps - the current equivalent is probably something like geocaching.

>229 streamsong: Orienteering sounds a lot more interesting than most PE classes!

>229 streamsong: Orienteering is a sport extraordinaire and I am impressed, Janet.

>230 hredwards: My downfall in the gym was the rope, Harold. I could not get up that thing for love nor money.

>108 PaulCranswick: Happy belated anniversary!!

>232 ocgreg34: Thank you, Greg. 28 years sometimes seems but a moment ago.

Book # 21



Brotherless Night by V.V. Ganeshanathan
Date of Publication : 2023
Origin of Author : USA
Gender of Author : Female
Pages : 341 pp
Women's Prize Longlist : 4th Book / 16

Two excellent books in a row and I wonder, I just wonder if I have read the winner in this one.

My expectations were not hugely high given that the cover was like something advertising a pulp Tamil movie but, boy, is this a powerful story heart rendingly told.

We follow a young wannabee Doctor whose family and in particular her four brothers are caught up in the turmoil, violence and depravity of the Tamil Tiger's fight for an independent homeland on Sri Lanka.

This conflict was very poorly covered in the West as Western interests were not really served by humanitarian interference but this novel is a very well written reminder to us all of the equaizing horror or perceived differences in ethnicity.

Highly recommended

Heya Paul, either school got cancelled somehow or my siblings and mother are just too lazy to get up- its already 6 minutes into my first class....and I'm not in it

>234 PaulCranswick: Of the books on the Longlist, this is the one I want to read the most, I think. I am glad to see you thought so highly of it, Paul.

Happy whatever!

>235 Owltherian: Interesting! I have a public holiday to enjoy tomorrow.

>236 alcottacre: It is a proper and important story, Stasia - just as I like it.

>234 PaulCranswick: There were huge pro-Tiger demonstrations where I live in the last days of the struggle, even closing in-town roads and motorways. I don’t think this represented broad ex-pat support, but rather physical and financial threats to local Tamils from hard-core Tiger supporters in the community.

>238 booksaplenty1949: There is a large Tamil population in Malaysia and I have many friends from that community. I know virtually no Sinhalese so my sympathies would be fairly clear.

>231 PaulCranswick: I have to agree on the rope. I hated that thing!!!

>240 hredwards: Why would you use a rope when you can take the stairs! ?

>237 PaulCranswick: Welp my mother is sick, so i get to skip school today.

Hi Paul, a very Belated Happy New Thread mate and a belated Happy 28th Wedding Anniversary. As you know, we are celebrating our 40th (Ruby) wedding anniversary at the end of July, so we are approaching our 6th, seven year term and never had the itch.

On the height front, i am 6ft 4in, my dad was 5ft 10in and my Grandad was a mere 5ft 4in but apparently my great Grandad was 7ft 2in.

>242 Owltherian: What is the correlation between your mother being unwell and you not going to school, Lily?

>243 johnsimpson: Great to see you, John. Ruby anniversary this year will be a treasured landmark, indeed.
I know of course that you are tall, mate since we have met a number of times but your Great Grandpa must have been something to behold.

>244 PaulCranswick: She drives me to school, so if she cant drive, i cant go.

>245 Owltherian: Oh I see. Is there no public transport where you are?

>246 PaulCranswick: No, even the packages that my mum sometimes get shipped here can get stolen.

>247 Owltherian: Oh dear, your neighborhood sounds like quite an obstacle course.

>248 PaulCranswick: It is. Its what people call 'the hood' i guess, she doesnt really let us outside though.

>234 PaulCranswick:, very good review Paul, makes me want to read it. I am currently reading The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida which is set in Sri Lanka.

>249 Owltherian: I live in the centre of one of Asia's burgeoning cities and I can walk out at any time of the day or night with virtually no fear of being accosted or disturbed.

>250 Kristelh: I read that one a couple of years ago, Kristel and enjoyed it although some of it is a touch baffling.

>251 PaulCranswick: Thats lucky, my parents dont let me outside much at all.

>252 Owltherian: where do you live?

>253 dianeham: Ohio, and the West Side. (I have split parenting with my parents so i live in two places)

>251 PaulCranswick: I was just wondering this morning how to train my kids to be paranoid when they go overseas, especially if they decide not to live in Singapore once they flee the nest.

>252 Owltherian: Nothing lucky about it, Lily. Our society is reasonably respectful of the law and each other. It is an interesting fact that of the world's fifty cities with the highest murder rates and gun crimes not a single city of those is in either Europe or Asia. I would hazard that Asia doesn't make the top 200.

>253 dianeham: I wouldn't have thought that all places in the USA need a health warning to step outside your homes, Diane.

>256 PaulCranswick: Yeah, its surprising to the fact that a lot of crime happens.

>254 Owltherian: Lily, I thought your mum had passed and you lived with your Dad and your step mum?

>255 humouress: Singapore is even safer than Malaysia isn't it. I remember watching the news in Singapore and they reported live from the scene of a graffiti incident.

>258 PaulCranswick: My stepmum & father have since divorced and they have split parenting between me & my other two siblings.

>257 Owltherian: It would be a surprise here, Lily, for sure.

>259 Owltherian: Oh I see, thanks for clarifying that.

>261 PaulCranswick: Your welcome

>260 PaulCranswick: Surprisingly some crime has happened down the street from me.

>262 Owltherian: From your other descriptions, Lily, it doesn't really surprise me that some crime has happened down the street from you.

>263 PaulCranswick: My friend even had to move due to the crime actually happening AT her home.

Good thing you noticed my inadvertent upgrade of The Wren , The Wren, Paul. I corrected it right away! I look forward to reading Brotherless Nights . which I was able to purchase in paperback. I'm glad one of the books finally stood out to you. I have Enter Ghost in transit to me at the library, so probably I will get that tomorrow. My copy of The Maiden arrived today from Kenny's Bookstore in Ireland, so I have that to read too. Happy Belated Anniversary

>264 Owltherian: My goodness.

>265 vancouverdeb: I think that you'll enjoy it, Deb and I also have high hopes for Enter Ghost which I will start this weekend.

Thanks for the anniversary wishes. I think Dave will probably take a bit of time to adjust to having much more time on his hands but I'm sure that you'll spoil him. xx

>266 PaulCranswick: Yep, their uncle or aunt may have died as well, which is sad.

>267 Owltherian: Sometimes I have to say blessings for living here. Socially too conservative for sure but it is pretty safe.

>268 PaulCranswick: You do have a blessing for living where you do, i wish the crime rates were lower here honestly.

>258 PaulCranswick: 😂😂😂 Sounds about right.

ETA: when the boys and I came back from Oz about 10 years ago, my husband commissioned a mural for an outside wall and it was a couple of graffiti artists who did it for us. I think they were pleased and surprised to have the opportunity. (Unfortunately you can't see it on Google Maps - but you can tell that our house is blue and we only had it repainted about four months ago.)(I've posted a photo on my thread.)

>269 Owltherian: Of course.

>270 humouress: Perfectly true story.
Let me go and have a look!

>237 PaulCranswick: Good to know!

Happy whatever, Paul!

>272 alcottacre: Happy Thursday, Stasia.

>241 PaulCranswick: Better yet the elevator, or lift I believe you call them.

>241 PaulCranswick: Indeed, Harold, that is even more convenient.

Heya Paul.

Hi Lily. Off to sleep shortly. Eye playing up again.

Ah, have a good nap!

The April BAC thread is up.

https://www.librarything.com/topic/359637

>278 Owltherian: Thanks Lily, I managed a solid four and a half hours.

>279 amanda4242: Thanks Amanda. Probably the month I was most looking forward to.

>280 PaulCranswick: That sounds like a nice nap, and I'm listening to a NoSleep Podcast.

>281 Owltherian: Humour me, Lily, what is a NoSleep podcast.

>282 PaulCranswick: Its basically a horror podcast reading stories from the redit thing: r/nosleep

>283 Owltherian: Oh, I wouldn't be into that, Lily!

>284 PaulCranswick: Its on Spotify & just look up: NoSleep Podcast and it should be the first thing

Here's the Easter readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/359643

Happy belated anniversary!! Ours is coming up in April. : ) Wishing you more love, happiness and books.

>285 Owltherian: I don't want to scare myself to death. Make no wonder you have trouble sleeping.

>286 SilverWolf28: Thanks Silver.

>287 Berly: Thanks Kimmers! I think that you got them almost in the right order. Happiness comes from love and books!

>288 PaulCranswick: It really depends on what stories they read: Something In The Feilds is a somewhat scary one in like Episode 4 or 5 but i slept like a baby last night.

>290 Owltherian: Then that may be obtusely just the remedy for your inability to sleep.

Friday "lunchtime" additions

101. Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas
102. Tell by Jonathan Buckley
103. Headshot by Rita Bullwinkel
104. The Burgundians by Bart Van Loo

>291 PaulCranswick: Probably, but i think it actually helped me sleep somehow.

>293 Owltherian: Yeah, that's what I said too!

>294 PaulCranswick: I slept from 11pm to 6:38am and it was nice- although I'm not used to that much sleep.

>295 Owltherian: That is a decent bout of sleep, Lily.

>296 PaulCranswick: I usually get about an hour- maybe even less than that.

>297 Owltherian: That is not sustainable, Lily.

>298 PaulCranswick: My friends tell me that, so I'm trying to get an okayish sleep schedule.

>108 PaulCranswick: Belated Anniversary greetings to you and Hani, Paul.

>180 PaulCranswick: Into my basket it went. I've read very little work from NZ.

>292 PaulCranswick: I have to tug your leg Paul, only just purchasing Under Milk Wood haha. I think I have three editions, and seen three productions of it. I suspect you have seen/read it in reality.

>292 PaulCranswick: My March War Room choice, Anne of Geierstein, concerns two supporters of the Lancaster side in the Wars of the Roses who travel to Burgundy to solicit the support of Charles the Bold, the last Duke of an independent Burgundy. Sir Walter Scott consulted a recently published history of the Burgundians and included lots of background—-seems it was a dynasty of colourful characters and complicated politics.

>299 Owltherian: They are not great pals, Lily, if they assure you that one hour of sleep per day is good for you.

>300 Caroline_McElwee: Very familiar with Under Milk Wood, Caroline. I was actaully first voice many years ago in a school production of the play and it has all the wonderful verbiage of Thomas' poetry.
It is a replacement copy actaully as I did own it in the UK as a student.

>301 booksaplenty1949: Yes, if I am not mistaken, Edward IV was quite the ally of Charles the Bold.

>301 booksaplenty1949: Anne of Geierstein interests me because the description mentions it as a "sequel" to Quentin Durward which I've read twice - once as a teen and once since 2001 but before 2007. Both times it was my father's old illustrated hardback. The Scottish Archers in which Quentin was enrolled, play parts in Dorothy Dunnett's books as well, which is probably why I re-read Quentin Durward.

>304 quondame: I should go and hunt it down too Susan, as I have not read it either.

>302 PaulCranswick: They tell me that i need to get more sleep, and I'm trying to listen.

>304 quondame: I had read only Scott’s Waverley, the first volume in my 13-volume set of The Waverley Novels—-Nimmo’s Popular Edition (1878), purchased at a church book sale in my pretentious youth. I recall enjoying Waverley, but the book more or less disintegrated as I read it, and I took this as a sign to quit while I was ahead. But I had nothing on my shelf about the Wars of the Roses; the Charlotte Mary Yonge novel I found on Project Gutenberg took me less than two days to read. So Sir Walter’s time had come round. And I was very pleasantly surprised at how engrossing a tale he told. Apparently Count Robert of Paris is set in the run-up to the First Crusade so I may put it on the list for Wars of Religion next month once I am done with the last vol in The History of the Crusades.

>307 booksaplenty1949: Ivanhoe was assigned HS reading, which I dealt with by taking a pro-Rowena stance. On my own I tore through Quentin Durward, The Talisman, Kenilworth, and Guy Mannering. Thoug I only remember the first two. Probably Waverly as well. Some were my dad's childhood books, some from the school or station libraries.

>306 Owltherian: I must apologize, ;i;y, as I misread your earlier post.

>307 booksaplenty1949: Another interesting sounding book. The wars of religion has plenty of options next month.

>309 PaulCranswick: Its totally fine Paul!

>308 quondame: I did recently manage to find a copy of Kenilworth, Susan.

>309 PaulCranswick: Looking to see how many LTers had a copy of Count Robert of Paris I noted a great cover—presumably of a “print on demand” version—-depicting someone in full Treasure Island pirate gear pointing a pistol. This for a novel set in 11thC Constantinople. Occasionally people post examples of wildly inappropriate covers https://lithub.com/50-very-bad-book-covers-for-literary-classics/ which I always find entertaining.

>311 PaulCranswick: I hope you enjoy it. I don't remember anything about it at all.

>292 PaulCranswick: Not even heard of any of those, let alone read them! Lol

Happy whatever, Paul!

Good morning/afternoon/night Paul

>303 PaulCranswick: If the alliances and counter-alliances of the time start making sense to you, you are obviously in need of professional intervention. But Scott did a fine job of bringing Charles the Bold’s character to life, and also that of René of Provence, Margaret of Anjou’s father.

>309 PaulCranswick: Yes, humankind has been slow to grasp that “the end justifies the means” is not a statement compatible with the teachings of any religion. Although my reading of the first two vols of The History of the Crusades opened my eyes to the fact that the “religious” pretext of those wars was far more complicated than I had assumed from casual cultural references.

>317 booksaplenty1949: I'm not at all sure where I ran across it, but it was sometime before I was 20 that I read a discussion of the Crusades being part of the European population explosion and the success the Normans expansion. Too many young men and too little land for kings to distribute.

>318 quondame: Political alliances frequently crossed religious boundaries. And of course “Christians” and “Moslems” were by no means monolithic groups in the first place. So Crusades had as much in common with dynastic struggles like The Wars of the Roses as with more clearly religious conflicts like the separation of India and Pakistan.

>312 booksaplenty1949: That is funny! I am trying to think of which book covers I own are wildly inappropriate. Let me have a good think about it.

>313 quondame: You would remember it for sure if it was awful though, Susan, right?

>314 alcottacre: The Dylan Thomas Play is quite famous, Stasia but the rest not so much.
Always a pleasure to see you here. x

>315 Owltherian: Good evening, Lily. Hani and I travelled to Johor Bahru (200 miles South) to break fast with a good friend and bring home a new car. Just got back home and I am really tired now.

>321 PaulCranswick: I would think so, but the first time you come home in a new car is a good feeling

>316 booksaplenty1949: Hahaha that is something of an echo of my wife's comments. While we were driving up I was explaining something of the Wars of the Roses to her and she was basically questioning why my brain was so stocked full of so much useless information!

>317 booksaplenty1949: I am really looking forward to reading the Runciman books. The Crusades is something I know far too little about.

>318 quondame: I am not at all qualified to make much comment as yet, Susan, but definitely the church and the need to distract the nobles from their petty feuding would have been considerations.

>319 booksaplenty1949: I will certainly bow to your superior reading in the subject.

>322 Owltherian: I commented to Hani when we got out of the car about that wonderful smell new cars have.

>325 PaulCranswick: They do have a wonderful smell, and I'm glad you had a good day.

>320 PaulCranswick: We are talking 14-17yr old me. I could have loved it and it could have been awful. And there is something about Scott's books that never quite seemed connected to any reality I could discern.

Happy new car!

>326 Owltherian: Thanks Lily.

>327 quondame: Indeed Susan it is a couple of years ago! I know what you mean about Scott - sort of chivalric romances/ adventures that, in such different times, are difficult to identify with.

>328 dianeham: Thank you, Diane. Hani hasn't let me drive it yet.

>329 PaulCranswick: Your very welcome Paul.

>329 PaulCranswick: The political dynamic in Anne of Geierstein is difficult to relate to because it seems to be entirely dependant on the personality of the monarch, although if Trump is re-elected we may see a revival of this phenomenon. Scott is a product of Romanticism and there is a characteristic mixture of landscape and emotion in his novels that may strike us as over the top. But I personally don’t think that human nature changes much.

Congratulations on the new car, Paul and Hani.

I stop driving several years ago and didn’t keep up my license and I could really use it now.

>332 booksaplenty1949: It's not that human nature changes much, just that literary conventions and fashions can produce either romanticized or degraded versions which become accepted and expected with very little correspondence with reality.
If you've read more than one modern romance written for women which includes sex scenes, you will notice how much they have in common with each other, and how little with and actual sexual encounter.

>335 quondame: That is probably a fair observation, Susan.

BOOK #22



Breakdown by Cathy Sweeney
Date of Publication : 2024
Origin of Author : Ireland
Gender of Author : Female
Pages : 217 pp
Challenges : Paul's Alternative Women's Prize Longlist (Book 4 of 16)

Anne Enright got longlisted but this is much better.

I'm not entirely sure I liked the main character who relates her seemingly abrupt desertion of her husband and children from the comfort of her Dublin surburbia to a wintertime Welsh cottage, solitude and the contempt of her family and friends.

As she slowly discloses what lead her to her life choices you start to sympathize a little more with a lady whose seemingly comfortable life was smothering her. Is it wrong for her to want more for herself?

I have read four cracking books as alternatives to the actual longlist and whilst I marked it the lowest of the four so far it is still much better than at least two that actually made it.

>336 PaulCranswick: Scott notes, in the early part of Anne of Geierstein set in the Swiss Alps, that at the time the action is taking place the Alps were big hunks of rock creating an obstacle to travel, not the breathtaking, soul-stirring vista his readers would find them. So he knows that our emotional responses are shaped by our social context. But not entirely. Playing the present and the past against one another is part of the art and the appeal of historical fiction, after all. Reading a piece of historical fiction written two hundred years ago gives us a further perspective on the story.
It would be interesting to compare what has passed as “graphic” sexual description over the years. Maybe we could look at this in the context of a future “Make Love, Not War” challenge.

>338 booksaplenty1949: I always enjoy your thoughtful and insightful posts! A Make Love, Not War" challenge would be something.

Good morning Paul! Happy Easter!

>340 Owltherian: Thank you so much, Lily. Have a lovely Easter Sunday.

>341 PaulCranswick: You're welcome, and i have made a new thread today.

>339 PaulCranswick: Thank you. What a privilege to live in a time when one can exchange ideas about a book one has just put down with some (former) stranger on the other side of the world.

BOOK # 23



Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas
Date of Publication : 1954
Origin of Author : UK
Gender of Author : Male
Pages : 108 pp
Challenges : BAC / 150Y Challenge 29/150

For those regulars here in the small town, starless and who are familiar with my poetic tastes they will not be surprised at me reaffirming that Dylan Thomas was the poetry hero of my youth. Nobody before or since has had his ability to weave words so magically in a tapestry of poeticism barely comprehended but somehow fully understood.

He takes liberties with words using them in unusual and surprising manner that is wholly original yet conveys deftly the meaning he intends. He achieves this in the poem play that I had the honour to perform in a school performance as the First Voice as a 13 year old which I am sure that 90% of the audience was as baffled as they were breathtaken.

The play wends through the mythical Welsh seaside town of Llareggub (buggerall backwards!) revealing the thoughts, dreams, secrets, deeds and misdeeds of its inhabitants as explained by First Voice with Second Voice providing support.

To begin at the beginning: It is spring, moonless night in the small town, starless and bible-black.

Don't try to understand it all in one sitting just soak it up and enjoy it.

>335 quondame: I gather that the contrast between D H Lawrence’s fictional sex scenes and his actual relationship with his physically and emotionally dominating and flagrantly promiscuous wife is quite striking.

>342 Owltherian: Your first new thread here too! That's great Lily. I shall go and look for it

>343 booksaplenty1949: And to develop connections and friendships with people you might never meet in person but come to know and appreciate through their reading tastes and the world view revealed by that reading. The more we read, the better we become!

>345 booksaplenty1949: Prose that can be either wishful thinking or somewhat retaliatory.

>346 PaulCranswick: Okay!

>344 PaulCranswick: One of my favourites too Paul.

>349 SandDune: I left my original copy of the book in the UK and finally managed to replace it on Friday and I just couldn't wait to read it.

>346 PaulCranswick: Unsurprising that there are something like 56,000 copies of Fahrenheit 451 listed in LT accounts. A society without books—-the most dystopian Dystopia imaginable!
Apropos of banned books, I am well into Uncle Tom’s Cabin and am pleasantly surprised by Stowe’s story-telling ability.

>344 PaulCranswick: A teacher playing a record of Dylan Thomas reading A Child’s Christmas in Wales and some of his poetry was one of the first experiences of serious poetry I recall. The lines “Time held me green and dying/Though I sang in my chains like the sea.” in his voice, with the emphasis on “sang” and “chains” and ending on a semi-upbeat, are still in my mind’s ear.

>344 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul - I listed my recent Dylan Thomas favorites on The British Challenge for March:

Dylan Thomas - Selected Poems by Walford Davies.

^^^^^

Messages to pacranny elicit no responses, so checking to see that you are receiving them.

>338 booksaplenty1949: >345 booksaplenty1949: The level of detail and acts described probably vary less if what was considered pornographic 1800-1960 is included, and probably there was plenty of detail available to enabled readers earlier.
The emotional content and emphasis is likely more interesting, and I've found that it's rare that detail and emotional weight are balanced in favor of the emotional weight. On the other hand sometimes canny descriptions of sexual encounters can employ the reader's libido to enhance the passages.

The juxtaposition of new car and Breakdown are interesting, Paul. Under Milkwood was the one and only time I had a role in a play. I learned more about writing than acting from the experience.

Strangely I was just remarking to someone the other day that the only thing I was good at in phys ed was the ropes only we didn’t get to use them often enough.

>351 booksaplenty1949: I haven't yet read Uncle Tom's Cabin and have heard such mixed reports of its literary merit, but it is on my to do list.

>352 booksaplenty1949: There is something magical and ethereal about the poetry of Dylan Thomas and your famous quote exemplifies perfectly what I said earlier about his original use of words.

>353 m.belljackson: His Complete Poems is not too heavy a tome either, Marianne and I have kept a copy with me for almost 40 years.
I am genuinely not aware of not having responded to any of your messages, Marianne, did I not respond to any emails? If so I shall go and recheck my emails. If I haven't responded it is inadvertent and I apologise for that.

>354 quondame: "Employ the reader's libido to enhance the passages".....I like that phrase, Susan, and isn't that what good writing can do?

>355 Familyhistorian: I am also not a thespian, Meg, so my school plays are my only real experience of acting too. I was good at circuit training but I simply hated the ropes because I always finished up burning my hands at some stage.

BOOK #24



Bosworth: Psychology of a Battle by Michael Jones
Date Published : 2002
Origin of Author : UK
Gender of Author : Male
Pages : 220 pp
Challenges : War Room / 150Y Challenge 30/150

This book presents a Ricardian version of the battle that effectively decided the War of the Roses and heralded the Tudor dynasty's ascension.

Jones depicts a Richard far different from that portrayed by Tudor propagandists including the Bard of Avon. Here Richard is brave, largely decisive and driven by a sense of purpose - to justify his family's legitimacy and fulfil his late father's desired destiny.

Fascinating, well written, informative and, to the converted, certainly persuasive.

>344 PaulCranswick: Sounds fascinating Paul. Good for you, first voice.

>355 Familyhistorian: I was lousy at anything that involved catching or throwing, but I could climb a rope. My father had made a playroom for us children using ropes strung from rafter to rafter. So I had some practice.

>359 PaulCranswick: I still haven’t finished my book for this month, but there was a lot to tell, wasn’t there? My conclusion that civil war is just awful.

>360 EllaTim: It is a very original piece of work that takes a bit of getting into despite the fabulous introduction.
My hand eye coordination is very good and I was always quite adept at racquet sports, softball and cricket.

Your analysis of civil war is of course correct!

>354 quondame: A lot to think about here. Will get back.

>362 booksaplenty1949: I look forward to your thoughts.

>356 PaulCranswick: Review of Uncle Tom’s Cabin by LT member jasonpettus (first up on reviews when listed by votes) is a very good summation of the book’s pros and cons.

>344 PaulCranswick: You hit me with a BB for Under Milk Wood. Thanks!

Karen O

>364 booksaplenty1949: Thank you, I will go and peruse.

>365 klobrien2: You are welcome of course, Karen. x