avatiakh’s 2010 challenge thread – part 4

My 3rd thread is here
My 2nd thread is here
My 1st thread is here

Currently Reading:

Highlights for the Year:

Fiction:
The Year of the Shanghai Shark by Mo Zhi Hong (NZ)
Hideous Kinky by Esther Freud (UK)
Came a Hot Friday by Ronald Hugh Morrieson (NZ)
Flaubert's Parrot by Julian Barnes (UK)
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas (Fr)
Nada by Carmen Laforet (Spain)
American Gods by Neil Gaiman (US)
Tu by Patricia Grace (NZ)
Adjusting Sights by Haim Sabato (Israel)
The White King by György Dragomán (Hungary)
The Ministry of Special Cases by Nathan Englander (US)
Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey (UK)
Small Island by Andrea Levy (UK)
An Equal Stillness by Francesca Kay (UK)
A Pigeon and a Boy by Meir Shalev (Israel)
Address Unknown by Kressmann Taylor (US)
Chess Story by Stefan Zweig (Austria)
The Summer Book by Tove Jansson (Finland)
Things fall apart by Chinua Achebe (Nigeria)
The old man who read love stories by Luis Sepulveda (Chile)
The Blue Flower by Penelope Fitzgerald (UK)
Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels (Canada)
Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey (Australia)
As the earth turns silver by Alison Wong (NZ)
Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh (UK)
Hunting and Gathering by Anna Gavalda (France)
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (UK)
The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey (UK)
The Last Child by John Hart (US)
The Lion of Boaz-Jachin and Jachin-Boaz by Russell Hoban
The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
Madame Proust and the Kosher Kitchen by Kate Taylor
Curse of the Wolf Girl by Martin Millar
The Bone People by Keri Hulme
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
Le Grand Meaulnes by Henri Alain-Fournier

Short Stories & Essays etc:
Apples from the Desert by Savyon Liebrecht (Israel)
The man who fell into a puddle: Israeli lives by Igal Sarna (Israel)
Tiny Deaths by Rob Shearman (UK)
Love Songs for the Shy and Cynical by Rob Shearman (UK)
Coming Up Roses by Sarah Laing (NZ)

nonfiction:
The Sushi Economy: Globalization and the Making of a Modern Delicacy by Sasha Issenberg (2007)
Consider the Lobster by David Foster Wallace - I only read this one essay from Gourmet Magazine (US:August 2004)
The Motorcycle Diaries: a journey around South America by Che Guevara (Argentina)
Tschiffely's Ride: Southern Cross to Pole Star by AF Tschiffely (Argentina)
Far away and long ago by W H Hudson (Argentina)

poetry:
The Summer King by Joanna Preston (NZ)
Tigers at Awhitu by Sarah Broom (NZ)

Children’s & YA fiction:
Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta (Australia)
The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks (Australia)
Kestrel for a Knave by Barry Hines (UK)
Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson (US)
Ancient Appetites by Oisin McGann (Ireland)
Brigands MC by Robert Muchamore (UK)
X-isle by Steve Augarde (UK)
Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman (US)
Will Grayson Will Grayson by David Levithan and John Green (US)
Moribito: Guardian of the Darkness by Nahoko Uehashi (Japan)
The Prince of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Spain)
Emil and Karl by Yankev Glatshteyn (US/Yiddish)
The Limping Man by Maurice Gee (NZ)
Over a thousand hills I walk with you by Hanna Jansen (Germany)
Chaos Walking 3: Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness (UK)
Toby Alone by Timothee de Fombelle (France)
Centre of my world by Andreas Steinhöfel (Germany)
The Last Elf by Silvana De Mari
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
Silverhorse by Lene Kaaberbøl
The Borribles by Michael De Larrabeiti
Where the mountain meets the moon by Grace Lin
The Inferior by Peadar O'Guilin
Trash by Andy Mulligan
Dogsbody by Diana Wynne Jones
The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place by Maryrose Wood
Factotum by DM Cornish

143) Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (2010)
YA fiction
This is the final installment in the Hunger Games trilogy and fits into the TIOLI challenge#1.
To begin with I found myself floundering a bit as the previous book ended on a cliffhanger and I'd forgotten a few details in the 12 months since I read Catching Fire and I'm not keen on rereads. Anyway I plunged on and gradually got caught up in the story. Good enough, but overall it left me less than satisfied in several ways.

Hi!

Oooh, a visitor, while I'm still unpacking!

Look at all you've moved in in the last 25 minutes! Nice decor! I'm planning to read Catching Fire and Mockingjay this week. Just finished the latest Liaden novel, and want to let it settle and savor it for a day or so.

Fancy getting a door to door salesman in here!

#6 Roni - Hope you enjoy the Collins books. I finished reading last night and mulled over my thoughts today and know why I was less happy with the last book, still a good compelling read though. I'm off now to read other reviews and discussions on it at last.

Found you! (and meant to be making school lunches.)

Heya, just had to say your recent reads have been really interesting and I've ended up noting down quite a few. I'm going to have to reorganise that pile by my bed I think..

Found you again!

Sorry the trilogy didn't end better... hate that!

Tracked you down despite your attempts to get rid of me :)

144) The Inferior by Peadar O'Guilin (2008)
YA fiction
I came across mention of The inferior a couple of months ago and as the writer was Irish I wanted to read it as I'm slowly reading my way around the Irish children's literature field. Anyway the other day I saw it featured on this 'what to read after the Hunger Games' list on Tor.com the science fiction blog.
Wow, what an action packed read that I tore through at the speed of light! Not for the faint-hearted, there is a touch of cannabalism here, but strengthened from my recent readings of both Consider Phlebas and The Thin Executioner I found the story and action far outweighed these squeamish details. The story does end with many interesting threads still left unexplored so I was happy to read on Paedar's blog that the sequel, The Deserter has just moved into the copy-editing stage.
Stopmouth and his brother Wallbreaker are part of a tribe that faces a daily battle to survive, fighting other species for food or face flesh-trading deals where 'volunteers' come from the weak, injured or older members of the tribe. While existence in Man-Ways is primitive, up above the tribe can see the many globes shooting across high in the Roof of the world.

Description on the dustjacket: 'with echoes of Tarzan, Conan and the Truman Show, Paedar O'Guilin's debut is an action and ideas packed blockbuster that will challenge your perceptions of humanity and - leave you hungry for more.

145) The Old Man Mad about Drawing: a tale of Hokusai by Francois Place (1997 French) (2004 Eng)
children's fiction
I found this beautifully illustrated story by French illustrator Francois Place totally charming. Tojiro, a young orphan who sells rice cakes in old Edo, makes many stops through the streets and marketplace. One of his daily calls is to the home of a grumpy old man who always buys his cakes. As they get to know each other, the old man, who is the famous artist Hokusai, takes Tojiro as an apprentice. As Tojiro learns to read and write, appreciate art and runs errands for Hokusai, Hokusai finds time to tell him stories from his past. Tojiri is a very entertaining character and one feels that Hokusai was probably just as impulsive himself when young.
Hokusai (1760–1846) \is best-known as author of the woodblock print series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji which includes The Great Wave off Kanagawa print.

Well, I lucked out with The Inferior. It is available for my Nook, although not at my local library. No such luck with The Old Man Mad About Drawing.

Thanks for the recommendation, Kerry!

>15 avatiakh: OMG! I just woke up from a dream of that exact Hokusai drawing coming to life and engulfing me! Which is why I'm on LT at 2:40am. Added to wishlist, as I have no desire to tempt fate by ignoring what is *slearly* an order.

Hope you got some sleep in the end Richard. Don't think I'd like to be on the receiving end of that wave even in a dream. The book is a charmer.

146) Timecatcher by Mary-Louise Fitzpatrick (2010)
children's fiction, Ireland
I've added this to the TIOLI Paranormal challenge. A delightful Irish adventure involving ghosts and a timetravel portal set in an old Dublin Button Factory. There's even a cat ghost called Blot. Ideal for intermediate readers wanting a scare but not too big a one.

#19: That one sounds fun! I will have to look for it. Thanks for the recommendation, Kerry.

OK, I am reading some adult books but I'm trying to get some of these younger ones out of the way.

Stranger Madness by Melanie Drewery (2010)
children's fiction, new zealand
This is a very short children's story, a sequel to The Mad Tadpole Adventure. Combine a school talk on stranger danger with a new babysitter and Maddie just has to cause some trouble in this fun story for younger readers. 45pgs
Melanie Drewery has written some great picture books and junior novels, though her work probably isn't available outside of New Zealand.


Scott Pilgrim Vol.1 by Bryan Lee O'Malley (2004)
graphic novel
Thought I'd check out this cute comic about Scott, whose new girlfriend, Ramona, has a few evil ex-boyfriends.

The Inferior sounds great. thx for the heads up :)

Hi Susan, yes, it was a pretty exciting read. I have so much fantasy and scifi reads backed up, it felt good to tear through one so fast. My next book will be a quick read too, I was hooked from page one.

I went to see Scott Pilgrim vs the World in the cinema yesterday! I didn't know that much about it before I went in and it did make me feel a tad old, but I would recommend it. It has lots of cameos from indie Canadian film-folk (I love people-spotting), stylistically it's a wonder and it's directed by Edgar Wright (who directed Hot Fuzz, which is my instant pick-me up). I think it did well by the graphic novel origins, but I'll have to pick one of them up to be sure.

I think I may give The Inferior a miss for now but The old man mad about drawing and Timecatcher sound delightful. What did you think of the Scott Pilgrim comic?

Hi Kerry! I had your last thread starred and whatnot but just never managed to post. Well, I'm changing that right now! :)

#24&25: Eimear & Heather> I'm still debating whether to see the Scott Pilgrim movie, I saw the trailer when I went to Inception, I love Hot Fuzz but now that I'm surrounded by surly teenagers instead of compliant children it gets harder to find a movie that they want to see. They all think SP is totally not their thing, though they all love Edgar Wright's other movies.
I wanted to read the Scott Pilgrim comic after seeing the trailer and a few reviews on the (mis)casting of Michael Cera in the lead role. I loved the character of Wallace but found it hard to work out who was Scott in some of the illustrations when he's with his band. Overall it was a fun read and I'll probably read at least one more.

The Old Man mad about drawing is delightful, it's great to see this homage to a great artist targeting a young audience. I did a Japanese woodblock printing and bookbinding class a couple of years ago, and learnt a lot of the techniques mentioned in the text, though my skill level leaves a lot to be desired.

#26> Hi Stephen, good to see you out visiting. I read far more threads than I ever post on so I know that feeling.

A general comment to say that I'm reading so many books at the same time I might not get anything finished, and I just found out that Michael Grant is coming here on a promotional tour in November so I'll have to bump his trilogy up the tbr pile.

Hi Kerry

I found your new thread and I'm stopping by to wave hello.

Hey...quiet for ten days does not equal happiness! (Mine, that is.) Are you well?

Lurking in the background these past few days and quietly reflecting on The Bone People now that I've finally finished it. Quiet because I've had a visitor staying and been showing him the sights of Auckland. He's a childhood friend of my husband and now they are away for two weeks touring the country just as we're recovering from one of the severest storms the country has seen in 40 odd years.

Congratulations on finishing The Bone People, I've tried only once but not managed to get into it yet. What did you think?

And as for this storm. Wow, have you been driving over the harbour bridge? I am too scared to drive alongside a van or truck lest they blow over right on top of me. I am very much over these high winds. Enjoy the 2 weeks reading time.

I am also interested in what you thought of The Bone People, Kerry.

#31&32> I started reading The Bone People in June and didn't get very far, but this was one of the books I was determined to read this year (finally) and I just put the other reading aside for a while to focus. It was very rewarding, a beautiful bewitching read, so deeply embedded in New Zealand culture, taking you to both the highs and lows of human existence. Brutal, spiritual and a supreme statement of unconditional love. Took about 50-80 pages to get into the flow and start to work out who was who.
And the stormy weather - when will it stop and let us have a sunny day! Shimon came from Israel where it hasn't rained for about 6 months so he was loving the wind and rain. Wasn't too bad driving over the bridge, though I made sure to stay on the centre lanes. Not 2 weeks reading time, I'm busy spring cleaning and eventually, if we have a fine day, working in the garden.

Wild, wild weather! I'm just glad to know you're not in a remake of "The Wizard of Oz".

Ooh, that does it. I'm going to have to read The Bone People soon now, good review, it makes me want to start reading it right now.

I'm about to start 2 weeks of childlessness due to the school holidays and I should also be spring cleaning but my books are so alluring. Enjoy your gardening, I'm sure it will ease up soon. I'm still picking out pieces of the neighbours' pergola from my garden where it blew (right off the front of his house) after our last storm.

I have looked at The Bone People on and off for years - never plucked up enough courage to read it. Might have to soon though as we are going to New Zealand for a holiday in August next year ( I know, I know middle of winter - but we live in the tropics and snow is a treat for us!) I have challenged myself to read 12 books set in New Zealand - I do have a list of 12 but happy to add more - and this one may have to go in my optional extra's :)

#35>KiwiNyx: I'm one of the wimps that still hasn't watched or read Once were warriors, and The Bone People does have very painful parts as well which is probably why I took so long to read it. Some of the names interchange between the Maori and English through the text, which isn't hard to follow once you realise what's happening.
Lucky you having two weeks of kidfree time. Part of my spring cleaning is sorting through my books, culling a few and working out a better storage/display system.

#36>Sally906: Look forward to seeing what you pick out to read about New Zealand, I don't think I've spotted your thread yet. I've owned my copy of The Bone People since it won the Booker Prize, so it had a good few years sitting on my bookshelves before I committed to reading it. I've been discovering New Zealand lit these past couple of years having avoided it for a long time. (Found your blog - will have a read later today).

Sigh of relief! I so wanted you to love The Bone People, but it would have been interesting to get your point of review either way.

I have to admit I love wind and rain (good thing I live in the Northwest) but not those extremes, of course. Glad you're all well. Since your husband is on vacation for 2 weeks, you'll have to give yourself a stay-at-home vacation (massages, manicures, long baths, eating out, reading all day...) while he's gone.

Well Kerry I've bypassed The Bone People for quite awhile but you've convinced me now even though I've never been to New Zealand. I love books set in different cultures.

Tee-hee, Sally, I've met your goal by reading and collecting the whole oeuvre of Essie Summers Harlequin romances back in the 70s. I outgrew Harlequins as reading material many years ago, but still have my Summers books simply because the geography of New Zealand is as much a character in them as the people. That's where my desire to visit New Zealand one day originated. (Haven't gotten them entered into LT yet though.)

Tee-hee, Sally, I've met your goal by reading and collecting the whole oeuvre of Essie Summers Harlequin romances back in the 70s. I outgrew Harlequins as reading material many years ago, but still have my Summers books simply because the geography of New Zealand is as much a character in them as the people. That's where my desire to visit New Zealand one day originated. (Haven't gotten them entered into LT yet though.)

ETA reference to her author's page, since I can't get a touchstone to work:
http://www.librarything.com/author/summersessie

Hope the spring cleaning and the gardening go well - rather you than me! I will muse on The Bone People. My tolerance for difficult books is quite low atm .

> 41 Four of those books are in our local library system :) Thanks for the tips I don't mind the occasional 'light and fluffy' read :)

147) Curse of the Wolf Girl by Martin Millar (2010)
urban fantasy
September TIOLI Paranormal challenge
I was overjoyed to see a sequel for the Lonely WereWolf Girl come out. OK, there are werewolves in these but overall the books are just great fun to read and don't at all fit the normal paranormal romance genre. (I've used the American cover image as the UK cover, which I own, just doesn't appeal).
Kalix and fire elemental, Vex, are now living with students, Daniel and Moonglow, in London, but only under the condition that they attend college to learn basic literacy skills. Of course, nothing can go according to plan, especially with such a reluctant student as Kalix, who suffers from depression and social anxiety as well as an addiction to laudanum and the tv show, Sabrina the teenage witch. Vex is just too enthusiastic about school, coloured felt tips and gold stars to actually learn anything. So many great characters in these books.
I loved this just as much as the first book. Martin Millar suffers from severe agoraphobia, and his personal experience of anxiety and phobia really adds an extra dimension to Kalix's character.
Recommended.
Millar on why he wrote the Kalix books: 'The book came about partly because Buffy ended,' says Millar, whose admiration for Joss Whedon's show is a recurring motif of his entertaining website. 'I felt such a dreadful loss, I thought I'd have to write my own. It is set on what I judge to be the same sort of level, which some people might call 'teen' or 'young adult' - phrases I don't particularly agree with.'

148) The Bone People by Keri Hulme (1983)
fiction, new zealand, 1010 challenge

This won the Booker Prize in 1985, and I've owned it since about then but have never got round to reading it. This was one of the few books that I set myself as a must-read for this year and even then I mucked around for a few months reading it, mainly because I knew there were scenes of domestic violence in the story and I'm not really keen to read too much along those lines. Hulme was turned down by several publishers and in the end the book was published by the New Zealand women's art movement, Spiral Collective, who felt that books like these need to be and acted as publishers of last resort.
Copied from my previous post: It was very rewarding, a beautiful bewitching read, so deeply embedded in New Zealand culture, taking you to both the highs and lows of human existence. Brutal, spiritual and a supreme statement of unconditional love.
Kerewin is a solitary being and lives in a remote spiral tower. One day she comes across a mute boy, a waif, who has stolen into her home. Simon is the foster son of widower, Joe, and as she observes their strange relationship she also develops an unlikely attachment.

149) The Brothers Lionheart by Astrid Lindgren (1973)
children's fiction, 1010 challenge
An attractive new edition by Oxford University Press caught my eye, it's a classic book I've never read before, that's included in 1001 children's books you must read before you grow up.
An appealing story of two brothers, sickly Karl and his older stronger sibling Jonathan, who both die and come to Nangiyala, the land beyond the stars. Here Karl is able to walk and ride horses as he always wanted but even in this world there are darker elements at play. An extraordinary tale of brotherly love, loyalty and hope. I have to admit to being a bit thrown by the ending and do recommend that you read the book before handing it on to sensitive younger readers.
I'm adding extra info below.

Here's a preview of Eva-Maria Metcalf's article about the book:

I believe in children's need for consolation. When I was a child, people believed that when you die you go to heaven; that was not one of the most amusing things one could imagine, to be sure, but if everyone went there. . . . That would at least be better than lying in the ground and not existing any more. Today's children no longer have this consolation. They no longer have this tale. So then I thought: one could perhaps give them another tale that can provide them with a little warmth while they wait for the unavoidable end.
Astrid Lindgren to Egil Törnqvist, 1973
If we believe Astrid Lindgren, a major driving force behind The Brothers Lionheart, to which she refers above, was her desire to console. Despite the prevalence of violence and death and despite the novel's controversial conclusion in death and suicide, it is both a consoling and a hope-inspiring book. Not everybody has interpreted the novel in this fashion, however. Like Lindgren's early success, Pippi Longstocking, it was greeted with sharp criticism as well as with praise when it first appeared in 1973, and the debate has not quite subsided yet. The reason for the different readings can be sought in the novel's complexity and ambiguity, the main focus of my reading.
The Brothers Lionheart follows the tradition of the fantasy tale, in which primary and secondary worlds are closely linked in a tension-filled coexistence. Lindgren carefully crafted the fantasy paradigm to allow readers a choice. In fact, the novel is designed to work on two levels: for the child to enjoy and escape and for the adult to understand and empathize.

Also recommended is the book's wikipedia page: On the other hand readers reacted largely positive: "It is clear that children had a great wish for tales and preferably these kind of exciting tales. Right now I am swamped with letters from children - from several countries - that love the Brothers Lionheart. Never before have I received such a strong and spontaneous reaction on any book." - Letter written by Lindgren in 1975.The contrasts, the evocative storyline and the themes of yearning for comfort, of brotherly affection, loyalty and struggle for freedom went over well with a wide readership that was often familiar with Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy and with folktales, and in many ways Lindgren's novel is an example of what Tolkien described as inspiration drawn from "the deeper folktale" (in On Fairy-Stories) and the cathartic, poignant power of such stories.

#45: Sounds like I need to check that one out of the library again. I never got it read before. Thanks for the reminder, Kerry.

#46: I will have to look for that one.

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150) The Billionaire's Curse by Richard Newsome (2009)
Archer Legacy Bk1
children's fiction
This won the 2010 LIANZA children's fiction award. A fun adventure story mainly set in London, that I really enjoyed reading - an epic murder mystery romp that takes 13-year-old Gerald Wilkins on the quest of a lifetime to find a killer and solve a thousand-year-old puzzle.
Gerald is looking forward to the holidays in Australia when his mother's old aunt dies and suddenly his life changes dramatically. He finds out that he's from one of the richest families in the world, and since his aunt made him the sole heir, not everyone is happy and he has become a target for kidnapping, even murder. The second book in the series is The Emerald Casket and I might just pick it up as it's always fun to read about a boy who has a few billion dollars in the bank.


151) Fierce September by Fleur Beale (2010)
YA speculative fiction, New Zealand
This is the sequel to Juno of Taris which I really loved. The publisher asked Fleur to write a sequel and now there will also be a third book. This was a good read and as the characters in the book got a lot of their information online, the book has an online blog component with links to visit at the end of each chapter. I didn't visit all the posts, but thought it was an interesting feature.
Fleur on writing Juno of Taris: Strangely enough, it was going to New York a month after September 11. Being in the city at that time felt very much like being in a place which had closed itself off from the outside world in order to try to cope with what had happened. I came home and wrote the story, setting it in a place that truly was cut off, or so most of the inhabitants thought. But that first attempt didn't quite work and I left it and went overseas for a year. The computer it was on got stolen and I forgot about it until I found a hard copy several years later. I liked the bones of it so completely rewrote it.


152) Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi (2010)
YA scifi
Another YA that I enjoyed. A very believable dystopian world where global warming wreaks havoc with terrible storms and hurricanes. Nailer works in a ship breaking lightcrew and after a particularly severe storm finds a wrecked clipper that he could claim for salvage.


153) Trash by Andy Mulligan
children's fiction
Fantastic read. Mulligan lived in the Phillipines teaching for some years and this experience was the inspiration for his latest novel. Raphael and Gardo are two boys who form part of the community that works the Behala dumpsite. One day Raphael finds something in the rubbish, something important, that the police come looking for. The boys team with their younger streetwise friend Rat to try to solve the mystery before the police catch up with them. A thrilling and exciting read with lots of twists with a realistic view of third world poverty.

154) Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson (1992)
cyberpunk fiction

I listened to this on my iPod and have to say it was a totally enjoyable experience, the narrator was Jonathan Davis. Definitely want to read more of Stephenson's work and listen to more books narrated by Davis. So many cool elements including the Rat Thing, The Librarian in the Metaverse and YT's board. The book feels like it's set in around the year 2000, so it's sort of in a future that's already been. The plot is really complex and starts off with our hero, Hiro Protagonist delivering pizza as you could not ever have dreamed of pizza being delivered. I was stunned at the world that was opening up in those first few pages. Then we meet YT, a 15 yr old Kourier who rides a hoverboard and poons vehicles for a faster ride!
I'd love to have read it when it first came out. I'll never hear - 'maybe they'll listen to reason' again without thinking of this book.

Wow! You have been busy lately, Kerry. Adding several titles to the BlackHole. Thanks for the recommendations.

If you are up for more Stephenson and want another stand alone, how about his The Diamond Age?

155) The Tango Singer by Tomás Eloy Martínez (2004)
fiction, Argentina
TIOLI September LT challenge - (ing)

A complex plot that portrays Buenos Aires as a darkly mysterious labyrinth of a city. Bruno, a doctoral student writing on Borges essays on tangos comes to Buenos Aires in search of an elusive and mysterious tango singer, Julio Martel. Very literary and a good knowledge of Buenos Aires is recommended to do justice to this book.



156) The Inspector by Jan de Hartog (1960)
TIOLI September 3 criteria Club Read challenge
This was a New York Times bestseller (Fiction, 1960) and was an enjoyable read. It starts in Holland in 1946 with a police inspector tailing a suspected white slave trader who has a sickly, young Jewish woman with him and is taking her to London to send on to a South American brothel. When official bureaucracy stalls, the disillusioned inspector decides to help the dying young woman achieve her dream of a new life in Palestine. There are obstacles, most set in motion by his vindictive wife who contacts his head of department. He's warned that his career is in jeopardy if he continues with his plan smuggle the girl into Palestine. He can't explain his motive, just that he can't bear how everyone seems to be content to get on with their lives and conveniently forget what has just happened in the war. Interesting characters and a great canal voyage from Holland to Paris add up to a satisfying story.

#50 Stasia - I'll probably go for Diamond Age next.

#52: I will be interested in seeing what you think of it!

It'll be a while before I get to it. I've been sorting through my books and have uncovered a pile of treasures I should be reading.

#54: Oh, I love finding buried treasure! I hope you enjoy your discoveries.

Wow you've been busy reading!

Really enjoyed reading your thoughts on The Bone People. One day, I'll read it, but I don't want to enough yet and I can see it's the kind of book that needs motivation. We owned a copy for ages, then gave it to a German friend who read it straight away.

Sorry to read about all the terrible weather. Our house is very near the Karori Tunnel in Wellington, and I saw on Stuff yesterday that there'd been a slip... eek.

Like the look of that Juno of Taris plus the new one you have just read Fierce September both by Fleur Beale - have to keep an eye open for them.

So much reading, wow, I'm speechless.

My 13yr has just finished studying Juno of Taris for her first foray into critical essay writing at school and she loved it. I haven't read it myself but after proof-reading her essays for her, I feel I know the story quite well. I'm kicking myself though because I'm sure I saw that Fleur Beale sequel at an op-shop last week for $2 and I didn't buy it.

I remember loving Snow Crash when I first read it, you've actually made me want to read it again now with your review. And lastly for Sally, a book I read as a kid that I still remember as a great read and that is set in New Zealand is Take the Long Path by Joan de Hamel.

hello....way back to the Bone People, it's a book on so many New Zealanders reading wishlist. I aim to get to it one day, I've heard it can be hard to "get in to" though so might have to pick a holiday in order to be able to read good chunks at a time!!

Juno of Taris looks intriguing, but the only place I can seem to locate it is Amazon.co.uk, for a cool 16 pounds a copy, so it's not going to be added to my TBR any time soon!!

Thanks for all your comments. My son bought a new computer game that is too new for my husband's computer so my laptop is being commandeered by them at inconvenient moments. I've gotten up extra early to have some time on my laptop without interruptions! I'm a bit stuck in RL at present with numerous trips to the airport to pick up various family members coming and going. My Israeli visitor is back for a few days from touring the country with my husband, so I'm having to take him shopping and sightseeing around Auckland again before he leaves on Sunday night. We went to The Hard to Find (but worth the effort) Bookshop yesterday in Onehunga as it is near to an outlet shopping mall, and I wanted him to see a dusty old New Zealand used bookstore as well as the glitzy 'charm' of outlet shopping. He bought 2 books for his daughter so the trip was not wasted.


#60 > Suzanne, while I love Juno of Taris I don't think it's a must read and even here in NZ it seems to be fairly hard to track down at present. Fleur's most well known book, I am not Esther was written when one of her students (she was a highschool English teacher) was beaten and expelled from his family for going against their religious beliefs. Due to this book, which is about a girl forced to live in a closed religious community, she has spent many years in contact with Phil Cooper, the son of a religious cult leader, who had fled the cult he had grown up in. Last year her first nonfiction, Sins of the Father, was published which tells the story of Phil's struggle to get his wife and their youngest child out of the Cooperite cult. I think Fleur's ongoing research into the cult really informed on the writing of Juno of Taris, which is also about a closed community.
The YA fiction I'd love to see your comments on is MT Anderson's The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, ask Richard about it.

56&59 > It is hard to get into the first few pages as Hulme has such a unique writing style, it's mainly a stream-of-consciousness narrative that jumps from one character to the next, mixed with more straight forward passages, poetry, song, prayers and use of Maori language but once you're into the story, this all works quite brilliantly together. Truly a masterpiece. One of the few books I'll probably dive in and read from again.

Hmm, that bookstore bears an uncanny resemblance to my home... Should I be worried?

_
Last night my youngest daughter and I went to the launch of Joy Cowley's Navigation: a memoir and also her Writing from the heart: how to write for children. It was at The Women's Bookshop and while a small shop I have to say I was impressed by the selection of books they had and will be going back for another look. Joy wrote the most encouraging words in Dana's copy of Writing from the Heart which was just what Dana needed as she's a 13 year old hardened critic of the world and so wants to be a writer. It was a quiet and heartwarming launch of 2 books, and Joy is such a lovely, gentle person. Tessa Duder said that Writing from the Heart will also be published in the US by New York state's Chautauqua Faculty where Joy has led many writing workshops over the years.
Before the book launch Dana and I went to a nearby cafe for a coffee, it was an old haunt from when I lived in Ponsonby, used to be the Atomic Cafe which is the best supplier of roast coffee beans around. Their cat wandered in from the outdoor area and leapt straight onto my lap and remained there till we left. Purrrfect mood enhancer.

#62> Suzanne - It has upstairs, books on the steps to browse on your way (yes, I have bought from the steps at times!) and a mezzanine stuffed full of history books and in and out of back rooms, all as above. Quite marvellous! I really must take my camera one time as that is the only image I could find on the net and it doesn't do it justice. I'm too scared to put all my books on display - it would take over my house!
I have to fix link in above post but it won't let me edit yet.grrr.

#61: I think it is a double for my library - only mine is messier!

>64 avatiakh:......I would love to have that much bookshelf space in my house!

What you've described sounds quite like Smiths Bookshop in Chch (recently destroyed by the Earthquake- but luckily they had JUST moved down the street after decades in the now rubble shop). It had 3 storeys and was dusty and interesting looking all over the place.

I need that much bookshelf space! Oh well I've just put together some storage cubes in my bedroom which stash a lot of books and look fairly good, and will do until my 26 yr old son leaves home, which does not seem to be anytime soon. His room is next to the garage and was meant to be my library/sanctuary space.
#64 > I think I've been to Smiths, I bought some old school journals there a few years ago. So sad that so many interesting buildings have had to go in the city centre.

I haven't been able to read much these past couple of days, and currently I feel like a leading expert in kiwiana and like souvenir memorabilia of New Zealand. Our Israeli visitor is looking for specific items to take home and it is all proving quite elusive! Tomorrow we are doing a yumcha brunch, the ferry to Devonport or Waiheke Island and continuing our search for a teapot for his sister!

I have, among other bookcases, seven 30-inch-wide, 84-inch high shelving units that are fab, and they line all of one wall and part of another in living room (complete with a corner unit to ensure there isn't a big gap...) Each shelf holds two rows of books. So some of my books do look like this! I also have book stalagmites, AND several stairs have little book mounds. I did have a nearly complete inventory at one point, until I had pulled out too many books to re-read and the computer blew itself up (bah -- forgot to back it up...) Let's just say that I've now logged 4,500 volumes on LT, and I'm NOT FINISHED YET...

until my 26 yr old son leaves home

I'm afraid this doesn't necessarily result in an empty room. I still have 2000 or so books at my parents' house, and I expect them to stay there for at least five more years.... Sorry! I tell them that they can benefit from such a nice library ;)

Finally caught up with you Kerry! You've been reading some great books, I've added The Brothers Lionheart, Juno of Taris and Trash to my wishlist. The Martin Millar wolf girl series and Ship Breaker were already on there.

#61 That bookshop looks amazing!

>67 avatiakh:, that sounds like a fun few days, I always enjoy showing visitors around your own area. It reminds us of what a great place we live in. Good luck with teapot shopping!

Catching up, wishlisting, and generally whammying Auckland with serious geological issues because you're costing me a bloody fortune in fabulous reads.

Just sayin'.

Hi Kerry, I'll take a few days away from LT in order to search NZ for elusive trinkets for visitors. Sounds like great fun.

Good luck with the teapot hunt, I've seen some very cool kiwiana designs in those arty gift shops in Ponsonby, also in the Matakana galleries recently if that helps. I went to that Womens Book Store recently and ended up buying a couple of books which I still have to read! Great little shop though and the Joy Cowley evening sounded great. My 13 yr old daughter is also a budding writer. Does yours love manga as well?

I never knew Smiths was one of the shops destroyed but I'm so glad they got all the books out first. I loved that store.

Not Smith's - my husband had to literally drag me out of there 5 years ago as I was piling one out of print treasure after another onto the counter. Had to mail them back to Oz as no way could we of afforded the excess baggage cost on the plane :)

Is on my must visit again list for next year when we re-visit - no matter where they relocate to.

#74> Well, our visitor has left. He didn't want to spend a lot on a teapot so ended up with a really boring white one, I was disappointed but after seeing his taste in aprons which took ages to track down I just wanted to move on!
Now I'm looking forward to my road trip that I'm doing next week - 6 days visiting Taranaki and Wellington. I'm going to my highschool's 125th Jubilee in New Plymouth where I was a boarder for 4 years a long long time ago.

I've read 8 books so far this month so I better get busy and post some comments.


157) Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome (1889)
fiction
I added this to Suzanne's Monosyllable Title TIOLI challenge. This was my second go at listening to an audiobook from Librovox on my iPod. The books are recorded by volunteers so the quality varies, and I think this book especially suffered because of some of the narrators. I remember really enjoying this book being read aloud to me when I was 9 or 10 at school by one of my favourite teachers.

#76: Too bad about the version of the audio on that one. I listened to it on audio as well, but the recording was a professional one, done by Martin Jarvis and thoroughly enjoyable.

158) Ticket to Prague by James Watson (1993)
YA fiction
I started the Prague and Golems TIOLI challenge and this was my first of about 8 books I'd love to read for the challenge.
Watson based this book on the true story of Ivan Blatny, a Czech poet, who lived in exile in an English nursing home, unknown, until a nurse investigated his past and found that he had been a famous poet in his Czech homeland before the communist era.
I really enjoyed Watson's earlier novel The Freedom Tree which is about the Spanish Civil War, one of the few politically charged novels for teens on this war. In A Ticket to Prague he brings the same social awareness to play. Amy, an estranged teen, is an orphan and a rebel. She quits school after another run in with police and the judicial system, ending up having to do community service at a mental asylum. Here she meets an old man who doesn't speak but seems to be a kindred spirit. Once Amy discovers Josef's true identity the media descend on them and a trip to Prague is necessary for Josef to receive an Award from the Czech government.
I like how Watson effortlessly plugs classic books into the narrative: Kafka's Metamorphosis & The Trial, Ulysses, and especially The Good Soldier Švejk in such a way that teen readers will want to move on to them when finishing Ticket to Prague. There are brief moments when it feels a little like a travelogue/history lesson but eventually the story is strong enough to overcome this.
Recommended teen read that touches on the modern history of The Czech Republic and the Holocaust.

#78: Thanks for the recommendation of that one, Kerry. I will look for it.

159) The Golem: the story of a legend by Elie Wiesel (1983)
exquisitely illustrated by Mark Podwal
Jewish folklore
Another for my TIOLI Prague & Golem challenge, this is the tale of the Maharal, Rabbi Yehuda Loew, leader of the Jewish community of 16th century Prague and his making of a golem to protect his people. Excellent and wonderfully illustrated with pen & ink illustrations by Podwal.


160) Chocky by John Wyndham (1968)
scifi fiction, 1010

Chocky is included in 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up and so I read it for my 1010 category, however I don't think it was written for young people in particular. With a father-narrator we are distanced from Matthew, the son, who seems to have an imaginary friend, Chocky. But Matthew has an alien consciousness communicating with his mind. The parents react differently to Matthew's behaviour, while the father is intrigued, the mother can't accept anything more than the concept of an imaginary friend. As Matthew is adopted, there is an element of nature or nurture to consider as well.
For children - Sylvia Waugh's Earthborn & Space Race would be good followups. For teens maybe try the quirky MapHead.
edit: fix touchstones

#80: I have had Chocky in the BlackHole for a while now. One of these days, I may actually get my hands on a copy.

161) Dogsbody by Diana Wynne Jones (1975)
children's fiction

Read for the TIOLI challenge: Read a book that has been previously read by at least two readers for TIOLI. I'm a fan of DWJ and have read most of her books and loved this one too.
Sirius, is a celestial being, and on being wrongfully accused of destroying a zoi, is punished by being sent to Earth. He must prove his innocence but is hampered 'a lot' by being reborn into the body of a puppy. Recommended.


162) The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdsall (2005)
children's fiction

For Zoe's Old Fashioned children's book TIOLI challenge. It seemed like the ideal opportunity to finally tackle this one as quite a few LTers were reading it this month. I wasn't overly enraptured by the book it just felt a little bit flat for me. Still glad to have finally crossed it off my list.


163) The Witch's Guide to cooking with children by Keith McGowan (2009)
children's fiction

Decided to add this to the TIOLI Not Quite Horror challenge. Teacherdad mentioned this one on his thread a while back and so I just had to read this retelling of Hansel and Gretel.
I noticed that several LT reviews mention how great the illustrations work for them, well, they didn't for me. Yoko Tanaka also illustrated Kate DiCamillo's The Magician's Elephant and I thought her work was great for that book, but I didn't like them at all here. I liked a lot about this story and I think that most children will get a bit of a kick out of reading it, the two children have a few narrow escapes, and there are some tense moments.
Opening passage from Fay Holaderry's journal: I love children. Eating them, that is.
Fay Holaderry's little house in the forest has been taken over by urbanisation. She's taken down the gingerbread and changed her child collection tactics. Parents are now welcome to use the conveniently provided donations bins dotted around the town of Grand Creek.


164) The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place:Bk1 The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood (2010)
children's fiction

Another for Zoe's old fashioned children's book challenge.
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways This book was a fun breath of fresh air, I loved its original twist on the governess/lonely waif tale. Miss Penelope Lumley, recent graduate at the startlingly young age of fifteen, of Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Young Females secures the position of governess at the stately country home of Ashton Place. Her three young charges, the Incorrigibles, are feral children, recently discovered in the nearby forest.


165) Utz by Bruce Chatwin (1988)
fiction

For my TIOLI Prague & Golems challenge. This is the first book by Chatwin that I've read, I'm planning to read his The Songlines next year for my 1111 challenge.
Kaspar Utz is a compulsive collector of Meissen porcelain who managed to hide his collection during the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia and then hold on to it in Prague during the years of communist rule. Utz has ample chances to defect to the West, but each time he feels impelled to return to his collection.
Chatwin creates a moody Prague peopled with strange and obsessive peasants, officials and academics. He draws parallels between the Maharal's golem and the inert figurines of fine china. A slightly weird story that worked for me. This made the 1998 Booker Prize longlist.

Stasia - I also had Chocky on my tbr list for a long time. Happy to send you copies of Chocky and Ticket to Prague as I've ended up with a spare one of each and they are both fairly slight books.

#83: Kerry, I sent you a PM.

Great reading as always, I have just wish listed 7 of your recent reads which is just getting silly now. There are too many great books around. Have a great road trip and enjoy your school reunion. I love the Taranaki coast, my special town being Wanganui because I was born there. Drive safe.

#85> kiwinyx - sorry to be adding to your wishlist but I have the same problem when visiting everyone's threads. I get a lot of the books out from the library to see if I really do want to read them.

Adding those YA books to my wish list!!!!!

>40 ronincats: just finished reading my first Essie Summers Design for Life have 3 more of her books at the library to follow. Was a very pleasant read, and added a few places to my must visit list around Christchurch next year - review is added as well.

For any NZ based LTers, Bookiemonster is doing a giveaway draw for Fleur Beale's Fierce September on her blog closing Monday 5pm.

166) The Ogre Downstairs by Diana Wynne Jones (1974)
children's fiction

Another from my tbr pile read for the TIOLI challenge: Read a book that has been previously read by at least two readers for TIOLI.
This is about a merged family that is still adjusting to each other and not really succeeding. Sally's children call their new stepdad, the Ogre and he does act a bit like one, always finding fault with the children. His two boys, now released from boarding school, are not friendly at all. It is not a happy household. When the Ogre gives them chemistry kits that produce strange magical results household havoc turns to complete mayhem.
This was a highly enjoyable read that most older children would really revel in.

#89: Another DWJ book I have yet to read. Glad to know it is a good one!

Dianne Wynne Jones is a great favourite in our household as well.

Oh and keep the recommendations coming. The size of my TBR list is getting silly but it doesn't seem to stop me adding to it and I enjoy finding out what you've been reading as we seem to have very similar tastes.

I think I am going to have to live forever to even make a dent in my wish list - hopefully God has a copy of the list and will make sure all unread ones up there waiting for me when i eventually (in many, many decades) go :)

I'm ever optimistic that I'll read most on my wishlist. I love being surrounded by books that I haven't yet read, being able to savour them, sort them and appreciate them before I do finally pick them up. I love having a big stack of read 'these now' books, and to keep rearranging it as my mood changes.
And more arrived to my house these past few days, unfortunately not library books but more to join my Mt Unread.
The Secret Book of Grazia dei Rossi by Jacqueline Park
Other People's houses by Lore Segal
Roots Schmoots by Howard Jacobson (chatterbox mentioned this one)
Home Child by Barbara Haworth-Attard (msmoto recommended)
The Family Moskat by Isaac Bashevis Singer
Cain's Field by Matt Rees (chatterbox gave this 5 stars & I couldn't resist)
Foreskin's Lament: a memoir by Shalom Auslander (bookaholic13 from the 1010 challenge)
The Girl on the Via Flaminia by Alfred Hayes (ladywithabook recommendation)
Briar Rose by Robert Coover (keen to try his work)
The Officer's Daughter by Zina Rohan
Appointment with Venus by Jerrard Tickall (on loan from my mother)
plus a couple of omnibus editions of Ellis Peters' Cadfael & George Felse books.

#91> I'm going to have to make a list of the Diana Wynne Jones books I've still to read and the ones I want to reread. I know I haven't read the Derkholm books, Tough Guide to Fantasyland, Archer's Goon or any of her latest ones since The Merlin Conspiracy. She's one of my daughter's favourite writers as well so we've collected most of her work.

I absolutely LOVED Utz when I read it; hoping to get to his novel set in Wales before year's end...

Kerry, the Derkholm books are some of my very favorites--hope you get to them soon!

Kerry, I wanted to thank you for your recommendation of Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. I read it Sunday and loved it!

Stasia - it's lovely isn't it. It goes on my list of all-time great children's books, alongside The Underneath.

#98: Oh, I loved The Underneath too!

Stasia - just wanted to add to the WTMMTM comments how much I enjoyed the parents in the story and the 'journey' they went on. The book seemed so complete on all those different levels.

#100: Linda and I were just talking about the book the other night and commenting on how in this book, it was not all just about the child and her journey, but about her parents' as well. I agree with you - complete on many different levels!

I'm here I'm here I'm here, 58 posts and 20 days behind, but I'm all caught up!

Hi Kerry, catching up! Glad to hear you enjoyed the DWJ books. I read those two earlier this year and really enjoyed them. There are still so many of her books I haven't read yet though including all the ones you listed in msg 94!

Hope you enjoy your road trip - when do you set off?

I bought 5 cheap YA books the other week from the library cast-offs and am looking forward to reading them. Ever since reading The 10pm Question by Kate De Goldi, I've realised that YA isn't actually just for YA's!

Good to see another convert to YA! I find most children's books & YA enjoyable reads and there are many crossover ones like The 10pm Question - Tamar, The Eclipse of the Century & The Book Thief.

#103 Heather> I'm leaving tomorrow, but first I have a 7am meeting in the city.

I've finished a couple more YA books for the TIOLI challenge - David Almond's Clay & Tropical Secrets: Holocaust refugees in Cuba which was a verse novel. Will have to post my comments when I return but both were great reads.
I've only read a few pages of Magic Prague and I think I need to read more Czech literature & history to really appreciate it. So I'll probably leave it and try some Kafka and The Good Soldier Svejk.

Library books I'd love to finish even though I should be reading my own books:
Watch by Robert Sawyer
Factotum by DM Cornish
An Acre of Barren Ground by Jeremy Gawron
Omnitopia Dawn by Diane Duane
The January Dancer by Michael Flynn
The Undrowned Child by Michelle Lovric
Cleo: how an uppity cat helped heal a family by Helen Brown
Just a dog by Michael Gerard Bauer
I ended up having to return the latest Artemis Fowl to the library, I only managed a few chapters.

#102 - Hi Stephen - nice to see you here, note that I have Michael Flynn's The January Dancer out from the library at present due to your review of his other book.

106: I hope you like it. I plan on trying some more of his work as well. I only gave Eifelheim 3 stars, but he definitely did a good job with it and managed to make a rather far-fetched plot believable, which is important in fantasy and science fiction! My library has The January Dancer, among others, and they are on the wishlist. I'll get to them eventually. :)

hi Kerry

Both books are way up on your thread, but I wanted to let you know that The Bone People is waiting here as long to be read, I hope to get to it someday.
And I absolutely LOVE The Brothers Lionheart, thanks for reminding, I think it is time for a re-read :-)

Anita

Hallo Kerry, too late to catch you but I'll wish you a delightful trip and a safe return, sans geological excitement (poor Christchurch!).

#105 "Library books I'd love to finish even though I should be reading my own books" An all too familiar feeling!

ETA: Safe travels

167) Tropical Secrets: Holocaust refugees in Cuba by Margarita Engle (2009)
YA verse novel
I added this to the TIOLI Decade challenge. I'm open to the occasional excursion into verse novels, my favourite has to be Karen Hesse's Aleutian Sparrow which also looks at forced migration during wartime. This one puts the spotlight on Jewish refugees coming to Cuba. Most ships arriving in Cuba had already been turned away from both the USA and Canada and if rejected by Cuba had to return to Europe. Despite corrupt Cuban officials demanding immense bribes and Nazi propaganda alluding to spies among the passengers, the Cubans took in 65,000 refugees between 1938 & 39, the same number that the US took in and more than any other Latin American country. The poems are in the voices of Daniel, a young Jewish teen sent on his own to America, David, an old Jewish man who came to Cuba many years ago to escape the pogroms in Russia and Paloma, the daughter of a corrupt Cuban official.
Overall a great little book.



168) Clay by David Almond (2005)
YA fiction
TIOLI Prague & Golems challenge read. Really liked the eeriness of this book. Set in a working class northern town in the UK probably around the 1960s. Gangs, church, girls and a strange new boy who sculpts angels in the clay from the pond. He has an almost hypnotic effect on young David and needs his help to make a creature from the clay. Almond is a master storyteller and this is as good as any of his other work. I also have his latest, My name is Mina, a prequel to Skellig, lined up to read.

I am glad you liked Clay too!
I have to go to the library (or bookshop LOL), as there is a translation of Raven Summer available :-)
For his latest book I will have to wait a while...

Anita - I love David Almond's books, I read them all in one big rush a few years ago and have been remiss in not catching up to his latest ones. He was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Award earlier this year.


My recent day in Wellington was spent visiting Te Papa's Brian Brake Lens on the world photography exhibition which was fantastic. I squeezed in a visit to Arty Bees, a friendly used bookstore, but unfortunately their prices were too high. $NZD12-$18 for a used paperback is just not enticing, it's probably because of their highstreet location. I found a smaller shop off Cuba Mall and picked up a couple of interesting titles.
The Angry Young Men: a literary comedy of the 1950s by Humphrey Carpenter
On the Black Hill by Bruce Chatwin
A Single Light by Maia Wojciechowska

Loved being in Taranaki, visited Puke Ariki which had an art exhibition, John McLean: A Conversation on Symbolism in Art with an interactive iPad presentation which was fun, and enjoyed a nostalgic walk through Pukekura Park. We dined both nights at a great Indian restaurant, Pankawalla, which has a stunning mural wall dedicated to the passive peace movements of both the local Parihaka Maori and Gandhi. My mother had her obligatory whitebait fritter in Mokau as it is whitebait season here. We drove around New Plymouth looking for an ideal spot to photograph Mt Taranaki (standin for Mt Fujiama in Tom Cruise's The Last Samurai which was filmed here). Spent a couple of hours reminiscing with 'old girls' from my school which was celebrating 125 yrs jubilee (as a boarder, this was my 'home' for my high school years). We left New Plymouth before the reunion had fully got underway but by then I'd had enough of catching up. We drove the Surf Highway 45 around the Taranaki coast, scooting past the turnoff to Parihaka which can only be visited by invitation. We were charmed by Hawera's main street and I did my dash into the local KFC to see the 'silly' Ronald Hugh Morrieson plaque.

In 1992 local efforts to persuade the South Taranaki District Council to save the old Morrieson house from demolition failed: too many people in Hawera had not forgiven Morrieson for his less than flattering depiction of their town. Ronald Hugh Morrieson’s home was demolished in April 1993 to make way for a fast-food restaurant.

I did not manage to do any reading for the 6 days I was away so am behind in finishing my TIOLI reads and have had to remove a few books from the wiki. I do have a couple more to write up but I better get back to reading as I have three books almost done and only 2 days left to finish them in. I've already added a swag of books to the November TIOLI but most are for my 1010 challenge which needs a push in a couple of neglected categories.

I'll be adding some pics as soon as I can upload.

Puke Ariki Museum

Whitebait fritter

Mt Taranaki from New Plymouth


Pukekura Park

Opunake Beach Mokau Beach

West coast beaches have natural black sand - ironsand.

When we were visiting NZ 4 years ago we stayed in the hotel halfway up the side of Mt Taranaki - was a wonderful night - great staff, great food and the fulfillment of a 30 year dream to see the mountain.

Thanks for sharing your photo's

What lovely pictures! Thanks for sharing them, Kerry!

Beautiful photos Kerry! The whitebait fritter has my mouth watering.

I haven't read anything by David Almond, although I have Skellig on my wishlist from Linda's (whisper1) recommendation earlier this year. I've added Clay too.

Now I've caught up I have 2 books I want to finish this month so I had better get back to my reading!

Stunning shots and you hit the right weekend weather wise, I just adore west coast beaches as well. They have a rugged majesty about them.

169) Body of Glass by Marge Piercy (1991) He, She, and It (US title)
cyberpunkish scifi

Read this for the Prague & Golems TIOLI challenge.
Set in a dystopian future, an experimental cyborg warrior's programming is so successful and humanising that a relationship develops with his programmer, a young Jewish woman. Piercy uses the golem legend of Prague as a parallel storyline that is echoed in the futuristic one. Excellent and engrossing read.


170) The Fallen by Ben Sanders (2010)
new zealand fiction

I read this debut novel for the TIOLI police procedure challenge. Overall I found this an entertaining enough read. Sanders is only 20 and has managed to get a four book deal for his police detective, Sean Devereaux. It starts feeling like a mishmash of other crime novels with a strong overemphasis on Sean's musical tastes, but this all settles down, and one can start to appreciate the Auckland setting and the promise of his writing evolving over time.


171) Plumb by Maurice Gee (1978)
new zealand fiction

Read mainly for my 1010 NZ category but it fitted the TIOLI polysyllables prohibited challenge as well. Plumb is the first of the trilogy about the Plumb family, (Meg and Sole Survivor follow). "As a picture of New Zealand life 70 odd years ago it is totally fascinating. As an examination of a man battling with an over-large conscience it is also totally convincing." -Peter Tinniswood, The Times (London)
It is a quite captivating read, challenging and is probably similar to Marilynne Robinson's Gilead which I haven't read, but have listened to the first chapter (sent me to sleep several times).
Plumb, an old man, reflects on his life as he visits with several of his 12 children. From starting out at the turn of the century as a young and earnest Presbyterian minister, he leaves the church and its dogmas to preach socialism and pacifism, eventually serving time in prison for sedition. Plumb is for the everyman, but even he finds that he has limits for acceptance, leading to an unhappy old age. The church politics are based on the writings of Gee's own grandfather who also served time in prison for sedition.
From the Oxford Companion to NZ lit: there is increased subtlety, complexity and tautness of writing. ...These strengths reach their fruition in the masterpiece Plumb (1978), one of the finest novels written in New Zealand. The trilogy of Plumb, Meg (1981) and Sole Survivor (1983) provides a broadly conceived image of life in New Zealand over three generations. Local critical response has been enthusiastic and ongoing and all three books have been successfully published abroad.
I'm really pleased to have read another of Gee's adult novels and will continue to read them, but overall I have to say that I prefer his books for older children. I just enjoy how he adds so much menace and apprehension to his stories.


172) Watch by Robert J Sawyer (2010)
scifi, www: bk 2
I read book 1 www: wake last year and really loved it. This second book is still interesting, but little niggly bits which I overlooked in the first, are more noticeable here: Sawyer tries to pack in too much information and also pushes his nationalistic love of Canada at the expense of the US a bit too obviously. But, this series does make you wonder.
Caitlin's 'friend' WebMind, an emerging consciousness, is introduced to her parents and comes under the notice of WATCH, the US secret government agency that monitors the Internet for any threat.
I'll be looking out for book 3 www.wonder next year.


173) When we were bad by Charlotte Mendelson (2007)
fiction, iPod audiobook

This also fitted the TIOLI polysyllables prohibited challenge. I really enjoyed this Orange Prize shortlisted novel though as it was an audiobook I' don't feel able to discuss its literary merits. The book follows the trials and tribulations of the dysfunctional Rubens, a London-based Jewish family, whose matriach, Claudia, is a prominent rabbi. I laughed, I suffered, I cringed, as Claudia, her husband, Norman, and their four adult children hurtled from one catastrophe to the next. Recommended.


174) The Borribles go for broke by Michael De Larrabeiti (1981)
YA fiction, Bk 2 of 3.

I picked this for Madeline's main October TIOLI challenge and just managed to get it read by the 31 October deadline. I'm loving the borribles and their adventures across London, their run-ins with the law, their wonderful companionship and life outside the establishment. The borrible friends head off to find Sam, the horse who saved their lives on the Great Rumble Adventure, but soon find themselves embarking on another adventure. Need to read book 3 now.

118> Yes, I love the west coast beaches too.

117> whitebait fritters. I'm not a fan, have never eaten whitebait, their poor little eyes! My mother is made of sterner stuff and as you can see, I barely got a photo taken before she'd polished it off.

Now I can list my proposed November reading. TIOLI has been bad for me this time, I've listed about 18 books on the wiki. Here they are, but not all of them will be read. Some also fit my 1010 challenge.

Planned November Reads include:
Take It or Leave It (TIOLI) Challenge:
Madeline's main challenge:
Queen of Beauty by Paula Morris (1010)
Elsewhere, perhaps by Amos Oz (1010)
Zazie in the Metro by Raymond Queneau
Translated from French:
Le Grand Meaulnes by Alain Fournier
Theo's Odyssey by Catherine Clément (1010)
Z in title:
The Mezzanine by Nicholson Baker (been wanting to read this for ages)
Nobel Laureate:
Auto-da-Fé by Elias Canetti
4 letter title:
Fup by Jim Dodge
might add Helen Brown's Cleo
Remembrance:
Appointment with Venus by Jerrard Tickell
Islands of Silence by Martin Booth (WW1)
The Rules of Perspective by Adam Thorpe (WW2)
A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell (WW2) (1010)
The Wars by Timothy Findlay (WW1)
History:
Ask that Mountain: The Story of Parihaka by Dick Scott (Taranaki history) (1010)
Day after Night by Anita Diamant (Israel, 1940s), (1010)
Paradiso e Inferno:
The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (second time I've listed this to read), (1010)
21st century:
The Abused Werewolf Rescue Group by Catherine Jinks (sequel)
Time Travel:
The House on the Strand by Daphne Du Maurier (1010)
The Star Rover by Jack London (more time travel of the mind than physical time travel I think)

#121: You have your hands full with that lot for November! Good luck, Kerry.

Great list, some excellent reads ahead.

175) Fup a modern fable by Jim Dodge (1983)
novella

I read the 2009 Canongate edition which has illustrations by Emma Dibben sprinkled throughout. A quick read that didn't really engage me, though parts were quite funny. I put this in the four letter title TIOLI challenge and it's a shared read. Oh, and it's about Fup, a duck that comes to live on the farm with Tiny, who is 6'3", and his grandfather, Jake, who thinks he's discovered the secret of immortality with his recipe for Ol' Death Whisper, a moonshine whiskey.

mmmmm, whitebait fritters. Yum!

Ol' Death Whisper LOL might be fun to read just for that!

Ha, we are both trying to wrap up our 1010 challenges, I see! If I can do it, I can finish about a dozen 1010 books this month...

176) Queen of Beauty by Paula Morris (2002)
new zealand fiction, 1010 challenge

For the TIOLI alphabet challenge. I've been wanting to read one of Morris' adult novels since seeing her in action at the Auckland Writers & Readers Festival a couple of times.She's been based in New Orleans for several years teaching creative writing and this book, her first novel, starts off there before moving on to New Zealand. The novel is strong on setting and character with a plot based loosely around family, memories, and Virginia's return home for her sister's wedding. One of the few novels where I have enjoyed an Auckland setting - the picnic on a west coast beach was perfect and I must also make a nostalgic return to the St Kevins Arcade cafe.
Queen of Beauty won several awards as a first novel. I'm keen to read more of her work.


177) Just a dog by Michael Gerard Bauer (2010)
children's fiction, australia

I'd shed a few tears by the time I finished this delightful little story. Mr Mosely is the family pet and like most faithful dogs he is protector and companion, loyal and uncomplaining. He is the glue that holds this slightly fractured young family together. Each chapter is a memory about Mr Mosely which Corey shares with us. Some dogs change everything.

#128: I will have to look for Queen of Beauty. It sounds like a good one!

I don't know if I'd actually want to read it, but I love the title of The Abused Werewolf Rescue Group .

The book about feral children made me think of the title story of another excellent short story collection, St Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves.

#130 - it's a followup to The Reformed Vampire Support Group, I just love the titles, the content is refreshingly different, not at all angsty or romantic as other paranormal YA.
I have the St Lucy's book on my tbr list - I read somewhere that she has a novel in the pipeline.

I'm getting behind on reviews again, will list books and come back to review them.
The Bell Ringers US or The Dying Light UK by Henry Porter
The Spirit Wind by Max Fatchen
Factotum by DM Cornish
Le Grand Meaulnes by Henri Alain-Fournier
X marks the spot by Joan de Hamel

Failed to read:
Given up for the time being on Theo's Odyssey by French writer Catherine Clement which is a novel about boy's journey with his aunt learning about the religions of the world. I read the first 50 pages and it was a bit too didactic for my taste but would probably suit a younger reader wanting to learn more about religion.
Also The January Dancer by Michael Flynn, a scifi with too many technical terms in the first few pages that needed more concentration than I could bring at this point in time. I do want to try this one again though.
Well overdue and must return to the library An acre of barren ground by Jeremy Gavron, I read the first 3 chapters and would love to read the rest but time was against me. Another to get back to eventually. Each chapter is part of a journey along past & present East London's Brick Lane.
The Undrowned Child by Michelle Lovric has to go back to the library, I was tempted to add it to the alphabet challenge but I have already listed too many books. Really keen to read this one, a mermaid fantasy set in Venice.

I will be interested in seeing what you think of Factotum, Kerry. I have that one on the way to me.

The Cornish series is also on my wishlist Kerry so I will look forward to your review.

I really loved the Half-Continent world Cornish has created, the characters are all so different. My favourite book, I think, has to be book 2, Lamplighter but Factotum was a very satisfying read with much more of the world revealed. Unfortunately I had to read it too quickly as it was overdue and I couldn't renew, which always 'colours' my reading experience .

I need to read book 2 yet. I read book 1 and was going to immediately follow up with book 2 until I found out that a book 3 was on the way, so I waited. I am glad to know book 2 is a good read.

How did you like the Henry Porter novel, Kerry? I'm a big fan (although I think his best was probably his first book), and I thought this one was quite good, although bleak.

I was just looking at the Cornish book series and they look real good. On to the TBR list they go. Is it just 3 in the series so far?

OK, now the mini readathon is over I better get some reviews done today. Will get onto this later as I have a busy morning.
#137> Suzanne - I listened to it on my iPod which is always a different experience for me. The afterword was chilling in that the novel was based on laws actually in place in the UK at present so while it is fiction the scenario 'could' happen. Anyway I liked it enough that I'll definitely read his other novels. Previously I'd only read his children's fantasy The Master of the Fallen Chairs which was good though a setup for a series or sequel at least.

#138> kiwinyx - it's a trilogy so all is now done and dusted, though there is a lot of scope for more books. Cornish was first and foremost an illustrator and his publishing deal was a happy accident. He was in a publisher's office discussing an illustration job when the bundle of sketches that he'd been doing over the years for his imaginary world, Half-Continent, was noticed and the editor insisted he turn it into the written word.

oooo Le Grand Meaulnes. I loved that book.

178) The Bell Ringers US or The Dying Light UK by Henry Porter (2009)
fiction, iPod audiobook
I listened to this chilling political thriller on my iPod. Porter has worked his story around the laws that have been passed in recent years that give the UK government ease of movement to entrap possible terror suspects. In his near future this has led to a widespread surveillance system that now preys on the ordinary citizen and can strip them of their rights. Quite Orwellian, almost over the top plotwise, but I enjoyed it, probably would have liked it even more as a written book rather than a listening experience. I have his Brandenburg around somewhere and will definitely read that.


179) The Spirit Wind by Max Fatchen (1973)
children's fiction, Australia
This was the last book for my 1001 children's books you must read before you grow up category of my 1010 challenge and it's a great children's adventure. Set in Australia's early days this story is non-stop action. Jarl is determined to jump ship when it reaches South Australia as he has been constantly tormented by the First Mate ever since they left Norway. Even though Jarl makes a big impact on the local community when he lands, the law needs to be obeyed, and it seems most likely he'll have return to the ship. Wonderful descriptions of place, great adult characters especially the vicious mate, Heinrich the Bull, and spiritual Nunganee, the aboriginal.


180) Factotum by DM Cornish (2010)
Young adult fiction
Final book in the Monster Blood Tattoo trilogy, which I've so enjoyed reading. Read for the TIOLI alphabet challenge.
A good and fitting final episode that leaves enough unanswered questions for a possible new look at the world from angles other than Rossamund's. I really hope so, the monsters are so darn interesting and I want to experience more about this world. I love the total immersion both through description, illustration, the explicarium and Cornish's use of an archaic narrative language with many invented words.
Highly original and highly recommended - start with Foundling.


181) Le Grand Meaulnes by Henri Alain-Fournier (1913)
fiction, TIOLI French translation

Confusing, but this is published with the same title in English and in French. Tragically, first note that Henri Alain-Fournier was killed in action in 1914 soon after the start of WWI,he was only 27 and this was his only novel.

Reading Meaulnes, John Fowles once said, was 'an experience of such strange force, touching so many secret places in my own nature, that I really did not want anyone to tell me what it meant'. 'All those of us', he went on, 'who were entranced, almost literally tranced by the book have never, whatever the colder and sterner judgements of adulthood, lost our intense love for it.'

Fowles's own novel The Magus is drenched with references to Meaulnes. It plays a small part in George Mackay Brown's story 'In the eye of the hurricane'. The second chapter of H.E. Bates's fine novel Love for Lydia ends in exactly the same way as the second chapter of Meaulnes, with an unmistakable verbal echo.

Le Grand Meaulnes is the story of an adolescent schoolboy of the 1890s. Augustin Meaulnes stumbles into a wedding fête in a country château. There he falls in love instantly with Yvonne de Galais, the proprietor's daughter, just as Alain-Fournier fell hopelessly in love with someone called Yvonne de Quiévrecourt in 1905....Penelope Fitzgerald said that Meaulnes is 'about adolescents who want to want not to grow up, but fail', and that sums it up well.

from normblog

I was quite captivated reading this one, the story is enchanting, romantic and also gives a great insight into turn of the century life in the French countryside. The story is narrated by Meaulnes' friend, François Seurel, the schoolmaster's son, lame and lonely till befriended by the newly arrived Meaulnes.
One of my favourite reads of the year.


182) X marks the spot by Joan de Hamel (1973)
children's fiction, new zealand

Added purely by whim to Madeline's TIOLI alphabet challenge, but also one that I've been meaning to read since a new edition came out about 4 years ago. A great children's adventure based around survival in the New Zealand bush in the remote Te Anau area of Fiordland National Park. Three siblings are stranded for up to three weeks when the helicopter flown by their uncle crash lands due to sabotage. The uncle is injured and the children must leave him to seek another rendezvous point. Together they must utilise all their knowledge of bushcraft to survive, not helped when the youngest often acts impulsively. Exciting, interesting and with a conservation theme.


183) The Abused Werewolf Rescue Group by Catherine Jinks (2010)
YA fiction
The sequel to The Reformed Vampire Support Group and quite an entertaining read. Will be enjoyed more by teen readers than adult readers of teen fiction. Tobias wakes up in hospital with no memory of the night before. He was found unconscious in the dingo pen at a nearby wildlife park. Mysterious strangers turn up to tell him he has a dangerous condition, he is a werewolf, and at risk of being kidnapped and imprisoned by unscrupulous fight organisers. Left me wondering, what happens when a werewolf is bitten by a vampire?
This was read for the TIOLI 'Read a book published after 2005 and has 5 or more words in its title'.

Sounds like you have got some good reading done recently Kerry. I'm waiting for the third Cornish book to become available at my library before starting that trilogy. It was really interesting to hear about how Cornish got his publishing deal.

Also added The Spirit Wind by Max Fatchen. Congratulations on finishing your 1010 category!

Am flying past - wow you've been reading heaps! Le Grand Meaulnes is one that quite a few friends in the Virago Modern Classics group have loved, but I had forgotten about it. I'm putting it back on the horizon after your review.

Wow, some great reading here. Wishlisted The Spirit Wind} and Le Grand Meaulnes but am definitely looking out for those Cornish books.

X Marks the Spot sounds interesting, Ill look at the library I think.

I know that Catey has my copy of Le Grand Meaulnes. I am going to have to steal it back!

#142- Heather - I hope you enjoy the Monster Blood Tattoo books when you do get around to them. The Spirit Wind was a good find.

#143- Cushla - there was a bit of a buzz about Le Grand Meaulnes last year when kiwidoc read it, I found it in a bargain bin soon after and snatched it up.

#144- kiwinyx - they're all good reads

#145 - Megan - I'm slowly making my way through older NZ books for children, those I've neglected to read over the years. Again the bugles blow is high on my tbr.

#146 - Stasia, this is one you'll love for sure.

I have a few more books to add, just taking advantage of my current spare time to read books rather than update.

#147: taking advantage of my current spare time to read books rather than update.

I cannot blame you there!

184) The House on the Strand by Daphne Du Maurier (1969)
fiction
Read for the TIOLI timetravel challenge & 1010 challenge. A great time travel story set in Cornwall. Dick Young is staying in a friend's house in Cornwall, this friend suggests he tries an experimental drug that will induce something remarkable, but he doesn't want to say much more or he might influence the experience. Young quickly becomes 'addicted' to these trips 600 years to the past and finds himself infatuated with the inhabitants from the past and a growing impatience with his own modern family and life.
From the wiki:It is set in and around Kilmarth (where Daphne du Maurier lived from 1967) near the Cornish village of Tywardreath, which in fact translates from the Cornish language as "House on the Strand"


185) Illyria by Elizabeth Hand (2007)
YA fiction
TIOLI Read a Book by an author whose first name ends with the same letter with which his/her last name starts.
First I loved the wonderful writing style of Elizabeth Hand and I'll be looking out for more of her work. I wasn't totally enamoured by the plot which is about 2 young cousins who fall in love and are separated by their families. The story is set in a neglected corner of 1970s New York where several generations of family have lived in a row of slowly dilapidating grand homes. There are hints of unspoken secrets in the family history, especially surrounding the grandmother, who had been a successful stage actress, but all this is out shone by the youngest two cousins, who share the same birthday and a forbidden love for each other.


186) Navigation: a memoir by Joy Cowley (2010)
nonfiction, new Zealand
Read for the TIOLI alphabet challenge and my 1010 challenge.
Joy writes simply with humour and 'joy' about her life, her writing, her spirituality and Fish Bay, the remote Marlborough Sounds retreat that has been her home for many years. This was a delight to read, I have done quite a lot of research on Joy Cowley in the past when putting together an extensive award nomination (we nominated her several times for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award and our Prime Minister's Arts Award which she won a couple of months ago) and have long been in awe of her achievements and generous nature. Joy began as a writer of adult novels, her first novel was made into a film by Roald Dahl, but she is best known as a writer of early readers for children, so successfully that she is still the eighth highest earning writer in the US. She is passionate about helping children become lovers of reading and has given generously of her time over the years running workshops all around the world to encourage teachers and children to write their own stories in their own language. San Diego Tribune once described her as "The Elvis Presley of kindergarteners."
"A book should love and affirm a child in its content. Humour is vital. Children can't be tense about reading if they are laughing. The story should be exciting and I often put a twist at the end. I always make sure that ‘small' is the winner as children always identify with ‘small'. ‘Big' never solves ‘small's ‘problems. ‘Small' is strong. A book should be like a mirror which tells children how brave and beautiful they are."

Why, oh why do I come here when I know I'll leave with an embiggened wishlist?!

Just want to add this link to Adam Dudding's article about visiting Joy in Fish Bay.


187) Madame Pamplemousse and the Time Travelling Cafe by Rupert Kingfisher (2010)
children’s fiction, series
Because of the TIOLI timetravel challenge I had to try this one when I saw it. The timetravel machine is camouflaged as a rather elaborate coffee expresso machine in Monsieur Moutarde's Montparnasse cafe. Madame Pamplemousse, her cat Camembert, and young friend Madeleine are on the run from government officials who are trying to kill off the joie de vivre of Paris at the orders of the Paris-hating Prime Minister. A little bit magical, quite silly and charming, and obviously makes sense when you know why Moutarde, Madeleine and Pamplemousse are targeted. Fun for children, entry level steampunk.


188) The Naming of Tishkin Silk by Glenda Millard (2006)
children’s fiction, Australia
Didn’t realize till afterwards that this was also in 1001 children’s books you must read before you grow up. A gem of a story. Griffin Silk struggles a little at school on his first day, up till now he has been homeschooled by his mother along with his 'Rainbow' sisters (now at highschool), but his mother is absent from the family now and so is the baby sister he calls Tishkin (because it's the sound the leaves make when they rustle together). So maybe day two at school will be better if he takes Zeus for company? A delight, Griffin, is such a gentle soul and we follow his journey of recovery and acceptance. The quirky family traditions are so Mother Earth, and his new friend, princess Layla is just the friend he needs. Recommended.


189) Day after Night by Anita Diamant (2009)
fiction
Read for the TIOLI Historical Book challenge and my 1010 challenge.
Diamant fictionalises the story of the rescue by the Palmach of over 200 'illegal' immigrants from the British Mandate Atlit detainee camp in October 1945. We follow 4 young Jewish women, all holocaust survivors, their various back stories and current hopes in the days leading up to the rescue. Quite well done and easily read.


190) The Ghosts of Iron Bottom Sounds by Sandy Nelson (2010)
children's fiction, new zealand
Read for the TIOLI alphabet challenge
Young Paddy is haunted by the ghosts from The Book that he is obsessed with, it's a library book about the World War 2 naval battles of Guadacanal in the Solomon Islands. When his mother tells him that his own grandfather was one of the survivors from the Australian warship, HMS Canberra, but never talks about the war, the ghosts get even more energetic. Very well written, I especially loved the last few sentences. The book includes a section at the end with photographs, facts and references. The Book from the library was - The Lost Ships of Guadacanal: exploring the Ghost Fleet of the South Pacific by Robert D. Ballard.

#150> Richard - I'm waiting for you to review a book so I can wishlist it too.

Hmmm, I have Illyria here to read. Sounds like I can bump it down the stack some.

I read the Robert Ballard book, as well as saw the National Geographic documentary about Iron Bottom Sound. I will have to look for the Nelson book too.

Day After Night is already in the BlackHole. Glad you liked it, Kerry.

153> Illyria is a quick read and even quicker for you, but yes, I wasn't that taken with the romance, just too incestuous for me. They were cousins, but living as neighbours/best friends all their lives, born on the same day, and with their fathers identical twins it was just too much - I'm sure there was an underlying theme teamed up with the Shakespearean play etc etc but I wasn't totally buying in. On the other hand the writing was a delight - have you read her other books?

I'll have a look for the Iron Bottom Sound documentary, I'll look at the Ballard book but my track record on reading nonfiction isn't great at present. The Nelson book won't be available in the US, though it's had good reviews here so will possibly get a release in Australia at least. Not many children's books focus on naval battles -- never really considered this before, I'm also wondering how many children's books look at the war in the Pacific. I remember reading Gary Paulsen's autobiography of his early years, Eastern Sun, Winter Moon, and that ocean voyage still gives me shudders.

And rambling about children's books on the war in the Pacific brings to mind one you might like - Maurice Gee's The Champion, which is about a schoolboy who is excited to be billeting a wounded American soldier here in NZ during World War 2, but gets a shock when he finds out the soldier/marine is unexpectedly an African-American. Really great story.

#154: I have not read anything by Elizabeth Hand to date. The local library does not have any of her books, which is why I ended up buying Illyria.

#155: Unfortunately, the local library does not have any of Gee's books either. Until my book buying ban is off, I will not be able to get that one, but I appreciate the recommendation.

Kerry, I've finished and reviewed Irrepressible: The Life and Times of Jessica Mitford in my thread...post #171. But believe me, you won't want to wishlist it! Not very good, I fear.

You have been reading amazing stuff! And wonderful comments too.

That Joy Cowley book looks great! I hadn't heard of her before today either- shame on me. I read a good book on the women of the Marlborough Sounds, cant remember what its called new....a woman compiled the stories of 10 or 15 elderly women who had lived there. It was amazing how resilient and resourceful they were/are. The times before labour saving devices were rough alright!

191) Elsewhere, perhaps by Amos Oz (1966)
fiction, Israel
TIOLI alphabet challenge & 1010 challenge: Israeli writers category
This won't be for everyone, but I found it a good read, I really enjoy Oz's style of writing and this was his first novel. This is a rich complex look at life on a kibbutz in the 1960s. The communal living, the differences between the generations, Russian culture vs German culture, the living and the dead and those that have chosen to leave, so many conflicting ideas and ideals. On the nearby mountain is the enemy, firing intermittently, but always posing a threat. How the kibbutz values their own members, who decides on matters of morality? Is this an ideal way of life? Does socialism work when personal matters such as love and family come to play? Amos Oz puts all this to play with a diverse cast of characters throwing in a scandal that forces a show of hands.


192) Appointment with Venus by Jerrard Tickell (1951)
fiction
TIOLI Remembrance challenge
Popular fiction that was made into a movie in the 1950s starring David Niven. Set on a fictional Channel Island that the Nazis have just occupied. Three agents are sent to repatriate a pedigree cow that is about to give birth. The German commander, a cattle breeder, already has his eye on her. Light and entertaining.
I saw this on my mother's bookshelves and couldn't resist trying it.


193) The Wars by Timothy Findley (1977)
fiction, Canada
TIOLI Remembrance challenge
A more serious look at war here. Young Robert Ross trains as an officer and goes from Canada to the Western Front. The narrative jumps backwards and forwards quite a bit, it's sort of told from the POV of a researcher 50 or 60 years after the fact, I've seen it described as a jigsaw and I'd agree with that. Inevitably sad, quite a well told tale though not the best I've read. The book seems to be full of symbolism, and Ross' eventual actions become mythologised, hence a researcher interviewing people that knew him, searching the archives in an attempt to uncover how/what really happened.

from wikipedia: Robert Ross, the protagonist, was inspired by T. E. Lawrence and the author's uncle, Thomas Irving Findley, to whom the novel is dedicated. Findley named the character after Canadian literary figure Robbie Ross. Robert Ross' sister, Rowena, was inspired by Mary Macdonald, daughter of Sir John A. Macdonald.
The Wars utilizes first-, second-, and third-person narrative, which is very rare in literature. The novel is also an example of historiographic metafiction.

#160: Adding all of those to the BlackHole. Thanks, Kerry!

I'm adding Elsewhere, Perhaps to my list--it sounds very interesting and informative.

I read The Wars years ago and don't remember much about it. Timothy Findley is an up and down author for me, but I read Head Hunters (wrong touchstone) by him last year and I really liked it.

I'm adding book #188 to the tbr pile. And, thanks again for recommending in 1001 children’s books you must read before you grow up. I've hinted to my partner that I want this as a Christmas gift. It is such a delightful book, the covers of the books, the descriptions....

194) Confessions of a thief, liar and failed sex god by Bill Condon (2009)
YA, australia
TIOLI November 5 word title & published since 2005 challenge.
Intrigued by the title but not so much the book. I picked it up as it had won the Australian Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Young Adult fiction so expected it to deliver.
Set in 1967, it’s about Neil, who’s in his last year at a repressive Catholic Boy’s School, probably a typical place for the times. Discipline is harsh but the boys are all used to it, just looking forward to getting out of there. Interesting characters and setting but the story just felt unlikely.


195) The Pedant in the Kitchen by Julian Barnes
nonfiction, 1010
Read for a previous favorite TIOLI challenge - Culinary Arts/May
An amusing collection of articles, all on the topic of the homecook. A small gem of a read.
So how many cookbooks do you have? Barnes decides the correct answer must be both Not Enough and Too Many. He also delves into that relic of all kitchens – the miscellaneous drawer.
Barnes: Cooking is the transformation of uncertainty (the recipe) into certainty (the dish) via fuss.


196) School Blues by Daniel Pennac
nonfiction, 1010
Read for a previous favorite TIOLI challenge - Translated from French/Nov.
Translation was by Sarah Ardizzone, who also writes about the process in the afterword as well as discussing the word ‘cancre’ (which translates loosely to dunce in English) in a preface.
I enjoyed reading this one a lot, there was much to think about and even though Pennac was writing from his experience of the French education system, both as a student in the 1960s and then as a teacher, the problem student is a universal one. You know this child is bright, but they have switched off from learning to almost the point of no return. Labelled the ‘cancre’ or dunce student, it is hard to lose that label once applied. With glimpses into the French classroom, Pennac discusses language, literature, consumerism, attitudes of students, bureaucrats, teachers etc etc … Fascinating and I’ll be looking for my own copy when it comes out in paperback. I’ve read his Rights of a Reader, but will have to read it again.

197a) Skip for the Huntaway by Eve Sutton (1983)
children’s fiction, new zealand
This is set on a sheep station in rural outlands of the North Island. Katie’s pet huntaway dog, Skip, is turning into a nuisance and either he gets disciplined or there’s no place for him on the farm. When Katie and her older cousin, Tom, start training him, he shows great promise. A lot of story and tension packed into 46 pages. Eve Sutton has written several fine children’s novels as well as the classic picture book My cat likes to hide in boxes, she’s a cousin of Lynley Dodd.
Have to link to my favourite short film on sheepdogs - Dogstar


197b) Jonty and Choc by Vince Ford (2010)
children's, new Zealand
Vince writes a great story, this one is for younger readers, dealing with the transition from primary to intermediate school (around 6th grade) and how a friendship is affected by the two boys’ changing interests. HThe story also features the traditional Maori sport of ki-o-rahi.


197c) Before we say goodbye by Gabriella Ambrosio (2004) (2010 Eng translation)
YA fiction, Italian
Read for a previous favorite TIOLI challenge - Translated YA/June
This is Italian journalist, Ambrosio’s first book, inspired by the true story of two girls.
Hour by hour we follow the movements of various individuals as they move towards their inevitable fate – a suicide bombing in a Jerusalem supermarket. It has been carefully written to stay neutral and non-judgemental, and carries an Amnesty International endorsement. I found it quite powerful and think it would be a good classroom resource.


198) Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier (2009)
Fiction, iPod audionbook
TIOLI Read a book that was on your TBR all of 2010.
While I own the book, I decided to listen to this on my iPod as I wanted to try out the e-audio downloads that I can now access at my library. Add my praise to all the others, I loved this book. I’ve read several of Chevalier’s books and this is easily my favourite. I love being introduced to interesting corners of history in this way and now want to find out more about Mary Anning and the Lyme Regis fossils.

199) World Cup Wishes by Eshkol Nevo (2010)
fiction, israel, 1010

This was another new Israeli novel recommended by bookaholic13 over on the 1010 challenge.
While watching the 1988 World Cup final together, four friends each make three wishes of what they’d like to achieve in the next four years. They agree to share them when they get together for the next world cup final. Through narrator, Yuval, we explore the close bonds of male friendship, its effect on other relationships and love. As the book starts with a legal disclaimer by one of Yuval’s friends, there is a growing anticipation throughout the book to find out why, what, and when. I thought this was a great contemporary read.


200) The Torchlight List: around the world in 200 books by Jim Flynn (2010)
nonfiction, 1010
Read for a previous favourite TIOLI challenge - Book about Books/Jul
Professor Flynn is an American academic , an international authority on intelligence. He’s lived in New Zealand for the past 30 years and was approached by a local publisher, Awa Press, to write a book on philosophy but preferred to write this – a discussion of 200 books to educate and develop a love of reading. His choices are designed to create an awareness in the reader of the world around them and the human condition. The discussion is entertaining and almost irreverent at times. I’ll be looking out for some of the books he mentions.
Book 1: The Story of Language by C L Barber
Book 200: The Family Moskat by Isaac Bashevis Singer
His favourite book: The Slave by Isaac Bashevis Singer

The Night Bookmobile by Audrey Niffennegger (2010)
illustrated story
TIOLI Read a thinster

Not quite a graphic novel, this is a haunting fantasy that will appeal to bibliophiles. One night Alexandra stumbles across an old battered Winnebago. Inside it is set up as a library and all the books are familiar…
It’s quite an atmospheric story, a book about loving books with a small dose of creepiness.

I've been ignoring my own thread as the end of the year looms and I try to complete my 1010 challenge books. I'm now on track with the last three all on the go.

158> sibyx - thanks

159> Megan - Joy's written several adult novels, her first novel was made into a film by Roald Dahl and one of her short stories, The Silk, is included in lots of anthologies. I love her children's novels such as Bow down Shadrach, The Silent One - (which was made into a movie set in the Cook Islands). She writes good educational readers including the Greedy Cat & Mrs Wishy-washy books.

161> Stasia - those should appeal

162> Deborah - anything by Amos Oz is good, but I especially recommend his autobiography A Tale of Love and Darkness.

163> Hi Linda, I hope you receive a copy of 1001BYMRBYGU, I love books about books like this and have had a lot of fun choosing what to read from it. Another one to browse through is children's book covers by Alan Powers. The Tishkin book was unexpectedly sweet.

You have been incredibly busy, and given me a lot of food for thought/reading!

Re House on the Strand, I ended up in Fowey by accident 23 years ago, fell in love with the town & the area -- and then discovered that it was where Daphne du Maurier had written/set many of her books! Since then, I've woken up to the sounds of the shipyard that still functions in Polruan (setting of The Loving Spirit), walked the coastal path that leads down from Menabilly (Rebecca), gotten on and off the train at Par (The House on the Strand) and stayed at the Ship Inn in Fowey, owned by the Rashleigh family. (The King's General). My dream has always been to buy the little bookstore that is there (called Bookends) and run it.

The only Amos Oz I've read is How to Cure a Fanatic, although after hearing him discuss a memoir/book about his family, A Tale of Love and Darkness, I wanted to read that, too. Maybe will add it to my 11 in 11 list. Julian Barnes is a gem, and I must seek out that Jerrard Tickell book. It sounds like a great holiday read.

I requested Illyria from the library. Not sure if I wanted to spend money on it, but your description intrigues me enough that I want to read it.

Kerry! Good gracious, when you let fly, you really do a job! As always, you make things I don't want to read sound so tempting that I can't help myself...I wishlist them!

No more YAs for me. No. Not gonna wishlist more YAs.
No way, no how.

#169> Suzanne, definitely try Oz's Tale of Love and Darkness, it's very good. I've mainly read nonfiction about Israel but in the past couple of years have been reading fiction. I'm currently reading David Grossman's To the End of the Land and finding it very good and so far not the 'out there' stream of consciousness as some of his other work can get.

#170> Nancy, I've seen some positive reviews for Illyria. I think it's one of those books that receives the full range of like and dislike.

171> Richard - Not sure which YA you're referring to, if it's the Bill Condon one - don't go there, there's only death and punishment wrapped up in a catchy title. What I recommend is King Dork which is my current iPod audiobook and I'm finding just fabulous in that quirky sort of awkward adolescent way - this is probably as close as you can get to Freaks and Geeks on paper.

NONONONO

No more YAs!!!!! The library ladies already look at me like I'm Uncle Pervie straight from the Home for the Sexually Mutant.

NO!

lol, sorry have to though, these are just too classic not to.
What you must do at the library is slip the YA in between Sarah Palin's latest and Your Cat's Just Not That Into You: "What Part of Meow Don't You Understand?", they won't notice, trust me and those library ladies will treat you to their favourite cat stories in that lovely conspiratorial way they have.

I always dread coming to your thread, Kerry, (in a good way) because I know that the BlackHole is going to increase in size!

201) Cleo: How a Small Black Cat Helped Heal a Family by Helen Brown (2009)
nonfiction, memoir

Read for TIOLI Read a book with an animal on the cover and my 1010 challenge.
This was one book where the cover had me won over before I even started reading. Helen Brown is a journalist and over the years I've read a lot of her work. Definitely a book for cat lovers, she tells her family story around the life and behaviour of this extraordinary family pet.
Cleo comes to the family in very painful circumstances. She has been picked out from a litter of kittens and named by Helen's young son Sam. Yet just a few weeks later Sam is dead, knocked down on the street when rushing across the road to the vets while carrying a wounded seagull. A few days after the funeral a tiny black kitten is delivered and begins to weave her charm and heal this broken family. Helen is very honest when portraying her grief over the loss of her son and her relationship with her husband and younger son Rob at this time. The joy and chaos this kitten brings to the household helps them cope with a life without Sam.
Cleo's behaviour does seem to go beyond that typical of a normal cat, she seems almost psychic and the family come to rely on her ability to judge new people in their lives as she seems to have an uncanny ability to pick the good ones. Cleo lives to a grand old age of 24 so we experience divorce, solo mum, dating, feminism, career highs, babies, sickness etc etc.
There are some very funny moments, most of them involving the cat, and while it isn't my usual type of read I did enjoy and recommend it.

hi Kerry
Your thread is, as always, a source of interesting titles ;-)
Sadly not all are translated (yet), but a few I have located at the library and I hope to read them soon!

>177 avatiakh:

I have this book lined up to be my first book of 2011 :)

Sounds like it will be a good start to the year :)

Hi Kerry. Just catching up on posts. I'm not a cat person, but, that cat on book #201 sure is adorable. Have added The Night Bookmobile to the wish list book. Thanks

#177: I will have to give that one a try.

Congratulations on passing 200 books read for the year, Kerry!

Hi Kerry. The Daniel Pennac and Remarkable Creatures are already on the wishlist, I've added The Night Bookmobile and the Torchlight book sounds really interesting. You're the only person on LT so far with a copy!

And well done on almost completing your 1010 challenge and reading 201 books!

#178> Thanks for visiting Anita, I'd get quite impatient waiting for translations from English. I'm always on the lookout for translated children's literature, though I have enough on my tbr pile to see me through a few months as it is. Lately I've been reading picturebooks translated from various European countries, all done by Gecko Press, some are very good.

#179> Sally - hope you enjoy this, Cleo is quite a cat.
#180> Kelly - the cover was one of the reasons I read the book!
#181> Stasia - right up your alley!
#182> Heather - the Pennac is very thoughtful and Remarkable Creatures is remarkable, I loved it. The narrator was brilliant. I would still have this on my tbr pile if I waited to read it so am pleased that I switched to the audio which I listened to in the car and gym. Everyone seems to like it, my book has been passed on to my mother with a strong recommendation to read it now.
As I read a lot of YA and children's fiction, my number count is quite high.
The Night Bookmobile is only 46 pages, so really an adult 'picture book'. My local Borders had it displayed on the children's table so I asked one of the sales people to check the content as it is entirely unsuitable for young readers (I won't say what as I don't want to give part of the story away). Before I left they had removed it from the display, thank goodness, I'd hate to see children receiving that for Xmas!
The Torchlight book has just gone on sale here and I was intrigued enough to grab a copy. As The Women's Bookshop has pointed out there are hardly any books by women on the list, but then a lot of the books are from earlier times. The list is a little top heavy with American writers as well, but I'm a list person, and I liked the focus of this being on becoming an educated person rather than just a literature list. I'm going to tag books in my LT library that are on the list 'torchlight list', but so far have only tagged one book!
I'll look through the book and grab some quotes, I was going to do this along with the review but then I'd never get round to posting anything! Here's a link to a prepublication article. I'm sure there are other books like this out there.

I'm now down to one book left for my 1010 challenge and I'm halfway through that, but taking it slow as it is another thoughtful read - David Grossman's To the End of the Land. Really enjoying seeing this side of Grossman's writing, especially after making my way through the stream of consciousness/magical realism that was most of See Under: Love last year.

202) A Golden Treasury of Jewish Tales by Asher Barash (1965)
israel, folktales, 1010

Read for my 1010 challenge and also for the TIOLI Read a book about religion challenge.
Asher Barash married into my husband's family and was my father-in-law's uncle, so I've met many of his descendants but didn't know that there was a writer in the family till last year when my husband did an enormous amount of genealogy research and we were discussing a novel, Yahrzeit, one of his cousins wrote on this particular branch of the family.

Asher Barash (1889 - 1952; Lopatin, Galicia) was well-acquainted with modern Hebrew literature from an early age. Nonetheless, most of his early writings - he began writing at thirteen - were in Yiddish, German and Polish.
At the age of sixteen, Barash left home and travelled through Galicia working as a teacher. He began publishing in Hebrew in 1908, and in 1914 moved to Eretz Israel. In Israel he taught Hebrew and literature, mostly in secondary school in Tel Aviv. Once in Israel he composed poems and prose for adults and children, wrote criticism, translated, and edited several publications. He was active in organizing the Hebrew Writers Association and also established the bio-bibliographical institute, Genazim, which now bears his name. In his work he describes the world he left behind, as well as the first days of Tel Aviv. He also wrote historical stories based on events in Jewish History. He was awarded the 1940 Bialik Prize. - Institute for the Translation of Hebrew Literature (ITHL)

The book: This is a folktale collection, selected from his various Hebrew publications for children.
About 40 folktales that demonstrate the rich heritage of the Jewish people. Stories about wise rabbis, thoughtful kings, selfish or greedy public officials, poor but pious scholars and workers, beautiful educated young women etc etc. Wondrous deeds, dragons, magical happenings, legends about Great Rabbi Simeon of Mainz, Rashi, Ibn Ezra & Maimonedes from Spain, Rabbi Judah Low of Prague etc etc. I found this an interesting read, appealing for young and old alike, and will be looking through my books for other collections.

Book 202 looks like a winner!

It was indeed, it had sat collecting dust for about a year until I realised it would ease the pain of reading another Israeli novel by year's end for my 1010 challenge!

#184: I must give that one a try! Thanks, Kerry.

203) King Dork by Frank Portman (2006)
YA fiction, iPod audiobook

A great debut novel that I started off loving and ended up liking. It's just a different experience listening to a book rather than reading it, but a good narrator made this a fun listen. Meet a disaffected, not fitting in, bottom of the heap, geeky dorky teen who is in a 'sort of' band that consists of him and his friend and will have a really great sound when they actually get their guitars, but for now they design album covers, change the band name every few days and write up their song titles. Tom tells us about the 'Catcher Cult' and how through the average teen's highschool days they will be expected to read the Catcher in the Rye about 16 times, because every teacher they come across has had a life changing experience reading it and wants to pass on the good news to every one of their students. There's a mystery waiting to be solved in amongst all the teen angst.
I liked a lot about the novel, though I feel it could have had stronger female characters. The stepdad relationship was portrayed really well. Tom does riff on his philosophy of highschool and life to the expense of plot flow so this will not appeal to everyone, but I kind of enjoyed that.
Overall a recommended read.

#188: That one is available for the Nook, so I will give it a shot. Thanks, Kerry!

204) The Hunchback Assignments by Arthur Slade (2009)
children's fiction, steampunk

I picked this one up as it won the 2010 TD Canadian Children's Literature Award and I don't read that many books by Canadian writers. This is a thrilling steampunk adventure set in Victorian London, which very quickly became an unputdownable read. Our hero, Modo, is horribly deformed and hides behind a mask but has the power to alter his appearance for a few hours at a time. Taken from a gypsy camp as a baby and trained in self defence and espionage he is an agent for the mysterious Mr Socrates and in his first mission comes up against the Clockwork Guild and the sinister Dr Cornelius Hyde. He works with fellow agent, Octavia Milkweed, who has the streetsmarts he lacks and together they make a formidable team.
Off to the library website to order book 2.

#190: The local library does not have that one, but both it and book 2 are available for the Nook. Woot!

Good fun reads I reckon and much better than the two children's books I'm now suffering through but will finish very soon.

Kerry

I'm simply stopping by to thank you for all the great books you recommended this year!

And, congratulations on reading 204 books......

Yea, me too- that's amazing, well done

#190 Wishlisted! Not available at my library yet either.

# 193> Hi Linda - nice to see you round these parts.
#194> Thanks Megan, and we soon get to do it all over again!
#195> Heather - although only for younger readers (9-14), I really liked this. I enjoy it when they're set in cities I know well. Hope the snow has abated a little. Flights out to New Zealand have been cancelled from Heathrow, so lots of NZers are stuck in London at present wanting their Christmas by the beach.

205) To the End of the Land by David Grossman (2010)
fiction, israel

My final read to complete the 1010 challenge. So break out the champagne!
I loved reading this poignant story. The book itself, is a beautiful hardcover, with deckle cut edge, attractive cover, a lovely weighty object. I cherished my time with the book, feeling in some way that by reading it, I was respecting the painful memories and anguish that Grossman must have suffered when his son was killed while serving in the Israeli military under similar circumstances to that of the son of the main character in the book. He had written the book by then but ...'what changed, above all, was the echo of the reality in which the final draft was written'
Ora, mother of two sons, is relieved that they have served their time in the military, only to find that at the last moment her youngest has voluntarily signed on for an extra 28 days so he can join his unit for one last operation. Her maternal instinct cannot cope, all she can think of is a knock on the door and being told bad news. She decides that if she is not there, they can't deliver the news and that this in some way might protect her son. She goes north to the Galilee intending to hike for the next 28 days, keeping on the move, sleeping rough and avoiding all media. She's accompanied at the last minute by an old friend. Over the next 28 days she meditates on her life and family through sharing memories and regrets.
Grossman excels on every page writing with tenderness and detail, every description seems heartfelt, especially the memorials to lost soldiers encountered throughout the passage of the novel all strike a little deeper to your soul. I was especially taken with his depiction of the two boys in childhood - such strange interesting behaviours. Overall I did not strike a great affinity with the characters, they had all been so damaged by their experience of war. Recommended.


206) The Patience of the Spider by Andrea Camilleri (2004) (2007 English)
fiction, italy
Inspector Montalbano manages to solve another crime while recovering from a gunshot wound. This time it's a kidnapping. I figured this one out early on, but still enjoyed my time in Sicily. Added to the Ghost TIOLI challenge for police procedures.

207) The Project by Brian Falkner (2010)
YA fiction, new zealand

This was for one of my bonus categories of my now finished 1010 challenge. Another action packed adventure that even includes a touch of time travel to WW2 Bavaria. Definitely need to suspend disbelief for this one, but younger boy readers will lap it up. Not recommended for adult readers.


208) A Crack in the Sky by Kyle Mewburn (2010)
children's fiction, new zealand

Another bonus 1010 read. I wasn't completely in love with this but can see it appealing to junior readers. Conor ends up trapped down the back of a mysterious red sofa, and finds he's not the only one there. It's a whole new world and after fighting to retrieve his memory, he just wants to escape, but how?

Here you go, Kerry!

lol, cheers!!

Cheers!

209) Backroads: charting a poet's life by Sam Hunt (2009)
literary memoir, new zealand
Added to the TIOLI Ghost challenge (occupation in the title) and my bonus Literary nonfiction 1010 category. Sam Hunt is probably New Zealand’s best known poet and performer.
From the NZ Book Council:

His distinctive appearance —tall and rangy, usually wearing drainpipe trousers (‘Foxton Straights’ he calls them) and open-chested shirts, with long hair curling wildly above a weathered face—is complemented by the familiar gravelly drawl that has made him one of New Zealand’s most recognisable figures. Virtually single-handedly, Hunt has created a broad general audience for poetry; and if it was up to the crowds who flock to hear him on stage and the school pupils he has galvanised into enjoying verse, he would be the country’s poet laureate. The value of Hunt’s approach, suggests Alan Riach, is that ‘If poetry is performance then it’s also education. If you’re reaching people who have never been touched like that before, you’re in the business of teaching.’ ‘He is, to quote one reviewer, a ‘freewheeling ordinary bloke, a kind of Kiwi Jack Kerouac, laconic— somewhat gauche—whose poems or "roadsongs" are direct and simple, surprised by their own powerful emotion.’’

I really enjoyed reading this, dipping in and out over the past couple of weeks, and hearing Sam in his own words talk about being a poet, performing, creating poetry and the poets who inspire him.
My first experience of Sam Hunt was at a music festival in the early seventies that was held on our neighbour’s farm (The Great Ngaruawahia Music Festival). He has a wonderful distinctive voice and form of delivery. Dare I say he almost outshone Black Sabbath, who performed at the same event! My brothers and I all became instant fans and held ‘Sam Hunt performance’ competitions to see who could outperform who!

#197 - Another Montalbano mystery under your belt. Although it was never my intention, I've read nary a fiction title in 2010! I might make an effort in 2011, but I doubt it - I'll be knee-deep in text books. Having just finished The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn by Nathaniel Philbrick, I'll be seeing out the year with the first in Robert A. Caro's multi-volume The Years of Lyndon Johnson series, namely The Path to Power. Merry Christmas to you and yours, and while I barely post anymore, I still pop in occasionally to see what you're reading :)

Hi Peter - long time since I saw your posting on LT. Lovely to hear from you and I wish you and yours all the best for the holiday season and your move to Australia.
I'm about to read another Montalbano, my treat for finishing my category challenge!
You mentioned that massive Diarmind McCulloch book A history of Christianitya few months ago, I could never read that but did watch a good C4 dvd tv series Christianity: a history - really interesting almost controversial choice of presenters for each episode. A Jew on Jesus, an aethiest on Papal politics, a Muslim on the Crusades etc etc
Anyway I'm preparing to make my way through Beevor's Battle for Spain, just making sure I have a good atlas ready. I've listened to the first 4 chapters, now I have to follow through and read them!

#204 - My copy of Diarmind McCulloch's massive tome is currently in a box and on a ship (probably somewhere off the coast of Japan as we speak). It will be several months before I can unpack it and pick up where I left off. Unfortunately, it was just too unweildy to take on the plane - two hyperactive kids is quite enough! The move back to Australia draws ever closer, and then I have less than a month before the new university year to find a place to live and settle the kids (and a wife) into their new lives. Fun ;)

It's going to be so exciting for you and your family...a new life in sunny Queensland. Do continue to update us from time to time over on the 2011 group.

I'm glad that you liked To the End of the Land, Kerry. I'll read it in April, for Reading Globally.

I'll have to read To the End of Land. My son is still thinking about joining the military, and I keep searching for books that will edge him in another direction. Oops! I forgot to say that I'm lifting my glass of Martinelli's in a toast to you. Congrats on finishing your 1010 challenge, Kerry! :-)

Kerry, don't know if you'd be interested, but just a note to let you know I've set up a thread for "Future Women: Explorations and Aspirations" in the 2011 group. This is for the readings we talked about after reading The Postman in October, with post-apocalyptic or otherwise future views of women's role in societies. I'm not scheduling reading to start until February 1, but am letting people know so that they can star it and start acquiring books if they so choose.

http://www.librarything.com/topic/105210

210) Troll's Eye View: a book of villianous tales edited by Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling
YA fairytale retellings

This was a great collection of tales, looking into several tales from the perspective of the villian.
'Just watch these old stories do new tricks' - Indeed. I think my favourite was Holly Black's The Boy who cried Wolf, I'd forgotten what a great storyteller she is. Lots of great writers sharing stories in this - Jane Yolen, Peter S Beagle, Garth Nix, Midori Synder.
Book 5 in The Mythic Fiction Series

Kerry, annoying news: I got the package I sent you back today, Customs didn't like my paperwork for some damned reason! But don't despair, I *will* figure this out. I'm sorry you won't have the contents until after the New Year, though.

#211> That happens, I usually don't have problems with bookmooches so hopefully it will arrive eventually. The good news is that my birthday is in January when I will turn forever young once again.

Perfect! Birthday gifts, here you come!

211) The Shawl by Cynthia Ozick (1980)
short stories

Read for the Thinster TIOLI challenge. (70pages). Two inter-related stories. The first features a young Jewish mother, her baby and young niece all struggling to survive in the Holocaust. The second story is 30-40 years later and set in Florida.
Powerful, haunting first story and very interesting second story. Recommended.
I thought Ozick's The Bear Boy (Heir to the Glimmering World - US title) was a good read and I'll read her latest book Foreign Bodies next year.


Dutch Delight: typical Dutch Food by Sylvia Pessireron (2007)
cookery, Holland

I've had this out from the library for a while and thought I'd mention it here. A very appealing and informative look at Dutch food culture wrapped up with typical recipes. There are even sections on the Dutch Slow Food Foundation, fastfood and imported cuisines such as Indonesia's riisttafel. It's got a great layout, lots of colour images, and a slight humorous touch. I liked the 'how to download a herring'.
Take a look at a herring download
Recipes include: eel in green sauce, pea soup, Dutch meat croquette (you haven't lived till you've eaten one of these), stamppot (one-pot cooking), Vijfschaft (regional dish from Leiden), oliebollen, speculaasjes, pancakes (hopefully as good as the ones from a pannekoekenhuis), vla (Dutch custard) and apple pie. Jan in de Zak (John in the bag), a cake, looks good too. My only quibble is that they didn't include a recipe for Boterkoek.

#214: My local library has CDs entitled An Introduction to The Shawl, but not the book itself. Argh!

Always the way isn't it! I was really happy to see that my library had it as I found out about it when I was looking at reviews of her latest book.

#216: I just checked and the book is not available for the Nook either, so no recourse there. Rats.

Welll, since, like me, you have a few thousand other books to read it can probably go on your slow burner. It does offer a powerful kick in a small package.

#218: I would settle for only having a few thousand other books to read :) Of course, if I did, then I would complain that I did not have enough books to read! I am just never satisfied where books are concerned.

There's quite a few people out there writing some more for us! Like you, I'm using goodreads now for my tbr list, I used to just put in library requests but I can't read that fast.

I am going to try and slow down on library requests next year myself. I have so many books here at home to read it is not even funny.

Love the cover of the Dutch one! Bright

212) The boy who climbed into the moon by David Almond (2010)
illustrated by Polly Dunbar
children's fiction
This is an illustrated story about a small boy who decides to take some chances. David Almond's work is usually darker than this but here he's given us a gentle story with magical elements that delights. I thought this was superb.


213) The Dead of Winter by Chris Priestley (2010)
children's fiction
This is a great gothic ghost story, up there with Susan Hill's The Woman in Black in the creepiness stakes. A newly orphaned boy comes to spend Christmas at his guardian's home, a mansion on the edge of the moors. There are ghosts, a moat, mist, a hidden room and a malevolent spirit on the loose. Recommended to put shivers up your spine.


214) The Thirteen Clocks by James Thurber (1950)
children's fiction
A magical tale of a Prince winning his Princess. Read for the Thinster TIOLI challenge.


215) Things we didn't see coming by Steven Amsterdam (2010)
short stories

A debut collection of 9 linked stories set in a postapocalyptic near future. We follow the narrator from boyhood, each story set a few years apart, through the next 20 or so years. I thought this collection was compelling reading, and with the minimum of description each story plunges you into a new catastrophe that needs surviving. Floods, angry mobs, viral plague, contamination etc etc. Fantastic.

#223: Great recommendations as usual, Kerry! Thanks.

Happy Holidays!

Things we didn't see coming sounds like a must-read.

How did you like The 13 Clocks?

Some more great books! Happily, my library has a "lists" feature on their website, where I can stick books that I want to read about in the future.

I would love to get a glimpse of that cookbook. Do they have those mini apple doughnuts?? Yum... And riistafel is marvellous. In fact, I'm going to go off and google it in hopes there is a restaurant specializing in it here in NY. There must be...

Merry Christmas Kerry!

Happy Christmas, Kerry!

Merry Christmas Kerry!

Happy New Year to everyone

#225> Zoe - The Things book is good, but there are a lot of books out there so probably not a must read for everyone. I just liked the structure, how he didn't do an epic type book, more just glimpses into how life went for the narrator.
The 13 Clocks was a fun read but not, to my mind, exceptional. I didn't like the illustration style.

#226> Suzanne, I've always enjoyed the food in Holland, there are some great restaurants in Amsterdam and we always try to have rijsttafel at least once when we're there.


216) Shadow Wave by Robert Muchamore (2010)
CHERUB series Bk12: last instalment, YA fiction

I've loved the CHERUB series, it really delivers a good thrilling read. This is the last one as James is turning 18 and can no longer be a CHERUB agent, so finishes up his last mission and gets involved on the other side of another mission involving a corrupt Malaysian politician and a grassroots anti-global tourism group. In the immediate aftermath of a tsunami, a Malaysian politician cum property developer uses his influence to get the population of 4 more fishing villages resettled away from the beach so he can take the land and redevelop for tourism. Five years later he is the Defence Minister for Malaysia and visiting London to sign an arms deal worth billions to the British taxpayer.

Muchamore has given us lots of action, the highs and lows of typical teen behaviour and also some pretty serious issues throughout the series. This time the spotlight turns on remote third world communities that are torn apart so that multinational golf or beach resorts can make use of the prime land and beachfront locations. Cherub agents (highly trained children, 10-17yrs) who work undercover, are children plucked from foster homes or social care who show the right characteristics for becoming agents. Many serve alongside their siblings. They live on the CHERUB campus where they are trained and educated.
Sigh...well I can still read his Henderson Boys series which is about the founding years of CHERUB during WW2, and he has mentioned the possibility of writing some more CHERUB books but not with James.

ETA: I read this asap as I was #217 when I joined the queue for the book and there are still over #400 queued to read it. It's a very popular series with young teens here in NZ.

Merry Christmas, Kerry!

Hi Kerry - lots more great books! I have already put To the End of the Land onto my WL. Can't remember if I said, but there was an interesting interview with him on the Guardian books podcast a while back.

And good luck with The Battle for Spain. I got quite a way through it but stupidly stopped, and then I lost the thread - I though it was good but very dense. I'll try again when we are home because it didn't make it into the boxes that I shipped over here.

Happy St. Stephen's Day! Or Boxing Day! Whichever you prefer, Kerry, may it be a happy, happy occasion.

To point up the huge difference between our climates, your lovely summery day there is matched by our blizzard here. Not sure which is worse....

Highlights of 2010:
I read over 200 books so it's hard to keep these lists concise and I'm still reading good books.

Best of the Best - Fiction Top 3:
Adjusting Sights by Haim Sabato (Israel)
The White King by György Dragomán (Hungary)
The Ministry of Special Cases by Nathan Englander (US)
Highly Commended:
To the End of the Land by David Grossman (Israel)
Flaubert's Parrot by Julian Barnes (UK)
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas (Fr)
Nada by Carmen Laforet (Spain)
Tu by Patricia Grace (New Zealand)
Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey (Australia)
Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh (UK)
The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver (US)
The Bone People by Keri Hulme (New Zealand) -
Le Grand Meaulnes by Henri Alain-Fournier (France)
Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier (UK)
World Cup Wishes by Eshkol Nevo (Israel)

Best of the Best: Scifi & Fantasy
American Gods by Neil Gaiman (UK)
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson (US)
Curse of the Wolf Girl by Martin Millar (UK)
Consider Phlebas by Iain Banks (UK)

Best of the Best - Short Stories:
Things we didn't see coming by Steve Amsterdam (US/Aus)
Highly Commended:
Apples from the Desert by Savyon Liebrecht (Israel)
Love Songs for the Shy and Cynical by Rob Shearman (UK)
The Shawl by Cynthia Ozick (US)

Best of the Best - nonfiction:
The man who fell into a puddle: Israeli lives by Igal Sarna (Israel)
Highly Commended:
The Motorcycle Diaries: a journey around South America by Che Guevara (Argentina)
Tschiffely's Ride: Southern Cross to Pole Star by AF Tschiffely (Argentina)
School Blues by Daniel Pennac (France)
Backroads: Charting a poet's life by Sam Hunt (New Zealand)

Best of the Best - Children's:
Where the mountain meets the moon by Grace Lin (US)
Highly Commended:
Kestrel for a Knave by Barry Hines (UK)
The Last Elf by Silvana De Mari (Italy)
Toby Alone by Timothee de Fombelle (France)
Factotum by DM Cornish (Australia)
The Naming of Tishkin Silk by Glenda Millard (Australia)
Spirit Wind by Max Fatchin (Australia)

Best of the Best - YA fiction:
Chaos Walking 3: Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness (UK)
Highly Commended:
Brigands MC CHERUB by Robert Muchamore (UK)
Will Grayson Will Grayson by David Levithan and John Green (US)
Over a thousand hills I walk with you by Hanna Jansen (Germany)
Centre of my world by Andreas Steinhöfel (Germany)
Ancient Appetites by Oisin McGann (Ireland)
The Borribles & The Borribles go for broke by Michael De Larrabeiti (UK)
The Inferior by Peadar O'Guilin (Ireland)
and many many more

Love your lists, Kerry!

I brought The White King home from the library the other day, so hope to get to it soon.

#235> Stasia - I have my fingers crossed that you enjoy reading this one.

217) The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón (2009)
fiction, spain

This sequel to The Shadow of the Wind is a dark gothic journey once again into the back streets of Barcelona around the 1930s. While at times I thought it overlong, a bit overly melodramatic, I did enjoy most of the story, and because I love the city, I relish the chance to revisit Barcelona in the pages of the book. Zafón brings his city to life with all the gloominess you could want, creating the perfect atmosphere to place his story. This is a prequel of sorts to the earlier book, we revisit similar ground but in earlier times. This is a very dark read, and recommended to those who like gothic, noirish stories of obsession.

Read for the TIOLI 'Book that's been on your tbr for 12 months or more' challenge. I've been 'trying' to pick this one up all year so I'm pleased to have finished it before the year was out.

I will get to read The Angel's Game eventually. Probably in a few years. It's been on the wish list for ages already. I think if the reviews said it was as good as The Shadow of the Wind I'd have already read it.

I loved seeing your list! Very inspiring.

How does Will Grayson, Will Grayson compare to the authors' other books? I've heard so many good things about it that it seems like something I should read, and yet I wasn't a huge fan of Boy Meets Boy, Looking for Alaska, or An Abundance of Katherines.

I read Boy meets Boy soon after reading Will Grayson, and I think that Will Grayson is the better book, though it doesn't sound like you are a fan of this type of read. You might enjoy King Dork, Portman's style is more subversive than Levithan or John Green. Heavy metal and you by Christopher Krovatin is also worth looking at, both reference music and Catcher in the Rye rather successfully.
edit: spelling

#238> Yes, I liked going back into Zafón's Barcelona, but the story didn't come together quite enough for my liking. This was also much darker than The Shadow of the Wind.
#239> Thanks sibyx - I had several more books vying for a place on my list.


of thee I sing: a letter to my daughters by Barak Obama (2010)
illustrated declaration (?)

Hard to categorise, I wouldn't call this a story or a picturebook, it's a patriotic letter or declaration that's been illustrated. It would be a useful resource to use with children (American children). The text is a bit awkward but I've seen worse.
Each declaration to the child - 'Have I told you that you are.... a healer/brave/kind/an explorer/part of a family' etc etc is followed on the opposite page with a short poetic description (and illustration) of a famous American who typifies those qualities (Einstein, Helen Keller, Abraham Lincoln, Sitting Bull, Jane Addams etc). The last doublepage spread embraces an inclusive view of all Americans, regardless of race, creed or origin.

Obama has dedicated the book to his wife. The illustrations are well done, it starts with his two daughters and after each declaration they are joined by one more child, all seen back on.

>241 avatiakh: Thanks for the recommendations! You may be right that it's just not my kind of book, but I'm always drawn to the popular books anyway. I'm glad to hear you liked it more than Boy Meets Boy, at least. I didn't hate that one, but I just didn't find it very memorable.

I've added The Dead of Winter and Things We Didn't See Coming to the Wishlist. They both look fantastic. I'm thinking of 2010 as the year I discovered I really enjoy linked short stories so Things We Didn't See Coming is especially appealing.

My son is 5. Is he too young for the Obama book?

>244 nancyewhite: I think it would be ok for a five year old, sort of an introductory history book. Neil Armstrong is in it along with George Washington. Also good for reinforcing qualities such as kindness & bravery.
Hope you enjoy Things we didn't see coming, it made many top lists in Australia when it was first published. I'm also becoming a fan of short stories in general, these ones were especially good. For a children's book The Dead of Winter is rather creepy!

I'm so glad you had Ministry of Special Cases on your "favorites" list too, Kerry. That book has stayed with me all year (unlike some titles that I have to click on to remind myself what they were about). I'll have to go read your review. It would make a great book club pick--so much to discuss, don't you think?

I have really got to get to The Angel's Game!

#234 That's a great best of list Kerry. Lots from your best of the best are on my wishlist or TBR pile.

My last 3 books for 2010.


218) Random Harvest by James Hilton (1941)
fiction

I read this for Suzanne's Sentimental Favourites TIOLI challenge. I read this and his more well known Lost Horizon when I was a teenager and I always remember that this one had a great twist in the ending. This was a nostalgic read that I enjoyed revisiting.
An injured soldier is returned to England during World War 1, he has amnesia and his identity is unknown. Then he wakes up one morning on a park bench in Liverpool and remembers who he is, but doesn't know what has happened in the two years since the war ended. A beautiful love story with a social conscience.


219) The Haystack by Jack Lasenby (2010)
children's fiction, new zealand

Read for Madeline's Animal on the Cover TIOLI challenge. Jack Lasenby has become one of my favourite children's writers. Lately his books are set in the rural Waharoa during the depression years of the 1930s. This one is about young Maggie, who has lost her mother and is being brought up by her father. There is just the two of them and they are soon joined by a kitten, Milly. This is just a delight, Maggie's father is a gentle soul who reads to her from The Jungle Book, The Christmas Carol and Treasure Island. Maggie observes and questions everything and through this we glimpse the terribly severe life of the unemployed in these times. Lasenby also describes in detail the building of a haystack, and has Maggie pitching in to help by leading the old horse that pulled the stacker.
This would be a great teaching resource to use with younger students of New Zealand history.

Lasenby is the quintessential, prolific and much-loved New Zealand writer
of junior fiction that challenges and stimulates the imagination of young readers. His writing
is direct, funny, touching and so true-to-life that young readers will be immediately drawn into
the world inhabited by an imaginative young girl being brought up by her father. Set in the small
Waikato dairying town of Waharoa in the troubled times of the 1930s Depression, The Haystack
provides a rare insight into the lives of people in these times and the way New Zealand was.
On one level, rather than focusing on the enormous difficulties people faced, The Haystack
is a joyous and optimistic celebration of a community that looks after its own. On a second
level, it will be an eye-opener to today’s generation of electronically entertained children as to
how powerful the imagination can be as a force for learning, enjoyment and the stimulation of
young minds. As an added bonus, teachers will be able to focus on the colloquial expressions
and language usage of these times as a real-life example of how our New Zealand version of
English is a constantly changing, living language and the social and technological influences
that bring about this change.

HarperCollins Teachers Notes


220) Hereville: how Mirka got her sword by Barry Deutsch (2010)
graphic novel

'Yet another Troll-fighting 11 year-old Orthodox Jewish Girl'
I saw this mentioned on a blog somewhere and was curious enough to request a copy from the library.
First, here's the link to the original webcomic.
This was an interesting read, I liked the characters, the story was fine but ended a bit abruptly. As it portrays an Orthodox community, I'm hoping that all the details of their lives, their observances and the folklore aspect tie together properly. Mirka is quite a spunky girl who seems to attract trouble. She tangles with a monster who turns out to be a talking-pig, she meets a witch, she challenges a troll. She also deals with homework, siblings, relatives and all the normal observances a religious family must make in preparation for Shabbat.
I'll be looking out for the next book.
eta: Hereville review by Betsy Bird on Fuse#8

A nice wrap up to your year, Kerry, and congratulations on 220 books for 2010!

Happy new year Kerry, and I'm off to look for Jack Lasenby's other books now! (And this one.)

#250 Thanks Stasia, I was pretty pleased I managed to squeeze in the graphic novel so I could finish on an even number!

Cushla - He's written some very silly tall stories - the Harry Wakitipu & Aunt Effie books and was the editor of the School Journals for a number of years and before that was a deerhunter. The Wellington Children's Literature group have a Jack Lasenby Writing Award each year or second year, it's a writing prize for children, so you should check it out when you get back.
I'm going to read his Mangrove Summer next, I don't usually seek out books with 'mangrove' in the title but this description sounds too good:
"It is the summer of 1941 and to avoid the possible Japanese invasion of New Zealand, a family evacuates to their bach on the east coast of the Coromandel.
The children decide that to survive they need to take to the cover of the dense mangroves in a boat, - without telling the adults. First published in 1989 the story vividly and poignantly describes their adventures at surviving alone."

eta: Old Drumble: The Smartest Drover's Dog There Ever Was is really really good.

'Yet another Troll-fighting 11 year-old Orthodox Jewish Girl'

ROFL

Kerry, you are a treasure. It's been a hoot and a holler getting to know you better via Internet, and the pleasure of your online company is one I am grateful to the passing year for; hope we'll continue to enjoy it in 2011, too!

I had a peek at the web-comic of Hereville and it definitely looks unusual. I think I'll continue reading online for a bit as my local libraries don't have a copy of the full graphic novel.

#254> The threads are really buzzing today, I can barely keep up!
Hereville is different, and fun, just doesn't quite set me on fire, but I like that it portrays a girl with religious/traditional responsibilities. I'm lucky that the libraries across Auckland combined this past year and I have access to so many more books than before. Did you read The Rabbi's Cat?

Just adding a list of recent picture books that I've perused these past couple of months:

From Best of Lists around and about:
A sick day for Amos McGee by Philip Christian Stead - delightful, Amos is a zookeeper and when he's sick, all the zoo animals come to visit him.
Busing Brewster by Richard Michelson, R.G. Roth (Illustrator) - looking back at the 1970s US policy of integration by busing African-American children from poorer neighbourhoods into affluent predominantly white schools. Excellent social history story with modern illustration style.
Children make terrible pets by Peter Brown - fun, not terribly great, I don't like this oldfashioned style of illustration.
Farther by Grahame Baker-Smith - not into this illustration style either. Appealing story of boy growing up and following up his missing-in-action father's fascination with flight. Large size book.
Seasons by Blexbolex (France) - this made a few best of lists for some reason. It's 180pgs of retro pastel block illustrations, with one word or phrase. Not my thing.
Subway by Christoph Niemann - fun, great for NY children or those obsessed with trains. Imaginative artwork.
Big Red Lollipop by Rukhsana Khan - about sharing, cultural differences and little sisters. I liked this even though it had a message, it was different enough to stand out.
There's Going to be a Baby by John Burningham, Helen Oxenbury (illustrator) - delightful anticipation on arrival of new baby for soon-to-be big brother.
others:
Henry in Love by Peter McCarty - cute, gentle story about Henry, a rabbit, who falls for Chloe, a kitten, in kindergarten. They share their lunch. The illustrations are adorable, probably too cutsie a story though.
Six Crows by Leo Lionni - love his work, this one no exception. Great for a class.
The Pet Dragon: A Story about Adventure, Friendship, and Chinese Characters by Christoph Niemann - fun, especially if child is wanting to learn about Chinese, though probably not politically correct in depiction of Chinese.
Robot Zot by John Scieszka, David Shannon (illustrator) - didn't like this despite liking both writer and illustrator's other work.
Feathers for Phoebe by Rod Clement (Australia) - not the place to start if investigating Clement's work.
Blue Chameleon by Emily Gravett - wonderful, everything she does is just magic
Willow's Whispers by Lana Button, Tania Howells (Illustrator) - quiet story about a girl who needs to learn to speak up. Excellent class resource about using your voice.
Gecko Press (translated books):
H.O.U.S.E. (D.O.M.E.K.) by Aleksandra Machowiak and Daniel Mizielinski (Poland) - excellent nonfiction, superb, colourful, must be given especially to children of any architects or architects themselves. Explores 35 extraordinary houses around the globe. Their website
The Chicken Thief by Beatrice Rodriguez (France) - fun story about a misunderstanding
Anton can do magic by Ole Konnecke (Sweden) - very fun story, good illustration.
Noisy Book (Le Livre des Bruits) by Soledad Bravi - cute board book of noises
More! (Meehr!!) by Peter Schössow - an absolute delight, only one word in this book and it isn't 'more'!
The Adventure of Life: step by step (France): description: covers all aspects of life on Earth – from the Big Bang to evolution and reproduction, cosmology, biology, geology and ecology. my thoughts: did not read - retro, did not appeal.
All about food: step by step (France):description: explains food’s journey through the human body, its role, its history and why healthy eating is important. My thoughts: did not read: retro, did not appeal.

New Zealand:
The Moon and Farmer McPhee by Margaret Mahy, David Elliot (illustrator) - lovely pairing, delightful story.
Hetty's Day Out by Pamela Allen - anything by Allen is great
Alf Red's Broccoli Rocket by Simon Clearwater, Andrew Dopheide (Illustrator) - not great, ok.
The Indigo Bird by Helen Taylor - fantastic illustration of native birds, not strong storytelling.

And probably many more but these I noted down

Some stats:
(my numbers don't add up but the general trend is what's important to me)

Total Read: 220 bks
Adult: 51%
YA & Childrens: 49%

Books published in 2010: 18% (includes first translations to English)

TBR Pile: 44% (pre2009 & preLT tbr: 19%)
2010 Purchased Books (new & used): 21%
Library books:36%

Adult Fiction: 45%
Nonfiction: 6%
YA: 27%
Children: 22%

English: 76%
Translated: 24%

Country Breakdown:

England & Ireland: 28%
USA & Canada: 30%
New Zealand & Australia: 19%
Israel: 5%
France:4%
Germany: 3%
Argentina: 3%
Also: Chile, Peru, Nigeria, Greece, Spain, Denmark, Italy, Finland, Norway, Brazil, Japan, Holland.

So what do I think:
I'll never disclose how many books came into my house this year (the shame, the shame) but will make an effort to buy less in 2011, a book buying ban will never work, but I do have access to more out of print books now all the Auckland libraries have merged.

I also want to read more of my own books and use the library less. This should be achievable as I now use goodreads to list books that interest me rather than just requesting them from the library straightaway, so that interim step should help.

I'm happy to have the 50/50 divide between adult and children's books. I have a strong interest in children's literature and I try to keep up with what's new, but in 2011 I'll be trying to read more from my tbr pile.

Need to read more nonfiction and the historical novels that I deliberately avoided this year.

Ok, I'm now officially out of here, my 2011 reading thread is here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/105593

Interesting stats, Kerry. Did you generate all those? I don't keep track of the children's books I read, because I'm too lazy, and there are lots of rereads and 'half-reads' while working with my students.

I thought about what sort of data I wanted to 'catch' and then went through my threads with my tally chart. I forgot to collect gender! What interested me also was how many longterm residents of my tbr pile got read, compared with books I've added since being a member of LT groups.

And I forgot one stat: Books published in 2010: 18% (includes first translations to English)

I've noted the picturebooks because I write reviews for themed booklists through the year, and this seemed a handy place to keep a few impressions. Usually I just note a picturebook if it's interesting in someway, but I did borrow rather a lot all at once these past couple of months. I was interested to read all Gecko Press' latest publications as I'd missed so many. They are a local (re)publisher mainly of award winning European children's books, they buy the world rights to publish in English at Frankfurt & Bologna Book Fairs, translate and publish here in New Zealand and Australia, then onsell the UK and American rights at same Book Fairs a year or so later. They do this rather well and have picked some delightful, overlooked children's books.

#255 Nope, The Rabbi's Cat is another one I have wishlisted that isn't available at the library.

#257 Nice stats! I'm also far too ashamed to disclose how many books I acquired in 2010. I will be much better in 2011 I'm sure, no really.