LauraBrook's 11-11 Part 2

Time for a second thread in the second half of the year. Thanks for joining me!

My rules for the 11-11 are that I will read at least 5 books in each category.






A. Doorstoppers - Over 400 pages

B. Contemplate a Classic - for my real-life bookclub

C. LT Recommends - found on my friends threads or from the "LT Predicts" feature

D. PBS'ers - from Paperback Swap

E. Main Shelf #1 - Authors A through G, on my living room wall

F. Main Shelf #2 - Authors G through P

G. Main Shelf #3 - Authors P through Z

H. Work Bookcase - Massage, Energy work, & their relations

I. Travel Bookcase - Travel guides & lit, coffee table books, oversize & home decor

J. Guest Bedroom Bookcase - Kids, reference, Shakespeare, Gardening, religion, and books from my ancestors

K. Magpie Central - any other shiny objects, probably will be a lot of library books

No overlaps are the plan!

Part 1 can be found here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/103364#t

A. Doorstoppers - Books over 400 pages

1. The Spice Necklace by Ann Vanderhoof (Feb 2) 480 pgs

2. Scarlet by Stephen R. Lawhead (Feb 19) 454 pgs

3. The Royals by Kitty Kelley (Aug 19) 547 pgs

4. Divergent by Veronica Roth (Sept 9) 489 pgs

5. 5th Horseman by James Patterson (Oct 11) 464 pgs

B. Contemplate a Classic - Books for my real-life bookclub

1. War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells (Mar 10) 253 pgs

2. Roughing It by Mark Twain (June 2) 421 pgs

3. Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (Oct 7) 146 pgs

4. Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh (Oct 13) 351 pgs

5. Tarzan of the Apes by E. R. Burroughs (Oct 20) 245 pgs

C. LT Recommends - reads found on my friends threads, or from the "LT Predicts" feature

1. Wisconsin's Own by M. Caren Connolly (Jan 4) 304 pgs

2. Stitches by David Small (Jan 4) 333 pgs

3. The Twelve-Spoked Wheel Flashing by Marge Piercy (Feb 17) 130 pgs

4. West Wind by Mary Oliver (Mar 17) 63 pgs

5. Hellhound on His Trail by Hampton Sides (May 1) 15 hrs 8 min

6. Pippo the Fool by Tracey E. Fern (May 11) 48 pgs

7. The Poison Diaries by Jane Duchess of Northumberland (May 14) 80 pgs

8. You're Not Going Crazy... You're Just Waking Up by Michael Mirdad (May 30) 90 pgs

9. Dear Enemy by Jean Webster (June 20) 350 pgs

10. Go the F*ck To Sleep, read by Samuel Jackson (July 1) 6 min

11. Charlotte's Web by E.B. White (July 5) 184 pgs

12. The Tale of One Bad Rat by Bryan Talbot (Oct 29) 136 pgs

13. Britten and Brulightly by Hannah Berry (Oct 29) 112 pgs

D. PBS'ers - from Paperback Swap

1. Still Life by Louise Penny (Feb 5) 312 pgs

2. Stuff White People Like by Christian Lander (Mar 15) 217 pgs

3. The Inspector and Mrs. Jeffries by Emily Brightwell (Apr 10) 181 pgs

4. Masters of Sex by Thomas Maier (Apr 25) 411 pgs

5. Undercover Sheik by Dana Marton (Aug 22) 251 pgs

6. QuirkyAlone: A Manifesto for Uncompromising Romantics by Sasha Cagen (Sept ?) 164 pgs

E. Main Shelf #1 - Authors A through G, on my living room wall

1. A Load of Old Ball Crunchers by Jo Brand (Jan 4) 258 pgs

2. The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde (Feb 5) 11hrs 41 min

3. Dresden by Lord Gerald Hugh Tyrwitt-Wilson Berners (Feb 5) 112 pgs

4. Duty and Desire by Pamela Aidan (Feb 20) 11hrs 13 min

5. Feng Sh*t: The Art of Domestic Disorder by Anna Crosbie (Apr 10) 128 pgs

6. Henrietta Sees It Through by Joyce Dennys (Apr 10) 183 pgs

7. The Pig Did It by Joseph Caldwell (May 24) 6 hrs 30 min

8. Beethoven: 1770-1827 (Great Composers Series) (May 30) 70 pgs

9. The Book of Tomorrow by Cecelia Ahern (June 7) 8 hrs 26 min

10. Bossypants by Tina Fey (July 6) 5 hrs 30 min

11. Carnal Knowledge: Baxter's Concise Encyclopedia of Modern Sex by John Baxter (Aug 19) 382 pgs

12. The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie (Aug 28) 7 hrs 48 min

13. The Poisoner's Handbook by Deborah Blum (Sept ?) 9 hrs 17 min

14. The Fourth Bear by Jasper Fforde (Oct 12) 10 hrs 55 min

15. Portrait of a Killer by Patricia Cornwell (Oct 13) 383 pgs

16. Hark! A Vagrant by Kate Beaton (Oct 20) 168 pgs

17. Deadly Desire by Keri Arthur (Oct 23) 352 pgs

18. The Family Under the Bridge by Natalie Savage Carlson (Oct 22) 99 pgs

19. The Pedant and the Shuffly by John Bellairs (Oct 22) 74 pgs

20. Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie (Oct 22) 12 hrs 1 min

21. Howards End by E. M. Forster (Oct 28) 3 hrs

F. Main Shelf #2 - Authors G through P

1. Amphigorey Also by Edward Gorey (Apr 10) 185 pgs

2. Daisy Miller by Henry James (May 11) 64 pgs

3. The Wilder Life: My Adventures in the Lost World of Little House on the Prairie by Wendy McClure (May 23) 327 pgs

4. Is It Just Me, Or Is Everything Shit? by Alan McArthur (May 30) 272 pgs

5. The Mirror in the Well by Micheline Aharonian Marcom (Jun 30) 137 pgs

6. Dolci di Love by Sarah-Kate Lynch (July 3) 309 pgs

7. I'm Not the New Me by Wendy McClure (Aug 1) 320 pgs

8. The Vampyre by John William Polidori (Oct 22) 24 pgs

9. Radiator Days by Lucy Knisley (Oct 23) 316 pgs

G. Main Shelf #3 - Authors P through Z

1. 2nd Chance by James Patterson (Apr 20) 400 pgs

2. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling (Aug 13) 8 hrs

3. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling (Aug 13) 9 hrs 18 min

4. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling (Aug 15) 11 hrs 51 min

5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling (Aug 21) 20 hrs 30 min

6. Julie & Julia by Julie Powell (Aug 22) 310 pgs

7. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling (Sept 3) 27 hrs!!!

8. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling (Sept ?) 19 hrs

9. The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J. K. Rowling (Sept ?) 112 pgs

10. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling (Oct 13) 21 hrs

11. Stiff by Mary Roach (Oct 22) 8 hrs

H. Work Bookcase - books about massage, energy work, & their relations

1. QiGong Illustrated by Christina Barea (Feb 18) 145 pgs

2. Love Thyself by Masaru Emoto (Jun 7) 120 pgs

3. Applied Kinesiology by Tom Valentine (Jun 20) 144 pgs

4. The Rainbow in Your Hands by Albert Roy Davis (Oct 4) 101 pgs

5. Crossing Into Medicine Country by David Carson (Oct 18) 304 pgs

I. Travel Bookcase - travel guides, travel lit, oversized, coffee table, Bill Bryson & home decor

1. Shakespeare: The World as Stage by Bill Bryson (Mar 26) 199 pgs

2. Alfons Mucha by Renate Ulmer (Mar 24) 95 pgs

3. At Home by Bill Bryson (July 2) 16 hrs 34 min

4. Bizarre World by Bill Bryson (Sept 28) 136 pgs

5. The Calvin and Hobbes Lazy Sunday Book by Bill Watterson (Oct 6) 128 pgs

J. Guest Bedroom Bookcase - kids, Shakespeare, reference, gardening, books from my relatives & religion

1. Amelia Bedelia, Bookworm by Herman Parish (Feb 5) 64 pgs

2. Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights by Sophie Dahl (Apr 10) 276 pgs

3. If You Give A Cat A Cupcake by Laura Numeroff (Apr 23) 32 pgs

4. The Ghost and Mrs. Jeffires by Emily Brightwell (May 22) 198 pgs

5. Peterkin Pollensnuff by Jenny Partridge (May 30) 24 pgs

6. Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr (July 3) 64 pgs

7. End of Days: Predictions and Prophecies About the End of the World by Sylvia Browne (Aug 20) 318 pgs

8. Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl (Sept 2) 96 pgs

9. The Hollow by Nora Roberts (Sept 3) 325 pgs

K. Magpie Central - any strays, probably will mostly be library books

1. Doctor Dolittle's Journey by N.H. Kleinbaum (Jan 3) 124 pgs

2. The Sunday Philosopher's Club by Alexander McCall Smith (audio - 8 hrs)

3. Spying in High Heels by Gemma Halliday (Jan 11) 324 pgs

4. The Dove by Dianne Stewart (Jan 15) 32 pgs

5. The Gardener by Sarah Stewart (Jan 15) 40 pgs

6. The Money Tree by Sarah Stewart (Jan 15) 32 pgs

7. The Friend by Sarah Stewart (Jan 15) 48 pgs

8. The Library by Sarah Stewart (Jan 15) 40 pgs

9. Love is a Mix Tape by Rob Sheffield (Jan 19) 224 pgs

10. Doctor Who The Visual Dictionary by Andrew Darling (Jan 23) 144 pgs

11. The Umbrella Academy by Gerard Way (Jan 24) 194 pgs

12. Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary (Jan 26) 133 pgs

13. Friends, Lovers, Chocolate by Alexander McCall Smith (Jan 29) 8 hrs 30 min

14. Mouse Guard: Fall 1152 by David Petersen (Feb 6) 192 pgs

15. Killer in High Heels by Gemma Halliday (Feb 14) 310 pgs

16. Maze of Bones 39 Clues #1 by Rick Riordan (Mar 2) 5 hrs 11 min

17. One False Note 39 Clues #2 by Jude Watson (Mar 7) 5 hrs

18. Longitude by Dava Sobel (Mar 11) 4 hrs 18 min

19. Milwaukee at Mid-Century, the photographs of Lyle Oberwise by the Milwaukee Cty Historical Society (Mar 16) 168 pgs

20. The Sword Thief 39 Clues book 3 by Peter Lerangis (Mar 15) 3 hrs 50 min

21. Beyond the Grave 39 Clues book 4 by Judy Blundell (Mar 18) 4 hrs 37 min

22. The Black Circle 39 Clues 5 by Patrick Carmen (Mar 20) 4 hrs

23. Evans to Betsy by Rhys Bowen (Mar 26) 214 pgs

24. Daddy Long-Legs by Jean Webster (Apr 10) 254 pgs

25. Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins (Apr 10) 359 pgs

26. Matched by Ally Condie (Apr 24) 9 hrs 54 min

27. The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner (May 9) 329 pgs

28. 3rd Degree by James Patterson (May 14) 341 pgs

29. Physics of the Impossible by Dr. Michio Kaku (July 4) 329 pgs

30. The Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby (July 11) 143 pgs

31. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken (July 12) 168 pgs

32. Smokin' Seventeen by Janet Evanovich (July 19) 308 pgs

33. 4th of July by James Patterson (Sept 1) 394 pgs

34. In Too Deep by Jude Watson (Sept 4) 5 hrs 15 min

35. The Viper's Nest by Peter Lerangis (Sept 6) 5 hrs

36. Black Diamond by Martin Walker (Sept 27) 304 pgs

37. Naughty in Nice by Rhys Bowen (Oct 4) 329 pgs

38. Black Hearts in Battersea by Joan Aiken (Oct 12) 240 pgs

39. Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard by David Petersen (Oct 14) 144 pgs

40. Moomin: the Comlete Comic Strip Vol 1 by Tove Jansson (Oct 21) 96 pgs

41. Moomin: the complete comic strip vol 2 by Tove Jansson (Oct 22) 84 pgs

42. Half-Minute Horrors by various (Oct 22) 145 pgs

43. Alice in Sunderland by Bryan Talbot (Oct 22) 324 pgs

Books / Pages / Audiobook Time per Month

October: 28 / 4,765 / 54 hrs 56 min

September: 13 / 2,020 / 65 hrs 32 min

August: 11 / 2,128 / 57 hrs 27 min

July: 10 / 1,505 / 22 hrs 10 min

June: 6 / 1,172 / 8 hrs 26 min

May: 13 / 1,843 / 21 hrs 38 min

April: 11 / 2,409 / 9 hrs 54 min

March: 13 / 1,209 / 26 hrs 56 min

February: 11 / 2,199 / 22 hrs 54 min

January: 16 / 2,230 / 16 hrs 30 min

I've decided to list all of the books that I purchase this year. The idea is to publicly "shame" myself into not buying much. (Sadly, the ticker at the top of the thread is a really big help ... or deterrent.) I won't list books I receive from PaperbackSwap or that I get as gifts because I didn't lay out any cold hard cash for them.

I'll list them by title, author, and then the month in which I bought it.

1. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, January
2. Android Karenina by Ben H. Winters, January
3. Henrietta's War by Joyce Dennys, January
4. World War Z by Max Brooks, February
5. Nigella Express by Nigella Lawson, February
6. Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick, February
7. The Big House: A Century in the Life of an American Summer Home by George Howe Colt, February
8. Let's Bring Back by Lesley M. M. Blume, February
9. ?????? can't remember this one - not a good sign, it's only been a month!
10. One of Our Thursdays Is Missing by Jasper Fforde, March
11. The Vision Board by Joyce Schwarz, February
12. A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley, March
13. Obie's Opus by Obelit Yadgar, March
14. Life in a Victorian Household by Pamela Horn, March
15. That Summer in Sicily by Marlena de Blasi, March
16. The Secret Adventures of Charlotte Bronte by Laura Joh Rowland, March
17. Wildwood: A Journey Through Trees by Roger Deakin, March
18. Thames: The Biography by Peter Ackroyd, March
19. Too Close to the Sun: The Audacious Life and Times of Denys Finch Hatton by Sara Wheeler, March
20. Crossing into Medicine Country by David Carson, March
21. The Judgment of Paris by Ross King, March
22. Faces of the Living Dead: The Belief of Spirit Photography by Martyn Jolly, March
23. The Moorland Cottage by Elizabeth Gaskell, March
24. 13, rue Therese by Elena Mauli Shapiro, March
25. My Reading Life by Pat Conroy, March
26. Pretty in Plaid by Jen Lancaster, march
27. Ghost Hunting by Jason Hawes, march
28. Nefertiti by Michelle Moran, march
29. The Poison Diaries by Jane Duchess of Northumberland, May
30. Late Late at Night by Rick Springfield, May
31. Cheri and the Last of Cheri by Colette, May
32. Lydia Cassat Reading the Morning Paper by Harriet Scott Chessman, May
33. Griffin & Sabine by Nick Bantock, May
34. Sabine's Notebook by Nick Bantock, May
35. The Golden Mean by Nick Bantock, May
36. The Venetian's Wife by Nick Bantock, May
37. The Forest Lover by Susan Vreeland, May
38. Little House series set of 9 books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, May, that I should probably list separately but don't want to because then that would put me really really close to 50 purchased for the year and that scares me since the year is only half over!
39. Roughing It by Mark Twain, June
40. The Essential Steiner ed. by Robert A. McDermott, June
41. A Grain of Wheat by Ngugi, June
42. The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe, June
43. No Wind of Blame by Georgette Heyer, June
44. Venetia by Georgette Heyer, June
45. The Woman Who Walked On Water by Lily Tuck, June
46. The Mirror In The Well by Micheline Aharonian Marcom, June
47. Camera by Jean-Philippe Toussaint, June
48. My Paris by Gail Scott, June
49. Things in the Night by Mati Unt, June
50. Savage by Jacques Jouet, June
51. The Distant Sound by Gert Jonke, June
52. Van Gogh's Room at Arles by Stanley Elkin, June
53. Op Oloop by Juan Filloy, June
54. La Batarde by Violette Leduc, June
55. Diary of a Blood Donor by Mati Unt, June
56. The Sign of the Sinister Sorcerer by Brad Strickland, June
57. Between the Bridge and the River by Craig Ferguson, July
58. Ask Graham by Graham Norton, July
59. Katherine by Anya Seton, July
60. The Nasty Bits by Anthony Bourdain, July
61. The Man Who Would Be King by Rudyard Kipling, July
62. The Food Substitutions Bible by David Joachim, July
63. The Smudging and Bessings Book by Jane Alexander, July
64. Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters by Lesley M.M. Blume
65. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, July
66. I'm Not the New Me by Wendy McClure, July
67. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs, July
68. Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny, August
69. One Day by David Nicholls, August
70. My Life in France by Julia Child, August
71. Vanderbilt Mansion, photos by Richard Cheek, August
72. The Queen's Confession by Victoria Holt, August
73. The Moviegoer by Walker Percy, August
74. Colour Scheme by Ngaio Marsh, August
75. All Mortal Flesh by Julia Spencer-Fleming, August
76. The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen, August
77. Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick, September
78. Jane Goes Batty by Michael Thomas Ford, September
79. Royal Blood by Rhys Bowen, September
80. Very Valentine by Adriana Trigiani, September
81. The Tower, The Zoo, and the Tortoise by Julia Stuart, September
82. Wicked Appetite by Janet Evanovich, September
83. Bruno, Chief of Police by Martin Walker, September
84. A Rather Charming Invitation by C. A. Belmond, September
85. A Flaw in the Blood by Stephanie Barron, September
86. The Language of Bees by Laurie R. King, September
87. And Another Thing: The World According to Clarkson by Jeremy Clarkson, September
88. Why Do I Say These Things? by Jonathan Ross, September
89. On The Edge: My Story by Richard Hammond, September
90. Notes from the Hard Shoulder by James May, September

Hello, anybody home?

Yep, I'm here! Don't know about anyone else, though... :)

Just made my way over here!

I did a list of purchases the year before last too, for the same reasons you did. It actually worked a little bit, although this is probably not the best place to get help for buying less books... As I said elsewhere, what me and Flea have been doing for the last year and a half is going on a strict diet of buying one book a month each. Which is due to space mostly (bookshelves getting crammed, and since we're planning on moving next year, it's not really an appealing idea to start screwing new ones up), but also a TBR alp of sex och seven hundred books. It's not easy, but it's been working surprisingly well. Buying the monthly book - which should be a full price hardback of course - has become a pretty solemn affair :)

Then again, after moving, our aim is to devote a whole room to be library. And the the floodgates will open again, of course.

Hi Anders! The one-book-a-month idea is pretty appealing. Plus, I could still get any PaperbackSwap books online since they're free. Hmmmm - I'll think about it for next year. And you and I share a similar TBR amount - it's kind of scary, isn't it? I really hope that you'll be able to have a library in your next home - floodgates opening is the perfect image, in my opinion. :)

I wonder what Stasia does for book storage since she's got the most books of anyone I regularly talk to here on LT. Is her whole house nothing but a series of shelves? If is isn't, wouldn't that be great?

And in the interest of full disclosure, I started my book club book last night, Brideshead Revisited. Here's hoping I can get it finished (or at least mostly finished) by Friday night!

Since I could not sleep last night to save my life I gave up the ghost and got up at 4:45. And I am really not a morning person, so this is going to be one long and interesting day. I think I'll take a shower, get ready, and then head over to the 24-hr Walgreens a few miles (and Walgreens') away from me to get a few basics that I keep forgetting to put on The List, and then I'll have plenty of time to make some coffee and a decent breakfast before I leave for work at 8:30. *sigh* I just hope I don't fall asleep in the new Harry Potter movie this afternoon. I wouldn't think it was possible, but I have narcoleptic tendencies lately. :)

What are you all doing today?

Hi Laura: That's a good idea having a ticker for purchased books. I started doing it and then, alas, much like all of my new year ambitions I lost track somewhere around April.

I should try to do it again next year. I think I would be horrified though if I saw it all in a tabulated format.

->14 LauraBrook:
"The idea is to publicly "shame" myself into not buying much"

On LT, you're more likely to get people to congratulate you on your lovely acquisitions! :)

->17 GingerbreadMan:
Did you accidentally write part of that in Swedish? LOL!

20 Um, yes. That should read "six or seven hundred books" of course. Although an alp of sex sounds nice, I suppose, in an overwhelming sort of way...

I'm with bookaholic - public shame ain't happening here, even on the Books off the Shelf challenge. There, we congratulate people for getting out of a library book sale with only one bag of new books. We talk about books like dieters who are secretly trying to get the conversation back to chocolate and desserts.

We're enablers, not disapprovers.

You're right and that's why I love it! Especially the Books Off the Shelf challenge, it's so much like an AA meeting where everyone is passing around a bottle. It's fantastic.

On that topic, I've just heard about some massive book sale at a church somewhere around Milwaukee or Waukesha that starts this Thursday and goes through Sunday. Apparently, Sunday is "Dollar Bag Day". There's a $5 admission that goes to the VA if you want to come on Thursday, and all profits go to rehab the church or a hospital or something. I guess it covers the entire inside of the church and most of the parking lot. "30,000 books, CDs, tapes, DVDs" - holy crap. I just found a very very dangerous website, www.booksalefinder.com, that has sales listed by state. You're welcome for the link. ;) Thankfully I'm supposed to be at a friends and family festival for an older friend that's just moved into assisted living, so that should dissuade me from going on Sunday. But I have off on Saturday.....

NO NO NO MUST RESIST!!! If I knew where this church was off the top of my head, I'd already be putting it into my schedule. Guess it's a good thing I'm fairly busy. Or rather, I should make myself fairly busy. Dang.

I just got back from the last Harry Potter movie. It was excellent, better than I could have hoped for, and I cried through most of it. May have to go back again by myself and sob quietly into my popcorn bucket. And, annoyingly (and despite the fact that I barely got 4 hours of sleep last night), I am still wide fricking awake. I've just started doing a massive amount of laundry, but will have to stop in a couple of hours since we're supposed to get slammed with storms. I've got a list a mile long of chores to do around the house, and for my new business, and I feel like I can tackle it all tonight. I really hope that I'm wrong and that I'll crash some time soon. If I don't sleep again tonight I am going to be seriously ticked off! Okay, off to switch loads of laundry and start on the list for work.

They probably only have 30.000 really bad books anyways.

Not trying to be an enabler or anything... okay, maybe I am.... but I always convince myself that book purchases where the proceeds go towards charity or other worthwhile projects (my favorite being funding literacy!) don't count as book purchases. They are donations to a really, REALLY good cause!

**Quickly scampers away**

Yeah, I bought books on vacation under the guise of supporting independent bookstores. I really will get a handle on this, maybe in the fall...

Ahh! but we must support our indie bookstores, and the publishing industry that just lost 20% of their pre-orders due to the "Borders collapse" as publishers are calling it. We can give you millions of excuses to buy books.

It will take a few years, but I'm hoping some more indies will rise up to fill in the space Borders took.

I now feel less guilty about the 15 books I brought home with me from my vacation. How could I not shop and buy books at a bookstore called "The Haunted Bookshop"?

Thanks for the enabling. I did find out where the church is, and I've decided that if I'm going to go, I'll go tomorrow on my way to work in the afternoon. That way I have a time limit, and I'm only going to bring one bag with me, so hopefully that will cut down on the damage. Another dilemma that I've just realized is that the only Borders left in my area of the state is downtown and less than a mile from the big booksale - do I try and go to that too? I mean, I know the answer is "no", but is it really?

I've been doing less shopping for books on Ammy, and more shopping at the few local indies that are left - they have to stick around! Borders closing is bad enough, we can't afford to lose any more bookstores!

No guilt for book shopping while on vacation - those are your souvenirs! Better than terrible T-shirts and tchotchkes, right?!?

Laura, have you gone into a Borders for their closeout yet? I was planning to go to the Gurnee location yesterday and just couldn't do it so I had a coffee and read my Kindle instead.

When my favorite indie mystery bookshop closed, I was ticked at Borders, B&N etc. Now, it's tough to decide who to be mad at re Borders. Myself, I guess. I used to go there just about every payday and buy an armload of books. I haven't done that more than once or twice since I got my Kindle 2.5 years ago.

We have an indie in Lake Forest. I've bought books from them at author readings at the library but have never been there. I need to seek it out. One of the last indie's in the county, I believe.

I'd love to go to "The Haunted Bookshop!" Closest thing we have is an indie kids bookstore that has an arched hallway filled with horror books, and the floor is thick glass covering the rats' cage.

Geez, I haven't been here in a week and a half! Life, you know... always gets in the way. A week ago I sent a letter out to my clients saying that I'd be going out on my own (so to speak) as of Sept 1 and will be transitioning from my old massage place to my new place during August. Apparently, that means "please schedule appts like crazy at the old place so we don't have to drive a bit more and pay a bit more". I know it'll take a little time to get things rolling at my new digs, but I was hoping that some of my regular clients would just transfer over to the new place. Only 1 person is really doing this. It bums me out. Plus, I just figured out that at the end of the month, unless I get 10 more appts, I'm going to owe my new "boss" $200 for rent. Sucks. Oh well! Trying to remain positive and realistic about it all, and am looking forward to a time in the hopefully-near-future when things will be running smoothly and I'll be a much less stressed and happier Laura!

I didn't end up going to that massive book sale, and Linda, I haven't been to a Borders since they announced they're all closing. Keep meaning to, and then once I get on the freeway to go to work I forget to exit earlier. It's probably a better thing for me in the long run, but knowing I'm missing out on cheap new books is a bit of a killer.

In bookish news, I seem to have started a few more books lately. I've also finished 3 in my absence, and hope to get at least one more knocked off today between naps and awesome movies on Turner.

Book 82: I'm Not The New Me by Wendy McClure

To quote from the publisher: "This is the memoir of the author's odyssey - online and off - through the Valley of the Shadow of Her Really Big Ass. ...(It's) about coming to terms with a family heritage of fat and drastic surgeries, and about self-esteem issues that are nobody's business but your own. It's wondering what's left of yourself after you lose weight -- and just who the hell you are if you gain it back. It's about the absurdities of online identities and fat-girl cliches, and the sheer terror of appearing live and in person in your very own life."

I won Wendy's book The Wilder Life from the LTER program earlier this year and fell in love with her writing and the way she sees herself and the world around her. Sparklingly funny, sarcastic, honest, and a funny reminder at how "far" we've come in the last few years regarding technology, online communities and presence, and how we present ourselves to the world. Being a larger woman myself, I especially appreciated the small little truths about being bigger in the world, and what things go through your head. And ugh! Shopping for clothing! I'm a big fan of hers and will happily read anything and everything she writes. 4.2 stars

Books 83 & 84: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling

After many years, I'm finally re-reading the series. It's been a wonderful trip down memory lane so far, and all of the details and story lines that I've forgotten about are exciting and fresh - it's almost like reading a favorite book for the first time. Really, it is! I'm also watching the movies again too, and it's been so much fun. 4.5 stars for each.

Alright, now I'm off to have a little lunch (in between doing a saliva test today - boo hiss), watch the end of "Vivacious Lady", have a nap, and then tackle some more Harry Potter.

What are you guys up to this weekend?

Good for you for missing the booksale and going to Borders. You're a shining example to all of us! And while a big change like you've made will be a little hairy at the beginning, I think you should enjoy the breathing room (and reading time), knowing that many of your old regulars will discover that they'd really rather stay with you and that you'll put together a new group of regulars in your new space.

Keep us up to date on how things are going, please?

I certainly will. I know you're right, and that things will all work out in the end, but you know how starting things is, it's always a little nerve-wracking. Thanks so much for your comment, Alison!

@ 34 Alison said it. I'm sure things will work out in the end. Can imagine you feeling a little disappointed right now, but they'll come crawling back (the bastards).

Hah! Thanks, Anders, I need a laugh. :)

Cudos for striking out on your own! I'm thinking more than one person will reappear eventually. A friend of mine did the same and a bunch of her clients disappeared as well, but many came back eventually since they hadn't found the "right" replacement. Also, potential for a new market with new clients! Fingers Xed!!

I want to reread HP as well - I'm hoping that I'll have completed my regular challenge by Xmas so that I can spend the holiday immersing myself!

Thanks, Eva! Will keep you posted. And I really hope you get a chance for a Harry Potter Holiday, it sounds like a marvelous thing.

Speaking of Harry Potter...

Book 85: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling

I don't know why I waited so long to re-read these books. I'm having the best time! Sirius Black and Professor Lupin are such great characters, and the entire episode in the Shrieking Shack had my heart pounding just like it did the first time I read it. Professor Trelawney is such a hoot! The trial of Buckbeak, the origins of the Marauders Map, Hagrid's first attempt at teaching, and the Knight Bus, the Grim, the Boggart ... no wonder this book is the favorite for a lot of people. 4.5 stars and I've already started into the next book.

Book 86: The Nasty Bits by Anthony Bourdain

This book of essays, magazine and newspaper articles, and a short fiction story was a great way to pass the time between appointments, or for when I just had a few minutes of nothing to do. I've never read Bourdain before, though I'm a great fan of "No Reservations", and at first I had a bit of a difficult time connecting to the material. However, once I "heard" his voice in my head reading the essays, that problem vanished completely. Sometimes funny, always snarky and brutally honest, it was a nice mix of subjects. If you've watched his show for any length of time, you'll recognize some of the pieces very well. I especially enjoyed his commentary at the back of the book - for each story he had a paragraph or two of what brought the piece about, or the audience it was originally written for, or an apology to whomever he was slagging off. If you like the show, you'll like this book. 3.5 stars.

I've been rereading the Harry Potter books too (just finished the fifth yesterday), and I agree -- it's a wonderful experience!

Wow - there seem to be a lot of us reading the series again! I think I'm the furthest behind, though. I'll just have to listen faster to try and catch up! Which book is your favorite?

The fun part about rereading the series is discovering that my feelings about the books have changed the second time around. Before, The Goblet of Fire was my favourite, but now, I think it's The Prisoner of Azkaban.

Another one whose fave is Prisoner! I was just talking to staffordcastle on my Books Off the Shelf challenge thread about why it's their favorite (sorry, don't know your real name!) too. My favorite is Half-Blood Prince, but that may change on re-reading too!

Here's another vote for Azkaban...! :)

> 44 And another!

>45 casvelyn: And one more!

Holy cow! So, what is it about Azkaban that makes you all love it?

> 47 Book 1 really functions more as an introduction to the entire series. The significance of Book 2 isn't really apparent until Book 5 or 6. Azkaban is really where we start to see where Rowling is going with all this and what our characters are up against and what they're capable of. Also, the book is incredibly well-plotted - I don't know how Rowling went about writing the book, but I wouldn't have been able to have such a detailed bit of time travel without writing the ending first and then making all the rest of the book fit in with it.

47: I love the fact that Azkaban works well as a stand-alone novel but at the same time, explains so much of the backstory. The complexity of the plot and the relationships among the characters really appealed to me. Lupin is one of my favourite characters, and this novel told his story well. I also found that the later books felt bloated and could have used more editing. Perhaps this thought is unfair. When I read the books for the first time, I really did savour every single word, but on rereading it, I'm getting impatient at times.

> 49 I skimmed parts of the later books from the first reread on. I don't think I've ever read Deathly Hallows word-for-word. I didn't read the books for the first time until well after they were all out, and I watched movies 1-5 before I read any of the books, so I already had a fairly good idea of what was going to happen in each book and I've always conducted my HP reads as a marathon, so by the seventh book I'm kind of in Harry Potter overload.

And there's always something to be said for books that are shorter, lighter, and don't strain one's arms during long periods of reading.

All good points, and you may be swaying me to your side! I'll leave final judgement to after I've finished my re-reads. Am currently listening to Goblet of Fire, and the Goblet itself has just been revealed and explained, so I'm guessing I'm about 1/3 of the way through.

Have also just decided to give up on an audiobook that I was too chicken to start reading my physical copy of - The Book of Air and Shadows by Michael Gruber. There are too many plots to follow (with overlapping characters) and the storyline involving Shakespeare and his contemporaries isn't different enough to distinguish it from the "current" lines. Plus, it has a 3 star average, and most people here on LT seemed to think 3 stars were generous ( or rated it lower), so I'm giving it a pass. The book will be on PBS in a few minutes if anyone else is brave enough to request it. A real shame, as it involves old books and the narrator for the audiobook is one of my favorite guys, Stephen Hoyt. *shrug* Oh well - that makes more space for the other 700+ that I have sitting on my shelves!

I've had The Book of Air and Shadows on my shelves for a while now. Maybe I'll go check out some of the reviews and decide if I should try it or not. Might be interesting to see what other LTers had to say. I might give it a pass too. Let's face it - there must have been some hype that made us get it in the first place, right?

I think what got me was that it was about books and had an interesting cover. I'm so shallow. :) I just got a message from Mark/msf59 on my 75 group thread and he said that he loved it, but maybe that's unusual? Don't know. The cover blurbs seem genuine (you know, not the fakey "thrill ride" "up all night" kind of cliches you normally see) and make me want to try to read it again at some point. Just not any time in the near future. Plus, I'm sure that starting out with the audio didn't help in straightening out my confusion since each chapter jumps around to a different storyline or time and there wasn't a differentiation vocally from the narrator. If you try it out, I'll be interested to hear what you think about it!

I'm sure that what got me was that it was about books too. I usually love to read books about books, book mysteries, etc. I was thinking of reading it for my "weather" category this year, but kept debating whether "air" could be considered "weather". and so I filled that category up with other things, so maybe I'll just let it sit on the shelf a while longer. Or maybe I'll read the first 50 pages and see what I think.

I haven't read that one, but another by Michael Gruber, The Forgery of Venus, I found to be fabulous. I can't imagine it as an audiobook, though. The story was complex and I had to pay attention to keep track of all the threads in the plot. A moment's inattention could make for a lot of confusion.

Format must have been the main problem for me then. Well, that, and a monkey-mind. I'm having a hard time concentrating on "heavier" books the last couple of weeks.

Book 87: The Royals by Kitty Kelley

500+ pages of gossip about the Windsors, from King George VI through the divorces of Diana and Fergie. Fun to read, some of it seems too trashy to be true, but this isn't high literature here. Written before Diana's death, it's a little strange to read this book, knowing that she died just a couple of weeks before the book hit the shelves. I've been reading this puppy since November and am very glad to finally have it off of my coffee table. 3.5 stars

After reading Ellie's thread and being so inspired by her book purging (thanks for the motivation!), I've decided to start whipping through those books that I've forgotten about, or that I know I'm not going to want to keep, or are brain candy that I've had sitting around for too long, or... I think you get the picture. If I can read 1 a day, I'll feel a lot better about the state of my stacks and drawers and shelves full of unread books. Here are my first two!

Book 88: Carnal Knowledge: Baxter's Concise Encyclopedia of Modern Sex by John Baxter
With entries like "peep show", "9 /2 Weeks", "condoms" and "Knee-Trembler", there isn't much here that was new to me or salacious or, frankly, interesting. There are lots of pictures and illustrations which eat up the page count (only offensive if you find breasts offensive), and after awhile it was rather boring. 2 stars and off of my shelf!

Book 89: End of Days: Predictions and Prophecies About the End of the World by Sylvia Browne
Only 40 pages in this 318 page book are devoted to what Sylvia thinks will happen, It's really a collection of what major religions, doomsday cults, native peoples, prophets and ancient beliefs say about the end of the world. Interesting to see where so many of them overlap and interesting to see that almost always someone has said it is the "end of days". Three stars, and a good quick reference guide to who-believes-what.

Great house-cleaning!

Thanks! Here are two more...

Book 90: Undercover Sheik by Dana Marton

American doctor is caught in a random Middle-Eastern country, doing good work - until she meets a menacing Sheik (or is he?) that saves her life when under attack. But can he save her life in ways she never imagined?

Romance books really aren't my thing. I keep on thinking that maybe they could be, if for no other reason than they seem to be available everywhere for dirt cheap and I'd have a seemingly endless "back catalog" of titles to work through. This story was a little less cliche than some of the others I'd read (they don't "do it" until the final pages), romance just isn't for me. 2 stars and away it goes!

Book 91: Julie & Julia by Julie Powell

An ambitious concept - to do every recipe in Julia Child's Art of French Cooking in a year - and it's fun to read about what the online world was like not too long ago (though it seems like ages). A fun book, but after seeing the movie, I enjoyed that better than reading this book. It seems like she's unnecessarily mean to her husband, though I can't imagine doing her job dealing with 9/11 victims, and having to kill all of those lobsters and work with aspic? Yuck! 3 stars to the book, and off of my shelf!

And then another Potter...

Book 92: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling

Another excellent entry, once again, there was more to this book than I remembered. S.P.E.W., and especially the entire Barty Crouch Sr and Jr affair. Holy cow, is there more to this than is even hinted at in the movie! Such a lot of fun, though it did seem a little long after the first three books, and I'm so glad that I'm rereading these. 5 stars - keeper!

I seriously need house-clearing too - I'm toying with the idea of making my 12-in-12 a purely BotS-challenge. However, knowing me, I'll have to leave a little bit of room for new shiny books.

Julie & Julia is one I have to get to as well - I loved the "Julia-parts," but was less fond of the "Julie-parts" in the movie, so I'm guessing it'll be the same with the book.

It was the same with me, Eva. I savored over the Julia parts and skimmed everything else. Just consider it a fast read and say adios to it!

Hehe, you could tell you hated Undercover sheik (omg the title the title my eyes my eyes!!!) even from your little description there...

And pardon me for being an ignoramus, but I've not quite grasped the concept of the Books of the shelves challenge. It's about reading TBR:s and promptly decide if they stay or go? Is there a quota?

Hope your eyes have recovered, Anders. It's rated highly at other book sites, presumably by those that read much more of the genre than I do. If the title makes you cringe, look out:
There's a reason I read that one at home and not out in public!

You, my dear GBM, are certainly not an ignoramus! Yep, Books Off the Shelf challenge is exactly that - reading books that you already own and getting rid of them if you feel like it. Don't know if the "getting rid of it" is part of the actual "rules" or not, but that's my goal 75% of the time. We all set our own challenge goals, but it doesn't matter if you hit the mark or not. This year my goal is 50 books read, and I'm at 42 (I think). Sixteen have actually left the house, and a few more are hanging around on my "Read Already" bookshelf since they're either part of a series that I'm not sure I'll keep or I'm still debating on keeping. I was doing really well a month ago, on reading my own books, but then I had to request book 2 in a series from the library ( I already had books 3 & 4) and now that I'm listening to Harry Potter - I'm back at 8 books checked out again. Not too bad, really, but it doesn't help me out so much on the lack-of-shelf-space issue. Oh well! It's a lovely problem to have!

Oh dear, that cover.............

That's how I use the BotS as well - as read-and-give-away - since the complete Mt. TBR contains quite a few books that I want to keep for sure. I made a separate collection which I should go to immediately upon finishing a book, but that doesn't always happen... :)

I know, at least there aren't any "heaving" or "bulging" anythings on the cover - now that would be much more embarrassing!

That's a good idea, to have a collection of go-to books after you've finished a certain one. Hmmmm, may just have to shift some more books and have a shelf set aside for that very purpose! Thanks!

I have strong images of you hauling books back and forth between shelves in your house Laura. You're usually in your pyjamas.

I just choked on my tea.
Just so everyone knows, when I heave my books to and fro, I'm fully dressed.

Ha! I can see that too. And an evening spent in the happy rearrangement of books is a fun evening. Does anyone here disagree?

Anders, today I actually got dressed! Granted, it's a t-shirt and stretchy yoga pants, but it's not pj's! I know, I can hardly wait to get pj's on as soon as I get home - all about comfort! And yes, I am walking around like a maniac, shifting books like crazy. If you had a Marauder's Map a la Harry Potter for my house, you'd see me walking back and forth, back and forth, for hours on end. Kind of like watching a tennis match!

Victoria, hope you have recovered. ;)

Rearranging books is one of my favorite things to do, and then I can listen to an audiobook while I do it - so I'm doing something and reading at the same time! *happy dance* You are correct as usual, Alison!

Oh I love spending time sorting and arranging my books. The best thing about planning the 12 12 Challenge is getting to paw through all my books, making piles here and there. And yes, wearing comfortable clothes or pj's is important.

Yes! Add another name to the PJ Camp - welcome, Judy! This weekend during audiobook listens for the 75 Group read-a-thon, I'll be shifting more books around in anticipation of setting up my 1212 thread.

Forgot to add this one a few days ago.

Book 93: The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie

from Amazon: A bit of adventure and quick cash is all that good-natured drifter Anthony Cade is looking for when he accepts a messenger job from an old friend. It sounds so simple: deliver the provocative memoirs of a recently deceased European count to a London publisher. But the parcel holds ore than scandalous royal secrets. It contains a stash of letters that suggest blackmail--and lead to the murder of a stranger who's been shadowing Anthony's every move. Discovering the dead man's identity means retracing his steps--to the rambling estate of Chimneys where darker secrets, and deadlier threats, await anyone who dares to enter.

A nicely done audiobook, read by Hugh Fraser (Captain Hastings in the Poirot TV series), and the first in the Superintendent Battle series. I don't know, this one didn't "do it" for me like Christie usually does. SI Battle seems to not be in this so much (I was expecting an appearance similar to Poirot's, present on every page), so that threw me a bit. The mystery itself - you know, it's been a few days and the memories are fading fast. I'll just say that this was an underwhelming debut of the Battle and Bundle characters and give it three stars.

Laura, sorry you weren't blown away by The Secret of Chimneys. It's definitely not the usual Christie fare, but I have really grown to like it, as well as its "sequel" The Seven Dials Mystery, which also features Battle and Bundle. To be honest, I really love Seven Dials and think it's a definite improvement over Chimneys -- so I would definitely recommend giving it a try!

I certainly will, Christina! I chalked my ambivalence up to being wrong book wrong time for me, and that Christie was trying to establish a different "feel" for this series. But it was probably the former, not the latter. I'd like to read the whole series, and am glad to see such a big endorsement for The Seven Dials Mystery.

Book 94: 4th of July by James Patterson

In this outing with the Women's Murder Club, Lindsay finds herself on trial for killing one and paralyzing another teen in self-defense, and tracking down a serial killer (or killers) that seems to have resurfaced from one of her first cases 10 years before while she is escaping from the madness of her trial at her sister's house in Half Moon Bay. (phew!) While "relaxing" she's investigating the current spate of murders that are happening around her sisters' house and city, trying to stay out of the way of the local cops, and keep herself alive and sane.

I was a little disappointed that I figured out whodunit fairly early on, which is a first for this series. It was a very quick read once I sat down and just started it, and I have to say that I'm a big fan of Patterson's very short chapters. All in all, it was a nice distraction, though a bit of a letdown in the end. 2.75 stars

I'm not sure how to say this, or if I even should, but I feel strange in not saying something, so here goes. For the next week or so, I'm on bed rest. I've been menstruating non-stop for 4 months straight, and it's just getting heavier and worse the longer it goes on. It's to the point where I feel like I'm going to black out but don't, and I'm in the bathroom every other hour. Not exactly conducive to working or running errands, or feeling well, or really, much of anything. As of Wednesday my Doc has put me on bed rest, and the only thing I've been doing since then is running around to various clinics and today, the hospital, and all of the tests I've had done are inconclusive. While I wait until next week for some more scans/ultrasounds/testing/expensiveness, I get to lay around and read and watch TV and let my cats sleep on me. And run to the bathroom every other hour.

So, that's what's going on in my life. I'll certainly be around this weekend, and if I'm not, I'm probably sleeping. I feel pretty good, and I'm keeping positive, so things are alright. Just not great. And, I'll be able to read as much as I want to! Always a good thing.

I'll copy this over on my 75er thread too, so sorry for a double-up if you get one. :)

Oh my gosh! I certainly hope you figure out what's going on and get better very soon!

That sound scary. Hope it resolves soon!

Thinking of you.

Thanks Christina, Eva and Victoria! It's just so danged uncomfortable and embarrassing, especially if something happens when I'm at work, or in a store, and I have try to rush home and look as normal as possible. At least I know that Always and Tampax won't be filing for bankruptcy any time soon!

Sounds awful! Same thing happened to my SIL, although hers didn't get bad enough for bed rest. She finally had a hysterectomy and is happy to be done with a lifetime of issues. Hope the docs get you well soon!!! & in the meantime, I'm hoping the best books in the world find their way to your nightstand.

Laura, what a terrible thing to be going through. I hope you get some resolution to this problem soon. Keep us updated, and enjoy the reading that you get done. ((Hugs))

Laura - I hope you are keeping well and that this gets resolved soon! I hate whenever I have health issues that manifest themselves in vague terms that don't make sense to me, or the medical profession. I feeling like shouting at my body "Seriously, a little more information would be helpful."

Thanks, Katie, Judy and Lori! Lori, I was just yelling the same thing at my body yesterday - "Anything extra you want to share with the rest of us is REALLY okay!" - so here's hoping it was listening, or that it will be when the time for the next scan/test comes around. Judy, I'll surely keep you all updated. Katie, I've got so many books that I'm currently reading, that I'm hoping to finish most (if not all) of them up, plus start Divergent this afternoon.

Book 95: Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl

Greedy and evil farmers Boggis, Bunce, and Bean are out to kill Mr. Fox and his family - Mr. Fox is too clever and has been stealing their chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys for too long and they are out to make him stop! Mr. Fox is indeed quite clever, and he freely steals from them since they're such awful people and he and his family need something to eat. What makes up this book is the story of Mr. Fox and family digging down into the ground, getting away from BBB's shovels and guns and diggers, and in the meantime keeping himself and the Badgers, Rabbits, Moles, and Weasels safe and fed too.

A cute story, and actually, I prefer the movie over the book! Cute and clever, with an underlying message (I think) against greed and self-serving and for sharing and helpfulness. Enjoyable, and a nice way to end the evening! 3 stars

Laura - Not the way you want to get in reading time. Hope they find the problem - SOON!

No kidding. Run of the mill cramps are bad enough.

I don't think that that is all that uncommon -- I know someone who has the same thing going on -- but since it's we don't talk about it casually, I bet it's a bit scary. Baby yourself! Aren't you glad you worked hard to put together an adequate TBR pile now? Read hard and try not to bleed so enthusiastically.

Thanks, ladies. And Alison, I had NO IDEA that for all of these years I've been stockpiling my TBR for just such an occasion! The strange thing (or maybe it's not so strange) is that everything has slowed down dramatically. So, using this newfound information, that may mean that I need to be on bed rest for the rest of my life - or, until menopause. I can dig it, if I can only find a job that pays you to read books!

Book 96: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling

You all know the story, only there is so much more than I'd remembered. I wish the entire final quarter of the book was in the movie - I can only imagine how spectacular a thing it would've been with all of the storyline, and all of the rooms in the Ministry of Magic. *sigh* Oh well. This one has been a bit of a slog at times, but it all seems necessary for the outstanding ending. Seriously, the last few hours, I've been sitting here, rapt with the story, hurrying to switch discs when they end. I loved this book and am so glad I'm doing this re-read of the series. 5 stars

Book 97: The Hollow by Nora Roberts

(from the front cover of the book): In Hawkins Hollow, the lull is over. And the nightmare is about to begin... For seven days every seven years, madness descends on this small town. But three men bound by blood and three women bound by ancestry to a demon have pledged their souls - and their hearts - to stop it.

Second in the Sign of Seven Trilogy, I read the first book a few years ago. I was shocked to find out how much I remembered! It's a good story, with many more twists than I expected, and a very enjoyable mystery developing. They're all interesting characters, and much as I hate to admit it, I think I might miss this group of people once the next book is over and done with. A nice way to spend the evening before going to bed, to be sure. 3.5 stars

"if I can only find a job that pays you to read books!"

Let me know when you hit that jackpot and I'll join you!!!!! :)

Popped in to catch up on your thread, and got the scary news. Hope you continue to feel better, and that they find out what's wrong very soon!

Hi Laura, thinking about you today. Bed Rest always sounds so inviting, but I bet it's not such a great thing when one actually has to do it. Hope you are getting lots of good reading in, and keeping yourself amused one way or another.

Will do, Eva!

Hi Anders, thanks for the positive thinking and well wishes!

Hi Judy - I used to fantasize about bed rest, but really? I'm TERRIBLE at it! I'm always putzing around, thinking "I'll go and put my feet up as soon as I put this away" and then I do it for a half hour or more. Despite the numbers, I feel like I've barely read at all this weekend.

Book 98: In Too Deep by Jude Watson, 39 Clues series book 6

In this installment, Dan and Amy Cahill are still traipsing around the world trying to find all 30 clues, and this time they're in Australia and Jakarta. It's a fun way to learn about the world, and would be great for younger kids. Some interesting character developments happened (especially with Alistair Oh and Irina Spasky), but Dan and Amy are too cutesy/precocious and it's starting to get on my nerves. And the whole we're-siblings-who-can-talk-using-only-our-eyes-and-telepathy thing is way old. All in all, a nice way to spend 5 hours, but at this point I'm just reading these books to finish the series and see who ends up at the end of the race. 3 stars

Hi Laura - just bouncing through to send some get well soon thoughts your way!

Thanks Lori! Things have slowed down to the point of almost nothing happening, but I don't really feel well, so things are still brewing. Just waiting for a call from my Doc this morning to see what's going to happen for me for the rest of the week. *sigh* At least I have lots and lots of things to do around here that don't involve moving or lifting much!

Book 99: The Viper's Nest by Peter Lerangis, 39 Clues series book 7

Amy and Dan are in South American and Madagascar this time around, and as much as I'd like to stop reading this series (and as much as Dan and Amy are annoying the crap out of me) there is just enough intrigue to keep stringing me along. By some dumb luck, they find out about the Tomas family's secret underground hideaway, and there's a lot of talk about Shaka Zulu (which of course, these kids know tons about), and Winston Churchill, and evil cousins, and, they leave you hanging as to which branch of the family tree they really belong to. I'll still take a break from the series, but since I've got just a few books left to complete it, I'll be coming back. 3 stars.

Wait, aren't there 39 books in the series?

Wait, aren't there 39 books in the series?

.... bounces in and quickly exists to dodge potentially fatal 39 book bullets.....

Oh, Lordy, no! I think there are 10 or 11, and then there's some kind of spin-off series that has 2 or 3 books in it. They never really say how many clues they have (unless I miss it every single time, which is possible), or say something like "Well, only 13 more clues to go", but they get multiple clues every book. And, thankfully, they're short since they're for younger-grade YA age, so that helps to finish up the series too. It's not a full-time job investment.

They're cute, and would be excellent for kids in 5th/6th grade. Or, you know, 30 year olds as well. :)

Book 100: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Holy crap, did I ever love this book! A dystopian YA to-be-trilogy (there seems to be a lot of these lately), I won't try to summarize. And, darn it all, I had to return it to the library today, overdue, so I can't dip into it again for any quotes or referencing. But man oh man, I so enjoyed this read! By the time I was 30 pages in, I was hooked, and it's one of those books that kept popping up in my head when I was doing other things like working, or driving, and I even dreamt that I was part of the book, trying to kick butt alongside Tris. No wonder I woke up with my hands clenched in fists! It's good writing, full of heart-stopping and heart-pounding moments, and un-put-downable. Having visited Chicago a fair few times it was an extra thrill to recognize the landscape when they ventured outside of the compound. I don't know what it is about these YA trilogies/series, but when I read them I'm right back in high school and 16 all over again.

Suffice it to say that I can hardly wait until book #2 is published next spring/early summer. 5 stars, and many thanks to Mark for finally pushing me over the edge to request it at the library!

Darn, I walked past Divergent at the Friends of the Library bookstore today. I was trying to be good, though, since I was really there to donate, not buy. Regretting it now... On the wishlist it goes. :)

Holy crap. With a review like that and a 4.4 average...How can I not put it on my list?

I'll have to do the same.

No clue what it's about really, but me too. ;)

I really hope you guys enjoy it at least half as much as I did. This bit must've been on my 75'er thread, but I think that the 5 star rating had a lot to do with right place, right time. It's certainly a solid 4 or 4.5 star read for me normally, but really, it was a perfect escape from the end of the week. Not that anything overtly awful happened, but I needed to be taken out of my head.

That being said, I've been thinking a lot about my 1212 Challenge, and how I want to set up my goals and categories. Right now I'm leaning toward a stepped challenge (so my total goal would be 78) just so I know I'll complete it. (I'm anticipating that 2012 will be a better year for me, work-wise, and that I'll have less free time to get lost in books on a daily basis.) This year is the first time I've set up a challenge with categories that really work for me, so I'd like to keep the majority of them and add in a Blindfold category a la Anders. But should it be more challenging? My goal, like a lot of yours, is to reduce the TBR stacks as much as possible. And, I'd like to be able to use my current deep book drawer for clothing sooner than later. :)

What do you guys think? Should I just keep my categories for the most part for the 12-12?

I've had a couple of categories that will have been with me for 4 years. If you enjoy them and still have the books to read that fit then why not keep them? I'm also using a stepped version of the challenge for this year (and continuing next) hoping it will give me more wriggle room and allow me to read some of the larger books from my tbr shelves rather than picking the smaller ones just to complete it.

Quickly dropping by to drop a star Laura, I'll be back to see what I've missed soon. Have a lot of catching up to do!

Adding one or two "branching out" categories each year (next year I'll have a poetry category, for instance), and adapting the rest of the categories to my ordinary reading patterns works well for me. After all, it's possible to break new ground within well defined borders also: New writers, new takes on old subjects, new settings and so on.

Sure, if your categories worked well, by all means, keep them. You can give them shiny new names to give them a new life and you have a new category to come up with.

I always have a few I try to rename so I can keep them. Then try to think of new ones to fit in those books that I really, really want to read and can't find a place for.

Amazon has been relentless at pushing Divergent at me. Thanks for the review!

I agree that you should keep the categories that you know you love reading. If the overall challenge is too much of a challenge I would get disheartened and lose interest. I say enjoy the challenge, keep the familiar and perhaps test yourself with a couple of categories. The Blindfold Category could be very challenging depending on what books are chosen.

I've started my 12 12 already. I decided to count books over 400 pages as 2 just because I don't want to start finding myself grabbing the small books to get my ticker moving. If it's 415 pages of big type, it will count as one, but I wanted to give myself the option.

I keep most of my categories but have "branching out" ones like GBM said. I plan on picking a different geographic location for one category each year. I'm also going to pick a specific prize (or in 12 12's case) convention for each year. In 2013 I want to do a category for both the Tiptree Award and the Nobel Prize. So yes, what's wrong with keeping most of your categories and tweaking a few for variety.

Since I'm avoiding working things that need to get done *ahem*, I'm working on my 1212 challenge categories. I'll keep almost all of my categories, just move a few of them around and combine a couple more. There are 2 that are only tentatively filled, so I'll troll around the threads and see if anything sounds good.

For now though, I need your help! I've got a Blindfold category (thank you Anders), and need 12 of you to pick books for me! I have 26 shelves (not 25, I forgot about 1 on my previous count), with numbers varying between 3 and over 100. Below, I'll list the shelf number and the number of available books. The only rule I have is that if the book chosen is part of a series, I'll read the first of the series or the next up for me to be read.

Shelf 1, 1 - 37
Shelf 2, 1 - 19 Book #11 picked by Lisa/jonesli
Shelf 3, 1 - 14
Shelf 4, 1 - 31 Book #5 picked by Paruline
Shelf 5, 1 - 21 Book # 12 picked by Lori/lkernagh
Shelf 6, 1 - 23 Book #4 picked by Renee/ReneeMarie
Shelf 7, 1 - 15 Book #13 picked by Victoria/VictoriaPL
Shelf 8, 1 - 65 Book # 40 picked by Anders/GingerbreadMan
Shelf 9, 1 - 79 Book #9 picked by Linda/lindapanzo
Shelf 10, 1 - 86
Shelf 11, 1 - 161 Book #72 picked by Betty/dudes22
Shelf 12, 1 - 42
Shelf 13, 1 - 18 Book #13 picked by Eva/bookoholic13
Shelf 14, 1 - 21
Shelf 15, 1 - 17
Shelf 16, 1 - 3
Shelf 17, 1 - 32 Book #23 picked by Judy/DeltaQueen50
Shelf 18, 1 - 56
Shelf 19, 1 - 63
Shelf 20, 1 - 26
Shelf 21, 1 - 18
Shelf 22, 1 - 21 Book #18 picked by Alison/RidgewayGirl
Shelf 23, 1 - 26 Book #12 picked by Ilana/Smiler69
Shelf 24, 1 - 25
Shelf 25, 1 - 56
Shelf 26, 1 - 64

I'll cross out the chosen shelves in this message. Have at it, everyone!

OOH! OOH! Pick me! raises hand

Shelf 11 #72

Laura, how about Shelf 9, Book 9.

(Can you guess my lucky number?)

114: Thanks, Betty! Before I start reading next year, I'll double-check each number, so some books may change a bit based on what I read and what I buy this year. For now, your book is Franny and Zooey by J. D. Salinger.

115: Is it 4? ;) Just kidding! Linda, your choice leads me to Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides.

#116 At least my choice for you has gotten good reviews. An avg rating of 4.13 is really good.

So far both picks are 4 star-ers, so I'm happy about that!

I'd like to pick #12 on shelf #23. Thanks for keeping me a spot.

1212 will only be my second year, so of course I'm all excited about picking new categories. I've been working on a tentative list and so far it looks like there are at least a couple that will remain unchanged. I'm trying to find a mix between categories that I know fit my reading choices, and others that will encourage me to read things I might put off otherwise.

I'll pick shelf 22, book 18. What is it?

119: Ilana, you chose Holly's Inbox by Holly Denham, one that has been quietly persuading for the last couple of months. I swear, half of the fun of a new year is finding categories and titles for reading challenges!

120: Alison, you picked Thames: The Biography by Peter Ackroyd, one that I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever voluntarily read. Excellent choice!

This is so much fun for me. Who's up next?

This is fun, I'll pick shelf 2 book 11, in honor of my son's Feb 11th birthday.

Hi Lisa! It's The Complete Book of Massage by Clare Maxwell-Hudson, one that I've had unread for at least 5 years. There's a section on children giving massages to their parents - has your son ever given you a massage? :)

Sounds like a light fun read Laura, hope you enjoy it!

Divergent sounds good

Hi Laura, how about shelf #17, book #23?

Hope it's a good one.

Oooh, Thames: The Biography sounds terrific. I'll have to look for that one.

Hi Laura - great to see another blindfold category! May I choose shelf #5, book 12?

Linda's choice that got you Middlesex is a good one. The subject matter is disturbing but the writing is fabulous.

I think shelf 8 clearly needs some weeding! How about an even #40?

126: Hi Judy! You chose When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chodron. That's one of those books that I wouldn't have pushed to the top of the pile for awhile, you know? Thanks for choosing it!

127: Linda, I can send it to you if you'd like?

128: Hi Lori! You chose An Area of Darkness by V. S. Naipaul. I've had this one for years and haven never read him before. Looking forward to reading it!

129: I've heard the same thing - excellent writing, disturbing subject. I take it you like it?

130: Anders, your pick leads me to The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg by Mark Twain. I've been thinking about reading more Twain, and this slim little novella is a great way to get me started.

Alright, four spots open!

I think shelf 13 needs book number 13 to be read. :)

Yes - I did!

How about shelf 6, book 4 (that was my mom's birthday)?

How about shelf four, book 5. I hope it's a good one!

132: Eva, you picked Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell. This is a copy that's been in my family for a long time - it's from 1892! And let me guess, your favorite number is 13? ;)

133: Glad to hear it, Betty. I don't know of anyone (other than yourself, of course) who has actually read the book, so I'm happy for the input.

134: Howdy there, Renee! You made a very good selection, with The Palace Under the Alps by William (Bill) Bryson. One of my favorite guys!

135: Paruline, your choice leads me to a big one - The English Landscape: Its Character and Diversity with an introduction by ... Bill Bryson! It's a beautiful, thick, oversized hardcover filled with lots of essays by all sorts of people, with maps and photographs. I'm glad to have an excuse to read this one!

That means, I've just got one spot left...

How about shelf 7 book 13?

Let's try Shelf 15, Book 16.

ETA: Darn. Victoria beat me to it.

Nice! Really a classic, then, in more than one way. Hope it's good... :)

137: Alright, the final choice is a travel guide for the Schonbrunn Palace outside of Vienna, Schloss Schonbrunn, that I've had for 11 years.

138: Sorry, you just missed it! Though no offense, I'm glad that Victoria beat you to it - the book you chose is a 1939, enormous, nearly 1,200 page book called The Favorites of Mark Twain. It has 4 books, and about 15 short stories. Yikes! That would certainly be a year-long project.

139: I'm pretty sure it'll be a good one, seems like it'll be my cup of tea!

>138 casvelyn: oh, casvelyn, I'm sorry!

>140 LauraBrook: I'm reading a 1200-pager for the 11-11 and I do think it will take me the rest of the year to finish. I am learning to enjoy the 'permanence' of it though, coming back to it again and again.

I've been meaning to read some Elizabeth Gaskell for a while. Another author I have yet to discover...

It's really okay that my pick didn't count. I don't care for Twain at all, and I'd feel bad "making" you read him.

Hi Laura: Is it smoky up there too? It's nasty out here and, even inside, it's making me cough.

141: I can see the allure of returning to something over and over again. I just don't think my first big book like that should be a re-introduction! I'll keep my eyes on your thread to look for your Big Book review.

142: Thankfully, there are so many authors out there that I haven't read, I know I can keep making new discoveries. I hope you like her whenever she lands on your doorstep!

143: :) Thanks! I think I'll count on Anders/GingerbreadMan's pick of a Twain novella for my "try-see". I really like this idea though, so when I do it again, I'll let you know and let you pick first!

144: Hi Linda. Yes, it's very smoky up here too. Stinky, hard to see. It gave me a sore throat yesterday, was hard to breathe, just bad. Today looks a little better so far, but I haven't been out yet. Here's hoping it clears up soon!

@ 142 -- Smiler69, you should read Gaskell's North and South! It's such a great book, sort of like Pride and Prejudice but with labor strikes during the Industrial Revolution. And there's a marvelous BBC miniseries of the novel as well!

>146 christina_reads: I second North and South. I really enjoyed reading it last year. The BBC miniseries is so beautiful.

#123. Hi Laura! Kids giving their parents massages/? Really? I can't wait to see the look on his face when I tell him. Oh and I envy that your books are in such great order, maybe I'll get there one of these days!

146, 147: I'll third it, but having only seen and loved the miniseries I cannot vouch for the source material. But hey, it's got to be good, especially with these two ladies backing it up!

148: Hi Lisa! I know, it's mostly for kids to give their parents massages, but it should be good for any age for an eye roll and a comment, at the least. And hey, if they want to massage your neck and shoulders? Go for it, and then send them my way. :)

Children massaging parents...?
I will provide the first eyeroll..

Providing a rather belated comment that I am intrigued with what I choose for you, An Area of Darkness and have also added Holly's Inbox to my TBR pile. I thought we were helping you with your TBR pile.... didn't think I would be adding to my own in the process! ;-P

Hey there Kath, eyeroll away! I know, I told one of my friends who has two young daughters. She gave me an over-the-glasses glare w/o the glasses and then burst into laughter.

Lori, sorry about the addition to your TBR pile. ;) It's a chunky book (something like 600 pages) but seeing as it's all written in emails I'm sure it will be a fairly quick read. About the Naipul though, I've only heard that he's a great author, and I'm a sucker for any book about traveling. The problem I'm having now, though, is that I want to read all of the books everyone chose right now! January seems too far away somehow...

Had dinner with a Book Fiend friend (Hi Jenna!) and we went to 2 different book stores. So, you can't blame me for buying:

Royal Blood by Rhys Bowen (I've already read it, but wanted my own copy now that it's in Mass Market)
Very Valentine by Adriana Trigiani (Haved wanted to read this series for awhile, enjoy the author)
Jane Goes Batty by Michael Thomas Ford (I won the first in this series, Jane Bites Back, from the ER program last year and really liked it, so I've been waiting for this one semi-patiently!)

And then when I got home I used a B&N coupon online to get Wonderstruck by the outstanding Brian Selznick.

Sometimes I just can't help myself....

Thanks for the recommendation for North and South. It's on my wish list already, and good chance I'll end up getting the audiobook, as it's narrated by Juliet Lewis, one of my favourite readers. I looked for the BBC adaptation at the library just now, but they unfortunately don't carry it. In the meantime, I have (also on audio) Mary Barton (also read by J. Lewis) and Wives and Daughters (read by Josephine Bailey). On my wish list, I also have Cranford, Gothic Tales and The Life of Charlotte Brontë for now. I guess I'd better get cracking! :-)

That was a restrained book buying binge!!! They all sound good. & I know what you mean about not wanting to wait. I finished up my whimpy 11 11 early, and now want to dive into 12 books at least all at once. ... not ... physically ... possible

Ilana, she's a classic author and you know that there won't be any new releases. I think it's totally fine to have a large backlog of titles to work through eventually! Heck, that's what most of my TBR help is composed of actually, classics that I know I'll read at some point but that I got for a good price and/or it was a nice edition. No pressure, and I hope you enjoy Ms. Gaskell whenever she lands in your hands. :)

Thanks for the restraint comment, Katie. Four books was four too many than I should have purchased, but oh well - it could have very easily been forty!

O...M....G! You guys, look at what I just found!



There's a little article with Veronica Roth about the new book, HERE, courtesy of Entertainment Weekly's Shelf Awareness blog. Enjoy - I know I did!

Wow! talk about striking while the iron is still hot. I'm hearing a lot of buzz about Divergent lately. Cool book cover.

Oooh, shiny! :) I love her joke about Detergent!!!

I will not get sucked into the Divegernt/Insurgent thing... I will not get sucked into the Divegernt/Insurgent thing... I will not get sucked into the Divegernt/Insurgent thing... I will not get sucked into the Divegernt/Insurgent thing... I hope, but it looks darned appealing.

Ack mckait, skip over Hunger Games and go straight for DetergentDivergent.

I'm not tempted. Dunno why. The whole teen dystopia thing was enough for me once with Hunger Games. I get really turned off when they start coming out with all these books following a formula. I'm cranky tonight. Don't mind me.

@150 Being the son of a migraine mum and and a dad with a wrecked back since a car accident, I have actually been the massaging kid many times. Gave me the muscular thumbs I still benefit from today ;-)

Hunger Games is on my TBR Soon list as I have book #2 out from the library and can't renew it. I don't know what it is, but I really enjoy some of the dystopic YA lit out there. Not all of it, but some of it. There have certainly been a few books that I've tried and given up on - I was making myself dizzy with all of the eye-rolling - but the ones that I've stuck with I totally loved.

Hi Anders! Glad to know that you were a massaging kid - any chance your kid (soon to be kids) will follow in your footsteps? ;) Hope things are well with you.

Even though I haven't really talked about it, I have been reading a little bit. Here are the few that I've been able to complete in the last week or so.

Book 101: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling
I'm listening to the last book in the series now, and there are a lot of changes from the books starting with the last 6 or 7 chapters of Half-Blood Prince. Once again, I really wish that the movie-makers could have followed the books more closely, especially these final two. In fact, I've seen the movies so often that I'd completely forgotten how everything happened - it was kind of like reading it for the first time! A five star (re) read for sure.

Book 102: The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J. K. Rowling
A charming and interesting book, it was nice to finally read this one. J.K. did a very good job of making these believable - I felt like I could've read them when I was small! 4 stars.

Book 103: QuirkyAlone: A Manifesto for Uncompromising Romantics by Sasha Cagen
I've been described as a QA for most of my life but didn't really know what it meant. After reading this book, I still don't really get it. The book is mostly filler, there isn't any real information. Not that this necessarily "needs" some hard-core info, but since it's over 150 pages, I expected something in here. Kind of disappointing, but a very fast read! A generous 2.5 stars.

Book 104: The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum
An interesting look at poison and its' many clever (and not-so-clever) ways that people use them for murder. I read The Poison Diaries and The Disappearing Spoon this year, and they both cover the same ground, so I wasn't as enthralled with the book as I would have normally been. (And no, I have no idea why I'm reading so much about poison and the elements this year!) Ms. Blum does an admirable job of weaving old stories of murder into each chapter/poison and it made the driving time go by fairly quickly. (Note: if you plan on listening to this on audio, maybe make sure your car windows are rolled up. A few times I had them rolled down at a light and I'm positive that the audio was just loud enough so that people in adjacent cars could hear that I was listening how to concoct some poisons. I always felt a little bad when that happened and then was worried that they'd follow me home or alert the police or something.) 3 stars, but I would have rated it higher if it was new to me.

In the meantime, I've got 10 books in progress, though some of them are near the end. One of them is a Patterson, and those are always quick and easy reads, so maybe I'll be back here in the next day or so with another number to add! Back to work I go, see you all later.

#104 - Did it connect with Jazz at all? Some of those old Jazz men were pretty wild, but poison doesn't seem their style.

Hi Katie - not that I really remember. The only bits that seem to stick out are general mentions of jazz music, or loose connections of a musician to a death. Which, now that I've just said that, seems like more than a "general" mention. There were a couple of murder/poisoning scandals that I'd heard about before, but owing to my crappy memory I couldn't tell you much else. Sorry! The book wasn't necessarily about jazz dudes committing murder via poison, per se, but more about the time period, when elements were being added to the table and manipulated into dangerous things in the hands of bad people. If you haven't read anything like it before, I think it'd be a great place to start.

It does sound kind of intriguing, but yes not something to listen to with the windows open. ;)

I was weak-willed and ordered a bunch of books online. In my defense, almost everything was $2.99 or less (except for the DVD) and I'm rebelling against being so broke by ... um, making myself more broke. :) Makes sense, right?

The Tower, The Zoo, and the Tortoise by Julia Stuart (been on my wishlist since it first appeared through ER)
Wicked Appetite by Janet Evanovich (read it and liked it, the start of a new series)
Bruno, Chief of Police by Martin Walker (I love this series and have decided that I want to own them)
A Rather Charming Invitation by C. A. Belmond (I have the first two in the series, unread, natch)
A Flaw in the Blood by Stephanie Barron (sounded good)
The Language of Bees by Laurie R. King (have 2 others in the series)
The Princess Bride movie

Plus, I ordered a few other books from bookdepository and betterworldbooks (don't remember which ones) just because.

Look - I finished a book!!!

Book 105: Black Diamond by Martin Walker

Something dangerous is afoot in St. Denis. In the space of a few weeks, the normally sleepy village sees attacks on Vietnamese vendors, arson at a local Asian restaurant, subpar truffles from China smuggled into outgoing shipments at a nearby market -- all of it threatening the Dordogne's truffle trade, worth millions of dollars each year, and all of it spelling trouble for Benoit "Bruno" Courreges, master chef, devoted oenophile, and, most important, beloved chief of police. When one of his hunting partners, a noted truffle expert, is murdered, Bruno's investigation into the murky events unfolding around St. Denis becomes infinitely more complicated. His friend wasn't just a connoisseur of French delicacies, he was a former high-profile intelligence agent -- and someone wanted him dead.

As the strange crimes continue, Bruno's detective work takes him from sulit markets to dim cafes, from luxurious feasts to tense negotiations - from all of the paradisial pleasures of the region to its shadowy underworld - and reunites him with a lost love, an ambitious policewoman also assigned to the case. Filled with an abundance of food and wine (including, bien sur, many, many truffles) and a soupcon of romance, Black Diamond is a deliciously entertaining concoction that delivers all the complexity and delights of the Dordogne itself. -Shamelessly copied from the book flap

You know how you have those series books that you wait not-so-impatiently for? This is one of those series. The adventures of Bruno and all of the residents of St. Denis are a complete treat for me, and each fall I can hardly wait for the next installment. This third book did not disappoint. (One annoying thing - the fourth book in the series is already out in the UK and it won't be out for awhile here. ??? WTF.) It might look like these books could be described as "cozies" but I don't think that's accurate. There is always a political thread, the murders are always described in a bit of detail, there's usually some kind of an international business component - it's actually kind of a treat since these books aren't like any others out there that I know of. These differences are totally due to Mr. Walker's background as a senior director of the Global Business Policy Council and an international affairs columnist, among a few other things. However, don't think that what could be a seemingly-boring background will translate into a dry-as-toast book. Because it's not.

Bruno is a smart guy, knows when to make a threat and when to act, totally loves his dog, Gigi, and is a loyal friend. I enjoyed where this book took Bruno, both personally and professionally, and the mystery was one I couldn't figure out. Well, part of it I did, but there was a whole other part that was a total surprise to me. If you don't mind getting in to another series (I know - sorry!), and could use a little armchair traveling to small-town France, I can't recommend this book and this series enough. 4.25 stars

I'm rebelling against being so broke by ... um, making myself more broke. :) Makes sense, right?

Makes perfect sense to me! I'm constantly rebelling about being in debt by... increasing my debt. Oy, the laughs... hurts. :-|

Makes absolute sense. You're among peers here, be sure of it. And buying books on discount is a very cheap kind of therapy!

Glad I have similarly-minded folks here! (Well, of course I would - aren't we all Purchase Encouragers?!?) I received the three I ordered from betterworldbooks. They are:

And Another Thing: The World According to Clarkson by Jeremy Clarkson
Why Do I Say These Things? by Jonathan Ross
On the Edge: My Story by Richard Hammond

And I've knocked out a quick book while watching "Midsomer Murders".

Book 106: Bizarre World by Bill Bryson

In this quick read, Bryson has gathered a bunch of stories of idiot criminals or cases of extremely bad luck from newspapers primarily in the US and UK. An extremely easy read (most "stories" are a few sentences) and good for a few chuckles. Sample story: "In 1972 an ambitious but not noticeably well-educated man in Argentina was arrested after trying to hijack a bus to Cuba." Cute, not mentally taxing by any means. 3 stars

Black Diamond sounds like fun, Laura. Thanks for the good review. It's on my list.

>171 LauraBrook: - There's a morning news anchor here that does a "stupid criminal" report at least once a week. It's always good for a laugh. Might have to get that one.

Hmm, it seems to me that you'll have to go find books by James May and Russell Brand to complete your collection.

I'll have to keep the books by Top Gear guys in mind as possible gifts for my SO.

Hi Laura: I can certainly feel for your comment above, "I finished a book."

I went about 10 days without finishing one. I sort of feel at loose ends, reading-wise. All the car buying stuff and all the work projects caught up to me all at once, I guess.

I feel like starting a mystery to get me back in the reading mood.

I think you meant, "I'm rebelling against being so broke by ... um, making myself more broke emotionally and intellectually wealthy"!! :) And, yes, you're quite safe from judgement in this particular environment.

Yes, what bookoholic said. ... and yes, I know. The worse the bank budget looks, the more I long to shop. Common malady.

>177 cammykitty: Still, thank goodness it's an addiction where a nickle book from a yard sale can be just a good a fix as a shiny new one.

Ah yes, and a library book sale can go a very long way.

Now way I can catch up on all I have been missing, but wanted to pop in and say hello!

Thanks, Eva, for the correction - I like the way you think! And to everyone else, yes, thank the heavens that a quarter book is still a thrill and gets me the book-buying fix I need! :) I'd hate to think how much $$ I would've spent if I bought every book I own for full price! *shudder*

Book 107: Naughty in Nice by Rhys Bowen
The fifth book in the series, it's another great little mystery escapade spent mostly in Nice, France. I'm always fascinated to find out how Georgie gets herself out of some of these situations, and this book certainly didn't disappoint! A few laugh-out-loud moments here, and it's always an entertaining read. Do I have to wait another year for the next Lady Georgiana adventure?!?!? 4.25 stars

Book 108: The Rainbow in Your Hands by Albert Roy Davis
Originally written in the mid-70's, it shows its age a little, but is still a fairly relevant book. It talks a little bit about the scientific proof of the laying on of hands for healing, a little about positive and negative charges in different areas of the hand, and a little about how important it is to always hold God in a high place when you are doing this kind of work. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it as I thought it would be a quick, dated, "throw-away" read. 3.70 stars

I was just over on lindapanzo's thread and decided to copy her list of books to finish the challenge. :)

Since my rule for the 11-11 are that I will read at least 5 books in each category, I only really "have to read" six more books.

1 in my Doorstoppers category, something over 400 pages. At this point, it will probably be The 5th Horseman by James Patterson, but it could also be Nefertiti by Michelle Moran.

3 in my Classics category, so I need to read (or rather, finish) 3 books chosen by my real-life bookclub. I'll finish Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman by Friday for our meeting, so that's one for sure. Other options include: Caddie Woodlawn, Anne of Green Gables, Idylls of the King, Brideshead Revisited, and Tarzan of the Apes.

1 from my Work bookshelf. I have a crapload of possibilities, so I won't list them, but The Path of the Dream Healer and a couple of aromatherapy books are jumping out at me.

1 from my Travel bookshelf. Like the Work shelf, I'm not sure what I want to read here yet, but something with pictures sounds tempting. Maybe Rural Britain Then and Now, or an oversized travel guide to a chateau or museum in France.

Outside of those 6, I just need to fill in with seven more titles and I'm all done! Ideally, I'd finish this challenge before October 22 (the weekend of Dewey's 24-hr Read a Thon) so I can just read freely (really, read without guilt) and enjoy the Thon and the rest of the year without any strings aside from my Classics bookgroup picks. If I can't manage to finish by the 22nd, I'd like to finish it by the end of the month. I know, I know, it's a lot of books to read in the next few weeks (actually, it'd almost be the most I'd ever read in a month!) but I'm at least halfway through 5 books, including 2 audios, so it should be do-able. Crossing my fingers, but not my eyes, that I can do this!

You're almost done! I have 11 to go...

Not that I'm racing or anything, but I have 11 more to go to!

I want to have 11 more to go.... LOL! (It's actually more like 25...)

You guys can all totally do it - yes, even you, Eva! There's plenty of time to finish - you don't have anything else to do but read, right? ;) Just kidding. But you can totally do it, for real.

Book 109: Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Written in 1915, this novella sends three variations of the stereotypical male out on an expedition to discover and explore a secret island populated only by women. What they find when they arrive, and how they each change (or not) and adapt (or not) is interesting. It was sometimes surprising at how ahead of her time Gilman was in her apparent viewpoint of women and their place in the world and society, and at how piggish one of the men was in particular. (Terry, if you were a real dude, I'd totally find you and punch you right in the face.) It was a nice little book to discuss at book group tonight, and it makes me want to read the rest of the short stories in my edition. 3.5 stars

Book 110: The Calvin and Hobbes Lazy Sunday Book by Bill Watterson

I was in a crappy mood last night and needed something to take me away from myself. To help punch out the books that I need to read to finish this challenge, I was looking on my travel bookcase and found this Calvin and Hobbes collection. Totally perfect mood lifter! I love a boy and his tiger and their imaginary adventures. 4.5 stars

With these two finished, I now have to read 2 more Classics, 1 Work, and 1 Doorstopper. Let's see if I can polish off one of these yet in the next 24 hours....

OMG!!!

You guys, I totally forgot to post this sooner, but tomorrow is my library's monthly book sale. Aside from their crazy-low prices of 50 cents for paperbacks, $1 for hardcovers, and any 3 for $1 special during the last hour, tomorrow's should be extra awesome.

"FRIENDS' HALF-PRICE BOOK SALE! EVERYTHING MUST GO! ALL ITEMS @ 1/2 PRICE EXCEPT FEATURE OF THE MONTH ITEMS!"

Soooo, if y'all want me to pick up anything for you, let me know by around 10 am tomorrow morning and I'll make a giant list and mail them out to you. (And by the way, this months' feature topic is .... uh, I can't find it, but I'll look and come back.)

Splurge!

Have fun at the book sale!

WOOT! Sounds perfect... let us know how it went?

Ok - library sale update. I didn't go before my client, and then by the time my client left, it was 2:30. By some miracle, I got over to the library in 10 minutes (normally takes twice that long, but I got all green lights and no traffic -woot!), and that left me with 20 minutes to shop. The last hour of the sale is always half price, so it was 4 hardcovers for $1, and 8 paperbacks for $1. Seriously. I did the best I could though, damage-wise, and got out of there with one very heavy bag.

For a grand total of $3.35, I bought:

The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy
an ARC of The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
You Are Not A Stranger Here by Adam Haslett
Murder at the Library of Congress by Margaret Truman
One Sunday Morning by Amy Ephron
Shirley by Charlotte Bronte on audio cassette
Snakes and Earrings by Hitomi Kanehara
The Search for Delicious by Natalie Babbitt in the same edition I owned when I was a kid
How to Seduce A Ghost by Hope McIntyre
Ruined By Reading by Lynne Sharon Schwartz
A Brave Vessel: The True Tale of the Castaways who rescued Jamestown and inspired Shakespeare's The Tempest by Hobson Woodward
The Ginseng Hunter by Jeff Talarigo
Literary England by David Edward Scherman
The World of Rodin by William Harlan Hale
The Grey King by Susan Cooper
Yolanda's Genius by Carol Fenner
and one more surprise gift for an LT-er!

Not too shabby, if I say so myself. I only wish I had a little bit more time to look through the SciFi/Fantasy/Mystery room, as it was I just looked at one table worth of books. :( Since I have to work all day tomorrow and it is GORGEOUS outside right now I'm going to make myself a drink and go sit outside to read until it gets dark. I figure I've got about an hour or so. See you later!

Yay! An unexpensive book haul and beautiful fall weather - enjoy it!

Good girl ;-)

I'm so jealous. I wish our fall library sales would start. Not that I have any more room for new books.

BTW - I love the Calvin and Hobbs cartoons. Especially the ones where he builds the snowmen.

Oooo awesome!! That reminds me I saw that our sale is next Saturday :) Can't wait!!

Calvin & Hobbes is a great down time go to. Especially with a nice cup of (spiked) hot chocolate :P

"$3.35"
That's a truly brilliant result!!! :)

Staying in bed with comicbooks is the best cure for a crappy day. I'll have some of Janice's hot chocolate as well. :)

!!!! You got a good haul!

*hands out mugs of hot chocolate*

well done!!!

That is quite a great book haul you got there, Laura, and at bargain basement prices, too. Wow.

Ruined by Reading alone is worth it.

Thanks, everyone! I want to go back again to get some more just for the cheap shopping rush, but I have to wait another few weeks before I can. :(

In the mean time, here are a few quick reviews!

Book 111: The Fourth Bear by Jasper Fforde
The last of the Nursery Crime series, this was a great book. Mr. Fforde is very clever, and long-forgotten nursery rhyme characters popped up in unexpected places. Trying to find out who the fourth bear was was almost secondary to the rest of the many story lines. I'll miss finding out what Ashley, Jack Spratt, Mary Mary and all of the others are up to. 4 stars

Book 112: The 5th Horseman by James Patterson
Meh. Figured out whodunit early on. 3 stars

Book 113: Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper, Case Closed by Patricia Cornwell
I've always had a fascination with Jack the Ripper, and never expected to come across a book like this. Patricia has got me convinced that Walter Sickert is Jack, which leaves me feeling a little deflated. Part of the fun (for me, at least) was always in not ever really being sure of his identity. Not that I'm sorry I read this book (obviously, or I wouldn't have purchased it), but it takes a little away from the whole "Ripper Mythology". 3.5 stars, would have rated higher, but it felt overly long and detailed sometimes.

Book 114: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling
Oh, I loved this book, and I'm sad that my re-read of the series has come to an end. As before, I wish that the movies would have followed the book a little closer, but they're both excellent in their own right. 5 stars

Book 115: Black Hearts in Battersea by Joan Aiken
So so good! This book (and, apparently, this series) has got a little bit of everything - action, adventure, mystery, romance, horror, history, spookiness, Victorians - and each one makes me inordinately happy. My only regret is that I didn't read these books when I was a kid. 4.5 stars

Back to the books, only 6 more to go!

Worry not! I think there's another book, The Last Great Tortoise Race, planned for the Nursery Crime series...too bad it's not set to come out until 2014 (according to Wikipedia).

Wow, really?!? Thanks, Christina! I couldn't imagine that after all of that world-building, that he's just let it lie there forever and ever. I don't think I'd have found out about that until the publication date unless you'd told me. *smooch* You're the best!

No problem, Laura! All my info was gleaned from Wikipedia, though, so I can't speak to its reliability...I plan to keep an eye on Fforde's website for future publication dates. Hopefully there will be another Thursday Next book in the works sometime soon!

Ah yes, the all-knowing Wikipedia. I'll keep an eye on his website too, just to be sure. :)

Two more down...

Book 116: Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh

This was a pick by my real-life book club and I've been "reading" this puppy for months, so last night I hunkered down and finished it up. It wasn't quite what I thought it would be like (not that I'm sure what I thought, but it wasn't this so much), and honestly, it feels like it was just the wrong timing on my part. I'll keep it and read it again later on, and hopefully it'll be a better fit then. 3 stars

Book 117: Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard by David Petersen & Friends

I picked up the first Mouse Guard book last year some time on a whim and I really enjoyed it, so when I saw this installment I just grabbed it. It's still set in the MG world, but Mr. Petersen was quite clever and had friends/cohorts/fellow authors write individual stories to flesh out the MG backstory a little more. I enjoyed this visit back to the land of mice and (thankfully) have another one lined up for later on tonight. 3.75 stars

Four more to go!

If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend the 1981 TV-version of Brideshead Revisited. Really brilliant casting!!

Thanks for the rec, Eva! I've postponed watching both that version and the newer one (with Emma Thompson) until I'd finished the book. Now, all I have to do is get in touch with one of my good friends when she gets back into town and borrow them from her! I'm hoping to get them both within the next week while I still remember a little about what happened. ;) Have you seen both versions? I hear from most people that the 1981 version is far superior.

I didn't see the film, and since I love the TV version I didn't feel that interested in replacing my "vision." Let me know if the film is worth watching, but watch Anthony Andrews and Jeremy Irons first!!! :)

Will do!

>204 christina_reads: According to www.jasperfforde.com, Thursday Next: Dark Reading Matter, will be published Spring 2012. The third book in Fforde's Dragonslayer series will be published in Fall 2012, and a "Super-Secret-Standalone" book will be published in 2013. No word on another Nursery Crimes book.

@ 210 -- Loving that title!

>206 -Eva-: It's actually often tops "Best Tv series ever" lists. I haven't seen it yet myself, (since Flea the sneaky minx saw it during her maternity leave and wasn't interested in seeing every episode again in the evening time), but surely will when I'm home with Minna for 8 months in 2012!

210: Oh, poop. Thanks for sharing, casvelyn, but still...poop. Maybe I'll have to start his DragonSlayer series for something else to distract me. It's not like I have any other unread books on my shelves. :)

212: Stupid spammers....

213: Wow, home for 8 months with Minna sounds wonderful! I hope you like Brideshead when you get around to it!

Book 118: Mouse Guard: Winter 1152 by David Petersen

These poor little tough-guy meeces are just trying to get through a terrible winter unscathed. Instead, they fall into old weasel tunnels, fight killer owls and bats, have rouge poisoners in their midst and lose a few of their own. As before, the illustrations are wonderful, and that's a large factor in me returning to them over and over again. I think I may be caught up with this series now, which is okay - I could use a little break! 3.5 stars

Three more to go...

He (or she) spammed me too, but it was gone by the time I logged back in. I did find another thread he had spammed that not enough people had marked though so I know the nature. I also flagged the profile.

Oooh, hadn't thought to flag the profile. Am off to do so right now! Thanks!

Flagged the profile too (no books there, big surprise).

Am finally all caught up with you! You've been doing some great reading. I counted how many books I have to finish for the challenge—thought it was just a handful, but it's more like TWO DOZEN! I knew from the start that I was unlikely to complete one of my categories, so I won't worry about it.

I'm so excited - I finished this challenge!!!!!

Book 119: Tarzan of the Apes by E. R. Burroughs

The start of all of the Tarzan books, this was originally published serially in a magazine. (Sometimes you can tell, but it's not a bad thing.) The general story is well-known, so I won't re-cap it here. It was nice to read the original story, and if it wasn't picked for my real-life book club I probably never would have read it. 3 stars, nothing outstanding and nothing terrible, just a regular read.

Book 120: Crossing Into Medicine Country by David Carson

A very interesting account of Mr. Carson's experiences with becoming a Native Healer (or rather, his start at becoming a Healer). It was half fascinating and full of timely and sage advice (which I would've marked some passages), and half boring and frustrating at his "white man" resistance to the experiences he had. Mary, his mentor, sounds like a fascinating woman. 3.5 stars, and recommended if you're interested in this sort of thing.

Book 121: Hark! A Vagrant by Kate Beaton

I purposely saved this book for last. I totally have a girl-crush on Kate Beaton! Her comics are wonderful - wry, historical, literary, laugh-out-loud funny - and I have spent many a happy hour at her website, laughing my way through. I bought her first book, Never Learn Anything From History a few years ago and re-read it at least once a year. This book will be the same. Some of my favorites are her Edward Gorey cover series, the Nancy Drew cover series, Fat Pony, any Canadian history ones, ... hell, I love them all. Being a book nerd, all of the literary ones are my favorites too. The last strip for her Dracula series totally cracks me up just thinking about it, and any and all of her Austen-ish ones are priceless. Oh, oh, and her two on page 93, "Dirty Words", one about Tycho and the one about Victorians ... yes, they're rude but they make me laugh so hard! See, I can't stop gushing and repeating myself. Check out her website (harkavagrant.com) and buy her books if you like what you see. I'm planning on giving these as Christmas gifts this year for sure. 5 stars! Oh, and her footnotes? Just as funny as the comics themselves. Okay, really done gushing now. :)

I finished this baby just in time for this weekend - it's Dewey Read-a-Thon time once again! I have a stack of 28 books to read (problem with overplanning much?), including several GN's. They're mostly shorties, with a slant towards the creepy in honor of the Halloween season, but I might have to add a longer book for something to return to. The last few times some of my favorite series have had books published around this time so I've always read one of them, but this year they've all come out earlier. Don't worry, I have PLENTY to choose from, I just need to figure out if there's anything else I "need" to read for any other challenges. At any rate, I'm really looking forward to having some "free" reading time for the rest of the year. I'll stick around here until 2012 hits, and will post a link to next year's thread when I have it set up. (Maybe next week?)

Hope you're all having a good night! I'm off to have a celebratory glass of wine before I hit the couch for the evening. See you all again soon!

Okay, I hope this works. Here's the Dracula series - enjoy!

Congrats on finishing!!!!! 121 is quite a respectable number - and it's not even November! :)

Hark! A Vagrant sounds excellent - and my lovely library has it on order, so I'm now second in line. YEY!

LOL! Love the Dracula!

220 - love the Dracula comic!

Congratulations on completing your challenge!

Hooray! Congrats on completing your Challenge.

Congratulations! I am in awe of your reading-fu!

Yay, congrats for finishing the challenge! I really need to get my hands on Hark! A Vagrant; Kate Beaton is awesome!

Yay for Laura. Congrats on finishing!!

I'm thinking about mid November or so for myself. I have 10 left and, by the end of my 3-day weekend, I might be down to 7 books left.

Congrats on finishing!
This looked like a fun challenge, I've now signed up for the 12 in 12 for next year :)

I'm reading Hark A Vagrant as slowly as I can. My all time favorite is the first one in the book. Kate Beaton rules!!

Congrats!

Thanks, everyone! I'm happy to have this one under my belt, and for the free reading time. And, glad to see people like Ms. Beaton so much! Alison, that's a great one. :)

I'm gearing up for the 24 hour read-a-thon tomorrow - should really already be sleeping - and I didn't have any real prep time today like I had hoped/planned. Guess I'll be picking up around here with an audiobook for a while! Will check in tomorrow for a little break (or two or three) and I hope I can stay awake the entire time!

Congratuations on finishing, Laura!

Congrats!!! & the Drac is hysterical.

Congratulations!

Thank you thank you thank you! Well, I survived the read-a-thon, and it seems to have taken me all the way through today to recover properly. Could it be that I'm getting too old to stay up for 24 hours straight? Yeesh, I hope not. I finished 10 books (one of the Moomins I read the night before), which is pretty good. A few of them were very short, so that helped boost my numbers.

Books 122 & 123: Moomin: The Complete Comic Strip Vols 1 & 2 by Tove Jansson
Quite cute, and I wish I would've known my local library had them before I started with the Moomin books. The introduction of all of the characters is helpful, though by no means necessary, to enjoying any of the books. 3 stars each.

Book 124: Half-Minute Horrors by lots of people
A rec from Sara. I realize I'm really not the target audience for these, but I enjoyed the book regardless. 3 stars

Book 125: Radiator Days by Lucy Knisley
I picked this one up b/c I enjoyed her book French Milk so much. This is a collection of her early comics, i think they were mostly done while she was still in college, and it seems like these would resonate more with someone in that age group. Enjoyable, but nothing to really write home about (no offense to Ms. Knisley). 3 stars

Book 126: The Vampyre by John William Polidori
A slim, somewhat-dated book only really packed one scare for me. I had a difficult time following the narrative for the first few pages (I chalk that up to my extreme tiredness), but once I got the "sound" of the book, I was all aboard! This might sound like an odd connection to make, but it reminded me of Dracula even though I've never read it, and it was very much like Carmilla. Worth a read, certainly, especially if you're a classics kind of person or just want to check it off of a list. It's short (my version is barely 24 pages) and old-fashioned creepy, a nice way to pass a half an hour. 3.5 stars

Book 127: The Pedant and the Shuffly by John Bellairs
When I was a young girl, John Bellairs was totally my main man. His books had just the right spooky-scary-smartly-awkward kid vibe. I'm not sure where I first heard about this little book, but I'm glad I did. It's everything I like about Bellairs in one small book. Wonderful, darkly detailed illustrations are generously sprinkled throughout the book. If you like Bellairs, you'll like this book. 4 stars

Book 128: The Family Under the Bridge by Natalie Savage Carlson
A gem of a book, this Newbery Winner deserves to be more well-known. 4.5 stars

Book 129: Stiff by Mary Roach
Another great Roach, I just wish I had read a copy rather than listening to it. As I said before (somewhere) you can't really "skim read" while you're listening to rotting cadaver stories and that would've saved me quite a lot of nauseated moments. 4 stars

Book 130: Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie
This was my audio anti-Stiff, a fairly realistic romance novel that I first heard about from The Book Lady. Sweet, funny, and I felt like these people really exist. 4 stars, and if I'm in need of an easy, feel-good read I'll happily come back to this author.

Book 131: Deadly Desire by Keri Arthur
The ninth book in the Riley Jensen series, it's another steamy page-turner. Nothing radically new here, just a solid read. 4 stars

Book 132: Alice in Sunderland by Bryan Talbot
Easily my favorite book of the night, and one of my top reads for the year. It's truly kismet that I picked this book up at all. This wrist-buster (324 oversized pages) isn't just a graphic novel about Alice in Wonderland and Lewis Carroll - it's also a history of Sunderland, in the NE of England, and it links seemingly random parts of British and world history in the most surprising ways. Mr. Talbot deserves many accolades for the story, and certainly for the amazing artwork. He combines watercolor-ish photographs, with illustrations, with mixed-media collages, and uses not just "traditional" comics-style drawings, but copies medieval-style lettering and graphics, some 90's Japanese comics, Fantasy-style - it's truly a work of art. Do yourself a favor and put a pillow in your lap and grab a bright light to read by when you pick it up - it's detailed and beautiful and you won't want to miss a thing. 5 stars

Wow! What a day of reading! & a lot of variety too. I didn't read enough Bellairs as a child. Glad they are still around. I can catch up.

That's about the best readathon results I've seen! :)

The Moomin comics were my absolute favorite books when I was a kid and I couldn't be happier that they've been reprinted now.

Stiff is another one of my favorites, but save for the "non-eating" times of the day!! LOL!

Alice in Sunderland has been on my wishlist for ages - it sounds like it needs a big nudge up the urgency list. Thanks!!

Alice in Sunderland is on my wishlist, too.

Congrats on finishing, but please hang around until the end of the year!

No no no!!! Please start 12 12 early and join me!!! It's lonely over there.

I loved Alice in Sunderland especially the artwork. I think its the type of book I would recommend to no comic fans just to show them what comics can do!

Today at the library I picked up The Tale of One Bad Rat by Bryan Talbot (per the rec of Joe/jnwelch) so I'll see how similar/dissimilar they are from each other. Claire, great idea to rec Alic to comic newbies - I'll do the same now too. It's really an amazing book.

Katie, I'm sorry to say that I'm hanging around the 11-11 for the rest of this year. I'd like to get a solid number for how many books I read this year since (until I retire) I'm unlikely to beat my final total. But I'm going to start my 12-12 thread soon, so I'll be over there every now and then for the next couple of months. :)

Hope you like The Tale, Laura. To me it's quite different, but awfully good.

I'm late - but congrats from me too!

I have Stiff in the pile and am hoping to get to it next year. You've had some intersting reads this year as I glanced back over the titles and quite a few have made it into my wishlist. Interested to see what your final total will turn out to be - way more than me, although I've read more this year than ever (I think).

Joe - it's wonderfully powerful, thanks so much for the rec!

Betty - Thanks! And sorry about all the additions to the TBR. ;) I know you've done your fair share of damage to my TBR as well, so at least take some comfort in that. I'm curious as to what your final number will be as well. Sounds like it's been a good year for both of us!

Book 133: Howard's End by E. M. Forster
A re-read for me, I thoroughly enjoyed this abridged edition narrated by Emma Thompson. Some of the threads in this book seemed especially relevant to what is going on in the world today. 3.5 stars

Book 134: The Tale of One Bad Rat by Bryan Talbot
It's official - I am a fan of Bryan Talbot. This slim comic packs an enormous emotional punch, somehow seamlessly combining both Beatrix Potter and childhood abuse. His illustrations are wonderful, and the "Rat's Tale" at the end was especially lovely. Do yourself a favor and read this book - I doubt it is likely to leave you any time soon. 4 stars

Book 135: Britten and Brulightly by Hannah Berry
If you'd heard the description - a private investigator, and his sidekick, a tea bag, try to solve a murder mystery - you'd think it was bonkers. Maybe it's a little nuts, but it's a wonder and you should really read it for yourself. It's a wonderful-looking thing too, all bleak and noir-ish, with a very unique feel. It was a very nice few hours of reading, and the only stipulation I'd say is that you should read it with a light close by (some of the handwriting is a little hard to read and the overall darkness is a bit too dark to clearly make out what is going on). 4 stars

After those last two books and a movie that I watched this morning ("Departures" - very good, but it'll make your eyes sweat) I think I'm in need of a little easy-going feel-good reading!

I'm going to have to add Bryan Talbot onto the to read list. I also enjoyed Britten and Brülightly but had the same problems with some of fonts used being difficult to read.

Hi Wolfy! I know he has a few series out there as well, but I don't know if I'll be able to get my hands on any of them at the library. And I'm glad to see I wasn't the only one with Britten issues - I thought I might finally be needing glasses! - and that there are others out there who also liked the book. Do you know if she's working on another one?

Not heard of anything in the pipeline at all from Hannah Berry unfortunately. Read an interview from 2008 where she mentions doing a graphic novel ghost story but nothing has materialised (Sorry! Couldn't resist the awful pun) as yet.

Glad you enjoyed The Tale of One Bad Rat and Britten and Brulightly. I haven't read anything else by Bryan Talbot sadly, not sure what to try next.

This juggling two kids is pretty hard, people :) Veeeery slowly catching up on some threads. Big congratulations on finishing, Laura! Love Hark! A Vagrant too, thanks for the Dracula comics! I seem to have missed when you read all the moomin books - when was that???

Noir teabag? I always think of noir as going with depressents rather than uppers like a warm spot of English Breakfast Tea.

Part 3 is up and running here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/126704

GBM, I read them earlier in October, but there might have been one or two late this summer? I can't seem to remember exactly.

Cammy, noir as in storytelling, teabag as in Butch & Sundance. Probably not a whole lot more clear than before. :)