PAUL C in the War Room - Tenth is with the Moors in Spain

The Moors in Al-Andalus. The furthest Islam came to the conversion of Europe.

The Opening Words

Hani and I have been watching "Ripley" on Netflix (one of my rare forays into television). I have therefore dusted down my copy of the first Ripley book - The Talented Mr. Ripley.



Tom glanced behind him and saw the man coming out of the Green Cage, heading his way. Tom walked faster. There was no doubt that the man was after him. Tom had noticed him five minutes ago, eying him carefully from a table, as if he weren't quite sure but almost. He had looked sure enough for Tom to down his drink in a hurry, pay and get out.

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

Books Read 2nd Quarter

April

25. The Sweet Science by A.J. Liebling (1956) 232 pp Non-Fiction / AAC / 150Y Challenge 31/150
26. The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith (1955) 249pp Thriller / 150Y Challenge 32/150 / 1001 Books
27. Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad (2023) 319 pp Fiction / War Room
28. Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym (1977) 186 pp Fiction / 150Y Challenge 33/150 / BAC
29. A History of the Crusades I by Steven Runciman (1951) 281 pp Non-Fiction / War Room / 150Y Challenge 34/150
30. Loot by Tania James (2023) 289 pp Fiction
31. Field Work by Seamus Heaney (1979) 56 pp Poetry / 150Y Challenge 35/150
32. A History of the Crusades II by Steven Runciman (1952) 385 pp Non-Fiction / War Room
33. A History of the Crusades III by Steven Runciman (1954) 401 pp Non-Fiction / War Room

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
1. Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad
2. A History of the Crusades I by Steven Runciman
3. A History of the Crusade II by Steven Runciman

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
APRIL - Barbara Pym & Anthony Trollope - Quartet in Autumn

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



JANUARY - Mark Twain
FEBRUARY - Susan Sontag
MARCH - Truman Capote
APRIL - Non-Fiction - The Sweet Science by AJ Liebling

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 : 1951, 1954, 1955 1956, 1958, 1959


Row 7 : 1964, 1966, 1977


Row 8 : 1979, 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
5. Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad 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
The Blue Beautiful World by Karen Lord owned
And Then She Fell by Alicia Elliott

Up next Soldier Sailor by Claire Kilroy

Paul's Alternative Women's Prize Longlist

Current Ranking

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

6. Night Wherever We Go by Tracey Rose Peyton owned
7. I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai owned
8. Julia by Sandra Newman owned
9. Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward 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 The House of Broken Bricks

Books Added in 2024

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

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

March books 74-104
https://www.librarything.com/topic/359405#8476551

105. Rachel Ray by Anthony Trollope
106. He Knew He Was Right by Anthony Trollope
107. The Museum of Innocence by Orhan Pamuk
108. The Bookbinder of Jericho by Pip Williams
109. A Hero Born by Jin Yong
110. The Dream of Enlightenment by Anthony Gottlieb
111. A Short History of Decay by E.M. Cioran
112. Not a River by Selva Almada
113. Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck
114. The Wager by David Grann
115. The Unwilling by John Hart
116. The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth
117. Ripley Under Ground by Patricia Highsmith
118. Justice : What's the Right Thing to Do? by Michael J Sandel
119. You Can't Stop the Sun from Shining by Sonny Bill Williams
120. Undiscovered by Gabriela Wiener
121. A Decent World by Ellen Hawley
122. The Ascent by Stefan Hertmans
123. Acts of Desperation by Megan Nolas
124. Crooked Plow by Itamar Vieira Junior

Book Stats

Books Read : 33
Pages Read in completed books : 9,714 pp

Longest book : The Brothers York : 572 pp
Shortest book : Field Work : 56 pp
Mean book length : 294.36 pp

Books written by men : 18
Books written by women : 15

Non-Fiction : 12
Fiction : 15
Poetry : 3
Thriller : 2
Drama : 1

1920's : 1 book
1930's : 1 book
1950's : 7 books
1960's : 1 book
1970's : 2 books
1980's : 1 book
2000's : 5 books
2010's : 6 books
2020's : 9 books

UK Authors : 18
US Authors : 9
Ireland Authors : 3
France Authors : 1
Malaysia Authors : 1
New Zealand Authors : 1

Nobel Winners : 1 (79/120)
Carnegie Medal Winners : 1 (6th overall)
1001 Books : 1

Read : 33 books
Added : 120 books

Change to TBR : +87

Welcome to my 10th thread of 2024.

Happy New Thread Paul!!!

>15 Owltherian: Thank you, Lily. I may be a bit slow today as I am about to follow Hani to my late mother in law's grave. It is customary to do so during religious festivals.

>16 PaulCranswick: That will be totally fine.

Happy new thread!

>1 PaulCranswick: Still think Al-Andalus was the last chance Humanity had to be better creatures, and the christians rampageously burned, slashed, and destroyed it. On purpose and maliciously. Awful thing, religion.

New thread orisons, PC.

>17 Owltherian: Thank you.

>18 amanda4242: Thanks Amanda - lovely to see you as always.

>19 richardderus: I do tend to agree with that, RD. So much evil has been perpetrated in the name of religion that the problem must be religion itself organised in a way to propagate fear and hatred rather than the love and tolerance they were intended towards.

Lovely to see you here so bright and early, dear fellow.

Happy new one, Paul!!

>22 Berly: Thank you, dear Kimmers!

Happy new thread Paul!

Still spreading war and mayhem in reading lists I see.

>24 quondame: Thank you, Susan. I am still doing my utmost, dear lady!

Happy new thread (again!)

>26 jessibud2: Thank you (as usual) dear Shelley. xx

Happy new thread!

>28 figsfromthistle: Thank you, Anita. x

Happy New Thread, Paul. I look forward to your thoughts on Enter Ghost. I just finished reading Ordinary Human Failings, and I think it is the best of the 6 books from the Women's Prize Long-list that I have read so far.

>30 vancouverdeb: Thanks Deb. Nolan's book and a few more are not yet in the shops here which is a bit frustrating to be honest. Exit West is scrapping with Anne Enright for bottom spot as it stands.

The International Booker Shortlist was announced on 9 April 2024



Not a River by Selva Almada Owned
What I'd Rather Not Think About by Jente Posthuma
Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck Owned
Mater 2-10 by Hwang Sok-Yong
Crooked Plow by Itamar Vieira Junior
The Details by Ia Genberg Owned

As the next post will show I have three / half of the shortlist and I am on the lookout for the rest.

Holiday additions

112. Not a River by Selva Almada
113. Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck
114. The Wager by David Grann
115. The Unwilling by John Hart
116. The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth
117. Ripley Under Ground by Patricia Highsmith
118. Justice : What's the Right Thing to Do? by Michael J Sandel
119. You Can't Stop the Sun from Shining by Sonny Bill Williams

Happy new thread, Paul!

>1 PaulCranswick: I don't think so, the Ottomans controlled large parts of Eastern Europe for a long time. They came twice to the gates of Vienna (in 1529 and 1683).

>34 FAMeulstee: Yes that is true, Anita, but Andalus was the furthest west they came.

Good morning Paul!

>35 PaulCranswick: The furthest west was the south of what is now Portugal, part of the Caliphate of Córdoba.
The northern expansion was stopped deep into present day France, at the Battle of Poitiers in 732.

Happy new thread, Paul. Now I need to go back to the top and catch up with the details.

>36 Owltherian: Morning, Lily.

>37 FAMeulstee: The battle of Poitiers was featured in my set-up thread last year, but they didn't manage to settle the area.
Whilst I am not in any way the authority on the spread of Islam into Europe and the Iberian peninsula in particular, it must be said that Cordoba is of course part of Andalucia and is in Spain. The Caliphate of Cordoba fractured due largely to internal divisions and you are certainly right that the Caliphate did rule and convert a considerable part of Southern Portugal.

>38 Kristelh: Lovely to see you, Kristel.

>19 richardderus: Yes, when all religion is suppressed, as in North Korea, or Albania under Enver Hoxha, or at least discouraged, as in China, everyone lives in happiness and harmony.

>21 PaulCranswick: If only religions were exclusively practised by angels instead of flawed human beings.

>41 booksaplenty1949: Hahaha that is an excellent point too! I'm not against religion myself and admit readily to my muslim faith (I am currently celebrating the end of Ramadan).

Where it is a problem is when it is "organized" or dictated. The same problem applies when the state degree of an atheist society and indeed the examples you cite would determine that it is often worse.

My belief is that one's faith is a private matter between us and whatever deity or non-deity we believe in. Compulsion is taking us along to Orwell's Thought Police.

>42 booksaplenty1949: Or that people just be left in peace with their beliefs as long as they don't impinge harmfully upon others.

There is a far cry from the angels in deeming someone worthy of being persecuted or put to death because they don't share our belief system.

>44 PaulCranswick: All religions which have attracted and held significant numbers of followers have the common goals of loving God and loving one’s neighbour as oneself. Nothing else can permanently engage the human heart. But the idea that these goals are best achieved by letting people come voluntarily to belief, rather than at gunpoint, seems to be one that humanity has been slow to embrace. I do not think that we can blame God for the all-too-human desire to have everyone practise *my* religion, *my* way. Many entirely secular political ideologies also take the position that “we’re taking away your freedom for your own good.” Humans be like that.

>45 booksaplenty1949: Wouldn't argue with much of that.

Happy New Thread, Paul. I finally read The Talented Mr. Ripley, in preparation for this new series. I also watched the Matt Damon film version. How is it so far?

>47 msf59: Will finish it in an hour or so, Mark. Patricia Highsmith was a great stylist in her terse understated way.

>48 PaulCranswick: Much as I enjoyed movie versions of Highsmith’s novels I found her writing too cynical and misanthropic to be enjoyable. Not surprised to learn what a shitshow her personal life was; her bitterness exudes in her prose.

Happy new thread, Paul

Happy new thread, Paul!

>49 booksaplenty1949: Cynical certainly but very strangely absorbing too, I think.

>50 ArlieS: Thank you dear Arlie.

>51 bell7: Thanks Mary. Nice to see you as always.

BOOK #26



The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
Date of Publication : 1955
Origin of Author : USA
Gender of Author : Female
Pages : 249 pp
Challenges : 1001 Books; 150 Y Challenge 32/150

A strained study in personal hysteria; the compulsion to greed, self-preservation and violence.

The TV series (which is taut and well done) does fairly faithful justice to Highsmith's book. I suspect that there are a lot more people in the world that resemble Ripley than we can safely imagine.

Recommended as a highly-strung period piece of noir fiction.

>54 PaulCranswick: I love the Ripley book series and reread the first in anticipation of the TV series, but was so disappointed by the first episode I may not bother with the rest. The series has a great visual style and I like the music, but it felt bloated and there are a bunch of little changes (like Ripley trying to cash the checks he scammed) that add up to making Ripley a different sort of villain than he is in the books.

>55 amanda4242: There are subtle changes in the TV show but I thought it was generally very well done to be fair, Amanda. A bit slow but so is the book in a creeping menace sort of way.

>2 PaulCranswick: I want to watch that but thought I should read the book first. Just got it from the library but have not started it yet. Looking forward to it.

>57 hredwards: The TV show prompted me to read it too Harold so Netflix must be doing something right!

>32 PaulCranswick:, >33 PaulCranswick: I'm glad the Details made the cut. Very interesting book.

Ripley Under Ground! I'd forgotten that I had read that book until you mentioned it. Enjoy when you get there. The Wager is on my wishlist, with tens of thousands of others...the publisher said no to my DRC request.

>32 PaulCranswick: Forgot to say Happy New Thread!!
I'm a bit slow today, I read your list and my first thought was, "Wow! Three authors all with the surname Owned."
I figured it out.

Hi Paul - just logged on and see you have a new thread well under way. I read a few of the Ripley novels some years ago. I loved the Matt Damon film and also liked the subsequent one with John Malkovich.
Around the time I joined LT, I read a biography of Highsmith whose life was quite unhappy.

I'm currently reading Knight Crusader by Ronald Welch, a double hit for me as it won the 1954 Carnegie Medal (UK). I didn't realise that this was the first in a 13 book series about the Carey family through the ages ending with Tank Commander set in WW1.

>59 richardderus: I do feel, RD, that I am almost spoiled for choice in my reading these days - my TBR has a veritable wealth of books and I have difficulty in explaining to SWMBO why I simply need to get more!

>60 hredwards: Hahaha Harold you must have been a little tired!

>61 avatiakh: I will read the next installment fairly soon, I feel, Kerry. Especially since I just added it.

That sounds an interesting series.

Happy new one, Paul!

>64 drneutron: Thank you, Jim.

BOOK #27



Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad
Date of Publication : 2023
Origin of Author : UK
Gender of Author : Female
Pages : 319 pp
Challenges : Women's Prize Longlist (5/16)

Hamlet is a tragedy.
Israel/Palestine is a tragedy.
Hamlet is timeless.
Israel/Palestine is topically timeless.
Hamlet speaks of dispossession and greed
Israel/Palestine speaks of dispossession and greed
Shakespeare's writing was majestic.
Hammad's writing is serviceable.
Hamlet will be read centuries hence.
Enter Ghost will not have a readership into the next decade.

Happy New Thread!

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/359999

>67 SilverWolf28: Thanks Silver

>68 SilverWolf28: And again. I have a free weekend for the first time in ages. I have finished two books in the last 24 hours and hope to get at least three more over the line during the weekend.

>66 PaulCranswick: Nice review of Enter Ghost. I agree, Enter Ghost will not have a readership in the next decade. I'll have to check my library and see how many - if any - holds are on the book. That may change if - a dreaded thought - it ends up on the shortlist. But then I am not sure how many people check prize lists for their reading, other than we avid LT folks.

>70 vancouverdeb: If she could have gotten us interested in her characters then she would have had a chance, Deb, but sadly it was not to be.

>69 PaulCranswick: Hurray for a free weekend and lots of reading!! What are your next reads gonna be?

>72 Berly: Hi Kimmers the three currently on the go are :
History of the Crusades : Volume 1, Quartet in Autumn and The Way We Live Now

>70 vancouverdeb: The new LT helper badges which have encouraged members to add “Awards and Honors” to a book’s main page have brought to my attention the plethora of book awards out there. Some awards, including the Pulitzers, allow anyone to make a nomination, for a fee. There are many services to help you get your book nominated for awards. As one I looked at points out “No matter what genre, writing style, or type of author you are, there are book awards waiting to grace the cover of your book.” Checking prize lists for one’s reading obviously a personal choice, but no recipe for avoiding duds, IMHO.

>70 vancouverdeb: Out of 5 of the Women's Prize Longlist that I have read so far two have been let-downs for me or duds as you colorfully term them. You are absolutely right that award nominations do not necessarily a good book prove.

One more addition today:

120. Undiscovered by Gabriela Wiener

Another of the International Booker Longlist

As soon as I have wished you a happy new thread, the next one starts.
I'm out of breath and can't keep up.
So Happy New Thread my friend!

>66 PaulCranswick: I like your review far more than I would have liked the book.

>77 SirThomas: My heartfelt apologies, Thomas, for inflicting on-line asthma!

>78 avatiakh: Yeah, I don't recommend to read it, Kerry.

BOOK # 28



Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym
Date of Publication : 1977
Origin of Author : UK
Gender of Author : Female
Pages : 186 pp
Challenges : BAC; 150Y Challenge 33/150

A gentle comedy of manners. Sometimes wistful. Sometimes charming. Sometimes witty. Always engaging.

>80 PaulCranswick: I so very deeply loved this story! Such a deeply felt end to her career.

Happy new thread, Paul!

>81 richardderus: She handled very subtly, RD, the different ways in which we age and what has to be faced with limited means.

>82 atozgrl: Thank you Irene.

BOOK #29



A History of the Crusades I by Steven Runciman
Date of Publication : 1951
Origin of Author : UK
Gender of Author : Male
Pages : 281 pp
Challenges : War Room / 150Y Challenge 34/150

There is a reason that works of non-fiction stay in print more than 70 years after publication. That reason is that they are bloody good.

On a subject that I profess a poor knowledge of, Runciman brings the world and the period to life in a very balanced and fair recounting of the Byzantine mores.

Took me up to 1100 and the crowning of Baldwin (not Alec thank God) and I will continue with Volume II presently.

>66 PaulCranswick: Review is THAT good!

>85 Tess_W: I like to mix up my reviews a bit, Tess, and be a bit innovative where I am able to be and when the fancy takes me. I think we are supposed to convey our impression of it rather than spoil the "story" for another reader.

>1 PaulCranswick: Now we're talking! al-Andalus is my area of interest, specifically eleventh century taifa period after the collapse of the Caliphate. A great deal of turmoil and instability and also a cultural ferment with many new developments in poetry, music, visual arts.

The Moors in Spain: a raiding party gone spectacularly successful in 711, even though the leadership died in ignominy after being recalled to explain themselves. The backwater of Islam that allowed the sole Umayyad to escape his family's slaughter and establish a new dynasty despite the Abbasids in his former home. The nexus with Africa that funneled gold into Europe to fund the building of the great cathedrals among other things (and slaves into Africa for a time). The crucible of knowledge that translated the works of Ancient Greece and Rome into Arabic (and built upon and expanded scientific knowledge and feats of engineering) and led to "rediscovery" of the classics by medieval Europe. A complex, plural society that went through cycles of liberality and fundamentalism, tolerance and repression, a fusion of so many cultures, from previous waves of colonization (Celts, Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Suebi, Vandals, Visigoths) through new waves of immigrants both internally within the peninsula and from further abroad.

>87 justchris: What an excellent and enthusiastic post, Chris. Yes, it is a fascinating period and I hadn't quite realized just how much so.

Happy new thread Paul!

>89 humouress: Thanks Nina. xx

Just want to say a big thank you to everyone who has posted to my threads this year.

This is the 3,004th post this year.

Congrats Paul. We all enjoy you and that is why you have so many visitors.

>92 Kristelh: Thank you, Kristel. I know I am certainly not everyone's cup of tea but I am grateful for all my friends here.

Here are stats on books read as far as I can tell.

There are 89 threads with more than 60 posts.
87 of those threads show books read in one shape or another. I cannot fathom what and how many books Paws and Shelley have read so I haven't included them here.

Some extraordinary reading.

1 justchris 162
2 karenmarie 134
3 klobrien 116
4 Alcottacre 99
5 Whisper1 92
6 Curioussquared 89
7 amanda4242 85
8 richardderus 83
9 Familyhistorian 72
10 CDVicarage 66
11 quondame 65
12 Elorin 61
13 scaifea 61
14 katiekrug 57
15 hredwards 54
16 catseyegreen 52
17 foggidawn 52
18 (Sir)Thomas 49
19 avatiakh 48
20 Tess_W 48
21 vivians 48
22 msf59 44
23 FAMeulstee 43
24 fuzzi 43
25 Arlie 41
26 jnwelch 41
27 lindapanzo 39
28 sibylline 37
29 BLBera 36
30 bell7 35
31 cbl_tn 35
32 kristel 35
33 LyndainOregon 35
34 Berly 34
35 figsfromthistle 33
36 kac522 33
37 WhiteRaven.17 32
38 witchyrichy 32
39 mahsdad 31
40 streamsong 31
41 tiffin 31
42 weird_o 31
43 Banjo 30
44 lycomayflower 30
45 mdoris 30
46 mickyfine 29
47 PaulCranswick 29
48 thornton37814 29
49 carmenere 28
50 ChrisG 28
51 storeetller 28
52 donna 27
53 drneutron 27
54 mstrust 27
55 EllaTim 26
56 humouress 26
57 norabelle414 26
58 swynn 24
59 EBT 23
60 laytonwoman3rd 23
61 AMQS 22
62 chelle 20
63 copperskye 20
64 lauralkeet 20
65 Caroline_McElwee 19
66 dianeham 19
67 The_Hibernator 19
68 ffortsa 18
69 atozgirl 17
70 LizzieD 17
71 owltherian 17
72 walklover 17
73 RebaRelishesReading 16
74 ronireads 16
75 SandDune 16
76 ursula 16
77 vancouverdeb 16
78 ctpress 15
79 lkernagh 14
80 lyzard 14
81 John Simpson 13
82 Oberon 13
83 SuzyQOregon 13
84 Lovinglit 12
85 PlatinumWarlock 12
86 ravenwoodwitch 9
87 SqueakyChu 4

>84 PaulCranswick: I am about half-way through vol 3 and regard this entire work as a high-point of my recent reading. I admit I can’t keep track of the names, but I’m going for the big picture, let’s just say, and Runciman is masterful at both the concise overview and the telling detail that brings the situation alive. The religious situation in the Crusades is beyond complex. In this volume I have learned that many tribes in Outer Mongolia had been Nestorian Christians but subsequently became Buddhists, while Jenghiz Khan, as Runciman calls him, was a Shamanist who liked to consult both Christian and Moslem clergy. Alliances constantly cross religious lines throughout Runciman’s account. He entitles one chapter which describes the Sack of Constantinople by armies of the Fourth Crusade “The Crusade Against Christians.”

>95 booksaplenty1949: It is a stunning piece of work isn't it?

Hi Paul! Happy newest thread.

>2 PaulCranswick: I’ve got The Talented Mr. Ripley and the final one, Ripley Under Water, on my shelves. Sigh. Many of thousands of TBR books, alas.

>33 PaulCranswick: I have every other book by John Hart except The Unwilling. I love his style and that he writes about my part of NC.

>54 PaulCranswick: highly-strung period piece of noir fiction definitely works for me on occasion.

>62 PaulCranswick: Reading is a completely different compulsion than acquiring and having books on our shelves, isn’t it?

>84 PaulCranswick: Well damn. I forgot that I have the 3-volume slip cased set published by the Folio Society in 1994. Too many books, too little time.

>94 PaulCranswick: Color me surprised, remembering, of course, that I’m almost exclusively reading contemporary fiction, MM romances. 2, 134. (2 – 1) + 3 + 4 = 8.

>97 karenmarie: Love your posts as always, Karen.

Your reading numbers these last couple of years are superlative. There are a couple of other big hitters (Silver and Suz in particular) who have big reading numbers but not yet 60 posts.

>96 PaulCranswick: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_the_Crusades#:~:text=It%20is%20nevert.... Happy to see that it is still regarded as important from a scholarly as well as a literary perspective.

>99 booksaplenty1949: Scholarly is exactly the right word for it. The books ooze learning.

>94 PaulCranswick: I have finished 25 books so far this year, according to my LT “Graphs and Charts” page. Have really appreciated your Challenges and tangential comments from you and others on LT that have encouraged me to read around a topic—-often involving books I’ve owned unread for years—-in a way that makes me eager to get from one book to the next. Not that I haven’t had my nose stuck in a book my whole life, but this is a kind of second summer. Thanks to all.

>101 booksaplenty1949: You are most welcome and I must also add that I have really enjoyed your thoughtful, intelligent and insightful contributions here and elsewhere in the group. Long may it continue. Have you not considered setting up a thread?

>100 PaulCranswick: Fortunately the tiny print of the innumerable footnotes in my edition does not tempt me to try to read them, but clearly he has consulted every original source on the subject.

>102 PaulCranswick: I did have regular entries in 2023 under the heading “Booksaplenty takes up the 75 Books challenge” but your welcome was the only comment all year. You have the gift of attracting an audience; I’m happy to just tag along.

>103 booksaplenty1949: Yes the footnotes are detailed and difficult to read without taking a lot of care.

>104 booksaplenty1949: You will always be made most welcome here!

Happy not-so-new thread, Paul! Love to see the stats as always and am somewhat surprised to see myself so high up. This whole not having a job thing is doing wonders for my reading numbers.

>94 PaulCranswick: Scrolling through and this caught my eye - and made me realize I've been doing a terrible job at keeping the list of read books updated. I just fixed it though - I'm at 20.

>94 PaulCranswick: I do seem to have shifted to a lower gear this year. I console myself that I'm spending some time writing, but I know it's not the larger part of the time I would have previously been reading.

>87 justchris: I know amazingly little about that period, given my fascination with history

>91 PaulCranswick: Yikes! 3004 posts and climbing!

>95 booksaplenty1949: That's a really good chapter title.

More memorable non-fiction comes in 80 Trees Around the World with Durian from Malaysia!

>94 PaulCranswick: I think you missed me. I've read 154 books so far this year.

>111 SilverWolf28: OMG! We’re only at Day 104 of 2024—that’s 1 1/2 books a day!

>109 ArlieS: A tiny sample of Runciman’s ability to nutshell complex ideas.

>106 curioussquared: Thank you, Natalie. Your reading this year has been as impressive as always.

>107 ursula: Thank you, Ursula. I am always pleased to be corrected or updated and I am aware that it is a bit obvious sometimes that some of us update faster than others. I will adjust accordingly.

>108 quondame: You have kept a heck of a reading pace since you joined the group, Susan, especially with almost monthly TIOLI sweeps.

>109 ArlieS: I had to say the same, Arlie. I suppose the Crusades are not taught that much in the Western system because it doesn't cover those nations particularly in glory and would require some acknowledgement of refinement on the part of the "infidel".

Hiya Paul! I just remembered i had read the first three books in the Heartstopper series for my bookclub so my count would be 20 :)

It doesn't really change my place in the list any, but I finished my 36th book of the year this morning and didn't update my thread 'til just now.

Always interesting to see how the list shakes out over the course of the year. You and I are still pretty close in books read, though not staying as closely paced to each other as we have in some years.

>110 m.belljackson: Have you tried durian, Marianne? One wag famously compared it to eating peaches and cream whilst sitting on the toilet.

>111 SilverWolf28: I didn't miss you, Silver. In fact my post >98 PaulCranswick: to Karen specifically acknowledged you. Unfortunately my cut off was all threads with 60 posts minimum and you currently have 37 posts. I am trying to widen the catchment to the top 140 threads. I had to so limit it as if I don't get the list up within a day or so it could be quickly out of date.

>112 booksaplenty1949: I know! Silver's reading is extraordinary isn't it? As is Chris with 162 books.

>113 booksaplenty1949: I think that a re-read a few years hence is a must too as there is siply so much to take in reading all three volumes together.

>116 Owltherian: I will update, Lily, but remember to put them on your thread too!

>117 bell7: I am picking up my pace again a little thankfully, Mary, but yes we do seem to throw up similar numbers year on year.

>120 PaulCranswick: I will, i read them a while back, but completely forgot until now!

>121 Owltherian: No problem, Lily. I will pick them up next time I update.

>119 PaulCranswick: I was surprised to find myself at the top of any list. It's pretty much all ebooks and audiobooks, and many of them are novella length, so it's easy to pack a lot in. And I just discovered Libby can do graphic novels too. Read 2 last night. And two more ebook novels today. I have a small problem.

>115 PaulCranswick: Yes, a clear-eyed view of the complexities of the Crusades interferes with good old propaganda and ideological spin. Muslims were in Iberia for 781 years, and then the Christians spent the next 500 years erasing and minimizing their impact on everything. It's only in the last couple of decades that Spanish historians are really unpacking a lot of that legacy. And I guess that's a microcosm of European scholarship more generally in the course and wake of empire/colonialism/genocide. Easier to justify such things when the Other is being "gifted" with Civilization because only northern Europe is civilized or something.

>123 justchris: I don’t think we have anything to teach Moslems about empire/colonialism/genocide. These are human problems, not something Christians/Europeans have any monopoly on.

>118 PaulCranswick: Oh okay, I missed>98 PaulCranswick:

>123 justchris: Your numbers are impressive in whatever format you are reading Chris!

The spread of Islam at that time appears enlightened and progressive compared to the situation of Christianity at the time - remembering that it was the Dark Ages in Europe. There was a flowering in art, architecture and the sciences that was not replicated in Europe until the renaissance.

>124 booksaplenty1949: If history teaches us anything it is that evil deeds come in many guises.

>125 SilverWolf28: Silver, I will expand my sample size the next time I do my update (early next month) and expect you to be on the podium!

>124 booksaplenty1949: Never claimed it was a monopoly situation. And I almost inserted an aside that the Europeans might have been trying to erase being on the receiving end of Islamic colonialism too. The reach of Islam in that era exceeded Christianity, reaching from China to Iberia, until the various Crusades and other conflicts started rolling that back. Was simply responding to earlier comments about not learning much about this era and particularly nothing favorable about the other side coming out of western educational systems.

>126 PaulCranswick: Yes, Paul's correct, compared to Christian society at the time, in many ways Islam was far more progressive in terms of women's rights and so on, if only for requiring literacy of everyone and employing many women in the mass production of Qurans, but also in terms of legal rights.

>126 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul! Too bad I'm not really back to writing reviews. That would certainly slow me down. Especially since I have utterly failed at the short form so beautifully modeled by Richard,

>128 justchris: It is funny how inverted things have become as fundamentalism has taken a hold on Islam in so many places. The rulers of Al-Andalus would doubtless have looked askance at Al-Queda, Hamas and the Taliban.

RD is a stylist when it comes to reviews.

I did love The Maiden and I loved it so much I pre - ordered her next book, The King's Witches , which is out in June of this year. I ordered it from Blackwell's since I have had not luck finding either on in Canada. Likely The Maiden won't make the shortlist, but a great read!

>129 PaulCranswick: I bow before RD. I'm not worthy! ;)

>130 vancouverdeb: It is a wonderful read, Deb. Not literary per se, but hugely enjoyable. Reminds me of Stacey Halls. I will definitely look out for whatever else she writes.

>131 justchris: That goes for so many of us, Chris.

BOOK #30



Loot by Tania James
Date of Publication : 2023
Origin of Author : USA
Gender of Author : Female
Pages : 289 pp
Challenges : Paul's Alternative Women's Prize Longlist 5/16

I don't really know what I expected from this book, but by golly it delivered much more than whatever it was I expected.

Historic fiction that charms as it propels and that fascinates as it narrates. I am a sucker for great storytelling and this was that and more. Amusing, empathetic and stirring.

I don't know how the Women's Prize judges failed to Longlist this book or Catherine Chidgey's. I could barely choose between them but if forced to pick one, it would be this one.

Fantastic.

BOOK #31



Field Work by Seamus Heaney
Date of Publication : 1979
Origin of Author : Ireland (UK - born in Northern Ireland)
Gender of Author : Male
Challenges : 150Y Challenge : 35/150

Some place this as the very apex of Heaney's achievements. I don't agree but he is always a slice or two above the ordinary.

Written during a four year sabbatical in County Wicklow and some of the poems here are enthused with pastoral ease. Heaney has a way of taking ordinary words and polishing them to be things of beauty alongside whimsical local phrasings.

I remember borrowing one of his collections from the mobile library as a boy of 12 or 13 and not really comprehending everything clearly but being enraptured by his magical use of words. This brought back similar feelings although my understanding is more solid nowadays.

Where does Heaney sit in the pantheon of 20th century poets - how does he compare with Yeats, Eliot, Dylan Thomas and his contemporary Ted Hughes. I don't really care to evaluate - he was a great poet if not the greatest of his age.

The collections got off to a great start with "Oysters" and its brilliant opening stanza:


Our shells clacked on the plates.
My tongue was a filling estuary,
My palate hung with starlight:
As I tasted the salty Pleiades
Orion dipped his foot into the water.

>126 PaulCranswick: Certainly true. We owe the survival of many earlier texts to Islamic scholars, for example, besides many original contributions. Too bad a form of Puritanism descended on Islamic art at a point. Religious/ideological “reaction” seems to be another human trait.

>129 PaulCranswick:, >128 justchris: *blush* Y'all stop!

>136 booksaplenty1949: The fundamentalism in parts of Islam today wouldn't be recognizable to its practitioners then, I feel.

>137 richardderus: Cap fits, Mr. Derus.

>135 PaulCranswick: Heaney’s Field Study definitely seems like one I must read sooner rather than later. Thanks for the excellent review!

Karen O

P.s. The touchstone for the book isn’t right. Having trouble locating the book—maybe a different title? I’m researching…

The name of the book is Field Work.

>139 klobrien2: Thanks for pointing that out, Karen, I have corrected my misstyping.

>139 klobrien2: Mystery solved! And it was beneficial to me in an unforeseen way—I found another book that looks interesting—Field Study: Meditations on a Year at the Herbarium by Helen Humphries.

And I’ve got a copy of the Heaney on its way to me!

Karen O

>118 PaulCranswick: No thanks on Durian, Paul - did you like it?

Following Jules Verne, Around the world in 80 Trees started with the London Plane...good memories for you?

>134 PaulCranswick: This sounds so good! I will have to look for it.

>134 PaulCranswick: Loot is a BB!

>141 klobrien2: That's good, Karen. I like reading Heaney out loud because it sounds so good!

>142 m.belljackson: I am somewhat ashamed to say that I don't like it, Marianne. Belle and I are anti-Durian - Yasmyne and Kyran love it and Hani is ok with it too.

>134 PaulCranswick: I was surprised just how good it was, Rhonda, as I went into reading it not expecting that much.

>135 PaulCranswick: A good solid read, Susan, for sure.

>119 PaulCranswick: Probably worth revisiting various chapters if/when one reads something that touches on a person/event/place discussed by Runciman.

>147 booksaplenty1949: I have already gone back and read parts. Absorbing.

>134 PaulCranswick: Tentative book bullet here. You liked it a lot, and since it didn't win, it might not be affected by whatever it is that makes prize winners sure not to work for me ;-)

>149 ArlieS: Didn't even get longlisted, Arlie. I liked Brotherless Night but I do think that both Loot and Pet are better novels.

>145 PaulCranswick: Back from London Plane to Durian:

The book offers that quote and a worse one which I wish I'd never read.

Sparing you that, here are a few fun facts - "an armored fruit which can easily weight 13 pounds" (!!!)
"Elephants will wait patiently (and bravely, one would have thought) for durians to fall.

-...a tree climber's delight..."
"...the tree's pollen is carried far and wide by bats."

"...best known for its love-them or hate-them fruit...the size of a rugby ball or bigger."
"In the Malay language, durian means thorn."

>151 m.belljackson: Close Marianne and I can see the derivative is there but the author is stretching it a little bit. Thorn in Bahasa Melayu is duri.

I have also seen it described (by Anthony Burgess, if I am not mistaken) as a sweet tasting cheesy, garlic flavoured custard.

We are posting a little better than last year after a fairly slow start.

Compared to last year we are approximately a week ahead in terms of posting:

In 2023 on 21 April the top 140 posts had managed 37,512 posts
In 2024 on 14 April (& not quite closing time) it stands at 37,602 posts

Yeah, I have been reading more than my usual this year, but I think that will slow down once I start tutoring in May. Happy to make the top 50 (of 60-posters) for now!!

And hurray for more posting! It is hard to keep up (especially here), but it makes LT more fun. : )

Have a great week Paul.

>154 Berly: To be fair the sample size was 89 threads, Kimmers, so 34th out of 89 is much better than the average bear!

>152 PaulCranswick: That seems an apt description of the flavour. I don't love it but I don't think I actually hate it; given its reputation I've always approached it cautiously.

Jack fruit is similar, I'm guessing, because the outside of the fruits look similar - but the fruit has a much firmer texture. My dad loves jack fruit (durian not so much) but to me, if it's not sweet, it can taste oniony. Don't let that put you off - I've never heard/ seen anyone else describe it that way.

>156 humouress: I prefer jackfruit, Nina, because it doesn't have that duriany tendency towards a slimy texture.

I get that oniony thing too.

BOOK #32



A History of the Crusades II by Steven Runciman
Date of Publication : 1952
Origin of Author : UK
Gender of Author : Male
Pages : 385 pp
Challenges : The War Room

Runciman is my erudite uncle in patched cardigan and corduroy trousers. He has me immersed in a period and history I had hardly given a thought to until preparing this challenge and I feel so much the better for it.

Our second installment begins with Baldwin I taking occupation of Jerusalem and goes through the petty intrigues on the Christian side through to the emergence of the brilliant, wise and merciful Saladin and winds up with the devastating Battle of Hattin.

The Second Crusade was a failure and utterly so but it did bring to prominence a hero in the Islamic world for the first and possibly last time since the era of its founders whose star has never been equalled.

Straight onto Volume 3.

>94 PaulCranswick: Again in the Tpo 20!
Thank you so much for the stats, Paul.
Have a wonderful start into the week.

>149 ArlieS: When I’ve participated in SantaThing I have always stipulated (along with “no fantasy or sci-fi”) “no book that has won a prize of any kind.” With the current plethora of prizes this pretty well rules out anything written in the last twenty years.

>159 SirThomas: You are a consistent kind of guy, what else can I say, Thomas?!

>160 booksaplenty1949: I have certainly learned over the years that awards being bestowed upon a book are little indication that I will actually it.

Heya Paul

Happy Monday, Lily.

Im not having a great day so far, i have cried twice (possibly more) and may get grounded due to my grades. I also failed the biology retake quiz, and got told 'its your fault' for failing the algebra one.

>164 Owltherian: Two subjects I detested were algebra and biology (physics too really), so I can sympathize.

>165 PaulCranswick: Its like everything is on my shoulders as well as my parents wanting me to be better than everyone else...

>166 Owltherian: I'm sure that they just want you to do your best.

>167 PaulCranswick: I talked to my biology teacher and tomorrow I'm going to come afterschool & I'm very close to crying and i am not sitting on two assessment 0's

*sigh* The two parts on this history assignment are THE SAME- The Incident & Description of Event ARE THE SAME THING LIKE AGHHHHH.

P.S. The assignment is on the battles of the Cold War

>66 PaulCranswick: I was disappointed with Isabella Hammad's The Parisian as well, (as were most people in my book group). I don't quite understand why she gets such good reviews!

Hope you had a good Monday!

>152 PaulCranswick: Anthony Burgess, if book is correct, said "eating sweet raspberry blancmange..."

Alfred Russel Wallace went on for about a paragraph, ending with:

"In fact to eat Durians is a new sensation, worth a voyage to the East to experience."

^^^^^

Are there still signs up telling people not to bring them into hotels, etc., because of the overwhelming smell...?

>166 Owltherian: My kids have the same complaint ;0)

All parents know/ expect that their kids are better than everyone else.

>173 humouress: It makes me a lot more stressed, and if anything they say its my fault i fail tests & quizzes

Yeah, yeah. I am 170+ posts behind once again. I will point out though that no one can keep up with you, Paul. I am not even sure that you can keep up with you!

Seriously, thank you so much for keeping my thread alive and your concern for your 'sis' over the weekend. Your brotherhood is very much appreciated.

Happy whatever!!

>172 m.belljackson: Heh. I binged Molly Harper's various urban romantic fantasy series. And in one of her stories (Nice Girls Don't Live Forever), the bad guy bombs the heroine's front porch with a ripe durian, and it's so noxious, it drives her out of her home for a few days.

>157 PaulCranswick:, >156 humouress: That onion-y thing is one big reason US veggies use jackfruit as a more palatable meat substitute. Fewer people have the same texture rejection response than do to tofu, especially silky tofu which really weirds Americans out.

>156 humouress:, >177 richardderus: The texture of jackfruit means it gets used as a vegan substitute for such things as pulled pork; it definitely does the stringy thing well. So any sort of onion-y flavor can only add to its value as such. I did not grow up with tofu and was definitely weirded out by its texture but have grown to love it as an adult. Not much experience with silky tofu yet, mostly as a cream cheese substitute for baking.

>176 justchris: Thanks, justchris - I read the first few LT reviews and am amazed that one durian could mess up a vampire!

>168 Owltherian: Your teacher seems to be approachable at least, Lily.

>169 Owltherian: I like history, Lily,and so long as you understand the event you will be able to describe it fine.

>170 SandDune: Appreciation is subjective, Rhian, isn't it? I watched a booktuber yesterday rank the longlist and he had Enright and Hammad as two of the top three. The mind boggles.

>171 The_Hibernator: Actually, Rachel, it was pretty good. Back to work which was about due and a nice lazy evening with the boss!

>180 PaulCranswick: Ah, i figured it out thankfully and finished it!

>180 PaulCranswick: yeah, she is, and we made a plan thankfully

>172 m.belljackson: Yes Marianne, the fruit is still not allowed into most hotels and many apartment buildings. If you have transported them you will realise that the pungent smell will linger in your vehicle for days on end.

>173 humouress: My three are quite different individuals academically. Yasmyne was a very diligent student, Kyran intelligent but lazy and Belle practical rather than academic. At times you wouldn't think they came from the same parents!

>174 Owltherian: Of course, Lily, to be fair you do have to take ownership of your own self! You are the one doing the tests and if the tests are failed it is you that failed them. That said recrimination is not the answer - it is finding out how not to fail the tests so that you do better next time.

>175 alcottacre: You are most welcome, dear lady. And you're right - I can't keep up either!

>176 justchris: It is a divisive fruit, Chris. You normally either love it or abhor it. I am in the latter camp and would be one of those avoiding the home for a few days!

>177 richardderus: I get that too, RD. Jackfruit wins out for me - not a smelly and not slimy. I am not a huge fan of silky tofu either in all honesty.

>178 justchris: I am having difficulty imagining silky tofu as a cream cheese substitute, Chris.

>179 m.belljackson: Even vampires are brought low by the Queen of Fruits!

>182 Owltherian: That is good news, Lily.

>184 PaulCranswick: The test was about presentages- i don't know how to do them sadly enough and apparently i don't know the difference between a hypotonic & hypertonic situation either

>186 PaulCranswick: For cheesecakes, something i really miss. And presumably quiches as well.

>179 m.belljackson: Well, to be fair, Molly Harper's interpretation of vampires is that regular human food smells like the worst of sewage/baby diarrhea/whathaveyou after they transition, making them want to vomit or something, so durian would be like an olfactory thermonuclear strike. The vampires often pine for the foods they used to love, and the synthetic blood manufacturers are always trying to create substitutes for things like chocolate flavor. Kinda reminds me of all the attempts at substitutes for vegans, dairy-free, etc. I sure as hell miss cheese a lot, but my body just won't accept it any more.

>181 PaulCranswick: One looks at a fellow LTer’s reviews, nodding along with his/her insightful assessments, until !! ACK !! a favourite book is trashed, or a worthless piece of tripe is given five stars! WHAT were they thinking!? But good to see evidence that each one of us is unique.

>188 Owltherian: See that is why biology sucks - put like that it seems determined to confuse and confound and it is all water or the lack of it!

>189 justchris: Looks like Molly Harper's imagination has gone way beyond Bram Stoker!

>190 booksaplenty1949: I know! Especially when the reviewer is someone we normally are in agreement with.

>186 PaulCranswick:, >178 justchris: If you whirl it up, it does a good job imitating the texture of cream cheese....the flavor, nope, and that's where I get testy.

>193 richardderus: Yeah RD, I can see the texture but I don't see it as a replacement for cream cheese especially in a non-savoury sense.

>194 PaulCranswick: Sugar does wonders, as does pandan, date paste, and jaggery! (Not all in the same dish, ew.)

>195 richardderus: Now pandan I do like, RD.

BOOK #33



A History of the Crusades III by Steven Runciman
Date of Publication : 1954
Origin of Author : UK
Gender of Author : Male
Pages : 401 pp
Challenges : The War Room

Deservedly still in print seventy years after publication, this is the concluding volume of Runciman's erudite meander through the extended period of the folly of the Crusades.

This is probably the period most familiar to British readers as it features Richard the Lionheart, Acre, Saladin and the chivalry and respect between the two of them.

What an excellent three volume series of books about a difficult subject cogently rendered into an understandable and enthralling narrative.

Not a fan of either durian or tofu. I did appreciate the reading stats, though. There are lots of confirmed bookaholics among the 75ers. I can see that I should keep my write ups current if you are going to be posting those numbers again.

>198 Familyhistorian: If you notice me making a huge number of posts across the threads, Meg, then I am probably updating the stats.

>80 PaulCranswick: I remember enjoying this for. The second time a few years back Paul.

>191 PaulCranswick: I got the same answers wrong in that quiz because of it! Its freaking stupid & I'm failing her class anyways.

>200 Caroline_McElwee: It has more depth than its pages would normally indicate, Caroline.

>201 Owltherian: I don't really see how the difference between the two terms should determine success or failure in biology, Lily.

>203 PaulCranswick: I have a cell test today- wish me luck because i barely remember anythingggg

Apropos of nothing except my rich sense of accomplishment, I have finished Splendeurs et misères des courtisanes, which I have been reading since February. A hefty volume picked up far away and long ago at a once-famous bookstore which I see went out of business in 2010. But the book’s patient wait on the shelf has been rewarded, although like so many of us its formerly pristine exterior is now a mass of creases.

>204 Owltherian: Good luck, Lily.

>205 booksaplenty1949: Honore de Balzac is one of my absolute favourite authors.

>206 PaulCranswick: I think i did okay on it- but im not totally sure and then i had a checkpoint test in algebra & my grade went down to a 69.05 and it was a 100.00% due to the test with presentages

>206 PaulCranswick: Looking ahead to May, and having previously read War and Peace, Vanity Fair, La Chartreuse de Parme, and even How Far from Austerlitz?, I have decided to make Balzac’s Une tenebreuse affaire my Napoleonic Wars choice.

>207 Owltherian: You are bringing back the angst of exams for me, Lily!

>208 booksaplenty1949: I read that one aeons ago and remember really liking it. I haven't decided what I will read next month as yet.

>209 PaulCranswick: Heh, i just had to color two pictures for the last 2 hours for biology

>210 Owltherian: That sounds like something even I could have managed too!

>211 PaulCranswick: My hands hurt, but at least i got them done!

>197 PaulCranswick: I am still working on The Thirty Years War and have high hopes of finishing it before the end of the month. I would love to read Runciman's trilogy too!

Happy whatever, brother!

>199 PaulCranswick: I'm so far behind on the threads that I don't think I'd pick up the fact that you'd made a large number of posts across the threads, Paul. I can barely keep up with my own thread.

>212 Owltherian: Hands aching in lieu of brain pain is a good swap!

>213 alcottacre: I know you like good non-fiction, Stasia, and Runciman is exceptional non-fiction.

>214 Familyhistorian: Ha! maybe so, Meg, because I try to do it as quickly as possible so that the results are more accurate.

Have you seen the news stories about Trump falling asleep in court? I wonder what that says about his mental acuity, even though I have never doubted that he has any mental acuity at all. The news here was filled with the pictures of him asleep. Steven Colbert joked about it extensively on his late night comedy program. I wonder when the news will go international and let the world in on the secret that Trump is a doddering old man?

>217 benitastrnad: I would take the view that with him it is not a mental acuity issue per se, Benita - he is simply stark raving loony to begin with. A terrible misogynist and power crazy.
Whatever one's views about some of the legal cases against him, the fact remains that his behaviour in trying to frustrate the handover of power when he lost the 2020 election should disbar him permanently from holding high office.
I certainly don't think that the rest of the world views Trump positively, and rightly not.

>215 PaulCranswick: Thats very true!

>218 PaulCranswick: Apparently he drinks a lot of Diet Coke—a significant source of caffeine—-throughout a normal day. No food or beverages allowed in the courtroom, of course. Have always thought that a 77-year-old is foolish to play the age card against an opponent. Could be coming back to bite him.

>219 Owltherian: Hope you are having a good day, Lily.

>220 booksaplenty1949: I don't think it is a matter of age exactly. I believe that there are pretty obvious signs of decline in Joe Biden and scarily so but Trump was and is uncouth and somewhat unhinged and that will certainly never improve with age!

>221 PaulCranswick: I got to burn a Jack Pine Pinecone! It was really cool!

>221 PaulCranswick: Didn’t mean to suggest that he would be an attractive candidate at any age.

>222 Owltherian: Interesting because in fire there is renewal when it comes to the Jack Pine.

>223 booksaplenty1949: Hahaha I figured as much.

>224 PaulCranswick: We even got some seeds out of them!

>225 Owltherian: Glad to see you having a happier day at school

>226 PaulCranswick: Im in English right now, and I'm working on something I'm missing

>227 Owltherian: My favourite class in school.

>228 PaulCranswick: Im working on The Heros Journey and its kinda boring but i need to get it done and luckily i only have 5 squares left

>218 PaulCranswick: Also agree that mental acuity isn't the issue. He is, to me, simply the classic con man - utterly lacking in moral scruples. He has that capacity to believe whatever he needs to believe to justify acting however he pleases. And yes, he's old. Struggling to stay awake during mostly boring court proceedings is no surprise.

>229 Owltherian: I have no idea what that is, Lily.

>230 ChrisG1: Well at the least I can say that his scruples are not mine.

Im about to start crying...i was told to hang myself.....BY THE WOLFIE PERSON AGAIN....I'm about to just delete my account and never come back at this point

I think the problem is solved.....i think

>232 Owltherian: That other group seems toxic, Lily, I must say.

>233 Owltherian: I hope so.

She says she is going to start fresh, and so ig we are friendsish for now idk.

Here's the next readathon https://www.librarything.com/topic/360200

>216 PaulCranswick: I'm even further behind now, Paul, but hope to get caught up. I believe you said your next pass at the book reading stats would be towards the beginning of May. Is that right?

>235 Owltherian: Ok, Lily. I hope it works out ok.

>236 SilverWolf28: Thank you, Silver.

>237 Familyhistorian: Yes, that is about right, Meg.

>238 PaulCranswick: She's actually quite nice, well now that i have let her have a fresh start, plus she gets to have her other friends back :)

>240 Owltherian: That is magnanimous of you, Lily.

>215 PaulCranswick: Glad to hear that, Paul, as I ordered all 3 volumes :)

Happy whatever!

Lunchtime book additions

121. A Decent World by Ellen Hawley
122. The Ascent by Stefan Hertmans
123. Acts of Desperation by Megan Nolas
124. Crooked Plow by Itamar Vieira Junior

>242 alcottacre: Lovely to see you energetic again, Stasia.

>243 PaulCranswick: Nice! I have a Hertmans book here that I need to read yet, War and Turpentine. Maybe one of these days. . .

Hi Paul - added a war note to you on John Simpson's thread.

>245 alcottacre: I am planning to read that one soon, Stasia.

>246 m.belljackson: Intriguing, Marianne. I will go and see.

>241 PaulCranswick: Yep, she hasn't been online today yet sadly

>248 Owltherian: I see.

>249 PaulCranswick: Yeah, I also added a pic of myself at my grandparent's a while back to my gallery, and it has two out of the four kittens they were fostering.

Nice lunch time book mini-haul. I'm checking in for a bit before settling in to stitch and read. I'd like to finish the "cucumber" color in the top border on my stitch piece. (That is the majority of what is in the top border--just 3 or 4 tiny motifs of another color.) If I get that done tonight, I might get all the border done and get started on the verse that goes in the center! While I don't know that I can finish it by my boss's retirement party, I will have it finished at least 2.5 months ahead of his actual retirement date. We're holding the party when faculty members will be on campus to attend and not traveling somewhere.

>250 Owltherian: On your thread?

>252 PaulCranswick: I can post it on my thread if its easier!

>251 thornton37814: I will be looking for the photos of your progress, Lori. xx

>253 Owltherian: That would be great.

>247 PaulCranswick: BTW - I picked up a copy of The Children of Dynmouth based on your recommendation. It came in last weekend.

>256 alcottacre: I hope you like it, Stasia.