PAUL C WITH A CLEAN SLATE IN '22 - Part 4

Places from my Past

From 1991 to 1994 I lived in Derby having relocated for work (I was a Quantity Surveyor on the new Toyota car plant in Derby). Weekends I liked to get out of the town and my absolute favourite place was Castleton, with its Peveril Castle, Peak Cavern and the hills and roads to climb. Winnats Pass was a challenge especially into a head wind but boy was it pretty.

The Opening Words



I am currently reading The Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings which is the first part of the Belgariad. I do like fantasy epics although I have struggled with science fiction over the years and this one comes with glowing recommendations. Here is how the story proper begins.

The first thing the boy Garion remembered was the kitchen at Faldor's farm. For all the rest of his life he had a special warm feeling for kitchens and those peculiar sounds and smells that seemed somehow to combine into a bustling seriousness that had to do with love and food and comfort and security and, above all, home.

Interested?...........

BOOKS READ

JANUARY

1. American Dream? A Journey on Route 66 by Khor Shing Yin (2019) 160 pp (AAC) - GN
2. The Forward Book of Poetry 2022 by Various Poets (2021) 155 pp - Poetry
3. Absolution by Murder by Peter Tremayne (1994) 274 pp - Thriller/Mystery
4. Somewhere Towards the End by Diana Athill (2008) 183 pp - (NF Challenge) NF
5. My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk (1998) 671 pp - (Asian Book Challenge{ABC}) Fiction; 1001
6. The Thief and the Dogs by Naguib Mahfouz (1962) 158 pp - (World Books/Food) Fiction
7. The Children Who Stayed Behind by Bruce Carter (1958) 216 pp - (BAC) YA Fiction
8. Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (2021) 114 pp - Fiction
9. Homeland Elegies by Ayad Akhtar (2020) 343 pp - (ABC) - Fiction (?)
10. Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings (1982) 192 pp - SF/Fantasy
11. Days in the History of Silence by Merethe Lindstrom (2011) 230 pp - Fiction/Holocaust
12. The Optimist's Daughter by Eudora Welty (1972) 208 pp - Fiction; Pulitzer
13. My Two Worlds by Sergio Chejfec (2008) - 103 pp Fiction/Rebecca NYC reads
14. Hana's Suitcase by Karen Levine (2002) - 131 pp Non Fiction / Holocaust
15. Last Train to Istanbul by Ayse Kulin (2002) 384 pp Fiction / Asian Book Challenge
16. Up With the Larks by Tessa Hainsworth (2009) 278 pp Non Fiction
17. Cheryl's Destinies by Stephen Sexton (2021) 88 pp - Poetry

Currently reading

BOOKERS, PULITZERS, NOBEL WINNERS, 1001 BOOKS FIRST ED. & ETC

I have an ongoing challenge to read all the Booker Winners, all the Pulitzer Fiction Winners, something by each Nobel and all the 1001 Books First Ed Books. I will track my progress here:

BOOKERS READ BY DEC 31 2021 : 34 / 57
BOOKERS IN 2022

PULITZERS READ BY DEC 31 2021 : 19 / 94
PULITZERS IN 2022 : 1 (20 / 94)
The Optimist's Daughter by Eudora Welty

NOBEL LAUREATES READ BY DEC 31 2021 : 74 / 118
NOBEL WINNERS IN 2022

1001 BOOKS FIRST ED READ BY DEC 2021 : 319
1001 BOOKS IN 2022 1 (320)
My Name is Red

GUARDIAN 100 BOOKS READ BY DEC 2021 : 349
GUARDIAN BOOKS IN 2022 1 (350)
My Name is Red

WOMEN'S PRIZE WINNERS READ BY DEC 2021 : 7 / 26
WOMEN'S PRIZE WINNERS IN 2022

BRITISH AUTHOR CHALLENGE



January - YA - The Children Who Stayed Behind by Bruce Carter

AMERICAN AUTHOR CHALLENGE



January - Graphic Books - The American Dream? A Journey on Route 66 by Khor Shing Yin

ASIAN BOOK CHALLENGE 2022

Here is the link to the General Thread
https://www.librarything.com/topic/337731#n7692635

These will be the monthly jaunts for the ABC challenge.

JANUARY - Europe of Asia - Turkish Authors link to thread
https://www.librarything.com/topic/338244
1. My Name is Red
2. Last Train to Istanbul
FEBRUARY - The Holy Land - Israeli & Palestinian Authors
MARCH - The Arab World - Writers from the Arab world
APRIL - Persia - Iranian writers
MAY - The Stans - There are 7 states all in the same region all ending in "Stan"
JUNE - The Indian Sub-Continent - Essentially authors from India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh
JULY - The Asian Superpower - Chinese Authors
AUGUST - Nippon - Japanese Authors
SEPTEMBER - Kimchi - Korean Authors
OCTOBER - INDO CHINA PLUS - Authors from Indo-China and other countries neighbouring China
NOVEMBER - The Malay Archipelago - Malaysian, Singaporean and Indonesian Authors
DECEMBER - The Asian Diaspora - Ethnic Asian writers from elsewhere
1. Homeland Elegies by Ayad Akhtar

I was able just about to cover the whole of the continent and I didn't include one for Russia as most of the authors are decidedly European in their ethnicity and leaning.

AROUND THE WORLD IN BOOKS SINCE 2021

Around the world in books challenge. I want to see how many countries I can cover without limiting myself to a specific deadline. Continued from last year.


1. United Kingdom - The Ways of the World by Robert Goddard EUROPE
2. Ireland - The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde EUROPE
3. Lithuania - Selected and Last Poems by Czeslaw Milosz EUROPE
4. Netherlands - The Ditch by Herman Koch EUROPE
5. Armenia - The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian ASIA PACIFIC
6. Zimbabwe - This Mournable Body by Tsitsi Dangarembga AFRICA
7. United States - Averno by Louise Gluck AMERICA
8. Australia - Taller When Prone by Les Murray ASIA PACIFIC
9. France - Class Trip by Emmanuel Carrere EUROPE
10. Russia - The Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov EUROPE
11. Denmark - Fear and Trembling by Soren Kierkegaard EUROPE
12. Democratic Republic of Congo - Tram 83 by Fiston Mwanze Mujila AFRICA
13. Canada - I Heard the Owl Call My Name by Margaret Craven AMERICA
14. Italy - The Overnight Kidnapper by Andrea Camilleri EUROPE
15. New Zealand - Dove on the Waters by Maurice Shadbolt ASIA PACIFIC
16. India - A Burning by Megha Majumdar ASIA PACIFIC
17. Libya - The Return by Hisham Matar AFRICA
18. Pakistan - Moth Smoke by Mohsin Hamid ASIA PACIFIC
19. South Korea - Diary of a Murderer by Kim Young-Ha ASIA PACIFIC
20. Morocco - The Curious Case of Dassoukine's Trousers by Fouad Laroui AFRICA
21. Thailand - Arid Dreams by Duanwad Pimwana ASIA PACIFIC
22. Norway - Echoland by Per Petterson EUROPE
23. Belgium - I Choose to Live by Sabine Dardenne EUROPE
24. Sweden - Still Waters by Viveca Sten EUROPE
25. Trinidad - Half a Life by VS Naipaul AMERICAS
26. Sudan - Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih AFRICA
27. Uruguay - Springtime in a Broken Mirror by Mario Benedetti AMERICAS
28. Syria - My Country : A Syrian Memoir by Kassem Eid ASIA PACIFIC
29. Ghana - The God Child by Nana Oforiatta Ayim AFRICA
30. Austria - Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E Frankl EUROPE
31. Germany - Cat and Mouse by Gunter Grass EUROPE
32. South Africa - No Turning Back by Beverley Naidoo AFRICA
33. Mauritania - Arab Jazz by Karim Miske AFRICA
34. Cuba - The Kingdom of This World by Alejo Carpentier AMERICAS
35. Nigeria - Notes on Grief by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie AFRICA
36. Portugal - The Return by Dulce Maria Cardoso EUROPE
37. Japan - Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids by Kenzaburo Oe ASIA PACIFIC
38. Senegal - At Night All Blood is Black by David Diop AFRICA
39. Malta - The Hiding Place by Trezza Azzopardi EUROPE
40. Chile - A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende AMERICAS
41. Lebanon - The First Century After Beatrice by Amin Maalouf ASIA PACIFIC
42. Spain - The Watcher in the Shadows by Carlos Ruiz Zafon EUROPE
43. Somalia - The Fortune Men by Nadifa Mohamed AFRICA
44. Malaysia - Strangers on a Pier by Tash Aw ASIA PACIFIC
45. Mexico - Sudden Death by Alvaro Enrigue AMERICAS
46. Latvia - The Hedgehog and the Fox by Isaian Berlin EUROPE
47. Malawi - Wolf Brother by Michelle Paver AFRICA
48. Turkey - My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk ASIA PACIFIC
49. Egypt - The Thief and the Dogs by Naguib Mahfouz AFRICA
50. Argentina - My Two Worlds by Sergio Chejfec - AMERICAS


Create Your Own Visited Countries Map

Bought and read in 2022

1. Appaloosa by Robert Parker
2. The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare.
3. Without a Claim by Grace Schulman
4. Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots
5. Unsettled Ground by Claire Fuller
6. There, There by Tommy Orange
7. Intimacies by Katie Kitamura
8. Last Train to Istanbul by Ayse Kulin READ JAN 22
9. Another Now by Yanis Varoufakis
10. A Separation by Katie Kitamura
11. Travelling in a Strange Land by David Park
12. Free Food for Millionaires by Lee Min Jee
13. Norwegian by Night by Derek B. Miller
14. The Lady from Tel Aviv by Rabai Al-Madhoun
15. Run Me to Earth by Paul Yoon
16. Manchester Happened by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi
17. The Others by Sarah Blau
18. The Order of the Day by Eric Vuillard
19. Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay
20. King Cnut by W.B. Bartlett
21. Dear Future Boyfriend by Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz
22. Ottoman Odyssey by Alev Scott
23. Has the West Lost It? by Kishore Mahbubani
24. A Kind of Intimacy by Jenn Ashworth
25. A Children's Bible by Lydia Millet
26. Blanche on the Lam by Barbara Neely
27. Days in the History of Silence by Merethe Lindstrom Open Library Loan READ JAN 22
28. My Two Worlds by Sergio Chejfec (Open Library Loan) READ JAN 22
29. Hana's Suitcase by Karen Levine (Open Library Loan) READ JAN 22
30. Benjamin's Crossing by Jay Parini
31. Outlawed by Anna North

ADDED : 31
READ : 4
BALANCE : 27

BOOKS BOUGHT IN 2021 365
READ IN 2021 : 35
READ IN 2022 : 7
BALANCE OF 2021 ADDITIONS : 323

BOOKS BOUGHT IN 2020 BALANCE AT 1/1/22 = 212
READ IN 2022 : 1
BALANCE IS : 211

BOOK STATS

Books read : 17
Books added : 31

Days per book : 1.24
Projected total : 294
LT yearly best : 157

Pages read (completed books) : 3,888
Daily average : 185.14
Projected total : 67,577

Longest Book : 671 pages
Shortest Book : 88 pages
Average Book Length : 228.71

Gender
Male : 8
Female : 8
Various : 1

Genre :
Graphic Books : 1
Poetry : 2
Thriller/Mystery : 1
Non Fiction : 3
Fiction : 8
SF/Fantasy : 1

Origin :
USA : 4
UK : 5
Turkey : 2
Egypt : 1
Ireland : 1
Norway : 1
Argentina : 1
Canada : 1
Various : 1

Challenges :
British Author Challenge : 1
American Author Challenge : 1
Non-Fiction Challenge : 1
Asian Book Challenge : 3
1001 Books First Edition : 1
Guardian 1000 Books : 1
Around the World Books : 2
Holocaust Reading : 2
Pulitzer Winners : 1
Rebecca NYC Reads : 1

Next is yours

Happy new thread!

I didn't realize that Derby could be so dramatic!

Happy new thread! I'll look forward to your comments on Last Train to Istanbul.

Happy new thread, Paul! >1 PaulCranswick: looks like a really striking place to ramble.

>1 PaulCranswick: Gorgeous photo. Would like to teletransport!

>13 quondame: Thanks Susan. Derby itself is an OK city but its surroundings are special. Lovely villages and impressive landscapes once you get into the Peak District between Derby and Sheffield. It is where Hani wants to settle - a little closer to Sheffield perhaps than Derby and I have little objection to that.

>14 cbl_tn: Thank you Carrie.

I hope to finish it shortly and - like you - am enjoying how the narrative keeps sort of ratcheting up. Good old yarn.

>15 bell7: It does get quite a few hikers and ramblers too, Mark. It also has some of the deepest and most interesting caves in England if you like exploring that sort of thing (which I'm not particularly being a bit claustrophobic) with Blue John and Jet being stones of local interest.

>16 mdoris: Wait for summer, Mary! It would be very cold and exposed out there right now.

4th thread already? At this rate, you'll have at least 8 threads per month, but you shouldn't just aim for 96 threads. Go for 100! LOL

Happy new thread!

>20 thornton37814: Thanks Lori.

Of course it will slow down. The best ever number of threads in a year was 37. It has been done by both Amber and myself in different years. I doubt whether we will reach those numbers again - I usually run out of puff like the wheezy boy left behind in the school playground but one can hope my breath lasts out a bit longer. x

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread, Paul!

Happy new thread Paul.

Looking forward to following your journey with The Belgariad series.

>22 amanda4242: Thank you dear Amanda.

>23 figsfromthistle: Thanks Anita. I was just over at your thread extolling the virtues of my parents. x

>24 fairywings: I have gotten into Pawn of Prophecy and it is certain to get finished Sunday.

Always great to see you here, Adrienne.

happy new thread, Paul!

Happy New Thread, Paul! Joining you with the Belgariiad.

>27 banjo123: Thank you dear Rhonda.

>28 ronincats: Thanks Roni. I look forward to your insight on the book. I am but a novice in the fantasy genre, thinking mistakenly that it started and ended with Tolkien. I have enjoyed Feist and now Eddings awaits. x

Happy new thread, Paul! I feel like I just said that yesterday, but here we are again:) Hope you're enjoying the weekend.

Happy new thread! That is a striking photo at the top.

Nice surprise I have my two favourite Annes visit one after the other!

>30 AMQS: Weekend is good so far, thanks Anne. Had a nice meal with Belle to celebrate her birthday and it is books, coffee and LT this Sunday.

>31 AnneDC: Thank you Anne. Castleton is one of my absolute favourite places. I first went there with a school visit and have never forgotten its rather desolate beauty.

>2 PaulCranswick: Part of what I appreciate about Pawn of Prophecy is that from the beginning of the book, we can see the relationship of Garion with his aunt and the friends around him. He is loved and he knows it from the outset. In so many of the quest stories that I have read, the main figure is an outcast or has no one.

Hope that Kyran is doing OK with the COVID situation and that Belle had a wonderful birthday!

>33 alcottacre: Yeah it has some echoes of The Fellowship of the Ring with the aged guide and the collective providing a protective shield around our hero. I am enjoying it.

Kyran is doing well and Belly had as good a birthday as she could only having her dad and Erni for company.

>34 PaulCranswick: Oh, yes, the echoes of The Fellowship of the Ring are definitely there!

Glad to hear that Kyran and Belle are doing well.

>35 alcottacre: Yasmyne is the next one to think about and she will go to her mother after watching her boyfriend graduate from university in Denmark. Thereafter to me and Belle.

>36 PaulCranswick: Well, if nothing else, your children are certainly well-traveled! I do hope Yasmyne has safe journeys.

>37 alcottacre: Thanks Stasia.
I think Yasmyne has already done almost as many countries as I have.

Happy new thread! And glad to hear the family is doing well.

>2 PaulCranswick: Good luck with your latest fantasy/sci-fi read. : )

Happy new thread, Paul!

I hope to join the Belgariad read, when I get Pawn of Prophecy from the library.

So far the only book you and I have common in your 2022 thread is My Name is Red, although I read it years ago. I don't know how you read at such a blistering pace. You've finished 9 books already to my 3.

>39 Berly: So far sc-fi so good, Kimmers! Lovely to see you as always.

>40 FAMeulstee: Thanks Anita. It will be great to have you along and at least we are sure that you'll be able to catch up!

>41 AuntieClio: But sadly Stephanie I finished the first 8 in the first 8 days and hit a wall thereafter. My reading today is a bit better though.
2022 is good so far and you have helped make it better for me by coming back to the group.

>44 ZacharyBond: Well I have heard of James Bond or Basildon Bond or even Brooke Bond but Zachary Bond is a new one to me, any relation?

Had good news today when Erni checked the mail. Nancy's final secret Santa book has arrived. What a nice pick-up for Sunday.

26. Blanche on the Lam by Barbara Neely

Very happy with, Nancy's picks because they were all impossible to find here and had been on my wishlist for a good old time.

I really enjoyed Ron's selections for the best albums from 1972.

The Eagles - The Eagles - Did any group's career start with a stronger opening track. Take it Easy is the sound of a group that had been around for ages. Great stuff.

Wishbone Ash - Argus. I can see why this was voted album of the year by Sounds magazine. Those guitars! Standout track is difficult but I would probably go for Leaf and Stream. Virtuoso playing.

Stephen Stills - Manassass. Still and friends made an incredible record that is an extended jam that still has discernible songs. My favourite? Colorado.

Cat Stevens - Catch Bull at Four. I am a fan of the chap who is now Yusuf Islam and, whilst this is not my favourite from his canon, I love some of the tracks, especially Can't Keep it In.

Steely Dan - Can't Buy a Thrill. The Eagles didn't have the best debut album of the year. Steely Dan's first outing is sophisticated brilliance without a bad track. I love Kings which I hadn't heard for a while but my favourite is Only a Fool Would Say That.

Blue Cheer - Oh Pleasant Hope. Technically from 1971 but what a revelation! From the wonderful opening track Hiway Man onwards this is tremendous rocking stuff.

Thanks Ron. Anybody else have favourite albums from 1972?

Are Canadian artists allowed? I also like to add the album by Neil Young: Harvest. Perhaps not everyones cuppa though.

>48 figsfromthistle: Of course Anita! Just as valid as anywhere else.

I love Harvest and it is definitely one of Neil Young's best and most commercial outings. Played it to death last weekend. x

Australia is the centre of attention today.

Firstly their cricket team have annihilated England to win the first ever Ashes test in Hobart and take the series 4-0. To be fair the pitch did look a bit tough to play on and there were a couple of unplayable deliveries - especially to Joe Root - but boy were we stuffed.

Secondly and more importantly Novak Djokovic has just flown out of Australia having lost his appeal against deportation. It also effectively means that he cannot enter Australia for three years and will probably not add to his Australian Open titles.

I do think that the rules should not have been waived for him but - gosh - Australia handled this badly. Djokovic seemingly admitted to false declarations on his entry forms and that provided the excuse to eject him but there is an element of it looking a bit vindictive having lost the first appeal.

Until the world settles down this is the new norm. I couldn't travel to see my mum laid to rest and I don't see why Djokovic should get a pass, just because he has big bucks, for a few games of tennis. When the world is comfortable with relying on anti-virals it may be a different story but surely it is right that, if a country sets rules, it must apply them. I do think though that if someone is able to demonstrate that they have had the disease already then they could be let off but those are not currently the rules in Australia as everybody knows.

Just swinning by to say Happy Thingaversary. Mine was yesterday also but I did not double the number of books I had to buy. Space is far to tight.

I could not pick a favorite music or film year, I like far to many of both..

>51 BBGirl55: Nice to 'see' you, Bryony.

It is difficult to choose favourite times for books or music or film isn't it? I think that the problem for most of us is that what we choose on Monday has already changed by Wednesday and that gets superseded on Friday!

Greetings! I've read The Belgariad. I enjoyed it.

Hi Paul! You have me half convinced to try the Belgariad. If I can find the time, but you are making a good case for it.

Happy Thingaversary! And wishing you good reading with Nancy’s gift.

I don’t think 1972 would be my favorite year for music. I wasn’t into albums then, I spent all summer listening to the radio, because we worked all summer. Singles of course. Some I couldn’t hear any more after some time, others I still like. This one for instance: https://youtu.be/EFbdaSublyg (Temptations, Papa was a rolling stone). Music brings back memories, doesn't it?

Happy New Thread, Paul! Happy Thingaversary! And keep on truckin' with that weight loss.

>47 PaulCranswick: Since you asked, without question my favorite album of 1972 in 1972 was Meet the Brady Bunch. I was seven and in second grade when it was released, and The Brady Bunch was my favorite TV show. The Brady Kids came to Knoxville on tour and my father took my brother and me to see them. The things fathers will do for their children!

I think I may still have this album somewhere, unless I got rid of it in the last move.

>53 Kristelh: I am almost done with book 1 - The Pawn of Prophecy and I am really enjoying it and the characters it has introduced.

>54 EllaTim: You should read it, Ella. I'm sure that you would love it.

The Temptations were a great band weren't they? Singles were also my first introduction to music too via the radio and particularly to the BBC Top Forty that I used to listen to every Sunday and Top of the Pops.

1972 was a great year for singles including:

All the Young Dudes - Mott the Hoople
Alone Again Naturally - Gilbert O'Sullivan
American Pie - Don McLean
Blockbuster - Sweet
Changes - David Bowie
Heart of Gold - Neil Young
I am Woman - Helen Reddy
I Can See Clearly Now - Johnny Nash (my mum's favourite song)
Lean on Me - Bill Withers
Let's Stay Together - Al Green
Mama We're All Crazee Now - Slade
My Ding-a-Ling - Chuck Berry
Rocket Man - Elton John
School's Out - Alice Cooper
Superstition - Stevie Wonder
Telegram Sam - T Rex
Where is the Love? - Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway
Without You - Harry Nilsson
You Wear it Well - Rod Stewart
You're So Vain - Carly Simon

>55 msf59: Thanks Mark. I do always try to keep on keeping on.

>56 cbl_tn: Memories, memories, Carrie. I am off now to see if I can find the album,

It was the era also of the Partridge Family and the Osmonds wasn't it?!

ETA
We'll Always Be Friends - perhaps it should be the 75ers theme song?!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIqZiAhRyMU



Nicer times than now, surely?

Some good singles there.

>58 PaulCranswick: my Mum can talk for hours about the Osmonds.

>58 PaulCranswick: I thought so Adrienne and it was just a quick representative top 20! Changes and Starman by Bowie were both in the charts in '72 but I still can't pick a favourite between the two songs.

>60 BBGirl55: I almost included their single Crazy Horses up there as I loved it when I was six years old - the year it came out. x

Happy new one, Paul! I love the topper pic - looks like a beautiful place.

I’m glad you’re enjoying the Belgariad. It’s a favorite of mine, one I reread every so often.

>62 PaulCranswick: That song is in my top 5 songs that remind me for my Mother. I like my Mum show a very eclectic taste when it comes to music and it is probobly where my love for music comes from.

>58 PaulCranswick: >62 PaulCranswick: Oh yes, Crazy Horses! My favorite, though, was Yo-Yo from the Osmond's Phase III album, which was also a 1972 favorite. My next door neighbor had that one, and I spent hours at her house listening to it. I knew every word to every song on the album.

I also loved, loved, loved Michael Jackson's Rockin' Robin in 1972. And David Cassidy's Cherish (single), which was released in 1971 before his album was realeased in 1972.

Fun fact. The Osmonds are my 5th cousins once removed. They don't know me from Adam, of course, since our common ancestors died 200 years ago!

Hi Paul! Happy new thread.

From your last thread, that’s a very sweet pic of Belle with you and Hani at msg 236.

>50 PaulCranswick: I’ve been following the Djokovic drama with interest and am also glad the rules were not waived for him. His anti-vax stance is incomprehensible to me. Lying to get into the country is unconscionable. I did not realize he's banned from Australia for 3 years. He's almost 35 now, and that may have been his last good chance.

>57 PaulCranswick: I can sing along with 12 of those songs. Just think of all the brain cells I’ve still got tied up with song lyrics after 50 years!

>63 drneutron: Thanks Jim. Castleton is a special place.

Just finished Pawn of Prophecy and I am a convert.

>64 BBGirl55: Im not so sure professing a like for Crazy Horses necessarily gives us an eclectic taste in music, Bryony, but I'll take it!

>65 cbl_tn: Carrie you are a dark horse!

Just like a Yo-Yo indeed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlA-z0du1Pg

Not sure that it has aged as well as some of its contemporaries.

>66 karenmarie: Thank you Karen - I do like that photo of Hani, Belle and I.

Nobody comes out of the Djokovic mess looking too good to be honest. I don't know his reasons for being against the jab but persons in his position have an example to set and he chose the one that set him on this course. I may have had sympathy for him had his argument been that having already having contracted the virus he had some form of immunity (unproven but arguable perhaps - if the jab doesn't provide immunisation because of the differing strains then having the virus will not stop you getting another strain surely?) but that doesn't seem to have been his position at all as he has only just caught COVID and long refused the jab. Then his quite egregious behaviour in making false declarations on his entry forms capped it all.

Australia handling this badly as he should not have been allowed to fly in the first place but the decision to prevent him from playing is, in my view, the right one. If no one is above the law that surely includes tennis players, albeit indisputably great ones.

I can hear the tunes of all twenty songs in my brain and it could prevent sleep. x

>68 PaulCranswick: Just like a Yo-Yo indeed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlA-z0du1Pg

Not sure that it has aged as well as some of its contemporaries.

The audience looks bored out of its mind.

>69 ursula: Hahaha it was never really my thing either in truth. Actually I hadn't noticed the audience before - very strange because they are not even facing the stage.

>47 PaulCranswick: Success! My work here is done. I agree that isn't the best Cat Stevens album.

>I don't think that your work will ever be done O' Music Master!

Tea for the Tillerman is my favourite Cat Stevens album, Ron

Book #10



Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings
Date of Publication : 1982
Origin of Author : USA
Pages : 192 pp

The Belgariad Book 1 Group Read

I'm not suddenly going to profess to being an expert on the genre. It does seem to me however that when fantasy fiction works it involves good versus evil, the weak resisting the strong and a quest.

Good fantasy has all these things. This is good fantasy. This has these in spades. Garion the kitchen boy is more than he seems and I am sure that this is going to be revealed as the series develops although it is fairly clear to the reader already.

Thanks for the encouragement given to me to read this and I will look forward to the next episode.

>47 PaulCranswick: All this talk of music is taking me back - I was in college from 67-71 and am still convinced that that was the best music, from Simon & Garfunkel to The Who on a bed of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. Still I've never lost my love for what was played as I was growing up - Kingston Trio, Harry Belafonte, Tom Lehrer, scores to ballets and musicals and lots of Gilbert and Sullivan on 48s that had to be changed frequently.
I didn't pick up a strong fondness for serious opera or symphonic music that was the other strong sound track of those years.

>74 quondame: Simon & Garfunkel's Greatest Hits was one of the earliest vinyl CDs I bought with my pocket money - brilliant. The British bands of the sixties were obviously always being played in our home or on the radio but my mum also liked The Everly Brothers, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash and James Last and these got plenty of airtime too.

Tom Dooley was a song I grew up singing at home and my mum also like Harry Belafonte.

I am with you on not being much of an opera buff but certain arias can catch me if I'm in the right mood.

>73 PaulCranswick: I should try and fit that in. I have plans to work on some fantasy this year and other books saying me me me, but I like that it worked for you. I regret not having read it long ago.

Happy Thingaversary!! Love all the music talk; I may have to play some tunes now. No sympathy for Djokovic and I think it was handled badly on both sides. Happy Sunday reading! : )

>75 PaulCranswick: i grew up loving harry belafonte since my parents were big fans and it rubbed off. I took my mother-in-law to see him for her birthday in 1995 on one of his last major tours and it was a wonderful experience. I have 6 or 7 of his lps and cds so i count myself as a fan.

Happy new thread, Paul, and congratulations on the weight loss. When my thingaversary rolls around next month I'm not going by the new 2 books per year rule that Richard dreamed up. Strangely, I haven't yet bought one book towards my goal of 15. I think it is all the piles of books threatening to take over.

>76 RBeffa: It is very immersive, Ron. After the horrible prologue the rest of it is pure fun.

>77 Berly: Thanks Kimmers. My Sunday is alas long gone and I am getting ready for work. :{
Enjoy listening.

>78 RBeffa: Isn't it funny how varied most of our musical likes are, Ron? If my put my Spotify playlists on random, there is really no way of telling what the heck will come up.

>79 Familyhistorian: Thanks, Meg. In fairness, I do think Richard had me in mind for his new 'rule' as he knows well that I wouldn't be able to resist!

>41 AuntieClio: You've both got me beat. I've somehow managed to only finish one in 2022 so far. At this rate I'm barely on track for 25 books this year. (OTOH, my next one is 500 pages of economic history, almost finished. But it still feels weird to have so few, this late in January.)

Edited to correct 60 to 25

>50 PaulCranswick: Yay re Djokovic. I do not appreciate rules being applied to some but not others.

>82 ArlieS: 500 pages of economic history is probably worth 4 or 5 books really, Arlie.

I am not in favour of mandates but I think the Djokovic case is about a different thing entirely as you say. It is about the application of rules without fear or favour. No mandates doesn't mean no consequences.

>61 PaulCranswick: Bowie is one of my all time favourites, those two songs are high on my list.

>73 PaulCranswick: I'm so glad you liked it. To me it's the kind of series that sucks you in, yes you might guess the punch line, but the story line keeps you invested.

I'm going to say it's controversial about Djokovic to say the least, but I feel Tennis Australia is at fault. They should never have given him the exemption considering it so clearly does not meet the border requirements. If they as a governing body did not know that then they are sorely under informed and should not be putting the tournament together.

All in all it's pretty simple though, if you want to enter another country, no matter which country, you need to make sure you meet their entry requirements and don't just expect to be allowed in.

Hi Paul, you have me interested in the Belgariad series now, but it might have to wait until I get several of my chosen Read Around the World books read.
My older sister was a Cat Stevens fan way back when, and her listening rubbed off on me as well. Somehow I ended up with all the vinyl albums we had of his, after we both moved away from our childhood home. I like the simple artwork. I will also admit I watched The Brady Bunch and had crushes in my youth on David Cassidy and Danny B., the red headed little brother! (Partridge Family)!! I still have that vinyl album as well.
Happy Reading!

Oh, the Belgariad...what a reminder of my 1980s. Enjoy the ride, PC.

>84 fairywings: That era of Bowie was fabulous 1971-73 With Hunky Dory, Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane.

It does indeed suck you in, Adrienne - I am well and truly sucked!

Agree with your comments completely on the Djokovic matter - that is exactly the point. It isn't a jab or no jab issue, it is an issue of following a sovereign nations rules on entry requirements.

>85 kaida46: Lovely to see you here and especially to accompany me on a walk down memory lane. I remember The Partridge Family more than The Brady Bunch but David Essex was about to become most young teenage girls' heartthrobs and most of us young guys wanted to be him!

>86 richardderus: Thank you, RD. It is a pleasant journey looking for that stolen orb.

Just a new thread check in - and belated birthday to Belle. Cass is 14 next week and I'm wholly unprepared.

>1 PaulCranswick: Hubby's family are all from Derby area originally, though now living in Dorset. I only went up once to meet his Gran and don't remember much about it. Definitely didn't get to see anything like that! I'd love to take hubby hiking in the Peaks one of these days (read when the kids have left home).

>89 BekkaJo: When I come back to the UK, I will probably be based in that area so Hani and I will be able to invite you both up at some stage.

14 - my goodness!

Public holiday again in Malaysia on Tuesday so hopefully I will catch up with some reading and finish some of the books pending.

Other good news :

1 Kyran is clear of COVID - he tested negative this morning.

2 Belle and Chief Inspector Erni managed to hunt down her IPad and she bought it this morning. The $600 I gave her for the purpose was burning a hole in her pockets - even for one as notoriously frugal as she.

So glad to hear the good news about Kyran!

Oooh, and iPad for Belle, huh? I considered an iPad mini as a tablet before I sprung for the Kindle, and the deciding factor was the one-star reviews mostly referenced how easily the screen is cracked. Knowing I would drop it frequently (I can be a bit klutzy), I went for a hardier tablet instead.

>92 bell7: According to him, Mary, he always felt fine but I am not sure how much of that was just for my consumption as he knew I would worry otherwise.

Belle had set her heart on a particular device and as is her wont she made sure she got what she wanted! Even saw her smile yesterday!

Good news about Kyran. His course was short? Anyway, great news. Glad he is feeling better and happy for Belle, too.

>94 Kristelh: From what I gather he tested positive for COVID a week or so ago - isolated - retested again this morning and got the all clear. His friend in his house now is positive though and similarly is not particularly feeling unwell.

Happy new thread Paul.

>96 johnsimpson: Thanks John.
What do you think of Joe Root believing himself to be the right man to lead England forward or that he gives full backing to Chris Silverwood?
How many times does he have to lead us to ignominy and then regale us with meaningless platitudes?
Will Rhodes to captain the side in the West Indies. Give most of the side that embarrassed us a break and nail the lie that there are no decent players left in the CC.
A squad from those who didn't tour Australia?

Rhodes, Libby, Haines, Bohannon, Livingstone, Carlson, Lees, Higgins, Foakes, Davies, Parkinson, Virdi, Garton, Tongue, Mahmood, Carse

Wouldn't that teach the underperforming test team a lesson.

First test : Libby, Haines, Rhodes (C), Livingstone, Bohannon, Carlson, Foakes, Garton, Carse, Mahmood, Parkinson

Hani is back today in my village of South Hiendley and on the drive into the village thinking about my mum with whom she spent so much time these last few years.

>38 PaulCranswick: Happy New Thread Paul.
How many countries have you been to?

>99 hredwards: Thank you Harold.

Let me see UK, Ireland, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Poland, Russia, USA, Morocco, Egypt, Ghana, Sao Tome & Principe, UAE, Bahrain, India, China, South Korea, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia and New Zealand.

So 28, I think.

I won't count Gibraltar separately as it is technically part of the UK.

Wow. I've never been outside the USA.

We’re big iPad users - glad Belle is enjoying hers!

I can't keep up, Paul, but happy new thread!

>93 PaulCranswick: I hope I didn't sound like I was dissing her choice, I'm very glad she was happy!

>98 PaulCranswick: Gorgeous

>101 hredwards: No Harold, but the USA is a jolly big place too isn't it?

>102 drneutron: I also swear by my (now keyboardly tired) MacBook Air, Jim.

>103 curioussquared: Thank you, Natalie. Always lovely to see you here and it doesn't matter too much about the keeping up, I'm constantly holding onto my hat, too!

>104 bell7: No I didn't get any dissing, Mary - she is as thick-skinned as a mountain-goat though so it wouldn't have penetrated her hide. What Belle wants, Belle normally gets, especially with this soft touch in charge of the purse strings.

>91 PaulCranswick: Yay re Kyran testing free of covid

Happy news re: Kyran's COVIDlessness, long may it last; why ever spend...ya know, never mind, good on Belle for getting her desired device!

...after all, he reads Chuckles the Dick, there was no hope anyway...

>107 ArlieS: Thanks Arlie. He must be feeling better because he reminded me that the next tranche of his University fees are due!

>108 richardderus: Sentimental dolts like yours truly will always be easily manipulated and gladly so, RD, by their youngest offspring.

BOOK #11



Days in the History of Silence by Merethe Lindstrom
Date of Publication : 2011
Origin of Author : Norway
Pages : 230 pp

Read for the Holocaust Remembrance Group

This is a maudlin little novel. It is about coming to terms with the past and often failing to come to terms with the past. It is about remembering. It is about trying to forget and failing in the forgetting. It is about being able to confide and the impermanence of silence. It is about guilt and the hypocrisy of guilt.

Not an easy book to read because it basically flows through the disjointed mind of the narrator as she pieces together the breakdown into the oblivion of senility of her Holocaust surviving husband, on the relationship with their maid, and the relationships with their children both those lost and those still with them.

Closeness and distance. It is a provoking novel which won the Nordic Literature Prize and is thoughtful in its quiet unravelling of the secrets of the past and how they sometimes seek to hide themselves in our guilt, our shyness and our need for privacy.

One trend I have noticed in my reading and acquisitions is that I am reading and definitely adding more female authors.

So far of 27 books added this year, 18 have been written by female authors. 67%

Reading wise will take a while to equalise I guess but of 11 read - 6 are male and 4 female authors with one a collection of various writers.

BOOK #12



The Optimist's Daughter by Eudora Welty
Date of Publication : 1972
Origin of Author : USA
Pages : 208 pp

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize

A novel that is important for its undercurrent. For all that it is an undercurrent that is difficult to grasp with both hands.

The Judge dies with a second wife younger than his daughter and the two bury husband/father in his Mississippi home. The daughter has to come to terms with her relationship to her father and why he so easily cast off widower's weeds for another. The another is a piece of work.

Liked the parts of daughterly introspection but the dialogue grated.

Not really my bag and find it hardly credible that America couldn't have found a more deserving Pulitzer winner that year.

I have such a bad record with the Pulitzer. Sometimes I think it's a prize for the book I'm most likely to hate that year.

>113 ursula: I didn't hate it exactly, Ursula. It is just that, other than Flannery O'Connor and Carson McCullers, I often have a problem with that sort of Southern Gothic type novel. The dialogue was all over the place and pretty unfathomable at times.

Yeah, I was speaking for myself only. In my case there have been some real duds.

>112 PaulCranswick: Also a 1,001 (though not on the 2006 list).

>115 ursula: Oh I agree entirely, Ursula. Worst one I thought was Tinkers by Paul Harding.

>116 BekkaJo: Not the first edition unfortunately Bekka which is the one, I am following otherwise we have 1,242 to read!

BOOK #13



My Two Worlds by Sergio Chejfec
Date of Publication : 2008
Origin of Author : Argentina
Pages : 103 pp

Read for Rebecca NYC's Tribute Reads

An author meanders aimlessly through an unnamed Brazilian city.
A novel meanders aimlessly through a mercifully short 103 pages.

No plot
No insight
Good?; It's not -
Aesthetically light.

Good news today for Belle.

She got her International GCSE Exam Results
English A
Physics A
Biology B
Chemistry C
Maths C

Next up for her are A Levels in the UK.

>119 PaulCranswick: Congratulations, Belle!

>112 PaulCranswick: I 4-starred that one. Of course, I DO enjoy Southern Gothic (although I'm not sure I'd put this Welty novel in that category).

Congratulations Belle, next stop the joys of A-Levels.

>112 PaulCranswick: I can see that Welty's, erm, discursive style might not work for you, PC. I think it's possibly down to the Southernness of it...like David Lodge books, the writing is culture-specific enough that some outside that group won't love it.

The Pasha of Cuisine is really, really enjoyable so far.

>120 laytonwoman3rd: Thanks Linda. I did see your review on the work page, Linda and really wanted to appreciate it more. I should probably just have said "Southern novel".

>121 johnsimpson: The A Levels were the only time I remember studying hard, John.

>122 richardderus: I guess that is it, RD. It's concerns are not mine and therefore I don't really sympathise. It was better than the book I read straight after it though. I will go and look for 'Pasha'.

I used Open Library to read Hana's Suitcase just now and I am emotionally shredded. Literally there were times when reading the book caused tears to dribble unashamedly down my cheeks.

Can't review it just now as I need to take a number of deep breaths and get myself together. Thank you to Madeline for bringing this book to my notice.

>125 PaulCranswick: - Paul, I put a link on Madeline's thread to the original documentary that this book was based on. It was a wonderful interview with Fumiko and George Brady.

Edited to add it here, in case you can't find it. It's really worth a listen:

Here is a rebroadcast. At first, I got a note saying it won't play on my browser but I clicked it anyhow and it worked.

https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1428476483549

Just as an interesting aside, the host of the radio program, The Sunday Edition, is Michael Enright. He is the one who first aired the documentary. He also happens to be the husband of author Karen Levine!

>126 jessibud2: Great way of plugging his wife's work but in this case thoroughly deserved, Shelley. It really was a tremendously moving piece of work. Why on earth would human beings treat others in the way the Nazis treated those they wanted to put away from themselves?

BOOK #14


Hana's Suitcase by Karen Levine
Date of Publication : 2002
Origin of Author : Canada
Pages : 131 pp

Read for the Holocaust Literature Remembrance Group

I was put onto to this powerful piece of detective work by Madeline to whom I am greatly indebted.

Our concerns in the spoilt 21st Century can never be compared to those of Central Europe - especially those of the Jewish faith - in the middle part of the 20th Century and especially at the hands of the Nazis.

A young teacher in Japan wants to teach her class about and make sure they remember the horrors of the Holocaust and she is sent certain artefacts from the museum in Auschwitz to help her in this task. One of these is a small child's suitcase with the name "Hana" written on it. The teacher pieces together over time the story of the little Czech girl who owned that suitcase with terribly tearful effect. I don't think that a book told in such simple terms has ever been as effective at moving me to tears.

Inordinately sad. Inordinately important.

Happy Kinda New Thread, Paul. I blinked and ended up rolling in at #129 (unless someone posts while I’m writing this).

Do you ever read any of the way-back books like The Odyssey? I’m reading Stanley Lombardo’s translation of the Aeneid, and it’s actually pretty amazing poetry. They don’t make ‘em like that any more.

Happy newish thread! I am here for all the music talk: just dialed up Can't Buy a Thrill for the morning soundtrack.

>102 drneutron: >106 PaulCranswick: And my iPad is my favorite electronic device although my MacBook Pro is the workhorse of the stable. Hope Belle enjoys hers.

>129 jnwelch: Nice to see you as always Joe - whether at number 13 or number 130 you will always get a warm welcome here!

I have read The Iliad fairly recently with a newish translation by Stephen Mitchell. I read both The Odyssey and The Aenid during Uni years along with plenty more. I also read Xenophon in 2020 which I enjoyed and Herodotus a bit earlier than that.
I have the Robert Fitzgerald translation of The Odyssey on the shelves and I ought to read it again soon.

Those texts have certainly stood the test of time, Joe, haven't they?

>130 witchyrichy: What would you pick as your favourite albums from 1972, Karen?

Belle is contented but fairly absent (in her room and online) at present.

Easy: Elton John put out Honky Chateau. The two cuts were Rocket Man and Honky Cat. But, now I am mired in the Wikipedia list: Little Feat Sailin' Shoes, the Eagles' first album, Jethro Tull Living in the Past. It was a heckuva year, wasn't it? I may just spend the rest of the day in 1972.

>133 witchyrichy: Not a bad place to be for sure, 1972, Karen. I will definitely include Sir Elton this weekend and one of my absolute favourites, Jethro Tull too. It will be Thick as a Brick though as Living in the Past - as eclectically fabulous as it was - was a compilation album.

>73 PaulCranswick: Glad to see you enjoyed it, Paul! I should be finishing it up in the next couple of days - if not today.

>110 PaulCranswick: Adding that one to the BlackHole. I just finished a terrific book, We Were the Lucky Ones, Paul. It is worth the read if you are interested.

>128 PaulCranswick: I get to dodge that BB. I have already read it.

Happy whatever, Paul!

I've been falling way behind on the threads ... but happy new thread, Paul!

Congratulations to Belle. I'm glad Kyran is covid free and I'm happy you enjoyed Pawn of Prophecy.

Place for your future = I left a message for you, Mark, and Joe on Joe's thread.

Hope to catch up with all these threads by the end of this bitterly cold month,
with February still to come!

Hoping your Thursday is a good one, PC.

>134 PaulCranswick: I will admit to being more of an Elton John fan than Jethro Tull. The latter interest came along with my husband so my knowledge is second hand. I do enjoy Thick As a Brick. I appreciate this whole thread as a reminder of the amazing music that formed the soundtrack of my life. I wasn't familiar with the Joni Mitchell album, For the Roses, although I knew the signature song, You Turn Me On, I'm a Radio. I will have a listen soon.

>135 alcottacre: I will certainly look out for that one, Stasia. I had a girlfriend I was besotted by at school called Georgia Shockett who was quite the character. I would have been 14 plus and she dumped me for reasons I cannot remember and I received a message from her years later when I was already working abroad with her as a single mum and down on her luck saying she wished she hadn't dumped me because her life sucked!

>136 humouress:
Thanks Nina. I am feeling a little bit under the weather this morning and am staying off work as a precaution.

>137 m.belljackson: Stay warm dear lady, stay warm. I was over at Joe's thread a few hours ago but I'll pop right on back over there and look for your message.

>138 richardderus: Got off to a mixed start, RD, with a slight fever and a sore throat. I will be staying home today (Thursday) just in case I have something I shouldn't pass on to my colleagues and staff. I will take a COVID test later today.

>139 witchyrichy: Thanks Karen. I really like that Joni Mitchell album and especially the track you pick out! I will play that one too over the weekend.

I am also a big Elton fan but Honky Chateau, despite some strong tracks falls short of his top three albums for me. I would put these as:

1. Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy - Every song is a winner. One of the best albums of the 1970s.

2. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Excellent double album. I had this in bright yellow vinyl. I'm not keen on Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting as it is sort of unElton but the whole thing otherwise is wonderful.

3. Madman on the Water - Presaged Captain Fantastic with less personal material but the production quality and Taupin's writing was really on point.

>142 PaulCranswick: Madman is by far my favorite Elton despite really liking the other two. 50 years on those '72 albums still rock. So many excellent albums to choose from.

>143 RBeffa: I don't know whether it is because I have listened to those three albums so much more than his others but I really do think that they are on a different plane to anything else he ever did.

>144 PaulCranswick: I have a fondness for tumbleweed connection, perhaps because it was the first Elton album I bought, but perhaps because it has some very good songs on it. I would include it in my top albums by him. His later material when he focused increasingly on costuming never reached the heights of his early records.

>145 RBeffa: One album he did make which represented a return to form was the album he made with Leon Russell, Ron. It was called The Union from 2010 and has some really strong tracks on it especially the very moving 'When Love is Dying'.

>146 PaulCranswick: I'll have a listen to that one Paul. Sticking to 1972 I'd add the single "Daniel" by EJ. I can remember sitting in the school cafeteria and that song came over the loudspeakers and I was mesmerized. Although the album it was on had some big hits, the other songs wouldn't compare to Daniel.

>147 RBeffa: It was also the year of his first American #1 single, and not one of his best, in Crocodile Rock. Elton has the second most top 40 hits in US chart history (behind Elvis) and 9 Number 1 records.

Good news is that my COVID test was negative and I feel a bit better already.

Just finished Last Train to Istanbul which is flawed but enjoyable. My second Turkish book of the year for the Asian Book Challenge.

>140 PaulCranswick: Hmm, you may have dodged a bullet names Georgia Shockett, Paul!

>149 PaulCranswick: I will be starting Last Train to Istanbul in the next couple of days. If all goes according to plan, I am actually get 5 Turkish books in this month rather than the 3 I originally had slated.

>150 alcottacre: She was a lovely looking girl, Stasia, but bat crazy. I think I did ok as things turned out.

It is very different to My Name is Red, but does have quite a strong narrative drive when it belatedly gets going. The first quarter of the book is a bit ponderous but it does come to life.

BOOK #15



Last Train to Istanbul by Ayse Kulin
Date of Publication : 2002
Origin of Author : Turkey
Pages : 384 pp

Read for Asian Book Challenge and for Holocaust Remembrance Literature

Carrie was the first of us to read this one and I have to say that her perspicacity with regard to this book is praiseworthy. She was right it got off to a ponderous start and I almost got fed up with it. She was right that the narrative drive would pick up and it didn't let me go for the last breathless 150 pages and she was right that the older sister Sabiha's character was a pretty superfluous one that could have been done without.

Enjoyable and shines a timely light on a great good done by a small few to get Jewish people out of occupied France during the dark days of Vichy.

>152 PaulCranswick: It's really a tale of two books, isn't it?!

Thursday orisons, PC. Last Train to Istanbul was decent, not stellar, so I'm happy to be validated!

>142 PaulCranswick: All three of those are top of my list and still get heard regularly at my house.

>146 PaulCranswick: The Leon Russell collaboration was wonderful.

And dig deep: every so often on a sunny day, I find myself saying, "I meant to do my work today but a brown bird sang in the apple tree." Album? Anyone?

>128 PaulCranswick: I've pulled out my copy of Hana's Suitcase, another one that I haven't as yet read and sounds like I should have done by now.

Honky Chateau was one of my first album buys along with T Rex's The Slider. I didn't buy many as my brother had a fab collection of music. I also got The Concert for Bangladesh as I liked Leon Russell because he was an accomplished pianist.
The album I remember liking just before that time was my oldest brother's Joe Cocker! When I got to see Cocker perform a few years later - he was so drunk he couldn't remember the lyrics of his songs and audience had to do a singalong to help him out.

>133 witchyrichy: I had a boyfriend who was a fan of Little Feat so I listened to a lot of their stuff and enjoyed it. Have a few of their songs on my playlist.

>153 cbl_tn: It is Carrie and thankfully the second part makes up for the first one dragging.

>154 richardderus: Decent not stellar is a very fair assessment, RD. I liked the story when it picked up and one or two of the incidents were very well relayed but the earlier stuff and the dragging Ankara story dragged it down somewhat.

>155 witchyrichy: One of my favourites from the last decade and now sadly Leon Russell is no longer with us.

Had to be another Elton song - this one is from the 1971 album "Friends".

>156 avatiakh: Joe Cocker - what a character and a fellow Yorkshireman (although I have a tad more sobriety).

You would really appreciate Hana's Suitcase, Kerry.

BOOK # 16


Up With the Larks by Tessa Hainsworth
Date of Publication : 2009
Origin of Author : UK
Pages : 278 pp

A high-powered executive (relatively, I think) gives up the bustle and bright lights of London to move with her family to Cornwall; their romantic idyll. Quickly running out of funds she gets a job as a postie (couldn't help imagining Mark trudging the lanes of Cornwall).

Mildly diverting but a book that I won't remember a thing about this time next year. Recommended as easy fluff after a few harder reads.

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/338939

Happy New Thread!

>160 SilverWolf28: Thank you, Silver

>161 SilverWolf28: And again!

Glad the COVID test was negative, both for Kyran and for you, Paul. Looks like you are back into your reading mojo. Glad you liked Pawn of Prophecy. Even on a reread, there is no way I can space this series out a month each.

>163 ronincats: I actually feel worse today than yesterday, Roni, but that could be either having to go back to work on Friday as well as having a couple of beers and a single malt with an old client last night (my first drinks of the year).

I am champing at the bit to get at Queen of Sorcery next month so I know what you mean.

2 Lunchtime additions today:

Benjamin's Crossing by Jay Parini
Outlawed by Anna North

The first caught my eye because the author had been in AAC and it is a Holocaust topic
The second caught my eye because of the cover and the storyline blurb looks fun..

>165 PaulCranswick: I will be curious to see what you think of Benjamin's Crossing when you are done with it.

>159 PaulCranswick: At least it has a nice cover and title!

>168 thornton37814: It isn't that it is desperately bad. It is just that it was probably too much light relief after some of my other reads. Also it did seem like a book calculated to supplement income rather than evoke and immerse.

Happy Weekend, Paul. I tried Welty's short stories a few years ago and couldn't get into her. She is not my bag either and is certainly no Flannery O' Connor, IMHO.

>170 msf59: I felt that I must be missing something, Mark and I probably was. There must have been something in that work that was identifiably praiseworthy to Americans but it failed to move me.

Have a great weekend buddy. I was thinking about you yesterday as I was reading about the travails of a postwoman in Cornwall. It is perhaps one you should pick up too to reminisce.

Update on the thread posting league with almost three weeks of the year done.

Top 75 threads

1 PaulCranswick 972 posts
2 richardderus 652
3 scaifea 646
4 KatieKrug 586
5 crazymamie 526
6 msf59 438
7 jnwelch 405
8 alcottacre 396
9 laurelkeet 376
10 karenmarie 301
11 bell7 291
12 drneutron 251
13 Berly 233
14 FAMeulstee 213
15 BBLBera 198
16 FamilyHistorian 197
17 figsfromthistle 186
18 MickyFine 173
19 Caroline_McElwee 161
20 Donna 159
21 AMQS 159
22 EBT1002 158
23 jessibud2 146
24 cbl_tn 144
25 mstrust 142
26 lyzard 140
27 SandDune 135
28 ronincats 130
29 laytonwoman3rd 126
30 curioussquared 124
31 thornton37814 123
32 Weird_O 115
33 AnneDC 113
34 SqueakyChu 111
35 Whisper1 107
36 rebarelishesreading 104
37 brenzi 104
38 Humouress 98
39 Carmenere 94
40 coppers 93
41 swynn 93
42 avatiakh 92
43 Ursula 92
44 johnsimpson 87
45 Quondame 85
46 ffortsa 83
47 fairywings 76
48 BBGirl55 75
49 Aunt Clio 74
50 foggidawn 70
51 zuazer 69
52 mahsdad 68
53 Banjo 67
54 loving-lit 67
55 mdoris 66
56 sibyline 64
57 ArlieS 64
58 harrygbutler 63
59 London 61
60 klobrien2 60
61 EllaTim 58
62 Sir Thomas 56
63 witchyrichy 56
64 Streamsong 51
65 fuzzi 50
66 PawsForThought 48
67 Oberon 47
68 dreamweaver529 46
69 _zoe_ 45
70 PersephonesLibrary 43
71 kgodey 42
72 Chatterbox 41
73 LizzieD 40
74 jayde1599 40
75 tiffin 39

Top Six Asia Pacific (Based on Residence) -
Paul
Liz
Nina
Kerry
Adrienne
Megan

Top Six European
Anita
Ursula
Zuazer
Ella
Thomas
Paws

Top Six British
Caroline
Rhian
John
Bryony
Kerry
Luci

Top Six Canadians
Meg
Anita
Micky
Shelley
Mary
Tui

Top Six Americans
Richard
Amber
Katie
Mark
Mamie
Joe

Top Six Men
Paul
Richard
Mark
Joe
Jim
Bill

Top Six Women
Amber
Katie
Mamie
Stasia
Laura
Karen

Oh, interesting stats! I'm not surprised you're top of the pops...your threads move fast...but I'm the top American poster?! Amber's slacking, then. Things will resume their normal course soon.

Happy weekend!

>172 PaulCranswick: >173 PaulCranswick: Thank you, Paul, I always look forward to the stats!
You are firmly on top, and I am happy with my rank.
We are still a chatty bunch this year ;-)

>158 PaulCranswick: Winner, winner, chicken dinner! I love the early 70s optimism of this soundtrack and still listen to it via vinyl.

I am glad I made the top 50. Trying to be more focused on personal rather than professional community as I move towards retirement.

>174 richardderus: I had a quiet hope that you, Joe or Mamie would lead the way this year, RD as the three of you have placed near the top so frequently.
In the ten years I have been keeping the stats the top six in each year:

2012
Paul
Richard
Joe
Kath
Mark
Mamie

2013
Paul
Richard
Mark
Joe
Mamie
Ellen

2014
Amber
Paul
Richard
Mark
Joe
Mamie

2015
Amber
Mark
Joe
Paul
Darryl
Katie

2016
Mark
Amber
Mamie
Paul
Joe
Charlotte

2017
Paul
Mark
Joe
Amber
Kim
Mamie

2018
Mark
Joe
Mamie
Amber
Katie
Karen

2019
Mark
Joe
Richard
Katie
Amber
Karen

2020
Paul
Mark
Katie
Richard
Joe
Karen

2021
Amber
Paul
Katie
Mark
Richard
Karen

>175 FAMeulstee: We are not doing at all bad as a group, Anita. Probably 2nd best out of the last four years after three weeks. Not bad on less numbers in terms of group members.
People like Charlotte, Deb, Kath, Caro, Ilana, Heather, Nathalie, Connie, Diana, Barbara, Darryl, Nancy, Faith, Morphy not having threads here nowadays reduces the depth of course but we still do ok, don't we?

>176 witchyrichy: I can only speak for myself, Karen, but I always enjoy your company in the group. x

Singer Meatloaf has passed away aged 74

What a powerful performer he was. This is his It's All Coming Back to Me in duet with Marion Raven


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSGOKlW72_w

>170 msf59: >171 PaulCranswick: I grew up in Mississippi. We had no choice. We had to read Welty and Faulkner!

>179 PaulCranswick: Sad to hear. He was one of my wife's favorite singers.

>180 thornton37814: Faulkner had a genius but not always an appeal, Lori. Welty had more appeal but clearly less genius.

>181 RBeffa: He was quite the performer, Ron, but if you watched him perform in the nineties you would never have imagined he would live into his seventies. His great collaborator Jim Steinman died last year and Meatloaf apparently was expecting to see him again soon!

>179 PaulCranswick: Of COVID, because his 45-lovin' carcass wouldn't get vaccinated.

Arrivederci.

>183 PaulCranswick: He was never my cuppa although he is also a big fave of one of my music buddies. I liked one of his early songs that was a huge hit but I never really clicked with him. He did look like he was a heart attack about to happen.

>184 richardderus: I hadn't seen the cause of death, RD, but I will mourn the loss of him irrespective of any daftness in someone of his physique not getting jabbed.

>185 RBeffa: Some of his music was definitely OTT, Ron. Not on my list of favourites but he was an incredible performer with a huge gift of a voice. When he was tender, I went for it; when he was booming it could be more difficult to listen to for a longer time.

>149 PaulCranswick: Yay! re negative covid test

>164 PaulCranswick: And boo at feeling worse the next day.

>174 richardderus: You two don't need to compete quite so hard. I'm chronicly behind on both of your threads ;-)

>172 PaulCranswick: Thanks for the stats! I actually made it into the top 20!

Can't wait for the books read stats. Everyone seems to be roaring along nicely.

>188 ArlieS: Thanks Arlie. This is not the sound of competition, we are merely chugging along!

>189 figsfromthistle: I will try to get these done over the weekend. Anita. I am interested to see those figures too!
You are very close to being leading Canadian too.

>172 PaulCranswick: Wow I'm in the 40's

Waiting for the reading stats :)

>191 fairywings: Ok Adrienne, I will bow to demand and look into these. Means visiting every thread in lets say the top 100 threads to come up with a list.

WEEKLY WEIGH IN

Weight at Start of Year : 273 lbs (124 kgs)

Weight at End of Last Week : 260 lbs (118.3 kgs)

Weight at end of Week Two : 257 lbs (117 kgs)

Weight loss in week/year : 3 lbs (1.3 kgs)

Weight loss this year : 16 lbs (7 kgs)

I am a bit disappointed this week but every little bit lost is a bit more gained
I had hoped to get to 110kgs (242 lbs) by the end of this month, but I'll revise my target to 114kgs

How am I doing on my avoidance list.

1. No cakes STILL
2. No cookies STILL
3. No sugared drinks / carbonated drinks STILL
4. No potato / corn chips STILL
5. Only one spoonful of rice with Korean soup STILL
6. No alcohol - I had 2 pints of beer and a single malt on Thursday
7. No processed foods - STILL
8. No ice cream - STILL

Intermittent fasting started after booster doing 16/8 diet (since 4/1/22). Another successful week.
Reduced carb trying to eat "good" food.

Goal for upcoming week.

115 kg
Start more exercise. Increased swimming, walking, stretching & yoga. This has been a fail to date.

All in all though having lost 16 lbs in three weeks I shouldn't be complaining too much!

>193 PaulCranswick: That is great progress!

>194 quondame: Thanks Susan. I guess the fact that I was a little disappointed by the results today that does show the effort I have been making.

BOOK #17



Cheryl's Destinies by Stephen Sexton
Date of Publication : 2021
Origin of Author : UK
Pages : 88 pp

This sophomore collection was shortlisted for the Forward Prize but didn't win.

Sexton could well ingratiate himself into one of my favourite poets and he is certainly a favourite among "new" writers. Very much picking up the mantle of Northern Irish poetry from Seamus Heaney and Derek Mahon and less so Ciaran Carson (I will discount Paul Muldoon whose work is far more international in outlook), this is as the back cover blurb tells us very accurately; "thrillingly strange."

I'm not always on this fellow's wavelength. Some and in fact most of his poems - chewable that they are - usually leave me cogitating at exactly what Sexton is telling me. That said he is able in the middle of a poem that has lost me completely to find the most extraordinary images and lines that are so vivid, so evocative that this - whatever it is - can only be poetry of the highest order.

I am sometimes left cold by work that I find truly incomprehensible but this is not that. There are snippets of elucidation, of insight, of grandeur in every poem in the collection that elevates and permeates to the extent that it satisfies almost as equally as it mystifies.

Highly recommended, but not a collection to skip through and read but the once.

I am hoping to make progress with four books this weekend:

Turkey : A Short History by Norman Stone
Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon by Jorge Amado
The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak
Black Out by Ragnar Jonasson

One ominous and not at all welcome news is that the owner of our apartment is trying to sell the unit and has people coming to view it this afternoon.

Hopefully I can rely on the cheerless Belle to not make them see what a lovely home it is. If they do buy and don't want to retain us as tenants it will definitely force my moving/relocation hand.

They are here already! Yikes. I will update later.

>199 PaulCranswick: Well they have gone. A quite large family of Indians (Senior citizens mainly) who seemed much more interested in whether the house was "auspicious" rather than fit for purpose. One of the chaps was in a wheelchair and he got stuck in the wet kitchen as there is a step down from the dry kitchen. Not only did I have to show them round, I also had to rescue a stranded visitor!

Let's see whether they buy or not.

I also want to say a big thank you to everybody who has stopped by in these three weeks and helped me reach 1,000 posts on my threads already. I am honoured and cherish every post/message I receive and am still ike a small kid when I switch on this malfunctioning laptop and see I have messages.

Ooh, happy 1000! That's quite the milestone.

>198 PaulCranswick: did you know this was in the works? That would definitely unsettle me!

>128 PaulCranswick: Wasn't Hana's Suitcase just wonderful? Just an extraordinary and important story.

>193 PaulCranswick: Wonderful, Paul! Keep up the great work!!

>201 AMQS: Anne, I knew about it a few days ago but made it so that I was home when they arrived.
It will be what it will be.

Hana's Suitcase is a beautiful piece of work but a real tear jerker.

>202 alcottacre: I really want to get down to below 100 kgs or 220 lbs which would be 53 lbs off and close 4 stone in weight.

Congratulations on the health goals. You’re doing great.
Sounds like the apartment is not going to meet the needs so probably safe for now

Congratulations on 1000. If you do >1000 every month, WOW

Just popping in to wish you a wonderful weekend, Paul!
I missed a whole thread by a hair, time flies by so fast....
Hooray for the good news and thanks for the stats.

>204 Kristelh: I think I am a good natured fellow, Kristel, but I struggled to suppress a smile when the wheelchair got stuck in the west kitchen and the family members, all a little elderly, couldn't get him back out again as they weren't strong enough to lift the wheelchair.

>205 SirThomas: Lovely to see you Thomas as always.

I don't know how I lost your thread Paul, The stars seem tohave switched off a couple of times this year grrr. Have done a whistle stop tour.

Yay that Kyran is Covid free. Great news.

Congratulations to Belle on her results.

Double congratulations on your 16 pound loss so far this year. I have managed 6 in the same time frame, I've been eating vegan a minimum of 3 days a week, but often achieving 4 days.

I have a white square instead of Hani's photo.

Re the Welty novel, I've not read that, but have read other work of hers, it is interesting how often a writer ends up getting the big prize for a weaker novel. It is sometime because their better novels follow, but not always.

>207 Caroline_McElwee: Lovely to see you, Caroline.

The photo is a mystery to me as they usually are as it is showing up perfectly fine here.

I think that you are right about awards. The judges can't help themselves and often a body of work gets recognised rather than the specific book somewhat unconsciously. I think the shared win by Atwood a few years ago for The Testaments seemed to be a case in point (though I haven't yet read it). I think that there seemed to be some feeling of a need to make amends for her not winning for the book it was a sequel to, and the decision did get some criticism.

So the thing that jumped out at me about your wheelchair story was that it happened in the west kitchen. Does this imply that you have an *east* kitchen too? 😀

Mrsdrneutron would have our one kitchen if it didn’t come with the house…

>209 drneutron: I was confused by your comment, Jim, so I went to re-read my own post and smirked at the typo. It is a "wet" kitchen not a "west" kitchen. Many South-East Asian homes have two kitchens an internal one for lighter stuff and a one normally more cut-off from the rest of the house for the heavier cooking duties. This traditionally kept the rest of the house cooler and stopped cooking smells taking over the whole home. If you have experience of things like sambal belacan or durian then you would understand the necessity!

>179 PaulCranswick: We just listened again to the album "Bat out of hell", as we did so many times before, although not recently.
Still able to sing along with all songs, and somehow the last track "For crying out loud" gives a little lump in my throat.
Vale mister Meat Loaf, thanks for the songs.

Hi Paul! You are making good progress toward your goals for the year for reading, posting, and health. After 3 weeks, these should now be habits! :-)

>211 FAMeulstee: He always looked like an accident waiting to happen and collapsed on stage frequently but what a powerful performer. Bat Out of Hell is overblown but marvellous.

>212 cbl_tn: I am doing great with the intermittent fasting, Carrie and you are right in that it does start to become habitual and I am no longer casting jealous glances at the fridge or food cupboards.

>210 PaulCranswick: 😀 figured it was something like that.

>210 PaulCranswick: Oh how interesting! I was going to ask about the wet and dry kitchens, so I'm fascinated by that explanation. It does sound very practical.

Congrats on surpassing 1,000 posts already. You're on pace to far outstrip me in reading this year, and though I know you don't expect to keep this pace up the rest of the year, it wouldn't surprise me if this turned out to be the first that our reading numbers were very different.

Hope you're having a good weekend!

>214 drneutron: I do reasonably well in my profession, Jim, but not quite well enough to have separate wings to my apartment with each its own kitchen! Have a great weekend, buddy.

>215 bell7: Let's see, Mary. I am very enthused at the moment but I am always at the mercy of my moods and I am much more sensitive to these than I may give the impression of in the group. If we do relocate this will also create the conditions of turmoil that will impact my reading and posting.

Your own posting keeps gaining momentum year on year as others discover what a great place yours is to hang out. x

Hi Paul!

Skippety-skip-skip, catch up as catch-can.

>93 PaulCranswick: Your daughter sounds like my daughter – rare smiles. I’m glad your generosity gave her exactly what she wanted.

>95 PaulCranswick: Congrats on Kyran testing negative.

>112 PaulCranswick: This was my book club choice in 2001, and I remember liking it a lot. However, I still have not read anything else by her.

>114 PaulCranswick: I can’t bear Flannery O’Connor, but have enjoyed several by Carson McCullers in addition to the Welty.

>119 PaulCranswick: Congrats to Belle!

>172 PaulCranswick: Thanks for the stats, Paul! Hmm. 10 and 301 is tough. Without cheating, all I can get to is 4 (1 + 0)*(3+1) = 4. If I cheat, I can get to 8: ((1+ 0)+(30+1))/(3+0+1)=32/4=8.

>173 PaulCranswick: Ah, made into the top six American Women. I’ll take what I can get.

>177 PaulCranswick: And top 6 in 2018-2021. *preens*

>193 PaulCranswick: It’s all good, Paul, even if you are a bit disappointed. Downward trends are better than upward trends, always, for weight loss.

>198 PaulCranswick: and >199 PaulCranswick: Fingers crossed that getting stuck in the wet kitchen (wet kitchen?) is not auspicious. Ah, saw the clarification of wet kitchen in >210 PaulCranswick:.

>217 karenmarie: You know officially a mega-poster, Karen!

I am doing ok with the weight loss but it is going to be a long term (lifetime) project, I feel.

>208 PaulCranswick:, >207 Caroline_McElwee: Evaristo's a trans woman, I think, which also explains why the win needed to be shared to avoid the awful scum hollering about her getting all the attention.

I despair of Humanity regularly but most of all when it comes to the complex of nightmares that is misogyny.

>219 richardderus: Is Bernardine Evaristo trans, RD, I must admit that I had not heard that before. I think to be fair most of the talk I have seen about that particular Booker was that Evaristo deserved sole recognition as her book was palpably better than Atwood's.

>219 richardderus: Sorry RD but I don't think Evaristo is trans. She is bi-sexual but was born and remains a woman as far as I can see by reading up on her biography. I don't think it would have mattered to be honest because her book would have still got the accolades it did.

She did chair the Women's Prize last year though that first longlisted a trans female for the prize.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/mar/10/first-trans-woman-makes-womens-pri...

>221 PaulCranswick: It's probably old calumny that I got, then; her novel Mr Loverman was a lot better than Girl, Woman, Other imho so no matter what she deserved sole recognition even using the Atwood calculus!

>221 PaulCranswick: I have got another book of hers on the shelves which I will try to read this year, RD. She is a very interesting person. The Emperor's Babe is on the shelves.

Congrats on 1000 posts - 'tis not for nothing I dubbed thee "the ubiquitous Paul"!

>224 ChrisG1: Thank you so much for that Chris. I do hope though that it will apply less and less to my waist line as the year progresses!

I must go and catch a little sleep as it is 4 am here.

>193 PaulCranswick: >200 PaulCranswick: You are making good progress and keeping your commitments well. And 1000 posts! Wow! Thanks for being our foundation.

>226 witchyrichy: Aw in fairness, Karen, I do think that title has to go to Jim. His dedication keeps us here don't you think?

*BLUSHES* anyway. x

I will post the Books Read stats after a short nap. Hopefully not tons of books updated in the next couple of hours or I am going to be far behind!

Happy weekend and thanks for the stats, Paul.

>203 PaulCranswick: 220 lbs is only 5 pounds more than I weighed when I started, Paul. If I can do it, anyone can!

Familly update: Beth and Shaquille appear to be over the virus, but Kerry tested positive for it today despite the fact that he has had 2 shots and the booster. The fun never ends!

>219 richardderus: >221 PaulCranswick: No, Evaristo is bisexual, not trans RD. Currently married to a man, but had previous relationships with women.

>222 richardderus: Must dig Mr Loverman out.

Loving all the stats--I've missed the LT #s. LOL. I made the top 6 in 2017 and I am #13 now, which isn't bad since I have been largely MIA with COVID. Also BIG congrats on your weight loss. Keep it up! I am down a measly 4 lbs, but at least it is down and not up. : )

I haven't braved the scales but very impressed with your weight loss. Well done! I'm swimming every day so that must be good for something!

>229 banjo123: Thank you and you're welcome, Rhonda. x

>230 alcottacre: Good and bad news, Stasia! I trust that Kerry will be fine and that the jab does what it was advertised to do and alleviates any symptoms.

I have stopped calling it a vaccine as so many people in my circle of friends, family and acquaintances have contracted COVID after getting double jabbed and oftentimes boosted. That said none of them got seriously ill either so I am still highly relived to have gotten the shots whether they truly immunise or not.

>231 Caroline_McElwee: Yep, twas the result of my research too, Caroline. Whatever her gender or sexuality, she is a tremendous writer.

>232 Berly: Hope that at least you are fully recovered, Kimmers. I am getting happy at least to accept a continuing downward trend as weight becomes harder to easily shake off.

>233 mdoris: And mine is without any really serious exercise as yet, Mary. If I can add your "habits" to my own then the results could be profound! xx

Reading Stats Update.

Usual disclaimers about any mistakes and this would be correct as at about midday today LT time.
Includes stats for all those threads with a with minimum of 30 posts.

1 alcottacre 26
amanda4242 26
Chatterbox 26

4 cbl_tn 21

5 FAMeulstee 20

6 richardderus 19

7 fairywings 17
PaulCranswick 17
Whisper1 17

10 klobrien2 15

11 figsfromthistle 14

12 lyzard 13
Oberon 13
tiffin 13
Luci

16 curioussquared 12
foggidawn 12
kristel 12
zuazer 12

20 BBLBera 11
cdvicarage 11
harrygbutler 11
mstrust 11
Quondame 11

25 Berly 10
dreamweaver529 10
FamilyHistorian 10
lindapanzo
Sir Thomas 10
swynn 10

31 BBGirl55 9
arubabookwoman 9
justchris 9
laytonwoman3rd 9
thornton37814 9

36 brenzi 8
KatieKrug 8
kgodey 8
mdoris 8
msf59 8
ronincats 8
scaifea 8

43 avatiakh 7
drneutron 7
jnwelch 7
MickyFine 7
torontoc 7
Weird_O 7

49 AMQS 6
AnneDC 6
Banjo 6
mahsdad 6
PawsForThought 6
sibyline 6
Streamsong 6

56 bell7 5
Donna 5
fuzzi 5
LizzieD 5

60 Aunt Clio 4
Carmenere 4
Caroline_McElwee 4
cassiebash 4
crazymamie 4
EBT1002 4
jayde1599 4
loving-lit 4
PersephonesLibrary 4
SqueakyChu 4
Ursula 4
witchyrichy 4

72 ArlieS 3
aktakukac 3
coppers 3
EllaTim 3
ffortsa 3
johnsimpson 3
karenmarie 3
laurelkeet 3
London 3
rebarelishesreading 3
rbeffa 3
SandDune 3

84 Humouress 2
vikzen 2

86 _zoe_ 1
jessibud2 1
thehibernator 1

The Music of Fifty Years Ago

1972 Weekend Three

I have been listening to six albums every weekend to celebrate the wonderful music from 1972. Karen (witchyrichy) has helped to suggest some of this weekend's choices:

Joni Mitchell - For the Roses
Jethro Tull - Thick as a Brick
Elton John - Honky Chateau
Little Feat - Sailin' Shoes
plus
Genesis - Foxtrot
New Riders of the Purple Sage - Gypsy Cowboy

Hey, Paul. I absolutely adore Honky Chateau. My very first EJ album. The next 2 or 3 albums were pretty terrific too. These were his golden years. I was never a fan of his post 70s work.

>239 msf59: Not one of my absolute favourites, Mark but there are certainly some strong songs on it. Rocket Man is one of his very best songs of course but the last two songs "Hercules" and "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters" are prime Elton.

I mark it down a little for the song "I Think I'm Going to Kill Myself" which makes undue light of a very serious issue and is unworthy especially of Bernie Taupin as a lyricist.

I agree with the last 2 songs. I also love Honky Cat.

>241 msf59: I would place the album in my top six of his but barely, Mark. I have listened to Hercules several times this weekend though. :D

>237 PaulCranswick: you missed my 3 Paul.

>243 RBeffa: I didn't Ron. It is recorded on my spreadsheet but I made a cut off at those threads with 40 posts. I keep up to date with the top 140 threads posts wise but often don't include all of them in the reading list because of the difficulty of keeping up the stats. I'll add you, buddy.

ETA I amended the cut-off point to 30 posts and you are now there, Ron.

Paul, I share your excitement when I log in and see people have joined the conversation on my thread. Hoping to get another book read this weekend. Despite not always making 100 pages a day, I am happy with my progress so far.

>245 AuntieClio: I am currently trying to read too many books at the same time, Stephanie. I am going to have to concentrate on finishing what I have started!

Lovely as always to see you here - a thrill in fact!

>244 PaulCranswick: I didn't know that. You can set the # for cutoff wherever you wish. You have a big task tracking all the numbers!

>247 RBeffa: No problem. If I can accommodate my best pals in the group, Ron, I will gladly do so.

I am enjoying New Riders of the Purple Sage at the moment. Gypsy Cowboy is a pretty strong track.

I have played Blue Cheer quite a bit this week.

>248 PaulCranswick: Keep on rockin Paul. Here's a 1972 track I never got tired of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8XiNKsKyVk

>249 RBeffa: The Hollies doing their very best to keep up the good work of Creedence Clearwater Revival and pretty much pulling it off. The most un-Manchester that they ever sounded!

1972 MUSIC THIRD WEEKEND .

Essential Tracks :
New Riders of the Purple Sage : Whisky
This is a very rough live performance but catches some of the fun of the song and there is a segment with one of the audience dancing obviously smashed which is hilarious
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHOXK6WoEy0

Genesis : Horizons
Foxtrot is a bit of a muddled album but this is simply beautiful. An acoustic instrumental played here by Steve Hackett.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEjiO4A-sHY

Elton John : Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters
This is for me the strongest song on the album though less commercial than Rocket Man. Performed live by Elton at the Royal Festival Hall in London in 1972.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrOu0oc9aB4

Joni Mitchell - You Turn Me On I'm a Radio
Not her most famous album but this is still my favourite Joni track.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSSi4jZsDmo

Little Feat - Willin'
Not a group I am overly familiar with but I played this one because it was recommended by Karen and this has definitely got something.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNqv85coyTw

Jethro Tull - Living in the Past
I actually listened to Thick as a Brick which has only two tracks and both of them are Thick as a Brick! This is from the compilation album of the same name and was re-released as a single in 1972. This was also the song specifically named by Karen in choosing her music from 1972.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m__wmsIn99E

Some jolly good stuff there is I say so myself. Thank you Karen (witchyrichy).

>237 PaulCranswick: Thanks for the stats, Paul!
You missed my last reads, midday yesterday I was at 24.

>237 PaulCranswick: My poor showing is due to reading too many books at once. There are a number of genuine reasons why I am doing this - but it does mean I have finished hardly any.

On the go at the moment are:
David Copperfield Charles Dickens
My Name is Red Orhan Pamuk
The Island of Missing Trees Elif Shafak
The Muse Jessie Burton
Agent Running in the Field John Le Carre

>252 FAMeulstee: You suffered from my always going early to your threads, Anita! I am sure you will be among the several in the group who will consistently exceed a book a day. There are at least three who don't yet have enough posts to show up in the lists.

>253 SandDune: There are close to 3,000 pages in total there, Rhian, so I am not surprised some of those are not over the line yet. x

>237 PaulCranswick: Thanks for doing those stats again Paul! I'm amazed at the high scotes. Keep on rocking.

>255 EllaTim: The scores are quite impressive, I cannot believe that several of our number are above a book a day.

>237 PaulCranswick: Thank you for the stats, Paul!

>257 jayde1599: Thank you, Jess. Was a bit worried about you because you had gone a little bit quiet lately.

>250 PaulCranswick: Right you are. Creedence, unfortunately, was pretty much done as a band at this point.

>259 RBeffa: The last of their studio albums the mish-mash of Mardi Gras was released in 1972 - a pale imitation of the group as it was with collaborations from all the group members song wise which didn't work.

>227 PaulCranswick: Everyone has a role to play in a successful enterprise. You and Jim make a good team.

>251 PaulCranswick: More great music! So...have you heard of Crack the Sky?

>261 witchyrichy: Jim would be Chairman of the Board, Karen and I may get the Director of Statistics and Public Records!

I haven't heard of them, Karen, but I will go and explore. The next thread did feature your chosen albums!