brenzi's 2013 Reading: The Last Gasp

“And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.”
― Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas

OTS – Off the Shelf

L - library book

NF – Non-fiction







BOOKS READ IN 2013

85. The Colors of Infamy - Albert Cossery - Egypt - 4.8 stars
84. Civil to Strangers - Barbara Pym - OTS - UK - 4 stars
83. The View from Castle Rock - Alice Munro - OTS - Canada - 4.5 stars
82. Invitation to the Dance - Hilary Spurling - NF - L - 4 stars
81. Hearing Secret Harmonies - Anthony Powell - UK - OTS - 3.9stars
80. The Ariadne Objective - Wes Davis - ER - NF - Crete - 4.2 stars
79. Lucia in London - E. F. Benson - UK - eBooks - 4 stars
78. Through the Evil Days - Julia Spencer-Fleming - L - 4.3 stars
77. An Academic Question - Barbara Pym - OTS - UK - 4 stars
76. Can You Forgive Her? - Anthony Trollope - eBook - UK - 4.2 stars
75. Temporary Kings - Anthony Powell - UK - 4.2 stars
74. The Man without a Face - Masha Gessen - L - Russia - NF - 4.5 stars
73. The Luminaries - Eleanor Catton - NZ - 4.5 stars
72. An Unsuitable Attachment - Barbara Pym - UK - 4 stars
71. Books Do Furnish the Room - Anthony Powell - UK - 4.8 stars
70. The Signature of All Things - Elizabeth Gilbert - L - 4.8 stars
69. The Lowland - Jhumpa Lahiri - L - India - 3.7 stars
68. Let Him Go - Larry Watson - ER - 4.7 stars
67. Empire of the Summer Moon - S. C. Gwynne - NF - OTS - 4 stars
66. The Son - Phillipp Meyer - L - 4.3 stars
65. Crampton Hodnet - Barbara Pym - OTS - UK - 4 stars
64. Harvest - Jim Crace - L - UK - 3 stars
63. The Military Philosophers - Anthony Powell - UK - OTS - 4.4 stars
62. The Lieutenant - Kate Grenville - OTS - Australia - 4 stars
61. The Glass Room - Simon Mawer - OTS - Czechoslovakia - 4.6 stars
60. Miss Mapp - E. F. Benson - eBook - UK - 4 stars
59. How the Light Gets In - Louise Penny - L - Canada - 5 stars
58. Hellhound on his Trail - Hampton Sides - NF - OTS - 4.7 stars
57. A Few Green Leaves - Barbara Pym - UK - OTS - 4.4 stars
56. The Small House at Allingham - Anthony Trollope - UK - eBook - 4.4 stars
55. Night Film - Marisha Pessl - ER - 3.4 stars
54. The Soldier's Art - Anthony Powell - UK - 4.5 stars
53. Savage Continent: Europe in the Aftermath of World War II - Keith Lowe - eBook - NF - 4 stars
52. A Tale for the Time Being - Ruth Ozeki - L - Canada/Japan - 3.4 stars
51. The Twin - Gerbrand Bakker - Holland - OTS - 4.3 stars
50. The Sweet Dove Died - Barbara Pym - UK - OTS - 4 stars
49. The Valley of Bones - Anthony Powell - UK - 4.2 stars
48. One Was a Soldier - Julia Spencer-Fleming - L - 4 stars
47. The Long Ships - Frans Bengttson - Scandanavia - OTS - 4.4 stars
46. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks - Scotland - OTS - 2.5 stars
45. The Polysyllabic Spree - Nick Hornby - OTS - 4 stars
44. Quartet in Autumn - Barbara Pym - UK - OTS - NF - 5 stars
43. A Constellation of Vital Phenomena - Anthony Marra - L - Chechnya - 5 stars
42. I Capture the Castle - Dodie Smith - OTS - UK - 3.7 stars
41. The Kindly Ones - Anthony Powell - UK - OTS - 4.7 stars
40. No Fond Return of Love - Barbara Pym - L - UK - 4 stars
39. Framley Parsonage - Anthony Trollope - eBook - UK - 4.3 stars
38. Isaac's Storm - Erik Larson - NF - OTS - 4.2 stars
37. Queen Lucia - E. F. Benson - UK - eBook - 4 stars
36. And the Mountains Echoed - Khaled Hosseini - Afghanistan/France/U.S. - L - 4.6 stars
35. Cassanova's Chinese Restaurant - Anthony Powell - UK - 4.4 stars
34. A Glass of Blessings - Barbara Pym - UK - eBook - 4 stars
33. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay - Michael Chabon - OTS - 4.4 stars
32. Agent Zigzag - Ben Macintyre - NF - UK - OTS - 4.5 stars
31. Black Irish - Stephan Talty - L - 4.1 stars
30. Curse of the Narrows - Laura M. MacDonald - NF - Canada - 4.2 stars
29. Less Than Angels - Barbara Pym - UK - eBook - 3 stars
28. At Lady Molly's - Anthony Powell - UK - 3.5 stars
27. Life After Life - Kate Atkinson - L - UK - 5 stars
26. Wave - Sonali Deraniyagala - NF - L - Sri Lanka - 4 stars
25. The Dinner - Herman Koch - L - Holland - 3 stars
24. Alias Grace - Margaret Atwood - OTS - Canada - 4.5 stars
23. TransAtlantic - Colum McCann - Ireland - ER - 4.5 stars
22. Mary Coin - Marisa Silver - L - 3.5 stars
21. The Good Soldier - Ford Maddox Ford - eBook - 4 stars
20. The Acceptance World - Anthony Powell - OTS - UK - 4.2 stars
19. The Forger's Spell: A True Story of Vermeer, Nazis, and the Greatest Art Hoax of the Twentieth Century - Edward Dolnick - NF - OTS - Holland/Gremany - 4 stars
18. Jane and Prudence - Barbara Pym - UK - OTS - 4 stars
17. Revenge: Eleven Dark Tales - Yoko Ogawa - Japan - L - 3.8 stars
16. Doctor Thorne - Anthony Trollope - eBook - UK - 4.2 stars
15. Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk - Ben Fountain - eBook - 4 stars
14. How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia - Mohsin Hamid - ER - 4 stars
13. Geek Love - Katherine Dunn - OTS - 4.5 stars
12. The Lions of Al-Rassan - Guy Gavriel Guy - L - 4.5 stars
11. A Buyer's Market - Anthony Powell - 4 stars
10. Galore - Michael Crummey - Canada - OTS - 5 stars
9. Excellent Women - Barbara Pym - UK - OTS - 4.3 stars
8. The River of Doubt - Candice Millard - OTS - Brazil - 4.5 stars
7. Barchester Towers - Anthony Trollope - eBook - UK - 5 stars
6. The Things They Carried - Tim O'Brien - OTS - Viet Nam - 4.4 stars
5. The Line -- Olga Grushin - L - Russia - 4.4 stars
4. We Die Alone - David Howarth - NF - eBook - Norway - 3.8 stars
3. A Question of Upbringing - Anthony Powell - UK - 3.7 stars
2. The Burgess Boys - Elizabeth Strout - ER - 4.5 stars
1. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy- L - Russia - 4.9 stars

Currently Reading :



BOOKS THAT CAME INTO THE HOUSE THIS MONTH:

The Camomile Lawn by Mary Wesley - Kindle
Unnatural Death by Dorothy Sayers - Kindle
Lord Peter Views the Body by Dorothy Sayers - Kindle
The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy Sayers - Kindle
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed - Google Books
Quiet: the Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain - Google Books
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt - Kindle
Company Parade by Storm Jameson - PBS
No Fond Return of Love by Barbara Pym
A Land More Kind than Home by Wiley Cash - Kindle
Amsterdam: A History of the World's Most Liberal City by Russell Shorto - Kindle
Grain Brain by David Perlmutter - Kindle
Speedboat by Renata Adler - Amazon
Kristin Lavransdatter: The Wife - Sigrid Undset - PBS
The Orchardist - Amanda Coplin - Kindle
If on a Winter Night's Traveler - Italo Calvino - Kindle
The Good House - Ann Leary - Xmas Swap
The Clearing - Tim Gautreaux - Xmas Swap

MY BUDDY



Favorite Books of 2013:
Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Galore by Michael Crummey
Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
Let Him Go by Larry Watson
Hellhound on his Trail: Stalking of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the International Hunt for His Assassin by Hampton Sides
The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert
Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym
A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra
How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny

That's not meant to mean I won't add something that I read this month...

The famous'' Rosa Moss Bridges," Ireland . Just breathtaking. And unfortunately a photo-shopped picture of a bridge in Japan. It is quite beautiful though.

Wow! That's amazing!

Originally green in Japan:
http://sun-surfer.com/moss-covered-bridge-kyoto-japan-1925.html

>4 drneutron: Hi Jim! I thought it was just so beautiful but apparently a bit of a fake. LOL

>5 qebo: Well thanks for that Katherine. I did a little investigating and it looks like it's been photo-shopped. I will adjust the location but I love looking at it.

Hi Bonnie- Congrats on The Last Gasp! Love the Ireland photo. Have not heard of the Wes Davis book.

It looks almost photoshopped in green too, but it's probably just very well tended.

>7 msf59: Hi Mark. The Davis book was an ER choice and it is very good. In addition it's an introduction to Patrick Leigh Fermor whose travel books I have so I am either going to jump on the first one next or in January. Yippee I love one book leads to another:-)

>8 qebo: Oh yes, I'm sure of that. Japanese gardens are always carefully maintained:-)

Happy New Thread, Bonnie! As green is my favorite color, I thank Katherine for providing that look too!
I love it when one book leads to another too, and I really need to be led to PLF!

So I've been mining the Cyber Monday book sales and here's what my haul looks like:

From Amazon---

The Camomile Lawn by Mary Wesley
Unnatural Death by Dorothy Sayers
Lord Peter Views the Body by Dorothy Sayers
The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy Sayers

And from Google Books---

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed
Quiet: the Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain

Hi Peggy, green is your favorite color eh? And yes, isn't it great when one book leads to another??

Hi Bonnie - I've never read Julia Spencer-Fleming but am thinking of adding the series to my TBR after reading your enthusiastic endorsement of the last one. Are they all good?

Well Vivian, I know of several other people who read this series and we all like it. As with every series, some volumes are better than others but they've all been consistently good:-)

Mark can keep his beer. I'll take my books with a beverage more in line with this haha.

Kindle Alert

The Goldfinch is $2.99 today only. Soooo glad I didn't click the One Click last night...

Hi Bonnie... I just caught up on your last thread. Amazing reviews of The Luminaries and The Man Without a Face. I'm off to go give my thumbs up right now!

Hi Bonnie! Love that photo, Photoshop and all. So perfect a fantasy realm.

>17 TinaV95: Thanks Tina, I'm happy to see you, caught up or not:)

>18 richardderus: Oh yes Richard. Fantasy for sure:)

80.



The Ariadne Objective by Wes Davis 4.2 stars

I love the kind of books that take one small piece of an historic event and break it down so that people with very little knowledge about the subject can understand a bit of the larger concept. That’s just what Wes Davis did in his new book about the British operatives at work on the Greek Isle of Crete during the occupation by the Nazis during WWII. Volumes and volumes have been written about WWII and I’ve read some of them but this one, with its honing in on such a small aspect of the monumental event was very well done and a great read. Oh and it didn’t hurt that the story was centered on Patrick Leigh Fermor, who went on to become a celebrated British travel writer, and his role in the abduction of a German general from Crete and his transport to Cairo and a British prisoner of war camp.

It wasn’t the kind of book that had me madly turning pages because the work in these kinds of situations is methodical and sometimes slow. It was interesting how long it takes for the plan to develop and I had to wonder how they didn’t get discouraged with the hold-ups caused mostly by weather and the conditions in the Mediterranean. It was fascinating too, to see how the British operatives used the Cretan partisans who wanted desperately to free their country from Nazi occupation and risked everything to make it happen. Narrative non-fiction at its best.

Now I will happily continue Patrick Leigh Fermor’s story because I happen to own two of his travel memoirs and he seems like just the sort of guy I’d like to follow. Highly recommended.

*sigh* Et tu, Bonnae. Et tu.

*trudges off to Amazon to wishlist Ari-blinkin'-adne*

Geez, Bonnie! I'm on your new thread for only a few moments, and already you have hit me with a book bullet! How DO you do it?!

Happy new thread, dear. Please give my love to the very handsome Buddy.

>21 richardderus: Oh Richard, I just love when you speak Latin to me;-)

>22 Crazymamie: Oh Mamie, Buddy is happy to accept love from just about anyone. Sorry about the BB but what can I say? That's the name of the game around here.

Yup, you are just doing your job, Bonnie. And doing it well! Ya got me, too...and I don't even know who Patrick Leigh Fermor is. I suppose I'll be reading his travel books next. *sigh*

Hi Bonnie. Just wanted to let you know I was here. I never heard of Patrick Leigh Fermor before LT but he sounds intriguing.

>24 Donna828: Another one bites the dust haha. Well if all goes according to plan Donna, I will introduce you to Patrick Leigh Fermor later this month or in early January;-)

>25 phebj: Hi Pat, I never heard of Patrick Leigh Fermor before LT Yep, same here. But of course he's just one of many that I only know about because of LT. A blessing and a curse haha.

It's amazing how many books I've never read that I'm quite sure I have...here on LT, I was confronted with the Anthony Powell books, for an example...now WHO could have caused me to Kindle the entire 12-volume set...gosh...hmmmmm

>27 richardderus: I'm sure you can't be referring to moi??? **bats eyes innocently**

Tu, ma petite chou? Mais non!

*sharpens knives*

Why then I'd be forced to go all Hannibal Lecter!

(who genuinely terrifies me, on page or screen, and I mean BUT GOOD)

Bonnie, I LOVE How the Grinch Stole Christmas!!!!
You're a foul one, Mr. Grinch.
You're a nasty wasty skunk.
Your heart is full of unwashed socks.
Your soul is full of gunk,
Mr Grinch.

Oh, the book. Yes, I like that, too. :-)

Nice review of The Ariadne Objective!

HI, Bonnie! I'm just arriving at your great new thread.

From your last thread, the review of the new Spencer-Fleming book was great. I look forward to reading that one! It's one of the few series I manage to keep up with fairly well, and her slower writing pace helps.

>29 richardderus: (who genuinely terrifies me, on page or screen, and I mean BUT GOOD) Oh yes Richard, we are in total agreement on this.

>30 EBT1002: Thanks Terri, yes it took me very little time from when I started the series until I got completely caught up. But now I don't like the idea of waiting a couple of years to have the next volume in my hands.

Interesting... I had passed on The Ariadne Objective because I had read about it from time to time and most recently in "Paddy's" bio by Artemis Cooper.

When I first saw the dark pink pic, I immediately thought, wow, that looks like places I've seen in Japan. And hey, it turned out to be a place I have seen in Japan... :-)

Is it possible to read the Grinch any more and NOT automatically hear Boris Karloff's voice? The perfect televised version/narration.

Oh, happy new thread, Bonnie! Lost track of you for a couple of days and found 33 messages waiting!

Nice review of The Ariadne Objective; appreciate what you have to say about an author's talent to break down a small piece of history and render it understandable within its larger context. I'll happily add to the thumbs-up : ).

My course is finished, and it's December, so I can put my feet up now and start dropping little Christmas .gifs everywhere, hehe.

>33 Chatterbox: Hi Suzanne, I would think you would probably know everything that Davis covered already but for a Leigh Fermor newbie like myself it was a pretty terrific read. I'm probably one of the few people who don't think of Boris Karloff when I read the Grinch because of the numerous times I read the book to my children as well as my students.

>34 lit_chick: Thanks Nancy, I'm very happy that you can put your feet up and relax a little while at the same time spreading some Christmas cheer:-)

So I've been looking over the 2013 Best Books lists. There's this one from the NY Times. And this one from NPR. And this one from Kirkus Reviews.

And I've compiled my own list of books I plan on reading from these lists:

* I already own these.

Longbourn - Jo Baker
The Cuckoo's Calling - J.K. Rowling *
The Flamethrowers - Rachel Kushner
The Goldfinch - Donna Tartt *
Lawrence in Arabia - Scott Anderson *
The Interestings - Meg Wolitzer *
Book of Ages - Jill Lepore
Americanah - Chimamanda Ngozi
The War that Ended Peace: the Road to 1914 - Margaret MacMillan
The Valley of Amazement - Amy Tan
The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America - George Packer
We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves - Karen Joy Fowler
The Hired Man - Aminatta Forna
Five Days at Memorial - Sheri Fink *

Hmmm, that's pretty daunting but I have high hopes.

I'm tempted by Longbourn. A good friend recommended it which made me curious, especially since I haven't seen much buzz about it here on LT, at least not in the groups/threads I follow. Appearing on "best of" lists is a good sign.

Happy new thread, Bonnie! Green or Red the mossy photo looks amazing!
I could kick, kick, kick myself. I missed out on all the great Kindle deals for $2.99 last week 'cause I'm a cheapskate. I hope they'll be offering some as the days progress, but as yet nothing has come close to comparing.
You've compiled a great list of Best ofs......Enjoy!

Ariadne Objective does sound awfully good, Bonnie. I may have to dodge that particular book bullet because the length of my WL already circles the world twice.

>37 lauralkeet: I'm a-buzzin' about Longbourn, Laura, if that helps any. She has a wonderful concept and executes it beautifully.

>37 lauralkeet: These lists are almost as good a recommendation as those from my LT friends Laura. It was Joe's stellar review of Longbourn that first caught my eye.

>38 Carmenere: Thanks Lynda. Yeah those first Kindle deals were fairly astounding. I wouldn't be too surprised to see a few more unbelievable deals.

>39 jnwelch: Totally understand the teetering tower trepidation Joe. You can't blame me for trying though haha.

Key the old Roy Orbison song because it’s over baby, it’s over. Twelve volumes, four or five hundred characters, and over a million words. After a whole year of listening to our intrepid narrator Nick Jenkins tell us all about the lives of his friends and acquaintances, as far back as his childhood in the early 1900s through his school days and onto WWI and WWII and right up through the unsettled 60s. Characters have moved in and out of the spotlight for twelve months now and most of the characters we have come to know have, naturally, died over the course of Nick’s lifetime. I like the way Hilary Spurling put it in her book An Invitation to the Dance:

”It is not for nothing that Nicholas Jenkins takes his first name from that specialist in rhythm and design, Nicolas Poussin, whose painting provides both the title and the model for A Dance to the Music of Time. Time, in that painting, smiles a sinister smile as well he may be considering that in life and art he has the upper hand. In fiction, or at least in this particular fiction, Time is to the writer what space is to the painter. Time may be empty or so densely packed that the reader can barely take in more than a few sample details in a hectic corner of the canvas. Time may dawdle or work fast, stretching forward or doubling back to shift a perspective, change an angle, open up one vista, close another, superimpose a further twist on a design already loaded or tweak skew-whiff a whole connecting system of supports. It is Time who disposes of the characters, causing them to topple and collide, tangle, scatter and regroup in new and unexpected couplings.”

Nothing I have ever read can compare to this reading experience. Filled with references to classic literature and artists from across the world and through time the mind boggles when trying to understand how Powell constructed this series. And I’m sure much of it went right over my head but I might catch it when I reread it in a few years from now. I was out with some friends, former colleagues, the other night and the talk came around to books. How can I relate this reading experience to people who have never moved beyond murder mysteries? I don’t mean to sound snobbish, but really, they can never understand what this kind of a reading experience is.

The last volume did not present the kind of ending I was hoping for but I understand perfectly why Powell ended it in the way he did. The Dance was over. No one else was going to waltz into the spotlight. But boy oh boy, what a dance it was.

A Dance to the Music of Time Volumes 1-12 ---5 stars

That's a lovely and wistful summing-up of A Dance to the Music of Time, Bonnie. Five very bright stars for you, too!

Very nice summing up Bonnie. So glad you enjoyed the dance!!!

>39 jnwelch:: glad to see you buzzing Joe! LT recs are the most credible ones, IMO.

>42 richardderus: OH, OH stars for moi?? Thanks Richard.

>43 lauralkeet: Oh I loved the Dance Laura, no question about that. As a matter of fact, I'm going to really miss not snuggling up with Nick in January, er well not snuggling but you know what I mean:-)

>44 brenzi:: oh my :)

Bonnie, lovely summary of A Dance to the Music of Time. And a fabulous 5*!! Woot!

>41 brenzi:: Congratulations on finishing the Dance, Bonnie. I'm still doing a slow waltz through Book 11. I think I am in more of a struggle than a snuggle with your pal Nick! I like the book when I get into the rhythm of reading but it takes me forever to read one of the novellas because I keep putting it down in favor of other books. They are a little slow for me. ;-(

Wonderful summary, Bonnie. You've convinced me I need to take on this project some day. Ellie (mirrordrum) has pushed me on it, too. Although the length is daunting, I'm listening.

I still have to read the last volume, but it certainly has been quite an enjoyable experience reading this all year long. I found I enjoyed the books more when I allowed myself really long stretches of uninterrupted reading time. I have it so rarely that I think some of the volumes suffered in my experience, but oh well.

Nice wrap-up, Bonnie!

>45 lauralkeet: Well said Laura haha.

>46 lit_chick: Thank you Nancy. Woot is right:)

>47 Donna828: I understand what you're saying Donna. The new characters at the start of every novella (even the last one!) took some time to get to know. But I was always engaged and as the series progressed I really looked more and more forward to it as it went on. Struggle with Nick?? Say it ain't so.

>48 jnwelch: Thanks Joe, why not consider reading it the way we did: one novella per month over the course of the year? Not daunting at all, that way.

>49 katiekrug: Thanks Katie, I think you hit the nail on the head. I was able to read the books over long stretches and maybe that's why it resonated with me. It helps to be retired;-)

Congrats on finishing A Dance to the Music of Time. Sigh. Someday. I've been mulling over "best of" lists, too. Happy that others agree with me on some books: Americanah and The Interestings will definitely be on my top list of reading for the year.

Hope your weather improves soon. I'm really sick of the cold - the high was -4 degrees today, with a wicked west wind. Luckily, it is dry. We just have a dusting of snow.

Wow! Congrats. Now what's next? I'm sure you've got both a sense of accomplishment and a sense of loss.

Hi Bonnie! Nothing interesting to say, just greetings.

>51 BLBera: Thanks Beth. I have The Interestings keyed up to read in January and Americanah shortly thereafter. As far as the weather goes, well so far this is the worst December we've had in years. Record cold and record snow. Here's a shot out onto our deck:

Hi Bonnie- Sorry, I haven't been by in awhile. Bad Mark. I finished Night Film. I liked it and gave it 4 stars but it did flag in the last third. I loved Billy Lynn and will start Mrs. Somebody Somebody tomorrow. See, even if I don't come around, you are not far from my mind.
I had to put the Luminaries on the backburner, because of my ipad but it did free me up on reading a few others.

^OMG! you have that much snow?

>52 cammykitty: Hi Katie. I'm sure you've got both a sense of accomplishment and a sense of loss. Exactly. There was just sooooom much to that series that I know I will visiting Nick and company again. Next year I plan on tackling Paul Scott's Raj Quartet for starters.

>53 richardderus: Hi there Richard. Something went out in the mail today:)

>55 msf59: Hi Mark, ohhh you're ending 2013 the way I ended 2012---with Mrs. Somebody. Lucky you:-) I am reading The View from Castle Rock right now and it's very good but I seem to be having trouble concentrating. I think I'm excited about my son and his wife visiting in a couple weeks:)

Ooh, I hope you love Castle Rock as much as I did! Concentrate, concentrate!

Oh wow, Bonnie, that's a lot of snow!! Yikes!

I've had Castle Rock on my shelf and really need to get to it. I loved Mrs Somebody Somebody. Congrats on finishing A Dance to the Music of Time!

Good grief! I cannot believe the snow you've got already, Bonnie. That's is NUTS!

>58 msf59: I'm trying. I'm trying:-)

>59 Copperskye: Hi Joanne, Mrs. Somebody was a highlight of last year's reading for me. Yikes is right.

>60 lit_chick: Haha, nuts about sums it up Nancy. You know we've had several very mild winters recently and now it looks like we're getting some pay back. I don't remember having this much snow this early in the season in a long, long time.

Wow, and we've only had to shovel twice so far. Cold, yes, but you've win on the snow drifts front.

Now that is a lot of snow!! All the better to curl up inside and read a book. : ) Hi!

Congratulations on finishing A Dance to the Music of Time, Bonnie - what an achievement!! One day...

YIKES that is so much snow.

And I've just put The Ariadne Objective onto my WL because of the subject. I've been reading A Time of Gifts very slowly this year and am really enjoying it - lush writing about places I've been or been kind of near. (He's still in Germany at the moment).

What a great achievement, Bonnie! Kudos to you for finishing A Dance to the Music of Time!

*sits patiently by mailbox, snow piling up and up and...*

Sending warm thoughts and toasty happy wishes!

>62 cammykitty: Hmmmm, Katie--I'm not sure I want to be a winner on that front haha.

>63 Berly: Hi Kim, fancy meeting you around here LOL.

>64 cushlareads: Yikes pretty much sums it up Cushla. I'm really looking forward to A Time of Gifts next month. Glad to hear you're enjoying it.

>65 alcottacre: Thanks Stasia. I think taken in little bits, over the course of a year, it's pretty do-able and quite enjoyable.

>66 richardderus: There's a Christmas rush on right now, Richard. Patience may be required. Warm and toasty sounds mighty good.

As it turns out...no patience required! Arrived today. My thanks again, Bonnie!

Oh wow. That was pretty darn fast. Enjoy!

Holy Moly look at that snow!!!!! We're under a tornado watch here as it rains, thunders, and gets warmer.
Kudos for dancing through *Dance*! I've just started the last volume, and I'll miss Nick and Co. next year too, but *Raj Quartet* is my other favorite series, so I'm looking forward to 2014.
And thanks for the links to the "best of" lists. I didn't have the Kirkus Review one, and I wouldn't have thought to look for it.

Hi Bonnie. I've been complaining about the 3 inches of snow we got last Saturday that we can't get rid of because of sub-freezing temperatures. But I felt like a weather wimp when I saw the picture of the snow on your deck. I hope this turns out to be a fluke and the rest of your winter isn't too bad.

#41 Excellent summing up of Dance, Bonnie and congratulations on completing the series. That's quite an achievement.

#54 Oh my, that is a lot of snow!

#56 I'm hoping to tackle the Raj Quartet next year too :-)

>54 brenzi:: Okay, I'll be mum about our measly snow from now on! You win the snow prize, Bonnie. Lucky you!

Have I mentioned that I'll be reading the Raj Quartet with you next year? I've already read the first one and might watch the TV adaptation instead of rereading it. It was a memorable book and I look forward to seeing the story continue.

Happy Sunday to you. I hope you get some book time in!

Well done Bonnie in reading all of Powell's extended opus in 2013 and beautifully reviewed as always.

Love the lists of best books of 2013 already rearing their respective heads but find that they are not exactly helpful to whatever half-hearted aims I have of reining in the book-buying.

Have a lovely Sunday. I'm off to get a couple of hours sleep prior to leaving for Hanoi tomorrow morning.

>54 brenzi: Nice. This has already been a snowy "winter" so far (especially considering that the season doesn't officially begin until next week). Was that lake effect snow from Lake Eerie (misspelling intentional), or the effects of a bad storm?

If this keeps up I may have to rethink my plans to visit my friends in Madison, Wisconsin next month. It's currently snowing there again, and today's high temperature is supposed to reach 13 F (-10 C).

Still snowing.....it's been snowing since Tuesday, pretty much non-stop. I'd like to go out and stick a yard stick in the snow to show you all the approximately 4 feet of snow we now have but I can't muster up the energy. This was OK when my children were young and would love to go sledding and skiing but at this point in my life I'm fairly sick of it.

>70 LizzieD: I love looking at those end of the year lists Peggy. I like to see books that I've already read and that have managed to get themselves listed with other auspicious titles. Tornado?? I think I'd rather have the snow. I didn't think tornadoes occurred at this time of year but what do I know? Haha. And I am really looking forward to The Raj Quartet. You should go the the wiki over here and sign up.

>71 phebj: Hi Pat, we wouldn't bother cleaning the driveway for 3" LOL. I guess we got spoiled by the mild winters the past few years.

>72 souloftherose: Thanks Heather. I'm glad you will be reading The Raj Quartet too. Do you want to read it with the group? You should go the the wiki over here and sign up if you do.

>73 Donna828: Unfortunately, the snow distinction is one I'd rather fore go Donna. While my daughter is waxing her skis I am curling up with a good book and throwing another log on the fire. At least I don't have to drive through it like I did for many, many years during my working years. There's nothing like white knuckling it through a white-out to cure you of any romantic notions about snow. Oh goody it sounds like a bunch of us will be reading The Raj Quartet. You should go the the wiki over here and sign up. It starts in March.

>74 PaulCranswick: Thanks Paul, I would hate to see you rein in your book buying habits. It provides untold hours of entertainment tracking your purchases and the clandestine attempts to hide them from your lovely bride.

>75 kidzdoc: Hi Darryl, Was that lake effect snow from Lake Eerie (misspelling intentional), or the effects of a bad storm? Most of it was lake effect. Until Lake Erie is frozen over we suffer from any kind of storm system that moves across the lake, picks up moisture and then dumps it, literally, in our backyard LOL. Freezing over doesn't save us completely but it does help. In the Blizzard of '77, four feet of loose granular snow sat on top of a frozen Lake Erie when a mammoth storm came along and picked it up and drove it in a blinding blizzard across Western NY that shut things down for a week.

Oh, Bonnie! How I love your snow :-) Fortunately, we got a ton of it last night/today so I am not jealous. Love the brooding picture in #54. Good shot!

Congrats on finishing the *Dance*. Sounds like a huge undertaking.
Isn't retirement grand?
Will have to see how my March looks - I have wanted to read The Raj Quartet for awhile now.

Stay warm!

Hi Bonnie - just want to say thanks for your glowing recommendation of The Signature of All things. I am loving it, and would never have picked it up because of previous anti-Gilbert sentiment.
I'd also be interested in the Raj Quartet group read - I watched the Masterpiece Theater miniseries years ago but never read the books.
Glad to hear you're managing the snowfall. We're due for another few inches tomorrow. We have an exciting family trip - leaving next week for Peru- so wishing you all the best in advance for a wonderful Christmas and a very happy and healthy New Year.

>78 -Cee-: Hi Cee, I'm glad your jealousy could be tempered. If there was a way, I'd ship it all your way LOL. Reading Dance at the rate of one novella per month make the task much less daunting. Love to have you along for the Raj.

>79 vivians: Peru??? Can I stow away in one of your bags Vivian? I'm glad you're enjoying The Signature of All Things. I hope you do decide to join us when we read the Raj. Have a wonderful time on your family trip.

83.



The View from Castle Rock by Alice Munro 4.4 stars

I may be the luckiest person on earth. I've just discovered a writer, who is prolific, and whose writing is astoundingly beautiful and I now have her whole oeuvre to explore at my leisure. I'm looking at you Alice Munro. What a Christmas present I have given to, er, myself!

The most recent Nobel Laureate mined her family's history to come up with the linked stories contained in this collection. From the time her great-great-great-great grandfather stood on Edinburgh Castle Rock and heard his father tell him that on a clear day you could see America, we follow Alice's ancestors in 1818 as they cross the Atlantic to Canada and bear the hardships that other pioneer families before them have also borne. From there on she pivots to a first person narrative and tells of the life of a young girl as she grows into adulthood in the shadow of Lake Huron in northern Ontario. And towards the end of the book, as Alice is investigating cemeteries in Ontario, trying to hone in on family burial plots, the author tells us:

"It is difficult to make such requests in reference libraries because you will often be asked what it is, exactly, that you want to know, and what do you want to know it for? Sometimes, it is even necessary to write your reason down. If you are doing a paper, a study, you will of course have a good reason, but what if you are just interested? The best thing, probably, is to say you are probably doing a family history. Librarians are used to people doing that---particularly people who have gray hair---and it is generally thought to be a reasonable way of spending one's time. Just interested sounds apologetic, if not shifty, and makes you run the risk of being seen as an idler lounging around in the library, a person at loose ends, with no proper direction in life, nothing better to do." (Page 326)

It is through the most ordinary people that we come to know this writer of exceptional ability. And I am very lucky to have her whole oeuvre ahead of me. Very highly recommended.

What a wonderful and so-typical Munro quote! How cheering it is to read a new work by a past-master of the art of the story and see she hasn't lost a step.

Thanks, Bonnie!

Great review of Castle Rock, Bonnie! This one really blew me away too. I hope to read at least 1 or 2 of her collections next year.

Also, I really enjoyed Mrs. Somebody. Thanks for making that possible. What is up next for you?

Wonderful review of CR. I am glad you have discovered a new treasure trove of books to read!

I didn't realize this was your introduction to Munro, Bonnie. I read a couple others before reading Castle Rock, which I think might be my favorite.

Bonnie, what a wonderful endorsement of Alice Munro. I confess I've not read anything of hers. Think that will have to change.

eta: was browsing through old books last night; I read Lives of Girls and Women in uni and remember nothing about it. So much for furious reading ...

That's the best endorsement yet of Castle Rock, Bonnie. I'm getting convinced! Thumb from me.

>82 richardderus: You are very welcome Richard. I was a bit skeptical because reviews of Munro's work are somewhat mixed but she certainly works for me.

>83 msf59: Thanks Mark. I will probably read Runaway since I have it sitting on my shelf. I'm reading my last Barbara Pym novel of the year. I'm going to miss her next year too.

>84 Berly: Hi Kim, it's always good to have a bunch of books to add to the teetering tower. Or is it? LOL

>85 lauralkeet: I have no idea why I waited so long to read my first Munro Laura, but there you have it.

>86 lit_chick: Thanks Nancy. Haven't read much by Munro?? You do know she's your own Nobel Laureate, right? Haha. I don't remember much about what I read as a college student either.

>87 jnwelch: Thanks Joe. Ohhh getting convinced eh??

Oh Bonnie, I just finished Castle Rock today and felt the same way you do. A whole wealth of great reading is ahead of us. Thanks for writing such a good review that I can refer people to. You said everything I wanted to. ;-)

LOL, Bonnie, yep I'm aware that Munro is our won Nobel Laureate : ). Thanks for checking, though.

In deep gratitude for all the wonderful ideas about interesting books that you've so generously shared, Bonnie, and hopes for an even more interesting 2014:



Celebrate the return of the light with feasts, merriment, and gratitude for all the wonders of this wide green earth.

RMD

Oh my, that has to be the most moving post I've ever seen Richard. I really don't know what to say except thank you so much for being a very dear friend.

My honor and my pleasure.

I am really enjoying Richard's special little messages to all of his friends across the threads. Hit the nail on the head too with yours Bonnie, Queen of the Reviews.

Have a great weekend.

Bonnie - I just finished my first Munro collection too. I agree - she is a phenomenal writer. I'm excited to explore more!

>93 richardderus: :)

>94 PaulCranswick: Didn't know I had risen through the royal court to such a lofty position Paul LOL. Richard likes to act the curmudgeon but we all know what a sweetheart he is.

>95 porch_reader: Hi Amy, isn't it great to know we have soooo much to look forward to?

Morning, Bonnie, just dropping by with some Christmas thoughts : ).

SWEETHEART?!? That's horrible thing to say, take it back! I am the meanest old ill-tempered curmudgeon there is!! *grumble* sweetheart what nerve sweetheart indeed harrumph

>97 lit_chick: That tree is about the size of the very tree I'm staring at right here from my easy chair Nancy. We have the smallest tree we've ever had but at least it's still a real tree. This may be the last year for that too. I'm ready to make the plunge to artificial. Thank you for the Christmas thoughts.

>98 richardderus: I didn't mean to offend Richard, really I didn't. I know you have a certain persona that you try to uphold but every so often the REAL Richard comes through:-)

*sigh* don't noise it about, willya?

OK we've had three days of steady rain so guess what? What the Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away:



On the reading front, I am wallowing in the prose of my very last Pym for this year:(

>100 richardderus: Your secret's safe with me Richard haha.

Yah for the disappearing snow! And Go Bills! You must be having a fine day.

Wow, I've never seen so much snow Bonnie!!! I'm guessing you're quite glad for the rain, huh??

Here's hoping you have a break for a while!

Erudite but always approachable. Happy Christmas, Queen of Reviews. xx

Wishing you a merry Buffalo style Christmas, Bonnie!

Hi Bonnie,

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Bonnie. I can't believe all that snow is gone. I hope your holiday weather is peaceful.

Bonnie, have a great Christmas and new Year!

Best wishes to you, Bonnie! Here's some more snow to replace what the rain washed away.


glitter-graphics.com

What crazy fickle weather, Bonnie! The last time we saw your deck we couldn't see it, LOL! Merry Christmas, my friend.

Have a wonderful Christmas, Bonnie!

Hoping you have a wonderful Christmas, Bonnie!!

Hope you have a wonderful Christmas!!

Merry Christmas!!!

Alice Munro's books are a great prez to give to yourself, and should help you with "Dance" withdrawal symptoms. I may try again to read the "Raj Quartet" tomes -- I used to own them, but haven't seen them in a while. Bought them while living in Tokyo, but bogged down very early. Half a lifetime ago!!

What I like about Munro's prose is that it's elegantly simple. It's like a classic Chanel suit -- not fussy, but carefully thought out, impeccably cut & styled. The Nobel was a great reminder that CanLit is about more than Margaret Atwood and a handful of much buzzed-about Giller winners who may or may not live up to the buzz. Still, the whole area is so much richer than it was when I was a teenager. Munro was writing back then, and Margaret Laurence, and Farley Mowat and Timothy Findley was getting started. But it was relatively anaemic compared to what's on offer today.

I'm fairly sure that one of the books in the box from my mother that arrived Xmas Eve is Joseph Boyden's new novel... *Big Grin*

Merry Christmas, Bonnie! Hope you have a lovely day tomorrow.

Wishing you a day full of love and good cheer, Bonnie!

Merry Christmas, Bonnie!

Merry Christmas, Bonnie! Once again, I loved following along with you, during another reading year. You remain, one of my favorite LT pals.

Merry Christmas, Bonnie. Hoping that I can do a better job of keeping up with your thread in the New Year!

Wow! Thank you everyone for the Christmas wishes. It's been very hectic lately and I haven't had much LT OR reading time but I do appreciate your lovely posts Paul, Linda, Diana, Beth, Rhian, Terri, Nancy, Donna, Katherine, Tina, Chelle, Suzzane, Cushla, Cee, Katie, Mark and Mamie. I sure do appreciate your thoughtfulness and I'm going to try to hit a few more threads tonight now that things have calmed down.

Hope you've had a very Merry Christmas, Bonnie. I loved seeing your deck withOUT the snow. With the snow, it was scary!

Bonnie, a belated but heartfelt Happy Christmas to you! I'm glad you enjoyed The View From Castle Rock!

Thank you Pat and Ellen! It was extra wonderful because our son and his wife were in from North Carolina:)

84.



Civil to Strangers by Barbara Pym 4 stars

Barbara Pym wrote the short novel Civil to Strangers in 1936 when she was twenty-three years old, although it wasn’t published until after her death in 1980. Her wry, astute observations of a married couple’s problems reveals her early adroitness at analyzing the psychology of the female character which she later became so adept at. The novel fairly overflows with typical Pym characters but she also created something unseen in her other novels: the pompous, arrogant, impossible-to-please husband. Young marrieds Cassandra and Adam Marsh-Gibbon join the rest of their small community in being quite excited about the arrival of a new resident, a foreigner from Budapest, Hungary. Handsome, dashing Stefan Tilos is awestruck by the beautiful Cassandra and decides to ignore the fact that she is a married woman and tries to lure her into a romantic relationship. Adam, completely self-absorbed as he is, doesn’t mind or even notice the neighbor’s ministrations. Along the way, we are completely, safe within Pym territory with the expected Rector, a couple of spinsters, the wise older matron and more than one excellent women to keep things moving smoothly along. Things get problematical when Cassandra decides to take a vacation to Budapest on her own and an unexpected complication occurs.

The second half of the book contains bits and pieces of other novels, short stories and an interview that Barbara Pym did for the BBC which contains the only recorded information about how she felt about her work. I found this to be very interesting and a perfect end to my year of reading Pym. She spoke wistfully about the sixteen year period (beginning in the early 60s) when she couldn’t get any of her work published after successfully publishing six novels before this. She found herself in a literary wilderness but she continued writing until 1977 when Phillip Larkin wrote in The Times Literary Supplement that Pym was “an underrated writer” and shortly after that Quartet in Autumn was published and went on to be shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.

And so I bid farewell to Barbara Pym for this year anyway. But what a wonderful year of reading it was.

85.



The Colors of Infamy by Albert Cossery 4.8 stars

Albert Cossery died in 2008 at the age of 94 after living a life of ease afforded by inherited wealth. He was born in Egypt but lived in Paris since 1945 and wrote his novels in French. During his 60 year career he only wrote eight novels but I picture him slowly crafting each sentence to create the most astoundingly beautiful prose juxtaposed with the most biting satire, as is obvious in the following passage. This was my first book by Cossery but I will be lining up for more.

”Ossama was a thief; not a legitimate thief, such as a minister, banker, wheeler-dealer, speculator or real estate developer; he was a modest thief with a variable income, but one whose activities---no doubt because their return was limited---have, always and everywhere, been considered an affront to the moral rules by which the affluent live. Possessed of a practical intelligence that owed nothing to university professors, he had quickly come to learn that by dressing with the same elegance as the licensed robbers of the people, he could elude the mistrustful gaze of a police force that found every impoverished-looking individual automatically suspect.” (Page 8)

One day, while plying his trade among the wealthy businessmen of Cairo, Ossama lands a wallet containing a letter from a government official to a real estate developer concerning a recent tragedy that they both had colluded over and that resulted in the deaths of fifty unfortunate apartment dwellers. Ossama meets with a fellow thief to consult and they concoct a plan whereby Ossama’s future is forever secure.
But it’s not about the plot with Cossery. It’s all about the poetic language and the witty way in which he contrasts poverty and wealth, the powerful and the powerless. So between laughing out loud and sitting in stunned silence I made my way through this short but powerful book. His description of the teeming hordes in Cairo is another example of Cossery’s wonderful skill:

”Hordes of migrants had come from every province with preposterous illusions about that hive of activity, the prosperous capital, and they had latched on to the local population, forming an appallingly picturesque pack of urban nomads. In this riotous atmosphere, cars sped by, heedless of traffic lights, like machines without drivers, transforming any vague notion a pedestrian might harbor of crossing the street into an act of suicide. Along the neglected thoroughfares stood apartment buildings doomed to imminent collapse (the landlords had long banished from their minds any pride of ownership) and from balconies and terraces converted into makeshift lodgings flew the multihued rags of destitution like flags of victory.” (Page 6)

Luscious, isn’t it? And very highly recommended.

Good reviews, Bonnie. I just went to thumb them and saw Rebecca also liked The Colors of Infamy. I'll have to look for that one.

Both delightful reviews, Bonnie. You've read so much wonderful Pym this year : ). And The Colors of Infamy is not one I am at all familiar with, but based on your experience, that will have to change. Thumbs-up, my friend.

>128 phebj: Thanks Pat, I can't remember who mentioned The Colors of Infamy but if I were to guess I would say Suzanne.

>129 lit_chick: Thanks Nancy, I think you would enjoy Cossery's style in particular.

You've added two more to that infamous list, Bonnie. I finally acquired one of Barbara Pym's and am looking forward to seeing what all the fuss is about!

Oh dear, the pressure is on isn't it Linda? I hope you like it.

Come and visit me on my 2014 thread.