Faith (dk_phoenix) Flies Through 75 in 2013

Hello, hello!

I'm Faith, and this is my 5th year in the group, 6th on LT. I'm from Ontario, Canada, and a confessed bibliophile.

After taking a close look at my catalogue this month, I realized I have over 900 unread books on my shelves -- so rather than set a goal of reading in specific categories or genres, my goal is to whittle that down to 800 unread books by the end of the year (whether that means reading them or donating them elsewhere)... which I also realize means reading everything I buy almost immediately, which I haven't been all that good at (read: terrible) before... oh well, baby steps!

For those who don't know me, I read an eclectic mix of just about everything, fiction / non-fiction / comics & graphic novels... mostly speculative (fantasy/sci-fi/steampunk.,etc.) and a good helping of YA. In non-fiction, animal/nature books, history, and world issues aren't uncommon. But, truth be told, I read whatever strikes my fancy, so who the heck knows what'll pop up next!

Though I haven't posted on it in ages, I do have a blog (Literary Coldcuts on Toasty Buns)... though you're more likely to find me on Twitter these days.

I expect this year to be insanely busy (in a good way!), so I may not get as much reading/thread visiting done as I'd like, but I'll do my best and forget the rest (as Tony Horton would say).

Here's to a year of incredible books and days filled with endless wonder... :)

***

Books Read in 2013

January

1) Huntress -- Malinda Lo (3/5)
2) Plugged -- Eoin Colfer (4/5)
3) The Lost Scrolls (Rogue Angel #6) -- Alex Archer (1.5/5)
4) Cahills vs. Vespers #5: Trust No One -- Linda Sue Park (4/5)
5) Behind the Beautiful Forevers -- Katherine Boo (5/5)
6) Double Double: How Tim Hortons Became a Canadian Way of Life, One Cup at a Time -- Douglas Hunter (4/5)
7) Talyn -- Holly Lisle (4.5/5)
8) The Invisible Man -- H.G. Wells (3/5)
9) Bones of Faerie -- Janni Lee Simner (3/5)
10) Who Could That Be At This Hour? -- Lemony Snicket (4/5)

February

11) Children's and Household Tales -- The Brothers Grimm; transl. Lucy Crane translation (4/5)
12) Alice's Adventures in Wonderland -- Lewis Carroll (5/5)
13) Through the Looking-Glass -- Lewis Carroll (5/5)
14) Dracula -- Bram Stoker (5/5)
15) Everyday Justice -- Julie Clawson (5/5)
16) Tigana -- Guy Gavriel Kay (4.5/5)
17) Human.4 -- Mike A. Lancaster
18) Beautiful Creatures -- Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
19) Frankenstein -- Mary Shelley

March

20) This Dark Endeavor -- Kenneth Oppel
21) Fantasies of a Bollywood Love Thief -- Stephen Alter
22) The Island of Doctor Moreau -- H.G. Wells
23) Beyond Belief -- Jenna Hill
24) Chemical Garden Trilogy #2: Fever -- Lauren De Stefano

This box is for listing books I've purchased in 2013, to keep me accountable for reading whatever I bring in the house rather than letting it slip onto the shelves and disappearing into TBR oblivion! With over 900 unread books on my shelves and literally no more room, I need to be more thoughtful about which books I bring into the house permanently... and since I'm not going to stop buying books anytime soon (let's be honest), I should at least READ the new ones right away to avoid an increasing the numbers in the "unread" category... so here's the place to record my shame publicly! (Yay?)

Books Purchased in 2013 (Strikeout = Read)

1. Cahills vs. Vespers #5: Trust No One -- Linda Sue Park
2. Who Could That Be At This Hour? -- Lemony Snicket
3. Bones of Faerie -- Janni Lee Simner
4. The Dark Unwinding -- Sharon Cameron
5. Infinity Ring #2: Divide and Conquer -- Carrie Ryan
6. The Martian Chronicles -- Ray Bradbury
7. Human.4 -- Mike A. Lancaster
8. Legend -- Marie Lu
9. Money Rules -- Gail Vaz-Oxlade
10. Ultraviolet --R.J. Anderson
11. Quicksilver -- R.J. Anderson
12. Chemical Garden Trilogy #2: Fever -- Lauren De Stefano
13. The Best Man -- Kristan Higgins
14. Partials -- Dan Wells
15. The Madman's Daughter -- Megan Shepherd
16. Broken -- A.E. Rought
17. Blood Magic -- Tessa Gratton
18. Everneath -- Brodi Ashton

Books "Acquired" in 2013 (ie. gifts or freebies)

1. Walls of Jericho -- Margaret Wheeler
2. The Hunt -- Andrew Fukuda
3. The Girl in the Steel Corset - Kady Cross
4. Voices of Dragons - Carrie Vaughn
5. Insatiable - Meg Cabot
6. Overbite - Meg Cabot
7. Tempest - Julie Cross
8. Incarnate - Jodi Meadows
9. Dark Passage - M.J. Putney
10. Grave Mercy - Robin LaFevers
11. Tiger's Curse - Colleen Houck
12. Legacy - Cayla Kluver
13. Dead Iron - Devon Monk
14. Dearly, Departed - Lia Habel
15. The Sherlockian - Graham Moore
16. Sisters Red - Jackson Pearce

Hopefully I'm not interrupting another placeholder post... Hi!

Heee! Nope, all set! :D

You're my first visitor, so here, have a cookie! *thrusts plate forward with excitement*

Happy New Years, Faith! Cookie?

COOKIE!!!! Don't mind if I do. *om nom nom*

*urp*

Oh wait, you can have one too... take two, if you like!

Thank you, Happy New Year's yourself...! :)

Here again this year! Good luck with your goal. And Happy New Year!

Starred! :)

Hi Faith! I've starred you :-)

Glad to see you back in the fray once again with us, Faith!

Thanks for stopping by! I put in a books bought ticker on my Roots challenge and am hoping it will help me curtail my book buying habits a bit (most likely I just end up horrified, though). Looking forward to seeing your reads!

I have the same TBR problem. And I've found that keeping track of everything does make it easier for me to discard unread books, because I can see how unlikely I am to actually read them.

Dropping off my star, Faith! Looking forward to another year of following your thread. I will also be working on decreasing the number of unread books on my shelves- poor, neglected babies! I love the idea of a place on your thread to keep track of your 2013 purchases- think I may have to steal that!

Wishing you a very Happy New Year, filled with laughter and wonder and good books!

Wait, did all of the cookies disappear while my back was turned?

I'm looking forward to see what you will be reading this year and hoping to maybe grab a cookie or two myself

I think I'm also going to try reserving a spot for all my newly purchased books in 2013. It's so easy to forget about them once I've tucked them out of sight behind my chair, which is my current MO.

Looking forward to following you again this year, Faith!

Where are the cookies?? *looking anxiously around*

Curious as to where you are based in S. Ontario... My father grew up in Windsor, and I have family scattered up and down the 401 btwn there and Toronto. Did an internship at the London Free Press eons and eons ago -- when I was still young... *sniff sniff*

Cookies! Ummm...I mean Faith! Happy New Year!

Faith - Happy New Year and I'm so pleased to see you back again for 2013!

Happy New Year!! 900 unread on the shelves?! I applaud your decision... who knows what gems are waiting to be discovered that are already in your home!!

Blessings!

Happy New Year, Faith!

Bright blessings for a new year!

Stopping in to drop a star and say hello!

Happy New Year Faith - Looking forward to seeing what you read this year:)

Have a happy New Year, Faith! Oh, you offer cookies to visitors - I think I make myself comfortable and stay a while. :)

Hi Faith! Happy New Year! I have the same trouble with my books - lots of unread ones or reference stuff lying around without a proper home, with more coming into the house all the time. I am pretty strict with myself about getting rid of books I've read and didn't like enough to want to keep, but still the amount of books seems to keep growing, and the shelf space doesn't.... Here's to a good year of reading wherever we choose to put them afterwards!

Happy New Year Faith!

Happy New Year Faith!
I have a similar challenge as you, just read what I own. I'll still be buying more and using the library but I'd really like to make a large dent in my TBR shelf!

Happy New Year, Faith! I like your idea of better tracking all the books you bring into the house in an attempt to actually read them. I have become very good about limiting the purchase of actual paper books, but those pesky ebook sales get me everytime. And those are very much "out of sight, out of mind" since they don't pile up in a corner and stare accusingly at me. :-)

Happy New Thread!

Happy to see you back again, Faith! Happy New Year and happy reading! :)

Happy New Year, and I cannot wait to follow your thread this year. Your goal sounds similar to mine - I have so many unread books on my shelves and I want to whittle that down.

Happy new year, Faith. I'm looking forward to food and book talks on your thread again this year. Now .. did someone mention cookies?

My TBR aims are somewhat the same as yours, brought about mostly when I realised that only about 30% of my books read last year were new reads. Not good for the tbr pile at all!

Happy New Year, Faith!

Hi Faith! Happy New Year! And now I'm thinking about cookies.

*off to kitchen to look for those last few Christmas cookies*

Thanks for stopping in, Melis, Kathy, Susan, Stasia, Michelle, and Zoe!

Mamie, steal away! The more people doing it, perhaps the better we'll be at sticking to it overall... I hope??? And don't worry, Luxx and Jennifer, there are plenty of cookies to go around... I'd be lying if I said I didn't bring a bag of cookies with me to the cafe I'm sitting in right now, I have so many at home left over from Christmas Eve... (whaaat, I bought several drinks while I'm here, so I think it evens out in the end!).

Join the club, Pat! I also think it'll be fun to see what we all buy... you know, I used to keep a Word document on the computer with all the books I purchased and which ones I actually managed to read, but then I gave up last year and didn't bother. I think that was, uh, a big mistake. Plus, if it's public, I'll feel more accountable about it. :)

Suzanne, I'm located in Brantford -- so a bit of a distance from Windsor! I'm actually right in the middle between London and Toronto... an hour's drive each way, heading down the 403 and hopping onto the 401 will get me to either city in just about the same time. While I don't love the city I'm in, I *do* love how accessible the main stretch of the province is from here!

Hi, Jim, Paul, Susan, Diana, Morphy, Tina, calm, Kathy, and Nora!!! COOKIES FOR ALL!!!!! *tosses cookies in the air* ... *considers that this was possibly not the best method of distribution*

Hannah, I admit I'm a little jealous of your ability to remove books from the house! It takes a lot of willpower for me to take a book off the shelves and admit that I don't need it anymore (or perhaps never did), but I'm getting there...! Chelle, I'm considering actually not using the library at all this year... well, maybe for audio books and hold off on everything else, just to make sure I actually get a dent in there for certain.

Julia, ebooks are another thing entirely for me!!! They don't take up shelf space, soooo... should I count them? I don't know! But technically they are another "unread" book hanging over my head, so I guess I should. I haven't even catalogued most of the ones on my Nook, actually... oh dear... now the numbers are increasing and the year's only just started!!!

Thanks, Leah, Micky, Eris, Caroline, Jenny, Mary, and Sarah! *takes yet another container of cookies out of the freezer* Don't you worry... there's still plenty of cookies to go around!!!

*phew*... I think that's everyone... I hope I didn't miss anybody! Aaaand... now to go actually work on making a dent in those shelves. Or perhaps I'll visit a few of you first and inevitably lose several hours on here to thread-reading. :D

Happy New Year, Faith! I'll definitely take a cookie or two if you can spare them.

Woo Hoo.... cookies for everyone!

Homemade baked goods are always better than those found in cafes, but I always prefer purchased coffee to what we brew at home. Yum all around.

>2 dk_phoenix: I like your idea of making a list of books purchased. I should do that! Especially after today when I couldn't resist a 20% off sale at the local Indie Bookseller and came home with six books! After I made that New Year's resolution to avoid buying more books and to read all those TBRs on my shelf! Broken on Day 1 :) At least everything I bought was on my wishlist and several are part of the projects I'm trying to finish in my category challenge . . . so not totally frivolous!

Cookie? Cookie!!

I keep my book lists in Excel, Faith--that way it can automatically calculate sums and numbers, like how many library books or off the shelf books read in the books read lists, and sources and formats for books acquired, not to mention money spent. I've kept track of books acquired for the last couple of years, but only how much I spent on them last year. And I kept track of books I got rid of on a separate spreadsheet last year too.

Wow - that box for "bought in 2013" - I'm not sure I'd be brave enough to do that!!! I'm a confirmed bookaholic too. Being on LT has actually helped (maybe?) because it's made me realize how manyfew books I can actually read in a year.

Happy New Year, Faith! Best of luck with your off the shelf goal!

Hi, Faith, I've got you starred again this year. Happy reading!

>43 cammykitty:: Realizing how few books I can read in a year seems to make me buy more, funnily enough...

I thought I'd dropped in already but I can see now I haven't ! Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, Faith. Star firmly planted.

Merry New Year, you have a star

A wonderful New Year of reading, Faith.

I love the idea of listing books bought; maybe that will curb my seemingly insatiable desire for new books...or maybe not.

Hi there! Thanks for visiting my thread. I now have you starred so I can enjoy your bookish adventures too. I totally agree about ebooks being "out of sight out of mind"... I have bought around 8 ebooks just since Christmas I think! Oops!

Happy New Year Faith!

starred

Hi Faith.

Hi, Joe and Jennifer! Thanks for stopping by!

Luxx, that's so true about the cookies... and usually true about the coffee, but there's one particular independent cafe that I frequent all the time, and we buy our coffee beans from there... so it's like drinking coffee from the cafe at home all the time! It's great! And fantastic coffee, to boot.

Lucinda, umm, well... at least they were all on your Wishlist? LOL. I know I'm going to buy books this year, just going to try and be a little smarter about it. Books already on the list sound good! Except, umm, my wishlist is ridiculously long... haha. Oh well!

Roni, you use Excel?! That sounds fantastic. I love book stats, but unfortunately I have just about zero understanding of how Excel works...

Katie, I love your correction there... hah... it's so true. I used to think I was a fast reader, then I came here and realized just how many books I can't read in a year...! And like Sarah mentions, umm, yeah, so far it hasn't stopped me buying books like I "gotta catch 'em all", so to speak... o_O

Hellooooo, Joanne, Karen, Rhian, Lynda, Brenda, Gail, Kara, Heidi, and Linda!!! Thanks so much for stopping in... now it's my turn to make sure I've starred you as well... January 4th and I'm already feeling crazy behind... oh well!

Here's to happy reading days ahead! :)

Don't worry Faith I think we are all behind and just pretending to keep up. Have a lovely weekend.

Starred you - I agree, we read similar stuff. But I'm not tracking incoming books! I do manage to get rid of books I didn't like - well, fiction ones. Reference books - particularly cookbooks and music books - are much harder. There might be _one_ thing I want in there...

So what I should do is scan that one page, then dump the book. Yeah. I should do that.

And someone turned me on to a terrible thing - a blogger who scans for free Kindle books every day, in subjects I find interesting (cookbooks and gardening, among others). The number of ebooks I've added (and not read) has shot up exponentially over the last month or so, since I found that blog. I really should catalog my ebooks - the ones I know are keepers, anyway (not the new free ones, but a lot of Baen SF and the like).

I have the same challenge for myself this year. I have to say, knowing that you have 900 books waiting in the wings has brought me a lot of comfort! Plus some leverage with my family when they comment on my book-buying.

I have also used Excel and google docs but think you may be onto something with the sharing publicly idea. I might just have to steal that one! Luckily I had a buying binge over Christmas so I haven't broken in the new year yet.

>55 PaulCranswick:: Hi, Paul! Good to know I'm not the only one. Hope you're enjoying the weekend as well!

>56 jjmcgaffey:: Oh dear... that does sound like a dangerous blog!!! I've managed to stay away from the free ebook reads from Amazon for awhile, but temptation is a terrible thing...

>57 LordKinbote:: Well, I suppose I'm glad to make your book-buying easier through my excesses? LOL. I know what you mean about a book buying binge over Christmas though, I think having done that is why I've made it to January 5th without a purchase (whereas the past few years I've ordered several boxes of books during January sales)!

1) Huntress -- Malinda Lo

Good, but not great. This is a YA based in the same world as Lo's previous novel, Ash, but set several hundred years prior to that one. I haven't read Ash, but I wonder if having done so would have helped me enjoy this book a little more. Our heroines are two young girls set on different paths--a warrior and a sage--who are chosen to complete an important diplomatic mission that is critical to the kingdom's future.

As a journey/quest novel, there are plenty of dangers along the way, and help comes from unexpected places... and despite the futures their parents / elders have planned for them, the girls start to develop feelings for each other. They both know that it's impossible for them to be together, which makes the situation bittersweet from the start.

Personally, I would have liked to see a little more emotional development from the main characters. The romance felt rushed and a bit purposeless, and I think more time and emotional investment would have made it more believable. The quest part of the tale wasn't bad either, but I didn't find myself eager and on the edge of my seat with each page turn. That said, I might try to find Ash at the library, since I've heard good things about it--maybe reading it now will give me a retroactive appreciation for this one.

Rating: 3/5
Source: Off the shelf (but purchased in 2012)



2) Plugged: A Novel -- Eoin Colfer

Bizarre, quirky, crude, and exceedingly entertaining. This is from the author who wrote the series of Artemis Fowl children's books, and if you enjoyed his writing there... well, I daresay this might be your thing as well. Plugged is noir, plain and simple, but with a strong base of humor thrown in and more twists than should really be possible in a short novel like this.

I didn't know what to expect when I picked it up, but dangit, Colfer knows his craft. The voice in this piece is strong, believable, and consistent.

And did I mention it's bloody funny? In a weird (but satisfying) way.

Rating: 4/5
Source: Off the shelf (but purchased in 2012)



3) Rogue Angel #6: The Lost Scrolls -- Alex Archer

Normally, I love these books, but this one was a hot mess. I don't know if this was one of the new writers they tried out (I know some of the earlier novels after the initial 5 or so were written by different people), but it didn't work AT ALL. Annja acted like a ditzy schoolgirl most of the time, and she relied on a big, strong man for help for 3/4 of the book (despite her outstanding intelligence, not to mention mental and physical strength having been established in the previous books), and she barely touches her sword.

The plot is non-existent, and the witty banter that made the previous five novels so enjoyable just isn't here. Writing quality has dropped significantly as well. I'll be looking into who wrote this one, and probably skip reading anything else in the series they've done... it was that disappointing.

Rating: 1.5/5
Source: Off the shelf

I have read Ash and liked it, but have not gotten to Huntress yet so I don't know how they complement each other. I'll be interested in your thoughts when you get to it.

The Colfer sounds great (into the swamp with it!) but it's too bad about the Rogue Angel book: my brother has given me his collection of the first dozen or so, and I keep meaning to start in on them.

3 down already?! Wow, I feel positively behind!

I always look at Eoin Colfer with interest, but I never know where to start. Looks like Plugged might be it.

Good job with knocking out 3 books already!
I've added Plugged to my WL, thanks :)

I started reading Ash but didn't finish it. I'll be curious to hear what you think.

Nice reviews! I might have to try Plugged some day.

I've often thought about reading some Eoin Colfer but baulked at adding another series to my TBR. Plugged may well just lead to the same result but I've added it to my WL anyway. Thanks for the great review!

I'm coming by for a visit. Good luck with your goal of reducing the TBR stacks--sounds familiar! I've been keeping a list of books purchased on my thread since the beginning of last year, and I've liked doing it.

I may check out Plugged as I enjoyed the Artemis Fowl books.

I heard there were cookies . . . ?

Happy New Thread, somewhat belatedly. I've read both Ash and Huntress, but found them both just so-so (and I've forgotten the details of both by now.)

Faith I have Plugged on the shelves and will be taking it down soon if it is as much fun as you reckon.

I liked the Artemis Fowl books so I will have to check out Plugged. That was a great review by the way!

I also enjoyed your review of Plugged and have a copy so should get round to reading it. I wasn't that impressed by Ash and commented at the time that the huntresses sounded much more interesting.

Interested in your comments about Huntress. Ash has been on my WL for quite awhile, but got axed because the reviews just weren't that great on it and there isn't room on my WL for anything without fab reviews. The crits of Ash sound much the same as your crits for Huntress - rushed and not quite all there, but going someplace interesting.

Hi Faith! I have a lot of unread books sitting on my shelves too. I really should get to them instead of adding new books to my list! I've been watching Malinda Lo, but have never read a book by her. Too bad you didn't like this one!

Hi, Faith!

Good to see you back:) How is life?

Bente

Faith, happy weekend!

Hi Faith, just stopping by to say Hi and have a great Friday! Oooo, sorry to see that 1.5 rating, hope your next read is much more to your liking.

Added Plugged to my WL, Faith - thanks for that! Wishing you a lovely weekend!

Hmm, may have to look & see if the library has Plugged.

I think I have been through Brantford on the VIA service down to Ingersoll, London & Windsor. It's amazing how many family members I have still scattered down there -- all on my father's side. My mother's side, meanwhile, are all from Toronto up to the Ottawa valley. I suppose the divorce was foreshadowed by this geographic division... *grin*

I love Eoin Colfer, but hadn't heard about Plugged. Thanks!

Just dropping by to wish you a good weekend Faith - more reading than posting I see!

Hi Faith

>60 swynn:: Well, I have hope that the rest of the Rogue Angels (or at least the ones not written by this guy) will be better, since the previous ones were pretty good... and considering how long the series has gone on for (approaching 40 book now?), I don't think it would have been sustainable with terrible stories all the way though... *fingers crossed*... haha.

>61 alcottacre:: You're not behind, Stasia! I just took some evenings where the only thing I did was read... plus, Huntress and The Lost Scrolls were rather quick reads. :)

>62 RosyLibrarian:: Plugged might be it, but just keep in mind that it's an adult book whereas the Artemis Fowl ones are for kids. You can definitely see his hand and quirky sense of humor in both, which is why I think the fans of his younger reader novels will like this one. But, they are very different in terms of content!!!

>63 ChelleBearss:: Thanks! Hope you enjoy it when you get to it!

>64 _Zoe_:: Uh-oh, not a good sign... I certainly don't plan on rushing out to get it (and I'm not eager to read it), but if it jumps out at me somewhere, I'll give it a shot...

>65 SugarCreekRanch:: Thanks! Book bullets for everyone!!! :D

>66 LordKinbote:: You're in luck, as so far Plugged isn't a series (though it certainly could be)! Though, it's so different from the Artemis Fowl books due to the intended audience, I think you'd be well off giving both a shot even if you didn't care for one of them.

>67 AnneDC:: Oh, maybe I saw that and my subconscious planted the idea for myself? LOL. Who knows. I think it's good to be publicly shamed about unread books... or at least, I do right now, twelve days into the year. I might have another opinion a month or two from now. Hah!

>68 foggidawn:: Yes, COOKIES FOR ALL!!! Oh dear, another "meh" vote for Ash... this isn't looking good... lol...

>69 PaulCranswick:: It is, and you should! Read, enjoy!!!

>70 Cobscook:: Thanks so much! It's certainly an adult book by all intents, but plenty of fun so long as you're set for some weirdly clever & dry humor noir...

>71 avatiakh:: You'd think the huntresses would be interesting, wouldn't you? But honestly, even after reading the book... I'm not sure what their purpose is. I'm left a little baffled at the worldbuilding, because I don't know what the point of their training was. I'm hoping Ash will fill in the gaps someday, but seeing as how three of you have commented so far that it's "meh", I don't imagine those gaps will be filled anytime soon...

>72 cammykitty:: Oh, blurg. That's really too bad! In that case, I suspect that the books may have found a publishing home because they contain diverse YA characters of the kind rarely seen in YA fantasy. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I wish the story hadn't been sacrificed for the sake of diversity.

>73 The_Hibernator:: Hello, hello! I suspect Lo will improve with each book, as anyone should... oh well!

>74 Apolline:: *waves* Hello, welcome!!! I'm doing rather well, yourself? :D

>75 wilkiec:: Hi, thanks! I've got a busy couple of days this weekend, but in a good way. Also, it's apparently going to be 11C outside today... in January!? In Ontario?! What's going on?!

>76 Carmenere:: Thanks for popping in, nice to see you! I've managed to shake the low rating by reading the next book in the Cahills vs Vespers series -- fast-paced, short, and palate-cleansing! Haha.

>77 Crazymamie:: Thank you! Always happy to add more books to the TBR stacks... *mua-hahaha*

>78 Chatterbox:: Haha! Yes, I don't doubt you've been through Brantford in that case. Our VIA station is a sad little thing, more reminiscent of the days when this was a rural town than something representing a city.

>79 beserene:: He has quite the pile of books out! I just went to his website to see if there was any news about a follow-up to Plugged, and learned about a number of books I hadn't heard of before. And of course, my TBR just increased by about 10 books. *facepalm*

>80 PaulCranswick:: Hi Paul, thanks! Yes, I've been taking the very brief free moments I've had this week to read instead of post. I'm knee-deep in revisions at the moment, and they've taken just about every second of my time... I've barely had a second to crack a book in the evenings (and the few times I did, I fell asleep, save for last night)! For the next few weeks I'll probably only be on LT over the weekend, but at least it's something!

>81 BBGirl55:: *waves* Hi, thanks for popping in! Lovely to see you around again. :)

Faith pop on to my tread i have a chalange for myself this year.

Just did!!! I'm really looking forward to your thoughts on the Doctor Who books. I never know which ones to read and which ones to leave behind (some are amazing and some are TERRIBLE), so I'll let you do the triage for me. ;) Haha!

They are just like episodes of the show. but i feel that you need to read them all just to say you did even if they are teribble

Haha! That's one way to look at it!!!

**tackle hugs**

Happy belated new year!!

(I couldn't for the life of me find your thread, but Sarah sent me a link, thankfully.)

Plugged sounds interesting. I didn't read farther than the first Artemis Fowl book, but I remember enjoying that, so I'll have to keep an eye out for Plugged.

And I'm going to try reading everything I bring into the house this year too. I bought so many books last year that are now just sitting on the shelf, feeling neglected. Why buy them if I'm not reading them, right?

Here's to a great reading year!!

Happy weekend, Faith!

Faith, I got rid of around twenty books last year that I knew I would never read. I suspect there are more duds on my shelves and may do another small purge this year. I'm trying to make better decisions about the books that I buy. They aren't bargains if I don't plan to read them, right?

You are off to a great beginning of your reading year. I'll be hanging out here again. Sorry I missed the cookies!

80> more reading than posting...
Well, there is a concept. Nice start to the year, Faith!

Well, no book bullets for me yet, Faith--that must be a first!

Hey Faith, I've been thinking of a book purge but maybe I should stop thinking about it and do it. I think it will feel good to remove books I bought for very little, in the heat of the moment, at library booksales but don't plan on reading. And I really ned to stop requesting ER's for awhile, at least until I finish the ones I've already received.

Faith - I have had one heck of a busy week too and I hope yours now culminates in a little LT time - have a good weekend.

>88 tapestry100:: *flails under tackle hug* I think you'll like Plugged! It's an adult book, by all accounts, but the voice... oh, the VOICE of the main character is just perfect. And dry, clever humor gets me every time. You know, I buy so many books thinking "this looks like something I might want to read someday", but that's just a terrible way to fill up limited shelf space. Bad, bad Faith. No more, I vow, no more!!!

>89 alcottacre:: *waves* I hope you're managing to get some sleep these days, Stasia! Nice to see you around, despite the busy-ness of life. :)

>90 Donna828:: Twenty books! Congratulations on that, that takes some serious willpower... willpower which I hope to find one of these days to get at least that many off my own shelves. *fingers crossed*

>91 EBT1002:: Haha! I know, it's a strange thought for us 75ers, isn't it...

>92 ronincats:: How on earth did you manage to dodge those?! Oh, well I guess there's only 3 books here... as a favorite childhood villain would say, "I'll get you next time, Gadget... next tiiiiime...."

>93 Carmenere:: I know that feeling! I think about doing it almost every day, but maybe I should just walk downstairs and get started. The sooner I can manage to pull off ONE book, the easier it'll be to remove others. Right?! At least, that's what I keep telling myself... o_O It's definitely those library sales / charity book sales / discount bins that are the main culprits!

>94 PaulCranswick:: Hi Paul! I have at least one more week of insanity before I can take a small breather. I have about another 15 minutes on here this morning, but I hope to get back on later today and make some more rounds. And possibly write a brief review or two of the books I've finished. I don't like having so little time on here, but I'm telling myself that it's a much better alternative to disappearing entirely, and our group is so wonderful that folks understand the "part-time LT'er", so to speak! Haha. Hope you've had an enjoyable, book-filled weekend!

Well, it's been a very busy, strange week, with good things and bad. The mother of a friend & student passed away this week, which was very difficult as she was quite close to her mother to the point of relying on her daily (my friend/student is 35, lives at home, single), and I'm a little worried that this will cause her to take a turn for the worse... she's not a particularly self-stable person (very low self-esteem, no backbone at work, etc). I know she needs to talk to a counselor to work through her grief AND other issues, but we're not quite that close that I feel comfortable mentioning it unless it comes up in a very specific way in the conversation. And even then... how to work that in? "Have you considered talking to someone" risks her feeling like I'm calling her crazy. Something I need to keep thinking about, anyway.

Then I got asked to potentially lead a workshop to help folks (at the new church El Husbando and I have been attending) tell their "faith stories" (not stories about ME, silly). It would be a day-long workshop where I'd teach people about storytelling, with a personal slant (since telling YOUR story has some different techniques and requirements from fiction). I'm actually fairly excited about this opportunity, as teaching people how to write / helping people get their stories out is something I'm very passionate about, and I've never seen how that skill & interest translated to an opportunity to serve others in a church setting. (You can only write so many library newsletters before you wonder "whyyyyy am I doing this?!"...LOL). So, details are still being worked out, but that's a good thing.

And on Thursday, my mother signed up for my local Bollywood class with one of her friends! She has never done something like that before, but she's trying to move a little more and be more conscientious about her fitness and really, maintaining her ability for practical movement (which is something many adults lose in leaps and bounds as they age and become more sedentary). It was wonderful to see her there and she had a lot of fun in the first class. I'm very glad she's giving it a go, and trying something new. At the same time, I saw that she has quite a way to go to improve her mobility in a way that will sustain her for several decades to come... but I'm trying not to worry and just be happy that the process is started. :) My father is another issue entirely, because for whatever reason, he's extremely resistant to any kind of beneficial change... *sigh*

Finally, El Husbando held a LAN party yesterday for Battlefield 3, and my brother came down and brought some coffee from the new coffee business he's starting up! His website is in progress, he's working on roasts, making decisions about packaging, etc. It's all rather exciting, as he's very passionate about coffee and has invested quite a bit in professional equipment and time... and this is something he's wanted to do for a number of years now, and is finally able to do it. I've had the privilege of trying different roasts & blends in the meantime (no complaints here!) and I've learned a lot about the coffee-making process from bean to cup. It's great to see a sibling working out their dream -- fingers crossed that once he's ready, the business will come.

And... today I'm hoping to write up a few reviews for the books I've finished, spend a little time working on my revisions, and watch the video lectures for the Coursera "Modern History since 1750" class that started this week (and I haven't had a moment to look at it yet!). My knowledge of history after the fall of the Roman Empire is ABYSMAL, so I'm really looking forward to this (and despite the "free" nature of Coursera courses, they're very well put together, so far as I've experienced!).

ANYWAY! That's my week! Currently reading Talyn by Holly Lisle and Everyday Justice: The Global Impact of Our Daily Choices by Julie Clawson. Hopefully I'll finish one or the other today.

And I've only bought ONE book so far, and we're 20 days into January! And I read it right away, as promised.

This is a record for me... though I have to return the Scholastic orders to my mother today, so that'll change. I promise to be more aware of the books I order, since according to my resolution, if I buy a new book, I have to read it as soon as it gets in the house...

Faith - My jaw about dropped to the floor (very Southern phrasing, that) when I saw you mention the Coursera Course "Modern History to 1750" - I watched the first two video segments last night! I've actually studied quite a bit of the relevant eras, but I have odd, sometimes substantial, gaps in my knowledge - I thought this would be a fun way to fill some of the empty spots. I bought the not required textbook - did you? And I find the Discussion Forums maddening on Coursera courses - you?

You have had an interesting week - I had several comments to make, but they've all disappeared in the wake of our Coursera connection. I'll try again later....

Sounds like a full week, Faith. Congrats on sticking to your book purchasing goal so far!

Wow, you have been busy Faith! I love the sound of your brothers business. Will he just sell the coffee to cafes or will he have is own cafe as well? I'm imagining a place with comfy armchairs and lots of bookshelves that you could advise him how to stock...

Faith, you can mention that the primary function of counselors is to help and support people in working through difficult times in their lives, and might she want to consider that.

Other than your friend, sounds like a lot of positives in your life just now. Yay! And I'm sure you WILL end up hitting me with a book bullet soon--but you have to post those reviews first.

I just signed up for my first two Coursera courses. The first one Science Fiction and Fantasy: The Human Mind, Our Modern World starts next week and looks like it has a pretty heavy workload. The other one is The Greeks which doesn't start until the end of March.

4) Cahills vs. Vespers #5: Trust No One -- Linda Sue Park

As the Cahills race against the clock, carrying out Vesper One's orders so that their family members will stay alive, they're also trying to stay alert -- in book 4, we learned that there's a mole inside the Cahill operation, and no one can be trusted. Who the mole actually is, however, is revealed in this book... and it sends both the Cahill siblings into a tailspin.

More fast-paced action, and plenty of humor in this installment keeps the series rolling along as you'd expect. I thought I'd tired of these books by now, but the characters are so well developed -- and the books so short -- that they're the perfect bite-sized bit of action in between longer reads. I found this a stronger installment in the Cahills vs. Vespers series, with realistic motivations and decisions.

The end of this one, however, will have you pulling your hair out for the next book...

Rating: 4/5
Source: First book purchase of 2013...!



5) Behind the Beautiful Forevers -- Katherine Boo

Incredible, moving, painful, haunting, amazing, inspiring, sickening, heartbreaking...

This book is a rollercoaster ride from one emotion to the next, from one reaction to the next, and it doesn't let up until the very last page. I'm lying -- it doesn't let go after that either, because these are real people, many of whom are undoubtedly still living (Boo's research was only several years ago now). It forces you to confront the reality of poverty in India (and elsewhere in the world), and take a hard look at yourself and what you consider your everyday sense of normality.

It's a difficult book to get through because of the content... but an incredible, amazingly well-crafted narrative from a very, very skilled writer. The book reads like a novel, easily catching you up in the stories of several Annawandi families, and I found myself only occasionally remembering that this was not fiction, and feeling my heart break each time.

But it's a story that needs to be told, because we need to understand. And then act, however we can -- though even our actions here may be subverted in ways that we have no control over, which only adds to the sadness.

At the end of this book, Boo included notes on how she went about researching for the story, and how she was able to put together such a thorough, cohesive narrative. After reading that, I appreciated her work all the more. The woman must be made of steel (though she admits she's far from it), and I am very grateful that she took the time to tell these peoples' stories.

We need to know the truth of life for many beyond the comfort of our own homes, no matter how much it hurts or, admittedly sometimes, shames us.

Rating: 5/5
Source: Off the shelf (but purchased in 2012)



6) Double Double: How Tim Hortons Became a Canadian Way of Life One Cup at a Time -- Douglas Hunter

While I think Tim Hortons coffee is possibly the most disgusting sludge I've ever tasted... I admit, I'm a Canadian and I love the idea of Tim Hortons. I've grown up eating their donuts, and it's a part of the national consciousness... I couldn't disown this beloved Canadian franchise any more than I could disown my parents (okay, so I exaggerate, but you get the idea... it's ingrained, loved, even when I think they serve crap). So, when I saw this business book about how the company went from its beginnings to where it is today, I had to give it a shot.

Most of the thrill in reading this book came from recognizing so many of the places, streets, and names... I live about a half hour from the first-ever Tim Hortons store in Hamilton, so re-imagining these places in cities like Hamilton, Oakville, Toronto, etc. in the 60s & 70s was truly enjoyable. I learned quite a bit about the history of these places -- after all, Tim Hortons history has to be put into context -- as well as the history of franchises in Canada, fast food in Canada, and of course, the struggles faced from early days until now.

I now have a better understanding of the franchise system in general, as well as corporate branding & decision-making, and the dichotomy of quality vs. profit margins. And I also finally found myself understanding why on earth Timmys decided to try opening stores in the United States (a fact Canadians often mention with derision and a hint of betrayal in their voice)... and why that might have been a terrible idea.

Overall, I'm not sure someone who isn't Canadian will enjoy the book, unless you're an avid reader of business histories. For myself, I found the context of familiarity both comfortable and appealing, and I appreciate having a much better sense of the company that inspires such loyalty here in Canada. Tim Hortons has certainly seen its share of challenges in the past, and there are many more approaching at all angles as we speak... it's going to be interesting to see whether they'll be able to rise up to meet them and maintain their dominance as Canada's QSR of choice... or not.

Rating: 4/5
Source: Off the shelf (but purchased in 2012)

Great comments on Behind the Beautiful Forevers, Faith. That's a remarkable book.

I've got to try one of those 39 Clues books! Glad to see you're enjoying them. Behind the Beautiful Forevers looks good too, but I'm in the middle of another book that is heartbreaking almost in that way. I'll need a bit of mindless soon!

Ooh, I've picked up Behind the Beautiful Forevers in the bookstore multiple times, but it sounds like I should go ahead and buy it.

The Tim Hortons book sounds interesting too.

If I may ask, why do Canadians think Tim should not have ventured into the US? The loyalty some of my friends show the place is crazy. Is it just because we're so close to the border that it's so popular? Or are they doing well throughout the US?

>102 dk_phoenix: I love me some Timmy's donuts but I don't think I'd read the book. Glad you enjoyed it though, Faith. :)

I'm sorry to hear about your student's mother... you actually can do quite a lot by just listening to her. I totally agree with Roni up there too. Counselors can help through the hardest times and sometimes a grieving person needs more than just a friendly ear to listen. You can also provide support by just validating that death sucks. Period. *Yes, I have a master's in a form of counseling ;)

Do you happen to know any great counselors so that you aren't just recommending an idea, but giving her a name of someone you've heard of or trust?

That's my 2 cents anyway... You are wonderful to be so concerned. Grief is hugely intense and painful for all of us, but if someone is already having a hard time it can be even tougher.

Nice reading (and reviewing), Faith!

Nice reviews, more TBR from LT threads--argh! Been lurking for a while, but returned this year in better form. Hope you have a great year.

*just dashing through with chocolate and ((hugs))*

>97 Dejah_Thoris:: You know, with so many people taking that class (40,000? or something like that?) I guess I shouldn't be surprised that someone else in the group is taking it! We're such a learning-oriented group, it makes sense. :) I really enjoyed the lectures for week one, and while I had every intention of purchasing and reading the textbook ahead of taking the quiz, I didn't have a chance this week. I still plan to do so ASAP (maybe tonight?)!!! I agree with the discussion aspect as well... there's often only one or two threads that seem to actually engage the material in the first couple of weeks, but after that everything goes downhill and I only hit the forums to check if there are any issues or announcements. The lectures in this course are definitely a time commitment, but I thought the professor did an excellent job of explaining things and I appreciated all the maps and charts he included. Hope you enjoyed the rest of the lectures as well!

>98 MickyFine:/107: Thanks! I admit though... I was weak and I ordered some from the Scholastic book orders... *wince* But I promise to read them when they come in! Really!!! Lol. I can understand your "nay" on the Timmies book though, it wasn't an easy read at all points and I glossed over a lot of the business statistics... haha.

>99 HanGerg:: It would be wonderful if he opened a cafe...! But I don't think that's the plan right now, maybe in future (he HAS talked about it before). He and his wife live in a very small town in rural Ontario at the moment, so I think the current plan is to sell online and maybe get some stock in independent cafes and such. I know they would like to move a little closer to the rest of the family at some point, so if the sales do well, maybe in a few years they'll move to a more populated area and explore the cafe option... I can hope! Haha.

>100 ronincats:: Thank you for the suggestion, Roni -- that's an excellent way to phrase it. I will certainly keep that at the forefront of my mind when I speak to her next. :)

>101 Tanglewood:: Another Coursera buddy! I've signed up for the Sci-Fi & Fantasy course too, though I really don't know how I'll be able to keep up with my current workload. But, I'm going to give it a shot as I've heard it's an excellent course from a number of people!

>103 jnwelch:: Thank you! It really, really is.

>104 cammykitty:: Oh, I know that feeling -- I can only take one of those kind of books at a time, maybe one per month at most.

>105 _Zoe_:: Buy iiiit... buy iiiit!!! Yes, I'm an enabler. Nope, not ashamed at all. ;)

>106 alsvidur:: Well, I can't speak for all Canadians, but it seems like the antagonism stems from about a decade ago when the company ownership changed hands to an American company (and the book seems to imply that as well) -- and Canadians tend to be overly protective of our homebred companies, since many of them over the past 20 years or so have been bought out by American companies. We're more patriotic than many people believe! ;) But, the company returned to Canadian ownership awhile ago, but the anger/feeling of betrayal is still there. The strange thing is, Tim Hortons hasn't seen much success in the United States, with only about 300 franchise stores (and the revenue from these isn't even included in Tim Hortons quarterly earnings statements because of how insignificant it is). There's definitely still an underlying resentment there, but Tim Hortons fanatics are serious about their Timmies and tend to have very emotional attachments/reactions to everything the company does. (Other Canadians, feel free to chime in on this!)

>108 TinaV95:: Thanks for your comments! I think you're right, just listening and validating that death is terrible and unfair is the best thing I can do, beyond suggesting she talk to someone if it comes up. I don't know of any reputable counselors in the area, but I'll keep my ears open. :)

>110 Prop2gether:: Thanks! Nice to see you back on the threads! I think we just have to face it, adding to the TBR stack is completely unavoidable in this group... haha. :D

>111 UnrulySun:: *gratefully accepts both chocolate AND hugs* :D

I don't have a problem with Tim Hortons opening in the US; it always makes me happy to see one when I'm away from home. But they're definitely less successful than in Canada, to such an extent that the one closest to my New York apartment actually closed. It was a teeny tiny one, but still.

>114 _Zoe_:: That one is mentioned in the book! It seems New York was the worst market of all the ones they tried in the U.S... just based on some poor corporate decisions that sabotaged their success. But, that's bound to happen with any large company -- you have to take risks in order to find success! I don't mind seeing them across the border either, but I've heard from a number of Canadians who've visited the American stores that the quality of goods in the American stores doesn't seem quite up to par with what we have here. But, that's also bound to happen when you're using different production facilities for different markets (and the book mentions the same complaints with the very few U.K. stores as well, so... it's not an isolated complaint).

Thanks for the explanation. I can understand; the US has enough donut/coffee places without taking Canada's, although Timmys is more popular than other joints around here. It seems like all 300 of those franchise stores are in Michigan! I think I might try to locate the book and read it myself. Thanks!

We have a few Timmy HoHo's in Maine. However we have more Irving stations....an absolute ton of those everywhere. and I must say they always have the cleanest restrooms! ;)

Delurking to say that is a great review of the Tim Horton's book Faith! I can't drink their coffee.... although I have to say the iced coffee (and the sugar overload) are great on a hot summer day. Sadly, their donuts have gone down hill over the past 10 years - that and they discontinued all of my favorites - to the point where I don't buy them anymore - Yay, for weight control there! They do offer a good lunch menu for the price you pay but overall, my impression is it is now a Canadian icon that is - dare I say - damaged goods, kind of like the Hudson Bay Company since it went through its ownership battles with Jerry Zucker in the early 2000's and in 2008 was sold to the private equity firm NRDC Equity Partners. The quality at the Bay since that time has gone downhill to the point where I don't shop there anymore except for the brand name nylons that I love.... and even then, I only buy them when they are on sale! I don't frequent Timmy's any more and the Bay is pretty much off my shopping list.

Curious to see what happens now that Zellers has been bought out by Target, giving Target an entry into the Canadian market.

I will come off my soap box now.

Ooh, are Zellers becoming Targets? I have many friends who will rejoice when an actual Target makes it to Canada.

We don't have Tim Horton's this far south, just Dunkin Donuts. I see that TH owns Cold Stone Creamery though, of which we have many.

As for clean restrooms... we have Bucee's for that. ;) He's a beaver so that makes him part Canadian, right?
http://www.bucees.com/restrooms.html

There is a Tim Hortons less than a block from my house (on the way to work and to David's -- dangerous). I knew the company was Canadian, but never thought much about it -- half the stuff here in Michigan is Canadian. Stores here even take Canadian coins in the small change (Michiganders don't even think about using Canadian coins until we go somewhere out of state -- like Indiana -- and they look askance, as if we were trying to defraud the nation of its halfpenny differences.)

True story: David has bought coffee at our corner Tim Horton's so many times that most of the employees know him on sight. I'm sharing this to make myself look like slightly less of a frequent customer. Which may or may not be true. Actually, I don't drink coffee, but our local Quality Dairy (on the opposite corner) doesn't have the least idea how to make a kruller, so I go to TH. And it is glorious and terrible. And sometimes vaguely disappointing. But awfully convenient.

Well, I was trying to avoid mentioning in this thread how frequently I frequent the TH near Sarah, but since she's outed me... I do frequent that particular TH. A lot. And yes, they do know me on sight. It's like Cheers.

But with coffee.

And donuts.

#121 :)

Hi, Faith. Thanks for dropping by while I was feeling poorly. It is appreciated!

>116 alsvidur:: LOL! Well, I think 125 of them are in Michigan, so... almost half? A significant proportion of them, anyway!!!

>117 Cobscook:: Irving!!! Of course!!! We only have Irving in the Maritimes here in Canada, but I guess it's natural that they'd head into Maine (considering we always used to drive through Maine as we headed down to visit relatives in Nova Scotia).

>118 lkernagh:: I hear you on the "damaged goods" bit... especially for The Bay. I honestly don't know anyone who shops there regularly, and I've wondered more than once how they're managing to stay in business. I'll be even more interesting once, as you say, Target officially enters the market.

>119 UnrulySun:: Cold Stone is actually only co-branding with Tim Hortons, in an effort to increase their presence outside the American market, so Tim Hortons doesn't technically own them... it was done in a response to something... which is mentioned in the book... but of course, I forgot. Oops. Guess you'll have to read it to find out, hah! I know a number of folks who are thrilled about Target coming to Canada as well! I've never been in one, strangely enough, so I'll reserve judgment for when it arrives.

>200 Dejah_Thoris:: I'm glad to hear stores in Michigan take Canadian pennies! That's one of those "don't try it!" things in most other states, as you say, and I've had the "penny glare" enough times when I've accidentally used one in the U.S. that I'm careful not to do it anymore. But of course, I throw American pennies around here in Canada like it's nobody's business, and no one said a word even when our dollar was higher...! Silly employees. Also? Yes, the TH cruellers are possibly the best ones I've ever had, even with the parbaking garbage these days. It's hit or miss, but when it's hit, it's HIT.

>201 UnrulySun:: Hahaha... there's nothing wrong with that! I go to a cafe close by often enough that they know me, too. And if you ask me, a place where coffee & donut servers know you on sight is a step UP from a bar where everybody knows your name... beer? No thanks. Donuts? YES PLEASE. And although I'm not supposed to eat grains anymore, while I was reading that book I got a terrible craving for a sour cream glazed donut (curse you, book, CURSE YOUUUU) and El Husbando drove around to 3 Tim Hortons to find me ONE sour cream glazed Timbit to kick the craving. It was fantastic. But also not very good, because my memory had built it up too much. But I have no regrets!

>123 ronincats:: You're welcome. :) I hope the visit means you're improved!

Targets are fun. I'm sure you can get an idea of what they stock by looking online, but as for the in-store browsing experience... it's sort of like Walmart and Nordstrom had a baby.

Happy Saturday Faith!

I have to be very careful at Target! I love Kathy's explanation -- sounds about right to me! :)

Oh sour cream glazed donuts... Sooooo good.

Faith, I lost your thread moving into the new year! But I've found and starred you now. You already hit me with a book bullet with the Katherine Boo title. Not sure I want to read it, but you made me feel like I should. I don't want to learn about things that make me feel so helpless, but i guess nothing will ever change if we turn away from it. Glad to hear so many good things are happening for you in 2013.

Happy Birthday, Faith!

Happy Birthday!!

Happy birthday, Faith!! Hope you have a great day!

Have a Happy Birthday!

Hippo bird day to ewe!

I heard a rumor that it's your birthday today, Faith. I hope you have a wonderful day.

Happy birthday, Faith - and many joyous returns!

Happy Birthday!

Oh looks like I choose to visit on a special day, have a lovely birthday, Faith!

Happy Birthday Faith!

I'm interested to read about your Coursera history course. I looked at that one but it sounded like hard work :-) I'm doing Introduction to Philosophy at the moment, which started on Monday.

Happy birthday Faith!!

Happy Birthday, that wonderful day when we celebrate you being here in the world!

Happy birthday, Faith! I hope you're having a wonderful day with family and friends, and that the cake is awesome. ((huge hug))

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday!

I'm signed up for a coursera program as well, starting next week -- The Modern and the Postmodern. I'm doing my reading for it now -- Kant & Rousseau, for now. I haven't located the boards yet -- presumably they will send me the links??

Tim Hortons -- yes, Canadian Culture, writ small in donuts & coffee... A friend of mine wrote a book about franchising in Canada that included a lot of stuff about Tim Horton's (I remember, because I was one of the early readers of his chapters....)

Happy Birthday, Faith!

Happiest of birthdays to you!

Happy birthday!

Hi, Faith ~ Hope your birthday is the happiest ever!

Have a great birthday, Faith!

A very happy birthday to you, Faith!

Woo hoo, happy happy birthday!

Happy birthday!

Go Faith! It's your birthday! Go Faith!

Happy birthday Faith!! I hope it was a great one!

Hope your birthday has been ab fab, Faith!

Happy (belated?) Birthday, Faith!

Slightly late but no less heartfelt, happy birthday Faith.

Happy Belated birthday! Hope it was a good one :)

Happy birthday! Only slightly belated....

Happy Belated birthday!!

Happy Yesterbirthday, Faith!

>125 UnrulySun:/126: Hah!!! That's a great description!!! I am intrigued...

>127 MickyFine:: Great, now I want one for breakfast... LOL...

>128 thomasandmary:: I know what you mean! And I suppose all things considered, awareness is the first step toward change. I don't like that feeling of helplessness either, but I try to remind myself that we aren't actually helpless... we can send a donation to a support group, write letters of petition to governments, and so forth. They may seem like insignificant efforts, but change has to start from somewhere, minute as it seems. :)

>138 susanj67:: It's not too bad! The lectures each week are about 2 hours long, and then there's a 20-question open book quiz. The Science Fiction & Fantasy course that I just started is faaaar more demanding! Several entire books to read each week, plus mini-essays, plus peer grading... *phew* Let me know how Intro to Philosophy goes! I thought about doing that one as a refresher, but my better judgment realized that 2 courses is probably more than enough at the moment... hah!

>143 Chatterbox:: Most courses will send you a "class is open!" email when it starts, but if not, you can simply head to your "My Courses" page on Coursera and there will be a "go to class" button next to the course that's started. Also, I believe that book on franchising was mentioned in the Tim Hortons book I read! I recall reading the paragraphs about it and thinking it sounded like an interesting read.

***

Thank you for the birthday wishes, everyone!!! Let me see if I can get everyone, apologies in advance if I miss your name... thank you Stasia, BBGirl55, David, Michelle, Morphy, Julia, Dejah, Regina, Judy, Susan, Nora, Roni, Eris, Rhian, Suzanne, Pat, Cobscook, Sarah, Mary, Joe, Mary, Marie, Carol, Kathy, Tina, Micky, Ellen, Paul, Melis, Zoe, Chelle, and Swynn!!! *phew*

I wasn't around much last weekend as we had a family get-together for my birthday; we gathered at my brother's place a few hours away and built a weird snow creature (I'll post a picture if I can remember how) that was supposed to be a dinosaur, but since the snow wasn't packable, it ended up looking more like Jabba the Hutt or some strange swamp creature... LOL... and then we played 4-person games on the Wii U, which was a lot of fun. We even managed to get my mother playing Tekken Tag Tournament (a fighting game), which was pretty funny as she's got to be the least aggressive, calmest person in the known universe.

Even better, she made me an incredible black bean chocolate cake that tasted just like a cake made with grains, if not better... the texture was the same, even! There was enough left after the gathering for me to take almost half of it home, and it was SO GOOD that I, uh, may have eaten the rest of it on Monday... all of it... ohhhh but it was sooooo goooooood!!!!!!

And while I only received one book (El Husbando went out and specially bought me one for my actual birthday on Wednesday, because he thought I "needed something to open on your birthday"), I received a bit of cash from the in-laws, and... I am so weak... I may have finally succumbed to bookcloseouts.ca, after over a month of deleting their emails unread (since I'm trying not to bring it new books unless I'm able to read them right away!!!). Gaaaah...!!! Oops? LOL.

>162 tapestry100:: Sounds like you had a loverly birthday! And I don't think that you should feel guilty about books bought under the influence of birthday fun. That's what birthdays are all about, right?

Happy belated birthday, Faith! I'm glad you had a good day! I agree that books bought under the influence of birthdays don't count.

It sounds as though you had a marvelous birthday - good for you!

BTW, birthday books don't count against buying bans,....

Agreed, birthday books don't count!

Amen. All books purchased as gifts or with gift money do not count against your ban / rules! Btw, my birthday is coming up so I might need to be reminded of this tidbit. *grin*

Book bought for you and books bought with birthday money or vouchers do not count on book bans.

>162 tapestry100:: That's what I'm trying to tell myself... except that they still add to the pile of unread books, which is what I'm trying to avoid! AHHH!!!

>163 kgodey:: Thank you!!! "I bought this under the influence of birthday... it doesn't count" is the excuse I'm going to use from now on. I will hold onto that!!!

>164 Dejah_Thoris:: It was very nice indeed!!! :D

>165 ronincats:: I'm glad we're all in agreement here... now, can you all tell El Husbando, who groaned and said "you have to go find 14 more books to sell to the used book shop, then" to which I replied "but they're BIRTHDAY books!!!" (even though he's right, since we are long out of shelf space, despite the 5 giant shelves we bought last year...) o_O

>166 TinaV95:: If you need a reminder, just pop in here! We're all enablers around here. :P

>167 BBGirl55:: That's right, because it's not technically "my" money. It just adds to the piles of books, though... but in my defense, they're almost all books off the wishlist, so I think that makes it even MORE okay... right? Heh...

7) Talyn -- Holly Lisle

While I've taken all of Holly Lisle's writing courses / workshops that she has offered over the past 6-7 years through her website (all of which were incredibly valuable and enhanced my writing & revision abilities immeasurably)... I, uh... had never read any of her published works. She has over 30 books published in the sci-fi/fantasy/thriller genres, and yet here I was, taking career-building advice from someone who'd never actually proven her writing worth to me. So, it was with some trepidation that I decided to actually pick up one of her novels (which, of course, had been languishing on my shelves for quite some time now) and give it a go. Whatever fears I had about possibly discovering that she's actually a crap writer were unfounded, I'm thrilled to say.

Talyn is a dense, rich novel that stems from the premise that peace between nations isn't necessarily all it's cracked up to be. Peace comes with consequences, and sometimes those consequences are invisible until it's too late.

Her world-building was thorough and vivid without being overwhelming, and the description of the people, locations, and action painted pictures in my mind so clearly that it was like a film playing out in all its detail. Our main character is stubborn, loyal to her people, and honorable, and she has plenty of doubts -- not to mention makes plenty of mistakes. The villain -- who I won't name, as it might spoil the story for you -- is subtle at first, growing in intensity, until you wondered how you didn't see his hand in things all along.

And unlike most books I read, I was content to devour this one slowly, page by page, so that I could absorb the world she'd created (and see where the lessons I'd learned from her played out in her own writing). I recommend reading it this way, because it allows the tension to build slowly, without you even realizing it, until the intensity has grabbed hold and you're frantic and fearful for the characters at the same time as they're frantic and fearful for their own lives and the lives of their families.

It's funny to think that with 30+ books published over several decades, Lisle hasn't become a household name -- but her backlist shows that she's a tested and proven writer, with a remarkable skill for crafting layered stories that stick their hooks into you if you let them.

Rating: 4.5/5 (I've taken a half point off for the 2 or 3 graphic sex scenes, as they're not to my taste, but that's just me!)
Source: My bookshelves

(no cover - I read a public domain epub version)

8) The Invisible Man -- H.G. Wells

What can I say about The Invisible Man that hasn't been said before? It's an intriguing story, and the premise has taken root in popular culture (like much of Wells' material), and for that point alone I'd say it's worth the read. It's a short novel (more of a novella by today's standards), but if you've never given it a read and you enjoy sci-fi or fantasy stories... it's Wells. So, read it. Wells was a brilliant storyteller, and while this probably isn't my favorite of the few Wells stories I've read (admittedly I read this one for a Coursera class), I did like the occasional commentary by the narrator, as it seemed somewhat reminiscent of the meta-narrative style that's popular today.

Also? The invisible man is a real jerk. Not a likable character. I didn't recall that aspect of the mythos in popular culture, as he really is quite rude and violent (well, I suppose we did see that in the film Hollow Man), so it made the read all the more interesting.

It's hard to rate this one as it's a classic, but I suppose I'll rate it in relation to my enjoyment of Wells' work in general.

Rating: 3/5
Source: Epub version, included on my Nook at purchase

I've added Talyn to my wishlist. I've actually never heard of Holly Lisle, especially given that she's such a prolific fantasy writer. I hope I enjoy her writing as much as you!

Heh. My sister runs Holly's website - so you've interacted with her work, if you've taken courses from Holly. She's a fantastic writer, and I've never been able to read any second books of hers - I love the first book of two or three series, but by the second one she's gotten too dark and grim for me. If Talyn is a standalone, I should look it up. Thanks!

#170 he really is quite rude and violent - I saw a stage production of The Invisible Man a few years ago and that was the aspect that they stressed as well.

Oh my Gosh! Another birthday missed. I hope you had a wonderful day and hopefully you should still be celebrating. A month is my general rule.
Whenever we visited Canada we would make our final stop before crossing the border back into the US at a TH to bring a little bit of Canada home with us (usually the donuts didn't make it past Pennsylvania). Now that they're slowly entering the US market, it doesn't seem like such a novel idea anymore. The TH seems to be as much Canadian as McDonald's is to the US.
I often look at the Coursera courses and maybe one day I'll join you in the classroom.

MrMorphy's a budding novelist so I sent him a link to Lisle's website. Thanks!

#170 - Claude Rains in an early film version (and still the best for lots of reasons, but especially the special effects) was definitely not a nice person, although the love story was played up for marketing purposes. My daughter read Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde years ago, and as a reward for finishing it, she watched three film versions of the story--what angered the then-fifth grader was the love story added to the films because it so shifted the dynamics of the story.

>171 kgodey:: I know, almost no one I know has heard of her! Crazy!

>172 jjmcgaffey:: No kidding!!! That's fantastic! How great for your sister, she had her hands full with the website overhaul last year or the year before (?), in that case! I remember all the email updates from Holly, since she keeps her newsletter subscribers incredibly well-informed... I guess she'd be working on helping develop the Create a World Clinic right now? I know Holly is working like mad on that at the moment. Yep, Talyn is a standalone -- she wrote another "Novel of Korre" too, but it's just set in the same world and isn't a sequel or anything like that.

>173 SandDune:: Oh, that's good to know! I guess my thoughts about that aspect not being stressed stem from offhand references in films and sitcoms and such. Now that I've read the whole book though, I'm glad to have a realistic perspective on the character.

>174 Carmenere:: A month! I'm in full favor of that! Haha. I know what you mean about migration of treats not being a novel idea... until recently, there were a number of candy bars only available in the US that I'd buy whenever I visited, but now they seem to show up in Canada with alarming regularity... Baby Ruth being the one that comes to mind most prominently.

>175 Morphidae:: Wonderful! I hope he finds something of value there, there's a LOT of material and resources for writers, so he'll have plenty to mine through for quite some time.

>176 Prop2gether:: I'll definitely have to look up the Claude Rains version! I'd really like to see a film adaptation. Too bad about the love story aspect, but it happened in the Lord of the Rings films as well and I got over it. Haha.

My books arrived! My books arrived!!!!

Soooo... it's sharing time!!!

Here's what I got in my "it doesn't count because it's birthday money" haul:

The Girl in the Steel Corset - Kady Cross
Voices of Dragons - Carrie Vaughn
Insatiable - Meg Cabot
Overbite - Meg Cabot
Tempest - Julie Cross
Incarnate - Jodi Meadows
Dark Passage - M.J. Putney
Grave Mercy - Robin LaFevers
Tiger's Curse - Colleen Houck
Legacy - Cayla Kluver
Dead Iron - Devon Monk
Dearly, Departed - Lia Habel
The Sherlockian - Graham Moore
Sisters Red - Jackson Pearce

...and all but two were already on my "wishlist/TBR list", so... HUZZAH for BookCloseouts!!!

Haha, I've taken a few of Holly's courses (am in the middle of How To Think Sideways) but also have never read anything of hers. I think I bought a couple for my Kindle and then forgot they were there (one big problem with eReaders, they're even worse than bookcases for stashing books then forgetting you have them). I'll have to find them and read one. (I don't think one was Talyn, but I might be mistaken.)

ETA Nice stash of books you got for your b/d! Let me know how you like the Vaughn book, okay? I read her Kitty series but nothing else.

Ooooo! Nice list! Absolutely loved Grave Mercy, Cabot's Overbite/Insatiable were great, and Tempest was good too. Enjoy!

178> Very nice collection!

177> Probably, about the website remake - she does tend to stress out, but I discount a lot of it because she's a bit of an A-type personality (it must be RIGHT!). So I vaguely remember her complaining about the problems she had with something with Holly's website - but she does that a lot. And Holly keeps coming up with neat ideas, and Mar complains and complains and creates them... so she may be working on how to implement some stuff for the clinic.

179> I use calibre - it has the great advantage that it can take just about any kind of ebook and translate it into another format (if necessary), so I can read any of my books on any gadget I please (including in calibre itself, on the computer). More importantly, they're all _listed_ together, so I don't have to think what format I got it in and in what folder I might have stashed it... that is, all the ones I've found and added to calibre so far! There's still some hiding in back corners.

What a great "haul" you managed to get for your birthday!

>178 dk_phoenix:: Nice haul!

>178 dk_phoenix: Ooh, I'll be interested to see your thoughts on Girl in the Steel Corset. I really enjoyed it when I read it last year.

I got Girl in the Steel Corset for SantaThing this year. I'm looking forward to seeing what you think.

Nice big haul, nary a one of which I've read, so I'll be looking forward to your reviews of them.

I've not read any of your haul choices either, but I've heard Tiger's Curse is really good. Congrats & have fun reading them! :)

Faith, I need to lurk more often as I seemI missed the birthday celebration. I'll take your word on the black bean cake. It sounds too healthy for me! Great haul of books. The Sherlockian is on my wishlist.

I enjoyed hearing more about Coursera. I have been tempted to sign up though I prefer to take courses in person. Too easy to take shortcuts on homework, etc. when it's online. I would enjoy watching the lectures. Maybe I could audit a course?

That's a great book haul, Faith! I've heard of the Kady Cross one but I don't think I have it - I might investigate the depths of the Kindle just to see.

Happy People-in-Love-Are-Annoying Day. I went a bit crazy with the great nerdy valentines this year and just made a whole pinboard for them. Check it out here, pick your favorite, and know it came straight from my shriveled heart!

wow great book haul! Guess you will be doing some great reading this year!

Jealous! Let me know what you think of Sisters Red. That's been on Mt WL for a long time.

>179 Storeetllr:: Oh, yay! Another Holly student! Her courses are so excellent. As for the Vaughn book, I'll try to remember to pop over to your thread and let you know what I think once I've read it! I haven't read her Kitty series, but I'd like to. Of course, whenever I think of it, I'm at a bookstore and the first book isn't on the shelf. Go figure!

>180 alsvidur:: Good to know those ones were worth it!!! I was a little hesitant on the Meg Cabot books, but they sounded interesting enough to be worth birthday money. Haha.

>181 jjmcgaffey:: I get the Type-A thing! Well, you can let her know I am a student of Holly's and I appreciate her work on the website. Just used the new area for Legacy students for HTTS, and it worked beautifully. :)

>182 thomasandmary:: Indeed!!! They're still sitting in a pile in the living room where I can fawn over their shiny beautifulness...

>183 tapestry100:: Thank you! *bows*

>184 MickyFine:/185: That's one I picked up because of the recommendations around this group. Though, I accidentally bought the second book in the series awhile ago because it was on clearance and I didn't realize it was part of a series. Go figure!

>186 ronincats:: Not one, eh? Well, then! I suppose it is my duty to read them and inform you. "Forget you, employment, there are books to read!"

>187 TinaV95:: Thanks! I've seen Tiger's Curse on the shelves for ages now and it was one of those books I kept picking up but didn't buy, time and time again. I suppose it was only a matter of time before I gave in...!

>188 Donna828:: Oh, trust me, the black bean cake wasn't necessarily healthy. It had plenty of sugar in the chocolate (for inside the cake and the icing), as here in Canada it's nearly impossible to get high quality chocolate made with alternate sweeteners (I know of a number of recommended brands in the US, though... grrr cross-border shipping restrictions!!!). And that said, despite the healthful nature of the other elements (coconut milk, raw cacao, beans), I don't think eating half a cake in one sitting is considered healthy by anyone's definition. Hahaha! If I could have given everyone a slice, I would have! I guarantee you'd be on board the black bean cake train with me! (Mmm... cake train...). As for Coursera, of course you can audit! The grades are really just for your own benefit anyway (some courses hand out certificates of completion, but it's not like they count toward anything). I take them because I like to learn things, and I find the assignments enjoyable. If they ever became a slog, I'd just stop doing them and simply enjoy the lectures on their own.

>189 susanj67:: Depths of the Kindle! I'm like that with my Nook, too. No idea what's on there most of the time. :P

>190 leahbird:: Loved those!!! Thank you for sharing!!! I sent my sister a link to the Stone Angel one, because they terrify her. I suspect she may try to kill me the next time I see her... o_O

>191 ChelleBearss:: You bet I will!!! I was thrilled to be able to get almost all books right off the wishlist. Gives a feeling of accomplishment... haha.

>192 cammykitty:: Me too! Jackson Pearce is one of those authors I keep meaning to read, but for whatever reason, haven't. I'm definitely looking forward to Sisters Red.

9) Bones of Faerie -- Janni Lee Simner

In a world gripped by a fear of faery magic after a terrible war with the fae, children who exhibit any symptoms of being tainted by the fae are immediately executed... including Liza's baby sister, just moments after she was born. To make matters worse, her mother then disappears without warning. When Liza realizes she's showing signs of faery magic, she runs away so that she won't hurt anyone with her magic by accident. And of course, it's not long before Liza decides to search for her mother on a dangerous quest... into faery.

It's not a bad story, by any stretch. It's a tale told simply, with just enough worldbuilding to allow the reader to visualize what's happening, and a plot that works for Middle Grade or younger YA readers. There's a lot of danger, real death, and cruelty, especially from Liza's father. I think the book will appeal to fans of Holly Black's work (as her tales of faery are quite dark). The only thing that really bothered me was the utterly one-dimensional rage-monster of Liza's father. He seemed to have zero remorse at any time when it came to beating his child or hurting others, and I found it a little unbelievable that an entire town would accept the knowledge that this man beat his wife and children regularly and didn't do anything about it. I understand what the author was trying to do, but there was literally only one side to the character, which made it more difficult to believe.

It was a decent read, and short enough for a quick afternoon break. It's the first book in a trilogy, and I will read the following books if they show up in a Scholastic book order at some point in the future!

Rating: 3/5
Source: Purchased in 2013



10) Who Could That Be At This Hour? (All The Wrong Questions, #1) -- Lemony Snicket

I was a huge fan of the Series of Unfortunate Events books -- I loved "Snicket's" writing style, the humor, and the nonsensical aspect of storytelling. In this new series, the fictional Snicket is relating a tale of his youth, when he asked all the wrong questions while investigating some strange goings-on.

The style of this series is more of the same, so if you found the narrator tedious for the Unfortunate Events books, you'll feel the same way with this one. However, I always loved those moments in the Unfortunate Events books when Snicket interjected tidbits of his own experiences (ie. how he came to learn the Baudelaire childrens' story), and developed the narrator as a character separate from the childrens' story. So, giving the narrator his own series feels like a natural extension of that.

There's plenty of nonsense, bizarre twists, and moments of "wait, but if he did that, the who is...?" I didn't guess who was who and what was what until the revelation, and there are still plenty of questions left up in the air for the series to continue.

I loved it, and I can't wait for for the next one!

Rating: 4/5
Source: Purchased in 2013

>194 dk_phoenix: I read Bones of Faerie last year.... thought it ended kind of abruptly.... like it needed something more.... now I know why... it's part of a trilogy :) I think I will check the library for the last 2 books... I wished for a little more back story on the war with faerie... so maybe it will show up in the 2nd or 3rd books....

Hi Faith! Popping in to wish you a happy weekend. I'm glad to see you enjoyed the new Snicket. I keep seeing it at the bookstore but haven't picked it up yet. I do love a good "wait, what?" mystery. :)

Hi Faith, I picked up Bones of Faerie at the bookfest I went to in January. It does sound interesting, but with a 3 star rating it's staying low priority.

I've never got around to ready any Lemony Snicket, maybe I should fit him in sometime soon :)

I didn't realise Lemony Snicket was writing more books! I should pick up Who Could That Be At This Hour?, too.

Hi Faith! I've stumbled several times over Girl in the Steel Corset but wasn't sure if it is my cup of tea. Haven't read any Lemony Snickett yet. I like the cover of Bones of Faerie - but you made me curious by mentioning Holly Black. Now, I'll have to go and check her dark stories out.

Hi Faith!

Great birthday book haul!

I've read a few of 'gifts' - both Meg Cabot books, which are entertaining, but flawed; Grave Mercy, which I liked quite a lot (the next book is out in March or April, I believe) and The Girl in the Steel Corset which was ok. It's important to keep in mind that I frequently have mixed feelings about YA books.

As for Holly Lisle, I read something of hers years and years ago - it must have been her first trilogy, which begins with Fire in the Mist. I have to admit I don't remember much about it. I suppose it's long past time to try some of her work again!

I read the free preview/prequel story for Girl in the Steel Corset, called The Strange Case of Finley Jane. It didn't make me want to read the book. :( Too Harlequin for my taste.

A quick *Hello* to Faith and I must dash again!

Oh, yes, I also got The Strange Case of Finley Jane for free on my Kindle. It left me on the fence, so I'll also be interested to see what you think of Girl in the Steel Corset.

Like the sound of the new Snicket book, Faith. On the WL list it goes. Every so often I have to re-read and re-do my WL's so that I'm not still looking for a book I already have--if that makes any sense.

Nice birthday haul, too. I'm at least publicly (wait, is LT public?!? Oh my.) listing my new purchases. My goal this year is different, though--no matter how many books I buy or read, I'd like at least 75 in the "Read in 2013" category to have been on the shelves prior to 01/10/13. So far, pretty good: 12 of 13 fit the goal.
But. This is only February.

Hi Faith, I hope it's not too late to wish you a happy birthday. Happy Birthday! And great book haul!

I heard Lemony Snicket (I forget his real name) on NPR several weeks ago talking about Who Could That Be at This Hour? and it sounded pretty good. Glad to see you liked it!

>195 lovelyluck:: Yes, I'm hoping there's more about the war, too! I thought that was glossed over a little too easily, so I hope future books go into more detail.

>196 UnrulySun:: And with plenty of dry British humor to boot! The best kind of mysteries, in my opinion. :)

>197 fairywings:: I'd tell you to start reading Snicket with The Bad Beginning, which is the first book in the Series of Unfortunate Events books, but... there are 13 books in the series, plus additional support material, so you might be better off starting with this one! Only one book so far, but you won't be behind at the start. Hah! And it'll be enjoyable even if you haven't read his other work, I think.

>198 kgodey:: Oh, yes! And have you read any other books by the author under his real name, Daniel Handler? They're quite different, but still very good. He's a very skilled writer.

>199 PersephonesLibrary:: If you like dark faerie tales, you'll probably love Holly Black! She's probably best known for her children's series The Spiderwick Chronicles, though she also wrote some extremely dark (and slightly disturbing) YA faerie novels that I believe begin with Tithe. She sometimes gets too edgy even for me, but she's very talented at developing evocative settings and details.

>200 Dejah_Thoris:: Hellloooo, thanks for dropping in!!! I'll be honest, I only bought The Girl in the Steel Corset because I accidentally bought the second book in the series awhile ago (thinking it was a stand-alone), and that one I really only picked up because of the cover... so, we'll see! I am excited about Grave Mercy, though. I hear it's very good.

>201 UnrulySun:: Too Harlequin, you say? Hmm. That's a little bothersome. Well, I suppose I'll find out if it's my thing sooner or later... I really, really want to like it, though, mostly because the cover is just so prettyyyyyy...

>202 ronincats:: Ack, that's three strikes against The Girl in the Steel Corset nearly in a row! Nooooo!!!

>203 Matke:: That sounds like a reasonable goal! And I know what you mean about re-working the Wishlist. Sometimes I've gone down to my shelves and realized "oh dear, I didn't know I already had that!" I actually asked for and received a book for Christmas that I'd forgotten I'd already read until it was too late. Thankfully, the copy I'd read was a library copy, so I'm not too torn up about having it on the shelf... still... *facepalm*

>204 Copperskye:: Oh, thank you! Yes, that would be Daniel Handler! He seems a little nutty, which is fine by me! Haha. Was he on the radio program as his Snicket alter-ego persona, or was he "himself" (you know what I mean!)? I saw him perform with a local symphony on a tour once, and he was billed as "Lemony Snicket" and maintained that very crazy persona throughout the show. It was fantastic!

So, I'm taking a course through Coursera at the moment called "Fantasy and Science Fiction: The Human Mind, Our Modern World," and it requires me to read a number of classic fantasy/sci-fi texts in order to do the assignments. It's hard to really "review" these ones, so when they come up I'll likely just put a few words about the book and an arbitrary "rating" (I find it so difficult to "rate" classics... because they're usually classic for a reason, and I feel like a bit of a knob when I don't like them or have to give them less than five stars... surely I can't be the only one who feels this way?!):

11) Children's and Household Tales -- Brothers Grimm, transl. Lucy Crane, illust. Walter Crane

This particular collection was translated by Lucy Crane and illustrated with some fantastic ink drawings (?) by her brother. While the collection is fairly short compared to many Grimm editions, it does contain all the best known tales and eliminates some redundancy -- by which I mean, it only includes two versions of some tales instead of three or four (or five...).

I'm a big fan of the "original" Grimm stories and the illustrations in this edition are excellent, but I downloaded a copy through Project Gutenberg (I think?) and there were a number of errors in the EPUB edition of the text. So, I've docked a star for this particular edition. If you download it, know you'll have to scratch your head a bit occasionally to figure out what a word or phrase is supposed to be (because it didn't scan in correctly and no one has fixed it).

Rating: 4/5
Source: Free download



12) Alice's Adventures in Wonderland -- Lewis Carroll
13) Through the Looking-Glass -- Lewis Carroll

I love both of these books. Read them years ago, and still enjoy them now -- but then, I love nonsense. It's practically a part of my every day life, and if it isn't, I've probably died. Or nearly so.

I do believe I shall continue to quote large chunks of poetry from "The Walrus and the Carpenter" and " Jabberwocky" until the end of time... that said, Through the Looking-Glass is probably my favorite of the two stories. I haven't quite worked out why, though... it just is.

Rating: 5/5 & 5/5
Source: My bookshelves

14) Dracula -- Bram Stoker

I'll take just about any excuse to read Dracula... I absolutely adore this story. It's a nail-biting psychological horror, told in diary format (and occasionally out of sync), with interesting characters, an evil villain, and several strong, heroic figures. The novel is really nothing like what Hollywood made Dracula out to be, and I much prefer him this way.

Ultimately, I read this novel as a tale of redemption -- for the characters, inasmuch as it's a triumph of good over evil -- and a story of everyday people finding courage in the darkest places.

Rating: 5/5
Source: My bookshelves

Oh I'm so glad you loved Dracula - I remember reading that and being blown away - in my early teens, 14-15 - and staying at friends of my parents - I got left at home because they were all going to see Georgy Girl the movie and I was too young for it (and I still never have seen it!). I was so MAD. So I prowled the bookshelves and found that. And I was socked in the rest of the evening, totally terrified and enthralled! I expect that GG is pretty tame, if I ever do get around to seeing it!

Yay for Dracula!

I have a Grimm's Fairy Tales novel.... I have recently picked it up again because of the graphic novels I have been reading... I wanted to see how far they went with creative interpertation.... I love the stories and was dumb-founded when I found out that the Disney versions weren't original.... (I grew up on Disney).... but they are interesting reads.... and I will be sure to stick with my paper back version unless I can get a free e-book for my nook....

I have never read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland or Through the Looking Glass though I have started a series that I think follows those stories somewhat... The Looking Glass Wars it was okay... but I think maybe I need the back ground of the originial stories to understand it better....

Grimm's Fairy Tales - how delightful!

Hi, Faith! Caught up on your thread and got you starred. Look like you got some good ones in your haul--- Insatiable and Overbite were fun and I loved Dearly, Departed. I have the sequel sitting on my Kindle now, I just need to get around to reading it!

I remember reading and really enjoying Glenraven, which Holly Lisle co-wrote with Marion Zimmer Bradley when I was a teenager, but I don't think I've ever read anything else by her. I think I have Talyn somewhere in my possession, unless I got read of it in one of my recent regrettable-shedding-of-unread-books binges.

Thanks so much for talking about Coursera! I had never heard of it before, and I went over there today and signed up for 3 different courses that start tomorrow! I'm wicked excited.

Dracula is one of my favorites, too. :)

I looked at that Coursera course, but it looked like it would eat up too much time. Glad you are enjoying it.

I began that Coursera course last year - the first time it was offered, I think. They were still working some things out and I found it too time consuming, so I didn't do the work - but the prof's lectures were often fascinating.

Catching up.... *Waving hi*

Dracula is a favorite of mine as well. I try to read it at least once a year, and never go longer than 2 years without reading it.

Just dropping in to say 'Hi!'. Wow - lots of interesting book bullets - Dracula, Lemony Snicket ...

Coincidently, I just read my first (I think) Holly Lisle, at the end of last year. I have seen her around, though; maybe as a co-author.

Not even pretending to catch up. Just saying hi and *waving*.

I hope you're enjoying the early days of March - take care!

I have never read Dracula but it is on my list of classics that I want to read. It's strange that I haven't read it because I have read so much other "vampire" literature....hmmm

As you know Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is a personal delight of mine * small note the colletion has grown* Dracula is one i also enjoy. Nice to come here and not have to add to the TBR.

Love your latest reading. Some of my favorites there. Have you tried Angela Carter for some really dark turns on fairy tales? Wonderful, but twisty.

>208 sibylline:: Oh, I'm sure Dracula is much better than that film! LOL. I haven't seen it, but I'm sure Stoker's book is far more scandalous. Haha.

>209 PiyushC:: *fist pump of solidarity*

>210 lovelyluck:: I would definitely read the original Alice stories to give some background understanding for The Looking Glass Wars! I haven't read Beddor's series yet, but I do have the first one on the shelf. The original stories are fantastically nonsensical, so I bet they'd only make the pastiches even more enjoyable!

>211 PiyushC:: They really are! I love the original stories. :)

>212 allthesedarnbooks:: Ohhh watch out! Coursera can get addictive! Haha. But I really do love it, I'm learning oodles in the modern history course I'm in right now, without the pressure of being in a "real" school setting. What did you sign up for?

>213 The_Hibernator:: Yay, another Dracula fan!

>214 ronincats:: It's not too bad so far! I admit that I've since stopped with the essays, as the peer review process was becoming more frustrating than anything. The lectures, however, are excellent, and I like being "forced" (ie. having a direct excuse) to read some classics I've always wanted to read, but never got around to... plus re-reads of a few favorites. :)

>215 Dejah_Thoris:: Yes, the professor is very thorough in his lectures! It's quite enjoyable, almost relaxing to sit back and listen to.

>216 TinaV95:: *waves back* Hello! Thanks for dropping in!

>217 tapestry100:: That is an excellent policy! I think it had been about 7 years since I read it, and I'd rather not go that long without reading it again. Since the re-read, I've come to realize that it really is one of my favorite books of all time. It really is a masterpiece.

>218 humouress:: Yes! I believe Holly has co-written a number of books and series. I'd like to read some of those as well... she has a good long backlist to work through, that's for sure!

>219 EBT1002:: I understand what that's like! Thanks for stopping in. :)

>220 Dejah_Thoris:: Thanks, you as well! How is your play going / how did it go? I'll try to pop by your thread ASAP for an update!

>221 Cobscook:: If you enjoy vampire lit, reading Dracula will likely be quite fascinating, since it's been used as a foundation for so much of the other vampire literature since its inception. I hope you get to read it soon!

>222 BBGirl55:: Oh darn, no book bullets this time? ;)

>223 Matke:: I haven't read any Angela Carter! I'll have to look her up, thanks for the recommendation!

15) Everyday Justice: The Global Impact of Our Daily Choices -- Julie Clawson

I loved this book -- it was just what I needed. I've been trying to live with a greater awareness in terms of ethically sourced products, both with food and household items, and while the book is a very basic primer on a key number of items (coffee, chocolate, water, etc.), it was perfect. The author provided many case studies to back up her claims, little anecdotes to bring realism to the issues, and many "extended reading" resources to pursue further.

While it is admittedly written by a Christian and published by a CBA publisher, I think there's a lot here for anyone of any background who wonders exactly where that bag of coffee comes from, or whether water conservation is actually important, and so forth. For me, I found myself challenged deeply by the notion that by purchasing certain items that are not ethically sourced, I am literally contributing to ongoing slavery in the world. I'm keeping someone else enslaved -- someone's mother, or father, or child -- by buying a chocolate bar from a manufacturer like Nestle, for example.

Did you know that almost all major chocolate manufacturers use slave labor in their cocoa production? And that when these companies were challenged on it and asked to change in a symposium a number of years ago, they said they couldn't, that it would be "impossible" to make chocolate without relying on slavery?! Really? Impossible?! Sounds a heck of a lot like some rhetoric we heard during the 18th and 19th centuries in the United States. This is a real thing, happening right now. There are more slaves in the world today than there have ever been before... and fewer people talking about it.

I've already made some changes based on what I've read in this book, and others I will be working toward simply due to cost (have to figure out what to sacrifice in order to make better choices, since some things cost a few dollars more than I'm used to spending). But if buying unbleached paper products saves hundreds or thousands of gallons of toxic chemicals from being released into the environment and the water supply, just from one person alone? I think that's worth the sacrifice.

I'd rather live with awareness and a bit of extra effort, than exist in ignorance and continue to destroy both the planet and the lives of our neighbors.

Ultimately this sort of thing is a highly personal decision, but I found this book gave me just the information I needed in an easy-to-understand way, along with enough resource recommendations to make my own informed choices afterward.

Rating: 5/5
Source: Borrowed from my mother



16) Tigana -- Guy Gaviel Kay

Wow. This book... it's hard to know what to say. It's a lengthy tome, and dense... and it took me awhile to get into it and really get going, but once I did, it gripped me. I don't want to say too much, other than it contains possibly one of the best endings -- most satisfying and complete endings -- I've ever read in a fantasy story (with the exception of one final, minor detail). There were some things I didn't like about the story, but now that I'm reflecting a few weeks after reading it, I can forgive those issues because of the essay Kay included at the back of my edition of the book. It explained a lot of things I had reservations about, and made me enjoy it more retrospectively.

I discussed the book more in the non-spoiler and spoiler threads during the Group Read in February, so if you'd like to know more about the book, I recommend heading over to one of those threads and giving it a read-through.

Or just go ahead and pick up the book.

Rating: 4.5/5
Source: My bookshelves

On a similar note, there was an article recently about slave labor used in the tomato market coming out of Florida. The article claimed that virtually all the conventional tomatoes you buy in the grocery store (except MAYBE the ripened on the vine ones) are farmed by slave labor. It was pretty depressing to read.

I gave up most of the food items that would be a concern a few years ago but I still struggle to buy only ethical clothing or home goods. It's difficult to let go of that much money and the options are depressingly few.

>226 leahbird: I've seen that article too. It's related to Tomatoland by Barry Estabrook.

Everyday Justice looks right up my alley! Added to the TBR list as I've been trying to do the same thing in my own life. Its nice to have a guide to follow...

Hi Faith!
Everyday Justice looks like the kind of book I'd pick up and read the back of and slam right back down on the shelf. But your review makes me want to read it!

Guy Gaviel Kay has been a favorite of mine for ever!

Yay! Another Tigana fan - one of my favorite fantasies ever, and my favorite Kay by miles. (Not that I've read everything by any means.)

Yeah, I NEED to read Tigana sooner rather than later.

Re: Holly Lisle workshops - she's apparently put out a mini-teaser of one she's doing tomorrow (How to Think Sideways Ultra). The teaser is (I think) only available until the workshop starts - but if anyone wanted to check out the sort of things she teaches (oh, and incidentally visit my sister's blog, because this is where I found the info)...

http://margaretmcgaffeyfisk.com/a-mini-holly-lisle-workshop/

#225 Hi Faith! I also thought the ending of Tigana was very good.

Ok - I've heard a lot about Tigana, but I need to know - is it dark? Depressing? It's not so much that I won't read dark books, but I like to know what I'm getting into. It's good to hear you liked it, though.

Well... turns out I'm stuck at a cafe for a few hours with my computer, several books, and an internet connection that's just strong enough to hang out on LT but not strong enough to stream the Coursera lectures I'd planned to watch. SO! That's okay, because it means I finally have some time to spend on here. Until the book calls me away, of course. :)

>226 leahbird:: I did hear about the tomato thing as well... very sad. Makes you feel a little helpless, sometimes. I think there are other options available for most things, but as you say, it's really hard to part with that much money. Also, sometimes it IS nigh impossible to find replacements. I was looking for unbleached paper towels and toilet paper the other day. Think I could find anything? Nope. Ugh. But I'll keep looking. While it doesn't always feel like one small change can make a difference... everyone making one small change certainly adds up. So, I'm learning to be okay with baby steps. :)

>227 norabelle414:: I hadn't heard of Tomatoland! I'll definitely be checking that out.

>228 DFED:: It really is helpful to have at least a starting point... it's far too overwhelming to just try doing it on your own, all at once. Small steps, one thing at a time. I appreciated the book's simplicity, because I would have definitely been overwhelmed otherwise!

>229 UnrulySun:: I was skeptical as well, but hopeful. :) While it does have a CBA slant, I think the advice about ethical purchasing is relevant to everyone who has a heart, you know? It's ultimately about loving other people -- even if they're thousands of miles away from us and we'll never meet them. They have hopes and dreams too, for themselves and for their children... it's hard to remember that they're not just faceless peons who make our crap for us. I struggle with it constantly, but trying to get better.

>230 beeg:: Oh, nice! Can you recommend which book of his I should read next? He has so many, it's hard to know where to start. I do have a copy of The Summer Tree, Ysabel, and The Lions of Al-Rassan (all unread).

>231 sibylline:: He does have a substantial body of work, doesn't he! Tigana was almost, just nearly, perfect. And I think the ending made it that way (though I did struggle with a bit of boredom in the first 300 pages). But it all came together in such an incredible way.

>232 PiyushC:: Yes. Yes , you do. :D

>233 jjmcgaffey:: Thanks for posting that! I hope someone who visits in here gets some use out of it. I downloaded the teaser and I'm well into the new material in Ultra... which is, as per usual, fantastic.

>234 souloftherose:: We should start a Tigana Appreciation Club or something... sure seems like there are a lot of us around!!!

>235 Dejah_Thoris:: I'd say... it's dark at times, depressing at others, hopeful at others, and joyous in triumph when least expected. The story is about a displaced people trying to regain their land and the memory of their land, which has been wiped from the minds of everyone in the lands that surround Tigana (by a wizard, of course). I wouldn't go into it expecting a rousing good romp, and it's definitely not "high fantasy" with thrilling dragons or elves... the author explores rather thoroughly the toll that war and displacement can take on people, demonstrated through relationships and how they relate to (or are unable to relate to & connect with) others. I'd call it more "bleak" than anything, but ultimately the way it is resolved makes the journey with the characters worthwhile. If that helps at all...?

>236 dk_phoenix: That helps enormously. Thank for answering my questions about Tigana so thoughtfully!

Hi Faith, start with The Summer Tree it just sets the tone for his writing.

Hi Faith. Everyday Justice sounds quite good and your review of Tigana is persuasive, even for an infrequent reader of fantasy novels.

Faith, The Summer Tree was Kay's first book and if you read it, you need to read The Wandering Fire and The Darkest Road to complete the story. These are more high fantasy than any of his other work--after this he moves into his more typical historical fantasy. Ysabel is atypical in that it is more YA and less complex than any of his other work--but it is a lot of fun to run into some of the characters from the trilogy there. The Lions of Al-Rassan is like Tigana, with an Iberian peninsula type of medieval culture and geography setting. Even more than Tigana, it explores the clash of cultures and the costs of wars and some marvelous characters--it takes you both deeper and higher, IMHO. I felt it more--it tore up my heart but like Tigana it was worth it.

>237 Dejah_Thoris:: *bows* You're quite welcome!

>238 beeg:: Will do... thank you for the suggestion!

>239 EBT1002:: Oooh, I do like the sound of that! Perhaps it will encourage the infrequentness (is that a word? it is now...) to become more... frequent... lol.

>240 ronincats:: Thanks so much for the outlay of his work! I'll definitely save Ysabel until after I've read the other trilogy first. And while I loved Tigana, I think I'll need to wait a bit before diving into something else so, well, emotionally complex. Maybe Al-Rassan can be part of next year's Fantasy February! :)

...and in other news... new thread is up!!! CLICKY!!!