Zozette's 100 Books in 2013.

Last year only managed 76 books but that included a few weeks when I was too ill to read much.

This year I am hoping to make between 100 and 120 books. I hope that this group and the 2013 Category Challenge will help me to reach my target. Some of my selections in the Category Challenge will take me in directions I have never been before so it promises to be an exciting year of reading for me.

Books I hope to read in January-February

Jan

Swamplandia FINISHED
Dr Wooreddy’s Prescription for Enduring the Ending of the World FINISHED
Abandon: Love and Communism in Central Asia - FINISHED
Miss Zukas and the Library Murders FINISHED
Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives FINISHED
Tall Blondes: A Book About Giraffes FINISHED
Ned Wynkoop and the Lonely Road from Sand Creek FINISHED
Untouchable FINISHED
Ths Library - FINISHED

Planned reading for February

House of Evidence - Viktor Arnar Ingolfsson -FINISHED
Newton and the Counterfeiter - Thomas Levenson - FINISHED
The Spanish Helmet - Greg Scowen FINISHED
The Silent Steppe - Mukhamet Shayakhmetov
Small Wild Cats: The Animal Answer Guide - James G. Sanderson - currently reading
The Donnellys Must Die- Orlo Miller - FINISHED
The Ghost Map -Steven Johnson
Lost Classics: Writers on Books Loved and Lost, Overlooked, Under-read, Unavailable, Stolen, Extinct, or Otherwise Out of Commission - edited by Michael Ondaatje FINISHED
Broken April - Ismail Kadare FINISHED

added

The Killer’s Tears by Anne-Laure Bondoux FINISHED
Miss Tamara, the Reader - Zoran Zivkovic FINISHED
The Shadow Walker - Michael Walters FINISHED
No One Writes to the Colonel and Other Stories - Gabriel Garcia Marquez FINISHED
The Woman Who Wouldn't Die - Colin Cotterill FINISHED
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle FINISHED

planned for March (including books that I planned to read in February but didn't)

The Silent Steppe - Mukhamet Shayakhmetov
Small Wild Cats: The Animal Answer Guide - James G. Sanderson - currently reading
The Ghost Map -Steven Johnson FINISHED

added

"The Devils of Amber Street" - Paul Starkey FINISHED
Twice in a Lifetime - Agust Borgor Sverrisson FINISHED
I Remember You - Yrsa Sigurdarsdottir FINISHED
Rickshaw Boy - Lao She FINISHED
The Anteater of Death - Betty Webb FINISHED

Planned for April

The Latehomecomer; A Hmong Family Memoir by Kao Kalia Yang FINISHED
Freycinet - Melanie Calvert FINISHED
Unpacking My Library: Writers and Their Books - Leah Price (editor) FINISHED

added

Banished: Surviving my Years in the Westboro Baptist Church - Lauren Drain FINISHED
A Corpse in the Koryo - James Church FINISHED

May-June

May

The Cleaner by Paul Cleave FINISHED
The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga FINISHED

June

MAN in the HIgh Castle by Philip K Dick FINISHED
13940050:: A Fado for the River by Geoffrey Wells FINISHED

July-Aug

Sept-Oct

Nov-Dec

Hi Zozette, I like the sound of your January list of books. I read "Sum" and enjoyed its quirky stories, and I have wishlisted "Dr Wooreddy" which sounds very interesting. I look forward to following your reading in 2013.

Hi Zozette, and welcome to the group! Looking forward to reading your thread.

1) Dr Wooreddy's Prescription for Enduring the Ending of the World by Mudrooroo (Colin Johnson)

This historical novel tells the story of the Tasmanian Aboriginals and the devastating effect the arrival of the British has on their lives and culture.

The story begins on Bruny Island (a 362 square island off the south-east of the Tasmanian Mainland) in about 1820. It tell the story of Wooreddy and of Trugernanner (Truganini) whose journey sees them travel most of Tasmania (Van Dieman's Land) as they witness the near extinction of their people. It is a moving story 4.5/5.

A great choice to start the year on! I'm yet to read anything by Mudrooroo, but will definitely keep my eyes open for this one.

I have that book on my list. Something I think I might like.

2) Tall Blondes: A Book About Giraffes by Lynn Sherr. 3.5/5

I think this book dealt a little much with Mankind's views and interaction with giraffes and not enough with the giraffes themselves. There were chapters I really enjoyed but I found the chapter "Hunting the Giraffe" upsetting.

3) Miss Zukas and the Library Library Murders

I didn't like the main character, in fact I didn't really like any of the characters. 2.5/5

Just finished reading Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives by David Eagleman. Interesting vignettes about a whole range of possible afterlives. 4/5

I liked that one. 40 fabulous little stories about life after death. Some of them were quite intense!

Oh yes I thought Sum was brilliant, full of ideas to chew on

5) Swamplandia by Karen Russell.

I don't think I would have finished this book if I hadn't been doing it as a Group Read. Though Karen Russell has potential as a writer, she is very good as describing people and place, I think that she meandered all over the place with this book and I was often bored. 3/5.

6) Untouchable by Mulk Raj Anand

Written in 1933, this is a moving novel that tells of one day in the life of one of India's Untouchables, a young man named Bakhi. 4/5.

7) Abandon: Love and Communism in Central Asia - David Gallagher (no touchstone)

The worst thing about this book is its title. It sounds boring when it isn't.

Gallagher spent two years as a Peace Corps volunteer teaching English in Kyrgyzstan. He lived in small villages in the country so I guess he got to know the culture.

This is a short novel about the relationship between two foundlngs. Tashtan (the boy) was adopted into a poor family whilr Kerez (the girl) was adopted into a rich family. They are drawn together because they feel they can understand each other because of their abandonment but Kerez's father disapproves of them having a relationship because he wants a good brideprice for his daughter.

The plot is a rather predictable but I enjoyed the novel for its look at life in Kyrgyzstan. Tashtan spends several months each year living in a yurt while helping to look after his family's flock. 4/5.

8) Ned Wynkoop and the Lonely Road from Sand Creek by Louis Kraft.

Excellent book about a truly compassionate army officer who was sympathetic to the plight of the Plains Indians (especially the Southern Cheyenne and the Arapaho) and who did what he could to get the army and the US government to take a humanitarian stance towards the Indians. His stand cost him dearly in terms of his career and at times it endangered his life. 4.5/5

9) The Library by Zoran Zivkovic

6 enjoyable short stories about books, each story has a supernatural flair. My favourite story was the one in which every time he opened up his letterbox a new book mysteriously appeared. 4.5/5.

I can't go past a good story about books. Wishlisted!

It is a very small book, just over 100 pages.

As soon as I finished reading "The Library" I ordered Seven Touches of Music and Miss Tamara, the Reader by the same author.

I'm going over to see if the library has it now.

. . . and it doesn't . . . well, it does, but I don't read Serbian!

Do there have any works by Zoran Zivkovic available in English? I gather he has written some other books with a book theme.

No! I will have to try for an ILL.

10) The Spanish Helmet by Greg Scowen.

This novel is based on a real life helmet that was dredge out of Wellington Harbour, New Zealand sometime before 1904. No-one is sure how the helmet came to be in the harbour but some people suggest that it is proof that the Spanish made it to New Zealand before Abel Tasman did.

In the novel an archeologist/historian discovers inofrmation that can lead to proving the origins of the helmet. However there are people who want to stop him from revealing this alternative history.

The first novel by this author. The writing is somewhat clunky but over-all an interesting (and it would seem well researched book). 4/5

11) Broken April by Ismail Kadare.

This novel is set in the mountains of Albania and is about a blood feud that is conducted under the Code of Kanun (traditional Albanian laws).

A young man Gjorg is forced to kill the man who killed Gjorg's brother because of a 70 year old feud between two families. Gjorg's kills on the 17th of March and under Code of Kunan he gets a month's truce before his victim's family can take revenge by killing Gjorg. The story tells how Gjorg spends that month.

I learnt a great deal about the Code of Kanun, a law system that seem quite bizarre to me but it considered quite normal by the people who live under it. 4/5

12) House of Evidence by Viktor Arnar Ingolfsson.

Police procedural set in Iceland in 1973. However events from 1910 to 1945 are covered by excerpts from a diary. This is the second novel of Viktor's that I have read (the other was The Flatey Enigma. I really enjoyed this novel which had me guessing until the end. 4/5.

13) Newton and the Counterfeiter by Thomas Levenson.

Started out slowly, and the first few chapters covered what I had read in other bios on Isaac Newton but once it author begin to tell of Newton's time as Warder of the Mint, as well as recounting the life and career of William Chalenor the counterfeiter it became more interesting. 3.5/5

14) The Donnellys Must Die by Orlo Miller.

Tells the story of a longstanding feud that took place in Biddulph, Ontario during the 19th century. 3.5/5

Broken April sounds really good, I'll have to keep an eye out for it. Newton and the Counterfeiter sounds right up my alley, and that's certainly going closer to the top of the list.

15) The Killer’s Tears by Anne-Laure Bondoux

Set in Southern Chile this YA novels tells the story of a child called Paolo who lives on a isolated farm with his parents. One day a stranger, Angel, arrives and murders Paolo parents but cannot bring himself to kill the child. Angel decides he must take care of Paolo. 4/5

16) The Shadow Walker by Michael Walters.

Murder mystery set in Mongolia. I was quite disappointed that Western characters got more time in this book than Mongolian characters did. I like the two Mongolian policemen and because of that I might read the next in the series. 3/5.

17) Miss Tamara, the Reader by Zoran Zivlovic.

I didn't enjoy this as such as The Library by the same author. It took me a while to warm to Miss Tamara as she is a sort of grumpy character. I like the last three of the eight stories the most. 3.5/5

@35 It's a shame when the book doesn't make enough use of a setting, I like reading books set in faraway places for a reason!

Yes, a real shame. If I am reading a book on an exotic place like Mongolia I don't like it when the author traps me in the British Embassy and tourist bars.

However, my disppointment prompted me to look for another novel set in Mongolia and as a result I have added The Blue Sky by Galsan Tschinag to my wishlist and I will probably buy it next week.

18) No One Writes to The Colonel and other Stories by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. 4/5

I enjoyed this collection of short stories and I hope to read one of Garcia Marquez's novel later in the year. I haven't decided on which novel it will be.

19) The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

First time I have ever listened to an audio book all the way through. I did have to resort to the written book on occasion (I have a light hearing problem).

20) The Woman Who Wouldn't Die by Colin Cotterill.

the latest book in the Dr Siri series. Another enjoyable mystery set in 1970s Laos, featuring the elderly coroner (recently retired).

21) Lost Classics: Writers on Books Loved and Lost, Overlooked, Under-read, Unavailable, Stolen, Extinct, or Otherwise Out of Commission - edited by Michale Ondaatje and others. 4/5.

Various writers look at books that inspired them which the writers claim are no longer available, or hard to find. This book was published in 2000 and since then most of the books mentioned have become easier to find, either because they have been republished or because second-hand copies can be found on the internet.

I made notes in this books (something I don't often do) about where a book could be located and if I wanted to read it. I think Next year I will end up reading between 6 and 10 of the books listed.

Oh, what a great concept for a book! And hurrah for the Internet bringing obscure books back!

22) "The Devils of Amber Street" by Paul Starkey.

This is a self-published 99c Kindle book which was written by member of a message board that I am aslo a member of all.

It consists of a novella which at first seems to be a possessed house story but ends up going in another direction. Of the three stories I like "The Bonaventure Jane" the most. It is an Elizabethan mystery.

23) Twice in a Lifetime by Agust Borgor Sverrisson.

A collection of short stories set in Iceland but somewhat lacking the distinctive Icelandic flair that I love. 3/5.

I have only managed to finish 2 books so far this month. As I had hoped to reach 30 by the end of March I will have to get a move on.

24) I Remember You by Yrsa Sigurdarsdottir.

A ghost story/mystery set in Iceland about two boys who disappear more than 50 years apart. 4/5.

25) Rickshaw Boy by Lao She.

This novel tells the story of Xiangzi, a young man who has arrived in Beijing in 1937 following the death of his parents. He becomes a rickshaw driver and his dream is to own his own rickshaw but he finds escaping poverty is harder then he thinks. 4/5

26) The Anteater of Death: A Zoo Mystery by Betty Webb.

A fun, cozy mystery set in a zoo. The protagonist is a zookeeper, Teddy Bentley, who starts her own investigation after a man is found dead in the giant anteater's enclosure. My favourite character was Lucy the Anteater who was adorable. 3.5/5

27) The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic-and How it Changed Science, Cities and the Modern World by Steven Johnson.

This well researched book is about Dr John Snow's investigation into the 1854 cholera outbreak in London. I found it quite interesting though I wish a better picture of the map had been included. 4/5.

28) The Latehomecomer; A Hmong Family Memoir by Kao Kalia Yang.

The heart-warming story of an extended family's journey out of war-torn Laos, into the refugees camps and finally, several years later, their settlement in America. The family consisted of an elderly widow, her 7 sons and their wives and children. Kalia is the daughter of the youngest son and she tells the story through her eyes and also through the stories that the adults told her. 4.5/5.

That sounds like a good one.

29) Freycinet by Melanie Calvert. Murder mystery set in Freycinet National Park, Tasmania. 3.5/5

30) Unpacking My Library: Writers and Their Books - Leah Price (editor). Writers Alison Bechdel, Stephen Carter, Junot Diaz, Rebecca Goldstein ans Steven Pinker, Lev Grossman and Sophie Gee, Jonathan Lethem, Claire Messus and James Wood, Philip Pullman, Gary Shteyngart, Edmund White show us their books and answer questions about their collections including naming their 10 favourite books. 3.5/5

I love books about books - Unpacking my Library sounds great.

^^^ It was good. It is a pity I only knew some of the writers.

31) Banished: Surviving my Years in the Westboro Baptist Church by Lauren Drain.

Moving account of the seven years Lauren spent in this cult.

Thw Westboro Baptist Church are the horrid group that pickets funeral of fallen soldiers etc. Lauen was only a teenager when her family joined WBC and she was banished from the church and her family when she was 21. 4/5.

32) A Corpse in the Koryo by James Church.

A murder mystery set in North Korea. I loved the detective, Inspector O, and the setting was intriguing. The mystery itself was somewhat predestrian. I do plan to read the rest of the series. 3.5/5

33) East of the West: A Country in Stories by Miroslav Penkov. The country is Bulgaria and this set of short stories is quite good. 4/5.

34) Great Feuds in Science by Hall Hellman. 3.5/5

I have fallen behind my target of 35 books by the end of April, because of illness (March-April are never good months for me)

Hope you're feeling better!

Thank you. I am a bit better but I am still tiring easily.

35) Daybreak by Viktor Arnar Ingolfsson.

Police investigate the shooting of a goose hunter on a remote Icelandic farm. This is the third book I have read written by the author and this is his best so far. I hope that he might continue to use Detective Birkir (a policeman who had originally arrived in Iceland as a child refugee from Vietnam). 4/5.

36) Someone to Watch Over Me by Yrsa Sigurdardottir. Icelandic mystery. Lawyer Thora Gudmundsdottir is hired to prove that a young Down's Syndrome man is innocent of setting a fire that killed 5 people 4/5.

37) The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark by Carl Sagan 4/5

38) Magnitude 7.1 and 6.3: The People of Christchurch, Canterbury and Beyond Tell Their Stories by Debbie Roome. I found the stories told by the children the most interesting. 3/5.

Love the Icelandic names. I must keep an eye out for Someone to Watch Over Me, Scandinavian crime can be great.

39) The Cleaner by Paul Cleave.

Joe is s serial killer and he is quite annoyed that he has been credited with a murder that he didn't commit. He decides to investigate and find out who his copycat is. Novel is set in Christchurch, New Zealand and is quite violent, certainly not a cozy mystery. 3.5/5.

40) The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga. Excellent novel set in Inida about a poor servant and his relationship with his employer. 4.5/5.

41) The Man in the High Castle by Philip K Dick.

I haven't read a PKD book since some time in the 1990s. I don't know if it because my tastes have changed so much since thn but I didn't enjoy this book even though I have enjoyed every ther single PKD that I have read. I found this novel boring and I didn't particularly like any of the characters. 2.5/5.

42) A Fado for the River by Geoffrey Wells.

This novel's setting alternates between Mozambique in 1974 and Portugal 38 years later. A man find he is being blackmailed over events that took place during the five days he spent in Mozambique as a young man. 3/5.

43) Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Book Store by Robin Sloan. 4/5.

44) Past the Shallows by Favel Parrett. 4.5/5. Novel about three brothers growing up in 1980s Tasmania. Their mother is dead, and their father is an abusive man.

This novel was set in my part of the world. When I was younger we used to go down to Southport/Dover region during the holidays. I think Favel Parrett captured the setting well though I think her seasons were a little off (the novel has to take part in February which is usually the warmest month in Tasmania).

I'm glad you liked Past the Shallows, I thought it was excellent too.

^^^We must have similar tastes, we share 53 books.

I'm also a fan. Loved that book and loved the setting too.

Past the Shallows sounds excellent. Another for the endless tbr list!

45) The Library: An Illustrated History by Stuart AP Murray. I wish the author had organised this book better. At times it was repentitive and it jumped all over the place at times. This is unfortunate as it did contain quite a lot of interesting information. 3/5.

It is half way through the year and I am 5 books behind where I should be :(

That's not that far behind :) as long as its fun trying to get to 100 that's the main thing

Five definitely isn't far off! Sometimes we just have a slower month or two.

I will make an effort to catch up this month. I should be easy as it is winter here so it is easy to curl up with a good book

46) In Our Hearts We Were Giants by Yehuda Koren and Eliat Negev.

This is the story of the Ovitz family. They were a family of 10 Jewish brothers and sisters of whom seven were dwarfs. In 1944, 9 members of the family, along with a couple of their spouses and children were sent to Auschwitz, where they escaped the gas chambers because Dr Josef Mengele took an interest in them and decided to use them for experiments. The Ovitzes passed some members of two unrelated families from their village off as cousins in order to keep them alive. In the end the group consisted of 23 people, the youngest just 18 months old.

A very moving story of the loving and close-knit family which starts with the birth of their father (in 1858) and continues until 2001. About half of the book covers their time in Auschwitz. 4.5/5.

47) Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry. Quick, enjoyable read. I do like the worlds that Lois Lowry creates. 4/5.

48) A Long Way Home by Saroo Brierley. At the moment only available as an e-book. Will be available as a paperback soon.

Amazon.com description.

When Saroo Brierley used Google Earth to find his long-lost home town half a world away, he made global headlines.

Saroo had become lost on a train in India at the age of five. Not knowing the name of his family or where he was from, he survived for weeks on the streets of Kolkata, before being taken into an orphanage and adopted by a couple in Australia.

Despite being happy in his new family, Saroo always wondered about his origins. He spent hours staring at the map of India on his bedroom wall. When he was a young man the advent of Google Earth led him to pour over satellite images of the country for landmarks he recognised. And one day, after years of searching, he miraculously found what he was looking for.

Then he set off on a journey to find his mother.

A Long Way Home is a moving and inspirational true story of survival and triumph against incredible odds. It celebrates the importance of never letting go of what drives the human spirit – hope.

Heartwarming story of love and determination. 4/5.

#48 That sounds like such a powerful story.

49) The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley. An enjoyable, cozy mystery. I liked Flavia De Luce, the 11 year old, chemistry-loving girl who decides to investigate a murder after a man's body is found in her garden. 3.5/5

50) Days of Darkness: The Feuds of Eastern Kentucky by John Ed Pearce. Though the Hatfield-McCoy Feud is covered in one chapter of this book it was one of the more 'mild' feuds. The mountain men certainly knew how to hold a grudge. 3.5/5.

51) I Can See in the Dark by Karin Fossum. 4/5. Another great mystery by Fossum.

52) Bay of Fires by Poppy Gee . Mystery set in Tasmania. Hated it. Boring characters and story is repetitive. 1.5/5

I was ill again. I don't think I can get to 100 books this year so I will lower my target to 80 instead.

They say 80 is the new 100 . . . :O)

#79> LOL! I was just going to say that it doesn't matter what your target is, it's the journey that counts. But I like your comment better. :)

53) Strange Shores by Arnaldur Indridason.

9th book in the Reykjavik murder series. Inspector Erlendur was absent in the last two books in the series and this books covers what he was doing while absent. He had gone back to his boyhood home to confront the tragedy that occurred during his childhood. While there he also starts to unoffically investigate the disappearance of a woman who went more the 50 years before.

I think that this is the best and saddest book in the series. 5/5.

I haven't been reading much as my elderly cat was very sick and in the end we had to put her to sleep :(

54) The Quiet Earth by Craig Harrison.

This is a book I have wanted to read for more than 20 year since I first saw the sci-fi movie based on it. Unfortunately the book only had a very small printing in 1981 and though it was in reprinted in 1986 by the time I could locate copies on it on the internet copies of it were selling for between $400-$2000. Luckily it was republished last month (both on Kindle and as a paperback) so I finally got to read.

I really enjoyed though it ended very differently from the movie. 4/5.

Oh I am sorry to hear about your cat, my condolences.

I'm very sorry to hear about your cat as well. Even though I know for myself that I'll love the next cat just as much (if for different reasons), that doesn't really make the loss easier.

I have two other cats but she was the one "really special" pet of my life.

55) Seven Touches of Music by Zoran Zivkovic. This little book which consists of seven short stories has been in my handbag for several weeks. I have taken it out to read when waiting for a bus or an appointment etc. I finished the last story today. It is the third book by Zivkovic that I had read this year. I think it is better than "Miss Tamara the rEader" but not as good as "The Library" so I am giving it 4/5. I am going to pop another Zivkovic short story collection into my bag.

Sorry to hear about your cat.

#52 Unpacking my library sounds interesting, I may have to check that out.

#63: I read Man in the High Castle so long ago (20+ years), for a History through Science Fiction class in college. I don't remember anything but what the cover looked like, who the author was and that it was a good book... might be time to re-read.

56) The Satin Man by Alan Whiticker.

This book looks at the case of the Beaumont Children, who who two sisters (Jane 9 and Arnna 7) and their little brother Grant (aged 4) who disappeared from Glenelg Beach (Adelaide, South Australia) in 1966. No trace of the children has ever been found.

In this book Alan Whiticker presents a new suspect. Some of the evidence he gives is compelling and it would be interesting to see the police investigate it fully. 4/5.

57) Hyena by Mikita Brottman.

A facinating look at a misunderstoof and maligned animal. Looks at the hyena's evolation, biology, social structure and the way man has portrayed and treated thoughout history. 4/5.

58) Time Gifts by Zoran Zivkovic. Four short stories dealing with time. 4/5.

Would you change time if you could?

A bit belated, but I am very sorry to hear about your cat too. It is hard to say goodbye to a friend!

I really liked The Quiet Earth too. I listened to it early this year.

59) The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle. I am working my way though all of the Sherlock Holmes canon. I have finished all the novels and now the first two collections of short stories.

60) The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle.

61) The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman. I really loved this book. 4.5/5.

62) His Last Bow by Arthur Conan Doyle. I didn't enjoy this Sherlock collection as much as the previous collections. Only one more collection of short stories to go.

Wow really moving along on the Sherlock Holmes. Someday I want to re-read my big 2 Volume Annotated Sherlock Holmes, It would be really nice if the remade it in electronic version, its a beast.

63) Dewey, the Library Cat by Vicki Myron.

As a cat lover, and a former library tech, I enjoyed this book though I thought it was a bit repetitive at times. 3.5/5.

#94 - I did buy the the 2 volumes of Annotated Sherlock Holmes and I love them but I found it took me so long to get through each story because of all the annotations. Plus, as you said, they are beast and their heaviest (weightwise) makes them difficult to read. I am debating whether to buy volume 3 of the Annotated Sherlock Holmes as I have already read all four novels.

64) The Professor and the Madman (The Surgeon of Crowthorne) by Simon Winchester. Quite enjoyed this biography of OED editor James Murray and of Dr WC Minor, the criminally insane doctor who contributed tens of thousands of quotations to the OED. 4/5.

65) Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman.

I really liked some of these stories especially "A Study in Emerald". "October in the Chair" and "Sunbird" but there some other stories that I didn't like much at all. 3.5/5

66) The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Finally I have finished all the Sherlock Holmes canon. I enjoyed the Hound of the Baskervilles and the first three collections of short stories the most.

67) Seven Little Australians by Ethel Turner.

Australian children's classic that would appeal to adults as well. First published in 1894.

I last read this book as a teenager around 40 years ago after I had watched the wonderful mini-series the aired on Australian TV in 1973.

I was very pleased to find a DVD copy of the mini-series on Amazon last year and bought it straight away. When it arrived I was disappointed to discover that this US copy of the mini-series does not include the last two episodes (which covers the last three chapters in the book).

The events of the last three chapters are very sad as a terrible tragedy does occur so maybe the American powers-to-be deemed it too upsetting for children to watch (?).

After the disappointment I purchase the book. At least that way I experience the whole story.

4.5/5

Belated condolences on the loss of your cat. Much as I kvetch about my moggies and the hair everywhere and the fleas and the stomping on my head at 3am, I know that if one were to die, I'd be pretty upset. They are a special part of any family.

Us Americans and our butchering of good things! I only just found out that my favorite movie version of The Secret Garden is actually a mini-series that was condensed. Thank goodness for YouTube, at least. I'm off to Gutenberg to snag that book though, I always need more turn of the century children's books.

Oh, The Secret Garden is worth reading! I read it a while ago (I *may* have read it as a child, but can't really remember now), and thought it was quite charming. It was also the first "proper" book I read Mr Bear - I think a lot of it went over his head, but it started the tradition of me reading him books that are probably a bit too old for him, and him learning to ask questions about what things mean. :)

Oops, I was confusing. I've read The Secret Garden, I mean I'm off to find Seven Little Australians. :)

68) Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman. Audio book read by Lenny Henry. I thought Lenny did a marvellous job reading this wonderful novel. 4/5.

69) On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin. I thought it was about time I got around to reading one of the most influential books in history. I gave it 4/5 because I think it was a bit repetitive and overly detailed at times but that is probably because I am seeing it through 21st century eyes.

70) The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde. I didn't enjoy it as much as the two previous books in the series though I really liked the Ultraword TM concept. 3.5/5

#68. Yes, Yes, Yes!!!

71) The Sands of Windee by Arthur Upfield.

A very hard book for me to rate. As a mystery it is well written and Detective Inspector Napoleon "Bony" Bonaparte, who is half-Aboriginal and half-white, is one of the most interesting detectives in all of literature.

This is the second book in a series of 29 books. The series were written between 1929 and the mid 1960s and they mirror the attitudes that existed towards Aboriginals in that time period. They are un-PC and I found myself cringing at the racism in them.

The Sands of Windee is notable because of its connection to a real-life crime. At the time he was writing it Upfield was working as a stockman in the Outback. He found himself stuck on the book and asked other stockmen for advice about how a body could deposed of without leaving a trace. Between them the men came up with a solution that was used in the book. Unfortunately, before the book was published, one of those stockmen decided to use the method and murdered three men. He was caught because he missed out one step in disposing of the body in his last murder (no trace of the other two murder victims were found). These murders became known as the Murchison Murders and Upfield gave evidence at the trial of the conversation as he and the stockmen had.

There was a great dramatisation of the whole Murchison Murders on TV a while back (last year, I think it was). And I've got a few "Boney" mysteries to read (and thanks for the forewarning about the un-PC-ness of them).

^^^I had forgotten about that. I did watch it when it aired. It was "3 Acts of Murder". It was first aired in 2009 but it wouldn't be at all surprising if the ABC had rescreened it last year.

109 - I've had Sands of Windee sitting around, but I've been avoiding it. Not sure I'm in a good place to deal with the level of racism I fear is in it (not that Agatha Christie and others don't include their share of racism, but I feel like Sands of Windee might be worse...).

72) The Library Book by various authors. Various essays and writings with a library theme. I liked Stephen Fry's, China Mieville's and Hardeep Kohli Singh's contributions the most. Mieville's chapter comes from Un Dun Lun. 3.5/5

73) In the Shadow of Wounded Knee by Roger Di Silvestro.

Interesting true story about the trial of Plenty Horses, a Lakota man, who was charged with the murder of an army officer who he killed shortly after the massacre of many Lakota, including women and children, at Wounded Knee. 4/5.

74) Cemetery Lake by Paul Cleave.

Murder mystery set in Christchurch, New Zealand. This is the second Paul Cleave book I have read and hopefully I will find time to read more of hs mysteries next year. 4/5

75) Burial Rites by Hannah Kent. A novel that tells of the last few months of the life of Anges Magnusdottir, the last person to be executed in Iceland. It is Hannah Kent's first novel and she does a marvellous job of depicting the hard life that people endured in Iceland during the early 19th century. 5/5.

76) The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. 5/5.

I have read 76 books this year and this is the third of them I have rated 5/5 (the other two are Burial Rites by Hannah Kent and Strange Shores by Arnaldur Indridason. I think The Book Thief is the best of the three.

77) When Worlds Collide by Philip Wylie and Edwin Blamer.

I listened to the audio recording of this classic sci-fi novel while doing my gardening and enjoyed it. Not that PC but it was written in 1931 so I guess that is to be expected.

I also looked at the 1951 movie based on the book. All the survivors in the movie were white Americans whereas in the book some of the crew/passengers on the spaceships were of other nationalities (a South African, a Frenchman and a Japanese man).

On the whole women in the book, except for one who was the daughter of the main scientist and a brilliant scientist herself, were there to make the sandwiches, tear up bandages etc.

I loved The Book Thief. I cried.

78) After Worlds Collide by Philip Wylie and Edwin Blamer 3/5
79) Relic by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child 4/5
80) Reliquary by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child 4/5
81) The Cabinet of Curiosities by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child 4/5

I have really enjoyed the Preston/Child books. They are rather gruesome gory and scary. I find FBI agent Pendergast to be an intiguing character, like a modern day Sherlock Holmes only odder and more mysterious. I think that the rest of Preston/Child books are going to become my guilty pleasure.

82) Un Lun Dun by China Mieville 3/5