2022 Series of PGMCC's reading: Episode Six - THE SEASON FINALE

Read in 2022

I start the year with seven in-progress reads. Three of these are hangovers from 2020 and I am keeping them on the list as I do want to finish them.

Title; Author; Status; Start/end date; Number of pages

It was the best of sentences, it was the worst of sentences. by June Casagrande 17/02/2020 -
The Dragon Waiting by John M. Ford 26/10/2020 -
Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely 20/12/2020 –
Africa's Top Geological Sites by Richard Viljoen 02/04/2021 - 290 pages
The Economics of Inequality by Piketty 21/08/2021 - 135 Pages
Seven Gothic Tales by Isak Dinesen 18/10/2021 - 449 Pages
Uncle Silas by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu 27/12/2021 - 06/01/2022 393 pages

Books completed in 2022:

Title; Author; Status; Start/end date; Number of pages

Uncle Silas by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu 27/12/2021 - 06/01/2022 393 pages
Secrets of the World's Best-Selling Writer by Francis L. Fugate & Roberta B. Fugate 07/01/2022 - 18/01/2022 286 pages
The Case of the Lame Canary by Erle Stanley Gardner 18/01/2022 - 23/01/2022 186 Pages
Words Like Loaded Pistols: Rhetoric from Aristotle to Obama by Sam Leith 23/01/2022 - 05/02/2022 332 Pages
ARCADIA by Iain Pears 05/02/2022 - 18/02/2022 594 Pages
Guest List by Lucy Foley 19/02/2022 - 01/03/2022 371 Pages
Introduction to Detection Mystery Horror by Dorothy L. Sayers 02/03/2022 - 05/03/2022 48 Paged
Passport to Panic by Eric Ambler 05/03/2022 - 13/03/2022 194 Pages
Leaves for the Burning by Mervyn Wall 14/03/2022 - 20/03/2022 243 Pages
The Pigeon House by John Le Carré 21/03/2022 - 10/04/2022 310 Pages
Scoop by Evelyn Waugh 10/04/2022 - 320 pages ROA* DNF
The Sportswriter by Richard Ford 13/4/2022 - ? pages ROA* DNF
"Blood Christmas" by Ciamh McDonnell 14/4/2022 - 16/04/2022 74 pages
"Dog Day Afternoon" by Ciamh McDonnell 16/04/2022 - 16/04/2022 74 pages
The Day That Never Comes by Ciamh McDonnell 16/04/2022 - 18/04/2022 360 pages
Winter by Len Deighton 18/04/2022 - 02/05/2022 620 Pages.
Rosebud by Paul Cornell 02/05/2022 - 05/05/2022 108 pages
Angels in the Moonlight by Ciamh McDonnell 05/05/2022 - 08/05/2022 ? pages
The Accidental Apprentice by Vikas Swarup 08/05/2022 - 21/05/2022 436 Pages
Sisters Gonna Work It Out by Ciamh McDonnell 21/05/2022 - 21/05/2022 45 Pages
How to send a message Ciamh McDonnell 21/05/2022 - 21/05/2022
Last orders Ciamh McDonnell 21/05/2022 - 28/05/2022
Passage of Arms by Eric Ambler 29/05/2022 - 03/06/2022 ? pages
Art of Losing by Alice Zeniter 03/06/2022 - 17/06/2022 446 pages
Death of a Bookseller by Bernard J. Farmer 17/06/2022 - 23/06/2022
McGarry Stateside by Ciamh McDonnell 24/06/2022 - 04/07/2022
My Name Is Philippa by Philippa Ryder 04/07/2022 - 07/07/2022
First Person Singular by Haruki Murakami 08/07/2022 - 13/07/2022 256 Pages
Dead Man’s Sins by Ciamh McDonnell 13/07/2022 - 19/07/2022 314 Pages
The Light of Day by Eric Ambler 21/07/2022 - 25/07/2022 255 Pages
Firewater Blues by Ciamh McDonnell 22/07/2022 - 30/07/2022 324 Pages
Slow Horses by Mick Herron 30/07/2022 - 30/07/2022 336 Pages. DNF @ page 23.
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman 30/07/30 - 12/08/2022 382 Pages
Signal Moon by Kate Quinn 12/08/2022 - 14/08/2022 ? pages
The Maidens by Alex Michaelides 15/08/2022 - 24/08/2022 368 pages
Have His Carcase by Dorothy L. sayers 24/08/2022 - 11/09/2022 460 pages
Snobbery with Violence by Colin Watson 11/09/2022 - 27/09/2022 252 pages + 4 page index
South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami 11/09/2022 - 01/10/2022 187 pages
Walking on Glass by Iain Banks 01/10/2022 - 11/10/2022 239 pages
The Green Man's Gift by Juliet E. McKenna 11/10/2022 - 17/10/2022 324 pages
The Water Witch by Jessica Thorne 18/10/2022 - 24/10/2022 343 pages
The Final Game by Caimh McDonnell 25/10/2022 - 29/10/2022 370 pages
Howdunit edited by Martin Edwards 29/10/2022 - 04/12/2022 543 pages
This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar 01/11/2033 - 22/11/2022 208 pages
Deccie Must Die by Caimh McDonnell 23/11/2022 - 01/12/2022 308 pages
The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins 04/12/2022 - 28/12/2022 438 pages
The Family Jewels by Caimh McDonnell 28/12/2022 - 276 pages

*ROA: Risk Of Abandonment due to lack of interest or pure boredom.

Yes, I have made a big assumption, and we know what happens when we assume. However, I am betting that this thread will be sufficient to see out 2022. It is already the 10th November, so we shall see.

OK, let's see if we can make it stretch out to December 30. (From my perspective, the biggest assumption that you're making is that this old earth will keep on turning for another six or seven weeks. AND that there will be a season finale before everything gets cancelled. -- joking -- )

At any rate, I am curious to know how you are reading Howdunit. It struck me as something one dips in and out of rather than reading it in linear fashion. What approach have you adopted?

Based on your posted list of titles read, you've had a good reading year thus far.

>3 jillmwo:
I have been pleased with my reading year.

In relation to Howdunit, I have actually been reading it from beginning to end. I started reading it pen-in-hand, underlining, and taking notes as I went, but after about 100 pages I ended up reading it in situations where note taking was not practical, and have abandoned the study approach, but do intend going back to take notes.

I have found the book calls to me to pick it up. I had thought, like you, that it would be a dip in and out book, but the sections are short, mostly only two or three pages, with the longest I have found being six pages. This makes it very easy read a few sections in even a short sitting. Also, the editor, Martin Edwards, has done an excellent job, and his bridging paragraphs between the contributions are good at setting context for the following contribution, and informative in other ways.

In terms of your comments about this old earth continuing to turn for another six or seven weeks, I am taking the positive approach and planning for success. My concern was that there might end up being a piffle party in this thread and that it would end up too cumbersome and would need a successor thread to close out the year.

Happy new thread, Peter.
You know that if you don't rack up enough posts there are multiple Piffle Masters in here who will be happy to help.

>5 clamairy:
Of that I am well aware. :-)

>6 pgmcc: Congrats on your new thread! Are you challenging us to post so much that it is not, in fact, the final thread?

>7 Karlstar: Oooh, Karlstar. What a GREAT idea. I am so tempted!!

>3 jillmwo: Having just reread my list of 2022 reads, I realise my reading year has been very good; better than I was thinking. My memory must have been tinged with the small number of DNFs in the list.

Some of the things I noted are the:
- number of Ciamh McDonnell books I read in the year.
- enjoyment I have had from books about writing.
- I believe I have read more books in 2022 than any of the previous years I have documented.

I am also very happy that I have a queue of books that I am really eager to get to. 2022 will be going down as a very good reading year.

>4 pgmcc: Party! Party! Party!

>10 MrsLee:
Do not think I do not see you and your fellow conspirators.

>10 MrsLee: Ooh, can I be a fellow conspirator? What do I have to do?

(I do wish there were a small-print "whisper" option among our formatting codes.)

>12 Meredy:
Et tu, Meredy!

>9 pgmcc: Congrats on your excellent reading year.

>14 Karlstar:
Thank you, Jim. It has been a pleasure, especially with help from the GD gang members such as yourself. I find the chat, banter and discussion great fun and a real social event.

That is pretty bold, to declare it the final installment. Almost seems like a challenge.

I'm delighted to hear that you're pleased with your reading this year! It has seemed as if you've written about numerous interesting things.

>16 Jim53:
Yes, Jim; I had forgotten how people here like a good piffle and how they might react to my announcing a Grand Finale.

It has been a good year. I have enjoyed it, and it is not over yet.

My wife was due to attend a conference in Limerick on the morning/afternoon of Saturday, 12th November 2022. My wife asked me to accompany her on the train. Her bargaining chip was an offer that I could spend my time going around bookshops in Limerick.

Well, as you can imagine, I was very tempted with the idea. With my interest piqued I did some on-line research and came up with two target bookshops: “O’Mahony’s” and “Quay Books”.

O’Mahony’s claims to be the largest independent bookseller in Ireland, and I am inclined to believe that assertion having visited their Limerick store. It is very plush, well stocked, and the layout provides ample room for comfortable browsing in all departments. It was an easy decision to put O’Mahony’s on the target list and I am very pleased that I did.

While I was favourably disposed to visit Quay Books I nearly struck if off the list as I was not sure it was going to offer me anything of interest and it was a bit of a walk beyond O’Manhony’s. To make a decision I did some due diligence. I used Google to find Quay Books’ website and to see what books they had on offer. Straight up I found Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino, a book that Richard (haydninvienna) said he knowingly bought a second copy of. This level of support from Richard is praise indeed, so I put Quay Books on the list with the hope of finding Invisible Cities on the shelves in that retail outlet.

My Mission; should I chose to accept it.

As anyone looking at my profile can see, I have a lot of books, and I have not read all of them. (That is the best sort of library to have. Still plenty of wealth to be mined.) That being the case I set myself a modest target of trying to get Invisible Cities. I was not thinking of buying books, and have been reducing my book purchases of late. (Now, behave. Do not let any facts get in the way of a good story.)

My wife gave me another objective. She told me to go to the children’s book department to pick up a book for my grandson, Malachí. When we babysit Malachí and his two siblings I end up reading books to Malachí when he goes to bed and this gets him to sleep. (Yes, I have a very boring, monotonal voice.) My wife suggested I get him a book for Christmas that I can read to him at bedtime when we are babysitting.

Mission performance

O’Mahony Books was the first port of call. When I approached the front of the shop I thought it was a medium sized retail outlet with the usual bestsellers and a reasonable selection of books of various types. I was wrong. I walked into the shop and realised there were stairs on my left leading to an upper floor. There was also a flight of stairs at the back that led to another half-level and I could see the shop was much deeper than I expected and went quite far back. All told, there were two upper levels, a basement, and two half-level floors. The different categories of books were in spacious areas and the staff were very willing to help.

Calvino
I started with the general fiction, and browsed for a while before I thought to check for Invisible Cities.



I could not find it, but I did come across another Calvino that looked interesting; The Complete Cosmicomics. I picked it up.

I also picked up The Fine Print by Lauren Asher. I have to admit this came to my attention because I love the cover. As I read the bumf I wanted to think it was good. It gave two character profiles presented by the characters themselves. The first one, “Rowan”, started with, “I’m in the business of creating fairy tales.” How could I not buy it after that. Apparently it is the first in a series of spicy standalone novels featuring three billionaire brothers.



Malachí’s book

I had no idea what I was going to get for Malachí. I thought I would get him one or two of Oisín McGann’s Mad Granddad books but I could not find any of them. This is when I discovered how helpful and friendly the O’Mahony staff are. I asked at a desk if they had any of the Mad Grandad books and, according to their system, they had one. Two assistants spent time to find that book for me. In the mean time I had found another book that I thought was suitable, Bedtime Stories: Incredible Irish Tales From the Past written by Rachel Pierce. I bought the two books.



Moving on

Having bought four books in O’Mahony’s I organised my bags outside the store and then consulted Google Maps for the route to “Quay Books”.

Now, a few months ago I acquired hearing aids. The technician said I did not really need them, but it would be good to get them to get used to them as my hearing was not likely to improve with age. One of the benefits of these very discreet hearing aids is that they can be linked to my phone by Blue Tooth. I was able to walk along the road and have a voice tell me when to turn right, turn left, or go straight ahead. She even tells me which streets I am turning on to. Very handy,

What is even more fun is having a telephone call with them. If the phone rings I can just touch my ear and take the call. So cool. Very “Person of Interest” style. 😊 I end up standing around having a telephone conversation and nobody can see a telephone. I enjoy the looks I get from people passing by. 😊

I digress. Anyway, Google got me to Quay Books.

It turned out that Quay Books is a remainder store, which means all the books are very cheap. It is a small, independent shop and the owner, who turned out to be very friendly, is trading away and he has a great selection of books. He still had the copy of Invisible Cities I had spotted on his website, and you can see he had a lot of other books that I was very happy to take off his hands.



I would recommend both O’Mahony’s and Quay Books to any booklover visiting Limerick.

>18 pgmcc: What a great book buying expedition! I need to check out a few more bookstores in this area, now that it is safer to do so.

>18 pgmcc: no doubt you will be urging Mrs Pete to go to more conferences!

I actually haven’t read Cosmicomics. I think it’s from Calvino’s transition between his earlier realist period and his later fantastic period (which produced Invisible Cities and On a Winter’s Night a Traveller).

>18 pgmcc: I'm shocked you felt it necessary to include this caution (Now, behave. Do not let any facts get in the way of a good story.) We read fiction here in this Pub; we would never get in the way of a good story. Although it would appear you're well positioned in fending off any investigative inquiries by the Thingaversary Enforcers.

One quick question on translation: Is "bumf" a synonym for marketing blurb found on the back of the book or on a dust jacket flap? You use the term when you are talking about The Fine Print title.

>22 jillmwo:
I think you have found me out in the misuse of a word. "Blurb" would have been the appropriate word to use. "Bumf" is used here to refer to things like a load of advertising material that has come through the door, or a load of files on a subject that someone has to read up on, e.g. if one person is handing over a project to another person they might tell that person, "I will send over all the bumf on the project". They will probably be happy to get rid of all the bumf.

>21 haydninvienna:
While browsing in O'Mahony's and considering the purchase of The Complete Cosmicomics I read a little about its origin. What I read confirmed the transition you describe in you post. However, I can not remember where I read that detail. I have just read the back cover, the introduction, and other small start up parts of the book, but have not found were I read that information.

>19 Karlstar:
I love browsing. It calms me and puts me in a good mood. I probably did not notice how much I missed browsing bookshops during COVID until it was over.

>18 pgmcc:
I have not yet mentioned my thinking about why I bought each of the books that I bought on my trip to Limerick. While I mentioned it for a few of the books I will give my decision process for each the books and will not worry about repetition.

Invisible Cities: I have been aware of Calvino's If on a Winter's Night a Traveller for many years, and have a copy that I have not read yet. I recall browsing in "The University Bookshop" at Queen's University and seeing it on display. This would have been 1979 or 1980. There had been a lot of chatter about how good it was, but I did not pick it up at the time. I see from my records that I did not buy it until January 2020, and it was the Kindle version I bought.

Invisible Cities was not on my radar until haydninvienna mentioned it in his post, and his saying he knowingly bought a second copy convinced me that I had to get a copy, and that I should really read If on a Winter's Night a Traveler at some time. Given that Richard has struck me with his skilled shooting, when I was doing my research for the Limerick trip and saw Quay Books had a copy of Invisible Cities, I became determined to buy a copy; ideally the copy in Quay Books. Do not ask me why it had to be that copy, but that is what was in my mind on my way to Liberick. Perhaps it was my subconscious using it as a excuse for visiting a second bookshop.

Anyway, when I got to Quay Books I browsed until I discovered the copy of Invisible Cities. In discussion with the bookshop owner I told him I had spotted it on his website the night before and it was the reason I made my way to his shop. His shop is a small, secondhand and remainder shop and is filled with treasures to be discovered. All the books I bought there were remaindered and the most expensive was €5. Two were €4.

The Complete Cosmicomics: When I was in O'Mahony's I had a look for Invisible Cities, just in case it was there. At this stage I have walked twenty minutes from the railway station to the conference venue so my wife would not get lost, dropped her and walked back to the railways station and another twenty minutes into the centre of Limerick to get to O'Mahony's. My determination to buy Invisible Cities in Quay Books was wavering as I was thinking that I had to walk further to find it. Luckily I did not find a copy of Invisible Cities but I discovered The Complete Cosmicomics, a book I had never heard of. I acknowledged that my Calvino reading was not what it should be, and after having read the back cover, part of the Introduction, and About the Author, I decided to get it just in case I did not find Invisible Cities in Quay Books.

The Fine Print: Not too far from the Calvino books I spotted a book with a cover that caught my attention. While I might make up various reasons for my buying The Fine Print the honest truth is likely to be that I bought the book on the basis of the cover. I read the blurb (thank you jillmwo) and discovered the book was the first in a series of standalone novels about three billionaire brothers. (There we had four reasons I would probably not buy a book: three billionaire brothers and it's being part of a series.) If I was to come up with the most convincing argument as to why I bought the book other than that I liked the cover, it would be the first sentence in the bio paragraph about Rowan that appeared on the back cover: "I'm in the business of creating fairy tales."

On Reading, Writing and Living with Books: On arriving at Quay Books I discovered a table at the front of the shop with some books on display. My attention was grabbed by a small book nestled amongst some sizeable tomes. I picked it up browsed its contents. It is a collection of pieces about books including a piece by Virginia Woolf, letters from Charles Dickens to Wilkie Collins, an article by George Eliot, a note from Leigh Hunt, and a contribution from E. M. Forster. In other words it is a book about books. it is only a small book of under 100 pages, but I estimated that at €5 I could not go too far wrong.

Greybeard: I have enjoyed any Brian Aldiss books I have read, and having heard of Greybeard but not having read it I thought I would pick it up. The Owner of the shop had laid a trap for me. Near the place where I found Invisible Cities, there is a row of SF Masterworks. This is where I discovered Greybeard, and is also where I discovered the next two books.

The Andromeda Anthology: is a book I was not aware of. Reading the blurb I learned it is about scientists receiving a message from the Andromeda galaxy. Being a great fan of Contact, both book and film, I was immediately grabbed by the blurb. (That sounds like it could be painful.)

Odd John: I have read very little Olaf Stapledon, but I recalled liking whatever it is I have read. Seeing the Stapledon name drew me to the book. The blurb convinced me to buy it.

The Castle in the Forest: The Naked and the Dead is a book I have, and I am keen to read. I thought I would give this on a chance too. Of course, having just had a quick look at my catalogue I realise I already have copy of this book that I bought on 1st November, 2010. Well, at €4 it was not a very expensive mistake to make.

I have already given reasoning behind my purchase of the two books for my grandson. (See >18 pgmcc:)

You now have the reasoning behind my Limerick book purchases, as far as I know them at the moment.

Thank you for the photos and the detailed account of your book-shopping mission in Limerick. I'm adding it to my long list of places to visit, on the strength of the books you found. Invisible cities is one of my favourite books. I started reading Calvino in VI form college, when I was intrigued by the title If on a winter's night a traveller when I found it in the library. I started to read the first chapter and couldn't stop. I own The complete Cosmicomics but haven't read it yet.

I hope you and your grandson enjoy the books you bought to read to him.

>19 Karlstar:, >25 pgmcc: Browsing in bookshops is one of the greatest pleasures in life IMO. I will gladly pay more to purchase a book in a brick and mortar store just to ensure that bookshops will continue to exist.

>27 Sakerfalcon:
I found the bookshop browsing ample reward for visiting Limerick, but I did find if difficult to find a nice, quiet place to sit down and have a cup of tea. There are no more old style Irish hotels where you can go into the foyer and order a pot of tea, and sit there to catch your breath. I managed to find a small pastry/sandwich/ coffee shop and had a panini and tea. I could not spend long there as it was small and I would be blocking a table on one of their busy days.

When I mentioned this to a colleague she said, "You should have gone to the library." She was right. I am kicking myself that I did not think of that. I would not have been able to order tea, but I would have been able to sit down and read my books.

Limerick has quite a few statues, churches, historic buildings, and the River Shannon. I did not go into any of the buildings, so cannot comment on their interior decor or content. The statues appear to be of former lord mayors and MPs, MPs from the day of buying the seats rather than winning popular support.

There was one building that had the plaques/coast-of-arms of various building guilds with establishment dats in the 1600s. I wish I had spent the time to take photographs of the plaques, but at the time I was more concerned about finding somewhere to sit down. :-)

My wife and I met in Limerick. My boss had taken me to the annual conference of The Operations Research Society of Ireland, and her boss had sent her there. It took place in Cruise's Hotel which has since been demolished. The conference dinner was at the medieval banquet in Bunratty Castle and we have a photograph of the two of us at that event; a photograph of the two of us the day we met.

The following year's conference was in The Prince of Wales Hotel in Athlone. Our engagement was announced by the society president in his opening address. We were not aware he planned to do that.

>28 pgmcc: Sweet memories. I agree about the lack of places to rest and have a quiet cup of tea. We do have Starbucks, but somehow I am never relaxed in one.

>29 MrsLee: I have used Starbucks for a rest and cup of tea. Often it is not quiet. Also, Starbucks is my last choice for a sit down. I find it too standardised and sterile, but it is so ubiquitous it can often be the only place available.

>29 MrsLee: and >30 pgmcc: I used to haunt a local Starbucks when I was still working in the city, but generally for zipping in and out. The place I have traditionally gone to SIT with book, laptop and coffee is our local Panera; thank heaven they made it through the pandemic. Equipped with wifi, plenty of outlets and more than decent coffee. They never chase us out.

>28 pgmcc: >29 MrsLee: Trish and I used to go spend a little reading time at a nearby Barnes and Noble, pre-pandemic. It wasn't really quiet, but there are places to just sit and read. There isn't one close by now, unfortunately.

Richard/haydninvienna, I am enjoying This is How You Lose the Time War. I had a shaky start with it as I was focused on Howdunit and was only getting to read small bits of the novel. I have been getting more time to read the novel recently* and have been pulled into the exchange of messages and the parallel existences of the two agents. The relationship is building nicely. I still have a long way to go, but the philosophical discussions are proving interesting and thought provoking. (I think that is what philosophical discussions are supposed to do.)

Thank you for the hit.

*I am finding myself in situations where it is handier to use the Kindle rather than a large book like Howdunit, so I am leaving the big book at home and reading on the Kindle. This has given me the threshold amounts of time required to get into This is How you Lose the Time War.

I have not been reading much this week. It is ironic; when COVID struck I started working from home and lost about two hours reading time a day as I was not on the bus. This past week I started back to the office and I have ended up being very busy and exhausted and not reading as much. This sounds like a lose-lose to me. :-(

I cheer myself up by remembering it is less than 100 days until I retire. In fact, 92 days, 20 hours, 18 minutes and 40 seconds to be precise.

>34 pgmcc: Definitely something to look forward to!

>35 Narilka:
I am making the most of the anticipation. :-)

Quick update on what reading I am getting done.

I am about 75% through This is How You Lose the Time War and am finding it very intriguing. At this stage it is shaping up to being a "Romeo & Juliet" rewrite, but I am anticipating a twist other than that in the original. The twist I am thinking might happen is that one of the protagonists becomes the seeker who has been gathering the evidence of the secret communications. So far the seeker has been positioned as a being who is gathering evidence to destroy the protagonists. I think it could be one of the protagonists from the future retracing trails to gather up evidence that might fall into the wrong hands. The seeker is therefore well intentioned rather than an internal spy.

I am about the same distance through Howdunit and am still enjoying the read.

The things holding me back from reading are:
- tiredness from traipsing into the office, tackling lots of issues at work, and traipsing home again
- putting up curtains
- constructing cupboards
- dismantling bookcases (I bow my head in shame. It was only two small bookcases in the conservatory. My wife wanted them out of the way. The books are now in boxes. This seems so wrong to me.)
- other chores in the house around getting the place ready for visitors over the holidays. (US daughter and family, including two grandchildren - Happy days.)
- other little chores that arise with no apparent reason, e.g. replacing the ballcock valve in the downstairs loo.

In the evenings I have only been fit to sit and stream Bosch on Prime. One problem with binge watching programmes like Bosch on a streaming channel is that when you see there are seven seasons you know that the life-threatening scenarios the main character gets himself into will not end up with his fatality. It sort of takes the power out of those scenes.

Are the bookcases to be rebuilt somewhere else? That would make their dismantling forgivable and, under certain circumstances, necessary.

>38 hfglen: You saw me frowning as well, eh? I almost let loose a “Tsk!”

I found this weekend that my local Barnes& Noble lacks seating in the store except for in the expensive Starbucks corner. I refuse to spend book money on high-priced snacks. Luckily, they weren’t busy and I didn’t feel guilty sitting to look at the books in hand.

>38 hfglen: & >39 2wonderY:
I was following orders. Honest.

I'm wondering if we need to hold an intervention for >pgmcc's wife? Our friend may be in danger of he is being made to dismantle bookcases.

Have a marvelous time with your family!

I have come to the end of This Is How You Lose The Time War and can say I enjoyed it. Thank you, Richard, for targeting me with that one.

My smugness level has been raised slightly as my speculation, protected by spoiler mask, in >37 pgmcc: turned out to be correct. Of course, I did not foresee all the intricacies of the ending, but I did manage to infer that little detail.

Further comment requires spoiler mask to prevent tainting the views of those yet to read this story.

This struck me as a retelling of Romeo & Juliet, which is basically stated in one part of the book. It is Rome & Juliet with the dream ending that both of them lived.

It also struck me as reminiscent of the short story and subsequent film, Enemy Mine. I will have to find the author for the short story. The touchstone system indicates there are several stories with that name, all with different authors.

The "Enemy Mine" story I refer to is set in a space war. Two enemy soldiers end up in the same blast crater. My recollection is that one of them is injured and his enemy nurses him to his death. In the time involved they form a relationship. There is a lot more to it, but I will not spend time rewriting the story here. I assume the short story was prompted by some real-life war story.



I thought the story was well put together, and very effective.

The references to Ozymandias were fun.

>42 pgmcc: I’ve seen the film, and according to Wikipedia, the story it was based on was written by Barry B Longyear. I’m pleased that you enjoyed This Is How You Lose the Time War—as I said of it, it was so far outside my usual comfort zone that it was almost on Mars, but it proved to be very good anyway.

>41 MrsLee:
I am glad someone understands.

>42 pgmcc: Looks as if you're Mr. O'Shea this time, Peter, as I've taken a rebound hit on this one.

>45 Jim53: Glad to be of service, especially as you just hit me with the tarot based story.

I have started reading Deccie Must Die by Caimh McDonnell. I will have to check, but think this is the fourth or fifth McDonnell book I have read this year. Those of you who have read them will appreciate that I find them a great, relaxing read. They are great fun from beginning to end. I think they are books the should be read in publication date. Even the prequels should be read in the publication date rather than chronologically by story time.

>47 pgmcc: Enjoy the ride! I'm trying to decide if I agree with you about the reading order or not. I may have to read them again to find out. I do think that the first one read should be A Man With One of those Faces.

>48 MrsLee:
I totally agree with the starting position, i.e. A Man With One of Those Faces, but I think the other books should be read in order for two reasons. One, I feel the publication order presents the characters and the events in an interesting order that might appear disjointed if presented chronologically. However, the biggest reason for reading in publication order, is the author's notes to the reader. :-)

>3 jillmwo:
Your question would appear to have cast a spell on me. My reading of Howdunit has fallen into a slower mode. Real Life, including work, extra-mural activities, and getting the house ready for our US daughter and family arriving in late December, have all conspired to reduce my reading time. What reading time I manage to grab is in situations that favour the Kindle rather than the over 500 page physical Howdunit. I am still enjoying it, but am not in the cover-to-cover reading mode at the moment.

I am on page 330, but I have found the pieces I am reading now are interesting, at time amusing, but they do not contain the type of comments and insights in the first half of the book that I was inclined to underline and note. The section I am reading at the moment focuses on short stories.

>50 pgmcc: Well, if you are going to let work, extra-mural activities and getting the house ready for visitors hold you up....

And for the record, there have been one or two occasions in my life when I have managed to hold people spell-bound. Sometimes they just sit stupefied that I was allowed time at a mic...

>51 jillmwo:
...there have been one or two occasions in my life when I have managed to hold people spell-bound.

This does not surprise me.

>34 pgmcc: Just out of curiosity are you back to taking the bus, or are you getting to work some other way?

>53 clamairy:
Bus!
The traffic has returned to preCOVID levels and the measures to deter people bringing cars into the city are such that I would be over an hour in the car and not able to read. COVID infections are not gone, but they do not appear to be as big a problem as they were.

>54 pgmcc: Are you just too tired to read on the bus, then? It's sounds like you are no longer enjoying an hour's worth of reading in each direction. :(

>55 clamairy: As it happens, I am quite content to read on the bus. I am reading one of The Dublin Trilogy books and I run the risk of missing my stop. The book makes the trip pass so quickly I can hardly believe I am reaching the end of my journey. I have found myself having to be careful not to laugh out loud on the bus.

ETA: I am, of course, too tired to do any work when I get into the office. :-)

I celebrated the first day of December with the purchase of a physical book in a physical bookshop. Daphne du Maurier's Frenchman's Creek is one of her novels that has not come into my possession to date. That failing has now been rectified. That being said, it is quite a while since I last read a du Maurier. I must rectify that failing sooner rather than later.



In reading update news, I can report that I am about 75% of my way through Deccie Must Die and am really enjoying it. I am still struggling to stop myself laughing out loud on the bus. This evening I chuckled audibly but thankfully did not attract too much attention.

In relation to Howdunit*, I have not made much progress since jillmwo put a spell on me by asking how I was reading it.

*Touchstone still insists in bringing up The Book of Poisons: A Guide for Writers by Serita Stevens every time I use the Touchstone brackets on Howdunit. The algorithm within the Touchstone subroutine is a mystery to me.

Describing a new development:

"Everywhere she looked were buildings that seemed to be made of ninety percent glass. The entire place was a window cleaner’s wet dream. There were also those trees that looked so identical to each other that the little splash of nature they provided actually made the place feel somehow less natural. As if you were a little figurine trapped in one of those scale models you sometimes see in the foyers of buildings." (from "Deccie Must Die (MCM Investigations Book 2)" by Caimh McDonnell)

>57 pgmcc: As a professional woman, I follow long-established, best practices so I think you'll discover that most of my spells have an expiration date. You'll get back to Howdunit at some point. (I think there's only one idiot prince still hopping around as a frog...)

>58 pgmcc: I am very disappointed to report that my library system has none of the nine or so volumes of this "trilogy." I will have to decide whether to purchase one, at a time when I am trying to slim down my collection a bit. Life sure is full of dilemmas.

>57 pgmcc: Poisons? Hmm, I wonder what the universe is trying to tell you?

>60 Jim53: My library doesn’t have any of them either. I bought the first one in paperback and just purchased the second one for my (new) Kindle. :)

>57 pgmcc: Please laugh out loud on the bus. The world needs more laughter and it will make others smile.

>62 MrsLee: I wholeheartedly agree!

And if in response to quizzical looks you raise the book with a smile, you're scoring a hit for literacy.

>63 Meredy: & >62 MrsLee:
I would be happy to do that, but raising my Kindle would only show a plain, burgundy cover.

>59 jillmwo:
The Force is strong with you. Five minutes after reading your post the kindle battery died and I returned to Howdunit.

>61 catzteach:
I think there is a sociopath lurking in the Touchstone algorithm. They have been consistently pushing me towards the poison book. The Book of Poisons: A guide for writers? What shallow cover! Surely it is really "A Guide for Murderers"! Is there something about this book that enforces a rule that only "Writers" can read it? I think not.

This is just a quick review of my pre-ordered books and their scheduled release dates, in chronological order no less.

15th December, 2022

9th February, 2023

16th February, 2023

2nd March, 2023

23rd March, 2023

(US Cover) Titanium Noir 4th May, 2023

>67 pgmcc: Nice haul!

And yes, laugh out loud. I do that all the time while listening to audiobooks with my pretty much non-visible wireless earbuds. I'm sure everyone passing by while I'm out gardening thinks I am deranged. 🤪

"DSI Burns didn’t say anything, in a way that left nothing unsaid." (from "Deccie Must Die (MCM Investigations Book 2)" by Caimh McDonnell)

I came to the end of Deccie Must Die today. Like all Caimh McDonnell's books, it is funny and a good mystery. He has created strong characters who the reader gets to know.

Would I read another book by this author?
Yes! I have his next two books on pre-order with one of them arriving in just under two weeks.

Would I recommend this book?
Yes!

Who would I recommend it to?
Anyone who likes a bit of fun, and who is not too prudish.

Has this book inspired me to do anything?
If I had not already pre-ordered Caimh McDonnell's yet to be released books, I would do so now.

>69 pgmcc: I always think when beginning these books that I won't like the new characters as much as the old ones, I am always wrong

>70 MrsLee:
He creates great characters and uses them well. He obviously understands the nuances of the game.

For no particular reason, I wanted to share this picture of Willow and George.

Awww, just lovely :)

>67 pgmcc: I had four of the six of these already on my TBR and only added one more. Your attempted BB murder was but a flesh wound.

>72 pgmcc: I'm not sure why, but I always find cats with their eyes closed extra adorable.

>72 pgmcc: That is a sweet photo of two lovely beasties.

>72 pgmcc: I think with all the writing research you have been doing, those two deserve a story. How about a little story for the grandkids at Christmas, huh? Look at them. You have the perfect book cover already. Lulu.com :)

>66 pgmcc: that is an interesting cover. I wonder what the thinking was behind it.

>72 pgmcc: they are adorable!

Side question: I know to post a photo here, one has to have them on a website. I used to use Flickr, but then it became a paid site. I’d like to find a free site. What site do you use?

>64 pgmcc: Wondering how long before Kindle covers come with a screen on the outside that shows a book cover (maybe even of the book you're actually reading) for people who are always curious about what other people are reading on the bus or the train.

>77 catzteach: Put them in your junk drawer here on LT. Home > Profile, then click on the big blue "add picture" bar near the top right of the screen. That will bring up a screen that's easy to use if you remember to select "junk drawer" and not the default "member gallery". Right-click on the picture when it comes up will give you a menu that includes the link you need in your post.

>71 pgmcc: He reminds me strongly of Donn Byrne, the way he loves all his characters. Are you familiar with Byrne?

>79 hfglen: Where does one find the junk drawer here on LT. Like catzteach I need to be reminded about how to add stuff like book covers and other photos.

>72 pgmcc: Those are happy animals!

>81 jillmwo: Go to the word "Home" next to "LibraryThing" in the bar along the top of your signon screen.
Now click on "Profile", second item in the bar immediately below that.
Over on the right hand side near the top you will see two big blue bar-like buttons. At this stage your screen should look like this:

Click on the "Add Pictures" button. This brings up a secondary screen that looks like this:

Make sure that "Junk Drawer" is selected from the drop-down menu at "Member Gallery".
Now click browse and select your image.
Add any title, notes etc. in the spaces near the foot of the screen.
Click upload. In a few moments LT will display your picture.
Right-click on the picture and select "copy image link" (the 4th option) from the menu that comes up.
Now add that to your post.

THANK YOU. You're fabulous!!!

>82 hfglen: Thanks for all those directions!! One more question, I seem to remember having to do more than just paste a link into the post. Do I surround the link with any code or just paste the link? I get this figure out, you all will be seeing way more of my cats. :D

>84 catzteach: I think it's the 5th and 6th lines down on this post. You only have to add the height if you don't want a gigantic photo. And it doesn't have to be in quotations, but you do need the word height and the = sign.
https://www.librarything.com/topic/177029#4750147

>82 hfglen: Excellent instructions! An optional shortcut: From any LT page, you can get to your profile page by clicking your username, located just above the LT search bar.

>85 clamairy: I starred that 'How To Do Fancy Things In Your Posts' thread long ago. It is such a handy resource!

Having recharged my Kindle and finished Deccie Must Die, I am whizzing through Howdunit again. It has really caught my attention and the only reason I have not been reading it all day, is because I have had household odd jobs to do, and Mrs. PGMCC is keen for me to get around to them.

I will be giving Howdunit five stars. The editor has done a great job of linking the various contributions with smooth commentary, and informative comments. The contributors have done a great job of presenting interesting information on the writing topics they have been recruited to address. Some of them have been creative in how they have presented their views and tips.

>76 MrsLee:
“George & Willow Investigate the Mystery of the missing Bonio.”

>88 pgmcc: I like it.

>72 pgmcc: Very cute!

>85 clamairy: Seeing I usually work on pictures (I use the GIMP, which is every bit as powerful as Photoshop and free), I usually adjust the picture size there while I'm at it, and save the resulting jpeg at 67% quality. This results in a smaller file and (hopefully) deters piracy by limiting the ability of the next person to enlarge the image. FWIW, the first image in #82 is 600 pixels wide, the second 500.

>85 clamairy: thank you! I always forget about that thread. Don’t know why, since it’s at the top of our group page. *face palm*

>91 hfglen: Oh, I’ll have to look for GIMP. I would love to edit my photos more. I haven’t known what to use for that and haven’t researched it as there are many other things that keep me busy.

>87 pgmcc: I used to write mysteries when I was a kid. I wonder if I’d like this book now as an adult. And would it help me teach writing to my third graders? They could all become little Agatha Christies. :)

>92 catzteach:
I would say it would be a great help for aspiring writers, and even for professional writers. There is a lot about the writer's life and how to survive it. It is a great book for tips and people's real life experiences. It covers many areas and is nicely categorized. Many of the comments and tips are relevant to any genre.

The contributions are organised under the following sections:
Premise
Motives
Beginning
People
Places
M.O.
Perspectives
Plots
Detectives
Research
Detection
Suspense
Action
History
In Short
Fiction and Fact
Partners in Crime
Adapting
Challenges
Ending
Publishing
Writing Lives

We have some lights in the garden for the festive season. The effect was not good enough, so we recruited The Moon to give it a more, haunted atmosphere.

Speaking of which, have you been watching Wednesday? We finished watching Season 1 on Friday evening. We enjoyed it. Harry Potter with Fangs!

>93 pgmcc: Hmm, I should give it a try. If anything, it’ll help me talk to them about what “real writers” do.

Also, Wednesday looks good! Thanks for mentioning it. I’ll check it out while The Husband is recouping from his knee surgery.

>94 pgmcc: I'm glad you said "haunting effect" first. It is lovely in a Gothic way.

>94 pgmcc: Cletus would fit right in!

>97 clamairy:
He would be very welcome.

>96 MrsLee:
I was pleased with the image.

>95 catzteach:
I wish your husband well with his surgery.

>100 pgmcc: Thanks. He’s a bit anxious right now. Excited to finally have a knee that works well, though.

My review for Howdunit.

Most people would regard this book as a good reference volume for dipping into now and again. I read it cover to cover and found it nicely coherent, primarily due to the informative and conversational linking paragraphs from the editor, Martin Edwards.

The contributions were grouped into themed categories and this avoided the issue of multiple pieces repeating the same things over and over, while providing a number of pieces on each theme that provided opportunity for differing views to be presented.

I had expected many of the contributions to be mundane, self-promotional articles with limited worthwhile content, but I must say I only spotted a couple of such articles amongst the 90 pieces of writing presented. The majority, and it was a big majority, of the contributions are serious efforts to pass on what wisdom the author may have regarding the topic they were asked to write about.

Most of the authors stated what worked for them, but acknowledged everybody is different and what works for them may not work for the reader. These authors often gave alternative approaches other than their own.

A sense of humour was frequently present, and some of the articles are very amusing.

The contributions in this book were brought together to specifically address the issues of writing crime fiction. In reality, most of the advice and commentary is applicable in a much wider context. Many of the issues discussed about the relationship of the crime fiction genre with "literature" are as relevant to the majority of fiction genres as they are to crime fiction. There is great commonality amongst the oppressed genres of The World.

I would read more books produced or edited by Martin Edwards.

This is a book I would recommend strongly to anyone who writes, is thinking of writing, or who, like myself, is interested in storytelling and the writing process.

Since reading Howdunit I have been looking up other works by Martin Edwards and already have two in my possession.



I must shout out to Jim53 and thank him for his great recommendation.

>72 pgmcc: Those two are definitely plotting something. Keep an eye on the Christmas turkey.

Owww, you got me! Have put that one on my Audible list.

>104 Bookmarque:
Glad to be of service. :-)

I hope you enjoy it.

I started reading The Moonstone last evening. It is our book club book for January discussion.

Oh that's a fun one. Have you not read it before? I have several times. I think my favorite character in terms of just sheer entertainment (although, maddening entertainment) is Miss Clack. And her pamphlets.

>107 Bookmarque:
It is one of those books I have been meaning to read and never gotten around to.

The Moonstone is enjoyable, although it doesn't go over well with modern readers for some reason. I tried it with a book group and they mostly found it a slog. (I am after all a sucker for a good nineteenth century novel. Personally, I love the character of the butler, Gabriel Betteredge who, when at a loss for guidance, would seek it out from his copy of Robinson Crusoe. I keep a copy of Robinson Crusoe nearby on a shelf myself just in case it turns out Betteredge is right...)

Betteredge is great, too. The whole thing is a Victorian masterpiece and if you give yourself up to it, you will enjoy it.

>109 jillmwo:

I did not get much reading done yesterday and only read the Prologue on Sunday. This morning I started the story proper and have read a few pages that have amused me greatly. Reading the Prologue I could see how some people might think the book a slog. Once I started Betteredge's story I could not stop smiling. I am looking forward to more of his commentary on the case, and his application of Robinson Crusoe wisdom. Betteredge's reasoning for his getting married might raise some eyebrows today. It was, however, very practical.

>110 Bookmarque:

I can see I am going to enjoy The Moonstone. Having now met Betteredge I am convinced this is going to be a very entertaining read.

I do have one regret. I cannot recall the circumstances, but I remember coming across the solution to the mystery in The Moonstone, and I would rather be reading the book without that knowledge. However, I shall charge ahead.

When I was a teenager in school, we did not read The Moonstone but another class was reading it. I have been wanting to read it since that time. That must be about five years ago now. (I know, it is more like five-zero years.)

>111 pgmcc: I believe that I read this for a course as an undergrad, but I suspect I skimmed. I thought I had my old paperback floating around, but I see it's not listed in my library. I am confused. I am, however, glad you are enjoying it!

Aw, that's too bad. I had no idea about the solution when I first read it and really loved the reveal/surprise. These days I read it again from time to time and it's fun, too, but in a different way.

>111 pgmcc: Glad you are enjoying it, I've been curious about that one ever since I read Drood.

>111 pgmcc: I read the Classics comics version of The Moonstone as a youngster, so I knew the ending long before I read the book. Enjoyed it very much all the same. And yes, I too loved the character who treated Robinson Crusoe as his guidebook.

Have you read Robinson Crusoe?

>115 Meredy:
I read Robinson Crusoe years ago. I think I was eleven. I loved it. That must be about ten years ago now. The Moonstone may have inspired me to re-read Robinson Crusoe.

I have been pondering this book, and a few comments in the GD have pushed me over the edge. I purchased it at lunchtime today. I bought a physical book in a physical bookshop.

The man on the till had read the book and commented that it was a good one. We had an exchange of views but I had to cut is short as there was a queue behind me. :-) I will have to keep an eye out for him in future. He is new in the shop.

>117 pgmcc: The dust jacket on your British edition is much nicer than the one on my American edition. Do cultivate the new gentleman in the shop. New voices are always welcome!

>117 pgmcc: “physical bookshop”: Hodges Figgis, I presume.

>119 haydninvienna:
Easons. It was a quick late lunch visit. I ate in the the Easons restaurant.

>117 pgmcc: I want to get this, but I'm trying to be patient and see if it is in a post-Christmas sale. I have heard very good things about it.

What a pleasure to meet an informed bookseller. You will of course have to visit the bookshop regularly to get to know him.

Wanted to mention that I loved your walking tour of Dublin on FB, but before I could say anything there, it disappeared! Thanks for posting it.

>122 MrsLee:
Thank you. I don’t know why it disappeared. It is still showing up for me.

I was meeting former colleagues from a job I left in 1989. The video was made from pictures I took on my way from work to the hotel we were meeting in.

>114 Karlstar:
Have you read Dickens's The Mystery of Edwin Drood, the novel he did not finish before his death? I read it in preparation to reading Drood.

I felt Drood was more about Wilkie Collins than Dickens. It certainly increased my interest in both writers and I was inspired to acquire two biographies of Dickens and one of Collins. Perhaps one day I will be inspired to read them. :-)

So many books; so little time.

I am looking forward to retirement providing a bit more balance in that regard.

>124 pgmcc: Ahem! And the running clock says how long?

>125 2wonderY:
71 days, 18 hours, 31 minutes, 40 seconds

>126 pgmcc: w00t!

>124 pgmcc: I haven't yet, but I think I will eventually as I keep going with my Dickens reading.

>128 Karlstar:
Being unfinished it was a little frustrating, but I really enjoyed it as far as it went. I also really enjoyed the section in my edition that described the various attempts people had made to complete the mystery. I am really glad I read it.

The Artful Dickens: The Tricks and Ploys of the Great Novelist is now in my possession. It is a lovely hardback and its heft is a delight.

>130 pgmcc: That looks wonderful. I eagerly anticipate your review.

>131 clamairy:
It appears to fit the theme of books about books I have found myself enjoying. I still have Portable Magic to get to. I am spoilt by having so many interesting books lined up waiting for my time. I think I will be getting to The Artful Dickens sooner rather than later.

By the way, do not think I did not spot your precisely aimed Dickens BB in your own thread. Talk about seeing a bullet with my name on it.

>132 pgmcc: Ha! Maybe this one still stick. I feel like I must be shooting foam Nerf bullets your way.

Some people may have noticed that, while I may not be succeeding, I am trying to avoid book bullets. Having just spotted my recently acquired copy of The Artful Dickens, itself the result of a book bullet from Haydninvienna with listological* support from the New Yorker, I started thinking about the number of books crying out for attention, and how fortunate I am having a large number of books that I am eager to read. These books reminded me of the time when we rescued four kittens. That was in August, 2013. Around feeding time the kittens were all looking for attention. The books around me are crying out for attention like the cats. The key benefit of books crying out for attention is that they do not climb up your trouser legs using their claws like ice-picks.

Anyway, I thought it appropriate to share with you a brief list of books that are calling out to me as I write. The ones listed are mostly recent acquisitions, but if I were to go further back into my catalogue we would be here all day and still not have exhausted the list of books that would be climbing up my trouser legs if they could.

The vociferous books are:

The Artful Dickens

Once Upon a Tome READ

Babel

Frenchman’s Creek

Invisible Cities

On Reading, Writing and Living with Books

Portable Magic

The Fine Print. READ

Novelist as a Vocation READ

Ghosts from the Library

A Private Spy

The Lincoln Highway

The Tattoo Murder READ

Deadlier than the Male

Good Behaviour

Ghost Story

Lincoln in the Bardo

The Devil in the Dust

Tower of the King’s Daughter

The Princess Diarist

This is the Night They Come for You

Deep Waters

Hazards of Time Travel

Two-way Murder

Chess Story

These are in addition to the books by Tana French, Eric Ambler and Dorothy L Sayers, to name but a few, that I am keen to get to. My biggest problem when I finish a book will be deciding what I will read next. It is like visiting a restaurant when you would be very happy to eat any of the menu options, but you have to pick only one.

Colour me content with my available reading options.

By the way, I am loving The Moonstone, which is also reinforcing my desire to read the Wilkie Collins books that I have not yet gotten to. Not to mention Anthony Trollope and Charles Dickens himself. I have not even mentioned George A. Birmingham, John Buchan, Robert Aickman and Thomas Ligotti whose books I have been keenly collecting.

* Yes; I made that word up.

And now look what has arrived on my Kindle.

>134 pgmcc: I think most of us are in the same predicament. I've lost all track of my TBR stacks, lists and piles. I'm grateful that OverDrive added tags, but I'm sure between my list over there, the unread books on my Kindle and the unread physical books in my home there are well over 1,000 titles calling for my attention. It's a lovely problem to have.

>135 pgmcc: Nice!

(Why is my phone doing this to me? I do NOT have "undead" books, or "titties" vying for my attention... LOL)

>134 pgmcc: "climb up your trouser legs using their claws like ice-picks".

Mister Mistoffelees is seven going eight (going 1000) years old and still does that every time it's my turn to cook. And often when Better Half cooks. I think he knows a sucker when he sees one.

>134 pgmcc: & >135 pgmcc: LOL, As I neared the end of your list, I was going to mention the lack of Sayers in it, then near the end of your post I was going to remind you that Family Jewels was arriving today. Guess you don't need reminding about anything. :)

>137 hfglen:
The only surviving cat is George. He is nine at this stage, but thankfully he does not resort to pulling himself up my leg, or any other part of my body, using his claws.

>136 clamairy:
My "unread" tag indicates I have 1,296 books calling out to me.

>138 MrsLee:
Great minds...

>134 pgmcc: >136 clamairy: >138 MrsLee: There is nothing so comforting as knowing one is not alone in one's hidden vice, that there are other like-minded souls who fall victim to the very same weakness. It's a great line-up you've assembled there!!

This is also the perfect time to create a list like this; it sets goals for the upcoming New Year and reminds one of how much leisure reading there is yet to be enjoyed. I may have to post a similar list before we hit New Year's Eve.

>140 jillmwo:
When I thought of drawing up the list it was just to share with everyone how lucky I am to have so many good books lined up. I then thought it looked good for 2023. Then I started think like you; it is a hit list. It would be a good year if I read everything on the list.

>139 pgmcc: Wow, that's a lot of unread books.

>142 Karlstar:
It is a reassuring number. I still come across the occasional book I have failed to catalogue, so 1,296 is a slightly underestimated number. :-)

If I can never acquire another book, I probably have a sufficient number to get through the Winter break.

>143 pgmcc: There was an article in the Washington Post this week: "We’re drowning in old books. But getting rid of them is heartbreaking." Generally the tone was that people have too many books and it is a problem. The used bookstore owners they talked to said they have a huge intake lately.

The best thing about the article was that it mentioned Hobart, NY Hobart Village - a village with 8 bookstores!! How have I never heard of this before? Unfortunately it is in a very out of the way town, but I'll get there someday now that I know it exists.

P.S. To follow the link, just remove the %20 at the end - anyone know why LT is adding that?

>143 pgmcc: and >144 Karlstar: From that Wapo article (which tried to be encouraging as much as worrisome): Despite the advent of the digerati and eBooks, hardcovers and paperbacks continue to flood the market for readers who prefer the look and feel of physical books, the weight in their hands, the pleasure of turning a page. Three-quarters of trade book revenue last year derived from hardcover and paperback sales, according to the Association of American Publishers. A boom in self- and hybrid publishing has allowed more people to call themselves an “author,” with a juggernaut of titles published annually in print, around 395,000 in 2021, a 15 percent increase in a decade, according to Bowker, which assigns ISBN numbers and bar codes to books.

What to do with old books is a quandary that collectors, no matter what age, eventually face — or leave to their heirs who, truly, do not want the bulk of them.

Book lovers are known to practice semi-hoardish and anthropomorphic tendencies.

It was that last line there that skewered me...

>144 Karlstar: & >145 jillmwo:

Firstly, I do not hold with the concept that one can have too many books.

Secondly, as I approach retirement I have been thinking about my books and what will happen to them once I no longer have any use for them. To this point I have been pondering to whom I might leave them. My eldest child, a busy mother and budding politician, has not demonstrated much interest in books, so is not a candidate for taking on the custody of my treasured volumes.

My elder son is living in a small apartment and, like his eldest sister, does not read a lot.

My youngest son is quite interested in reading, but and he has never shown much interest in my books.

My other daughter and her husband are eager readers. They are the ones living in Cincinnati in a large house that has plenty of room for bookshelves. Yesterday I broached the subject of whether or not they would be interested in any books from my collection. My daughter said they would be delighted to take any books that I had "curated into my library". That was nice. The problem now becomes a cost of logistics issue. At least I know the books are wanted.

>144 Karlstar: "P.S. To follow the link, just remove the %20 at the end - anyone know why LT is adding that?"

It might be the forward slash at the end of your URL?

>146 pgmcc: I feel your pain, Peter. Of my 4 children plus a step-child, the only reader is my elder daughter. I think I’ll leave the lot to her and then it’s up to her. If any of the siblings want specific books they will need to negotiate with her.

>147 ScoLgo: IIRC from the distant past, it's a blank space.

>145 jillmwo: That's why we are all dragons!

>146 pgmcc: I agree completely, I am nowhere near the point where I have too many books. I'm glad you found someone interested in them, that's encouraging! I think some of my family will be interested in some of my books, but the vast majority will just be donated.

>147 ScoLgo: I thought you might be right, I tried removing the trailing /, but after that it was no longer a hyperlink. >149 Jim53: I checked for a blank space too - maybe it needs one?

>146 pgmcc: Re: logistics. Just take a lot of trips and bring a few books each time. Easy!

>151 suitable1:
They are with us at the moment and are leaving on a flight in the morning. At the moment I am sneaking about fifty hardbacks into their luggage. They will never know until they get home.

Good to hear from you. I have missed you here over the past months. I hope you have enjoyed the holidays and that you have a fantastic 2023.

>152 pgmcc: Good timing, the weather has somewhat cleared and according to the news, all the flight cancellations and delays are mostly over too.

Well, Peter, it looks like I'll be starting the new year with A Man With One of Those Faces, thanks to you. That is one stunningly original opening premise, Paul's mission and the reason of it.

And a wildly happy new year to you!

I have not been around here much over the past week or so. That is primarily due to festive activities and enjoying the presence of my daughter and her family over from Cincinnati. We had a lovely time with them all here.



I finished The Moonstone this morning. It took me a long time to read this book, but that, like my absence from The Green Dragon was due to our having visitors.

This book was a treat and I have given it five stars. As I have mentioned before, I learned the key to the mystery prior to reading the book and am disappointed I did not have the chance to discover it as Wilkie Collins would have wanted me to, i.e. by reading the book rather than being informed of it in something I read.

That being said, I loved the book. As several of you have mentioned, Betterage is a great character. I also enjoyed Sergeant Cuff. Clack was a character put in the book to annoy readers, and she did her job well. She was also there to inform the reader of some things the reader could not have known without her involvement, but she mainly annoyed.

Would I read another book by this author?
Most certainly.

Would I recommend this book?
Yes.

Who would I recommend this book to?
Anyone with an interest in crime mysteries, or who likes Dickens.

Did this book inspire me to do anything?
It has inspired me to consider re-reading Robinson Crusoe before Betterage realises I have not read it since I was a child.

I am hoping the seventh book in The Dublin Trilogy, The Family Jewels, maintains the level of humour that I have found in all Ciamh McDonnell's other books. I have no reason to assume otherwise, so I anticipate ending 2022 on a high note regarding reading.

>156 pgmcc: This one, as others, was a bit slow for me at the beginning, but when the ball got rolling it was a gallop to the end.

>155 pgmcc: Just bought it for my Kindle for $0.39. I love a good mystery!

>155 pgmcc: So glad you enjoyed The Moonstone! Fortunately, Wilkie Collins was a fairly prolific writer so you can consider one of the following for 2023 -- Armadale, No Name, The Lady and the Law.

>158 catzteach:
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

>159 jillmwo:

I have Armadale on my shelf beside my The Woman in White.

I think I have The Complete Wilkie Collins on my Kindle, but where I have a choice I will go with the physical book. Also, many of those Kindle "Complete" series tend to have quality issues.

I think I may also have No Name on a shelf somewhere.

Looking at my 2022 reading I am quite pleased with the quality and quantity of the material I have been able to read. There were 46 items, novels, essays, short stories and non-fiction books, processed in 2022. I say processed as three of the novels were DNFs that I dumped fairly quickly. I still consider them processed, but only counted the pages I read.

So, the scores from the 2022 jury are in:

Novels read in full: 33
Novels DNFed: 3
Stand alone short stories read: 1
Short story collection read: 1
Essay read: 1
Non-fiction items read: 7
- Writing: 4
- Memoir: 2
- Rhetoric: 1

>159 jillmwo:
Having carried out a little research about The Lady and the Law I will definitely be reading that book soon.

E.T.A.
On the Kindle I have two volumes:
1. Wilkie Collins: The Complete Short Stories
2. Wilkie Collins: The Complete novels.

The latter volume contains The Law and the Lady.

>163 pgmcc: That's not one I've read yet, although I have a Penguin paperback of it sitting within relatively easy access. I will await further announcements of your progress.

>155 pgmcc: I thought I'd read this, but I have zero memory of it. :( My copy isn't showing up on my shelves. I'm happy to hear it was worth the read. I'll download the free Kindle version one of the days/months/years.

Cincinnati Curiosities by Greg Hand was a gift from my Daughter and her husband who live in Cincinnati. They know I liked Literary Walking Tours of Gothic Dublin and described that book to a bookseller asking if there was anything like it for Cincinnati. The bookseller said this book might fit the bill, but at the time it had not been published. For that reason they pre-ordered the book and bought another book as a back-up present incase the order did not arrive in time for them to bring it to Dublin. As it happened the order arrived the day before they were to leave Cincinnati and my S-I-L was able to pick it up.

The back-up gift was Ghosts of Cincinnati by Teri Casper and Dan Smith. They were good enough to give me both books. :-)



They got the books from the Cincy Book Bus. Apparently this is a mobile bookshop that tours Cincinnati selling books. My daughter and her husband appear to have become regulars on the Book Bus and have struck up a relationship with the lady who runs it. Apparently the Book Bus owner wanted a permanent location and now has a location where the book bus can be parked in the shop with its books displayed. Not only is the book bus displaying its books, but the space is big enough to facilitate the bookshelves to display more books. The location is known as The Book Bus Depot.

>165 clamairy:
I'll download the free Kindle version one of the days/months/years.

I make similar plans.

>166 pgmcc: a book bus?! That sounds wonderful! I think every city should have a roaming book store. Hmm, or like Food Truck Lots, have a Book Truck Lot where the trucks have different genres.

>166 pgmcc: Like a book food truck! Great idea.

There's a photo of the 1962 Volkswagon vehicle that she started with: https://bookshop.org/shop/cincybookbus (more available on the about page here: https://the-book-bus.square.site/about)

I can imagine a nice early summer day with big wooden picnic tables scattered about. There'd be the book bus but also a food truck so you could sit and read while you noshed on something picnic-ish to further fuel the brain.

170 Need coffee and a bar too; but what a great idea!

>171 haydninvienna: I was thinking there needed to be cheese...

>172 clamairy: Indeed. But this sounds like the beginning of an idea. The booktowns started as a way of reviving a town that had fallen on hard times. Perhaps some town could provide a suitably pleasant town square around which food trucks, book buses, coffee buses (there are such) and the like could gather, with tables and umbrellas (or perhaps deck chairs, for relaxed reading)?

>173 haydninvienna: That sounds amazing.

>170 jillmwo:
Thank you for the links and the image that you put in my mind, and from posts >171 haydninvienna:, >172 clamairy:, >173 haydninvienna: & >174 clamairy:, I deduce, in the minds of others.

I feel the discussion around the Cincy Book Bus has encapsulated a lot of the things and values the denizens of The Green Dragon hold dear: books; talk of books; food, cheese in particular; open spaces; community; and a wide range of beverages. >173 haydninvienna: has brought urban renewal into the discussion. I think there are two values that shine through many of The Green Dragon reading threads but have not been specifically mentioned in the past few posts, but should be included: Family and Friendship.

These thoughts are very pleasant for the final posts of a reading thread for 2022.

It is currently 18:00 hours here (plus a bit given the time it will take me to finish this post) so we have six hours of 2022 left. I have friends and relations who are already in 2023 and friends and relations who will have eleven, twelve, thirteen, even fourteen hours of 2022 left, so it is as good a time as any for me to wish everyone a very HAPPY NEW YEAR! HAVE A FANTASTIC 2023.

>175 pgmcc: You too, Peter (and Mrs Pete, and all your numerous relatives)!

>176 haydninvienna:
Thank you, Richard.

I must work in a visit to the book town. You have mentioned it before and it sounds like just the place for an addict like myself.

>166 pgmcc: That’s a good thing to know about The Book Bus. I will need to check it out next year. I too was part of a Cinci book exchange. I gave my son-in-law Vas you ever in Zinzinnati? by Dick Perry. I meant to read some of it before Christmas, but failed. I will have to borrow it from him.

And speaking of food trucks, I never imagined there are competitions, but why not?
The Kentucky Food Truck Championship is held in the next county over from me:
https://www.rockcastletourism.com/food-truck-championship/

Happy New Year!

>178 2wonderY: If there’s a food truck championship, and there could be a book bus championship, why couldn’t they get together?

>178 2wonderY: Food Network has run 'The Great Food Truck Race' the last few years, there are multiple seasons. Basically a food truck competition but they change locations every week.

>179 haydninvienna: Maybe they'll hear about this and add a book truck to the competition!

I would like the food truck/book truck park very much. How much fun that would be!

Happy New Year to you and your family Peter!

>175 pgmcc: And the best of the coming new year to you and yours, as well!

In my town we have some pretty great food truck lots. 5 that I can think of off the top of my head, then one in the little town about 10 miles from me and there is now one in the town of Sisters. All of them have a beverage/beer bar and lovely outdoor seating. All they need to add is a book truck or two. :D (I’d say cheese, too, but one of the trucks serves nothing but grilled cheeses. I have yet to find/try that one)

Happy New Year to you and yours, Peter!!

>182 catzteach: That is wonderful! We have about seven Mexican food trucks in our town. No variety. One last tried to do a local foods/organic truck, but she was kind of a flake, don't know where she is now. She thought a lot of her cooking, but we were not impressed. I think that food/book truck park sounds wonderful!