lindapanzo's 2011 reading: Part 4

Part 1 of my 2011 reading is located at: http://www.librarything.com/topic/96705

Part 2 of my 2011 reading is located at:
http://www.librarything.com/topic/111033

Part 3 of my 2011 reading is located at:
http://www.librarything.com/topic/120035

Here are my 11 categories, tentatively, for the 11 in 11 category challenge for 2011. I'm aiming for 11 books in each category (121 books), with an 11 book bonus (overflow from the other 11 categories) category.

1. Cozy mysteries--read 11 out of 11--category finished
2. Baseball books--read 11 out of 11--category finished
3. Mysteries set outside the U.S.--read 11 out of 11--category finished
4. General nonfiction--read 11 out of 11--category finished
5. Even more general nonfiction--read 11 out of 11--category finished
6. Historical fiction--read 11 out of 11--category finished
7. Seasonal books (books with winter, spring, summer, or fall (or autumn) in the title)--read 11 out of 11--category finished
8. Lincoln and the Civil War--read 11 out of 11--category finished
9. Next in the series--read 11 out of 11--category finished
10. Sports books--read 11 out of 11--category finished
11. Authors/series new to me--read 11 out of 11--category finished

Category 1: Cozy Mysteries--Read 11 of 11--category finished

1. Bedeviled Eggs by Laura Childs--finished on 1/22/11
2. Devil's Food Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke--finished on 2/24/11
3. The Crafty Teddy by John J. Lamb--finished on 3/7/11
4. Buffalo West Wing by Julie Hyzy--finished on 4/14/11
5. The Clockwork Teddy by John J. Lamb--finished on 4/21/11
6. Laughed Til He Died by Carolyn Hart--finished on 5/5/11
7. Sinister Sprinkles by Jessica Beck--finished on 6/5/11
8. Wicked Witch Murder by Leslie Meier--finished on 6/23/11
9. Dead by Midnight by Carolyn Hart--finished on 8/2/11
10. Scones and Bones by Laura Childs--finished on 8/13/11
11. Evil Eclairs by Jessica Beck--finished on 8/18/11

POSSIBLES INCLUDE:
--Threadbare by Monica Ferris
--Sentenced to Death by Lorna Barrett
--Death at the Alma Mater by G.M. Malliett
--Manna from Hades by Carola Dunn
--Grace Under Pressure by Julie Hyzy
--The Chocolate Castle Clue by JoAnna Carl

Category 2: Baseball Books--Finished 11 of 11--CATEGORY FINISHED

1. Going, Going, Gone! The Art of the Trade in Major League Baseball by Fran Zimniuc--finished on 1/10/11
2. Chasing Baseball: Our Obsession with Its History, Numbers, People and Places by Dorothy Seymour Mills--finished on 1/25/11
3. A Woman's Work: Writing Baseball History with Harold Seymour by Dorothy Jane Mills--finished on 2/15/11
4. The Joy of Keeping Score by Paul Dickson--finished on 3/4/11
5. Knuckler by Tim Wakefield--finished on 5/9/11
6. Ernie Banks: Mr Cub and the Summer of '69 by Phil Rogers--finished on 5/21/11
7. Bottom of the 33rd: Hope, Redemption, and Baseball's Longest Game by Dan Barry--finished on 5/28/11
8. The Captain: The Journey of Derek Jeter by Ian O'Connor--finished on 6/29/11
9. The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America's Childhood by Jane Leavy--finished on 8/16/11
10. Before the Machine: The Story of the 1961 Pennant-Winning Reds by Mark J. Schmetzer--finished on 8/28/11
11. Fenway 1912: The Birth of a Ballpark, a Championship Season, and Fenway's Remarkable First Year by Glenn Stout--finished on 9/27/11

POSSIBLES INCLUDE:
--Wrigley Field's Last World Series
--Willie Mays: The Life, the Legend by James S. Hirsch
--The Last Hero: A Life of Hank Aaron by Howard Bryant
--Echoing Green by Joshua Prager
--The Baseball Codes: Beanballs, Sign Stealing, and Bench-Clearing Brawls: The Unwritten Rules of America's Pastime by Jason Turbow and Michael Duca
--Roger Maris
--Mint Condition
--The Boys of Summer by Roger Kahn
--Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella
--The Greatest Ballpark Ever by Bob McGee
--Baseball: A Literary Anthology
by Nicholas Dawidoff
--Yogi Berra: Eternal Yankee by Allan Barra
--Scoring from Second
--Center Field Shot:A History of Baseball on Television by James R. Walker
--My Turn at Bat by Ted Williams
--Pull Up a Chair by Vin Scully
--The Yankee Years by Joe Torre
--Your Brain on Cubs by Dan Gordon
--The Psychology of Baseball by Mike Stadler
--Crazy '08
--Northsiders

Category 3: Mysteries set outside the U.S.--read 11 out of 11--CATEGORY FINISHED

1. Pardonable Lies by Jacqueline Winspear (set in England and France)--finished on 3/30/11
2. A Dark and Stormy Night by Jeanne Dams (set in England)--finished on 5/17/11
3. Death of a Chimney Sweep by M.C. Beaton (set in Scotland)--finished on 5/29/11
4. Weeping on Wednesday by Ann Purser--finished on 6/14/11
5. English Tea Murder by Leslie Meier--finished on 7/19/11
6. A Stranger in Mayfair by Charles Finch--finished on 8/15/11
7. At Bertram's Hotel by Agatha Christie--finished on 8/23/11
8. A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny--finished on 9/16/11
9. The Cold Light of Mourning by Elizabeth J. Duncan--finished on 10/1/11
10. Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie--finished on 10/13/11
11. The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie--finished on 10/18/11

POSSIBLES INCLUDE:
--The Grave Gourmet by Alexander Campion
--Death of an Addict by M.C. Beaton
--Vices of My Blood by Maureen Jennings
--Murder in the Marais by Cara Black (set in France)
--Death in a Strange Country by Donna Leon (Italy)
--The Prophet Murders by Mehmet Murat Somer (Turkey)
--The Titian Committee by Iain Pears (Italy)
--The Janissary Tree by Jason Goodwin
--The Abyssinian Proof by Jenny White (Turkey)
--The Turkish Gambit by Boris Akunin

Category 4: General Nonfiction--read 11 out of 11--category completed

1. Final Flight: The Mystery of a WW II Plane Crash and the Frozen Airmen in the High Sierra by Peter Stekel--finished on 1/8/11
2. Orange Is the New Black: My Year in Women's Prison by Piper Kerman--finished on 1/20/11
3. On Hallowed Ground: The Story of Arlington National Cemetery by Robert M. Poole--finished on 2/5/11
4. The Sound of Freedom by Raymond Arsenaut--finished on 2/7/11
5. Millard Fillmore by Robert J. Rayback--finished on 2/27/11
6. The Diary of a West Point Cadet by Preston Pysh--finished on 3/1/11
7. Porcelain and Steel by Donna M. McAleer--finished on 3/4/11
8. Franklin Pierce by Michael F. Holt--finished on 3/6/11
9. Hellhound on His Trail by Hampton Sides--finished on 3/17/11
10. James Buchanan by Jean H. Baker--finished on 3/27/11
11. American Idol: The Untold Story by Richard Rushfield-finished on 4/23/11

Category 5: Even more general nonfiction--read 11 out of 11--category finished

1. This Time Together: Laughter and Reflection by Carol Burnett--finished on 6/2/11
2. The Band that Played On: The Extraordinary Story of the 8 Musicians Who Went Down with the Titanic by Steve Turner--finished on 6/15/11
3. The Dead Beat by Marilyn Johnson--finished on 6/25/11
4. The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction by Alan Jacobs--finished on 7/4/11
5. Rawhide Down: The Near Assassination of Ronald Reagan by Del Quentin Wilber--finished on 7/5/11
6. Oldest Chicago by David Anthony Witter
7. Popular Culture and the Enduring Myth of Chicago, 1871-1968 by Lisa Krissoff Boehm
8. The President Is a Sick Man by Matthew Algeo--finished on 7/11/11
9. Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul by Howard Schultz--finished on 9/19/11
10. Hot Dog: A Global History by Bruce Kraig--finished on 10/8/11
11. Pancake: A Global History by Ken Albala--finished on 10/10/11

POSSIBLES INCLUDE:

--In Motion: The Experience of Travel by Tony Hiss
--Wanderlust by Rebecca Solnit
--A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
--Eat, Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
--Travels in Siberia by Ian Frazier
--Sailing Alone Around the World by Joshua Slocum
--Blue Highways: A Journey Into America by William Least Heat-Moon
--A Sense of Place by Michael Shapiro
--Coast to Coast: A Journey Across 1950s America by Jan Morris
--Country Driving: A Journey Through China from Farm to Factory by Peter Hessler
--Great Plains by Ian Frazier
--Brit at the Ballpark: An Englishman's Baseball Tour of All 50 States by Peter Taylor
--Running the Books: The Adventures of an Accidental Prison Librarian by Avi Steinberg
--Hitler's Private Library: The Books That Shaped His Life by Timothy W. Ryback
--Made in America by Claude Fischer
--When Everything Changed: The Amazing Journey of American Women from 1960 to the Present by Gail Collins
--The Light Within: The Extraordinary Friendship of a Doctor and Patient Brought Together by Cancer by Lois M. Ramondetta
--The Great Good Place
--The Narcissism Epidemic
--Seven Pleasures
--Eiffel's Tower by Jill Jonnes
--The Courage of Their Convictions by Peter Irons
--Outliers by Malcoln Gladwell
--Country Driving: A Journey Through China From Farm to Factory by Peter Hessler
--The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
--The Day Wall Street Exploded: A Story of America in its First Age of Terror by Beverly Gage
--Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith by Kathleen Norris
--The Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose
--Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition by Daniel Okrent
--Operation Mincemeat by Ben Macintyre
--The Publisher: Henry Luce and His American Century by Alan Brinkley
--The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson

Category 6: Historical Fiction--Read 11 out of 11--category finished

1. Murder on St Mark's Place by Victoria Thompson--finished on 1/4/11
2. The Fleet Street Murders by Charles Finch--finished on 1/27/11
3. A Marked Man by Barbara Hamilton--finished on 2/4/11
4. Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear--finished on 2/21/11
5. Anthem for Doomed Youth by Carola Dunn--finished on 7/2/11
6. Winter in June by Kathryn Miller Haines--finished on 7/8/11
7. When Winter Returns by Kathryn Miller Haines--finished on 7/18/11
8. Season of Darkness by Maureen Jennings--finished on 10/28/11
9. Rutland Place by Anne Perry--finished on 11/1/11
10. Bluegate Fields by Anne Perry--finished on 11/7/11
11. A Christmas Homecoming by Anne Perry--finished on 11/8/11

POSSIBLES:
--The Pale Blue Eye by Louis Bayard
--Sup with the Devil by Barbara Hamilton
--In the Shadow of Gotham by Stefanie Pintoff
--Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters
--The Pearl Harbor Murders by Max Allan Collins
--Wings of Fire by Charles Todd
--The Gilded Cage by Troy Soos
--Death of Riley by Rhys Bowen
--A Royal Pain by Rhys Bowen
--A Burial at Sea by Charles Finch
--Vices of My Blood by Maureen Jennings
--No Graves as Yet by Anne Perry
--Room with a Clue by Kate Kingsbury
--The Jewel of the North by Peter King
--How to Marry a Murderer by Amanda Matetsky
--Dead March by Ann McMillan
--Murder at Manassas by Michael Killian
--Murder in Grub Street by Bruce Alexander
--Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? by Ed Gorman
--Death at Gallow's Green by Robin Paige
--Seneca Falls Inheritance by Miriam Grace Monfredo
--The Burning Bride by Margaret Lawrence
--The Dumb Shall Sing by Stephen Lewis
--A Free Man of Color by Barbara Hambly
--The Dutchman by Maan Meyers

Category 7: Seasonal Books (books with winter, spring, summer, or fall (or autumn) in the title)--finished 11 of 11--Category finished

1. In the Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming--finished on 1/15/11
2. Off Season: Discovering America on Winter's Shore by Ken McAlpine--finished on 2/12/11
3. Under the March Sun: The Story of Spring Training by Charles Fountain--finished on 3/22/11
4. Chasing Spring: An American Journey Through a Changing Season by Bruce Stutz--finished on 4/5/11
5. Summer of Shadows: A Murder, a Pennant Race, and the Twilight of the Best Location in the Nation by Jonathan Knight--finished on 4/27/11
6. The Winter of Her Discontent by Kathryn Miller Haines--finished on 6/20/11
7. The Eternal Summer: Palmer, Nicklaus, and Hogan in 1960, Golf's Golden Year by Curt Sampson--finished on 7/22/11
8. One Summer by David Baldacci--finished on 7/28/11
9. Big Spring Autumn by Bonnie Stepenoff--finished on 8/11/11
10. Wicked Autumn by G.M. Malliet--finished on 8/31/11
11. Winter of the Wolf Moon by Steve Hamilton--finished on 9/8/11

POSSIBLES INCLUDE:
--Shadows of a Down East Summer by Lea Wait
--Summer by Edith Wharton
--Freedom Summer by Bruce Watson
--Martian Summer by Andrew Kessler
--Summer Rental by Mary Kay Andrews

--Winter World by Bernd Heinrich
--The Coldest Winter by David Halberstam
--Winter Brothers: A Season at the Edge of America by Ivan Doig
--Winter: A Spiritual Biography of the Season by Gary D. Schmidt
--Spring: A Spiritual Biography of the Season by Gary D. Schmidt
--Summer: A Spiritual Biography of the Season by Gary D. Schmidt
--Autumn: A Spiritual Biography of the Season by Gary D. Schmidt
--Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
--The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet
--The Boys of Summer by Roger Kahn
--The Stones of Summer by Dow Mossman
--Diamond Gems in Autumn by Warren Goldfein
--Winter Prey by John Sandford
--Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher
--The Dead of Winter by Paula Gosling
--Europe's Last Summer by David Fromkin
--Last Lessons of Summer by Margaret Maron
--Winter Study by Nevada Barr
--The Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin
--Summer World by Bernd Heinrich
--The Winter of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck

Category 8: Lincoln and the Civil War--finished 11 of 11--category finished

1. Abraham Lincoln by George McGovern--finished on 4/9/11
2. 1858: Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant and the War They Failed to See by Bruce Chadwick--finished on 4/13/11
3. The Battle of Gettysburg by Frank Aretas Haskell--finished on 5/7/11
4. The American Civil War: A Military History by John Keegan--finished on 6/9/11
5. Why They Fought: The Real Reason for the Civil War by David Van Drehle--finished on 6/10/11
6. The Siege of Washington by John Lockwood and Charles Lockwood--finished on 8/3/11
7. Land of Lincoln: Adventures in Abe's America by Andrew Ferguson--finished on 8/7/11
8. We Are Lincoln Men: Abraham Lincoln and His Friends by David Herbert Donald--finished on 8/21/11
9. Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin--finished on 9/12/11
10. Starving the South by Andrew F. Smith--finished on 10/10/11
11. Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War by Tony Horwitz--finished on 11/2/11

LIKELY:
--Reveille in Washington
--Sultana
--General Sherman's Christmas by Stanley Weintraub
--A. Lincoln: A Biography by Ronald A. White
--Lincoln's Melancholy by Joshua Wolf Shenk
--Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer by Fred Kaplan
--Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief
by James M. McPherson
--For Cause and Comrades by by James M. McPherson
--Lincoln and His Admirals
--The South vs. the South : how anti-Confederate southerners shaped the course of the Civil War
--After the War: The Lives and Images of Major Civil War Figures After the Shooting Stopped by David E. Hardin.
--From Battlefields Rising: How The Civil War Transformed American Literature by Randall Fuller
--This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War by Drew Gilpin Faust
--Mr Lincoln's High Tech War by Thomas B Allen
--State of Jones
--Andersonvilles of the North

POSSIBLES INCLUDE:
--John Ransom's Andersonville Diary
--Mr. Lincoln's War by Bruce Catton
--Glory Road by Bruce Catton
--A Stillness at Appomattox by Bruce Catton
--The Civil War: A Narrative: Fort Sumter to Perryville (vol 1) by Shelby Foote
--The Civil War: A Narrative: Fredericksburg to Meridian (vol 2) by Shelby Foote
--The Civil War: A Narrative: Red River to Appomattox (vol 3) by Shelby Foote
--All for the Union by Elisha Hunt Rhodes
--Lincoln President-Elect: Abraham Lincoln and the Great Secession Winter 1860-1861 Harold Holzer
--Looking for Lincoln: The Making of an American Icon by Philip B. Kunhardt III
--Confederate ordeal : the southern home front
--Reluctant Rebels by Kenneth Noe
--1858
--Year of Meteors by Douglas R. Egerton
--The Confederate States of America: What Might Have Been by Roger L. Ransom

Category 9: Next in the Series--finished 11 out of 11--category finished

1. Fiber & Brimstone by Laura Childs--finished on 1/8/11
2. The False Hearted Teddy by John J. Lamb--finished on 2/19/11
3. Treachery in Death by J.D. Robb--finished on 4/19/11
4. The Treacherous Teddy by John J. Lamb--finished on 5/25/11
5. 10th Anniversary by James Patterson--finished on 6/29/11
6. Smokin Seventeen by Janet Evanovich--finished on 7/4/11
7. An Irish Country Girl by Patrick Taylor--finished on 7/30/11
8. Farewell, Miss Zukas by Jo Dereske--finished on 8/8/11
9. Skeleton Letters by Laura Childs--finished on 10/22/11
10. The Pumpkin Muffin Murder by Livia J. Washburn--finished on 11/4/11
11. New York to Dallas by J.D. Robb--finished on 11/9/11

POSSIBLES INCLUDE:

Category 10: Sports Books--finished 11 out of 11--category finished

1. The President's Team: The 1963 Army-Navy Game and the Assassination of JFK by Michael Connelly--finished on 1/2/11
2. A Championship Team: The Packers and St Norbert College in the Lombardi Years by Cliff Christl--finished on 1/16/11
3. What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami--finished on 1/18/11
4. The Art of a Beautiful Game by Chris Ballard--finished on 2/2/11
5. Playing Ball with the Boys: The Rise of Women in the World of Men's Sports by Betsy M. Ross--finished on 2/25/11
6. The Final Call: Hockey Stories from a Legend in Stripes by Kerry Fraser--finished on 3/18/11
7. Holding Court by Christopher Gorringe--finished on 6/22/11
8. Ron Santo--A Perfect Ten by Pat Hughes--finished on 9/3/11
9. Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand--finished on 9/5/11
10. Home Team: Coaching the Saints and New Orleans Back to Life by Sean Payton--finished on 10/12/11
11. Stan Musial: An American Life by George Vecsey

POSSIBLES INCLUDE:
--These Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN by John Andrew Miller
--Patrick Roy: Winning, Nothing Else Matters by Patrick Roy-own
--Brodeur: Beyond the Crease-own
--Jacques Plante: The Man Who Changed the Face of Hockey-own
--Tough Guy: My Life on the Edge
--A Passion to Win by Lou Nanne
--Searching for Bobby Orr
--Raising Stanley: What It Takes to Claim Hockey's Ultimate Prize by Ross Bernstein
--Eddie Shore and that Old-Time Hockey by C. Michael Hiam
--Barilko: Without a Trace by Kevin Shea
--The Greatest Game: The Montreal Canadiens, the Red Army, and the Night That Saved Hockey
--The Rebel League: The Short and Unruly Life of the World Hockey Association Paperback
Ed Willes
--The China Wall: The Timeless Legend of Johnny Bower
--'67: The Maple Leafs, Their Sensational Victory, and the End of an Empire

Category 11: Authors/series new to me--finished 11 of 11

1. Jar City by Arnaldur Indridason--finished on 1/1/11
2. Murder, By the Book by Stephen Budiansky--finished on 1/6/11
3. The Dangerous Edge of Things by Tina Whittle
4. Blowback by Peter May--finished on 6/1/11
5. A Killer Plot by Ellery Adams--finished on 7/15/11
6. Town in a Blueberry Jam by B.B. Haywood--finished on 7/26/11
7. Beaglemania by Linda O. Johnston--finished on 8/25/11
8. But Remember Their Names by Hilary Bell Locke--finished on 9/2/11
9. A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd--finished on 10/4/11
10. Books Can Be Deceiving by Jenn McKinlay--finished on 10/9/11
11. Sprinkle with Murder by Jenn McKinlay--finished on 11/9/11

POSSIBLES INCLUDE:
--Killer Mousse by Melinda Wells
--The Herring Seller's Apprentice by L.C. Tyler
--River of Darkness by Rennie Airth
--Full Dark House by Christopher Fowler
--In the Shadow of Gotham by Stefanie Pintoff
--The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
--Lethal Legacy by Linda Fairstein
--The Hunt for Sonya Dufrette by R.T. Raichev
--Second Violin by John Lawton
--The Last Nightingale by Anthony Flacco
--An Expert in Murder by Nicola Upson
--A Slice of Murder by Chris Cavender
--Starvation Lake by Bryan Gruley
--Billy Boyle by James R. Benn

MY INTENDED READING DURING THE REST OF 11 IN 11

Category 1: Cozy mysteries--Category Finished!!

Category 2: Baseball books--Category Finished!!

Category 3: Mysteries set outside the U.S.--Category Finished
1. The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie--finished on 10/18/11
2. Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie--finished on 10/13/11

Category 4: General Nonfiction--Already Finished!!!!

Category 5: More nonfiction--Category finished!!
1. Hot Dog: A Global History by Bruce Kraig--finished on 10/8/11
2. Pancake: A Global History--finished on 10/10/11

Category 6:
Historical mysteries--2 to go
1. Rutland Place by Anne Perry--finished on 11/1/11
2. Vices of My Blood by Maureen Jennings
3. Season of Darkness by Maureen Jennings--finished on 10/28/11
4. Mercury's Rise by Ann Parker (net galley)

Category 7: Seasonal books--Category finished!!

Category 8: Lincoln and the Civil War--Category finished!!
1. Confederates in the Attic--finished on 11/2/11
2. Starving the South by Andrew F. Smith--finished on 10/10/11

Category 9: Next in the series--2 to go
1. New York to Dallas by J.D. Robb
2. Skeleton Letters by Laura Childs--finished on 10/22/11
3. The Pumpkin Muffin Murder by Livia J. Washburn

Category 10: Sports books--category finished!!
1. Stan Musial: An American Life (ER)--finished on 10/26/11
2. Home Team: Coaching the Saints and New Orleans Back to Life by Sean Payton--finished on 10/12/11

Category 11: Authors/series New to Me--1 to go
1. Books Can Be Deceiving by Jenn McKinlay--finished on 10/9/11
2. Second Violin by John Lawton
3. A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd--finished on 10/4/11

Linda, will you be finishing the 11-11 challenge on 11/11 so that you can begin the 12-12 challenge on 12/12?

A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd

I really enjoyed this first book in Charles Todd's "other" series set during World War 1 and featuring military nurse, Bess Crawford. It starts out with a bang as Bess is on a hospital ship that is torpedoed by the Germans.

Upon returning home, she delivers a message from a dying soldier to his family and finds herself embroiled in a long-ago family scandal.

This reminds me quite a bit of the Maisie Dobbs series, though, in this series, Bess is a nurse, not a former nurse.

Very enjoyable, though I thought the mystery itself took a long time to unfold and was slow-going at first. I intend to continue with this series.

>15 lindapanzo: This sounds really good; I need to get started on this series. I love the Maisie Dobbs series.

Your lists of POSSIBLES are wonderful! I got tired of looking at all the books I want to read and haven't gotten to and moved most of them to my 12 in 12 thread. I may read some of them yet this year, though.

Ivy, I think it helps me having an authors/series new to me category. Once I start a series and like it, it's not usually a problem to continue with it.

Trying new authors is more of a challenge but having that category for it helps.

Sandy, I would love to finish 11 in 11 by 11/11/11 but I doubt it'll happen. Seventeen books in just over 5 weeks is possible, but unlikely, for me.

Hi Linda! Reading your lists to finish this challenge makes me feel like I should do the same thing for mine. In an ideal world, I'd like to be done with mine by the Deweys challenge date of Oct 22 so I can do some "free reading" for it, but I don't think I can read 13 books in the next 17ish days. Well, maybe if I never work. :)

Hi, Linda! I have you starred. Nice recap. You're almost done!

Hi, Linda! I started Supreme Courtship last night, and you can imagine my surprise when it turned out to be a very clever satire rather than a mystery! I obviously added it to the wrong list, but as it turns out, it fits my 11 in 11 challenge better (I have several others that will finish that Eastern US Mystery category), and I'm really enjoying it!

Hot Dog: A Global History by Bruce Kraig

This is an entertaining little book in that food/global history series. A few years ago, I read the one about pizza and the one about hamburgers. These books provide a bit of history, a bit of cultural analysis, a bit of worldwide variety.

In this one, the best part, I thought, covered the regional varieties of hot dogs in the U.S. and, surprising to me, in the world.

Books Can Be Deceiving by Jenn McKinlay

I enjoyed this first book in the cozy Library Lover's mystery series set in small town Connecticut and featuring old friends, the new head librarian, and a children's librarian who has been accused of murdering the boyfriend she just broke up with.

This book started very slowly and, 100 pages in, I was tempted to put it aside but I enjoyed the library aspects and so continued with it. I think this series has potential and will be reading on. I think the second one is due out in February.

Hi Linda: I haven't tried Jenn McKinlay's Library Lover's series, but I have read her Cupcake series, have you read any of those yet?

#23 Not yet, but I'm planning to start her cupcake series in the next few weeks.

Book #112
Starving the South by Andrew F. Smith

I've read a lot of fascinating books but this is one of the most interesting of them all, as the author looks at the role of food during the Civil War. I expected to read about the Northern blockade of the South (and blockade runners) and also about armies pillaging the countryside for food but it was much, much more than that.

Acquiring food and/or withholding food from the enemy was a key element of military strategy, including whether an army had long supply trains or just "lived off the land."

What I didn't expect: The Civil War transformed local markets into national food suppliers and also led to the development of the Northern canning industry. The author talks about Borden and Van Camp, for instance.

As a morale booster, Northern businesses and individuals raised money for and prepared and delivered huge dinners for Yankee soldiers on Thanksgiving, 1864.

My only gripe with the book is that the author didn't go into much detail at all on what all the pillaging and other devastation inflicted on Southern farms/families meant. I imagine that people starved but, beyond some discussion of Confederate bread riots, there wasn't much coverage.

Nonetheless, an absolutely fascinating book, one that I'd highly recommend!!

With 14 books left to finish my 11 in 11 challenge, I find that I have 4 nonfiction books yet to go (including one baseball book) and 9 or 10 mysteries left to read (depending on that final "next in the series" book).

LOL--poor me.

#14 Sandy, I didn't think it would be possible but, most likely, after tonight, I'll have 13 books to go (and I've started three of those) and one month til 11/11/11 so it is do-able, after all.

I have got to find a copy of Starving the South. It sounds very interesting! I feel so sorry for you, having to read all those books you enjoy! NOT!

Pancake: A Global History by Ken Albala

This is another in that Edible series, a slender book that talks about the history, customs, and worldwide varieties of a particular food. Unlike the books on burgers, hot dogs, and pizza, I did not enjoy this one.

Way, way too much history and very little on American variations in the present day or even in the past. The author had a dull writing style, too.

I guess that, in a series as large as this, some are bound to be uneven.

My next one, I think, will be the one on chocolate.

I finished my fifth category: Even more nonfiction. 5 categories down, 6 to go.

I need to get cracking on the historical fiction category which, with only 7 books read, is the laggard right now.

A chocolate book - I have a few of those myself - will be watching for your review. Congratulations on another category down. I have a slacker category too.

Home Team: Coaching the Saints and New Orleans Back to Life by Sean Payton

Naturally, I enjoyed the football aspects of this book by the Super Bowl-winning coach, Sean Payton. I was especially interested in his motivational techniques and how he got involved in football coaching, eventually moving up to coach an NFL team.

Though I'm a huge sports fan, I had even more interest in hearing him talk about the morale-boosting effects his teams had in post-Katrina New Orleans. Of special interest, the things that the various team members did. For instance, one day Payton cancelled practice and the whole team went over to several houses and rehabbed them.

Very interesting, even if you're not a sports fan.

Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie

I really enjoyed this clever little puzzler, set in St Mary Mead that is an early (the first?!?) Miss Marple book. Can't believe I had never read it before. Very surprising.

There's a different attitude towards Miss Marple as she'd never really proved her sleuthlike abilities.

For next year, I'd like to figure out which Christie's I haven't read and read them.

The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie

This is a Supt Battle mystery from Agatha Christie that's part international intrigue book and part traditional English village mystery.

It drew me in, in parts, and bored me at spots, too.

Enough to make me want to read other Supt Battle books, I think.

Sixth category finished, five to go!!

Ten books left til I finish!!

@ 34 -- You should try The Seven Dials Mystery! It's sort of a sequel to The Secret of Chimneys (Supt. Battle is featured, and a few characters return), and in my opinion it's more entertaining.

#36 Awww, I checked and I've already read all the other Supt Battle books.

I'm aiming to finish my 11 in 11 by mid-November. If so, I'll have about a month til I start my 12 in 12 on 12/12.

I've got something up my sleeve for a bonus 11 in 11 for that month-long lull.

Oooh, something up your sleeve, you say? Intriguing! Hope you have a good weekend. :)

I'm looking to be finished my challenge in early November as well. I am really looking forward to some "free" reading time.

Skeleton Letters by Laura Childs

This is the most recent installment in Laura Childs' scrapbooking series set in New Orleans and featuring Carmela and her friend, Ava. Lots of good local color and lots of characters I like but the mystery plot is fairly thin. A member of their scrapbooking circle is murdered in a cathedral. as witnessed by Carmela and Ava.

Not sure I want to continue with this series.

That's my least favorite of Laura Childs' series, and I haven't read one in several years. I don't care for the secondary characters. They're just not like Drayton and Haley in the teashop series.

>41 cbl_tn: Every time that ex-husband of hers, Shamus, surfaces, I keep hoping that Shamu the killer whale from Sea World will swallow Shamus so that the reader won't have to put up with him!

Stan Musial: An American Life by George Vecsey

I've read more than 250 baseball books/baseball histories and this is one of the better ones. That said, it's very good, not great. The author clearly did his research and interviewed many, many people, from Stan's daughter to current and former players to a man whose father ran a kids' baseball league to which Stan donated money, to try to get a sense for Stan the Man. I wish he'd organized his writing better, making his fascinating tidbits more fluid. Each chapter is quite compartmentalized.

I also wish he had done more with what Stan himself thought. Towards the end, the author explains why he didn't interview Musial but I felt like he could've used more contemporary quotes or something. The book would've benefitted from an appendix with Musial's statistics, too.

That said, the author relates a number of interesting stories showing Musial's decency and baseball prowess.

As a Polish American, Musial was one of my baseball heroes, even though he retired from the Cardinals when I was just a few years old and I was thrilled to learn so much about him, from his childhood in a working class town of Donora, PA to his post-baseball career.

Lots of interesting information. Who knew that Musial campaigned for JFK in 1960, along with author James Michener (who became a good friend) and Angie Dickinson? I sure didn't. Later, Musial travelled to Poland with Michener and met the man who would later become Pope John Paul II.

The author calls Musial the most underrated ballplayer ever. For some reason, of the Big Three (Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, and Musial), the other two became more glorified and larger than life as time passed. The harmonica-playing Musial, a typical guy next door, became less glorified as time passed.

Musial was a decent man, a much-loved man and this book shows why.

As Commissioner Ford Frick said of him "Here lies baseball's perfect warrior. Here lies baseball's perfect knight."

Despite its flaws, for someone who's interested in baseball and willing to take the time to get into this book, I'd definitely recommend it.

Finished another category (sports books) leaving me with 7 down and 4 to go. Overall, 8 books left to read.

My pace has slowed significantly in recent weeks. By Halloween night, I figure I'll have 7 (or possibly, 6) books left to read. Finishing by 11/11 looks increasingly unlikely though finishing by Thanksgiving (11/24) still looks do-able.

Only one nonfiction book left to go and I'm well into that one.

Congrats, you're almost there! How's the world series going?

Season of Darkness by Maureen Jennings

I've long enjoyed Maureen Jennings' Inspector Murdoch mystery series set in late 1800s Toronto so I thought I'd give the first in new series a try. This one features a British village inspector, Tom Tyler, in 1940. Tyler must grapple with the deaths of two Land Girls, where enemy aliens held at a local camp are suspected.

This book was a slow starter but, once I got into it, it was excellent. Though grittier than my usual kind of mystery (not a cozy by any means), this was chock full of period detail.

I'm eager to read the next one, as soon as it comes out.

Seven books to go!!

MY INTENDED READING DURING THE REST OF 11 IN 11

Category 6:
Historical mysteries--1 to go
1. Rutland Place by Anne Perry--finished on 11/1/11
2. Sup with the Devil by Barbara Hamilton
3. Bluegate Fields by Anne Perry--finished on 11/7/11

Category 8: Lincoln and the Civil War--finished
1. Confederates in the Attic--finished on 11/2/11

Category 9: Next in the series--1 to go
1. From New York to Dallas by JD Robb
2. The Pumpkin Muffin Murder by Livia J. Washburn--finished on 11/4/11

Category 11: Authors/series New to Me--1 to go
1. Miss Dimple Disappears

Looks like you should be finishing soon, Linda! Some great choices there.

October RECAP

October was a good reading month. I finished 12 books, all of them counting towards 11 in 11.

So far this year, I've read 119 books with 114 of them counting towards 11 in 11. This leaves me with 7 books to read to complete the challenge. Still aiming to finish by mid-November, perhaps by 11/11.

My favorite book of the month: Starving the South: How the North Won the Civil War.

My least favorite book of the month: Pancake: A Global History.

I've finished another three categories in October, mysteries set outside of the U.S., even more nonfiction, and sports books. This leaves me with 7 completed categories and 4 to go.

Here's where I stand so far:

Cozy mysteries--read 11 out of 11--category finished

Baseball books--read 11 out of 11--category finished

Mysteries set outside the U.S.--read 11 out of 11--category finished
--The Cold Light of Mourning by Elizabeth J. Duncan
--Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie
--The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie

General nonfiction--read 11 out of 11--category finished

Even more general nonfiction--read 11 out of 11--category finished
--Hot Dog: A Global History by Bruce Kraig
--Pancake: A Global History by Ken Albala

Historical fiction--read 8 out of 11
--Season of Darkness by Maureen Jennings

Seasonal books (books with winter, spring, summer, or fall (or autumn) in the title)--read 11 out of 11--category completed

Lincoln and the Civil War--read 10 out of 11
--Starving the South by Andrew F. Smith

Next in the series--read 9 out of 11
--Skeleton Letters by Laura Childs

Sports books--read 11 out of 11--category finished
--Home Team: Coaching the Saints and New Orleans Back to Life by Sean Payton
--Stan Musial: An American Life by George Vecsey

Mystery series new to me--read 10 out of 11
--A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd
--Books Can Be Deceiving by Jenn McKinlay

Looking forward to your reactions to Confederates in the Attic - you're making great progress on the challenge!

#50 Some parts are interesting, I think. Some are kind of weird.

I was just reading about one of the reenactments and how, when it's over, the commander orders a resurrection. Whereas the strict group carts away "the dead."

Great progress, Linda, and a very ambitious goal to read 7 books in the next 11 days!

Re Stan Musial: I saw him -- I think it was during game 6? I don't follow baseball much anymore, but being a child of the 1950s, when our heroes were baseball players and astronauts, he's one that I remember. Interesting that's he's not as much remembered today...

#52 Well, I am about halfway through my last nonfiction book and well past half in one of the mysteries. Even so, reading 5 books in 10 days or so is still pretty ambitious for me.

I have a long train ride into the city on Sunday to go to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (they are performing Handel's Water Music). This'll help.

Not to mention that the end of the baseball season will help, too.

#51 I thought a lot of Confederates was kind of weird - but it really did give me something to think about when I was tempted to dismiss the lot of them as a bunch of wackos. (Of course, even after thinking about it, I still think some of them are pretty wacky!)

Envious of you getting to go the symphony doing Water Music. Yesterday was our symphony day, we had Brahm's German Requeim. Our first time in the new performing arts center here - a beautiful facility with amazing accoustics. I hope when you finally make to KC for a baseball game that you'll also have a chance to attend a performance at the PAC.

Rutland Place by Anne Perry

This is #5 in the Charlotte & Thomas Pitt series. It's been awhile since I read one of the Pitt books but enjoyed this one and won't be a stranger.

In this one, trinkets are missing from the social circle of Charlotte's mother, who, herself, was missing a locket with an incriminating picture (oooh). Charlotte and, eventually, her sister get involved in trying to ferret out the truth, even after one of the neighbors is murdered.

The plot was okay but I do like these characters and intend to read on.

Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War by Tony Horwitz

A very entertaining book about non-confederates, hard-core reenactors, and othes for whom the Civil War has not yet ended. Sort of a real life look at the Civil War. They don't teach history like this in school.

Some parts were wild, even unbelievable, such as the minie ball pregnancy. The author really did his homework and interviewed all sorts of people, which really made this book work.

I'm glad I read it, even though I thought that more than a few of the people he talked to were just plain weird.

Another category finished (the Civil War) and 5 books to go with 9 days til 11/11, if I can finish by then.

Only mysteries left to read, now!!

Wahoo, you can do it, especially if you've just got mysteries left! :)

The Pumpkin Muffin Murder by Livia J. Washburn

I like cozy mysteries, as you all know, and this is about as cozy as they come. Retired teacher, Phyllis, solves the case while baking muffins for a fall festival and preparing Thanksgiving dinner. Always lots of food talk, which makes me hungry.

It's set in Texas and involves current and retired teachers. A somewhat skimpy plot but characters I've grown to love--I think this is the fifth book in the Fresh-Baked series.

Phooey, I had hoped to finish two mysteries over the weekend and then my final two books by this Friday.

Instead, I dozed off on the train to downtown yesterday and I'm at halfway through two different mysteries, instead.

(No chance of confusion: One is a J.D. Robb and the other is an Anne Perry.)

Darn! You can still do it though, right? I mean, you can just read while you're "working" and no one will mind, I'm sure. ;)

Still rooting for you to do it. I'm sure you can, the rest of life can just be put on hold for a few days - right??

Well, there's still hope.

I optimistically brought both the Anne Perry and the JD Robb books to work with me today.

It's open enrollment week at work and, even though I don't work in the benefits dept, that is my field so I tend to get a lot of questions from co-workers. (I also spotted a concern for me--and plenty of co-workers--when I signed up so I need to pursue that, too.)

Good luck, Linda! But even if not by Friday, you're still in great shape for finishing your challenge. And wasn't your original goal to finish by Thanksgiving? I'm still just hoping to finish my (reduced) challenge by the end of the year...

Bluegate Fields by Anne Perry

This sixth book in the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series is much darker than the others. Rather than Charlotte spending her time with her well-off family trying to solve a mystery, this one focuses on Thomas Pitt. More of a police procedural than the others.

In this one, a young, upperclass boy (age 16) is drowned in a bathtub and his body tossed into a sewer. So begins a look at late 19th century prostitution.

Chilling. Probably my favorite book in the series, so far.

I'm suddenly feeling good again about finishing by 11/11/11.

I'm suddenly eager to read quite a few Anne Perry books so I will probably pick up another for my final historical mystery. JD Robb, for my final next in the series book, is a quick read as well.

Not sure about my final "author/series new to me" book. I keep changing my mind about that one. Most likely, it'll be my final book in this challenge.

Off to dinner with friends...

A Christmas Homecoming by Anne Perry

I enjoyed Anne Perry's newest annual Christmas novella, more than the other recent entries in this series.

This one features Caroline, the mother of Charlotte Pitt, and involves a theater troupe that is rehearsing a production of Dracula in an English home, with a theater, during the days leading up to Christmas. Great atmosphere as the players work out the staging etc and the snow piles up outside.

What I did not like were all the spoilers as to developments in the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series. I won't discuss those here or even hint at them, in case you're not that far along in the series either.

Two books to go!!

I should finish the JD Robb either tonight or else sometime on Wed. If so, I'll have two whole days, plus, to finish my last book, a yet to be named book in my "author/series new to me" category.

Yay!!

Rooting for a Friday finish!

New York to Dallas by J.D. Robb

This latest book from J.D. Robb is different and not just because the phrase "in Death" does not appear in the title.

In fact, the book is set almost entirely in Dallas and, except for Eve Dallas and Roarke, the other regular characters barely appear.

"The Collector" (who Eve Dallas put away way back when as a rookie cop) escapes from confinement and vows revenge, aiming to lure Eve Dallas in and rape/kill her. He does so by re-kidnapping one of his last victims.

Action-packed as usual. Also a "how we catch the culprit" as usual.

One of the better books in the series but I missed the recurring characters, such as Peabody.

One book to go!!!

It's looking like I should finish before Friday. My last book, the first in a new series for me, Sprinkle with Murder, the first in the cupcake series, seems to be a quick read.

>70 lindapanzo: Sounds like an interesting twist to the series! I always like it when a series takes a different turn; sometimes I get the feeling that the author is getting bored with the same old format, too, when there's nothing new. I'll miss Peabody, though -- she's one of my favorites!

So do you have just 1 book left by Friday?

Oops, crossed postings! You'll make it! Congratulations!

#72 Ivy, she's still around but just checks in from time to time to help out. Same with Feeney.

Peabody is probably my favorite. I also like Mira, the psychiatrist, as well as the friends and that reporter woman.

However, I was glad to see Galahad, Eve's and Roarke's cat, play an important role in this book.

There is one shocking (to me at least) development. Perhaps I can talk about that when someone else reads this book.

Sprinkle with Murder by Jenn McKinlay
* This book completes my 11 in 11 challenge for 2011. Eleven books in eleven categories for 121 books in all.

I really enjoyed this first book in the Cupcake Bakery cozy mystery series. It features lifelong friends, Melanie Cooper and Angie DeLaura, who run a cupcake bakery in Scottsdale, AZ.

The plot was ok but I absolutely loved the characters, including the secondary characters. A real gem of a mystery. I'm eager to read the next couple books--I think there are 2 or 3 more, in all.

All done!! Yay!!

You did it.... with time to spare too! Congratulations!

Congratulations on finishing your challenge. And ahead of schedule, too. Well done!

Congratulations! Enjoy your free time until we do it all over again.

Well done! Congratulations!

Congrats! And good job timing your finish to 11:11 p.m....now that's dedication to the 11/11 idea! :)

Congratulations, Linda!

Congrats on finishing the challenge! What are you planning next?

Thanks, everyone.

At first, I'd planned a mini challenge I was calling 1-2-3. First, a novel, then a nonfiction book, then a mystery. However, this just convinced me to add a nonmystery fiction category for 12 in 12.

So now, my mini challenge will be to read a dozen holiday-related books, both fiction and nonfiction.

Obviously, I suspect that most will be Christmas-related and that most will be mysteries. But not all of them.

I'll set up a mini-challenge thread for this.

Oh, and since I'm starting on 12 in 12 on 12/12, some of these holiday-themed books will count towards that as well (if they fit the category and I finish on or after 12/12/11).

My holiday mini-challenge thread is at:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/126602

Hope you'll join me there, too.

Congratulations on finishing the challenge! Very nicely done.

CONGRATULATIONS!

Congratulations, Linda!!!!!

Congratulations!!!

You did it! Congrats, Linda. Now I need to mosey on over and star your mini-challenge.

Between getting ready to go away this week and starting my holiday baking and working (why is it employers expect you to work at this time of year?), I got behind here on LT. I'm adding my congratulations and will be watch both your mini challenge and your reading for next year. Good job!

I see that I neglected to congratulate you on finishing your challenge, although I have visited your mini holiday thread. I'm so behind on threads and the new challenge will be here very soon!

Thanks, Betty and Lisa.

12/12/11 will be here before we know it. This is when I'm starting 12 in 12. Three weeks from today, I believe.

Happy Thanksgiving, Linda! I hope you're having a wonderful and relaxing day!

November in Review: I finished my challenge this month!! Nuff said.

I read 18 books this month, too, my highest total in a single month this year.

I read 18 books this month

Now, that is impressive!

Congratulations for completing the challenge!

After finishing 11 in 11, and reading 150 books this year, with potential two more books left to read or so, here's my list of my 10 favorite books for the year (in approximate order).

Very heavy on nonfiction this year (7 out of 10).

1. Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin
2. Hellhound on His Trail by Hampton Sides
3. Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand
4. On Hallowed Ground: The Story of Arlington National Cemetery by Robert M. Poole
5. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
6. Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison by Piper Kerman
7. A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny
8. Bottom of the 33rd: Hope, Redemption, and Baseball's Longest Game by Dan Barry
9. Then Everything Changed by Jeff Greenfield
10. Drinking: A Love Story by Carolyn Knapp

Awesome! And only one on there I've read!

I agree with Team of Rivals - it was tremendous!