lindapanzo's 1010 list for 2010--part 4

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lindapanzo's 1010 list for 2010--part 4

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1lindapanzo
Editado: Nov 25, 2010, 12:46 am

Here are my categories for 2010, along with a 20-book "bonus category."

The first thread in my 1010 challenge for 2010 was at: http://www.librarything.com/topic/70676

The second thread in my 1010 challenge for 2010 was at: http://www.librarything.com/topic/85764

The third thread in my 1010 challenge was at: http://www.librarything.com/topic/93967







Cozy Mysteries--10 out of 10--finished on 9/8/10

Books and Reading--10 out of 10--finished on 11/24/10

Baseball Books--10 out of 10--finished on 11/2/10

Books About Chicago--10 out of 10--finished on 10/24/10

American Presidents--10 out of 10--finished on 11/20/10

Books About Disasters--10 out of 10--finished on 11/23/10

General Nonfiction--10 out of 10--finished on 6/19/10

Food Mysteries--10 out of 10--finished on 7/12/10

Days and Nights--10 out of 10--finished on 7/27/10

God and Religion--10 out of 10--finished on 10/17/10

Bonus Category: Next in the Series--20 out of 20--finished on 11/18/10

2lindapanzo
Editado: Nov 13, 2010, 2:14 am

With 30 books to go to finish my 1010 challenge, here's a list of the books I intend to read to finish the challenge. As always, subject to change, probably every 15 minutes.

Books and Reading:
--The Case for Books by Robert Darnton--finished on Oct. 6
--Chapter & Hearse by Lorna Barrett--finished on Oct. 27

--Bloody Murder: From the Detective Story to the Crime Novel by Julian Symons
--My Reading Life by Pat Conroy--finished on Nov 9

Another possibility:

--Running the Books: The Adventures of an Accidental Prison Librarian by Avi Steinberg

Baseball Books:
--The Last Nine Innings: Inside the Real Game Fans Never See by Charles Euchner--finished on Sept 22
--When the Game Changed: An Oral History of Baseball's True Golden Age: 1969--1979 by George Castle--finished on Nov 2

Books About Chicago:
--The Devil in the White City--finished on Sept 26
--The Chicago Way by Michael Harvey--finished on Oct 24
--The Wagon and Other Stories from the City by Martin Preib--finished on Oct 1
--Three Strikes You're Dead by Robert Goldsborough--finished on Oct 21

American Presidents:
--American Lion by Jon Meacham--finished on Sept 13
--Martin Van Buren by Ted Widmer--finished on Sept 19
--John Tyler by Gary May--finished on Oct 8
--Polk: The Man Who Transformed the Presidency and America by Walter R. Borneman--finished on Nov 11
--Zachary Taylor by John S. D. Eisenhower
--Millard Fillmore by Robert Rayback

Books About Disasters:
--The White Cascade: The Great Northern Railway Disaster and America's Deadliest Avalanche by Gary Krist
--Hunting Nature's Fury by Roger Hill--finished on Oct 25
--Chicago Disasters by Bryan W. Alaspa--finished on Sept 19

God and Religion:
--Sundays in America: A Yearlong Road Trip in Search of Christian Faith by Suzanne Strempek Shea--finished on Oct 17
--The Friendship of Women by Joan Chittister--finished on Sept 30
--Searching for God Knows What by Donald Miller--finished on Sept 29

Bonus Category: Next in the Series:
--Fatally Frosted by Jessica Beck--finished on Sept 27
--Laughed Til He Died by Carolyn Hart
--Loco-Motive by Mary Daheim--finished on Sept 17
--The Chocolate Pirate Plot by JoAnna Carl--finished on Oct 30
--Wicked Witch Murder by Leslie Meier
--Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny--finished on Nov 6
--Indulgence in Death by J.D. Robb--finished on Nov 13
--Hand in Glove by Ngaio Marsh--finished on Oct 19
--Berried to the Hilt by Karen MacInerney

Also possible:
--An Irish Country Christmas

3lindapanzo
Editado: Sep 15, 2010, 4:12 pm

Category 1:
Cozy Mysteries--READ 10 OUT OF 10--category finished on 9/8/10

1. Huckleberry Finished by Livia J. Washburn--finished in Jan 2010
2. Death of a Valentine by M.C. Beaton--finished in Jan 2010
3. Ding Dong Dead by Deb Baker--finished in Feb 2010
4. Died in the Wool by Mary Kruger--finished in April 2010
5. A Caribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie--finished in May 2010
6. A Beautiful Blue Death by Charles Finch--finished in July 2010
7. Emily Dickinson Is Dead by Jane Langton--finished in Aug 2010
8. Homicide in Hardcover by Kate Carlisle--finished in Aug 2010
9. The Long Quiche Goodbye by Avery Aames--finished in Aug 2010
10. The War Against Miss Winter by Kathryn Miller Haines--finished in Sept 2010

--Laughed Til He Died by Carolyn Hart
--Loco-Motive by Mary Daheim
--Wicked Witch Murder by Leslie Meier
--Death at the Alma Mater by G.M. Malliett
--Berried to the Hilt by Karen MacInerney
--Chapter & Hearse by Lorna Barrett
--Tragic Magic by Laura Childs
--Manna from Hades by Carola Dunn
--Grace Under Pressure by Julie Hyzy
--The Crafty Teddy by John J. Lamb
--Death at Victoria Dock by Kerry Greenwood
--The Prophet Murders by Mehmet Murat Somer

4lindapanzo
Editado: Nov 25, 2010, 12:47 am

Category 2:
Books and Reading--READ 9 OUT OF 10--finished on 11/24/10

1. Biblioholism: The Literary Addiction by Tom Raabe-READ IN FEB
2. This Book Is Overdue! by Marilyn Johnson--READ IN APRIL
3. Talking About Detective Fiction by P.D. James--READ IN APRIL
4. How Lincoln Learned to Read: Twelve Great Americans and the Educations that Made Them by Daniel Wolff--READ IN JULY
5. The Whole Five Feet: What the Great Books Taught Me About Life, Death, and Pretty Much Everything Else by Christopher Beha--READ IN AUG '10
6. 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff--READ IN SEPT '10
7. The Case for Books by Robert Darnton--READ IN OCT '10
8. Chapter & Hearse by Lorna Barrett--READ IN OCT '10
9. My Reading Life by Pat Conroy--READ IN NOV '10
10. A Novel Bookstore by Laurence Cosse--READ IN NOV '10

POSSIBLES INCLUDE:

--Bloody Murder: From the Detective Story to the Crime Novel by Julian Symons
--The Red Leather Diary by Lily Koppel
--A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books by Nicholas Basbanes
--An Alphabetical Life: Living It Up in the World of Books by Wendy Werris

--How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines by Thomas C. Foster
--Great Books by David Denby
--A Reader on Reading by Alberto Manguel
--Why Read? by Mark Edmundson
--The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession by Allison Hoover
--Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
--Hitler's Private Library: The Books That Shaped His Life by Timothy W. Ryback
--The Lineup: The World's Greatest Crime Writers Tell the Inside Story of Their Greatest Detectives by Otto Penzler

5lindapanzo
Editado: Nov 3, 2010, 1:06 pm

Category 3:
Baseball Books--READ 10 OUT OF 10--finished on 11/2/10

1. As They See 'Em: A Fan's Travels in the Land of Umpires by Bruce Weber--finished on 1/13/10
2. Chasing Moonlight by Brett Friedlander and Robert Reising--finished on 1/24/10
3. Wrigleyville by Peter Golenbock--finished on 3/20/10
4. El Birdos: The 1967 and 1968 St Louis Cardinals by Doug Feldmann--finished on 5/24/10
5. Black and Blue: The Golden Arm, the Robinson Boys, and the 1966 World Series That Stunned America by Tom Adelman--finished on 6/2/10
6. Baseball in Blue and Gray by George B. Kirsch--finished on 8/6/10
7. The Game from Where I Stand: A Ballplayer's Inside View by Doug Glanville--finished on 8/23/10
8. Hard Luck Harvey Haddix and the Greatest Game Ever Lost by Lew Freedman--finished on 9/5/10
9. The Last Nine Innings by Charles Euchner--finished on 9/22/10
10. When the Game Changed: An Oral History of Baseball's True Golden Age: 1969--1979 by George Castle--finished on 11/2/10

--Echoing Green by Joshua Prager
--Bottom of the Ninth by Michael Shapiro
--The Baseball Codes: Beanballs, Sign Stealing, and Bench-Clearing Brawls: The Unwritten Rules of America's Pastime by Jason Turbow and Michael Duca
--Roger Maris
--Mint Condition
--The Boys of Summer by Roger Kahn
--Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella
--The Greatest Ballpark Ever by Bob McGee
--Yogi Berra: Eternal Yankee by Allan Barra
--Scoring from Second
--Center Field Shot:A History of Baseball on Television by James R. Walker
--My Turn at Bat by Ted Williams
--Pull Up a Chair by Vin Scully
--The Yankee Years by Joe Torre
--Your Brain on Cubs by Dan Gordon
--The Psychology of Baseball by Mike Stadler
--The 33-Year Old Rookie by Chris Coste
--Crazy '08
--Northsiders

6lindapanzo
Editado: Oct 25, 2010, 12:41 pm

Category 4:
Books about Chicago--READ 10 OUT OF 10--finished on 10/24/10

1. Sin in the Second City: Madams, Ministers, Playboys, and the Battle for America's Soul by Karen Abbott--finished in Jan 2010
2. Chicago Television by Daniel Berger and Steve Jajkowski (eds)--finished in April 2010
3. Chicago: A Biography by Dominic A. Pacyga--read in May
4. Chicago Sports: A Fifty Year Love Affair by Chris Papas--read in May
5. Shattered Sense of Innocence by Richard C. Lindberg and Gloria Jean Sykes--READ IN JUNE 2010
6. The Third Rail by Michael Harvey--READ IN AUG '10
7. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson--READ IN SEPT '10
8. The Wagon and Other Stories from the City by Martin Preib--READ IN OCT '10
9. Three Strikes You're Dead by Robert Goldsborough--READ IN OCT '10
10. The Chicago Way by Michael Harvey--read in Oct '10

--Challenging Chicago by Perry Duis
--Division Street America by Studs Terkel
--The Sinking of the Eastland: America's Forgotten Tragedy
--One Thousand and One Afternoons by Ben Hecht
--Chicago Sports Reader
--Chi Town by Norbert Blei
--American Pharaoh by Adam Cohen and Elizabeth Taylor
--Forever open, clear, and free : the struggle for Chicago's lakefront by Lois Wille
--City of the Century by Donald L. Miller
--Nature's Metropolis: Chicago and the Great West By William Cronin
--The Gambler King of Clark Street: Michael C. McDonald and the Rise of Chicago's Democratic Machine by Richard Lindberg
--For the Thrill of It: Leopold, Loeb, and the Murder That Shocked Jazz Age Chicago
--The New Chicago: A Social and Cultural Analysis by Koval et al

7lindapanzo
Editado: Nov 21, 2010, 1:19 am

Category 5:
American Presidents--read 10 out of 10--finished on 11/20/10

I'm doing the American Presidents' biography challenge. In 2010, I'd like to read about Monroe through Buchanan, 11 presidents in all so that, in 2011, I can have an Abe Lincoln/Civil War category.

1. James Monroe by Gary Hart--READ IN JAN '10
2. John Quincy Adams by Robert V. Remini--READ IN JAN '10
3. The Birth of Modern Politics: Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams, and the Election of 1828 by Lynn Parsons--READ IN APRIL '10
4. Mr. Adams's Last Crusade: John Quincy Adams's Extraordinary Post-Presidential Life in Congress by Joseph Wheelan--READ IN MAY '10
5. American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham--READ IN SEPT '10
6. Martin Van Buren by Ted Widmer--READ IN SEPT '10
7. John Tyler by Gary May--READ IN OCT '10
8. Polk: The Man Who Transformed the Presidency and America by Walter R. Borneman--READ IN NOV '10
9. Zachary Taylor by John S. D. Eisenhower--READ IN NOV '10
10. The White House Doctor by Dr. Connie Mariano--READ IN NOV '10

--Millard Fillmore by Raybeck
--Franklin Pierce
--James Buchanan by Jean H. Baker

8lindapanzo
Editado: Nov 23, 2010, 10:46 pm

Category 6:
Books About Disasters--READ 10 OUT OF 10--finished on 11/23/10

1. A Paradise Built in Hell by Rebecca Solnit--READ IN FEB 2010
2. Down Around Midnight: A Memoir of Crash and Survival by Robert Sabbag--READ IN APRIL 2010
3. Curse of the Narrows by Laura M. MacDonald--READ IN MAY 2010
4. When the Mississippi Ran Backwards: Empire, Intrigue, Murder and the New Madrid Earthquakes by Jay Feldman--READ IN JUNE 2010
5. The Children's Blizzard by David Laskin--READ IN AUG 2010
6. City on Fire: The Forgotten Disaster That Devastated a Town and Ignited a Landmark Legal Battle by Bill Minutaglio--READ IN AUG 2010
7. Nine Minutes, Twenty Seconds by Gary M. Pomerantz--READ IN SEPT 2010
8. Chicago Disasters by Bryan W. Alaspa--READ IN SEPT 2010
9. Hunting Nature's Fury: A Storm Chaser's Obsession With Tornadoes, Hurricanes, and Other Natural Disasters by Roger Hill--READ IN OCT '10
10. The White Cascade: The Great Northern Railway Disaster and America's Deadliest Avalanche by Gary Krist--READ IN NOV '10

--Rising Tide by John M. Barry
--The Sinking of the Eastland: America's Forgotten Tragedy
--Dark Tide (1919 Boston Molasses)
--Hot Time in the Old Town by Edward P. Kohn
--Sultana by Allan Huffman
--Smoldering City: Chicagoans and the Great Fire, 1871-1874
--Paris Under Water by Jeffrey H. Jackson
--Trapped by Karen Tintori
--Tinder Box: The Iroquois Theatre Disaster 1903 by Anthony Hatch
--The Third Man Factor: surviving the Impossible by John Geiger
--The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America by Timothy Egan
--The Great Chicago Fire by Ross Miller
--The Big One: The Earthquake that Rocked Early America and Helped Create a Science by Jake Page
--A Crack in the Edge of the World by Simon Winchester
--The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast by Douglas Brinkley
--Titanic's Last Secrets
--Acts of God: The Unnatural History of Natural Disaster in America
--Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago
--Lessons from Longford: The Esso Gas Plant Explosion
--The Texas City Disaster, 1947 by Hugh W. Stephens
--Firestorm at Peshtigo: A Town, Its People, and the Deadliest Fire in American History

9lindapanzo
Editado: Sep 22, 2010, 3:46 pm

Category 7:
General Nonfiction--READ 10 OUT OF 10--category finished on 6/19/10

1. Give a Little: How Your Small Donations Can Transform Our World by Wendy Smith--READ IN JAN '10
2. The Measure of Our Days: A Spiritual Exploration of Illness by Jerome Groopman--READ IN JAN '10
3. Over Here!: New York City During World War II by Lorraine B. Diehl--READ IN MAY 2010
4. Skies to Conquer: A Year in the Life of the Air Force Academy by Diana Jean Schermo--READ IN MAY 2010
5. My River Home: My Journey from the Gulf War to the Gulf of Mexico by Marcus Eriksen--READ IN JUNE 2010
6. Tough as Nails: One Woman's Journey Through West Point by Gail O'Sullivan Dwyer--READ IN JUNE 2010
7. Chasing Goldman Sachs by Suzanne McGee--READ IN JUNE 2010
8. The Council of Dads by Bruce Feiler
9. The Lost Art of Walking by Geoff Nicholson
10. Nine Weeks: A Teacher's Education in Army Basic Training by Rich Stowell

--Made in America by Claude Fischer
--When Everything Changed: The Amazing Journey of American Women from 1960 to the Present by Gail Collins
--Working at Play: A History of Vacations in the United States by Cindy Sondik Aron
--The Light Within: The Extraordinary Friendship of a Doctor and Patient Brought Together by Cancer by Lois M. Ramondetta
--Faith and Politics by John Danforth
--The Art of a Beautiful Game
--Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives by Nicholas A. Christakis
--Plain Honest Men: The Making of the American Constitution by Richard Beeman
--Bright-Sided by Barbara Ehrenreich
--Heart of Power by Blumenthal
--In a Time of War: The Proud and Perilous Journey of West Point's Class of 2002 by Bill Murphy
--The Great Good Place
--The Narcissism Epidemic
--Seven Pleasures
--Nine Lives
--Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose
-- Forgotten Patriots: The Untold Story of American Prisoners During the Revolutionary War by Edwin Burrows
--Eiffel's Tower by Jill Jonnes
--The Courage of Their Convictions by Peter Irons
--Outliers by Malcoln Gladwell
--Chaos Scenario by Bob Garfield
--Mouse Trap by Kevin Yee
--Mouse Under Glass by David Koenig
--More Mouse Tales by David Koenig
--Realityland by David Koenig

10lindapanzo
Editado: Sep 10, 2010, 12:37 pm

Category 8:
Food Mysteries--READ 9 OUT OF 10--finished on 7/12/10

1. Eggs in Purgatory by Laura Childs--READ IN FEB 2010
2. Apple Turnover Murder by Joanne Fluke-READ IN MARCH 2010
3. The Teaberry Strangler by Laura Childs--READ IN APRIL 2010
4. Glazed Murder by Jessica Beck--READ IN MAY 2010
5. State of the Onion by Julie Hyzy--READ IN MAY 2010
6. Eggs Benedict Arnold by Laura Childs--READ IN JUNE 2010
7. Hail to the Chef by Julie Hyzy--READ IN JULY 2010
8. Killer Crab Cakes by Livia J. Washburn--READ IN JULY 2010
9. Toast Mortem by Claudia Bishop--READ IN JULY 2010
10. Eggsecutive Orders by Julie Hyzy--READ IN JULY 2010

--Sucker Punch by Sammi Carter
--The Chocolate Pilot Plot by JoAnna Carl
--A Slice of Murder by Chris Cavender
--Cereal Killer by G.A. McKevett
--Latte Trouble by Cleo Coyle
--Carbs and Cadavers by J.B. Stanley
--Murder Melts in Your Mouth by Nancy Martin
--Farm Fresh Murder
--Town in a Blueberry Jam by B.B. Haywood
--I Scream, You Scream by Wendy Lyn Watson
--Sprinkle with Murder by Jenn MacKinlay
--Killer Mousse by Melinda Wells
--The 27-Ingredient Chili Con Carne Murders by Nancy Pickard
--The Case of the Roasted Onion by Claudia Bishop
--Fatally Frosted by Jessica Beck
--Sinister Sparkles by Jessica Beck
--the next by Lou Jane Temple

11lindapanzo
Editado: Sep 18, 2010, 6:29 pm

Category 9:
Days and Nights--READ 10 out of 10--category finished on 7/27/10

1. A Cold Day for Murder by Dana Stabenow--READ IN JAN '10
2. Saturday Morning Fever by Timothy & Kevin Burke--READ IN FEB '10
3. A Catered Birthday Party by Isis Crawford--READ IN MARCH '10
4. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon--READ IN APRIL '10
5. Night's Child by Maureen Jennings--READ IN MAY '10
6. Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger--READ IN JULY '10
7. Thursdays at Eight by Debbie Macomber--READ IN JULY '10
8. One Hundred Days of Solitude: Losing Myself and Finding Grace on a Zen Retreat by Jane Dobisz--READ IN JULY '10
9. A Cold Day in Paradise by Steve Hamilton--READ IN JULY '10
10. Terror on Tuesday by Ann Purser--READ IN JULY '10

--Saturday Night Dead by Richard Rosen
--An Hour Before Daylight by Jimmy Carter
--The Labor Day Murder by Lee Harris
--The Day Wall Street Exploded: A Story of America in its First Age of Terror by Beverly Gage
--The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
--One Day by David Nicholls
--Night Train to Lisbon
--Monday Mourning by Kathy Reichs
--Silent Night: The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce by Stanley Weintraub
--Day After Night by Anita Diamant
--Miss O'Dell: My Hard Days and Long Nights with The Beatles, The Stones, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, and the Women They Loved by Chris O'Dell
--Night and Day by Robert Parker
--The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs
--Weeping on Wednesday by Ann Purser
--The Saturday Morning Murder by Batya Gur
--Night and Day by Virginia Woolf

12lindapanzo
Editado: Oct 17, 2010, 4:58 pm

Category 10:
God and Religion--READ 10 OUT OF 10--CATEGORY COMPLETED ON OCT 17

1. Unveiled: The Hidden Lives of Nuns by Cheryl L. Reed--READ IN APRIL 2010
2. Becoming Friends: Worship, Justice, and the Practice of Christian Friendship by Paul Wadell--READ IN APRIL 2010
3. 90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story by Don Piper and Cecil Murphey--read in May 2010
4. Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality by Donald Miller--READ IN MAY 2010
5. America's Prophet by Bruce Feiler--READ IN AUGUST 2010
6. Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom--READ IN AUGUST 2010
7. The Cloister Walk by Kathleen Norris--READ IN AUGUST 2010
8. Searching for God Knows What by Donald Miller--READ IN SEPT '10
9. The Friendship of Women: A Spiritual Tradition by Joan Chittister--READ IN SEPT '10
10. Sundays in America: A Yearlong Road Trip in Search of Christian Faith by Suzanne Strempek Shea--READ IN OCT '10

--Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith by Kathleen Norris
--The Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose
--Finding Sanctuary: Monastic Steps for Everyday Life
--Unchristian
--The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything by James Martin
--Heaven by Lisa Miller
--Walking the Bible by Bruce Feiler
--Dakota: A Spiritual Geography by Kathleen Norris
--Spiritual Friendship by Allred
--Jesus: A 21st Century Biography by Paul Johnson
--Jesus Wars by Philip Jenkins
--The Faith Instinct by Nicholas Wade
--Secrets of a Prayer Warrior by Derek Prince
--Almost Catholic by Jon M. Sweeney

13lindapanzo
Editado: Nov 18, 2010, 3:38 pm

Bonus Category: Next in the Series--READ 20 out of 20--category finished on Nov 18

1. Fade Away by Harlan Coben--READ IN JAN '10
2. Death at La Fenice by Donna Leon--READ IN JAN '10
3. An Irish Country Village by Patrick Taylor--READ IN MARCH '10
4. Fantasy in Death by J.D. Robb--READ IN MARCH '10
5. Dead Renegade by Victoria Houston--READ IN MAY '10
6. Getting Old Is the Best Revenge by Rita Lakin--READ IN JUNE '10
7. Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich--READ IN JUNE '10
8. Dancers in Mourning by Margery Allingham--READ IN JUNE '10
9. The 9th Judgment by James Patterson--READ IN JUNE '10
10. The Lumby Lines by Gail Fraser--READ IN JULY '10
11. The September Society by Charles Finch--READ IN AUG '10
12. Death Without Tenure by Joanne Dobson--READ IN SEPT '10
13. Loco Motive by Mary Daheim--READ IN SEPT '10
14. Fatally Frosted by Jessica Beck--READ IN SEPT '10
15. Hand in Glove by Ngaio Marsh--READ IN OCT '10
16. The Chocolate Pirate Plot by JoAnna Carl--READ IN OCT '10
17. Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny-READ IN NOV '10
18. Indulgence in Death by J.D. Robb--READ IN NOV '10
19. Tragic Magic by Laura Childs--READ IN NOV '10
20. Stealing Lumby by Gail Fraser--READ IN NOV '10

14tymfos
Sep 11, 2010, 2:02 pm

Hi, Linda! Looks like I'm the first to find your new thread. I've got it starred.

15cyderry
Sep 11, 2010, 3:20 pm

I'm here too.

16dudes22
Sep 11, 2010, 7:57 pm

Me too!

17lindapanzo
Sep 11, 2010, 8:26 pm

Welcome all. Haven't been around much lately. We had front row White Sox tickets last night (got home at 1 am) and spent today visiting my sister and the kids.

I plan to curl up with a good book tonight. I'd been thinking about the Andrew Jackson bio but maybe something more readable, less heavy duty.

18lindapanzo
Sep 12, 2010, 9:38 pm

I'm about two-thirds of my way through American Lion, the Andrew Jackson bio. I need to get cracking on the presidential bio category.

So much political intrigue back then.

19lindapanzo
Sep 13, 2010, 5:21 pm

American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham

Thank goodness I finally finished this book, a biography of President Andrew Jackson, with an emphasis on his White House years. What a slog. It felt endless. I learned a lot about Jackson but, even so. Whew!!

After reading this, I have mixed feelings about Jackson. As is true with most people, inconsistencies and I saw good and bad things about him. Likewise, my views of this book were constantly changing.

The author did a terrific job, apparently, of unearthing newly-discovered letters, but he spent far, far too much time on some events, such as the Eaton Affair, and far too little on others, such as Jackson's slaveholding. He gave very little reason why Jackson acted as he did. Why did Jackson oppose the Bank?

Don't get me wrong, as I read through the presidents, I'm glad I read this book. I came away with much more knowledge about Jackson personally and about his White House years. I'm just glad to be moving on to Martin Van Buren.

20cmbohn
Sep 13, 2010, 6:43 pm

Wow, that is the Jackson bio I was planning on reading at some point, but it doesn't sound very encouraging. Maybe I should keep looking.

21lindapanzo
Sep 13, 2010, 6:48 pm

I was torn between reading the Meacham book and reading the H.W. Brands book. I'm thinking I should've gone with the Brands book.

The Meacham book touts that he had access to lots of Jackson and Jackson family letters. At times, it's gossipy but, in many ways, it didn't feel complete.

It had a big focus on Jackson's presidency, which is what I prefer, and on his "family" but very little on, say, the Battle of New Orleans.

At this point, I just want to move on, otherwise, I'd probably go back and re-read something. I still might read the American Presidents book on Jackson, or at least glance through it.

22sjmccreary
Sep 13, 2010, 7:12 pm

Linda, I had almost the exact same reaction to American Lion as you did. A good book, but I was glad to be done and not anxious to try another Jackson bio.

I stopped by the library today and picked up a book on impulse that reminded me of you, even though I'm not sure it's one you'd really want to read. Called Disaster!: A History of Earthquakes, Floods, Plagues, and Other Catastrophes by John Withington. It has short summaries of dozens of incidents. 19 chapters, each dealing with a different kind of disaster, so there won't be many details. A long index but, unfortunately, no bibliography. Anyway, I brought it home with me - thought it would be fun to browse and dip into here and there.

23lindapanzo
Sep 13, 2010, 7:38 pm

I've done a lot of ILL through the library catalog but, for the first time, a book I wanted wasn't shown so I went through Worldcat.

Sandy, did you ever read that William Henry Harrison book, Mr Jefferson's Hammer by Owens? That's the one I asked for. It's over thirty dollars so I'd hate to waste my money.

24sjmccreary
Sep 13, 2010, 9:16 pm

No, but it looks good. I hope you can get a copy without too much trouble, and I'm looking forward to your comments about it.

25lindapanzo
Sep 17, 2010, 11:33 pm

Loco Motive by Mary Daheim.

I've long enjoyed Mary Daheim's bed and breakfast series featuring innkeeper, Judith McMonigle Flynn, and her cousin, Renie. I think this is about book #25 in this long-running series. These are comfort reads and this one was no exception.

This one features a confusing set of characters and murder on a cross-country Amtrak train, though most of the action takes place in Montana. Very light-hearted, almost madcap in tone but, even til the end, I had a hard time keeping the characters (and the plot) straight.

Fun, as usual, but not one of the better books in this series.

26lindapanzo
Sep 19, 2010, 3:47 pm

Martin Van Buren by Ted Widmer

This entry in the American Presidents series on the life and presidency of our 8th president, Martin Van Buren, is one of the better, more interesting books in the series, I thought. I expect a presidential bio to put the president and his times in context, provide pre-presidential biography, talk about how he got there, what happened during his presidency, and finally, what happened afterwards and what it all meant.

Widmer does all of this admirably but, in a jarring way, he often ties the Van Buren presidency to modern life. It's odd to me to read about Yahoo searches and others in a bio of a 19th century president. Once I got used it it, it seemed to help draw parallels to more recent times. For example, how a moderate, like Van Buren, can seem like all things to all people but then, might seem like nothing to all people.

I wish more information was known about how Van Buren built the modern Democratic party, but apparently, not much is known. Interestingly, with his Free Soil party efforts, he also laid the foundation for the modern Republican party.

I like to read about Chicago history so it was interesting to me to learn that Van Buren was the first current or former American president to visit Chicago. He did so in June of 1842. Interestingly, on his way to Chicago, poor roads forced him to stop in Rochester, IL, where he spent the evening chatting, in a memorable way, with future president Abraham Lincoln.

27lindapanzo
Sep 19, 2010, 3:57 pm

Chicago Disasters by Bryan W. Alaspa

In theory, a book about the various disasters, natural or man-made, that have hit Chicago could well have been a great book. There are so many famous ones, such as the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 and the Our Lady of the Angels School fire in 1958 but quite a few others, even several that, as a lifelong Chicagoland resident and Chicago history buff, I had never heard of.

It was hard for me to get past the poor, cliche-filled writing, stilted language, and factual errors in this book. (Do people really use wikipedia as a genuine source of research?) This book sounded like an 8th grader's term paper.

If you're really and truly interested in Chicago history, you might consider this for its brief discussions of obscure Chicago disasters, such as the 1948 LaSalle Hotel fire, the 1954 Lake Michigan seiche (think tsunami in a smaller body of water) that killed a number of recreational fishermen, the 1919 blimp crash (landed on a Loop bank), or the 1950 Green Hornet trolley car crash.

Even so, it's tough to get past such things as a summary of the early Chicago Ft Dearborn massacre, in which 148 people were killed, including 86 adults and 12 kids. Or the fact that, on one page, the Green Hornet trolley was described as moderately full before the crash and then, on the next page, described as completely full when it crashed.

28lindapanzo
Editado: Sep 22, 2010, 12:44 pm

The Last Nine Innings by Charles Euchner

Using the nine innings of Game 7 of the 2001 World Series between the NY Yankees and the Arizona Diamondbacks, the author presents a very detailed, very technical, very analytical look at the inner workings of the game of baseball. I consider myself a huge baseball fan and love to learn about the game, but all the science etc in this book was too much for me at times.

It was very interesting but not always what you might call light reading.

29lindapanzo
Sep 26, 2010, 8:10 pm

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

I absolutely loved this look at the 1983 Chicago World's Fair and the mass murderer who was preying on young women in Chicago at the time. Chicago history buff that I am, I wish there'd been more on the Fair and less on Holmes but, even so, I'm thinking this one will probably go on my top 10 list for the year.

It was fascinating to read about the building of the Fair but what I really loved was learning about everyday life in Chicago in the 1890s. Great stuff!!

30RidgewayGirl
Sep 27, 2010, 12:55 pm

The Devil in the White City was a fantastic book. Although it felt like two books mashed together, both were so good it didn't matter. I liked the part about the landscape architect the most--I'm not too far from the Biltmore estate that distracted him.

31lindapanzo
Sep 27, 2010, 1:13 pm

#30 Frederick Law Olmsted? I would like to read A Clearing in the Distance.

32lindapanzo
Editado: Sep 27, 2010, 1:21 pm

Fatally Frosted by Jessica Beck

I really enjoy this cozy mystery series featuring North Carolina donut shop owner, Suzanne Hart. Likable characters and a somewhat interesting mystery.

This is the second in the series (after Glazed Murder)and I intend to continue with it. A third one is due out later this year. Sinister Sprinkles is the name of that one, I think.

33ivyd
Sep 27, 2010, 1:57 pm

>29 lindapanzo: Glad to see that you liked The Devil in the White City so much! It is one of those books that, after I read it, I recommended it to everyone I knew.

34lindapanzo
Sep 30, 2010, 1:14 pm

#33 Ivy, lately, except for The Devil in the White City, I've had a stretch of good, not great, books. The Larson book is among my favorites this year, though.

35lindapanzo
Sep 30, 2010, 1:15 pm

Searching for God Knows What by Donald Miller

After reading Donald Miller's Blue Like Jazz earlier this year, I thought I'd enjoy reading another Miller book so I picked this one up. It's got its moments but, in general, I think I liked Blue Like Jazz more.

This book focuses more on developing a relationship with God. Once again, he talks of his unhappiness with organized religion. This time, too, he is critical of bullet-point, religious formulas as well.

As in Blue Like Jazz, Miller's writing is thought-provoking though his writing style is casual. I'd recommend it but, if you do read it, at some point or other, you're likely to be offended.

36lindapanzo
Sep 30, 2010, 5:54 pm

The Friendship of Women: A Spiritual Tradition by Joan Chittister

This short, but insightful, book offers a lot of great comments about the friendship of modern day women, based on Biblical women.

She holds Biblical women up as models for what women value best in a friend, such as Veronica and her empathy, Elizabeth and her acceptance. Interesting stuff!! My only gripe is that I wish it were longer!!

37sjmccreary
Sep 30, 2010, 5:55 pm

#36 I wish it were longer - That's always a good sign!

38lindapanzo
Sep 30, 2010, 5:58 pm

I haven't seen all that many books about women's friendships and I certainly don't know much about women in the Bible so this was a good combination for me.

I'm now eager to finish up my religion category. My final one is about a woman who travels and the country, going to a different church every Sunday. She wrote a book awhile back about working in a bookstore and I liked her style. Sundays in America: A Yearlong Road Trip by Suzanne Strempek Shea.

39sjmccreary
Sep 30, 2010, 6:04 pm

That sounds interesting - looking forward to your reactions.

40lindapanzo
Sep 30, 2010, 6:18 pm

SEPTEMBER RECAP

In September, I read 15 books, putting me at 112 books read for the year so far. This puts me at a pace of about 150 books for the year, which is right about where I want to be.

1010 challenge. Of my 15 September reads, I read 14 books in September that counted towards my 1010 challenge. I read at least one book in each of my 7 unfinished categories plus the bonus "next in the series" category. I closed out my Cozy Mystery category shortly after Labor Day. At month's end, I have two categories with 9/10 read--baseball and God/religion--so I expect to close those two out soon.

So far, for 1010, I've read 85 of 100 in the main challenge and 14 of 20 in my next in the series bonus challenge, leaving me 21 left to go, in all.

My favorite book for the month was Erik Larson's book about the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, The Devil in the White City. My least favorite book was an obscure title called Chicago Disasters by Bryan W. Alaspa.

In September, for 1010, I read:

Cozy Mysteries--10 out of 10--finished on 9/8/10
--The War Against Miss Winter by Kathryn Miller Haines

Books and Reading--6 out of 10
--84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

Baseball Books--9 out of 10
--The Last Nine Innings by Charles Euchner
--Hard-Luck Harvey Haddix and the Greatest Game Ever Lost by Lew Freedman

Books About Chicago--7 out of 10
--The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

American Presidents--6 out of 10
--Martin Van Buren by Ted Widmer
--American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham

Books About Disasters--8 out of 10
--Chicago Disasters by Bryan W. Alaspa
--Nine Minutes, Twenty Seconds by Gary M. Pomerantz

General Nonfiction--10 out of 10--finished on 6/19/10

Food Mysteries--10 out of 10--finished on 7/12/10

Days and Nights--10 out of 10--finished on 7/27/10

God and Religion--9 out of 10
--The Friendship of Women: A Spiritual Tradition by Joan Chittister
--Searching for God Knows What by Donald Miller

Bonus Category: Next in the Series--14 out of 20
--Fatally Frosted by Jessica Beck
--Loco Motive by Mary Daheim
--Death Without Tenure by Joanne Dobson

41thornton37814
Sep 30, 2010, 6:27 pm

>36 lindapanzo: I had to go to Amazon.com to read the summary of that book. I noticed that everyone there is also giving the book high praise. It does sound interesting and will fit one of my 11 in 11 categories! It might turn up on my list next year.

42lindapanzo
Sep 30, 2010, 6:31 pm

Chittister has two books with the same title and a variation on the subtitle. Not sure if it's the same book or not. I got the one that was available on Kindle and plan to look back at that one.

Mine was subtitled "A Spiritual Tradition" and the other is subtitled "The Hidden Tradition of the Bible." I'm guessing it's the same book.

The author is a Benedictine nun. Seems to have quite a few interesting-sounding books.

43lindapanzo
Editado: Sep 30, 2010, 6:42 pm

Looking ahead, in October, I hope to close out both my Baseball and God and Religion categories and, hopefully, my Disaster and my Chicago categories, too.

Also hoping to make a dent in my two laggards, Books and Reading and also the American Presidents category.

I would love to have mostly "Next in the Series" books to finish the 1010 year. We'll have to see about that though.

I'm feeling optimistic now about finishing up in November. However, I have got several non-1010 books in mind for October, such as Morris Dickstein's Dancing in the Dark: A Cultural History of the Great Depression, a weather novel (about D-Day) called Turbulence, and the new book, The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise, just to name a few.

44DeltaQueen50
Sep 30, 2010, 10:34 pm

It's great to see you rate The Devil In White City so highly. My brother placed a copy in my hands last time I visited and told me I absolutely "Had" to read it. It will fit my Recommended category for next year's challenge perfectly.

45lindapanzo
Oct 2, 2010, 1:31 am

The Wagon and Other Stories from the City by Martin Preib

The author, a long-time hotel doorman and, more recently, a Chicago cop, writes beautifully about working in the city of Chicago, in the gritty, real side of the city. He works the wagon, removing dead bodies to the morgue, reflecting on death and life. At other times, he trains younger cops or complains about the ever-present squad car cameras.

A quick read but so wonderfully written that I won't soon forget some of his stories.

46ivyd
Oct 2, 2010, 3:00 pm

Re September Recap:

You're really zipping along on the challenge, Linda! It looks like you have some "heavy" books left, but can alternate with "next in the series" for your bonus.

I've been watching with interest the books you've read in your "God and Religion" category. The books I've read in the past few years have been weighted toward ancient beliefs and historical development, while the ones you've been reading seem more focused on spiritual discovery and life. I may have to try some of them...

47lindapanzo
Editado: Oct 6, 2010, 5:53 pm

The Case for Books by Robert Darnton

This is a disjointed collection of essays about the past, the present, and the future of books. The future parts are already dated (some essays are 10 years old). For me, only the essays about the past were somewhat interesting.

I'm sorry I wasted my time with this one. Far too much duplication and not all that interesting, frankly.

(I couldn't sleep last night so I picked this up in the middle of the night and it put me right to sleep so it has its good points, I guess.)

48lindapanzo
Oct 6, 2010, 5:55 pm

#46 Ivy, yes, you're right--most of my God/religion books have been about self-discovery. I do have an extremely long history of Christianity that I'd like to read but few of mine involve ancient beliefs or historical development.

I've got quite a few religion books left to go. Same is true for disaster books. Not sure which of those two to put into 11 in 11 for next year.

49ivyd
Oct 7, 2010, 1:45 pm

>48 lindapanzo: Maybe "Acts of God" to include both? Although some disasters are man-caused, I guess...

The one about a nun's life and The Friendship of Women are the two that particularly interest me, but I probably won't get to them until next year. Now that I'm keeping lists of what I read, I've found that I somewhat follow seasonal patterns. I read the most religion books in late winter / spring -- perhaps an instinctive reaction to Lent? Light books and long books in the summer. And in the fall, I'm more likely to read history, Shakespeare and denser books -- back to school? -- with a good sprinkling of mysteries. I'd never realized there was a pattern!

50lindapanzo
Oct 7, 2010, 2:52 pm

#49 I'll have to look at my own patterns, too, Ivy. I suspect I read more mysteries in the summer and then again around the holidays.

With 13 books left to go in the 1010 Challenge and another 6 in my "next in the series" bonus, I got to thinking about occupying my reading time from the end of 1010 (approx Thanksgiving) to 12/31/10.

Christmas books!!! Just realized that my next in the series in the Irish Country Doctor series is An Irish Country Christmas. Also realized that the annual Anne Perry Christmas special is due out soon. I think it's A Christmas Odyssey. There's a new collection of Christmas-themed mystery short stories called The Mysterious Christmas Bookshop. Leslie Meier and a few others have collaborated on a trio of Christmas-themed novellas called Gingerbread Cookie Murder.

I bet I could come up with a few more to occupy my holiday reading time!!

51ivyd
Oct 7, 2010, 3:18 pm

>50 lindapanzo: Christmas books sound like a lot of fun! If I have my facts straight, the Leslie Meier book includes a Hannah Swensen mystery by Joanne Fluke.

I suspect I'm going to be working on the 1010 up until the end of December. I do now have a plan for finishing it, and feel much more enthusiastic about it than I did a couple of weeks ago, but sometimes I get bored with my own plans... and then there are the books that just demand to be read right away that don't fit...

52thornton37814
Oct 7, 2010, 6:31 pm

I've got a stash of Holiday books that could very easily fill the rest of my Holiday category. A few of them will go in other categories so I'm probably going to be able to make a bit of a dent in that backlog! They are usually quick reads.

53sjmccreary
Oct 7, 2010, 10:00 pm

My family calls me a Scrooge because I dislike so many of the burdens of Christmas (shopping and decorating are the 2 big ones), and maybe they're right because I've never developed a liking for Christmas books. (With the possible exception of A Christmas Carol.) However, I LOVE Christmas movies (unless they feature Will Ferrell). So, while the rest of you are boosting your book totals for the year by reading Christmas novels, I'll be totally ignoring the books and watching "A Christmas Story" and "It's a Wonderful Life" again.

54cyderry
Oct 7, 2010, 11:40 pm

I think I'll be working on my 101020 challenge until the end of the year. With all the other projects that Ihave going on, reading time is cut.

55lindapanzo
Oct 9, 2010, 1:51 am

John Tyler by Gary May

This brief bio is the John Tyler entry in the American Presidents series. One of the better books in that series that I've read so far. It presents a fair and balanced look at the first vice-president to ascend to the presidency upon the death of the president, William Henry Harrison. Tyler is also the first president whose wife died while was in office and also the first president to marry while in office. Interestingly, after a veto, he was tossed out of his own party.

I would like to have read more about his efforts to save the Union but, overall, this is a good bio of an often-forgotten president, albeit one who died a traitor to his country.

On to James K. Polk, I think.

56lindapanzo
Oct 14, 2010, 7:06 pm

It's almost halfway through the month and I've read only four books all month.

I may not finish 1010 around Thanksgiving, as I'd planned, after all.

I can read a bit of Sundays in America but not too much in one sitting so, today, I started Ngaio Marsh's classic mystery Hand in Glove.

I may finally have some time to read this evening, now that my cousin, who was staying with us before and after our long weekend, has gone home.

57cyderry
Oct 14, 2010, 7:27 pm

I know how you feel. Thanksgiving doesn't seem like a possibility for me either.

58RidgewayGirl
Oct 15, 2010, 12:11 pm

Well, good. I prefer you all forced to stay right here and entertain me through the end of the year! No slinking off to leave me without diversion through the stressful holiday season.

59sjmccreary
Editado: Oct 15, 2010, 7:21 pm

#58 lol! I agree with Alison.

ETA, I do feel bad for you for suffering a reading slump. I'm just now climbing out of one myself and certainly don't wish one on anyone else.

60lindapanzo
Oct 16, 2010, 2:01 am

#59 Lately, even when I feel like reading, I'm too tired to do so. Saw a fabulous local professional theater version of a A Chorus Line tonight but then came home and crashed.

Sundays in America could end up being a top 10 book for me this year but it's slow going and not something I can devour.

61ivyd
Oct 16, 2010, 2:29 pm

>56 lindapanzo:-60 I'm very sorry that real life has been beating you up, Linda, but you're still in really good shape to finish your challenge and your bonus!

I too was feeling really discouraged a couple of weeks ago with my measly 7 books in September, but I'm doing better this month. I think I have a good chance of finishing my 1010 Challenge by the end of the year, but it may be close, and I've abandoned the idea of completing a bonus.

62lindapanzo
Oct 17, 2010, 4:56 pm

Sundays in America: A Yearlong Road Trip in Search of Christian Faith by Suzanne Strempek Shea

This book, detailing the author's visits during a year-long journey to a different Christian church around the U.S. every weekend, is easily one of my favorite books of the year. My first 5-star book in awhile. For me, truly an amazing book.

I've actually met the author at a local library book signing a few years ago. Like me, she was raised Catholic, is of Polish-American descent, and is about the same age as me (late 40s). Earlier, I read her book Shelf Life about working in a bookstore and enjoyed that so I figured to like this one. More than that, I loved it.

What a journey she made!! From one Easter to the next, she visited Christian churches of all kinds, from the strictest to the most liberal, all across the country though more are in the Northeast as she is from Massachusetts. From the smallest--a Las Vegas church had only 4 or 5 attendees one Sunday--to the largest 20,000 person mega-church. From famous pastors such as Joel Osteen and Rick Warren to complete unknowns. She met former President Jimmy Carter and also went to singer Al Green's church in Memphis, though he wasn't there that weekend.

Some church/services were quite unique, I thought. A cowboy church in Colorado, I think it was. A silent service at a Quaker church in Boston. She attended a foot-washing ceremony at a Jehovah's Witness service. Chapel at the U.S. Military Academy on Memorial Day weekend.

As she acknowledged, every single one has its good points. I learned so much from this book. It was truly eye-opening.

It's not perfect and, actually, I'd rate it at about 4.8 stars. I wish the author provided a bit more background about the larger religion of the church attended in a given week, beyond the basic number of members of that faith and numbers of churches. She is also quick to provide her opinions, with a preference for inclusive faiths and some criticisms of less inclusive faiths (ones that bar and/or make sinners of people of other colors or sexual preferences and of churches that focus on fear or hatred, rather than love). Personally, I tend to agree with that point of view so it didn't bother me but I realize that some could be offended.

It's not a book that can be read quickly. I found I'd read about several weekly church visits of no more than a month or so, per day. Highly recommended!! A great way to conclude my 1010 God and religion category for this year.

63lindapanzo
Oct 17, 2010, 5:00 pm

I've now finished 5 of my 10 categories for 1010.

64lindapanzo
Oct 17, 2010, 5:07 pm

Next up for 1010: I've started reading Disaster!: A History of Earthquakes, Floods, Plagues, and Other Catastrophes by John Withington, which Sandy told me about. It's got a brief (2 or 3 page discussion) about a large number of disasters so, once again, this is a book I will probably read in short bursts.

I think this one will lead me to a number of disaster books for upcoming years.

65lindapanzo
Oct 17, 2010, 5:07 pm

Este mensaje fue borrado por su autor.

66lindapanzo
Oct 17, 2010, 5:25 pm

#61 Thanks, Ivy. I think I will aim to finish the main 1010 challenge and just throw in a "next in the series" bonus book, occasionally, when I need a break. My other breaks are coming with non-1010 books. For instance, right now, I'm also reading the non-1010 book, A Week at the Airport: A Heathrow Diary by Alain de Botton. It would've counted as a 1010 book but I've long since finished the general nonfiction category.

Anyway, if I look at it that way, only 11 books to go!!

67lindapanzo
Oct 20, 2010, 5:40 pm

Hand in Glove by Ngaio Marsh

Every once in awhile, I like to pick up an old mystery from the "golden age of mysteries." Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Dorothy L. Sayers, just to name a few.

This book, a later Ngaio Marsh, is terrific. As is often true, not so great in character development but oh, the so well-plotted.

Very enjoyable!!

68gennyt
Oct 20, 2010, 5:46 pm

Of the 'golden agers' Marsh is one I have not yet sampled at all. Is it worth starting at the beginning with hers or can you read them in any order? Glad you enjoyed this read anyway.

69lindapanzo
Editado: Oct 20, 2010, 5:53 pm

#68 I always enjoy the Marsh books but read them so infrequently. I think you'd be fine reading them in any order.

In this one, the new typist woman at the house in question is an old family friend of Superintendent Alleyn and his artist wife, Troy. I remember Alleyn himself from the other books but recalled nothing whatsoever of his family.

I think there are only a small handful of Marsh books I haven't read so I may try to get to all of them at some point soon.

UPDATED: Of the 32 Roderick Alleyn mystery novels by Ngaio Marsh, Hand in Glove is #22. I have three more yet to read. Also haven't read her book of short stories.

70ivyd
Oct 21, 2010, 3:18 pm

>69 lindapanzo: I had no idea there were so many Superintendent Alleyn books! I don't think I've read more than 15 or maybe 20, mostly in the late 70s. The typist / family friend sounds vaguely familiar, but I can't be sure. I tend to forget mysteries really quickly after I've read them, but I also really hate it when I get halfway through a book and suddenly remember the book and know the solution. I have Ngaio Marsh tentatively on next year's list, but I don't know how to figure out if I've read them before.

71lindapanzo
Oct 22, 2010, 2:27 pm

Three Strikes You're Dead by Robert Goldsborough

Long ago, I read Goldsborough's continuation of the Nero Wolfe books. More recently, I heard about his 1930s Chicago series featuring police beat reporter, Snap Malek. This somewhat hardboiled book is the first book in that series.

I enjoyed it, though it's different from my usual. Lots of 1930s Chicago background color (so much so that I am counting it as "Chicago book" for my 1010 challenge). I really liked that information. The mystery itself is ok.

I always liked Malek's fictional interactions with famous people. He has dinner with Helen Hayes, the actress, for instance. He's invited down to a Georgia prison to interview Al Capone. Cubs pitcher Dizzy Dean figures prominently in the story as does future Chicago mayor, Richard J. Daley (the first mayor, not the current one).

Quite enjoyable. Hard to find but I will seek out others in this series.

72lindapanzo
Editado: Nov 11, 2010, 5:07 pm

Right now, 10 books left to finish my main 1010 challenge and 5 more to finish my 20 book "next in the series" challenge.

Last 1010 books for 2010:

Books and Reading:
--Chapter & Hearse by Lorna Barrett--finished on Oct. 27
--My Reading Life by Pat Conroy--finished on Nov 9

--Running the Books: The Adventures of an Accidental Prison Librarian by Avi Steinberg

Baseball Books:
--When the Game Changed: An Oral History of Baseball's True Golden Age: 1969--1979 by George Castle--finished on Nov 2

Books About Chicago:
--The Chicago Way by Michael Harvey--finished on Oct 24

American Presidents:
--Polk: The Man Who Transformed the Presidency and America by Walter R. Borneman
--Zachary Taylor by John S. D. Eisenhower
--The President's Game

--Millard Fillmore by Robert Rayback

Books About Disasters:
--The White Cascade: The Great Northern Railway Disaster and America's Deadliest Avalanche by Gary Krist
--Hunting Nature's Fury by Roger Hill--finished on Oct 25

Bonus Category: Next in the Series:
--Wicked Witch Murder by Leslie Meier
--Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny--finished on Nov 6
--Indulgence in Death by J.D. Robb
--Stealing Lumby
--The Chocolate Pirate Plot by JoAnna Carl--finished on Oct 30

73lindapanzo
Oct 25, 2010, 12:36 pm

The Chicago Way by Michael Harvey

wraps up my Chicago books category

I read a lot of mysteries and lots of mystery series. I almost always read mystery series in order.

However, with Michael Harvey's gritty mystery series set in Chicago, featuring former cop, Michael Kelly, I've read these out of order, 2, then 3, and now 1.

Why? Book 2 had a great hook: the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 played a key role. Book 3 had a good hook, too--the 1977 Chicago El crash. Book 1 had no such hook and so, I read it only for completeness, and to see where the story came from.

This first one was not bad but book numbers 2 and 3 are much, much better. I'm glad I read it but glad, too, that Harvey's books have improved so much as the series continues.

74lindapanzo
Oct 25, 2010, 12:44 pm

Only 4 categories--books/reading, baseball, disasters, and American presidents--left to finish!!

75RidgewayGirl
Oct 25, 2010, 12:47 pm

That's why I like to begin mystery series with one of the later books. If the author's any good, not having read the earlier ones shouldn't impact my enjoyment and authors should get better over time, right? I don't want to miss a good author because I read the lackluster first book first. Once I'm hooked, I'll enjoy that earlier book. I think that I would never have followed Ian Rankin's Rebus series or Peter Robinson had I begun at the beginning.

I have The Fifth Floor around here somewhere. I'll have to find it.

76lindapanzo
Oct 26, 2010, 1:48 pm

Hunting Nature's Fury: A Storm Chaser's Obsession With Tornadoes, Hurricanes, and Other Natural Disasters by Roger Hill

I read a lot of disaster books and this story of veteran storm chaser, Roger Hill, was one of the more exciting disaster books I've read. Hill, the co-owner of a storm chaser tour company, has seen more than 400 tornadoes and he has great knowledge of tornadoes and their forecasts.

The storm-chasing parts of this book, both tornadoes and hurricanes, were interesting but the science parts, not so much.

I also was bothered by the glee shown by the storm chasers and their tour clients when tornadoes do develop. Granted, it mentions at times that he has sympathy for the families who lose their lives or their homes due to the tornadoes but there's very little of that here. More of a "we raced through town, knowing that the houses we saw would not be there when we drove back" kind of attitude.

77ivyd
Oct 26, 2010, 1:53 pm

>76 lindapanzo: This sounds like an appropriate book for your current weather conditions! Hope you are riding out the storm in comfort!

78lindapanzo
Oct 26, 2010, 2:23 pm

#77 Ugh. Just heard about some bad news, locally, about the storm. Sent you a link to the story. Hope the victim is ok.

I was thinking about that as I was walking into the office as I heard trees cracking during an exceptionally strong gust of wind. I was imagining a "poor Linda, she was in the wrong place at the wrong time" kind of thing. I haven't moved that fast in a long time.

79sjmccreary
Oct 26, 2010, 11:51 pm

#78 Well, it's been 9 hours since you confirmed that you were safe. I hope you still are.

Great progress on the challenge - do you still think you'll be finished by Thanksgiving?

80lindapanzo
Editado: Oct 27, 2010, 6:08 pm

#79 With all that wind, all of our leaves blew away.

Turns out that the local woman impaled by the tree branch (picture a small tree trunk though) probably will be ok. Pretty amazing story. She's a grade school art teacher and asked them to save the tree limb so that she could use it for an art project.

As for me, I'm thinking I'll probably finish around Thanksgiving weekend or maybe a bit after.

The only fly in the ointment is that I've got a lot of general nonfiction-type books I really want to get to and I filled that category long, long ago. Trying to hold off and just read one of those every time I finish a few 1010 books.

One such book that is screaming to be read is Authors of the Storm. I need to check it out and see if it could count for my disaster category.

UPDATE: Hmmmm, the Amazon product review has the word "disaster" in it so maybe...

81ivyd
Oct 27, 2010, 7:21 pm

I'm glad to hear that you survived the storm without incident -- and that the art teacher survived!

You seem to be moving along really nicely on your challenge. I've also been putting on hold some of the books I'm really eager to read in order to finish. I'm thinking that I'll probably make it, but not by Thanksgiving, and I've pretty much abondoned the idea of completing a Bonus category.

82lindapanzo
Oct 28, 2010, 12:50 pm

Chapter and Hearse by Lorna Barrett

The Booktown cozy series, of which this is the 4th entry, is among my favorite current cozy series. I love them. This one was "only ok" as far as I'm concerned and it's probably my least favorite in the series, so far.

(Of course, I will continue with it.)

The sleuth is Tricia Miles, owner of a New Hampshire mystery bookstore, Haven't Got a Clue. The town is called Booktown because bookstores are its claim to fame.

All the usual characters are here but something was lacking this time. It seemed a bit dreary and lackluster to me. Even so, I'd recommend it. If you haven't read Lorna Barrett before, I wouldn't start with this one, though.

83lindapanzo
Oct 28, 2010, 12:55 pm

#81 Ivy, things seem to be moving along. I think the three American Presidents books might take a bit of time (my bio of James K. Polk is pretty long) but the others shouldn't be too bad.

I've got 7 left in the main challenge and 5 in the bonus now. I'd hoped to have 10 left to read in November and that still might happen. I've got a long train ride downtown tomorrow (to go to the opera) so I will have plenty of reading time then and this weekend.

84lindapanzo
Oct 30, 2010, 1:02 am

Nerdier than I thought.




Not too surprising as to why...



85DeltaQueen50
Editado: Oct 30, 2010, 2:48 pm

Thanks Linda for the link to the Nerd Quiz. I just took it and I got the rating "Cool History/Lit Geek"! On the first part I was classed as a "Nerd Wannabe".

86ivyd
Oct 30, 2010, 3:15 pm

Thanks! I posted my results on my thread: I'm also a "Nerd Wannabe" and an "Uber Cool History/Lit Geek."

87sjmccreary
Oct 30, 2010, 7:26 pm

How fun. My results are the same as Ivy's.

88lindapanzo
Oct 31, 2010, 1:42 pm

The Chocolate Pirate Plot by JoAnna Carl

I like this cozy series set at a homemade chocolate store in western Michigan, along Lake Michigan. This one was a bit atypical in that it had a more nautical theme and very little of the "action" took place at the chocolate story.

Enjoyable, though not the best one in the series. Or the worst.

89lindapanzo
Oct 31, 2010, 2:18 pm

OCTOBER RECAP

In October, I had a slower than usual reading month, reading only 12 books, which puts me at 124 books read for the year so far. This puts me close to a pace of about 150 books for the year, which is right about where I want to be.

1010 challenge. Of my 12 October reads, I read 10 books that counted towards my 1010 challenge. I finished two more categories in October: Chicago books and also God and Religion. Four categories yet to finish, plus the bonus.

So far, for 1010, I've read 93 of 100 in the main challenge and 16 of 20 in my next in the series bonus challenge, leaving me 11 left to go, in all.

My favorite book for the month was Sundays in America: A Yearlong Road Trip in Search of Christian Faith by Suzanne Strempek Shea. No duds this month.

In October, for 1010, I read:

Cozy Mysteries--10 out of 10--finished on 9/8/10

Books and Reading--8 out of 10
--The Case for Books by Robert Darnton
--Chapter & Hearse by Lorna Barrett

Baseball Books--9 out of 10

Books About Chicago--10 out of 10--finished on 10/24/10
--The Wagon and Other Stories from the City by Martin Preib
--Three Strikes You're Dead by Robert Goldsborough
--The Chicago Way by Michael Harvey

American Presidents--7 out of 10
--John Tyler by Gary May

Books About Disasters--9 out of 10
--Hunting Nature's Fury: A Storm Chaser's Obsession With Tornadoes, Hurricanes, and Other Natural Disasters by Roger Hill

General Nonfiction--10 out of 10--finished on 6/19/10

Food Mysteries--10 out of 10--finished on 7/12/10

Days and Nights--10 out of 10--finished on 7/27/10

God and Religion--10 out of 10--finished on 10/17/10
--Sundays in America: A Yearlong Road Trip in Search of Christian Faith by Suzanne Strempek Shea

Bonus Category: Next in the Series--16 out of 20
--Hand in Glove by Ngaio Marsh
--The Chocolate Pirate Plot by JoAnna Carl

90DeltaQueen50
Oct 31, 2010, 2:26 pm

Looks like you will be celebrating the conclusion of your 1010 Challenge sometime in November. Perfect timing - you can enjoy a small break before diving into the 1111 Challenge!

91lindapanzo
Oct 31, 2010, 2:36 pm

#90 I hope so. I'd like to read some Christmas mysteries and just whatever I feel like in December.

92lindapanzo
Nov 3, 2010, 1:03 pm

When the Game Changed: An Oral History of Baseball's True Golden Age by George Castle

This is an interesting look at baseball during the years the author calls the "true golden age" of baseball, 1969 to 1979. I don't usually like oral histories but he weaves the oral comments together well.

(Normally, the oral history part includes interviews with the author but this has more in the way of interviews the author found.)

The author, a Cubs fan, has a lot of good stories to tell, too, from Wrigley Field during the 1969-1979 period.

Definitely recommended to the baseball fan.

93lindapanzo
Nov 7, 2010, 12:55 am

Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny

Louise Penny's Three Pines mystery series is my favorite current mystery series and, while I didn't care for the emphasis on archeology in this one, I believe that this one might well be the best so far. Definitely one of my favorite books of the year.

It's three stories in one. The main story involves the murder of an amateur archeologist in Quebec City. Secondary stories involve what can only be called a devastating police disaster or massacre, and, as is usual for these books, an investigation in the small Quebec village of Three Pines, taking a second look at the events of a previous book in the series.

Penny's writing style is masterful and her descriptions of winter in Quebec are absolutely stunning.

This book is highly recommended, though it's essential to read the books in this series in order.

94lindapanzo
Nov 10, 2010, 12:46 am

My Reading Life by Pat Conroy

Without a doubt, Pat Conroy's My Reading Life is my favorite book this year. I'd give it far more than 5 stars, if I could.

I expected that he'd talk about the influences on his reading life and he does that, talking about his mother, favorite teachers etc. I also expected that he'd talk about favorite books and he does that, too. This book makes me want to rush right out and re-read Gone with the Wind, and pick up and read War and Peace and Look Homeward, Angel for the first time.

No, it's more the way he writes about books and reading and and writing that makes me want to buy dozens of copies of this book and give them to all of my family and friends who are readers.

The next time I'm in a reading slump, this is the book to pick up and start reading on a random page. Though I just read the Kindle version, I expect to go out and buy a regular book copy of it, then look it over and start jotting down book ideas and noting all the great book quotes.

I wish I were as well-read as Pat Conroy, but then again, I haven't read 200 pages a day since my freshman year of high school, as he has.

It was everything I expected, and then some. I don't think I can put into words how truly terrific I thought this book is. Highly recommended!!

95thornton37814
Nov 10, 2010, 4:12 pm

>94 lindapanzo: I'm so glad to hear the book is really good. I just ordered it earlier today for the Lease Book program at our library. We debated whether we thought it would get checked out enough since it is non-fiction. Most of the lease books we order are fiction. We finally decided that there were enough of us librarians that were interested in reading it that it ought to check out enough to make us not regret our purchase!

96lindapanzo
Nov 10, 2010, 4:45 pm

At our library every month, there's a place to drop off your book withdrawal slip, or whatever you call it, and you can win a book or two. Last month's prize was a copy of the Conroy book but I didn't win.

Can't say I never win since I won the $25 Uno's gift card for the summer reading club but I never win the monthly book drawings.

97lindapanzo
Nov 12, 2010, 12:37 pm

Polk: The Man Who Transformed the Presidency and America by Walter R. Borneman

President James K. Polk, our 11th president, was one of our least-known great/near great presidents. In this excellent biography, possibly the best presidential bio I've read since David McCullough's John Adams, I got to know him a whole lot better.

Polk accomplished what he set out to do. One key area was the acquisition of territory in the west, California, the Oregon Territory, among others. The most interesting parts of this book, I thought, dealt with this topic.

Polk also presided over the Mexican-American War (who knew that there were Whig generals and Democrat generals?) and strengthened the presidency, in terms of war declarations and others.

Interestingly, he died soon after he left office. I think he had a post-presidency of 119 days. His widow survived him by over 40 years.

This is quite a fascinating book. Highly recommended!!

(After a brief interlude with a mystery or two, it's on to #12, Zachary Taylor, for me.)

98lindapanzo
Nov 12, 2010, 12:45 pm

Finishing the James K. Polk book leaves me with 4 books left til I finish the main 1010 challenge: two presidential bios, one book about books/reading, and one book about a disaster.

Three more books to go, as well, in my next in the series bonus. I expect to finish the bonus before I finish the challenge.

99cmbohn
Nov 12, 2010, 4:49 pm

Now I'm going to have to add the Polk book to my TBR list. I have to admit that I know very little about him, so it should be a good read.

100lindapanzo
Nov 12, 2010, 5:12 pm

I'll probably get through Zachary Taylor quickly but I think that the Millard Fillmore bio might be quite good, too.

101RidgewayGirl
Nov 12, 2010, 8:29 pm

I never thought I'd meet someone excited about a Millard Fillmore biography. That'll be a doorstopper!

102lindapanzo
Nov 13, 2010, 2:03 am

Indulgence in Death by J.D. Robb

A typical Robb book though this one is slower to get started as Dallas and Roarke are on vacation in Ireland. All of the characters I like are back and my favorite, Peabody, seems to be doing a bit more on her own.

Interesting twist this time. If you like the J.D. Robb books, you'll like this one.

103lindapanzo
Nov 13, 2010, 2:15 am

#101 Yeah, I do get excited about odd books.

The Millard Fillmore book will probably be my last 1010 book of the year so I'll be eager to finish it and dabble in holiday mysteries and other fun stuff for the rest of the year.

104ivyd
Nov 13, 2010, 2:26 am

>102 lindapanzo: I do like them. I almost bought it today when I was at the bookstore buying 1 book for a gift (yeah, sure -- it ended up being about 10 books for gifts, some for Christmas, plus that Irish Country Christmas book you were talking about).

>97 lindapanzo: Your great review almost makes me want to read the book about Polk. I know almost nothing. When my sister and I used to study the pictures in the encyclopedia of all the Presidents (through Ike at the time) and the First Ladies, we didn't think either he or his wife looked like they were very nice. The acquisition of the Oregon Territory does interest me, too. I'm going to keep it in mind for next year...

105lindapanzo
Nov 13, 2010, 2:30 am

Ivy, what are you doing up at this hour? I should talk...I'm getting up in 6 hours.

Between the Polk bio and that disaster book about the avalanche, I'll finally start to learn something about the Pacific Northwest. Oh and the second Lumby book, too.

Once I finish 1010, I want to read the Irish Country Christmas and some Christmas myteries, too. I've got a new Christmas short story collection. Christmas at the Mysterious Bookshop by Otto Penzler, I think. The new Anne Perry Christmas novella, too.

106thornton37814
Nov 13, 2010, 9:29 am

I'm looking forward to beginning some of my Christmas reads as well. I have several lined up, not just in my holiday category, but in some of the others as well. I think I'm adding the Otto Penzler book to my wish list. It won't fit my categories this time, but it sounds like a fun collection of short stories!

107ivyd
Nov 13, 2010, 3:04 pm

>105 lindapanzo:

You'll probably end up knowing more than I do! It's funny that living here, I think I know a lot about it... and I do, except that much of it is details and odds and ends, and the bigger picture is sometimes missing. I really have only a general idea about the politics of the acquisition -- the desire to expand the US across the continent and the need to add us as a free state as the Civil War approached. But I know a good section of the Oregon Trail, have many times been to Seaside where Lewis and Clark reached the Pacific, have seen the jail where General U.S. Grant was jailed for drunkenness, could show you Chief Joseph's summer camping grounds and where one of the last Indian raids occurred at Dead Man's Pass... maybe I should try to fill in some of the blanks next year...

(It wasn't so late here. But I rarely get on the computer in the evening -- that's my reading time.)

108lindapanzo
Nov 15, 2010, 12:31 am

Zachary Taylor by John S.D. Eisenhower

This biography of our 12th president, nicknamed Old Rough and Ready, is one of the short American Presidents biographies. It was okay but spent far too much time on Taylor's military career and far too little on his time as president. Admittedly, since he was in office for only 16 months before he unexpectedly died and since his papers were destroyed by Union soldiers during the Civil War, maybe the author didn't have much to go on.

A lifelong soldier, Taylor was the first person elected president who did not hold another public office first. During Dolley Madison's funeral, Taylor also coined the phrase "First Lady" to refer to the wife of the president.

The author spends a too short period speculating about "what if?" Though Taylor was a Southerner and a slave owner, he also opposed the admission of new slave states. The author speculates that we may have avoided the Civil War had Taylor lived.

This is a decent presidential biography. Not the best American Presidents series book I've read but certainly not the worst.

109lindapanzo
Editado: Nov 18, 2010, 3:41 pm

I'm now 5 books away from finishing both my 1010 challenge and my 20 book "next in the series" bonus. After reading two mid-19th century presidential bios in a week, I've had a bit of a change in plans for finishing that category. I still hope to read the Millard Fillmore bio this year but not right away.

Here's what I'm planning to read to finish my 1010 challenge:

--A Novel Bookstore by Laurence Cosse (for my books and reading category)
--What the Heck Are You Up to, Mr. President? by Kevin Mattson (for my American Presidents category)
--The White Cascade: The Great Northern Railway Disaster and America's Deadliest Avalanche by Gary Krist (for my disasters category)
--Tragic Magic by Laura Childs (for my next in the series bonus)--finished on Nov 16
--Stealing Lumby by Gail Fraser (for my next in the series bonus))--finished on Nov 18

110cyderry
Nov 15, 2010, 6:28 pm

If you don't finish by the end of the month (doubtful - I know you will) my December TIOLI may help.

111lindapanzo
Editado: Nov 15, 2010, 6:39 pm

#110 Good to know.

I'm hoping to spend my December reading Christmas fiction, Fillmore, Pierce, and Buchanan presidential bios, and ER books I still need to review.

Plus, whatever else strikes my fancy, most likely things that won't fit into 11 in 11.

(Yes, I think your TIOLI challenge will help me out.)

112RidgewayGirl
Nov 15, 2010, 6:56 pm

Hmmm, given that there's everything else, surely there's a series of Christmas cozies, each featuring a different American President, who solves a crime aided by either the first lady, a supreme court justice or the first pet.

113lindapanzo
Nov 15, 2010, 7:09 pm

#112 If there's isn't, there oughta be. I know of the Julie Hyzy presidential chef cozy series. There's also the Abigail Adams mystery series.

114lindapanzo
Nov 17, 2010, 12:31 am

Tragic Magic by Laura Childs

I love the tea shop series by Laura Childs. I like the Cackleberry Club series by Laura Childs. This scrapbooking series, also by Laura Childs, not so much. It's got all of the cozy elements I like but, somehow, they don't add up for me.

As usual, this 2009 entry in the scrapbooking series is set in New Orleans, this time, with a focus on a haunted house. It was okay. Hoping the next one is better.

115thornton37814
Nov 17, 2010, 2:40 pm

I haven't read the last few in the scrapbooking series. I'm with you -- LOVE the tea shop ones; like at least the first installment in Cackleberry Club (need to read the next one when I can count it in a challenge next year); I just don't really like the scrapbooking ones that much. It's something with the characters.

116lindapanzo
Nov 18, 2010, 4:56 am

#115 I can't quite put my finger on why I don't care for the scrapbooking ones. I like the sleuth and her best bud, Ava, and the obligatory cop boyfriend. Nice setting (New Orleans) and good enough secondary characters. I learn something about a topic of which I know only a little (my mother is an avid card stamper so I have heard a bit about some of these things).

With this series, I always get a "here's who the guilty party is but I won't explain why" sense from the author.

No doubt I'll keep reading them but just not as soon as they come out.

117thornton37814
Nov 18, 2010, 12:39 pm

Carmela and Ava aren't bad, it's the ex-husband that gets on my nerves (not to mention his name, which I can't think of right now off the top of my head -- Shamus or something like that). Oh, well . . . I still have a few sitting in my to be read boxes, but I've just not been inspired to pick them up. Maybe I'll get around to them one of these days.

118lindapanzo
Nov 18, 2010, 3:36 pm

Stealing Lumby by Gail Fraser

Finishes my bonus "next in the series" category

It's been a few months since I visited the fictional town of Lumby, set in the "northwest" but reading it felt like visiting with old friends. A charming and heartwarming look at a quirky little town which, at times, even brought a tear to my eye.

In this second in the series, a painting called "Barns of Lumby," one of the most famous paintings in the U.S. is stolen while travelling between museums, bringing worldwide attention to Lumby. The reclusive artist spent time in Lumby 50 years earlier, painting the barns and having an affair with a local woman.

Really enjoyable. I'm going to get the third one and read it soon. Highly recommended!!

119sjmccreary
Nov 18, 2010, 4:40 pm

Hi, Linda - I'm still catching up on the threads I've fallen behind in lately. I figured by now you would have completed your challenge - it's almost Thanksgiving, after all! Your presidential bios sound good and make me anxious to pick up another one before the year is over. And your synopsis on the Lumby book reminds me of The Bridges of Madison County. I'm hoping to begin the Lumby series soon - December or January.

I'm glad I made it back here in time to watch you finish the challenge - do you have a target date in mind?

120lindapanzo
Nov 18, 2010, 4:44 pm

#119 Sandy, I am hoping to finish by the end of the month. I had expected that I'd finish right around Thanksgiving weekend.

The disaster book (about an avalanche) and the novel about books are both pretty long but surely I can read 3 books in 12 days (including 6 weekend days/days off).

121ivyd
Nov 18, 2010, 8:41 pm

re Stealing Lumby: Glad to see that you enjoyed it! I got 3 or 4 pages into it last night and then decided I really ought to go to bed before I got involved... I'm looking forward to reading it tonight. I think "delightful" and "uplifting" were Cheli's adjectives for the series. That's just what I need after the 2 war books (one of which I haven't reviewed yet)!

122lindapanzo
Nov 18, 2010, 9:17 pm

#121 I ordered the third one. Less than half the price of the Kindle version, on sale. I may read it over the holiday weekend.

Have you ever read the Jan Karon series? I'm wondering whether I might like that one, too. I've got the first one but, even after a few years, haven't gotten to it yet.

Also hope to get to another Irish Country Doctor series book.

123cbl_tn
Nov 18, 2010, 10:40 pm

I went to a huge charity book sale this evening where you buy a fairly large cardboard box and fill it with as many books as will fit. I grabbed both Stealing Lumby and An Irish Country Christmas for my box. I have the first Lumby book and didn't manage to fit it into my 1010 challenge. I'll have to find room for it in my 11 in 11 challenge. I really liked the first of the Irish Country books, and I was excited to find this one.

124dudes22
Nov 19, 2010, 4:18 pm

>122 lindapanzo: - I've read all the Jan Karon Mitford series and I think if you like Lumby, you'll like Mitford. I actually started with the Mitford series and then found the Lumby series for my sister ( who nicely gives them back to me when she's finished.) I'm hoping to get to #2 next year.

I've got a couple of the Irish Country Doctor books on the shelf also and hope to fit at lest one of them in next year also.

125lindapanzo
Nov 19, 2010, 4:40 pm

#124 I will give them a try. Are these Mitford ones religious?

Last night, I started reading the book I planned to read for my final American Presidents category entry. Put the Bears game on, got distracted, spotted a different book involving American Presidents and started reading that one, instead.

The White House Doctor, about a Filipino American woman doctor in the Navy, who became the doctor to George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, is fascinating.

If these opening lines don't lure you in, I don't know what will.

"I never slept with the president. I did sleep with the former president. In fact, I slept with three of them, all at once, on Air Force One. Actually, it was more like a slumber party, which sounds even more bizarre."

126ivyd
Nov 19, 2010, 5:46 pm

I haven't read the Jan Mitford Karon series. I've thought it sounded good, though.

I'm somewhere past halfway on Stealing Lumby and really enjoying it. It's even better than the first one, I think!

Question: I picked up Irish Country Christmas last week, thinking it would be nice to read at Christmastime. But do you think I should read the earlier books (two of them, I think) first?

127lindapanzo
Editado: Nov 19, 2010, 5:52 pm

#126 I seem to read about one per year (or maybe every 18 months). I think you could pick up on the characters pretty easily.

IIRC, there's an older doctor, the younger doctor, the housekeeper. I don't remember any names.

Amazon has the third Lumby book on sale for $5 or $6. Mine should arrive tomorrow. Probably too late for the long bus ride to Wrigley Field for the football game though. I will probably take From Altoids to Zima with me then.

128dudes22
Nov 19, 2010, 8:50 pm

>125 lindapanzo: I wouldn't call them religous even though the main character is named "Father Tim", a rector from the town of Mitford. It's more about the comings and goings around town and who better to be involved in all the going ons around town than the town rector?

129pammab
Nov 19, 2010, 11:12 pm

I'm going to butt in on the thread -- I *would* call the Mitford novels religious, in that they are suffused with Christianity, even if not repeatedly overtly. That may be influenced by the Christmas-themed Mitford book I read, or it may be influenced by my own lack of faith, or it may be influenced by my lack of experience with what others would term "Christian" novels. I suspect they fall somewhere between completely secular and completely Christian.

130cbl_tn
Nov 20, 2010, 8:05 am

I'd agree that the Mitford novels are religious, but I wouldn't consider the content controversial. They're not Christian fiction. The books are published by a mainstream publishing house. Even though the main character is an Episcopalian priest, the focus of the books is the community of Mitford rather than the church.

131lindapanzo
Nov 20, 2010, 10:48 am

Thanks for all of your insights on the Mitford books. I guess I thought they dealt only with clerics but it sounds similar to, say, the Irish Country doctor series or Lumby but through the eyes of a cleric.

I'll definitely have to read the first one soon.

132ivyd
Nov 20, 2010, 1:33 pm

>127 lindapanzo: Thanks for the tip on the sale at Amazon. I don't have free shipping there, but my daughter does and she's ordering it for me.

I loved Stealing Lumby!

133lindapanzo
Nov 21, 2010, 1:16 am

#132 Glad you liked Stealing Lumby, Ivy. My copy of the next Lumby book arrived on Friday but I haven't started it yet.

134lindapanzo
Nov 21, 2010, 1:17 am

The White House Doctor: Behind the Scenes with the Clinton and Bush Families by Dr. Connie Mariano

This was a fascinating, almost unputdownable memoir about the author's 9 years as a doctor in the White House, including one year on the medical staff for George H.W. Bush and family, and the entire 8 years of the Clinton presidency, as the head of the White House medical staff. From behind-the-scenes information to dealing with office politics, to doctoring, this memoir has it all. Absolutely terrific. I read the second half in one sitting tonight.

I learned a lot in this book--about the presidents she served, about the military, and about doctors. Dr. Mariano was a Navy doctor who, during her tenure as personal physician to the Clintons, achieved the rank of admiral. (The Army doctor who succeeded her rose to become a general during his years with George W. Bush.)

This may make my top 10 list this year. Highly recommended!!

Two books left to go!!!

135lindapanzo
Nov 23, 2010, 10:42 pm

The White Cascade: The Great Northern Railway Disaster and America's Deadliest Avalanche by Gary Krist

This is a spellbinding book about the 1910 Wellington, WA avalanche that hit a stranded passenger train (and a second mail train) killing nearly 100 people. After a series of blizzards, the train was stuck for nearly a week before the final catastrophe occurred but the author does a terrific job of keeping the action going during this "downtime" until the action got going in earnest.

I learned so much, about trains, about the era, and about avalanches in this terrific book. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes to read about disasters.

One book left to go, to finish my 1010.

136lindapanzo
Editado: Nov 24, 2010, 4:00 pm

Ha. Since I finished the avalanche book, I've been more interesting in potential mini-challenge categories than I have been with finishing my last 1010 book. Even so, I should finish tomorrow, or maybe Thurs at the latest.

Hmmmm. Here are my thoughts about a holiday mini challenge:

--5 holiday novels
--4 books off my shelves
--3 nonfiction
--2 ER books
--1 classic novel (Jane Eyre)

137ivyd
Nov 24, 2010, 1:28 pm

>135 lindapanzo: The White Cascade definitely goes on my list for next year. I'm never sure whether or not I like reading about disasters, but I am interested in the location and railroads (2 of my great-grandfathers and 1 grandfather were railroad men).

The holiday challenge sounds like fun!

138lindapanzo
Nov 24, 2010, 3:59 pm

#137 I think I've got about 120 pages left in my last 1010 book. Due to the scarcity of people in the office, a friend and I went out to lunch (I had a groupon coupon) so I didn't get a chance to read.

I think I'm going to tweak my mini-challenge a bit, to help clean out my shelves.

Feels like the rain could change to snow at any minute.

140lindapanzo
Nov 24, 2010, 7:19 pm

Happy Thanksgiving to you all. I'm so thankful to be able to discuss books, reading, and other matters with you all.

No doubt I'll be back soon, as soon as I finish my final 1010 book, to share the good news.

141lindapanzo
Nov 25, 2010, 12:44 am

DONE WITH MY 1010 CHALLENGE, INCLUDING BONUS

A Novel Bookstore by Laurence Cosse

In the end, my feelings regarding this French novel about books, bookstores, and reading were neutral. Actually, I enjoyed the parts dealing with building a bookstore full of only good novels, ode to books and reading, and other book talk. It was the other parts--dealing with the "mystery" element and the "romance" element--that I did not care for.

I think it was Richard who said that his views on this book kept changing. I felt the same way. At times, I wish it wouldn't end. At other times, more often, I found myself counting the number of pages til I could finally be done with it.

Don't get me wrong: This book is well done but I'm not much of a fan of literary fiction. If you are, you'll probably love this one. I'm not and I didn't, though I give it a neutral rating of 3 stars.

Now finished with my 1010 challenge (10 books in each of 10 categories, plus a 20-book "next in the series" bonus) at least. Time to dabble in this and that for the rest of the year.

142lindapanzo
Nov 25, 2010, 12:57 am

My mini-holiday challenge, a countdown to the new year can be found at:
http://www.librarything.com/topic/103172

I hope you'll join me there!!

143ivyd
Nov 25, 2010, 2:31 am

Congratulations, Linda! You did finish by Thanksgiving!

And Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!

144cbl_tn
Nov 25, 2010, 7:07 am

Congratulations on finishing your challenge!

145lkernagh
Nov 25, 2010, 8:57 am

Congrats on finishing! I look forward to following your mini-challenge.

Happy Thanksgiving!

146auntmarge64
Nov 25, 2010, 9:56 am

Wow, great job!!!

147DeltaQueen50
Nov 25, 2010, 12:53 pm

Congratulations on completing your 1010 Challenge, and I too, look forward to following both your mini-Challenge and next year's 11 in 11 Challenge.

148cyderry
Nov 27, 2010, 9:55 am

I knew that you would finish by Thanksgiving! Congrats!

Take a rest, enjoy the mini challenge and get read for 2011!

149sjmccreary
Nov 29, 2010, 10:44 am

Congratulations! Well done.

150tymfos
Nov 29, 2010, 5:17 pm

Somehow I had lost your 1010 challenge thread . . . I find it just in time to say CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!

Great job, Linda! Now I'll go check out your holiday mini-challenge . . .

151lindapanzo
Nov 29, 2010, 5:20 pm

Thanks, Sandy and Terri. I'm focusing on Christmas fiction and also books off my shelf in my mini-challenge but, somehow, for TIOLI, I think I'm signed up for about two dozen books. Mostly Christmas-related though.

152lindapanzo
Dic 9, 2010, 5:43 pm

Following Ivy's lead, I also want to post my 1010 best of the best list, with my favorite book in each category.

These are chosen from the point of view of the current time. I did not go back and look to see which books garnered 5 stars from me.

Cozy Mysteries
--A Beautiful Blue Death by Charles Finch
Books and Reading
--My Reading Life by Pat Conroy
Baseball Books
--The Game from Where I Stand by Doug Glanville
Chicago Books
--The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
American Presidents
--American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham
Disaster Books
--Curse of the Narrows: The Halifax Explosion 1917 by Laura M. MacDonald
Nonfiction
--Give a Little: How Your Small Donations Can Transform Our World by Wendy Smith
Food Mysteries
--State of the Onion by Julie Hyzy
Days and Nights
--Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger
God and Religion
--Sundays in America: A Yearlong Road Trip in Search of Christian Faith by Suzanne Strempek Shea
Bonus Category: Next in the Series
--Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny

153Matke
Dic 24, 2010, 11:15 am

Merry Christmas, Linda. You've done a great job on your challenges!

Which did you like better, if either: The Brutal Telling or Bury Your Dead?

154lindapanzo
Dic 24, 2010, 12:34 pm

Merry Christmas, Gail.

I loved both of the Louise Penny books. Overall, though, I probably likedBury Your Dead just a bit more.

155cmbohn
Dic 24, 2010, 6:40 pm

Merry Christmas! I can't wait to see what you're reading next year!