Dihiba's 2009 Books

Discussions75 Books Challenge for 2009

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Dihiba's 2009 Books

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1dihiba
Modifié : Déc 6, 2008, 8:05 am

Here's my spot for recording my 2009 reads. Really enjoyed the 2008 group! I'm one of those that likes the number challenge... Last year I made it to at least 116 and hope to match that this year. At least it helps to reduce that TBR pile!

2Whisper1
Déc 29, 2008, 7:29 pm

dihiba
I'm ever so glad you joined the 2009 challenge. I added many books to my list thanks to your wonderful reviews and recommendations.

Happy New Year
Linda

3alcottacre
Déc 29, 2008, 7:54 pm

Glad to see you here, Diana. I hope you enjoy the upcoming reading year as much as you did 2008!

4dihiba
Déc 30, 2008, 6:57 pm

Thanks you guys! I bought about 17 secondhand books today - am I nuts or what?! I found 6 Barbara Pym books for .50 each so I had to have them. She's come recommeded - I hope I do like the books, but hey, it's only $3, right?

5Whisper1
Déc 30, 2008, 8:17 pm

Diana

right you are!
I have 32 books checked out from the library currently, but hey, it's only 32, right?

I love your logic!

6dihiba
Déc 30, 2008, 8:18 pm

It's just like Xmas and having lots of presents (books) under the tree, just waiting to be opened : ).

7muddy21
Déc 30, 2008, 8:28 pm

>5 Whisper1: I can't bring myself to say how many books I have checked out from the library! The trouble is that I work there and I see all these terrific books and I know that if I just put them away on the shelf I'll forget about them and never see them again. So, I check them out and bring them home. It's beginning to look a bit like an orphanage around here.

8sjmccreary
Déc 30, 2008, 10:05 pm

I usually have so many books out from the library that my family (everyone - husband, daughter, son) all regularly come and ask "what do you have this week that I can read?" I feel rather like a bookmobile! I don't mind except when they keep them so long that I have to return them before getting a chance to read for myself. Of course, it's not like I ever really run out of things to read...

9alcottacre
Déc 31, 2008, 12:49 am

#5: Unfortunately, the logic does not work for me: Currently 91 books out (and they weigh a ton!), lol.

10dihiba
Modifié : Jan 1, 2009, 8:17 am

Here are my picks for 2008 (from a total of 123):

Best Fiction (in order of preference)

The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
The Story of Lucy Gault by William Trevor
Such a Long Journey by Rohinton Mistry
On Green Dolphin Street by Sebastian Faulks
Larry's Party by Carol Shields
The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford
Atonement by Ian McEwan
Saturday by Ian McEwan
The Pull of the Moon by Elizabeth Berg

Murder Mysteries (no particular order)
Friend of the Devil by Peter Robinson
All the Colours of Darkness by Peter Robinson
Not in the Flesh by Ruth Rendell

Non Fiction (no particular oder)
A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf
The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
Deadly Persuasion by Jean Kilbourne

Worst reads - Fiction (worst first)
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
The Wars by Timothy Findley
(I read other bad books but did not finish them - these two I managed to get through!)

Non-fiction
Around Ireland in Low Gear by Eric Newby

Murder Mystery
Jemima Shore's First Case by Antonia Fraser

Book I was most sceptical and cynical about its veracity:
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

11dihiba
Modifié : Jan 2, 2009, 10:24 am

My first book completed for 2009!
(1) October by Richard B. Wright. Not to be confused with another writer by the same name, Wright is a Canadian writer who was received acclaim for his novel Clara Callan. I have since read 3 other books by him but none have them have lived up to Clara.
October is about a man in his 70's who has to face death - but not his own. James is a professor who goes to England to visit his ill daughter and runs into Gabriel, an American who he knew briefly as a boy in Canada during WWII. Gabriel asks a favour of him which James goes along with. The book keeps flipping back and forth between their time together in Perce, Quebec in 1944 and the present.
The narrator, to me, gets in the way of the story, as I never really warmed up to him. At times Wright paints him with skill, at other times it seems to fall flat. I never got to the point where I felt much empathy with James. Sometimes he irritated me but generally I didn't feel much.
Wright is a good story teller and writes very well, so I won't stop reading him.
In 1980 I attended a wedding in Perce (Gaspe, Que., surely one of the most beautiful spots in North America) and was chuffed to have Wright mention that lovely little Anglican church very early in the book. It weirdly evoked a time in my past - newly married, no kids... ah, Life... Wright does really write about Life, so that was appropriate!

12maggie1944
Modifié : Jan 2, 2009, 10:29 am

I really enjoyed A Room of One's Own when I read it years ago. I'll be interested to see what you think of it.

BTW, thanks for using the word "chuffed"; gave me a new word today!

edit to add the BTW

13tloeffler
Jan 3, 2009, 1:44 pm

re #10: I liked The Glass Castle, and our book group read it last year and all seemed to enjoy it. Then later in the year, we read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. One of our members commented that in The Glass Castle, Walls had mentioned an incident with her younger brother in the hospital, something about a nurse or doctor calling him dirty (sorry, bad memory). That exact same incident occurred in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, which apparently was mentioned by Walls as one of her favorite books. We all chuckled a bit about that.

14dihiba
Jan 5, 2009, 5:42 pm

Umm, yes, she also has her brother singing a Frank Sinatra song (I think) at one point, which was before it was recorded.
Small things perhaps...but...I just felt it was too over the top and yet flat in many ways. Flat as in unemotional for such a horrendous story.
If she did fabricate some of it, she wouldn't be the first one to do so. Wasn't there some issue with one of Oprah's authors?

15tloeffler
Jan 5, 2009, 10:10 pm

That's right. Wasn't it A Million Little Pieces? I didn't read it; I tend to avoid Oprah books just because I feel manipulated by her. I suspect it happens more than we know. Who's to say it's intentional? I think sometimes we count as a memory something that we've heard and decided to make into our own memory.

Good point about it being "unemotional for such a horrendous story." I was impressed that she managed to be so impassive about it, but in retrospect, it does seem a bit odd. This is why I like talking about books. You see things you didn't see before...

16dihiba
Jan 9, 2009, 5:22 pm

I've decided to move over to the 100 challenge - am afraid I just can't keep up here - but it was lots of fun in 2008 and I notice there are some 75ers on the 100 list as well!
Take care, all, and have a great Reading Year!

17TadAD
Jan 9, 2009, 5:31 pm

*sigh* Sorry to see you go, dihiba. You'll probably see some others over there after a while.

18sgtbigg
Jan 9, 2009, 5:46 pm

There's a 100 list?!?

19TadAD
Jan 9, 2009, 6:05 pm

>18 sgtbigg:: Yes. Ostensibly folks who want a tougher challenge, but starting to be populated with folks who don't want to deal with the massive floods here.

20FlossieT
Jan 9, 2009, 6:05 pm

Oh, Diana - likewise sorry to see you go, but completely understand...

21alcottacre
Jan 10, 2009, 12:25 am

You could still visit from time to time, right? Or we could visit you . . .

22dihiba
Jan 10, 2009, 8:16 am

Thanks guys....
I just don't have the time to read all the threads and I'm the type that likes to read them all. I probably will visit from time to time....
Now I feel sad : (.

23alcottacre
Jan 10, 2009, 8:19 am

Me too :(

24Whisper1
Jan 10, 2009, 9:32 pm

dihiba
I feel sad that you are leaving us. I really enjoyed your posts in the 75 challenge group during 2008..I think I will check your posts on the 100 book challenge...
All good wishes to you!

25dihiba
Jan 12, 2009, 5:00 pm

Thanks! C'mon over and visit us at 100 - not as busy, but still good people.

26dihiba
Juin 19, 2009, 6:22 am

I've decided to return to the 75 list. I miss you guys. I will be posting my 2009 reads later today.

27alcottacre
Juin 19, 2009, 10:58 am

Woo Hoo!! Glad to see you back with us, Diana.

28dihiba
Juin 19, 2009, 11:00 am

Thanks Stasia. I hope I can keep up with all the interesting posts here!! It's gonna be fun....

29alcottacre
Juin 19, 2009, 11:07 am

Keeping up with the posts is a challenge in and of itself this year! We have over 500 members in the group now and let's face it - we like to talk :)

30dihiba
Modifié : Juin 19, 2009, 12:04 pm

Here is my list for 2009, in several posts, transferred and cleaned up from the 100 Book List:

(1) October by Richard B. Wright. Not to be confused with another writer by the same name, Wright is a Canadian writer who was received acclaim for his novel Clara Callan. I have since read 3 other books by him but none have them have lived up to Clara.
October is about a man in his 70's who has to face death - but not his own. James is a professor who goes to England to visit his ill daughter and runs into Gabriel, an American who he knew briefly as a boy in Canada during WWII. Gabriel asks a favour of him which James goes along with. The book keeps flipping back and forth between their time together in Perce, Quebec in 1944 and the present.
The narrator, to me, gets in the way of the story, as I never really warmed up to him. At times Wright paints him with skill, at other times it seems to fall flat. I never got to the point where I felt much empathy with James. Sometimes he irritated me but generally I didn't feel much.
Wright is a good story teller and writes very well, so I won't stop reading him.
In 1980 I attended a wedding in Perce (Gaspe, Que., surely one of the most beautiful spots in North America) and was chuffed to have Wright mention that lovely little Anglican church very early in the book. It weirdly evoked a time in my past - newly married, no kids... ah, Life... Wright does really write about Life, so that was appropriate!
(2) Swan Song by Edmund Crispin.
Murder at the opera, mayhem and confusion - poison or not? It's all here, in Crispin's inimitable style. Published in 1946, some interesting comments about Hitler and the recent world war.
(3) The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson.
Normally I wouldn't have read this, but my guy brought it back from the US with him last month and he liked it a lot. It was interesting - I knew basically zip about Chicago and about the same about the World's Fair of 1892 so it was interesting from that point of view. Larson must have done a tremendous amount of research (it's non-fiction)
and for the most part, it's interesting. Strangely, the bits about the Ferris wheel seemed to interest me the most!
I read the largest portion of this today while waiting to have my car fixed. What a great way to get some reading done!
4. 1215 by Danny Danziger and John Gillingham. History, about England in the year 1215, when King John signed the Magna Carta. Not as good a read as 1066 but still some interesting stuff.
5. The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell. This is his first in a series of books about King Alfred, set in the late 800's. Mainly about how he fought off the Vikings (Danes). I thought it was quite good, but a lot of battles, i.e. blood and gore, which didn't thrill me a lot. I wish he would cut back on that and add more plot.

6. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. A YA book which I only read because I am teaching it. OK, good for its purpose, but not something I would read for my own personal pleasure.
7. Notes from a Big Country by Bill Bryson.
Laughed myself silly.
Read this 4 or 5 years ago under the title I'm a Stranger Here Myself and didn't realize it was the same book but I had forgotten most of it anyway, so it was just as enjoyable (at least I think so!) the second time around. Or perhaps the US version is not the same as the British/Canadian version. Anyway...hilarious!!
8. Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler. Interesting study of the Tull family from the 1930's to 1970's. Tyler shows us a dysfunctionality which she doesn't dress up with moralizing. I come away from her books feeling that yes, we are all flawed, but that doesn't cancel us out as human beings, and most of us are worthy of respect, admiration and love despite our flaws. However, I did find it hard to warm up to the eldest son, Cody Tull. He was a snake! But very human in his own way.
9. Tooth and Nail by Ian Rankin. An early one in Rankin's series on Insp. Rebus. This time Rebus is in London helping find a serial killer.
10. Dark of Fell - by Reginald Hill. Generally I don't read two murder mysteries in a row, but I needed something skinny enough to finish quickly.
Dark of Fell turned out to be a good choice. Published in 1971, it is surprisingly modern (one of the main characters is bisexual and the other, his close friend, is hetero), despite the absence of cell phones and computers. Extremely well crafted and well written (writing has to be in the English DNA), this was Hill's first novel. It had me interested from start to finish. It is a bit male-oriented - the hetero main character at one point has three women panting after him (one is his estranged wife) in a 24-hour period. He beds two of them, even though he is suffering from injuries, near-starvation, and extreme anxiety. Well...they do call it fiction.

31dihiba
Modifié : Juin 20, 2009, 10:12 am

11. A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry. Excellent, wonderful, awe-inspiring, heart warming and heart breaking. Am sure this will be in my top 5 for 2009. Four lives in India intertwined - love, hope, death, despair, tragedy.
Highly recommended to all.
The book has a LOT of detail and a lot of dialogue - not an intricate plot, but lots of small items about the characters, and lots of things happen to them. It has a very political background, but really not a lot about it - i.e. it doesn't detract from the story about the people - the books is full of interesting people.
Mistry is very easy to read - I have read Tales from Firozsha Baag and Such a Long Journey and they are both wonderful.
12. What We Keep by Elizabeth Berg. Berg is usually a quick read, with good insights. This novel is about two sisters, now in their late 40's, who meet up with their mother 35 years after she left the family. An interesting read for any woman who is a mother or daughter. I guess that just about covers all of us females!
13. B is for Burglar by Sue Grafton. Fun, light read. Will continue with series.
14. The Republic of Love by Carol Shields
This book explores the backgrounds, including the past loves of Tom and Fay, including the backgrounds and loves of their families and close friends. Extremely detailed, Shields addresses the "myth" of love - the mermaid being a mythical creature makes an interesting topic of Fay's life work. Sheilds' observation that love is a republic, not a kingdom, and is democratic and potential to all of us, was an interesting one. She also observes that today it is permissible to talk about jobs, money, acquisitions, sex, but love is not really discussed. (The book was written in 1992 but it still applies seventeen years later.) Although at times I found the details a bit mind-numbing, and the descriptions too ever-present, over all I liked it a lot.
15. The Reader by Bernhard Schlink. This book turned out to be quite a bit better than I thought it would. 15-year old German boy has an affair with a woman in her thirties. *Spoiler alert* - she is a former SS guard and eventually goes to prison. There was a lot of guilt in this story - in fact, it is all about guilt and about the choices people make.
I find the Holocaust topic so overwhelming now in its scope, even 70 years on - and it has been so media-drenched that is it possible to even deal with? It also makes me think about other genocides which seem to get much less coverage. Why?
I am not sure if I want to see the movie, but would be curious to know how they interpret this book.
16. The Driver's Seat by Muriel Spark. This was a startling little novella - a couple of hours to read, at most. Very weird. Like Spark's other books, also very compelling.
Lise goes abroad and is murdered. The book details her last day before her death. None of the characters in the book actually seem to speak to each other, but rather AT each other. There is an air of insanity throughout.
17. The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie. I find it amazing that a book published in 1928 is still very readable. I wonder how the bestsellers of our time will hold up in 2090?
Typical Christie - Poirot, handsome but bad men, attractive and intelligent women, flighty girls, jewels, a train, and a murder.
My Agatha Christie handbook says she hated writing this book - it sounds like it was done on publisher's orders. Ah well, she still did a good job.

32dihiba
Modifié : Juin 23, 2009, 6:16 am

18. The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill. This is a great story - Aminata (also known as Meena) is kidnapped in what is now Mali, Africa and sold into slavery in Charleston, South Carolina. She is then sold again and goes to New York City where she leaves her owner - after the American Revolution she leaves for Nova Scotia as a Black Loyalist. She later becomes a settler at Freetown, Sierra Leone. The book begins with her final stop of London and ends there after she tells her life story. This book is published as Someone Knows My Name in the U.S.
Lawrence Hill is a Canadian writer of American parentage, the son of a black father and a white mother. He has written a novel that is both plot and character driven. I have a few minor criticisms with some historical facts (which he admits he has taken some liberties with) and that some of the everyday language actually belongs to the 20th and 21st centuries, but these are small criticisms (a copy of Jonathon Green's Cassell's Dictionary of Slang would be good for anyone writing dialogue).
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the slave trade, black history, or triumph over adversity.
And in case you like trivia, Lawrence Hill is the brother of singer/songwriter Dan Hill.
The title of this book The Book of Negroes was taken from the actual name of the account kept by the British when the Black Loyalists left NYC for Nova Scotia. The ledgers contained names and descriptions. The British had offered freedom to anyone who joined their forces. If I remember correctly, one ledger is in Halifax, one is in Washington, and one is in London.
19. Second Honeymoon by Joanna Trollope. Been reading this one on the treadmill for a while now and decided it was time to just finish it! Crises in a London family of grown children and parents - Trollope's usual satisfying look at the foibles of ordinary folk.
20. King Solomon's Carpet - I must say I do not *love* all of Ruth Rendell's books but this one, under her alternate writer's name of Barbara Vine is excellent. A cast of misfit characters, living in London, come together - but the central character is the London Underground subway system - and the story revolves around it. She includes little historical pieces about the Underground that are written by one of the characters, Jarvis, who while obsessed by the Underground, unwittingly brings the people together. This, of course, being Rendell, leads to death and other horrible things. This book had me enthralled from start to finish
(21) Sicken and So Die by Simon Brett.
A British murder mystery of the cozy style - a little slow to start but a fun quick read. Charles Paris is an actor of no great success either in his personal or professional life. While acting in an unusual production of Twelfth Night he begins to suspect foul play.
(22) Felicia's Journey by William Trevor.
Trevor's book The Story of Lucy Gault was in my top 5 for 2008 but this one really misses the mark. I found it creepy and often tedious. I just wanted to give all the characters a good shake!
(23) Jasmine by Bharati Mukherjee. A quick read by the author of Desirable Daughters (recommend), this one was much more violent. Mukherjee, originally from India, has a style that is at times grating in this book, with a mix of India and the US not blending very well. The main character, Jyoti (aka Jasmine, Jase, Jane) could have been explored in much more depth, with less emphasis on the violent incidents - after all, 2 murders, rape, 2 suicides, adoption, illegitmacy, abandonment, etc. are a lot to cram into a 214 pp book without some numbing. The book did keep me interested until the end, though; Makherjee is a good story teller. For more humour, read Desirable Daughters!
(24) Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell - a very quick read, extremely interesting, Gladwell examines the reasons why success comes to certain folk - a combination of birth month/year, what's going on in the world when you come of age, and your opportunities. The chapter on the pilots was fascinating, as was most of the book. Gladwell's style is breezy and easy to read, but he could use a grammar checker and in one case, a fact checker.
(25) What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw! by Agatha Christie (alternate title: 4:50 From Paddington)
I do like Miss Marple. Her friend Elspeth McGillicuddy sees a murder on a train and it goes from there. Two more murders and then it's solved. Classic Christie.

33dihiba
Modifié : Juin 23, 2009, 6:13 am

(26) Sotheby's: Bidding for Class by Robert Lacey. An interesting look at the history and practices of one of the world's great auction houses. I used to go to a lot of small town auctions - sounds like Sotheby's customers are pretty much the same - just better dressed and can drop a bundle.
(27) The Year of Pleasures by Elizabeth Berg. I'll give Berg credit for not writing the same book over and over - but this one was up and down for me.
About the first year of a woman's widowhood - sometimes amusing but often just not quite hitting the mark of catching my full interest. The fact that I started it on the treadmill last summer and went back to it recently may have something to do with that!
(28) Why I Hate Canadians by Will Ferguson. A sometimes humourous, often caustic, but always thought-provoking look at what Canadians are. No navel-gazing about identity, this book examines all sorts of issues. As a former Anglo-Quebecker, the chapter on Quebec separtism, etc. really got to me and then I had to calm down : ).
(29) Nice Work by David Lodge. A great read, humourous and fun, the characters were engaging and sympathetic. This apparently is the third in a trilogy, but they can be read on their own.
Feminist literature professor "shadows" a Managing Director of a factory in England and they both learn a lot about themselves in the process. The ending was a bit "movie-ish" but forgiveable.
In parts it reminded me a bit of Richard Russo's The Straight Man but I would have to reread it that to make sure.
(30) Betrayal by Karin Alvtegan. Swedish author. Lightweight, quick read, creepy people doing creepy things. Not an author I will read again.
(31) The Pale Horseman by Bernard Cornwell
The second in the series on King Alfred - same assessment as I gave the first of the series back in January - lots of blood, guts, and battles. I will read the third in the series, but I will wait a month or two!
(32) The Sibyl in Her Grave by Sarah Caudwell
A murder mystery in the cosy vein, I found this book very difficult to concentrate on, the style and plot were rather convoluted - the author's strength lie in her dialogue and the letters she uses as a narrative device, but it all seemed a little farfetched and the insider-trading angle did not interest me in the slightest. There was also a lot of "is he/she straight or gay?" and that just annoys me, as it seems a little cute and unnecessary.
I may give her another try, as there are elements of her writing that I liked.
(33) To Sir, With Love by E.R. Braithwaite - published in 1959, this is the account of Braithwaite's experiences teaching in an East End London high school around 1950. A black man, he tells of the prejudice he faced, but most of the book is about the challenges of urban high school teaching.
I saw the movie 3 times when I was 14 - it really made an impression on me - Sidney Poitier gave a brilliant performance. I think the movie was actually better than the book.
A couple of observations - it was published in the USA and I think there was some editorial license taken (he portrays American race relations as pretty good) and his evaluating his female students (i.e. their attractiveness) is just not on these days - and downright icky in places.
I have had current and recent experience in teaching in multi-racial urban schools so I did find the book interesting - but pretty tame by today's standards.

34dihiba
Modifié : Juin 23, 2009, 6:19 am

(34) Voices in Summer by Rosamunde Pilcher
A light romance, set mostly in Cornwall, England among the fairly well-heeled and country set. Pretty predictable but Pilcher is a good writer, and you can't help but be drawn in, even if in many ways it's unrealistic, but isn't that romances are??
(35) Dave Barry is not Taking This Sitting Down by Dave Barry. Very funny, perfect for cheering oneself up with very little effort other than reading.
(36) The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy. The rise and fall of Michael Henchard (should be subtitled "His Own Worst Enemy"). It's been 35 years since I've read this book and at that time it was reading for a course. I am proud I tackled it on my own without the help of a professor but the latter would have been nice to have sitting next to me as I read it again. (I admit, I had the Coles notes handy). I have the DVD of the 1979 BBC production on order at the library and will be eager to see how they handled it - Alan Bates is in it. I just watched Bleak House, the recent production, and it was excellent.
(37) A Wedding in December by Anita Shreve. A rather complex book, concerning a group of men and women who graduated from a private school in Maine in 1974 and re-unite in Dec 2001 when two of them marry at the inn of another. The bride and groom had a relationship in high school and then met again at the 1999 reunion.
The book examines the complicated lives and relationships of the group. At the same time, one of them is writing a novel about the Halifax explosion of 1917 - Shreve is obviously drawing parallels to9/11 which had only just happened. (as a teacher of Canadian history, I was intrigued that Shreve had used this in her book, as few Americans know about it).
While Shreve is not a literary heavyweight, her books are well crafted and keep me interested. She stretches herself as well, writing different types of novels, some set in the present, some in the past.
(38) Skinner's Rules by Quintin Jardine. This was the first I've read by Jardine, so a new police prodedural series for me. Skinner works in Edinburgh (wonder if he ever runs into Rebus) as head of CID. Unlike Ian Rankin's Rebus, Skinner is tall, strapping, good-looking and widowed rather than divorced. While lots of manly things go on, such as swearing, drinking, and occasionally physically crippling or killing bad guys, Skinner seems a little more polished than John Rebus. Skinner even has a steady lady-friend who becomes his wife at the end of the book. Wow. The plot was fairly complicated, but my tiny little brain managed to follow most of it. I am already into #2 of the series (I think he's written 19 - yikes!).
Well, enough of this lollygagging, I have to go wash some floors.
(39) The Fallen Curtain and Other Stories by Ruth Rendell - just okay, not Rendell's best - prefer her full length novels.
(40) Skinner's Festival by Quintin Jardine - second in the Bob Skinner series. Lots of awful things happen in Edinburgh - how can Skinner keep this up for 17 more books! Very entertaining but glad it's just fiction.
(41) Skinner's Trail by Quintin Jardine - third in the series. I was disappointed with this one - way too confusing - too many characters running around doing unfathonable things in several countries. Also, Jardine doesn't seem to know much about new mothers/nursing mothers. But I will continue with the series, but will give it a rest for now.
(42) Talk Before Sleep by Elizabeth Berg. A short, fast-paced and very readable book about a group of women, one of whom is dying of cancer. I do wish Berg had written more on the pre-cancer relationship of Ruth and Ann, Ruth being the one with cancer - Ruth is a great character and quite funny. I could see this being a movie. It did get a bit gooey toward the end but considering the subject matter...
(43) Exit Music by Ian Rankin. The last (supposedly) of Rankin's books about Det. John Rebus of Edinburgh. Rankin's writing is, I admit, superior to Quintin Jardine's (see above) and his characters are more interestingly drawn. I only found this story mildly confusing and that was only about one situation - the rest of it I followed easily. A nice send off for Rebus - I would like him to continue a series with Siobhan Clarke but it probably won't happen.

35dihiba
Juin 19, 2009, 11:59 am

(44) Family Portraits edited by Carolyn Anthony. I've had this book for about 7 yrs and took it off the bookshelf last week with "that" admonition - either read it or donate it. I started reading and ending up very engaged. The book consists of a collection of 20 essays by writers on family members - a real mix of good and bad, some a little cloying, others very realistic. The writers included Margaret Atwood, Louis Auchincloss, Joyce Carol Oates, Mary Higgins Clark, etc. Admittedly the majority I was not familiar with, and a few I had not even heard of. Nevertheless I read them all and got something out of every one of them.
(45) Sister of My Heart by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. Novel about two female cousins, who grow up together as impoverished gentility in India. Mainly focuses on arranged marriages, Indian customs, and the relationship of the two girls. I wouldn't give it high marks -an okay read, somewhat dramatic, somewhat superficial, but an interesting subject.
(46) Do You Speak American? by Robert MacNeil and William Cran.
No, I speak Canadian English. According to this book, I have deduced Canadian English will be less like American English in years to come. But the authors do not go into that - they are only concerned about American English. The book is described as a sequel to The Story of English written 25 years ago and made into a TV series which was excellent. Unfortunately, it is not really a sequel if it only deals with US English. I was a bit disappointed - the book spends a lot of time on youthspeak (my term) and the authors say youthful slang is often gone within a few years - so why devote so much space to it? They also make arguments about the increasing casualness about the written language -that this is good. I dunno : ).
I know language is a constantly changing organism, but while this is fine for oral language, I think we do need more formal written language.
Easy to read, but kind of like junk food - you are compelled to gobble it up, but don't get much satisfaction or nourishment from it.
(47) Dave Barry's History of the Millenium (So Far) by Dave Barry.
Funny look at events, mostly American, but he does bring in world events as well, right up to a couple of years ago. Barry's look at the world is off-center, but so is the world.
(48) Falling Leaves by Adeline Yen Mah an often heart-wrenching autobiography of a woman who was born in Shanghai before WWII - one of seven children, she grew up wealthy but emotionally abused. Her family eventually fled to Hong Kong and she went to the medical school in the US, where she married (2x) and settled in. Not a happy life, but she seems to have found some semblance of a life by leaving her family behind.
(49) Crime in Question by Margaret Yorke.
This is the second I've read by Yorke - she doesn't write typical police procedurals or cozies - there is no mystery about the crimes in this novel. Good psychological study and moves right along - she creates compassion for the perps as well as the victims.
(50) Aiding and Abetting by Muriel Spark. I don't know how Spark does it, but she comes up with the most interesting ideas for her novels. This one is based on the Lord Lucan case (true case - "Lucky" Lucan was the 7th Earl in his line, mostly impoverished because of a gambling habit - in 1974 he murdered his nanny and attempted to murder his wife - he was never found and it was thought that he lived abroad and was supported by friends). Spark main character, a German Paris-based therapist has two patients who claim to be Lucan. The therapist also has a secret in her background. Throughout the novel there is a recurrent theme of blood.
(51) True to Form by Elizabeth Berg. This is a sequel to Berg's Never Change about 12/13 year old Katie who moves from one place (Texas) to another - think it was Missouri. It really is a coming of age story. Berg does quite well portraying a on-the-brink-of-adolescence girl - albeit a very bright and insightful one. In this book Katie betrays a friend, which is interesting to have the protagonist do a lowly thing. Katie does suffer for it. She also has to face a couple of other adult issues. I liked this one better than the first.

36dihiba
Juin 19, 2009, 12:00 pm

(52) A Voyage Long and Strange
by Tony Horwitz. Non-fiction. Horwitz is making a journey (literally) to discover the true roots of American history by exploding the myths.
Not being brought up on American myths, but having some knowledge of the colonial days, I realized I knew just about nothing about the Spanish involvement in North America (not covered in Canadian history).
Horwitz traces Coronado and De Soto's trips around the US South.
He then moves on to Virginia and Massachusetts. He explodes all the myths about American Thanksgiving (the first T. in NA was actually celebrated in Canada's north by the explorer Martin Frobisher) and points out that the Puritans would not have had much of a celebration, as they did not even celebrate Xmas - Thanksgiving being a feast day in the Anglican church, it would have barely been acknowledged by the Puritans. (Did you know that the term Pilgrim was not used by them, but was adopted in the 19th century?!)
Horwitz does cover the Vikings in Canada, and some of the Spanish in the Caribbean (couldn't avoid it re Columbus) and Mexico but completely ignores the French in eastern Canada and the US Midwest.
This P***ed me off royally. His whole premise of the book is to examine these myths, and then he does a typically American (sorry folks) thing by just ignoring what doesn't fit into the American myth.
The French in NA had an extremely important part to play (and no one can say they didn't make a viable permanent settlement in the harshest area of the continent the Europeans plonked down in) and were part of the reason for the American Revolution.
Horwitz is also trying to be Bill Bryson (part of the narrative is his own journey to these areas) but falls far short - he is rarely funny. Snarky is not funny. He seems to seek out weird and hickish people and present them as typical while in a subtle way making fun of them. Making fun of the myths is okay, but not individual people.
An interesting read from the point of view of challenging historical myths, but as a work of history, needs some tweaking.
(53) The Taverner's Place by Caroline Harvey. Joanna Trollope is one of my favourite "woman's authors" in that she writes novels about women and families and she comes across as being very fond of her characters, warts and all. She also writes as Caroline Harvey, and this was my first try at a Harvey book - which are historical novels, rather than modern stories.
This was a long book, 700 pp, about a titled family in England's west country. It covers several generations. It had a bit of a slow start but I did get into it and wanted to find out what happens to the family members. It ended with the beginning of WWII.
Not a deep book, just a good story, but well written, well paced, and with enough variety that it held my interest. I will definitely read more of her Caroline Harvey books.
(54) Albion's Seed by David Hackett Fischer.
Although it took me 6 weeks to read this 900 pp tome (while I was reading other books), it was well worth it and absolutely fascinating. It deals with the "four British folkways in America". He follows the settlement of the four main British groups in the US - the New Englanders, the Virginians, the Delaware Valley folk, and the Back country people. All these groups came from different parts of England, and in the latter case from the Borders - northern England, southern Scotland, and Northern Ireland (who were really displaced southern Scots). He traces their dialects, politics, religion, architecture, social customs, marriage customs, child-rearing practices, and so on. He paints a picture of four distinct groups whose origins reach far back into English history - even into Saxon times and the influence of the Vikings. He examines political leaders (all but two of US Presidents - although the book was written pre-Clinton and of course, pre-Obama - he does cover the Bush background for Sr.) are predominantly from one or two of these backgrounds (the two without were Martin Van Buren and John Kennedy). At the end of the book he also briefly traces American political history and how these folkways have influenced America today. The areas with the highest murder rates were settled by back country folk who brought their murderous ways with them from the border areas of Britain. The more moderate northeast was indelibly stamped by the early Congregationalists in New England - much less violence, much less tolerance for fueds, etc. Even though New England is no longer heavily British in ethnicity, those early folkways have survived, as they have in the South, the back country, and the Delaware Valley (and wherever those folks migrated to).
Although he does not get into the Loyalists, much of English Canada was first settled by Loyalists, mainly from New England and the sparsely settled NY state - strong Yankee territory. Our tolerance, strict gun-control laws, liberal policies are a legacy of those early settlers.
Social history has always fascinated me and unfortunately, it has been overlooked by "serious" historians, who seem to think political wrangling is much more interesting! I recommend this book to anyone interested in US history, social history and British folkways.
Fischer's writing style is easy to read.
This book was mentioned in Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers - I've forgotten the context but I’m glad my library system had one in stock!
Unlike Tony Horwitz (see my easier review), Fischer is not ignorant of the French presence in NA – his newest book is on New France’s Samuel de Champlain. It will probably find its way onto my Christmas list, if I can’t snag a used copy.
(55) A Palm for Mrs. Pollifax - by Dorothy Gilman - a cozy mystery - haven't read any of Gilman's - she's a good writer. Mrs. Pollifax is an endearing character, like Miss Marple but with a little more physical daring. Mrs. P works as a secret agent for the US and in this book is in a clinic in Switzerland looking for plutonium.
(56) Whitethorn Woods by Maeve Binchy. I think I have outgrown Binchy, or her recents are just not what they used to be. She is usually a good comfort read but I found this one just sluggish and felt her own heart wasn't in it.

37dihiba
Juin 19, 2009, 12:00 pm

(57) In the City by Joan Silber. A few years ago I found a book by an author I didn't know called Household Words - by Joan Silber. When I read it I was very impressed - Silber is not very well known, much to my surprise. I find her writing to be very spare, very straightforward, and her characters are not completely likeable at times. What this adds up to is realism - Silber does not trot out hackneyed cliches, etc. If you like people stories, but want something a little different, try Silber!
This story is about Pauline Samuels who leaves her immigrant parents' home in NJ to live in Greenwich Village. This happens between 1924 and 1926. We see Pauline's coming of age - and yes, our grandmothers and great grandmothers did have love affairs! Pauline moves in with her boyfriend for a short time. She also leaves her family in NJ behind. There is no tidy ending to this story but it leaves you thinking about where her life will go.
Silber is one author I will actively look for in the future.
(58) Skinner's Round by Quintin Jardine - fourth in the Skinner police procedural series. This one concerns murder on a golf course, a tournament, and an old Scottish story that stretches back to the late 1500's. The latter intrigued me the most. The ending was interesting but dragged on a bit long. Also the actual golf playing bits I could have lived without - they are only interesting to those who know the game.
(59) Murder Unprompted by Simon Brett. Brett writes in the cozy-mystery genre but in no way are his books badly written or an insult to my huge (ha ha) intelligence. This one is another in the series about Charles Paris, basically a failed actor who's middle-aged, has a drinking problem, and is estranged from his daughter, and would like to get back with his wife, who he left about 20 years before. There's a lot of funny clever stuff here and I have a stack of Bretts to read. Not literature, but a light read that does not bore to tears.
(60) A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews - time for some CanLit. At times I laughed while reading this book, but overall it was pretty bleak. Nomi, the 16 year old narrator, is funny and sharp and sad and confused. She lives in a small Manitoba town, a Mennonite community. The writing is very good and the story is compelling. My criticism comes with the way it jumped about and the basic lack of focus. YES, I know this is the creative process - but I do think there needs to be a core to a story. Deserving of praise for its originality. This book was an award winner, winning several here in Canada.
(61) Off With His Head by Ngaio Marsh. I'm glad I gave Marsh another try because I did enjoy this one a lot. Marsh wrote from the 30's into the 60's - and she also was highly instrumental in establishing Shakespearean theatre in her homeland of New Zealand. Marsh's Scotland Yard detective is Roderick Alleyn - this series are not police procedurals in the modern sense but are extremely well written - this one concerns old morris dancing and mummery in the west country (there's even an eerily similar twist that was in the book Skinner's Round that I read last week). Her portrayal of the locals and the local gentry is wonderful - 94 yr old Lady Mardian is a scream.
(62) The Kalahari Typing School for Men by Alexander McCall Smith - the fourth book in the charming, whimsical, and gently humourous series about Precious Ramotswe and her No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. I hope I get to see the television series and I hope that it does justice to the books! Precious is one of those rare characters you wish was a real person.
(63) Blood Lines by Ruth Rendell. Short stories, the first one starring Detective Wexford, and I thought I had read all his stories!
(64) Blood Lines by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles. Honestly, I did not plan to read two books with the same title back to back! I simply decided to read the Harrod-|Eagles TBR I’d had the longest. Whoo woo woo. Coupled with some weird dreams I had last night...
Anyway, this is another in Harrod-Eagles series about Det. Bill Slider who works in London. Somewhere between a cosy and a hardcore police procedural, C Harrod-Eagles is a clever writer - and I think this one is the best of hers I've read so far. Slider's seem to be all connected to orchestras (his girlfriend is a musician). He's also very likable - his assistant, Atherton, is the foil being a womanizer, slick, etc.

38dihiba
Juin 19, 2009, 12:01 pm

(65) A Child in Time by Ian McEwan. What a book. This one will have me thinking for days. Stephen loses his 3 yr. old at a supermarket - the book mainly covers his life two years on for a year or so. McEwan touches on themes of loss, madness, childhood, and birth. There's even a little time travelling. The book is not about the couple trying to find her, or the police investigation. It is about how they adjust to the loss, and how Stephen connects with his own childhood, and then moves forward to the future.
McEwan's writing style is not for everyone, as he is demanding - you must pay full attention, and his prose, while straightforward, is subtle and full of imagery and despair. If you have read Atonement or Chesil Beach and liked them, you will appreciate this one as well.
(66) Until the Real Thing Comes Along by Elizabeth Berg. Another quick read by Ms. Berg, This one is probably the funniest of hers I have read but the topic and sub topics are serious - the main character was immature in many ways but still endearing. Plot revolves around having a man, pregnancy, parents, etc. Patty wants to have marriage and children and it just doesn't happen and she's in love with her gay male friend, who obviously is not the right pick for her life scheme.
(67) Everything She Thought She Wanted - by Elizabeth Buchan. Buchan tells two sepearate tales in this book - one set in the present and one set in 1959, Both concern women and the choices they have to make. Well crafted and well written. My only objection is the Americanization of the book - this was a US version of a British book (can't recall the British name) - at times the British English just isn't right (Mommy, fifth grade, e.g.) but this is a minor criticism.
I really liked the ending to this book - clever and a good way to tie the two stories together.
(68) Hickory, Dickory, Death by Agatha Christie. Typical Christie, with Poirot - 3 murders in a boarding house, I didn't guess the ending.
(69) The Sea by John Banville.
First of all, I almost gave up on this book about one-third through, but I'm glad I finished it. Banville's style takes getting used to - on every page he used 1 or 2 words I was not familiar with, which of course, hurt my pride and made me feel dumb : ).
Awarded the Man Booker Prize a few years ago, this book tells the tale of a recently widowed man, probably around 60, who returns to a childhood holiday spot where he faces some demons from the past.
The protagonist is not very lovable but he is interesting in his flawed way and at times, downright funny and wry in his observations. He seems to have lived in a restrained manner.
If you like literary writing where not a whole lot happens, but there are a lot of underlying currents, and time-hopping from past to more recent past to present, you'll like this book. If you like sentamentality and neat endings, this won't do it for you. Not long, but takes a while to read, with dense prose and not a heap of dialogue.

(70) No New Land by M.G. Vassanji
Vassanji is another Canadian writer of Asian background with a lot of talent - joining the ranks of Anita Rau Badani, Rohinton Mistry, etc. This is one of his early one's - a family of East Indian background leaves East Africa and settles in Toronto in the 60's. It is primary about Nurdin Lalani, a middle-aged man coming to grips with the difference that is Canada and the changes that happen within his family and his own life. I also recommend The In-between World of Vikram Lall by the same author.
(71) Friends, Lovers, Chocolate by Alexander McCall Smith. The second in his Isabel Dalhousie series, set in Edinburgh, this was an entertaining story but I found it a bit implausible. The fact that Isabel is a philosopher by avocation is interesting (she is independently wealthy and does not have a regular job) but her ruminations would probably annoy those who like a lot of action and/or feeling in stories, rather than thought. The premise of this story was cell-memory (hint - someone who's had a heart transplant seems to be having visions that would belong to the donor) so it goes into an SF area without really going there. I'm not sure I understood the resolution. Oh well, it was an okay read.
(72) A Patchwork Planet by Anne Tyler. After discarding three books that I just couldn't get through, I was happy to immerse myself in this Anne Tyler book. This one was about the delightful Barnaby Gaitlin, who's a bit of a loser with a heart of gold. So unusual for a first-person narrative of a male, written by a female. There are many mini-vignettes of characters, from Barnaby's dysfunctional family, to the mostly elderly clients he works for, to his new girlfriend. Nothing in his life is simple, even though it appears to be on the surface.
The books doesn't have a neat, tidy ending but you end up thinking Barnaby will find his way to some kind of contentment.

39alcottacre
Juin 19, 2009, 1:05 pm

My, you have been busy!

40Cait86
Juin 19, 2009, 1:19 pm

You have some great books on this list! I am about to read Hill's The Book of Negroes, so it is nice to here another positive review. If you are interested in more of Hill's writing, his earlier novel, Any Known Blood, is really fantastic - I read it earlier this year.

41Cariola
Juin 19, 2009, 2:53 pm

In the US, The Book of Negroes was published as Someone Knows My Name--just in case anyone is thinking about adding it to a wish list.

Nice to see you back, Diana! This IS a huge group and can get a bit overwhelming. I think most of us have starred the threads of folks with similar taste.

42Cariola
Juin 19, 2009, 2:58 pm

One of my all-time favorite books is Joan Silber's Ideas of Heaven: A Ring of Stories. Like you, I found her writing spare but beautiful. Each of the stories in this collection is very different, but they are all somehow linked. I just got a swap copy of In the City and am looking forward to it.

43dihiba
Juin 20, 2009, 7:19 am

Thanks all, glad to be back! Cariola, you mooched In the City from me about a month ago : ). Hope you like it!

44Cariola
Juin 20, 2009, 10:03 am

Now how did I not know that was you?

45dihiba
Juin 20, 2009, 10:09 am

Ha ha - I attribute all mental lapses to "just too many things on my full plate to remember everything" - makes me sound important and always busy : ) - actually it's just a memory that isn't as sharp as it used to be!

46blackdogbooks
Juin 20, 2009, 11:05 am

Woohooo, she's back!!!!

47dihiba
Juin 20, 2009, 11:26 am

Yeah...it's good to be back...always good for me to have mental stimulus (despite message 45) and I do find it with you guys!

48dihiba
Juin 23, 2009, 5:57 am

(73) The Law of Similars by Chris Bohjalian. This book is set in Vermont, and is about a lawyer who gets involved with a homeopath and at almost the same moment, one of her patients goes into a coma. I enjoyed Midwives by the same author but this one didn't do it for me - nothing much happened until the half-way point. And then nothing much happened til the end of the book! Bohjalian's style is easy to read and the story had real potential - it just didn't seem to really get going. Two criticisms: since he didn't have his daughter talking like a 4 year old, he should have made her older; and the sex scene was gratuitious and a bit off-putting - I think he just wanted to try to write one, and whoop-de-doo, ya did it, now don't do it again! : )

49Cariola
Juin 23, 2009, 9:22 am

48> I think Bojalian seems to be churning them out too quickly--always a bad sign.

50alcottacre
Juin 23, 2009, 2:27 pm

#48: OK, skipping that one. I hope your next read is better for you.

51dihiba
Juin 23, 2009, 3:10 pm

re message 50 - just started Fortune's Rocks by Anita Shreve. I must say the subject matter put me off a bit (15 year old girl has love affair with 40 yr old), but Shreve does a wonderful job with the novels she sets in the past. So far, it's riveting. I'm hoping she has more success with her plotting/pace than Chris Bohjalian in The Law of Similars. IMHO, she will, if her other books I've read are any indication.

52dihiba
Juin 25, 2009, 6:57 pm

(74) Fortune's Rocks by Anita Shreve.
First, I admire Shreve because she tackles different subjects and she sets them in different time periods. This book held my attention from the beginning - as I mentioned in message 51, the subject matter deterred me a bit but I was surprised to find myself totally drawn into the feelings Olympia has for John. I guess most of us can remember 15 and feeling those hopeless passions, both emotional and physical.
It's hard to forgive John, as the adult in this relationship, but Shreve, while painting him in a neutral way, makes us feel his torment.
Olympia is both a very sophisticated (intellectually) and unworldly girl, but has much self-possession and maturity. I got a very strong picture of Olympia as an individual - not just as a product of her time (which she was) but as someone who represents those women who are very confident and self-contained even at a young age.
Shreve also uses language that reflects the time it is set in - and very well.
Overall, a very good read, and well crafted. High on my list for this year's reads.

53dihiba
Juin 28, 2009, 2:38 pm

(75) Old Filth by Jane Gardam.
Yea! I've reached 75.
I will definitely be reading more books by Gardam. I thought Old Filth was wonderful. It held my attention from start to finish. There are so many layers to the story of Edward Feathers' life, who was a "Raj orphan" - a child of the Empire sent "Home" to grow up in England. Edward's life was a success in the sense of career, but not quite as happy emotionally and psychologically. Gardam presents a cast of characters that are intriguing, amusing, and human. The book ends with Edward back in Asia. I will say no more!
This book was reviewed on the 100 list and I thank whoever mentioned it. I came across a copy and am glad I bought it.
Highly recommended.

54Cariola
Juin 28, 2009, 5:56 pm

Thanks for the review of Old Filth. This one has intrigued me for awhile. On to the wish list it goes!

55FlossieT
Juin 28, 2009, 8:25 pm

Congrats on the 75!

56Cariola
Juin 28, 2009, 8:33 pm

Well, how could I have missed that? Woohoo! Congrats!

57drneutron
Juin 28, 2009, 9:19 pm

Congrats!

58loriephillips
Juin 29, 2009, 8:03 pm

Add my congrats to the rest. It looks like you've had some good reads.

59dihiba
Juin 29, 2009, 9:14 pm

Thanks everyone. I hope to make a second 75 by the end of the year.

60dihiba
Modifié : Juin 30, 2009, 7:49 am

(76) The End of the Affair by Graham Greene I really wanted to like this book, but I did not. It started out with promise: a man who had an affair with a married woman during WWII in London makes contact with her again and reacquaints himself with her husband and in a bizarre twist, sets up a private detective to follow her. Then there starts to be a lot of muddle about God and religion and Bendrix's hate for Sarah and he becomes friends with her husband.... and on and on.It was unrelentingly bleak.
I have Travels with My Aunt to read and apparently, it's a different sort of book. I read a couple of Greene's in high school but can't remember anything about them (the human memory just can't reach back that far!) and will remain open minded about trying another.

61dihiba
Juin 30, 2009, 12:29 pm

Message #40 - little late responding to this, but thanks Cait for recommending Any Known Blood - I will be watching out for it.

62alcottacre
Juin 30, 2009, 12:46 pm


63kiwidoc
Juin 30, 2009, 5:50 pm

dhiba - I really liked Old Filth as well, despite the unappealing title. Reading your post reminds me that I should look up some other books by her.

64arubabookwoman
Juin 30, 2009, 8:11 pm

Congratulations on reaching 75.

I'm also a fan of Old Filth. I've also read Queen of Tambourine by her, which I enjoyed more--perhaps because of the subject matter: a middle-aged woman slowly loses her mind, but in a somewhat quirky and humorous way.

65dihiba
Juil 1, 2009, 10:02 am

Sounds like Queen of Tambourine is about me! I kick myself for not buying it when I could have. It goes on the imaginary "future" pile - for 2011....

66dihiba
Juil 3, 2009, 2:47 pm

(77) The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher or the Murder at Road Hill House by Kate Summerscale. A non-fiction account of the murder of 4 year old Francis Savill Kent in 1860, who was found dead in an outdoor privy on the morning of July 2 on the family property in Road, Wiltshire. Summerscale follows the investigation, with back story on the family, through the years to 1865 when a confession is made. She also traces the family down through over one hundred years. Mr. Whicher in the title is the detective sent from London to investigate the case. Ms. Summerscale interestingly brings in writers of the time including Wilkie Collins (who is credited with the first English detective novel The Moonstone) and Charles Dickens, who was an acquaintance of Whicher's.
Although the book gets a bit sluggish in the middle, it is a fascinating account of how the case unfolds, how it played out with the public, how the family interacted, and includes a look at the family abuse and possible connection to syphilis.
Now I want to read The Moonstone!

67kiwidoc
Juil 3, 2009, 6:55 pm

I quite enjoyed the Summerscale book also - dhiba. I was a bit surprised when it won an award though. It is quite an interesting glimpse into Victorian life. I did want to jump ahead to get the answer more quickly, although managed to resist.

68dihiba
Juil 3, 2009, 9:17 pm

I had the same problem with it. I wasn't fully convinced that the person who "did" it worked alone, either. All in all an extremely dysfunctional family!

69dihiba
Juil 6, 2009, 8:45 pm

(78) Excellent Women by Barbara Pym. About six months ago I was able to buy a clutch of Pyms at my library's secondhand book shop. Am I glad I did! I just read my first one - what is it about Pym? I would call her a charming writer, which is in no way meant in a condescending way. The narrator of the story, Mildred Lathbury, is a 30-something self-professed spinster with interesting neighbours and a crew of clerics, laypersons, and "excellent women" at her local High Anglican (Anglo-Catholic) church. Mildred also seems to have some interest in 4 men - but it is all rather vague and innocent - no heaving bosoms here! I'm very tempted to read another Pym right away.

70cushlareads
Juil 8, 2009, 9:21 pm

Have just found your thread and now I'm trying to read all your reviews. You've read so many great books already this year!! I've been thinking about reading some Graham Greene and I think we have The End of the Affair here somewhere... but maybe I'll pick something else.

I read The Untouchable by John Banville earlier this year and loved it. It's based on Anthony Blunt's life. The Sea has always looked hard to get into, but so did The Untouchable and it was un-put-downable. I might give it a go.

71dihiba
Juil 8, 2009, 9:26 pm

#70 Thanks for reading my list! I am going to give Travels With My Aunt a try and sure it will be an easier read than TEoftheA.
Have you read John Banville's books under his other name - Benjamin Black? If I ever find a copy of Christine Falls I will definitely read it.

72cushlareads
Juil 8, 2009, 9:37 pm

Nope, not yet... I only realised last week that it was him! (somewhere else on here... someone has just read some Benjamin Black.)

73FlossieT
Juil 9, 2009, 4:50 am

>71 dihiba: & >72 cushlareads: Christine Falls is a great book - highly recommended. I went to hear Banville (as Black) at the London Review Bookshop last October, reading from The Lemur; he had lots of interesting things to say about the different styles of writing as Banville and as Black, and how they informed each other. The audio of the event is online, if you're interested.

I actually haven't read any John Banville under his real name - have a copy of The Sea which was given to me by a friend of my mother's, and picked up a copy of Eclipse recently, but just haven't got onto them. He seems to have a reputation for being "difficult".

74dihiba
Juil 9, 2009, 9:18 am

(79) Rumpole of the Bailey by John Mortimer. If you like skillful use of the English language, Mortimer is the man for you. This is the first in his series of books about the Old Bailey barrister, Horace Rumpole. Rumpole narrates a collection of stories about his cases and his home life. It is worth reading just for his turns of phrases and his characterisations.
And I do like a book that has my surname in the title.... : )

75alcottacre
Juil 10, 2009, 5:05 am

#69: I highly recommend her Quartet in Autumn, too.

76dihiba
Juil 10, 2009, 5:29 am

75 - I happen to have that one; thanks for the recommendation, Stasia.

77alcottacre
Juil 10, 2009, 5:32 am

#76 - Another 75'er - arubabookwoman (Deborah) - recommended it to me and I found it to be very good, so I am just passing it along. I really enjoy Pym's books, although I have only read 3 to date.

78dihiba
Modifié : Juil 10, 2009, 5:37 am

(80) Corporate Bodies by Simon Brett. Another installment in the saga of flawed but lovable Charles Paris, an actor who gets embroiled in murder mysteries. Charles is hired to do some video work for a food company (loosely based on the makers of Ovaltine, I think, which weirdly, I happen to be drinking right now). This one got a bit grotty towards the end for my taste, but still a good read, and Brett is clever with the language. He can make me laugh out loud over Charles' antics.

79TadAD
Juil 10, 2009, 8:09 am

>78 dihiba:: I enjoy that series. Have you tried his Mrs. Pargeter stories?

80dihiba
Juil 10, 2009, 8:20 am

- 79 I tried one, but couldn't get into it. I do like his other series too - with the two women, Carol and ??? living on the south coast of England. I have The Torso in the Town from that series on my TBR pile and half a dozen of Charles Paris' to read. I do prefer true police procedurals to the cozy variety, but Brett's skill with English gets me. That's what I liked about John Mortimer's Rumpole - I'm on another one of those. Now, when will I fit Barbara Pym in??!!

81dihiba
Juil 11, 2009, 9:40 am

(81) Waiting by Ha Jin. The style of writing Ha Jin is very simple - I found the dialogue a bit stilted, but perhaps that was deliberate - it might reflect the cadence of Chinese (don't know if they would have been speaking Mandarin or Cantonese) speech.
Lin Kong is an army doctor in communist China (in the days before their foray into capitalism) who enters an arranged marriage with a slightly older woman. Although they manage to have a child, the marriage is basically loveless and celibate, though Lin harbours no ill-feelings towards her. He tries for 18 years to divorce her, while involved with a non-physical relationship with Manna at the hospital.
I won't divulge the rest of the plot. Lin is a man tormented but he is very low key - his feelings seemed deadened. He only seems to comem alive emotionally at the end of the book, and of course then has to face a crisis or two.
The book kept me interested right up to the end. Normally, such a simplisitic style would have bored me, but given the setting, and the novelty of a story about communist China, I stayed with it, and actually, had no problem staying with it. The novel won the National Book Award, probably in 1999. I don't know anything about that award - can someone enlighten me?

82Cariola
Modifié : Juil 11, 2009, 10:35 am

81> I read Waiting when it first came out and loved it. Since then, I've read most of Ha Jin's other books, but none of them can quite compare.

The National Book Award is quite a big deal in the US. It has been awarded by the National Book Foundation for 60 years. Their mission "is to celebrate the best of American literature, to expand its audeince, and to enhance the cultural value of good writing in America." The foundation's members are publlishers, editors, booksellers, writers, and critics.

You can read more about the awards, including a long list of the winners, here.

83dihiba
Juil 11, 2009, 10:38 am

Deborah, thanks for the info. I will have a look at it.

84rainpebble
Juil 12, 2009, 12:28 pm

85dihiba
Juil 13, 2009, 6:27 pm

And hi to you too! : ) Hope you all had a great weekend!

86dihiba
Juil 14, 2009, 8:21 am

(82) Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym. My second Pym book this month. I didn't enjoy it as much as Excellent Women but there is no denying Pym knows how to create characters with depth and nuances. The characters are not always particularly likeable, but you can't help feeling you know them. This book says a lot about aging and loneliness - I did find it a bit depressing at times, but it its own way, moving. More Pym in my future!

87arubabookwoman
Juil 14, 2009, 11:01 pm

Quartet in Autumn is my favorite Pym book, because, as you say, it says so much about agining and loneliness. I cared very much about the characters.

88dihiba
Juil 16, 2009, 6:56 am

(83) Dead in the Morning by Margaret Yorke. A quick, rather cozy read - Yorke is generally a little more like Rendell in pscyhological approach. This one introduces her Patrick Grant series; Grant is a dean of one of the colleges at Oxford. I like him - as well as dealing with wayward students he also likes a good mystery and is smart enough to solve them

89dihiba
Juil 21, 2009, 6:31 am

(84) Adam's Curse by Bryan Sykes. Non-fiction. Sykes is a genetics professor at Oxford and the author of The Seven Daughters of Eve and Saxons, Vikings, and Celts: The Genetic Roots of Britain and Ireland. Sykes writes about genetics for the layperson. Very interesting book - he shows how the Y chromosome is heading for extinction in 175,000 years or less. We are ready seeing a reduction in male fertility, possibly due to mutations, all over the world. He believes egg/egg fertilisation is inevitable and we will revert to the default sex, which is female. He goes into several topics including the tendency to have families of mainly males and male homosexuality. He looks at the clan Macdonald and the descendents of Genghis Khan.
He mentions his own family too - if you have a Sykes connection, you are related, as all Sykeses descend from the same man.
More science in this book than his other two - I had to skim a bit!

90dihiba
Juil 21, 2009, 4:28 pm

(85) The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. A classic of Victorian literature, this book tells the tale of Dorian Gray, young and blessed with perfect good looks. His portrait is painted by Basil Hallwood - Gray wishes for eternal youth and this indeed happens, at least on the surface. His portrait, however, ages, reflecting the changes in Gray's life.
This book is worth reading both for Wilde's brilliant turns of phrases but also as a study of Victorian Britain. It has its ups and downs - it alternates between being fascinating and being tedious, but there is much in this relatively short volume that is worth reading (and rereading). Like The Mayor of Casterbridge (which I read a few months ago), I would like to study this in a classroom setting, with a good professor.
The book was shocking in is time due to the homo-erotic element but everything is only alluded to. Victorians were also uneasy with the grottier elements of the story as Gray goes into his steady decline. I didn't exactly love the mooning about that Henry does (for Dorian) and he is misongynistic too, which got to be annoying. But overall, a good story with many thought-provoking observations (mostly from Henry, ironically!).

91dihiba
Modifié : Juil 28, 2009, 6:02 am

(86) Moo by Jane Smiley - this one had been sitting in one of my TBR boxes for a couple of years (along with a couple of other Smiley novels) and it was time. This is quite a long novel, with lots packed into it. It is basically the life of a US midwestern state university, with all the attendant rivalries, pettiness, relationships, power struggles, etc. of the faculty, administration, and students. Lots of amusing things which had me guffawing. I particularly liked Earl Butz, the hog, and liked how Smiley told his story from his point of view.
My only criticism is that there were too many characters. A few of them seemed to have no real place in the story.
Smiley reminds me a bit of Richard Russo and David Lodge. Will be reading her other books.

92TadAD
Juil 28, 2009, 6:57 am

>90 dihiba:: I read Dorian Gray last year and really enjoyed it. It's easy to imagine how shocking it was when it first came out, though it's rather tame by today's standards.

93dihiba
Juil 28, 2009, 8:22 am

Yes, it must have been at the time. I am surprised that the book was even published, in a way. Probably many readers just overlooked the obvious.

94dihiba
Juil 28, 2009, 4:14 pm

(87) Rumpole and the Angel of Death by John Mortimer. Another v. amusing collection of Rumpole's stories of his legal career.

95arubabookwoman
Juil 28, 2009, 10:47 pm

I've had Moo staring at me from my book shelves for a couple of years too, so I'm glad you liked it.

96cushlareads
Juil 29, 2009, 2:18 am

I really enjoyed Moo when I read it, but haven't read any of her others. I have A Thousand Acres and the one about Lizzie... ummm... Newton? waiting. They both look less funny though.

97dihiba
Juil 29, 2009, 7:49 am

I have A Thousand Acres coming from BookMooch. Anyone have any comments on it? What about the movie?

98Prop2gether
Juil 29, 2009, 3:08 pm

A Thousand Acres is a reworking of King Lear and I enjoyed both the book and the movie. I do have to say, however, I like the play best.

99dihiba
Juil 29, 2009, 3:23 pm

Will have to brush up on my King Lear!

100dihiba
Juil 29, 2009, 9:31 pm

A Thousand Acres arrived today!

(88) Death at the Dolphin by Ngaio Marsh. I was disappointed in this one - very muddled and my mind wandered throughout. Good plot idea - a Shakespeare relic is displayed in a restored theatre in the original area of the Globe Theatre. A playright has written a play about the relic. My problem was that in my mind's eye I couldn't picture the setting - there needed to be a little diagram of the theatre. Shakespearean theatre was Marsh's first love and she just didn't realize we all can't visualize it in our heads (well, not me, anyway!).

101kiwidoc
Juil 29, 2009, 9:42 pm

Having never read any Ngaio Marsh books, I cannot comment. However, when I lived in Tauranga, New Zealand, I knew that she lived only a few doors away. So I always remember her name. (Her first name is a Maori name).

102dihiba
Juil 30, 2009, 5:54 am

Wow! I have read 3 of hers - one I liked a lot, the other two are so-so.
I think her first name is pronounced Ni-a.

103dihiba
Août 3, 2009, 9:11 am

(89) A Family Romance by Anita Brookner. I believe this was published as Dolly in the U.S.
Well written and engrossing story about Dolly, a Parisian born emigre to Britain who marries into a "typical" English family whose members are much more reserved. Dolly is painted as conniving, charming, shallow, desperate, fun-loving, etc. Jane, the narrator, is her husband's niece who tells Dolly's tale. Brookner very subtly gets the characters under our skin so that we feel the human pathos.
Will be reading more Brookner...

104dihiba
Août 4, 2009, 12:32 pm

Very happy today. Visited a branch of the library which has a pretty good secondhand shop, and got Isaac's Storm by Erik Larson and The Queen of the Tambourine by Jane Gardam - both these books were on my TLF list (To Look For) and now they are on my TBR Behemoth pile.

105rainpebble
Août 4, 2009, 1:49 pm

Wonderful stroke of luck there dihiba.
Enjoy your success!~!

106alcottacre
Modifié : Août 4, 2009, 2:01 pm

Good luck with the Behemoth. Mine is now Planet-sized, so I can certainly commiserate.

I have not read anything by Anita Brookner yet, so I may give Dolly a try. Thanks for the recommendation!

ETA: I hope you enjoy the Larsen book - he is one of my favorite nonfiction authors.

107dihiba
Août 4, 2009, 3:05 pm

Thanks Belva - we LTer's can understand the thrill of finding that book we want!

Stasia - I read Larson's Murder in the White City in January and enjoyed it. This one is about a hurricane the topic appeals to me even more than the World's Fair did.
Yes, do try Brookner. She's not exactly like Barbara Pym, but there is a similarity of examining women's lives, which might seem mundane on the surface, but are not.

108arubabookwoman
Août 5, 2009, 1:00 pm

I'll be interested to see what you think about The Queen of Tambourine when you read it. I read it a number of years ago and really liked it. A number of LT'ers have been reading (and loving) Old Filth, which I also really liked. However, I was much more able to relate to Queen of Tambourine's main character.

109kiwidoc
Août 5, 2009, 1:24 pm

re; discussion about Jane Gardam - she does not write fast enough!! Her last output was interconnected short stories (good but not a novel). I hope she is working on a novel now.

110avatiakh
Août 6, 2009, 6:09 am

I read Jane Gardam's Bilgewater last year when I was reading on the theme of boarding school stories and was very taken with it. I just picked up a copy of Old Filth and am looking forward to reading it.

111FlossieT
Août 6, 2009, 7:00 am

On Jane Smiley: I really enjoyed Moo, and agree on the David Lodge similarities. I picked it up after reading a big Guardian piece on 'campus novels' and still have a couple more recommendations from that article to follow up (Malcolm Bradbury's The History Man was also mentioned). I've never read any Richard Russo though.

I loved A Thousand Acres. I think some people find it a bit slow, but I thought it was beautiful. Have never been able to get into Lidie Newton though - after trying and failing several times to get much further than page 40 I gave it to the charity shop.

Good Faith is also a fun read.

112rainpebble
Modifié : Août 6, 2009, 12:27 pm

dihiba;
The "will you like it thingy" on the review page just cracks me up!~!
In catching up with your thread I just ripped off eight recx and the "thingy" says: for each one: warning: division by zero-won't like, certainty: very high.
I was like; yeah, whatever, and kept on writing. I really enjoy your thread. Always interesting comments and I usually get "great" recx no matter what that "thingy" says.
happy dayz,
belva

113dihiba
Août 6, 2009, 12:54 pm

Belva - technology does have its drawbacks!
Even people I like and respect and who are discerning and brainy can recommend books I don't end up liking!

114rainpebble
Août 6, 2009, 1:46 pm

Amen to that my friend.

115dihiba
Août 7, 2009, 1:13 pm

(90) Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome. Hard to believe that this book was published 120 years ago. A classic comic novel, it stands the test of time, and has been continually in print since 1889. Jerome (who was born Jerome Clapp Jerome, though his father was born Jerome Clapp and added the second Jerome) presents a delightful tale of three young men who boat from London to Oxford, to say nothing of dear Montmorency, the dog.
A gently funny look at their antics and trials and the folk they meet along the route, it's also has some interesting comments on historical sites they pass by (apparently some have criticized this, but I find it adds a lot, and certainly is not done pedantically).
Highly recommend.

116dihiba
Août 7, 2009, 7:48 pm

(91) Black Dogs by Ian McEwan. As usual, McEwan provides an interesting story line and well written prose - and he certainly knows how to set a scene for tension and suspense. However, this one missed the mark for me - I wasn't really sure what he was getting at. I also felt nothing for the narrator - he was like a blank slate, in many ways. Not at the top of my McEwan list, I'm afraid.

117rainpebble
Août 7, 2009, 8:22 pm

Hope the next pic turns out much better for you!~! One, I can take. Two in a row really bites!~!
later,
belva

118dihiba
Août 9, 2009, 9:04 am

Hmmm...Belva, I did like Three Men in a Boat - quite a bit, actually. Perhaps you're referring to Marker by Robin Cook, that I gave up on?
Well, here's a contrast....he could do well to read some of the classics in this genre:

(92) Duplicate Death by Georgette Heyer. New Heyer fan here!
I'm only sorry she didn't write more murder mystery novels. She is one of the best from that time period, IMHO. This was my first exposure to her. The book held my interest throughout - the characters were well drawn, the dialogue witty and believable, and I didn't guess the outcome. Chief Inspector Hemingway is a take-charge kind of guy and his Gaelic-spouting Inspector is the perfect foil.
If you haven't tried Heyer, and like murder mysteries, you're in for a treat.

119dihiba
Août 9, 2009, 9:06 am

I am flying from Ottawa to Newark NJ tomorrow for a connecting flight to Dublin where I will be for a week. Don't know if I'll be on here much, so hope you all have a great week!
I am taking two books with me - Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures by Vincent Lam and Forty Words for Sorrow by Giles Blunt. Hoping to get at least one read during the flights.

120Whisper1
Août 9, 2009, 9:17 am

HI. I'm catching up on threads. It is so good to have you back here with the 75 challenge group. You were missed. I know that I added many of your reads to my list in 2008.

I note thus far you read Anne Tyler and Elizabeth Berg, both two readers I enjoy. Anne Tyler lost my interest in her later books which I felt weren't as good as her earlier works. She does capture family disfunction in a heartbreaking way.

The Reader is one of my favorite books thus far in 2009. If you are interested in watching the movie, it does follow the book fairly well.

121Donna828
Août 9, 2009, 12:57 pm

I decided to stop over to say hello since you visited with me on my thread. I've enjoyed your comments on your reading. I am going to be looking for books by Barbara Pym. I love those genteel English authors who write about everyday life.

You also got my attention with your loathing of the Secret Life of Bees. I am glad to see someone else had a negative reaction to it. But I do like the nonfiction books I've read by Sue Monk Kidd.

Enjoy your trip to Ireland. No better time for reading than those long transAtlantic flights.

122Cariola
Août 9, 2009, 1:48 pm

I read Black Dogs a few weeks ago; it was a big disppointment. I agree with you about the narrator. In fact, I didn't really feel for any of the characters.

123tloeffler
Août 9, 2009, 2:35 pm

I lost your thread when you moved, and I was thrilled to find it back today! I always got great recommendations from the books you read. So now I have a ton of books to add to my TBR. I liked it better when you were on the 100 Challenge. Just kidding--I've starred you now, so I guess I'll have to start a new spreadsheet just for the books I've picked up from you.

BTW, this is a long way back, but I agree wholeheartedly with your opinion of A Fine Balance. I found it to be one of the most powerful books I'd ever read.
And I also want to add my recommendation for Sue Grafton's alphabet series. I usually hate series like that, but she has managed to keep them fresh, and I've made it to Q without giving up!

Welcome home!

124alcottacre
Août 10, 2009, 1:23 am

#119: I want to go to Dublin, too! Take lots of pictures to share. Travel safe!

125rainpebble
Août 10, 2009, 1:37 am

ditto what Stasia said.
belva

126dihiba
Modifié : Août 18, 2009, 1:50 pm

Hello, I'm back! Ireland was just grand : ) and we saw quite a bit of Dublin and visited with Bob's new granddaughter as well (10 weeks old). I visited Ireland in 1988 and found it has changed quite a bit - almost yanked into the 21st c., I would say.
The travel was a bit dicier - would not go through the US again (Newark) as the security is just too time-consuming and tedious, though necessary.
When I got back yesterday, I had an email that looks like a job I applied for might be a possibilty - they asked for more info., so at least they didn't chuck my resume in the bin! Cross your fingers for me. There are a few teaching positions listed as well, but I am not very optimistic about those.
Got to read while on planes, etc.:
(93) The Blue Bedroom and Other Stories by Rosamunde Pilcher; a collection of short stories by Pilcher, mostly about young mothers. Pretty forgettable.

(94) Forty Words for Sorrow by Giles Blunt. Police procedural, set in the fictional Algonquin Bay, Ontario (actually supposed to be North Bay, ON). Very Canadian, helps to know some of the cultural references, but not a deterrant. The cop, John Cardinal, is a complex cop who is not the usual divorced guy, but his wife has severe depression and in this novel, she is hospitalized. Cardinal carries around a lot of guilt. The story is about pair of serial killers, I believe he based the idea on Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka, a notorious husband/wife team who killed teenage girls in southern Ontario in the early 90's. Blunt wrote for Law & Order and there was an episode based on B & H. Blunt is not a top-drawer literary writer but he is extremely readable and the story is well plotted and the characters are well drawn.
(95) Christine Falls by John Banville under his pen name of Benjamin Black. This book has been highly recommended here on LibraryThing so when I saw it in a Dublin bookshop, I had to buy it! Then I decided that I had to read it while in Dublin - finished it on the plane over the Atlantic. The book is about Quirk, a Dublin pathologist and is set in the 1950's - it's about the death of Christine Falls and how Quirk sets off on a quest to find out more about her. Not your usual mystery story, and I wouldn't even categorize it as such. I believe Banville has written another in this genre. I read The Sea a few months ago - almost gave up on that but stuck it out and in the end I had to admire Banville - but his style as Black is much easier to read.

127drneutron
Août 18, 2009, 1:20 pm

The Silver Swan is Black/Banville's sequel to Christine Falls. I thought it was good, but perhaps not quite as good as the first. Worth a look, for sure.

128dihiba
Août 18, 2009, 1:42 pm

Thanks, Dr. Neutron. I will look for it and read it once my TBR pile has shrunk to less gargantuan proportions.

>121 Donna828: Donna, did not realize Monk Kidd had written non-fiction. Have no objection to trying one, even though I was "stung" with Bees - groan....sorry. Hope you enjoy Pym!

> 123 Thanks for the welcome back! I do regard Mistry as something of a genius. And I'm glad Grafton keeps her books fresh - I have a boxful in the closet - all the way up to "T". "C" is next on my list.

129alcottacre
Août 19, 2009, 12:35 am

Good luck with the job, Diana!

130dihiba
Août 19, 2009, 6:05 am

Thanks Stasia!

(96) We are All Welcome Here by Elizabeth Berg. Again, Berg gives us an interesting situation - loosely based on a mother with polio who is left alone to raise her child, born when she contracts the disease. Some connections to the US civil rights movement and a certain pop star. Quick read, not too demanding. Treadmill book.

131dihiba
Août 19, 2009, 8:17 am

(97) Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures by Vincent Lam. A collection of connecting stories which follows medical students from university into their medical careers. This is more literary than Robin Cookish. Lam can actually write. If he continues to do so, I think his writing will become more fined tuned; he has a facility to present the medical world and its shortcomings, philosophies, human frailities, etc. Giller Prize winner. Recommend.

132dihiba
Août 22, 2009, 7:49 am

(98) The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. I find Diamant's writing style inoffensive and easy to read. This story is based upon the vague references to Dinah in the Bible's Old Testament. This doesn't have much to do with the modern religions as we know them as many of the characters were still practicing polytheism.
It was interesting to see how Diamant developed a whole culture etc., which I doubt there is much written evidence of. Basically life was cruel, brutish, and short. Men spent their time trying to wrest power and women catering to men and having babies. Nothing new there, mostly what people have done for millenia, and some are still doing.
This was really just a fictional biographical story of one woman and was somewhat interesting.

133dk_phoenix
Août 22, 2009, 8:40 am

Hi Diana!

I very much enjoyed the speculative nature of The Red Tent, but that said, you'd be surprised how much evidence & understanding of ancient Canaanite culture we actually do have. Not necessarily all written, but there's plenty of archaeological evidence for their culture. The ancient site of Ugarit is considered essentially Canaanite, and the oldest reference we have to the culture's existence comes from the Ebla archives at Tel Mardikh (somewhere around 2400 BC, I think...?). Either way, Diamant did her research and portrayed - in my opinion - a highly accurate (as we know it) version of ancient Canaan, combined with some of her own speculative ideas about the beginnings of the Israelites.

134tloeffler
Août 22, 2009, 12:37 pm

I found The Red Tent absolutely fascinating during the first half of it, and utterly boring during the second half of it. When I recommend it, I always suggest that they stop after Part 1.
:-}

135dihiba
Août 24, 2009, 12:28 pm

I'll admit I'm a little sceptical about the origins of any of the monothesist religions, though no doubt there is archaelogical evidence that give us an idea of how people were living in that area and time period.
The Old Testament seems to imply that Dinah was raped, and this led to the murder and mutalation of the Shechemites. In The Red Tent Dinah falls in love with him and they have a non-coercive relationship.
I have no idea, nor will I speculate, on her interpretation. As an atheist, the religious aspects don't inspire me, but I was glad Diamant actually dwelled very little on religion. Overall, I think she did a good job of writing a historical novel for the time period - a real challenge for any writer to take on a period so far in the past.
>134 tloeffler:, I do agree the first part was more interesting that the second part.

136dihiba
Août 24, 2009, 3:55 pm

(99) C is for Corpse by Sue Grafton. Kinsey tries to find out who killed rich kid Bobby Callahan. Not sure I "got" the killer's motive, but that's okay, fun to read.

137dihiba
Août 25, 2009, 7:53 pm

(100) D is for Deadbeat by Sue Grafton. Kinsey is contacted by a deadbeat, just out of jail, who wants her to deliver a pile of money to someone. Murders ensue...
Liked this one better than "C". Seemed to be better organized.

138dihiba
Août 27, 2009, 10:43 am

(101) Blackstone's Pursuits by Quintin Jardine. Jardine wrote this book under his other pen name, Matthew Reid. His other series, about Detective Chief Superintendant Bob Skinner is in contrast to the enquiry agent Oz Blackstone, who is younger, pretty ribald, zany and a bit eccentric. Oz falls in love in the first few pages. There are a lot of British-English idioms, etc., so it helps to know them. Overall, a fun romp, and Oz is a more likeable chap than Skinner!

139dihiba
Sep 1, 2009, 6:40 am

(102) Coffin for Two by Quintin Jardine. Was quite disappointed in the second installment of the Oz Blackstone series. Oz and his girlfriend Primavera go off to Spain to live with the proceeds of their first success. They soon get bored and establish an investigation agency. Meanwhile, they've found a body. The case gets confusing and the relationship between Oz and Primavera starts to fall apart.
In fact, P. changes dramatically in personality, which didn't ring true.
The zingy humour of the first novel is close to absent in this one. I will try the third book in the series, with hope that it improves.

140dihiba
Sep 2, 2009, 2:12 pm

(103) The Full Cupboard of Life by Alexander McCall Smith - fifth book in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. Will Precious get married? She's getting antsy.... Treadmill book.

141rainpebble
Sep 2, 2009, 2:53 pm

Diana;
How can you read several series at the same time? I am afraid my brain would turn into a whirlygig.
belva

142dihiba
Sep 4, 2009, 7:36 am

Ha, ha, know what you mean. These, however, are very different - characters are totally unlike each other, set in different countries, etc.
It's an exercise for the old brain!

143dihiba
Modifié : Sep 6, 2009, 6:57 pm

(104) The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai. Decided it was time to give the murder mysteries a rest!
At first, I shied away from this book (mainly because my copy's print is tiny tiny) but I took the plunge and enjoyed it a lot. Set in the 1980's, the background is the Gurkhali uprising in northern India. People of many backgrounds live in the area, and the story centers on Sai, the grand daughter of a judge educated at Cambridge; he never knew the daughter that bore Sai and took her in after her parents died. In truth, the judge is a hateful old man who can only love his dog. The subplot is the story of the cook who's son, Biju, is an illegal living in NYC. Sai is also in love, or at least infatuated, with her tutor Gyan, who betrays the family.
I highly recommend this book. While it is not as good as Rohinton Mistrys' books (strangely, Sai's last name is Mistry), it is a very good example of Indian literature. There is a bit of time jumping which is somewhat confusing, but that is my only criticism.
This book won the Man Booker Prize for 2005.

144kidzdoc
Sep 6, 2009, 8:08 pm

Thanks for that review; it's been sitting on my TBR list for too long!

Have you read anything by her mother, Anita Desai? Several of her books were longlisted for the Booker in years past, but I haven't read any of them.

145dihiba
Sep 6, 2009, 8:48 pm

I meant to mention that I had tried Journey to Ithaca by Anita Desai and just couldn't get into it - another reason I was avoiding Kiran's book. I must say The Inheritance of Loss got my attention immediately, and I never lost interest.

146arubabookwoman
Sep 6, 2009, 9:19 pm

kidzdoc--I read The Clear Light of Day by Anita Desai, and liked it much better than I liked either of the two books I've read by Kiran (The Inheritance of Loss and Hullaballoo in the Guava Orchard.

147dihiba
Sep 7, 2009, 7:37 am

arubabookwoman, what did you like about Anita's book, compared to Kirans'?

148dihiba
Modifié : Sep 10, 2009, 7:20 pm

(105) Dark Ages America: The Final Phase of Empire by Morris Berman. Recommended on this list, I broke my no-library book rule to read this one. Berman sees little future for the American Empire - he examines the "circling of the drain" that is ongoing - the fall of American values, ideals, economic power, and intelligent media.
There is a lot here on Boy George's administration (it was published in 2006). No mention of Obama in the book; it would be interesting to know what he thinks of the replacement. His inclination seems to be that blips won't make much difference. Not a happy book at all. Unfortunately, I think Berman is hitting the head of a very dire nail.

149dihiba
Sep 12, 2009, 1:24 pm

(106) Don't Look Now by Daphne du Maurier. A collection of five stories from this great story-teller. (My edition did not include "The Birds", rats!). They are set in five different locales: Italy, England, Ireland, Greece, and Jerusalem. They are all different, as well, although du Maurier certainly has her own style, she is inventive and can easily create different "moods". Recommended!

150rainpebble
Modifié : Sep 13, 2009, 12:31 am

Girl,
You are still doing it. The last three; BAM!~! Onto ye olde TBR listing. Have you no shame?
Seriously, I love anything du Maurier. You're only too right. She definitely has her own style. And the different moods, like you say; the depth, lightness, darkness of them make her books so special. I hope your next one is as good. I have a couple more lines to fill in on my TBR listings notebook.
hugs,
belva

151dihiba
Modifié : Sep 14, 2009, 8:27 am

Belva, I truly feel honoured that you like "my books". Hope you enjoy them - well, the Berman book isn't exactly enjoyable, but it is very thought provoking and unsettling - which we all need, sometimes.

The next one I didn't like so much (and hope I didn't lead you astray on Wesley, Belva!):

(107) Jumping the Queue by Mary Wesley. Wesley's writing is quirky, funny, interesting. That said, I don't think I will read another novel by her. There are a lot of sexual shenanigans in this book, which is fine as far as that goes, but there seems to be a flippancy about sex and love that grates on me - it makes the story lack depth, which may be what she's aiming for. Wesley strikes me as jaded, sophisticated, someone who makes fun of lesser mortals in a mocking way. So much of her should not come through in her writing. She managed to evoke a bit of sympathy for Matilda, the main character, a suicidal 50 year old who is harbouring a wanted man. The story started off with a lot of promise and clever writing but when incest rears its ugly head, it spoils a story for me, when it treated in an offhand way.
Wesley could be the same league as Muriel Spark, Barbara Pym, Anita Brookner, and others, but misses the mark by lacking much warmth.

152alcottacre
Sep 14, 2009, 8:45 am

It does not sound like Mary Wesley is an author I would care for at all, so I think I can truthfully say I will be giving her books a pass. Thanks for the heads up, Diana.

153dihiba
Modifié : Sep 18, 2009, 8:33 am

(108) Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers. I must I skimmed, no, zoomed through, the last 100 pp of this book. Alright, I skipped a lot.

This book did have some very good moments - but most of it was a difficult slog. There was a lot of discussion of the female role, education for women, etc. (written in 1935), and some ominous warnings about the coming War. There was also a distinct class feel about it - a strata of society still hanging on to the divisions which were soon to be greatly changed in Britain. The rather flimsy plot was really just background. There were way too many characters, and with most of them going by a title or "miss so and so" it was very hard
to keep them straight. The setting of Oxford was interesting and one did get a sense of student life in the 30's.

I think I've done my possible with Sayers. I only really enjoyed the first one I read The Nine Tailors and am afraid I'm giving up on her.

Some good to this book, but not really recommended.

154Whisper1
Sep 18, 2009, 11:05 pm

I like the sound of the word "slog!" I think I'll slog on past this book and wait to add one of your favorite reads to the tbr pile.

155Cariola
Sep 19, 2009, 7:38 pm

I haven't read Mary Wesley, but I did see a dramatization of The Camomile Lawn. The characters were all pretty self-centered and callous.

156dihiba
Sep 21, 2009, 2:10 pm

Cariola, I saw the Camomile Lawn too - I didn't like it. I wasn't surprised at how Jumping the Queue turned out for me.

(109) The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner by Alan Sillitoe. A collecton of short stories, the title story is considered a classic. I actually did not rank it as my favourite in the book. A collection of stories about working-class England, both before around the time of WWII. Quite a contrast to Gaudy Night! Sillitoe is another straight forward writer, very easy to read, and his characters are both repellant and fascinating. The author himself grew up in working-class Nottingham and left school at 14. Lends authenticity to the phrase "living lives of quiet desparation".

157dihiba
Sep 24, 2009, 8:46 am

(110) The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst.
This Booker prize winner of 2003 chronicles a few years in the life of Nick Guest, who at the age of 20 in 1983 is embarking on the beginning of his gay relationships. At the time he is living with the Fedden family - Gerald Fedden is an MP in the Thatcher government. Nick also gets involved in cocaine. Hollinghurst writes well - he has a couple of quirks, but they don't become overwhelming. The story was compelling and held my interest throughout. The 80's were also the decade of AIDS awareness - if you can remember that decade you know what the fears, atmosphere etc. were. I did find the rather explicit descriptions (and frequency) of gay sex a bit much, but I would say the same about too-much and more-than-I-need-to-know about hetero sex as well. My feeling that the editor of a novel with that much and descriptive hetero sex normally would have told the author to cut some of it out. So there is some political thing (no pun intended) here - be that as it may, Hollinghurst constructed a novel with a good plot, good pace, and both likeable and unlikeable characters (Nick is very likeable, if a bit of a leech; he's certainly not manipulative and ambitious like many of the others).

158dihiba
Sep 25, 2009, 11:01 am

(111) The Stormy Petrel by Mary Stewart. A very light, quick read after The Line of Beauty. Rose, a Cambridge Don, but only 27, goes off to a Scotland Highland island to do some writing, waiting for her brother to join her, but he is delayed. A couple of guys show up separately at the cottage, one is a n'er do well, but just which one is it? Okay, but not terribly challenging, and too many coicindences to be believable.

159alcottacre
Sep 26, 2009, 12:16 am

#158: A Mary Stewart I have not read. I am going to have to look for that one despite your reservations. I enjoy her stories.

160dihiba
Sep 26, 2009, 5:47 pm

Stasia, oh, it's a nice light read - nothing wrong with it, really. Hope you like it!

161alcottacre
Sep 27, 2009, 2:55 am

Thanks, Diana.

162dihiba
Modifié : Sep 29, 2009, 7:58 pm

Two rather disappointing reads:

(112) Off Season by Anne Rivers Siddons. Treadmill reading. I found this one just too formulaic - Siddons writes for an middle-aged and older crowd, and there's some stuff in here that just seems to be a result of her editor saying "hey, let's throw something in that is totally out of character, 'cause maybe we'll pick up some younger readers". The problem is, it is just tacky, and I hate to think the only way to attract younger readers is to be tacky! The story follows Lilly, who has just been widowed, back to her youth at age 11 up to now, almost 60. It goes over an unlikely love of her life at 11 with a 12 year old (no real hanky panky but still not very believable), then she is swept off her feet at age 19 by her husband to be...she has two shallow daughters....and a perfect life...then he dies, and it turns out things aren't so perfect and she is having hallucinations about her 11 year old love...gahhh....all set in lovely Maine (and I just loved the author's line about the local grocery store stocking "a few decent bottles of wine for the weekend crowd" - whooooo, way to make fun of the local yokels, who of course, could never appreciate a fine wine!
All in all, not great, I only read it cause I managed to get through the first 100 pp on the treadmill and it was there in my gym bag so I continued...

(113) Lords of the North by Bernard Cornwell. Third in Bernie's series about the Saxons taking on those nasty Danes. Enough already! Gonna give all my Cornwell books to my brother who will appreciate the blood and guts more than I do. I need to find a really good historical fiction writer!!!! I love history and I love fiction.!

163dihiba
Oct 1, 2009, 8:27 am

(114) The Progress of Love by Alice Munro. How nice to dip into Munro's short stories. Her characters are just so real. After my last two, I can appreciate the difference in so-so writing and good writing. I particularly enjoyed the story that was set in the area I live in - the character applied for a teaching job in the suburban area I taught in last year - weird!
I have got a couple of other Munro books that I will leave on my bedside table and peruse at my leisure.
BTW, if you are not a short story fan, but like good writing, The View from Castle Rock by Munro reads more like a novel.

164dihiba
Oct 6, 2009, 8:18 am

(115) A Ghost in the Machine by Caroline Graham. This, I believe, is the last of Graham's Inspector Barnaby (Midsomer Murders) series. To me, it is her best. It held my attention from start to finish, and at 500 pp for a cosy/police procedural (somewhere in between), that's fairly long. Graham's wit does not come across as well on the TV shows; her books are far better. She draws characters very well, and can deliver both humour and pathos. The last few pages were very good - well worth the read to the end.

165alcottacre
Oct 8, 2009, 7:40 am

#164: The only one of Graham's books that I have read is the first Inspector Barnaby book, The Killings at Badger's Drift. I think I will have to revisit that series. Thanks, Diana, for the reminder.

166Donna828
Oct 8, 2009, 11:29 am

>162 dihiba:: I used to enjoy Siddons' writing, but no more. I hate it when authors crank out book after book which all begin to run together because of the formulaic writing.

167dihiba
Oct 9, 2009, 7:48 am

Stasia, hope you enjoy them - Graham was one of the first I read in that genre - she is not consistent but her Midsomer series is pretty good.
Donna - I'm with you on this - there are some who can manage not to do this - but at some point a lot of them should just stop and rest on their laurels! Unfortunately, the publishers don't feel the same way...

168dihiba
Modifié : Oct 10, 2009, 6:46 am

(116) Therapy by David Lodge. This was the perfect book for me as I have been very low all week (slight cold that's knocked all the energy out). It's all about Laurence "Tubby" Passmore, who at 58 has a perfect life on the surface, but is still depressed. He has a platonic mistress, an active love life with his wife who is smart and attractive, a successful and high-paying job in TV writing, etc. Lodge is an extremely funny writer and I laughed out loud a lot. The book gets more serious as the book moves along, but still remains engrossing and funny.

169Cariola
Oct 10, 2009, 4:57 pm

David Lodge is wonderful. Have you read Small World?

170FlossieT
Oct 10, 2009, 7:22 pm

Oh, I'm so sorry you didn't like Gaudy Night, Diana. I guess you and Wimsey are never meant to be friends.

171kiwidoc
Oct 11, 2009, 1:13 am

I am also a big David Lodge fan - although he has a particular "English" cynical humour, which may not appeal to all.

172alcottacre
Oct 11, 2009, 5:15 am

I picked up the first book in the Graham series at the library the other day for a re-read since it has been such a long time since my initial read. Hopefully, I can complete the series this time.

173dihiba
Oct 12, 2009, 12:32 pm

#169, I do have Small World on my teetering TBR pile (actually I culled that pile recently and have it to a manageable point where I should be done in 2 years). I think I should spread out the Lodge books to savour them; will see how my willpower holds out! #171, I do love that English cynical humour, having it myself, as the child of Brits.
Stasia, will be interested in seeing how you do with the Barnaby series.

174dihiba
Oct 12, 2009, 12:39 pm

(117) The Divine Ryans by Wayne Johnston. This is a lesser known book by Johnston, the author of The Colony of Unrequited Dreams and The Navigator of New York. I have read the latter and recommend it. The Divine Ryans is more modern (set in 1966 and into 1967) and deals with the young Draper Doyle Ryan of Newfoundland, an 8 then 9 year old who has lost is father and living with his mother, sister, and older other relatives. Very amusing at times, other times rather sad. Fairly quick read. Very Canadian in its use of hockey (pre-expansion days of the NHL) in the story, etc. Also very Irish Catholic. The author's use of dreams got a little tedious after a while.

175Cariola
Oct 12, 2009, 1:05 pm

173> That's exactly what I'm doing with a few favorite authors, including Barbara Pym. I don't want the delight to end, so I'm spacing them out. I've also had a romping read of a historical novel, Now Face to Face by Karleen Koen, in a drawer for several years now for the same reason. I've read her other two novels and they were so much fun that I can't bring myself to read this one until she comes out with something new. Silly, in a way, as there are so many great books out there (not to mention the roomful of TBRs taking over my house!)

176dihiba
Oct 12, 2009, 6:18 pm

I'm also spacing out my Barbara Pym books! I've heard good things about Karleen Koen; will put her on my wish list for a later date

177Cariola
Oct 12, 2009, 7:36 pm

I read the Koen chronologically backwards, which seems to make sense, even though they were published in the reverse order. Now Face to Face was the first published, but the main character is the granddaughter of the main character in Through a Glass Darkly.

178alcottacre
Oct 13, 2009, 1:11 pm

Count me in as one spacing out the Pym books, too. I just cannot rush those.

179dihiba
Oct 17, 2009, 8:49 am

(118) Wearing Purple by Quintin Jardine. The third in his Oz Blackstone series. This one is a contrast in happiness and tragedy. Oz goes to work for a wrestling organization - the owner suspects internal sabatoge. Injuries, murder, and a heroin scheme ensue and Oz's life is left in shambles. A light read, the macho atmosphere is toned down a bit here, but still annoying at times.

180Whisper1
Oct 17, 2009, 9:01 am

I'm simply stopping by to wave hello.

181dihiba
Oct 17, 2009, 10:25 am

Thanks! Hope you are having a wonderful weekend. I am sitting in my pjs in my box and junk filled apartment (moving) thinking I should relax and start a new book : ).

182alcottacre
Oct 18, 2009, 4:02 am

#181: I read that post and thought you were sitting in your pjs in a box, lol.

Relax, start a new book, the boxes and junk will still be there when you are done reading :)

183dihiba
Oct 19, 2009, 8:40 am

Ha ha - Stasia - i'd like a nice comfy box with food, books, and dvds to watch when I can't read anymore...

I started a new book and its chugging right along, a quick read without being simpleminded - Perfect Love by Elizabeth Buchan. I highly recommend Buchan.
I feel better now, the move does not feel so overwhelming now. It's my 13th move in my life so it's not a novel experience.

184TadAD
Oct 19, 2009, 8:46 am

>183 dihiba:: 13th move...that would have been about age 10 for me (Army brat). *grin*

185TadAD
Modifié : Oct 19, 2009, 8:49 am

>168 dihiba:: I've had Lodge's The British Museum is Falling Down on my TBR for a while but I never seem to get around to it. I don't know why it never catches my eye when I'm perusing the list to order stuff. I have to bump something of his up a bit since everyone seems to rave about him.

186dihiba
Oct 19, 2009, 11:48 am

Lucky me, I spent the first 18 years in the same place until I went off to college. I don't think I could have handled moving to a new town as a kid!

187dihiba
Oct 19, 2009, 11:51 am

Do try Lodge, he's a hoot. There are some religious overtones to his books, but not in the usual way - he's an Anglo-Catholic but in Therapy the main character is a Protestant who gets involved with a Catholic and doesn't really "get" the whole church thing.

188kiwidoc
Oct 19, 2009, 2:39 pm

Ha - I was an RAF brat and moved every year until I was 14 - it makes me restless and wanting to move all the time as an adult so in my 20s I moved 8 times. However, since my 30s my hubbie put his foot down and I haven't moved for 20 years.

I do envy the 'stable' upbringing, though.

189TadAD
Oct 19, 2009, 4:19 pm

I envied people who had friends that went back more than 12 months. My sister and I became each other's best friends simply because of the situation. It's made us close today and my little sister (who came much later...oops!) says she sometimes feels left out. I was glad when I got to high school and my dad retired from the military and we stayed in one town. I'm trying to keep my kids in one town until they get through high school; then we'll probably move somewhere less expensive than NJ. We keep wanderlust at bay with vacations.

190Whisper1
Oct 19, 2009, 7:47 pm

I was not an Army brat, but for some strange reason my mother felt compelled to move us -- way too many times for my comfort level. I grew weary of new schools and trying to fit in.

191dihiba
Oct 19, 2009, 9:01 pm

I was a shy kid...the thought of moving struck terror to my little heart. My parents stayed in the same duplex for 35 years! My mother came to Canada in 1946 and died in 1995 and in all that time she only lived at three different addresses.

192alcottacre
Oct 20, 2009, 2:44 pm

My dad always claimed he had gypsy feet. I understand completely about all the moving back and forth as a child - one of the reasons I clung to books, I suspect. At least they came with us every time we moved!

193tloeffler
Oct 20, 2009, 2:46 pm

I can't imagine the trauma of moving, Diane. I've lived in the same house for 30 years. It will just be up to my boys to move stuff out when I'm gone!
Hope you're feeling a bit better. Sometimes when life gets to you, sitting in a box with a book is about the best thing to do! As long as you have snacks available...

194dihiba
Oct 21, 2009, 11:45 am

I am feeling better, thanks! Just had some stuff moved out this morning and the final move is next Wednesday. More to pack up in the meantime.
It will get done!

195dihiba
Oct 22, 2009, 4:26 pm

(119) Perfect Love by Elizabeth Buchan. I was able to read this quite quickly, between packing boxes (do you have any idea how much stuff teachers acculumate?!) and hanging on to my sanity. Buchan is a good writer, she gets a bit bogged down in this one, but just a tiny bit...she has a back story about Joan of Arc, which I think it could of done without, but maybe I missed the deep literary point. The main character, Prue, is married to a man 20 yrs. her senior, has a really witchy stepdaughter named Violet who is 27, and her own child is a girl, 10.
Prue falls for Violet's new husband Jamie and you can guess what ensues. A lot of angst, passion, guilt, fear, and so on.
Violet is one of the nastiest people I have met in a novel recently; I think an actress would like to play her part in a movie - Parker Posey in You've Got Mail comes to mind - similar self-absorbed gal, but worse, as Vi is MonsterMum of the year too, while Prue is just above sainthood (hence the Joan backstory, I think), but of course, takes a fall. There is another story going on with the nanny Emmy, who should've just stuck a kitchen knife in Violet and done the world a favour.
If you like good British writing, some navel gazing, and an interesting family dynamic, this one's for you.

196Whisper1
Oct 22, 2009, 4:44 pm

Again, good luck with all the packing, moving and changes that making this big commitment entail.

I like your description of Perfect Love...hummmmm sticking a kitchen knife in someone...sounds like you really, really did not like the Violet character.

197TrishNYC
Oct 22, 2009, 6:58 pm

I have been meaning to read A ghost in the machine but for some reason the length kept getting to me. I have no problem reading long books but I think there is a part of me that kinda feels like I should not have to work that hard for a cosy mystery. Will give it another try soon.

198dihiba
Oct 22, 2009, 7:39 pm

.196 Now, you know I would only say that about a fictional character, not a real person ; ) !! I think it's a little bit of healthy therapy to imagine a rotten novel character suffering for their evilness...

199Whisper1
Oct 22, 2009, 9:27 pm

I liked your phrase! I'd like to borrow it, especially October 31st when my daughter gets married and I'll be in the presence of my x mother in law. It is appropriate that the wedding is on Halloween because she is really a witch!

200Cariola
Oct 23, 2009, 1:42 am

199> Oh, I have one of those, too. Maybe it is a good thing that my daughter hasn't gotten married yet.

201dihiba
Nov 1, 2009, 8:02 am

The move has finally been made! Last week I worked like a fiend, the movers came and did their thing in amazing time and efficiency, and I only have to go back to my apartment building and pick up some boxes in my storage locker. Yesterday I didn't do much and was completely exhausted - thank God for change of clocks here, 'cause today has an extra hour in it!

Finished up three books, the last just this morning:

(120) Isaac's Storm by Erik Larson - Wednesday night I didn't sleep and read most of this about the 1900 hurricane in Galveston. Interesting, but not riveting. I read Larson's Devil in the Wide City at the beginning of the year and preferred it.

(121) Open Secrets by Alice Munro. Another selection of short stories by one of the best. Even if you don't really know where Munro was going, the stories draw you in, and the people are just real. Preferred this to the last one I read, The Progess of Love.

(122) The Various Haunts of Men by Susan Hill. A good read, not quite on the par of some other British crime writers, but still good enough that I would read another in the Simon Serrailler series. Simon had almost a walk-on role; wonder how he fares in other books.

202dihiba
Nov 1, 2009, 8:03 am

Whisper1, how did that wedding go yesterday? Did the witch fly in on her broom?!

203dihiba
Nov 4, 2009, 8:48 am

(123) A Spanish Lover by Joanna Trollope. Vintage Trollope; this one examines the family dynamics and relationships of the Shore twins - now nearing forty, Lizzie is married with 4 kids and with her husband, running a successful arts/crafts business. Her parents live nearby and twin Frances is in London living a less structured life. Things start to change when Frances goes to Spain and takes up with a married man. All sorts of things bubble up to the surface in all branches of the family. No purely happy endings, but much like life itself, there are peaks and valleys. Trollope writes well.

204dihiba
Nov 8, 2009, 9:01 am

(124) The Lake of Darkness by Ruth Rendell. In her inimitable way, Rendell weaves a tight plot that succeeds in developing characters as well. Finn, an apparent psychopath, and Martin, a well-meaning accountant grappling with his sexuality who wins a pile of money in the pools, cross paths in an unexpected way with distrastrous consequences. Rendell does a splendid job of building tension, setting the scene, and always blending the mundane with the world where no one's grip is sure of anything.

205alcottacre
Nov 8, 2009, 9:38 am

#204: I have read several of Rendell's books this year, but not that one. I will give it a go. Thanks for the recommendation, Diana.

206arubabookwoman
Nov 8, 2009, 4:53 pm

I don't think I've ever read a Ruth Rendell book I didn't like--and I've read a lot of them!

207Whisper1
Nov 8, 2009, 5:15 pm

Hi Diana

What a special person you are! In the midst of moving and a life change, you are asking about my daughther's wedding. Yep, the witch flew in, knocked a couple cob webs down, trolled the area and plopped down at her table way across the hall from mine...

I didn't have a lot of interaction with her. Sadly, she is looking old. So is my ex husband.

Enough of me, I hope your transition is going well. My experience is that it takes time to adjust to living together and melding two houses. I send all good wishes.

208dihiba
Nov 8, 2009, 8:15 pm

Thanks so much Linda! Last week I was exhausted up from the move until Monday, and then I had to rush to get some freelance work done for a deadline. Have tried to relax this weekend. The transition is going well, of course there's always a few things to work out, but we have been together for 2.5 years, so know each other quite well. I am missing my son a bit, having him around for 6 months was nice. And in a month I will be going out to Vancouver to visit my daughters - that will be great - I haven't seen one for a year and the other since the end of April.

209dihiba
Nov 8, 2009, 8:21 pm

arubabookwoman - I have read a lot of Rendell's too, but have at least half a dozen and some Barbara Vines in my TBR box filed under "R" - to be savoured!
Stasia,, did you ever read any of Peter Robinson's Insp. Alan Banks series? A few months ago, I think, you were going to try them.

210alcottacre
Nov 9, 2009, 12:51 am

#209: Diana, I have read several of the Alan Banks series - up through book 3. I will pick up book 4 at the library on my next visit.

211dihiba
Nov 9, 2009, 8:01 am

Oh, am glad you like him! I just came across an Insp. Banks I haven't read (really wonder about my sanity at times) so am happily in the middle of it.

212alcottacre
Nov 9, 2009, 8:10 am

#211: I wonder about my sanity all the time, lol.

Glad you found another one to keep you happily occupied, since obviously nothing else is going on in your life :)

213dihiba
Nov 14, 2009, 7:50 am

(125) Innocent Graves by Peter Robinson. I found this book at a Christmas church sale last weekend and bought it with the intention of giving it to someone else - but discovered I hadn't read it - much to my astonishment, as I thought I had read all of the Insp. Alan Banks series (one of my favourite police procedural series). It was a bit slow but did pick up as it went along - a schoolgirl is found murdered in the local graveyard and there are enough suspects around to make it interesting. Robinson draws his characters well - and a subplot of the first accused (spoiler here) is developed and gives one a good sense of the anguish of the innocent.
I recommend Robinson if you like this genre.

214dihiba
Nov 15, 2009, 9:42 am

(126) Homesick by Guy Vanderhaeghe - this book took me totally by surprise. It is now ranked as my second best read of the year (fiction) behind A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry. I read Vanderhaeghe's The Englishman's Boy in 07 and thought the writing was excellent, but underwhelmed with the story itself. This one combines his writing skill and an engrossing plot.
Vera Monkman Miller, a widow in her late thirties, returns home to Saskatchewan after spending 17 years in Ontario. The book is set in 1959/60 but there are many flashbacks, to Vera's childhood, adolescence, war years when she was in the army, and her young adulthood including the courtship of her Jewish husband, her widowhood, and her life with her only son, who is 12 when they return to Sask.
Vera has to confront her widowed father, who she abruptly left join the army - he was left with her younger brother, who later battled mental illness.
Vanderhaeghe draws his characters extremely well, warts and all. Vera is as tough as nails, and so like her father, they never get along. Daniel, the son, is caught up in the shift from city to small town life, and rapidly facing coming-of-age.
Highly recommended.

215Whisper1
Nov 15, 2009, 10:15 am

Homesick sounds like a great book!

I hope the moving is going well and your adjustment is wonderful!

216dihiba
Nov 15, 2009, 1:35 pm

Thanks Linda! The move went well, am settling in, and everything is fantastic.

217alcottacre
Nov 15, 2009, 11:24 pm

#214: Adding that one to the BlackHole.

Glad to hear that the move went smoothly!

218dihiba
Nov 20, 2009, 12:55 pm

(127) Murder in Paradise by Ann Cleeves. A quick read, fairly cosy but not entirely - this one is the George Palmer-Jones series - George is a birdwatcher who seems to get mixed up in a lot of murders. Cleeves sets the tone of the book very well at the beginning - the setting is almost surreal - a Scottish island where the occupants seem stuck in a time warp. Not great, but okay.

219kiwidoc
Nov 23, 2009, 1:02 am

I have always meant to read Guy Vanderhaeghe - a Canadian like Mistry, I think.

I shudder to think of moving - especially with all my books to deal with! Glad it went smoothly.

220dihiba
Nov 23, 2009, 8:32 am

> I think you'd like Homesick, kiwidoc. I forgot to add in my review that there is quite a bit of humour in the book - in particular, V. does well with the father character - despite his flaws, the reader feels a lot of compassion for him, and that he is like a lot of old curmudgeons we have met.

221dihiba
Nov 25, 2009, 4:44 pm

I'm a bit behind in listing my books.
(128) Dave Barry's Bad Habits by Dave Barry. An older collection of Barry's columns, from the late 80's. The second half of the book was particularly funny when he takes on the media, etc. It hasn't gotten any better (the media).
(129) Drinking Problems at the Fountain of Youth by Beth Teitell. This book isn't about drinking (except maybe the recommendation to hydrate your skin!). I found this book just "okay" - I wouldn't have read it if it wasn't large print and good for the treadmill (I want something light for that), which is ironic, because basically, it's all about aging and the American obsession with looking young (her words, not mine), and I need large print on the treadmill because I'm aging (and only obsess about it in a quiet nice kind of Canadian way). It is listed as humour, but not a patch on Dave Barry's book, and really, some of seems sad and desparate. Fortunately she jokes about it, but still, she obsesses.
(130) Don't Look Behind You by Lois Duncan, a YA novel I read because of some freelance work I'm doing. Not bad for that sort of thing - she's a decent writer but some of the plot twists were a bit unbelievable.
(131) The Sweet Dove Died by Barbara Pym. Not too thrilled with the plot line in this one, but Pym never disappoints when it comes to writing. Leonora is a woman "of a certain age" who seems to live a pecularily empty life (while judging others the same way), relying on her fading beauty and handling of men. She falls for a much younger homosexual man, James, while his uncle falls for her.
Her attachment to James is odd - am not sure if it is supposed to be displaced maternal feelings (she never had kids) or what.

222dihiba
Nov 27, 2009, 7:50 am

(132) E is for Evidence by Sue Grafton - Kinsey investigations uncover all sorts of nasty things about a family and its business and she narrowly escapes death. All in a few days' work.

223alcottacre
Nov 28, 2009, 2:01 am

#221: I have The Sweet Dove Died home from the library now to read. I agree with you about the plot line, but I am sure that Pym will redeem the book with her writing.

224dihiba
Nov 30, 2009, 8:27 am

(133) A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka. I am sorry I didn't enjoy this book more. It's had some good press here on LibraryThing and I expected that I would. Here's what I liked about it: (a) it was a fairly quick read, because it is mostly dialogue; (b) some of the characters were well drawn, but just barely.
What I didn't like: (a) the sister relationship was tedious - the constant arring and jarring got on my nerves; (b) the male attitude towards women stirred up latent, or not so latent, resentment (and no, I am not lacking what Valentina had so much of); (c) the background story on tractors was also tedious and not of the slightest interest; and (d) it seemed to have no real focus - the resolution was not satisfying, nor had anyone seemed to have learned anything; and (e) the silly observations about baby Margaritka were just too trite for words and make the narrator seem like a twit.

The fact that I had my H1N1 shot on Friday night and felt like a slug all weekend might have added to my jaded view of the book. But I think not.
Not particularly recommended, unless you're in mood for something pretty light.

225Cariola
Nov 30, 2009, 9:00 am

224> I rather liked that one in the beginning, but I agree that it got irritating after awhile. I'm sure that having been through the situation of my widowed dad making a hasty marriage to a golddigger and pretty much cutting off relations with my brother and I may have colored my response.

226dihiba
Nov 30, 2009, 1:08 pm

Yes, Cariola, I can see that it would be more relevant. My dad is 88 and if he took up with a young gold digger, I am sure I would have, as he would put it, "forty fits"!

227dihiba
Déc 5, 2009, 11:09 am

(134) Love Lies Bleeding by Edmund Crispin. Always a delight to read Crispin, with his wonderful use of language. I did find the resolution of the mystery a bit confusing, but otherwise a good read. There was an "in-joke" where he referred to himself as well, which gave me a good laugh.

(135) The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. Read 500 pp of this on the plane and the rest of it the next day. Does not live up to its hype, as far as I'm concerned. Not as good as I'd thought it'd be, and really no better than a lot of other writers out there, and the only part that really appealed to me was finding out what happened to the missing girl - the rest of it was filler. And very much a man's book, if I may be a female chauvinist oink.

(136) Marley and Me by John Grogan. Just finished this, reading it for a freelance job. Mostly sentimental twaddle about the life of a "bad" Labrador retriever, mixed with unnecessary references to the couple's sex life and jarring mild expletives that could have been left out, as this would be a good book for younger folk. The end bit was moving, as anyone who's had a pet can't help but get teary eyed over their deaths - and the letters from his readers about their pets were amusing. Also, someone should have told him that Labrador is part of Newfoundland.

228cushlareads
Déc 5, 2009, 1:25 pm

#224 I gave up on Tractors after about 50 pages - just couldn't bring myself to pick it up again because the characters were annoying me so much!

229FlossieT
Déc 6, 2009, 5:27 pm

>227 dihiba: I am so glad to hear you say this about Stieg Larsson - I felt much the same (especially on the "man's book" issue - all that sexual abuse of Salander? eewww. Totally gratutious), and don't feel inclined to read the rest of the series. But I'm finding it hard to find people that agree.

230dihiba
Déc 6, 2009, 6:13 pm

I won't be reading the second (or third) either - I am giving it to my guy for Xmas (he read the first a few months ago and loved it - hmmm!) but he can keep it!
It did remind me a bit of some of Val McDermid (spelling?)'s books.

231dihiba
Déc 11, 2009, 3:54 pm

(137) The Flight of the Maidens by Jane Gardam. Gardam is one of my "discoveries" of 2009, thanks to this website. I read Old Filth earlier in the year - this one is quite different in its story (three 17 year old girls finishing up school in Yorkshire the year after WWII, one of them is a Jewish refugee from Germany). The book has its weaknesses, one being it seemed to be all over the place at times, but I can't fault Gardam for her observations, characterizations, etc.

232alcottacre
Déc 12, 2009, 12:30 am

#231: My local library is sadly lacking in books by Jane Gardam having only a couple, but I have read and enjoyed Crusoe's Daughter by her, so I will give The Flight of the Maidens a try.

233Whisper1
Déc 12, 2009, 12:37 am

Hi.

Happy Holiday in your new environment! I hope all is well and that you are basking in your new life.

234dihiba
Déc 14, 2009, 2:45 pm

Thanks Whisper1! Everything is going well. All the best to you and yours for the holidays - how could it be Dec. 14th already?!

235priyasingh
Modifié : Mar 11, 2010, 11:23 am

@(88) Death at the Dolphin --How true -- I am reading the book right now, or to be more precise, struggling to read it.
Whereas (Final Curtain) was such fun to read.