CBL reads and knits in 2023 - Row 2
Esto es una continuación del tema CBL reads and knits in 2023 - Row 1.
Charlas75 Books Challenge for 2023
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Hi, I'm Carrie, and I've lost track of how many years I've participated in this group! I am an academic librarian living in East Tennessee with my sweet 11-year-old shih tzu, Adrian. My favorite genre is mystery, but I read a little bit of everything. I enjoy participating in the various challenges and group reads both in this group and in the category challenge group. I also have a few personal reading projects that I chip away at each year.
I started walking for exercise more at the beginning of the pandemic, and I took up knitting about a year ago. Both of these activites have eaten into the time that I used to spend keeping up with threads. This year I hope to set aside time each week for thread visits.
My toppers usually feature Adrian. Here's a recent photo of Adrian in his new favorite chair. I've had the chair longer than I've had him, but he's only recently taken an interest in it. The chair was my great-grandfather Stout's. Fun fact: my great-grandfather and author Rex Stout were 3rd cousins.
I started walking for exercise more at the beginning of the pandemic, and I took up knitting about a year ago. Both of these activites have eaten into the time that I used to spend keeping up with threads. This year I hope to set aside time each week for thread visits.
My toppers usually feature Adrian. Here's a recent photo of Adrian in his new favorite chair. I've had the chair longer than I've had him, but he's only recently taken an interest in it. The chair was my great-grandfather Stout's. Fun fact: my great-grandfather and author Rex Stout were 3rd cousins.
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Best of 2022
A Scandal in Bohemia by Arthur Conan Doyle (5) - Review
A Traveller in Time by Alison Uttley (5) - Review
Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love by Dani Shapiro (4.5) - Review
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle (5) - Review
Hana's Suitcase by Karen Levine (4.5) - Review
The Perpetual Curate by Margaret Oliphant (4.5) - Review
The Nazi Hunters by Neal Bascomb (4.5) - Review
Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll (4.5) - Review
A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett (4.5) - Review
The Liberators: America's Witnesses to the Holocaust by Michael Hirsh (5) - Review
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (4.5) - Review
Around the World on Two Wheels by Peter Zheutlin (5) - Review
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (5) - Review
Paradise of the Blind by Thu Huong Duong (4.5) - Review
Happiness by Aminatta Forna (4.5) - Review
The American Agent by Jacqueline Winspear (4.5) - Review
Grimms' Tales for Young and Old translated by Ralph Manheim (4.5) - Review
A Scandal in Bohemia by Arthur Conan Doyle (5) - Review
A Traveller in Time by Alison Uttley (5) - Review
Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love by Dani Shapiro (4.5) - Review
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle (5) - Review
Hana's Suitcase by Karen Levine (4.5) - Review
The Perpetual Curate by Margaret Oliphant (4.5) - Review
The Nazi Hunters by Neal Bascomb (4.5) - Review
Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll (4.5) - Review
A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett (4.5) - Review
The Liberators: America's Witnesses to the Holocaust by Michael Hirsh (5) - Review
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (4.5) - Review
Around the World on Two Wheels by Peter Zheutlin (5) - Review
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (5) - Review
Paradise of the Blind by Thu Huong Duong (4.5) - Review
Happiness by Aminatta Forna (4.5) - Review
The American Agent by Jacqueline Winspear (4.5) - Review
Grimms' Tales for Young and Old translated by Ralph Manheim (4.5) - Review
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Best of 2023
Parallel Journeys by Eleanor Ayer with Helen Waterford & Alfons Heck (4.5) - Review
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (5) - Review
The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff (4.5) - Review
Hiroshima Diary by Michihiko Hachiya (4.5) - Review
The Third Man by Graham Greene (4.5) - Review
The Complete Poems, 1927-1979 by Elizabeth Bishop (4.5) - Review
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (4.5) - Review
Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi (4.5) - Review
Goodbye, Mr. Chips by James Hilton (5) - Review
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg
The Dress Diary by Kate Strasdin (4.5)
The Iron Hand of Mars by Lindsey Davis (4.5)
Parallel Journeys by Eleanor Ayer with Helen Waterford & Alfons Heck (4.5) - Review
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (5) - Review
The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff (4.5) - Review
Hiroshima Diary by Michihiko Hachiya (4.5) - Review
The Third Man by Graham Greene (4.5) - Review
The Complete Poems, 1927-1979 by Elizabeth Bishop (4.5) - Review
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (4.5) - Review
Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi (4.5) - Review
Goodbye, Mr. Chips by James Hilton (5) - Review
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg
The Dress Diary by Kate Strasdin (4.5)
The Iron Hand of Mars by Lindsey Davis (4.5)
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Books Read in April
33. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (4.5) - completed 4/8/23
34. The Pirate's Wife: The Remarkable True Story of Sarah Kidd by Daphne Palmer Geanacopoulos (3.5) - completed 4/9/23
35. Matilda by Roald Dahl (4) - completed 4/13/23
36. Night Rounds by Helene Tursten (3.5) - completed 4/16/23
37. Dead Man's Folly by Agatha Christie (4) - completed 4/19/23
38. Phoebe, Junior by Margaret Oliphant (3.5) - completed 4/22/23
39. The Kindness of Enemies by Leila Aboulela (3.5) - completed 4/24/23
40. All God's Creatures: Daily Devotions for Animal Lovers (4) - completed 4/30/23
Books Read in May
41. The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene (4) - completed 5/3/23
42. Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi (4.5) - completed 5/6/23
43. Women in White Coats by Olivia Campbell (4) - completed 5/14/23
44. Emily of New Moon by L. M. Montgomery (3.5) - completed 5/15/23
45. Shadows in Bronze by Lindsey Davis (4) - completed 5/20/23
46. Great Short Books by Kenneth C. Davis (3.5) - completed 5/24/23
47. The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester (4) - completed 5/25/23
48. Ake: The Years of Childhood by Wole Soyinka (4) - completed 5/31/23
49. The Knowledge of the Holy by A. W. Tozer (4) - completed 5/31/23
Books Read in June
50. To Kill a Troubadour by Martin Walker (3.5) - completed 6/2/23
51. Little Fur Family by Margaret Wise Brown (3.5) - completed 6/7/23
52. Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich (4) - completed 6/9/23
53. Ha'penny by Jo Walton (4) - completed 6/14/23
54. Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis (3) - completed 6/15/23
55. Where There's a Will by Rex Stout (3.5) - completed 6/17/23
56. 4:50 from Paddington by Agatha Christie (4) - completed 6/21/23
57. No Longer at Ease by Chinua Achebe (4) - completed 6/24/23
58. Black Orchids by Rex Stout (4) - completed 6/29/23
Books Read in July
59. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (4) - completed 7/10/23
60. Goodbye, Mr. Chips by James Hilton (5) - completed 7/12/23
61. The Songlines by Bruce Chatwin (4) - completed 7/14/23
62. The Torso by Helene Tursten (3.5) - completed 7/19/23
63. The Claverings by Anthony Trollope (3.5) - completed 7/27/23
64. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (4) - completed 7/28/23
Books Read in August
65. Grandma Gatewood's Walk by Ben Montgomery (4) - completed 8/5/23
66. Venus in Copper by Lindsey Davis (4) - completed 8/19/23
67. Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian (4) - completed 8/23/23
68. Nonna Maria and the Case of the Missing Bride by Lorenzo Carcaterra (4) - completed 8/31/23
69. Deborah Calling by Avraham Azrieli (4) - completed 8/31/23
Books Read in September
70. Not Quite Dead Enough by Rex Stout (3.5) - completed 9/7/23
71. The Sewing Girl's Tale by John Wood Sweet (4) - completed 9/10/23
72. By the Grace of the Game by Dan Grunfeld (3.5) - completed 9/16/23
73. Hell and Back by Craig Johnson (4) - completed 9/25/23
74. Hard Rain by Irma Venter (3) - completed 9/28/23
75. Thanks to My Mother by Schoschana Rabinovici (4) - completed 9/30/23
Books Read in October
76. Brick Lane by Monica Ali (3.5) - completed 10/11/23
77. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg (4.5) - completed 10/14/23
78. The Glass Devil by Helene Tursten (3.5) - completed 10/15/23
79. The Dress Diary by Kate Strasdin (4.5) - completed 10/19/23
80. Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield fisher (5) - completed 10/25/23
81. The Perplexing Theft of the Jewel in the Crown by Vaseem Khan (3.5) - completed 10/28/23
Books read in November
82. The Confessor by Daniel Silva (4) - completed 11/4/23
83. What She Ate by Laura Shapiro (3.5) - completed 11/6/23
84. A Chateau under Siege by Martin Walker (3) - completed 11/14/23
85. The Iron Hand of Mars by Lindsey Davis (4.5) - completed 11/19/23
86. The Silent Speaker by Rex Stout (4) - completed 11/23/23
Books read in December
87. Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood by Benjamin Alire Saenz (3.5) - completed 12/16/23
88. Children of the Street by Kwei Quartey (3.5) - completed 12/26/23
89. Murder at Morija by Tim Couzens (3.5) - completed 12/31/23
90. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (3.5) - completed 12/31/23
33. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (4.5) - completed 4/8/23
34. The Pirate's Wife: The Remarkable True Story of Sarah Kidd by Daphne Palmer Geanacopoulos (3.5) - completed 4/9/23
35. Matilda by Roald Dahl (4) - completed 4/13/23
36. Night Rounds by Helene Tursten (3.5) - completed 4/16/23
37. Dead Man's Folly by Agatha Christie (4) - completed 4/19/23
38. Phoebe, Junior by Margaret Oliphant (3.5) - completed 4/22/23
39. The Kindness of Enemies by Leila Aboulela (3.5) - completed 4/24/23
40. All God's Creatures: Daily Devotions for Animal Lovers (4) - completed 4/30/23
Books Read in May
41. The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene (4) - completed 5/3/23
42. Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi (4.5) - completed 5/6/23
43. Women in White Coats by Olivia Campbell (4) - completed 5/14/23
44. Emily of New Moon by L. M. Montgomery (3.5) - completed 5/15/23
45. Shadows in Bronze by Lindsey Davis (4) - completed 5/20/23
46. Great Short Books by Kenneth C. Davis (3.5) - completed 5/24/23
47. The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester (4) - completed 5/25/23
48. Ake: The Years of Childhood by Wole Soyinka (4) - completed 5/31/23
49. The Knowledge of the Holy by A. W. Tozer (4) - completed 5/31/23
Books Read in June
50. To Kill a Troubadour by Martin Walker (3.5) - completed 6/2/23
51. Little Fur Family by Margaret Wise Brown (3.5) - completed 6/7/23
52. Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich (4) - completed 6/9/23
53. Ha'penny by Jo Walton (4) - completed 6/14/23
54. Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis (3) - completed 6/15/23
55. Where There's a Will by Rex Stout (3.5) - completed 6/17/23
56. 4:50 from Paddington by Agatha Christie (4) - completed 6/21/23
57. No Longer at Ease by Chinua Achebe (4) - completed 6/24/23
58. Black Orchids by Rex Stout (4) - completed 6/29/23
Books Read in July
59. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (4) - completed 7/10/23
60. Goodbye, Mr. Chips by James Hilton (5) - completed 7/12/23
61. The Songlines by Bruce Chatwin (4) - completed 7/14/23
62. The Torso by Helene Tursten (3.5) - completed 7/19/23
63. The Claverings by Anthony Trollope (3.5) - completed 7/27/23
64. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (4) - completed 7/28/23
Books Read in August
65. Grandma Gatewood's Walk by Ben Montgomery (4) - completed 8/5/23
66. Venus in Copper by Lindsey Davis (4) - completed 8/19/23
67. Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian (4) - completed 8/23/23
68. Nonna Maria and the Case of the Missing Bride by Lorenzo Carcaterra (4) - completed 8/31/23
69. Deborah Calling by Avraham Azrieli (4) - completed 8/31/23
Books Read in September
70. Not Quite Dead Enough by Rex Stout (3.5) - completed 9/7/23
71. The Sewing Girl's Tale by John Wood Sweet (4) - completed 9/10/23
72. By the Grace of the Game by Dan Grunfeld (3.5) - completed 9/16/23
73. Hell and Back by Craig Johnson (4) - completed 9/25/23
74. Hard Rain by Irma Venter (3) - completed 9/28/23
75. Thanks to My Mother by Schoschana Rabinovici (4) - completed 9/30/23
Books Read in October
76. Brick Lane by Monica Ali (3.5) - completed 10/11/23
77. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg (4.5) - completed 10/14/23
78. The Glass Devil by Helene Tursten (3.5) - completed 10/15/23
79. The Dress Diary by Kate Strasdin (4.5) - completed 10/19/23
80. Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield fisher (5) - completed 10/25/23
81. The Perplexing Theft of the Jewel in the Crown by Vaseem Khan (3.5) - completed 10/28/23
Books read in November
82. The Confessor by Daniel Silva (4) - completed 11/4/23
83. What She Ate by Laura Shapiro (3.5) - completed 11/6/23
84. A Chateau under Siege by Martin Walker (3) - completed 11/14/23
85. The Iron Hand of Mars by Lindsey Davis (4.5) - completed 11/19/23
86. The Silent Speaker by Rex Stout (4) - completed 11/23/23
Books read in December
87. Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood by Benjamin Alire Saenz (3.5) - completed 12/16/23
88. Children of the Street by Kwei Quartey (3.5) - completed 12/26/23
89. Murder at Morija by Tim Couzens (3.5) - completed 12/31/23
90. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (3.5) - completed 12/31/23
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Books acquired in April
15. Sense and Sensibility by Sarah Price & Jane Austen (gift)
16. Bush's Family Kitchen Cookbook (purchased)
17. The Last Rose of Shanghai by Weina Dai Randel (free ebook)
Books acquired in May
18. Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich (purchased)
19. Murder in Postscript by Mary Winters (gift)
Books acquired in June
20. Ball Cousins by Margaret B. Kinsey (Thingaversary purchase)
21. And the Rat Laughed by Nava Semel (purchased ebook-Thingaversary)
23. The Metropolitan Opera Murders by Helen Traubel (purchased ebook-Thingaversary)
24. Miracle, and Other Christmas Stories by Connie Willis (purchased ebook-Thingaversary)
25. Thanks to My Mother by Schoschana Rabinovici (purchased ebook-Thingaversary)
26. The Songlines by Bruce Chatwin (Thingaversary purchase)
27. Meeting the Family by Donovan Webster (Thingaversary purchase)
28. Deep Sea by Annika Thor (Thingaversary purchase)
29. The Catskills: Its History and How It Changed America by Stephen M. Silverman & Raphael D. Silver (Thingaversary purchase)
30. Harlem: The Four Hundred Year History from Dutch Village to Capital of Black America by Jonathan Gill (Thingaversary purchase)
31. From Ulster to Carolina by H. Tyler Blethen & Curtis W. Wood Jr. (Thingaversary purchase)
32. Shakespeare's London on 5 Groats a Day by Richard Tames (Thingaversary purchase)
33. The Reader's Companion to Mexico edited by Alan Ryan (Thingaversary purchase)
34. Camilla: From Outcast to Queen Consort by Angela Levin (gift)
35. Coronation Year by Jennifer Robson (gift)
36. We Are Witnesses : Five Diaries of Teenagers Who Died in the Holocaust by Jacob Boas (gift)
37. The Claverings by Anthony Trollope (free ebook)
Books acquired in August
38. Don't Bite the Doctor by Ellen Fanning (purchased ebook)
Books acquired in September
39. Clash of Civilizations over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio by Amara Lakhous (avatiakh)
40. Fragments: Memories of a Childhood, 1939-1948 by Binjamin Wilkomirski (avatiakh)
41. The Honey Siege by Gil Buhet (avatiakh)
Books acquired in October
42. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (purchased ebook)
15. Sense and Sensibility by Sarah Price & Jane Austen (gift)
16. Bush's Family Kitchen Cookbook (purchased)
17. The Last Rose of Shanghai by Weina Dai Randel (free ebook)
Books acquired in May
18. Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich (purchased)
19. Murder in Postscript by Mary Winters (gift)
Books acquired in June
20. Ball Cousins by Margaret B. Kinsey (Thingaversary purchase)
21. And the Rat Laughed by Nava Semel (purchased ebook-Thingaversary)
23. The Metropolitan Opera Murders by Helen Traubel (purchased ebook-Thingaversary)
24. Miracle, and Other Christmas Stories by Connie Willis (purchased ebook-Thingaversary)
25. Thanks to My Mother by Schoschana Rabinovici (purchased ebook-Thingaversary)
26. The Songlines by Bruce Chatwin (Thingaversary purchase)
27. Meeting the Family by Donovan Webster (Thingaversary purchase)
28. Deep Sea by Annika Thor (Thingaversary purchase)
29. The Catskills: Its History and How It Changed America by Stephen M. Silverman & Raphael D. Silver (Thingaversary purchase)
30. Harlem: The Four Hundred Year History from Dutch Village to Capital of Black America by Jonathan Gill (Thingaversary purchase)
31. From Ulster to Carolina by H. Tyler Blethen & Curtis W. Wood Jr. (Thingaversary purchase)
32. Shakespeare's London on 5 Groats a Day by Richard Tames (Thingaversary purchase)
33. The Reader's Companion to Mexico edited by Alan Ryan (Thingaversary purchase)
34. Camilla: From Outcast to Queen Consort by Angela Levin (gift)
35. Coronation Year by Jennifer Robson (gift)
36. We Are Witnesses : Five Diaries of Teenagers Who Died in the Holocaust by Jacob Boas (gift)
37. The Claverings by Anthony Trollope (free ebook)
Books acquired in August
38. Don't Bite the Doctor by Ellen Fanning (purchased ebook)
Books acquired in September
39. Clash of Civilizations over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio by Amara Lakhous (avatiakh)
40. Fragments: Memories of a Childhood, 1939-1948 by Binjamin Wilkomirski (avatiakh)
41. The Honey Siege by Gil Buhet (avatiakh)
Books acquired in October
42. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (purchased ebook)
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Books Read in January
1. The Face of War by Martha Gellhorn (3.5) - completed 1/1/23
2. The Ride of Her Life by Elizabeth Letts (4) - completed 1/7/23
3. Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh (2.5) - completed 1/12/23
4. Detective Inspector Huss by Helene Tursten (3.5) - completed 1/13/23
5. After the War by Carol Matas (4) - completed 1/14/23
6. Parallel Journeys by Eleanor Ayer with Helen Waterford & Alfons Heck (4.5) - completed 1/15/23
7. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (5) - completed 1/19/23
8. The Belton Estate by Anthony Trollope (3.5) - completed 1/21/23
9. The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff (4.5) - completed 1/25/23
10. The Ardent Swarm by Yamen Manai (4) - completed 1/28/23
11. Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown (4) - completed 1/29/23
12. Hiroshima Diary by Michihiko Hachiya (4.5) - completed 1/31/23
Books Read in February
13. Daughter of the Morning Star by Craig Johnson (3.5) - completed 2/1/23
14. The Cowgirl Aunt of Harriet Bean by Alexander McCall Smith, illustrated by Laura Rankin (2.5) - completed 2/1/23
15. Strangers No More by Bill Griffeth (4) - completed 2/4/23
16. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (3) - completed 2/8/23
17. Under the Frangipani by Mia Couto (3.5) - completed 2/8/23
18. For Her Own Good: Two Centuries of the Experts' Advice to Women by Barbara Ehrenreich & Deirdre English (3) - completed 2/12/23
19. Orfeo by Richard Powers (4) - completed 2/15/23
20. The Silver Pigs by Lindsey Davis (3.5) - completed 2/18/23
21. The Third Man by Graham Greene (4.5) - completed 2/20/23
22. Purgatory by Dante Alighieri (3.5) - completed 2/26/23
23. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave by Frederick Douglass (4) - completed 2/28/23
Books Read in March
24. Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (4) - completed 3/7/23
25. Wise Gals by Nathalia Holt (3) - completed 3/9/23
26. The Curious Case of the Copper Corpse by Alan Bradley (4) - completed 3/11/23
27. All Passion Spent by Vita Sackville-West (4) - completed 3/13/23
28. Soon by Morris Gleitzman (3.5) - completed 3/15/23
29. The Mystery of a Hansom Cab by Fergus Hume (3) - completed 3/20/23
30. The Coldest Case by Martin Walker (3.5) - completed 3/21/23
31. Over My Dead Body by Rex Stout (4) - completed 3/27/23
32. The Complete Poems, 1927-1979 by Elizabeth Bishop (4.5) - completed 3/27/23
1. The Face of War by Martha Gellhorn (3.5) - completed 1/1/23
2. The Ride of Her Life by Elizabeth Letts (4) - completed 1/7/23
3. Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh (2.5) - completed 1/12/23
4. Detective Inspector Huss by Helene Tursten (3.5) - completed 1/13/23
5. After the War by Carol Matas (4) - completed 1/14/23
6. Parallel Journeys by Eleanor Ayer with Helen Waterford & Alfons Heck (4.5) - completed 1/15/23
7. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (5) - completed 1/19/23
8. The Belton Estate by Anthony Trollope (3.5) - completed 1/21/23
9. The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff (4.5) - completed 1/25/23
10. The Ardent Swarm by Yamen Manai (4) - completed 1/28/23
11. Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown (4) - completed 1/29/23
12. Hiroshima Diary by Michihiko Hachiya (4.5) - completed 1/31/23
Books Read in February
13. Daughter of the Morning Star by Craig Johnson (3.5) - completed 2/1/23
14. The Cowgirl Aunt of Harriet Bean by Alexander McCall Smith, illustrated by Laura Rankin (2.5) - completed 2/1/23
15. Strangers No More by Bill Griffeth (4) - completed 2/4/23
16. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (3) - completed 2/8/23
17. Under the Frangipani by Mia Couto (3.5) - completed 2/8/23
18. For Her Own Good: Two Centuries of the Experts' Advice to Women by Barbara Ehrenreich & Deirdre English (3) - completed 2/12/23
19. Orfeo by Richard Powers (4) - completed 2/15/23
20. The Silver Pigs by Lindsey Davis (3.5) - completed 2/18/23
21. The Third Man by Graham Greene (4.5) - completed 2/20/23
22. Purgatory by Dante Alighieri (3.5) - completed 2/26/23
23. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave by Frederick Douglass (4) - completed 2/28/23
Books Read in March
24. Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (4) - completed 3/7/23
25. Wise Gals by Nathalia Holt (3) - completed 3/9/23
26. The Curious Case of the Copper Corpse by Alan Bradley (4) - completed 3/11/23
27. All Passion Spent by Vita Sackville-West (4) - completed 3/13/23
28. Soon by Morris Gleitzman (3.5) - completed 3/15/23
29. The Mystery of a Hansom Cab by Fergus Hume (3) - completed 3/20/23
30. The Coldest Case by Martin Walker (3.5) - completed 3/21/23
31. Over My Dead Body by Rex Stout (4) - completed 3/27/23
32. The Complete Poems, 1927-1979 by Elizabeth Bishop (4.5) - completed 3/27/23
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Books acquired in January
1. The Belton Estate by Anthony Trollope (free ebook)
2. Strangers No More by Bill Griffeth (purchased ebook)
3. Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen (purchased)
4. For Her Own Good by Barbara Ehrenreich & Deirdre English (purchased ebook)
5. Under the Frangipani by Mia Couto (purchased)
6. The Hand in the Glove by Rex Stout (purchased)
7. Hiroshima Diary by Michihiko Hachiya (purchased ebook)
8. Camilla by Madeline L'Engle (gift)
9. Still Life with Bread Crumbs by Anna Quindlen (gift)
Books acquired in February
10. The Complete Poems, 1927-1979 by Elizabeth Bishop (purchased)
11. The Baburnama by Babur, Emperor of Hindustan (purchased)
12. All Passion Spent by Vita Sackville-West (purchased)
Books acquired in March
13. Genealogy Standards by Board for Certification of Genealogists (gift)
14. Phoebe Junior by Margaret Oliphant (free ebook)
1. The Belton Estate by Anthony Trollope (free ebook)
2. Strangers No More by Bill Griffeth (purchased ebook)
3. Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen (purchased)
4. For Her Own Good by Barbara Ehrenreich & Deirdre English (purchased ebook)
5. Under the Frangipani by Mia Couto (purchased)
6. The Hand in the Glove by Rex Stout (purchased)
7. Hiroshima Diary by Michihiko Hachiya (purchased ebook)
8. Camilla by Madeline L'Engle (gift)
9. Still Life with Bread Crumbs by Anna Quindlen (gift)
Books acquired in February
10. The Complete Poems, 1927-1979 by Elizabeth Bishop (purchased)
11. The Baburnama by Babur, Emperor of Hindustan (purchased)
12. All Passion Spent by Vita Sackville-West (purchased)
Books acquired in March
13. Genealogy Standards by Board for Certification of Genealogists (gift)
14. Phoebe Junior by Margaret Oliphant (free ebook)
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American Authors challenge
DECEMBER 2022 - Martha Gellhorn
The Face of War (3.5) - completed 1/1/23
JANUARY 2023 - Children's classics
Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh (2.5) - completed 1/12/23
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown (4) - completed 1/29/23
FEBRUARY 2023 - Richard Powers
Orfeo (4) - completed 2/15/23
MARCH 2023 - Poetry
The Complete Poems, 1927-1979 by Elizabeth Bishop (4.5) - completed 3/27/23
MARCH 2023 - Ursula Hegi
Stones from the River (4.5) - completed 5/6/23
DECEMBER 2022 - Martha Gellhorn
The Face of War (3.5) - completed 1/1/23
JANUARY 2023 - Children's classics
Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh (2.5) - completed 1/12/23
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown (4) - completed 1/29/23
FEBRUARY 2023 - Richard Powers
Orfeo (4) - completed 2/15/23
MARCH 2023 - Poetry
The Complete Poems, 1927-1979 by Elizabeth Bishop (4.5) - completed 3/27/23
MARCH 2023 - Ursula Hegi
Stones from the River (4.5) - completed 5/6/23
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British Authors challenge
JANUARY - Rosemary Sutcliff
The Eagle of the Ninth (4.5) - completed 1/25/23
FEBRUARY - Short stories & novellas
The Third Man by Graham Greene (4.5) - completed 2/20/23
MARCH - Vita Sackville-West
All Passion Spent (4) - completed 3/13/23
JUNE - Time travel & alternate history
Ha'penny by Jo Walton (4) - completed 6/14/23
JANUARY - Rosemary Sutcliff
The Eagle of the Ninth (4.5) - completed 1/25/23
FEBRUARY - Short stories & novellas
The Third Man by Graham Greene (4.5) - completed 2/20/23
MARCH - Vita Sackville-West
All Passion Spent (4) - completed 3/13/23
JUNE - Time travel & alternate history
Ha'penny by Jo Walton (4) - completed 6/14/23
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African Authors challenge
JANUARY - North Africa
The Ardent Swarm by Yamen Manai (4) - completed 1/28/23
FEBRUARY - Lusophone authors
Under the Frangipani by Mia Couto (3.5) - completed 2/8/23
MARCH - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Purple Hibiscus (4) - completed 3/7/23
APRIL - Horn of Africa
The Kindness of Enemies by Leila Aboulela (3.5) - completed 4/24/23
MAY - African Nobel winners
Ake: The Years of Childhood by Wole Soyinka (4) - completed 5/31/23
JULY - Chinua Achebe
No Longer at Ease (4) - completed 6/24/23
JANUARY - North Africa
The Ardent Swarm by Yamen Manai (4) - completed 1/28/23
FEBRUARY - Lusophone authors
Under the Frangipani by Mia Couto (3.5) - completed 2/8/23
MARCH - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Purple Hibiscus (4) - completed 3/7/23
APRIL - Horn of Africa
The Kindness of Enemies by Leila Aboulela (3.5) - completed 4/24/23
MAY - African Nobel winners
Ake: The Years of Childhood by Wole Soyinka (4) - completed 5/31/23
JULY - Chinua Achebe
No Longer at Ease (4) - completed 6/24/23
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Nonfiction challenge
JANUARY - Prizewinners and nominees
Parallel Journeys by Eleanor Ayer with Helen Waterford & Alfons Heck (4.5) - completed 1/15/23
FEBRUARY - Hobbies & pastimes
Strangers No More by Bill Griffeth (4) - completed 2/4/23
APRIL - The sea/ocean
The Pirate's Wife: The Remarkable True Story of Sarah Kidd by Daphne Palmer Geanacopoulos (3.5) - completed 4/9/23
MAY - Literary biography
The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester (4) - completed 5/25/23
JUNE - Indigenous/Aboriginal Peoples/First nations
JULY - Explorations and expeditions
The Songlines by Bruce Chatwin (4) - completed 7/14/23
JANUARY - Prizewinners and nominees
Parallel Journeys by Eleanor Ayer with Helen Waterford & Alfons Heck (4.5) - completed 1/15/23
FEBRUARY - Hobbies & pastimes
Strangers No More by Bill Griffeth (4) - completed 2/4/23
APRIL - The sea/ocean
The Pirate's Wife: The Remarkable True Story of Sarah Kidd by Daphne Palmer Geanacopoulos (3.5) - completed 4/9/23
MAY - Literary biography
The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester (4) - completed 5/25/23
JUNE - Indigenous/Aboriginal Peoples/First nations
JULY - Explorations and expeditions
The Songlines by Bruce Chatwin (4) - completed 7/14/23
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ClassicsCAT
JANUARY - Adventure classics
The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff (4.5) - completed 1/25/23
FEBRUARY - Before 1900
Purgatory by Dante Alighieri (3.5) - completed 2/26/23
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave by Frederick Douglass (4) - completed 2/28/23
MARCH - Classics adapted to movies and TV
The Mystery of a Hansom Cab by Fergus Hume (3) - completed 3/20/23
APRIL - Classic mysteries
Dead Man's Folly by Agatha Christie (4) - completed 4/19/23
MAY - Children's classics
Emily of New Moon by L. M. Montgomery (3.5) - completed 5/15/23
JUNE - Humor
Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis (3) - completed 6/15/23
JANUARY - Adventure classics
The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff (4.5) - completed 1/25/23
FEBRUARY - Before 1900
Purgatory by Dante Alighieri (3.5) - completed 2/26/23
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave by Frederick Douglass (4) - completed 2/28/23
MARCH - Classics adapted to movies and TV
The Mystery of a Hansom Cab by Fergus Hume (3) - completed 3/20/23
APRIL - Classic mysteries
Dead Man's Folly by Agatha Christie (4) - completed 4/19/23
MAY - Children's classics
Emily of New Moon by L. M. Montgomery (3.5) - completed 5/15/23
JUNE - Humor
Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis (3) - completed 6/15/23
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GeoCAT
JANUARY - Central and Eastern Europe
After the War by Carol Matas (4) - completed 1/14/23
FEBRUARY - Place I would like to visit
The Silver Pigs by Lindsey Davis (3.5) - completed 2/18/23
MARCH - Australia & New Zealand
The Mystery of a Hansom Cab by Fergus Hume (3) - completed 3/20/23
APRIL - South America, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean
The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene (4) - completed 5/3/23
MAY - Polar regions, islands, bodies of water
Emily of New Moon by L. M. Montgomery (3.5) - completed 5/15/23
JANUARY - Central and Eastern Europe
After the War by Carol Matas (4) - completed 1/14/23
FEBRUARY - Place I would like to visit
The Silver Pigs by Lindsey Davis (3.5) - completed 2/18/23
MARCH - Australia & New Zealand
The Mystery of a Hansom Cab by Fergus Hume (3) - completed 3/20/23
APRIL - South America, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean
The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene (4) - completed 5/3/23
MAY - Polar regions, islands, bodies of water
Emily of New Moon by L. M. Montgomery (3.5) - completed 5/15/23
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SeriesCAT
JANUARY - New to me series
Detective Inspector Huss by Helene Tursten (3.5) - completed 1/13/23
FEBRUARY - Series in translation
Purgatory by Dante Alighieri (3.5) - completed 2/26/23
MARCH - YA/Children
Soon by Morris Gleitzman (3.5) - completed 3/15/23
APRIL - Series you don't need to read in order
Dead Man's Folly by Agatha Christie (4) - completed 4/19/23
MAY - Trilogies
Emily of New Moon by L. M. Montgomery (3.5) - completed 5/15/23
JUNE - Series by a favorite author
4:50 from Paddington by Agatha Christie (4) - completed 6/21/23
JANUARY - New to me series
Detective Inspector Huss by Helene Tursten (3.5) - completed 1/13/23
FEBRUARY - Series in translation
Purgatory by Dante Alighieri (3.5) - completed 2/26/23
MARCH - YA/Children
Soon by Morris Gleitzman (3.5) - completed 3/15/23
APRIL - Series you don't need to read in order
Dead Man's Folly by Agatha Christie (4) - completed 4/19/23
MAY - Trilogies
Emily of New Moon by L. M. Montgomery (3.5) - completed 5/15/23
JUNE - Series by a favorite author
4:50 from Paddington by Agatha Christie (4) - completed 6/21/23
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KiddyCAT
JANUARY - Picture books/graphic novels
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown (4) - completed 1/29/23
FEBRUARY - Mystery
The Cowgirl Aunt of Harriet Bean by Alexander McCall Smith, illustrated by Laura Rankin (2.5) - completed 2/1/23
MARCH - YA historical fiction
Soon by Morris Gleitzman (3.5) - completed 3/15/23
APRIL - Fantasy for middle grade/YA
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (4.5) - completed 4/8/23
Matilda by Roald Dahl (4) - completed 4/13/23
MAY - Children/YA classics
Emily of New Moon by L. M. Montgomery (3.5) - completed 5/15/23
JUNE - Animals as main character
Little Fur Family by Margaret Wise Brown (3.5) - completed 6/7/23
JANUARY - Picture books/graphic novels
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown (4) - completed 1/29/23
FEBRUARY - Mystery
The Cowgirl Aunt of Harriet Bean by Alexander McCall Smith, illustrated by Laura Rankin (2.5) - completed 2/1/23
MARCH - YA historical fiction
Soon by Morris Gleitzman (3.5) - completed 3/15/23
APRIL - Fantasy for middle grade/YA
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (4.5) - completed 4/8/23
Matilda by Roald Dahl (4) - completed 4/13/23
MAY - Children/YA classics
Emily of New Moon by L. M. Montgomery (3.5) - completed 5/15/23
JUNE - Animals as main character
Little Fur Family by Margaret Wise Brown (3.5) - completed 6/7/23
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Reading Projects
1,000 Books to Read Before You Die
Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh (2.5) - completed 1/12/23
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (5) - completed 1/19/23
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown (4) - completed 1/29/23
Hiroshima Diary by Michihiko Hachiya (4.5) - completed 1/31/23
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (3) - completed 2/8/23
The Third Man by Graham Greene (4.5) - completed 2/20/23
Purgatory by Dante Alighieri (3.5) - completed 2/26/23
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave by Frederick Douglass (4) - completed 2/28/23
All Passion Spent by Vita Sackville-West (4) - completed 3/13/23
The Complete Poems, 1927-1979 by Elizabeth Bishop (4.5) - completed 3/27/23
Matilda by Roald Dahl (4) - completed 4/13/23
The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene (4) - completed 5/3/23
Ake: The Years of Childhood by Wole Soyinka (4) - completed 5/31/23
Little Fur Family by Margaret Wise Brown (3.5) - completed 6/7/23
Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis (3) - completed 6/15/23
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (4) - completed 7/10/23
Goodbye, Mr. Chips by James Hilton (5) - completed 7/12/23
The Songlines by Bruce Chatwin (4) - completed 7/14/23
Agatha Christie
Dead Man's Folly (4) - completed 4/19/23
4:50 from Paddington (4) - completed 6/21/23
Jane Austen
Sherlock Holmes
1,000 Books to Read Before You Die
Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh (2.5) - completed 1/12/23
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (5) - completed 1/19/23
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown (4) - completed 1/29/23
Hiroshima Diary by Michihiko Hachiya (4.5) - completed 1/31/23
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (3) - completed 2/8/23
The Third Man by Graham Greene (4.5) - completed 2/20/23
Purgatory by Dante Alighieri (3.5) - completed 2/26/23
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave by Frederick Douglass (4) - completed 2/28/23
All Passion Spent by Vita Sackville-West (4) - completed 3/13/23
The Complete Poems, 1927-1979 by Elizabeth Bishop (4.5) - completed 3/27/23
Matilda by Roald Dahl (4) - completed 4/13/23
The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene (4) - completed 5/3/23
Ake: The Years of Childhood by Wole Soyinka (4) - completed 5/31/23
Little Fur Family by Margaret Wise Brown (3.5) - completed 6/7/23
Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis (3) - completed 6/15/23
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (4) - completed 7/10/23
Goodbye, Mr. Chips by James Hilton (5) - completed 7/12/23
The Songlines by Bruce Chatwin (4) - completed 7/14/23
Agatha Christie
Dead Man's Folly (4) - completed 4/19/23
4:50 from Paddington (4) - completed 6/21/23
Jane Austen
Sherlock Holmes
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Group Reads
The Ride of Her Life by Elizabeth Letts (4) - completed 1/7/23
Detective Inspector Huss by Helene Tursten (3.5) - completed 1/13/23
The Belton Estate by Anthony Trollope (3.5) - completed 1/21/23
For Her Own Good: Two Centuries of the Experts' Advice to Women by Barbara Ehrenreich & Deirdre English (3) - completed 2/12/23
The Silver Pigs by Lindsey Davis (3.5) - completed 2/18/23
Wise Gals by Nathalia Holt (3) - completed 3/9/23
The Coldest Case by Martin Walker (3.5) - completed 3/21/23
Over My Dead Body by Rex Stout (4) - completed 3/27/23
The Pirate's Wife: The Remarkable True Story of Sarah Kidd by Daphne Palmer Geanacopoulos (3.5) - completed 4/9/23
Night Rounds by Helene Tursten (3.5) - completed 4/16/23
Phoebe, Junior by Margaret Oliphant (3.5) - completed 4/22/23
Women in White Coats by Olivia Campbell (4) - completed 5/14/23
Shadows in Bronze by Lindsey Davis (4) - completed 5/20/23
To Kill a Troubadour by Martin Walker (3.5) - completed 6/2/23
Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich (4) - completed 6/9/23
Where There's a Will by Rex Stout (3.5) - completed 6/17/23
Black Orchids by Rex Stout (4) - completed 6/29/23
The Ride of Her Life by Elizabeth Letts (4) - completed 1/7/23
Detective Inspector Huss by Helene Tursten (3.5) - completed 1/13/23
The Belton Estate by Anthony Trollope (3.5) - completed 1/21/23
For Her Own Good: Two Centuries of the Experts' Advice to Women by Barbara Ehrenreich & Deirdre English (3) - completed 2/12/23
The Silver Pigs by Lindsey Davis (3.5) - completed 2/18/23
Wise Gals by Nathalia Holt (3) - completed 3/9/23
The Coldest Case by Martin Walker (3.5) - completed 3/21/23
Over My Dead Body by Rex Stout (4) - completed 3/27/23
The Pirate's Wife: The Remarkable True Story of Sarah Kidd by Daphne Palmer Geanacopoulos (3.5) - completed 4/9/23
Night Rounds by Helene Tursten (3.5) - completed 4/16/23
Phoebe, Junior by Margaret Oliphant (3.5) - completed 4/22/23
Women in White Coats by Olivia Campbell (4) - completed 5/14/23
Shadows in Bronze by Lindsey Davis (4) - completed 5/20/23
To Kill a Troubadour by Martin Walker (3.5) - completed 6/2/23
Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich (4) - completed 6/9/23
Where There's a Will by Rex Stout (3.5) - completed 6/17/23
Black Orchids by Rex Stout (4) - completed 6/29/23
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>18 quondame: Thanks, Susan!
20PaulCranswick
Happy new thread, Carrie.
I am a devotee of your threads so it is always a boost for me to see you make a new one!
I am a devotee of your threads so it is always a boost for me to see you make a new one!
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>20 PaulCranswick: Thank you, Paul! I hope you're having a great weekend!
22PaulCranswick
>21 cbl_tn: So far so good, Carrie.
I am fasting - went to bed after 2 and got up before 5. Had an hour on the posts and reading and then slept again until 10 am. I am pretty refreshed at the moment.
I am fasting - went to bed after 2 and got up before 5. Had an hour on the posts and reading and then slept again until 10 am. I am pretty refreshed at the moment.
23cbl_tn
>22 PaulCranswick: I, on the other hand, am not fasting today. I went with friends to the Bush Beans museum and vistor's center today. It's across the highway from the Bush cannery. Bush cans and sells just about any kind of bean you can think of - baked beans, pinto beans, navy beans, great Northern beans, refried beans, black beans, garbanzo beans, and on and on. We ate lunch in the restaurant, and on the way home we stopped at Andy's for frozen custard.
25Crazymamie
Morning, Carrie! Happy new one - I love the topper photo. The chair and Adrian are both full of fabulous.
27weird_O
Terrific reading, Carrie. How do you keep all those categories organized? Oh, you're a librarian! Good oh.
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>25 Crazymamie: Thanks, Mamie!
>26 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita!
>27 weird_O: Thanks, Bill! Yes, this is what librarians do in our free time!
>26 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita!
>27 weird_O: Thanks, Bill! Yes, this is what librarians do in our free time!
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>29 drneutron: Thanks, Jim!
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>31 mstrust: >32 bell7: Thanks, Jennifer & Mary! Happy Easter!
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33. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Katniss and Peeta go on their victory tour after winning The Hunger Games. This is a special year, and the upcoming quarter quell marks the 75th anniversary of the games. Katniss still has nightmares about the arena, and they only get worse when she learns that she will have to go back into the arena for the quarter quell. Will she survive a second time?
The Hunger Games stands on its own as a complete novel. Catching Fire does not. It’s not a book readers can pick up and understand without having read The Hunger Games, and it ends on a cliffhanger. For these reasons, it’s a slightly less satisfactory novel, although it’s still a book that makes you want to drop everything else and read it straight through. The audiobooks read by Tatiana Maslany are worth hunting down.
4.5 stars
35PaulCranswick
Thinking of you, Carrie, this weekend with your state very much in World news.
It is sad that the killing of people, including three little children, for the single reason that they were practicing Christians cannot be called out for the hate crime it is because it doesn't suit a political narrative.
It is sad that the killing of people, including three little children, for the single reason that they were practicing Christians cannot be called out for the hate crime it is because it doesn't suit a political narrative.
36cbl_tn
>35 PaulCranswick: Thank you, Paul. Between that tragedy and the tornadoes and storms, it's been a rough 2-3 weeks for our state.
37PaulCranswick
>36 cbl_tn: Indeed, Carrie - (((((Hugs))))) to you and all my other friends from the Volunteer State.
38cbl_tn
34. The Pirate's Wife: The Remarkable True Story of Sarah Kidd by Daphne Palmer Geanacopoulos
Sarah Kidd was the woman behind pirate/privateer William Kidd, a 16th century pirate/privateer with enduring name recognition. Sarah and her two younger brothers arrived in the colonial U.S. with their father when Sarah was in her early teens. It wasn’t long before she married William Cox, one of the wealthiest residents of New York. Sarah was widowed after a few short years of marriage, then widowed again after another brief marriage, leaving her free to marry Kidd as her third husband.
After a few years of marriage and a couple of children, Kidd was pressured by politicians to lead what was supposed to be a 6-month voyage, for which he would be well-compensated. Things went wrong from the start, and six months stretched into several years. Sarah, left behind in New York, became her husband’s trusted agent. When Kidd finally returned, it wasn’t long before he was accused of piracy. Although some of his accusers had been his financial partners in the voyage, they managed to avoid censure while holding Kidd accountable for the failure of the expedition. Kidd was sent to London for trial, and he was hanged soon after receiving a guilty verdict. Sarah went on to marry again for a fourth time.
All four of Sarah’s husbands were much older than she was and could be viewed as marriages of convenience. The author portrays the Kidds’ relationship as a love match and a marriage of equals. It seemed to be the defining period of Sarah’s life.
The author’s extensive research and careful analysis of primary sources are evident in the book. She comments on Sarah’s signature on official documents and how her signature changed over time. She compares inventories of Sarah’s first husband’s household goods with inventories of her last husband’s estate and identifies several items that Sarah had managed to hang on to throughout her life. At the same time, I was disappointed by the extensive speculation the author engaged in to fill in gaps in the records of Sarah’s life, such as describing how Sarah might have physically resisted arrest. This level of description belongs in historical fiction, not in a biography.
3.5 stars
39Crazymamie
Excellent review, Carrie! Meg just read that one also.
Stopping in to wish you a weekend full of fabulous!
Stopping in to wish you a weekend full of fabulous!
40cbl_tn
>39 Crazymamie: Thanks, Mamie! Meg and I are in the same book club. :-)
I had a busier than expected weekend. I spent Saturday morning at a funeral and spent the afternoon at urgent care with a friend who woke up on Saturday with cellulitis. Yesterday was a little better, but busy with church, cooking, and baking. I also had to do some laundry since I wasn't home to do any on Saturday.
I had a busier than expected weekend. I spent Saturday morning at a funeral and spent the afternoon at urgent care with a friend who woke up on Saturday with cellulitis. Yesterday was a little better, but busy with church, cooking, and baking. I also had to do some laundry since I wasn't home to do any on Saturday.
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35. Matilda by Roald Dahl
This is another children’s classic that I somehow missed reading in my childhood. Some aspects of the story are rather unsettling this far removed from the era in which it was written. I can’t imagine a 3-year-old child left home alone in our 21st century world, or another adult learning of that circumstance and not reporting it to child protective services.
Another thing that puzzles me is how Matilda learned to read and do arithmetic without being read aloud to or coached. I was fascinated by this part of Matilda’s story, since I was reading by age four. I wasn’t aware of learning to read, and I don’t know how I learned, but I imagine that being read to a lot had quite a bit to do with it. Matilda was largely ignored by the rest of the family, and none of them were readers anyway. So how did Matilda learn?
Stories that portray children with agency to right wrongs and change their circumstances for the better have a timeless appeal. It’s satisfying to see Matilda
4 stars
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36. Night Rounds by Helene Tursten
Police detective Irene Huss and her Göteborg colleagues are called out to investigate a murder in a private hospital. When the power in the hospital went out and the emergency generator didn’t come on, an ICU patient died, and the night nurse was soon found dead in the generator room. The other night nurse is adamant that she saw a ghost in the stairwell – an apparition of a nurse who had hung herself in the hospital 50 years earlier. Irene and her colleagues are convinced that there must be a rational explanation for the ghost. But what is it? Who was the primary murder victim – the nurse or the patient? And what has happened to one of the day nurses, who has gone missing with no explanation?
The unusual setting in the private hospital interested me, as did the historical aspect of the mystery. The author still hasn’t hit her stride, as the pacing seems a little off. One of the plot lines doesn’t seem to be either a motive for the crime or a red herring and should have been edited out. This book had a different translator than the first book, and the translation seemed a little smoother.
I didn’t like Irene quite as well as I did in the first book. Jenny, one of Irene’s twin daughters, seems to be a problem teen. After falling in with the wrong crowd in the first book and being set straight by one of Irene’s colleagues, Jenny once again falls in with another group of troublemakers. I didn’t like
3.5 stars
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37. Dead Man's Folly by Agatha Christie
Detective novelist Ariadne Oliver is in Devon organizing a murder hunt for a fête at her host’s estate. Mrs. Oliver senses that something is very wrong, so she summons her old friend, Hercule Poirot, to get to the bottom of things. Mrs. Oliver’s host and the other guests believe that Poirot is there to present the prize to the winner of the murder hunt. The perceptive Mrs. Oliver’s fear is realized when a real body turns up where the corpse is supposed to be.
Mrs. Oliver is one of my favorite supporting characters in the Poirot novels. This is at least the third time I’ve read or listened to this novel, so I remembered some of the clues but not the whole solution. It’s a clever plot, and Christie makes good use of her red herrings.
4 stars
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38. Phoebe, Junior by Margaret Oliphant
Phoebe, Junior is the granddaughter of the Tozers, pillars of Carlingford’s dissenting congregation, Salem Chapel. Phoebe is the daughter of Phoebe Tozer and Henry Beecham, a dissenting minister who has risen about as far as a dissenting minister can go. Phoebe, Junior is well-educated, well-traveled, and used to London life. An extended stay in Carlingford to care for her ailing grandmother is a shock to her sensibilities, but she rises to the occasion.
Phoebe had made the acquaintance of Ursula May in London. Ursula is a poor relation of the Dorset family, who are also related to the Copperheads. Ursula’s father is the rector of St. Roque in Carlingford. Ursula and Phoebe overcome the class barrier to form a friendship. Their social circle includes Ursula’s clergyman brother, Reginald, Salem Chapel’s interim minster, Mr. Northcote, and Clarence Copperhead, whose father is an influential member of Henry Beecham’s congregation in London.
The novel explores social, economic, and religious differences. The elders in the novel set great store by these differences in status. However, the young people discover that their peers on the other side of the divide aren’t quite the ogres they’ve been warned against all their lives, and they form “unsuitable” attachments before they quite realize what’s happening. The novel could easily have been a romantic comedy if not for the financial pressures that weigh heavily enough on Mr. May for him to succumb to temptation.
3.5 stars
45cbl_tn
39. The Kindness of Enemies by Leila Aboulela
Natasha, a history professor at a Scottish university, has a research interest in Shamil, a mid-19th-century Muslim military leader who fought against the expansion of the Russian empire into the Caucasus region. One of Natasha’s students, Oz, is a descendant of Shamil. Natasha and Oz discover just how difficult it can be to research a Muslim military leader without arousing suspicions of terrorist activity. Natasha’s story is intertwined with the story of Shamil and one of his captives, Georgian princess Anna.
This book combines two elements that I usually try to avoid in fiction – a dual timeline and historical fiction about a real person. Natasha’s story interested me more than Shamil’s, and I wanted to rush through the historical parts of the book to get back to the present day.
Natasha’s internal conflict between her Sudanese heritage on her father’s side and her Russian heritage on her mother’s side is a major theme in the book. Aboulela is too heavy-handed with Natasha’s psychological makeup. A self-aware Natasha describes her fears of mythological half-human, half-beast creatures and recognizes that her biracial, bicultural heritage is at the root of this fear. A more subtle approach would make for better literature, but apparently Aboulela hasn’t learned to trust her readers enough to make this connection on their own.
3.5 stars
46PaulCranswick
>45 cbl_tn: I think that is a very telling observation, Carrie. I have only read her Lyrics Alley and noticed she had the habit of over explaining things for the reader to understand her point when I think most of his could get there unaided.
47cbl_tn
>46 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul! I'm glad it's not just me!
48cbl_tn
40. All God's Creatures: Daily Devotions for Animal Lovers
This devotional collection lives up to its subtitle – devotions for animal lovers. The devotions consist of a Bible verse, a life application in the form of an animal story, and a brief prayer. The only oddity is that the dates run from May 1 to April 30 rather than on a calendar year.
4 stars
49cbl_tn
April Recap
Books owned: 1
Books borrowed: 1
Ebooks owned: 1
Ebooks borrowed: 2
Audiobooks borrowed: 3
Best of the month: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Books owned: 1
Books borrowed: 1
Ebooks owned: 1
Ebooks borrowed: 2
Audiobooks borrowed: 3
Best of the month: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
50cbl_tn
41. The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene
At a time when the Mexican government has outlawed the Catholic church, the last priest in an unnamed state (apparently Tabasco) wanders hopelessly one step ahead of the officials who would end his life. An alcoholic with an illegitimate child, the priest is consumed by his unworthiness for his office, yet his sense of duty compels him to perform the rites of the church when asked to do so. Who else is there to do it if not him?
The priest reminds me a lot of the priest in Endo’s Silence. Both priests wrestle with the perverse choice they must make between their obligation to God in the form of religious duty and their duty to their fellow sufferers. Fulfilling their religious duty means death for those to whom they would minister, while renouncing their faith will spare the lives of their fellow sufferers.
The audio was more difficult to follow than most audiobooks I listen to because of the slow pace of the novel. When I’m ready to revisit this novel, I’ll read a print version so I can pick up what I missed the first time.
4 stars
51cbl_tn
42. Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi
This sweeping novel, set in a German town on the banks of the Rhein, reckons with German history between World War I and World War II. Trudi Montag was different from the moment of her birth in 1915. Trudi is a Zwerge, a dwarf, and her birth seems to send her fragile mother over the edge of sanity. Trudi’s father, a disabled veteran who runs the town’s pay library, is sensitive to Trudi’s needs and finds creative and loving ways to accommodate them. Trudi and Leo run the library together, with Trudi taking over more of the responsibilities as her father ages.
Trudi has a gift – or perhaps a curse – of sensing others’ unexpressed thoughts and emotions, and this knowledge gives Trudi a feeling of power. She weaves her secrets into stories that both fascinate and repel her neighbors. The young Trudi is often cruel and manipulative, but as she matures, she learns to forgive and extend kindness. As the Nazi party gains a foothold in the town, Trudi uses her stories to protect her Jewish neighbors and others whose lives are endangered, and to force Nazi sympathizers to reckon with the truth.
The novel talks about the baby boom of 1946, following the soldiers’ return. Hegi was born in Germany in 1946, so she was part of that baby boom. She would have experienced the silence of the post-war years, and like Trudi, she uses story to bring truth to light.
They did not understand why Trudi Montag wanted to dig in the dirt, as they called it, didn’t understand that for her it had nothing to do with dirt but with the need to bring out the truth and never forget it. Not that she liked to remember any of it, but she understood that—whatever she knew about what had happened—would be with her from now on, and that no one could escape the responsibility of having lived in this time.
4.5 stars
52ffortsa
>51 cbl_tn: Oh, thanks for that review! I may propose it for one of my reading groups.
53cbl_tn
>52 ffortsa: I think it would generate a lot of discussion! The only drawback is that it's just over 500 pages, so it may be more of a time commitment than is usual for most reading groups.
54ffortsa
>53 cbl_tn: Oh dear. Thanks for the warning. I wasn't aware of how long it is, and that might prevent us from choosing it. Maybe if we have an extra week between meetings, which sometimes happens. I actually have a physical, paperback copy of it, but have never read it. Thanks for the push.
55alcottacre
>51 cbl_tn: I enjoyed that one a lot in my recent read of it too. Ursula Hegi is a new author to me and I am curious to read more of her books. I read Floating in My Mother's Palm shortly after I read Stones from the River and although I did not I did enjoy it as much, I did still like it.
Have a fantastic Friday, Carrie!
Have a fantastic Friday, Carrie!
56cbl_tn
>55 alcottacre: Hi Stasia! I'm so happy to have been introduced to this author through the American Author challenge. She was new to me as well.
57cbl_tn
43. Women in White Coats by Olivia Campbell
Journalist Olivia Campbell tells the story of the earliest women who received medical degrees in the United States and the United Kingdom. Campbell follows the paths of three groundbreaking women – Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman to receive a medical degree in the United States; Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, the first woman to qualify as a physician in the United Kingdom, and Sophia Jex-Blake, whose persistence in demanding women’s access to medical education eventually opened the doors for women medical students in the United Kingdom.
Elizabeth Blackwell was the oldest of the three women, and the early chapters of the book focus on her education and early career in New York. The geographical focus shifts to the United Kingdom when Elizabeth Garrett Anderson and Sophia Jex-Blake are brought to the fore, and the focus remains on the United Kingdom after Elizabeth Blackwell moves her practice to England to join forces with the women physicians there.
It's surprising (or maybe it’s not) how quickly the door shut behind Elizabeth Blackwell in the US and Elizabeth Garrett Anderson in the UK to keep other women out of the medical profession. They seem to have found loopholes that quickly closed to prevent other women from enrolling in medical school. These women viewed coed medical education as vital for the status of women physicians to avoid the charge that women’s medical schools were less rigorous than the schools for men. After years of rejection of women applicants to the established medical schools, Elizabeth Blackwell in the US and Sophia Jex-Blake in the UK eventually started medical schools for women, recruiting well-respected male doctors as lecturers for the school.
Inevitably, this book covers some of the same ground as Janice P. Nimura’s The Doctors Blackwell. Nimura’s book is more narrowly focused on the Blackwell sisters, their family, and their careers, while Campbell covers broader territory regarding women’s medical education in the mid-nineteenth century with an emphasis on the United Kingdom.
4 stars
58PaulCranswick
Trust you have had a good weekend, Carrie.
59cbl_tn
>58 PaulCranswick: I did! I hope you did as well!
60cbl_tn
44. Emily of New Moon by L. M. Montgomery
Orphaned Emily Byrd Starr is taken in by her mother’s estranged family after her father’s death. Emily will live with her mother’s sisters, Aunt Elizabeth and Aunt Laura, and Cousin Jimmy at New Moon Farm at Blair Water. Emily has to adjust to school and make new friends. She has to share a room with Aunt Elizabeth. Emily pours out her grief and frustration in letters to her father. Emily dreams of becoming a writer.
This book has a lot of similarities to the author’s beloved Anne of Green Gables. While Emily had a circle of friends in Teddy, Ilse, and Perry, she is more of a loner at heart. She’s not the kindred spirit that Anne is.
3.5 stars
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45. Shadows in Bronze by Lindsey Davis
Picking up where the first book left off, Falco is cleaning up after a failed conspiracy against the emperor Vespasian. His tasks include taking an inventory of the villa of Gnaeus Atius Pertinax, one of the conspirators and ex-husband of Helena Justina, the out-of-reach love of Falco’s life. Vespasian is ready to make peace with the remaining conspirators, but someone is murdering them to prevent a reconciliation. As informer to Vespasian, Falco’s investigation takes him to Pompeii and Herculaneum in the company of his best pal, Petronius, and his family, and Falco’s nephew Larius.
Rome comes to life through the adventures of Falco and his comrades. Even though I loved the narrator of the first book, it was somewhat difficult to follow the story in the audio format. I read this one because the unabridged audio wasn’t available from my library, and I found it was easier to keep the characters straight when I could see their names in print. Falco’s cheeky personality was just as endearing in print. I look forward to seeing what Falco will get up to next.
4 stars
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46. Great Short Books by Kenneth C. Davis
During the pandemic, author Davis, of “Don’t Know Much About…” series fame, found relief from anxiety through short fiction. He selected his top 58 to profile in this book. With only a couple of exceptions, the books are less than 200 pages in length. The book profiles include the opening lines, a non-spoilery plot summary, an author bio, a case for why you should read the book, and recommendations for what to read next.
Although the featured books are short, they’re not what I would consider light reading. The authors include Chinua Achebe, Margaret Atwood, Albert Camus, J. M. Coetzee, Ernest Hemingway, Kazuo Ishiguro, Thomas Mann, Toni Morrison, and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. This book would be a good guide for readers who want to sample the works of lots of heavyweight writers within a relatively short span of time.
3.5 stars
63cbl_tn
47. The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester
The multi-volume Oxford English Dictionary, or OED, is the gold standard of English dictionaries. How did the editors research and compile such a massive work? With lots of help. One of the volunteers who made a tremendous contribution to the work was William Chester Minor, an American who spent half his life in Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum. Winchester examines Minor’s life, from his birth in Ceylon to missionary parents, his medical training, his experience as a Civil War physician, and his subsequent descent into the madness that resulted in murder. The biography of James Murray, editor of the OED, stands in contrast to that of the mentally ill Minor. The two men found common ground in their dedication to the OED over multiple decades.
Winchester’s narration of the audio version is as good as that of many professional narrators I’ve listened to. The audio version includes a bonus interview between Winchester and John Simpson, who at the time was an editor of the OED. I would call it a conversation rather than an interview, since it was hard to tell which was the interviewer and which was the interviewee. They seemed to switch roles a lot. I got a chuckle out of Winchester’s recommendation to use the CD-ROM version of the OED. References to technology tend to date a book.
4 stars
64cbl_tn
48. Ake: The Years of Childhood by Wole Soyinka
Nigerian Nobelist Wole Soyinka (b. 1934) gifts readers with a glimpse of his African childhood from his earliest memories until he’s on the brink of leaving for boarding school. Soyinka writes from his younger self’s perspective, so his interpretation of people, places, and events is a bit distorted by his childhood innocence and inexperience. He was a precocious child whose thirst for knowledge had him following his older sibling to school at just two years old. Thankfully, the adults and older children in his life didn’t squelch his curiosity, and the literary world is all the better for it.
4 stars
65cbl_tn
49. The Knowledge of the Holy by A. W. Tozer
Tozer opens this book on God’s attributes by making a case for “why we must think rightly about God”. Each chapter focuses on what the Bible teaches about a particular attribute of God – his self-existence, his self-sufficiency, his eternity, his infinitude, his immutability, his omniscience, his wisdom, his omnipotence, his transcendence, his omnipresence, his faithfulness, his goodness, his justice, his mercy, his grace, his love, his holiness, and his sovereignty. The book lends itself well to devotional reading and meditation.
4 stars
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May Recap
Books owned: 1
Books borrowed: 2
Ebooks borrowed: 3
Audiobooks borrowed: 3
Best of the month: Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi
Books owned: 1
Books borrowed: 2
Ebooks borrowed: 3
Audiobooks borrowed: 3
Best of the month: Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi
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50. To Kill a Troubadour by Martin Walker
St. Denis is preparing for a concert by a local folk music group when one of its songs goes viral, and not in a good way. The song has lyrics in Catalan and Occitan, and its composer, Joel, becomes a target for Spanish nationalists. Bruno and his law enforcement colleagues have reason to believe that there is a sniper in the area, and Joel seems to be the most likely target. Meanwhile, Florence’s ex-husband is out of jail and wants to see his children. Bruno and his circle of friends look for a way to help Florence keep her ex at a distance.
It's not surprising that terrorists have once again appeared in the Dordogne. This gives the author a reason to bring Isabelle back. I am not a fan of Isabelle, so I prefer the books in the series with a narrower focus on St. Denis and its immediate surroundings.
3.5 stars
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51. Little Fur Family by Margaret Wise Brown
A little fur child’s mother sends him off into the forest to play. He meets other furless animals that he catches and releases, and he’s finally overjoyed to find a smaller fur child, which he also catches and releases. After a long day of exploring the outdoors, his mother welcomes him home with a hot meal and tucks him into bed.
I’m sure I must have read this book at some point in my childhood, but it didn’t make an impression on me. It gives me a melancholy feeling, and I’m not sure that’s what the author intended. The fur child seemed lonely.
3.5 stars
69cbl_tn
52. Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
Even if you don’t recognize her name, you’re most likely familiar with historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich’s most famous sentence: “Well-behaved women seldom make history.” This sentence is part of a scholarly article that Ulrich published in 1976. Decades later, Ulrich revisits her viral meme and the many ways it has been interpreted, often by women who proudly proclaim it as their slogan. Ulrich uses works by three women authors as a lens to examine how this statement has been true for women from the Middle Ages until the present day: Book of the City of Ladies by Christine de Pizan, Eighty Years and More by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf. Ulrich’s writing hits the sweet spot between scholarly heft and popular appeal.
4 stars
70cbl_tn
53. Ha'Penny by Jo Walton
In 1949 in an alternate England where the government made peace with Hitler’s Germany following the Blitz, a young actress gets caught up in a plot to kill Hitler. It’s Inspector Carmichael of Scotland Yard’s job to foil the assassination plot, even though the fascist government threatens his private life with his partner, Jack, and the lives of his Jewish colleagues. Walton imagines a theatre world where cross-casting is in fashion, and the actress at the heart of the plot has been cast as Hamlet in a production that Hitler and the Prime Minister will attend on opening night. The actress, Violet Lark, is one of the six Larkin sisters, who bear more than a slight resemblance to the real-life Mitford sisters. The unpredictable plot kept me in suspense right up to the final page.
4 stars
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54. Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis
Jim Dixon is a young lecturer at an unnamed university half-way through his probationary period. His primary goal is to survive and advance while navigating academic politics and romantic entanglements. Jim has drifted into a relationship with Margaret, but then he falls in love almost at first sight with Christine. Problem is, Christine already has a boyfriend, who just happens to be the son of Jim’s academic superior whose support Jim needs to secure a permanent position at the university.
I was mostly disappointed with the humor in this novel. While I did find some scenes funny, for the most part, the humor in the book is at others’ expense. Rather than laughing with Jim at the situations he found himself in, readers are invited to laugh at all the people that Jim doesn’t like, and there are rather a lot of them. I enjoy a good laugh at my own expense (and I have frequent opportunities for this), but I’ve always been too tender-hearted to laugh at others’ discomfort.
3 stars
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55. Where There's a Will by Rex Stout
After learning the unusual terms of their late brother’s will, the notable Hawthorne sisters, June, May, and April, turn to Nero Wolfe to help them contest the will. Although Wolfe doesn’t usually get involved in matters of this sort, money is tight and his expenses are mounting, so he’s inclined to accept the case. When it becomes a question of murder, Wolfe is on the spot to prevent Inspector Cramer and the police from a miscarriage of justice by identifying the real killer. While the eccentric characters and the witty dialogue kept me turning the pages, they overshadowed the mystery plot to the point that it was hard to follow Wolfe’s reasoning to its logical conclusion.
3.5 stars
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56. 4:50 from Paddington by Agatha Christie
While traveling by train to visit an old friend, Mrs. McGillicuddy is distressed to witness the murder of a woman on a train traveling parallel to hers. The railway officials don’t seem to take her seriously, but her old friend, Miss Marple, does. In the absence of news reports of the discovery of a body, Miss Marple sets out on a hunt. She engages a young paragon, Lucy Eylesbarrow, to take a temporary domestic position in a household near the site where the body must have been dumped. But why hasn’t the murdered woman been reported missing? Who was she, and what is her connection to this place?
This is one of my favorite Christies. I love mysteries involving trains, and I love the plot twist of a witness to a murder with a missing corpse. I like that Christie doesn’t ask her readers to suspend their disbelief in Miss Marple’s stamina by bringing in the young and intelligent Lucy to do all the physical investigation while Miss Marple puts her brain to work. And the dramatic ending is just perfect.
4 stars
75cbl_tn
>74 mstrust: I'm happy to nudge a re-read! Or maybe watch one of the film/TV adaptations? They're almost as good as the book!
76lindapanzo
>73 cbl_tn: That was one of my favorites, too. Wasn't it also called What Mrs McGillicuddy Saw?
I've just finished reading the second book in the Agatha Christie's Housekeeper series. A Trace of Poison by Colleen Cambridge. Really enjoying these. Truth be told, I think it's the Phyllida Bright mystery series but she knew Agatha during WW1 in the book and becomes her housekeeper.
I've just finished reading the second book in the Agatha Christie's Housekeeper series. A Trace of Poison by Colleen Cambridge. Really enjoying these. Truth be told, I think it's the Phyllida Bright mystery series but she knew Agatha during WW1 in the book and becomes her housekeeper.
77cbl_tn
>76 lindapanzo: Hi Linda! Yes, I think What Mrs. Mcgillicuddy Saw is an alternate title for the book.
I have an ARC of the first book in the Phyllida Bright series but I haven't managed to squeeze it in yet. I'm glad to know you're enjoying the series!
I have an ARC of the first book in the Phyllida Bright series but I haven't managed to squeeze it in yet. I'm glad to know you're enjoying the series!
78thornton37814
Saying "hi" here too!
79cbl_tn
>78 thornton37814: Thanks for dropping by!
80cbl_tn
57. No Longer at Ease by Chinua Achebe
This novel opens with Nigerian civil servant Obi Okonkwo in the dock for taking a bribe. The rest of the novel tells us how he got there. Achebe explores the clash of cultures between Nigerians and British colonial administrators, with Obi as a tragic hero. Readers will come away with a better understanding of the negative effects of colonialism and the cultural tensions in the years leading up to Nigerian independence.
4 stars
81cbl_tn
58. Black Orchids by Rex Stout
This is a twofer as it includes the title novella as well as a second novella, Cordially Invited to Meet Death. Black orchids form the connection between the two novellas. In the first story, Nero Wolfe sends Archie to visit a flower show on successive days. On the final day, Wolfe himself is present when Archie discovers a murdered man in one of the displays. In the second story, a party planner consults Wolfe regarding a series of poison pen letters. It soon turns into a murder investigation. While Archie does the leg work, Wolfe and Fritz receive instruction on the proper way to make corned beef hash…from a woman! The novella format works well for this series with Archie Goodwin as its narrator. Archie is quick-witted and quick-tongued, and the novella length seems like a natural fit.
4 stars
82cbl_tn
June Recap
Books owned: 3
Ebooks borrowed: 2
Audiobooks borrowed: 4
Best of the month: 4:50 from Paddington by Agatha Christie
Worst of the month: Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis
Books owned: 3
Ebooks borrowed: 2
Audiobooks borrowed: 4
Best of the month: 4:50 from Paddington by Agatha Christie
Worst of the month: Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis
83ffortsa
>82 cbl_tn: Glad to see someone agrees with me about the Amis. I remember thinking it was funny decades ago. No more.
84PaulCranswick
>82 cbl_tn: & >83 ffortsa: Interesting. I also don't remember it making me chuckle too much - I like playful ribbing but not cruel jibes.
Have a lovely weekend, Carrie.
Have a lovely weekend, Carrie.
85cbl_tn
>83 ffortsa: >84 PaulCranswick: I'm in good company then! Hope you have a great weekend too!
86cbl_tn
59. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
6-year-old Ender Wiggin comes to the attention of the military, and they whisk him away to battle school. Ender is soon recognized as a prodigious war gamer who is always multiple steps ahead of his opponents. The adults push Ender and the other children to their breaking point as they prepare this generation to defend Earth against the “buggers.” Ender is a reluctant hero and a pacifist at heart, and his inner conflict mounts as the stakes increase.
This apocalyptic novel is filled with religious overtones. Ender is a Messiah figure as the world’s only hope of salvation from the enemy. His brother Peter is his opposite in nearly every way and can be seen as an antichrist.
The increasing difficulty of the battles and the creative strategies Ender devises propel the book. It lost its momentum after the last battle, and the story seemed to drift along and then suddenly stop. The ending made more sense after I listened to the author’s postscript at the end of the audio version. The author was struggling to write Speaker for the Dead and realized that he needed to expand his short story, “Ender’s Game,” into a novel to set up Speaker for the Dead. Card was really writing two novels when he adapted “Ender’s Game,” so the end of the first book is more of a pause than a resolution.
4 stars
87cbl_tn
60. Goodbye, Mr. Chips by James Hilton
In his old age, retired teacher Arthur Chipping (known to all as “Chips”) reflects on his life and career at a second-rate public school (private school if you’re American). The faces and names of his former students float through his memory as he sits by the fire with his tea. While the content of his lessons didn’t change throughout the decades, his relationships with his students and with one influential person shaped his classroom management skills and endeared him to generations of Brookfield students.
Mr. Chips’ career spanned the mid-Victorian era to the close of the Great War, and his retirement years stretched into the Depression era. These were momentous times in British history. Many of the Brookfield students went on to positions of power and influence while Mr. Chips’ career seemed to stagnate. He wasn’t aware that his words and example helped to shape his students’ later success.
The audio version read by Martin Jarvis added a special touch to an already special story. The audio producers made an inspired choice for the incidental music, using an instrumental version of the hymn “Jerusalem” for the interludes and concluding with a choral version.
5 stars
89PaulCranswick
Hello from me too, Carrie.
90cbl_tn
>88 tymfos: >89 PaulCranswick: Hi Terri and Paul! Thanks for keeping my thread warm! We've had a lot of pleasant evenings this summer so I haven't been spending much time indoors. Not much reading happening, either, except for audiobooks.
91avatiakh
Hi Carrie - was great to meet you yesterday.
I looked up Broken Wood and can't believe that there are 9 seasons of a NZ tv show that I've never heard of. I'm more familiar with the list of directors (most are well known actors) & producers than with the actual actors. The filming locations are in rural Auckland north of the city. I must try it.
I looked up Broken Wood and can't believe that there are 9 seasons of a NZ tv show that I've never heard of. I'm more familiar with the list of directors (most are well known actors) & producers than with the actual actors. The filming locations are in rural Auckland north of the city. I must try it.
92cbl_tn
>91 avatiakh: It was great to meet you, too! I really enjoy that show. It's one I will rewatch when I reach the end.
93PaulCranswick
Dear Carrie
Happy Thanksgiving from an appreciative non-celebrator.
Happy Thanksgiving from an appreciative non-celebrator.
94cbl_tn
>93 PaulCranswick: Thank you, Paul! It's my favorite holiday. I always find many things to be grateful for, and one of them is my LT friends!
95PaulCranswick
Thinking about you during the festive season, Carrie
97lindapanzo
Merry Christmas, Carrie!!
