Prop2gether's 2010 Reading, Act I

Act II is located:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/94150

Okay, some placeholders coming here....

this one is for counters and monthly lists







Anyone wildly anxious to read the last of 2009's reviews, they can be found starting at message 75 at http://www.librarything.com/topic/74510&newpost=1#lastmsg

June

Daisy Miller
Passager (Young Merlin Trilogy 1)
Hobby (Young Merlin Trilogy 2)
Merlin (Young Merlin Trilogy 3)
The Gammage Cup (LT)
Fourth Grade Rats
Trollbridge
Aunt Dimity Beats the Devil
Gotz and Meyer
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Aunt Dimity: Detective
The Devil's Arithmetic
New Moon
Night Walker
Eclipse
What-The-Dickens
Hellboy: Seed of Destruction
The Touchstone
Moby Dick
Catching Fire
My Dad's a Birdman
Sabriel (Abhorsen/Old Kingdom Trilogy Book 1)
Paris in the Twentieth Century
The Interesting Narrative of Olaudah Equiano (1001-Librivox Recording)
The Barrio Kings (ER)
Lirael (Abhorsen/Old Kingdom Trilogy Book 2)
Pay the Piper
Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Volume 1
The Devil's Pool (1001-Librivox Recording)

May

The Eyes of the Dragon
This is Water
The High King (75 Challenge)
The Stone Gods
The Fantastic Mr. Fox
Skylark
Whose Body?
The Shootist
One More Day
Bernard Shaw On War (ER)
Confession (HCC)
After the Fireworks (ER)
Kill Now, Pay Later (HCC)
Tarzan of the Apes (Librivox recording, 1001)
Mr. Peters' Connections
Milkweed
Maniac Magee
Whittington
Bridge to Terabithia
Elysiana (ER)

April

The Wastelands
Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination (LT)
Wizard and Glass
Wolves of the Calla
Here There Be Dragons
The Poison Belt
Odd and the Frost Giants
Dr. No
The Sorrows of Young Werther (1001, 999-2010)
The Westing Game
Aunt Dimity's Christmas
Lucky Breaks
Raven Summer
The Cavalier in the Yellow Doublet (999-2010)
The Yellow Wall-Paper (1001)

March

The Black Flame (LT)
Secret of the Andes
The Boxcar Children
The Bells of Nagasaki (LT)
The Santaroga Barrier (SABG)
M is for Magic
The Silver Wolf (LT)
Secret Heart
Aunt Dimity Digs In (999 2010)
The Chronicles of Prydain IV: Taran Wanderer (LT Group Read)
The State of Jones (LT)
From Russia With Love
Christine
Cycle of the Werewolf
The Archivist's Story
The Brontes Went to Woolworth's

February

The Long Walk
The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three
Shakespeare's Secret
The Twits
Call It Courage
Carrie
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
Thinner
The Running Man
'Salem's Lot
The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles
Mr. Popper's Penguins
Dear Mr. Henshaw
Sarah, Plain and Tall
Roadwork
Danny Champion of the World
The Door in the Wall
The Black Cauldron
The Castle of Llyr
Cujo
Freak the Mighty

January

Bucky Katt's Big Book of Fun
The Unteleported Man
My Rotten Life: Nathan Abercrombie, Accidental Zombie
Tents, Tigers and the Ringling Brothers
How to be Cool in the Third Grade
The Matchlock Gun
When the Cat's Away
Frequent Flyer
The Fire-Eaters
A Wrinkle in Time
Diamonds Are Forever
Our Man in Havana
Finger Lickin' Fifteen
The Cat Who Went to Heaven
The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger
The Chronicles of Prydain I: The Book of Three
The Green Mile

This is recommended reading from 75ers, coming forward from 2008, which I want to get to:

alcottacre: My Wars are Laid Away in Books
blackdogbooks: all the rest of Stephen King
The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger (January)
The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three (February)
The Green Mile (January)
The Long Walk (February)
Carrie (February)
Thinner (February)
The Running Man (February)
'Salem's Lot (February)
Roadwork (February)
Cujo (February)
Christine (March)
Cycle of the Werewolf (March)
The Dark Tower III: The Wastelands (April)
The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass (April)
The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla (April)
The Eyes of the Dragon (May)
TadAD: Random Harvest
TheTortoise: Who Moved My Blackberry?
mamachunk: Triangle
alcottacre: The Climb
ThePam: Now the Drum of War
torontoc: Famous Last Words
TheTortoise: Heavy Weather
porch_reader: The Invention of Hugo Cabret
dfreeman2809: Click.....
missylc: Book of Lost Things
aethercowboy: The Mac is Not a Typewriter
Severn: Dancing in a Distant Place
LisaLynne: The Spanish Bow
Cait86: Hitler's Willing Executioners
fannyprice: The Anglo Files
TadAD: Three Day Road
nancywhite: The Elegance of the Hedgehog
kiwidoc: The Grass Arena
kiwidoc: Kate's Klassics
mlake: Never Heave Your Bosum in a Front Hook Bra
sten: Sherlock Holmes Was Wrong (June)
ronicats: Speed of Dark
paghababian: The Lost Painting
KarenMarie: What Time Devours
nancyewhite: Lullabies for Criminals
TadAd via drneutron: Holmes on the Range
rebeccanyc: The Book of Chameleons
porch_reader: A Thread of Grace
TheTortoise: Oliva Joules and the Overactive Imagination (April)
drneutron: Ending an Ending
drneutron: The Gun Seller
TheTortoise via kiwidoc: Oscar's Books
fannyprice: The Female Malady
Kat32: The Good Ghouls Guide to Getting Even
Awilkins: Brighton Rock
Awilkins: Whale Talk
fantasia655: A Girl of the Lumberlost
kiwidoc via kidzdoc: A Journey Round My Skull
rachbxl: Woman at Point Zero
LisaLynne: Down to a Sunless Sea
lindsacl: The Road Home
Kat32: Real Vampires Have Curves
Kat32: High Stakes
gregtmills: The Ayatollah Begs to Differ
sanddancer: The Boy Who Kicked Pigs
rebeccanyc: Freedom From Fear
kethonna: Luna
enheduanna: Thus Was Adonis Murdered
kidzdoc: The Illusion of Return
kidzdoc: Mishima's Sword
Pummzie: The Mischief
cjji955: The House on the Strand
LT 75: The Book Thief
shewhowearsred: Predictably Irrational
mckait: Society of S
mckait: The Tricking of Freya
mckait: Skeletons at the Feast
drneutron: Let the Right One In
drneutron: The Various Haunts of Men
LT 75: Looking for Alaska
gregtmills: Catapult: Harry and I ....
tokyoadam: The Forever War
seasonsof love: Dying by the Sword
Deedledee: Every Man Dies Alone
TheTortoise: I'll Cry Tomorrow
RebeccaAnn: Frozen in Time
RebeccaAnn: The Lies of Locke Lamora
amarie: The Box...
TadAD: The Gammage Cup (June)
whisper via kiwidoc: The Frozen Thames
WillowRaven: The Forest in the Hallway
Trystorp: Pandora's Star
kiwidoc: The Great Crash
drneutron: Afraid
drneutron: Here There be Dragons (April)
browngirl: Annie's Ghosts
kidzdoc: Golpes Bajos
kidzdoc: Burnt Shadows
kidzdoc: The Fat Man and Infinity
kidzdoc: The Invention of Everything Else
kidzdoc: Plants Don't Drink Coffee
CatyM: The Archivist's Story (March)
laytonwoman3d: In the Fall
meanderer: If Pirate I Must Be
FlossieT: The Gone-Away World
TadAD: Cooking with Fernat Branca
tututhefirst: Plato and a Platypus Walk...
LT: Mistress of the Art of Death
Bridget770: The Plague of Doves
TadAD: Battle Cry of Freedom
dihiba: The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher
whisper: The Adoration of Jenny Fox
aquascum: The Very Bloody History of Britain
sjmcreary: Code Black
avatiakh: The House of Sixty Fathers
avaitakh: Bloodtide
avaitakh: My Swordhand is Singing
avatiakh: A Bottle in the Gaza Sea
avatiakh: Swallows and Amazons
avatiakh: The Silver Wolf (March)
SqueakyChu: What the Deaf-Mute Heard
Landshark5: Red Thunder
laytonwoman3rd: The Hero's Walk
tiffin: Georgiana....
loriephillips: Little Bee
mamachunk: Our Guys
davidw: Epileptic
saraslibrary: While You're Down There
sgtbigg via petermc: Wolf of the Deep (June)
porch_reader: The Rope Walk
saraslibrary: Frankenstein Moved in on the Fourth Floor
porch_reader: When the Emperor was Divine
RebeccaAnn: Captain Francis Crozier
daddygoth: The Infected
gregtmills: An Utterly Impartial History of Britain
TheTortoise: Lincoln's Melancholy
drneutron: Johannes Cabal the Necromancer
Banoo: Salmonella Men on Planet Porno
sjmcreary via petermc: The State of Jones (March)
whisper1: The Day the Falls Stood Still
booksontrial: The Brain That Changes Itself
boekenwijs: Never Hit a Jellyfish With a Spade
kiwidoc: Skating to Antarctica
laytonwoman3rd: Jenny Wren
beserene: Old Friends and New Fancies
TadAD: The Black Flame (March)
kidzdoc: Blood and Guts: A Short History of Medicine
torontoc: Galore
drneutron: The Book of William
alaskabookworm: The Magicians
alaskabookworm: Emily's Ghost
Loosha: Dancing With Rose
Banoo: Magnetic Fields
booksontrial: Losing My Virginity
suslyn: Gremlins Go Home
laytonwoman3rd: The Bird Artist
avatiakh: Dear Alison
judylou: The Year of the Flood
marise: The Incredible Charlie Crewe
snat: The Order of Odd Fish
judylou: After the Fire, A Small Voice
cyderra: His Majesty's Dragon
Banoo: The Bells of Nagasaki (March)
womansheart: The Earth Hums in B Flat
avatiakh: The Family Under the Bridge
avatiakh: Tender Morsels
girlunderglass: Dawn of the Dumb
cushla: The Dark Room
TadAD: Children of the New World
TadAD: The Ivankiad
lbucci3: Wolf Hall
jbeast: The Phoenix and the Carpet
jbeast: Miss Happiness and Miss Flower
arubabookwoman: History of the World in 10-1/2 Chapters
TadAD: Miss Bundle's Book
beeg: The Warded Man
lauranav: Tears of the Desert
beserene: The Sorceress of Karress

This one is for 999 challenge references (which is a 1010 challenge in 2010):

2009 Leftover 1
Sorrows of Young Werther by Goethe
Hard Times by Charles Dickens

Chunkster
Moby Dick by Herman Melville (75 Group Read)

Children's
The Cat Who Went to Heaven by Elizabeth Coatsworth
The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews Edwards
Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater
Danny Champion of the World by Roald Dahl
M is for Magic by Neil Gaiman
The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander (5 books)

Young Adult
What-The-Dickens by Gregory Maguire
New Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

75er Recommendations
The Black Flame by Stanley G. Weinbaum
The State of Jones by Sally Jenkins and John Stauffer
Here There by Dragons by Jane Yolen

Complete and/or Return
Salem's Lot by Stephen King

Mysteries
The Man in the Yellow Doublet by Arthuro Perez-Reverte
Aunt Dimity Digs In by Nancy Atherton

SABG/Strikes My Fancy
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski
The Santaroga Barrier by Frank Herbert
The Shootist by Glendon Swarthout
One More Day by Mitch Albom
The Yellow Wall-Paper by Charlotte Gilman-Perkins
Elysiana by Chris Knopf
Paris in the Twentieth Century by Jules Verne

Plus One
Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene (a 1001 Must Read author)
Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovitch (Mysteries--next in order)
Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli

Hello! Found you and starred you!

Starred! And looking forward to your 2010 reads.

I am so glad to see you back, Laurie!

hoo, what a list already, I admire your structure. More of a willy nilly girl myself :) but I'm confused, it this the thread you'll be posting and commenting to?

Very impressed with your organizational skills, prop. I have taken to entering wishlists on my LT account - but remembering the recommender takes it to a whole other level! Glad to see you back.

PS: I think that Skating to Antarctica was not my favourite recommend of Jenny Diski in the end. I would try The Sixties by her if that subject interests you.

I'm on the list :)

Great books! I'm excited to hear what you think of them (and of course, add them to my own TBR pile :P )

Yes, I will be posting to this thread (or its successors) my reviews--except for the last of 2009, which I will post to that thread in the next couple of days.

Organized? Hardly! I have stacks and stacks of books, which, when I returned from St. Louis, my new roommate announced she'd put on the shelves--you know, to clear the clutter. "You didn't have them in any order, did you?" So approximately 100 volumes of various reading and gift books are now in size order double- and triple-decked on my book shelves. *sigh*

Plus that's the list of books from 75ers that looked or sounded intriguing to me. It shows I "lurk" through threads, even if I don't always post to them.

Okay, TOTALLY random, but I have to ask: is your LT handle a rugby reference?

LOL!!! No, it's warping of working backstage at a Los Angeles Shakespeare theatre--I was the propmaster/mistress. I also am something of a bigtime klutz. So I would be sent on a walk through the halls and entrances pre-show to make sure no one else would fall or trip. Hence--propped together.

Found you and starred you! Good to see you back. I feel honoured that you managed to read one of my recommendations last year when you had such a long list! I am planning for 2010 to read some of the recs I got from you, including Moonheart and Princess of the Midnight Ball.

Yeah! I'm not the only one with a big long list of recs from previous years to consider when choosing books to read.

I have a similar list in my small blue notebook, most without the names of the recommenders, only started to do that later on.

and re #10, I really hate it when someone else touches my books!
If asked I take a book from the shelf for someone and put it back myself, if other do that the book always ends up at the wrong place...
Anita

I agree with you regarding not wanting others to touch or "organize" my books! I'm always searching for a system and I haven't found it yet, but no body should ever touch my many books that are neatly in order regarding Anne Boleyn and the Tudors...If they do, OFF with their heads!

I had someone come in to reorganize my apartment (in 'use what you have' terms), and she reorganized my books so that 'the shelves didn't look so top-heavy'. Yikes! Shouldn't the A authors come before the M authors? Where is everything???

Ah, glad to see you made it here! I would have missed your thread.

Loved 11 & 12! And what a list, Prop. You ARE organised!

I only seem organized. My bedroom looks a lot like those rooms on the reality show "Hoarders" *hangs head in shame* but I do have intentions to clear it out--especially since most of the mess is paper and yarn.

Last year I tracked books more extensively than I have in years past. I read 386 book titles for a total of 93,923 pages. Some were baby books (literally) and some were chunkster classics, but all were read. There are some repeats, but I read 62 from the 1001 Must Read list (and liked about three-quarters); 57 of the 81 on my 999 Challenge list (yea!); 5 for my RL book club (we had some "theme" meetings); 11 biographies of U.S. presidents and/or their wives; 51 books were recommendations from 75er threads; and 7 were Early Reviewer. Of course, there was a fair amount of overlap here (something like 15 titles on my 999 Challenge are also 1001 Must Read titles), but I'm pretty amazed at the breadth of last year's reading.

Thanks for all the recommendations--they've been worth the reading.

And so far this year I've completed:

Bucky Katt's Big Book of Fun by Darby Conley
The Unteleported Man by Philip K. Dick
My Rotten Life: Nathan Abercrombie, Accidental Zombie by David Lubar
Tents, Tigers and the Ringling Brothers by Jerry Anns
How to be Cool in the Third Grade by Betsy Duffey
The Matchlock Gun by Walter D. Edmonds
When the Cat's Away by Kinky Friedman
Frequent Flyer by Kinky Friedman

Reviews to come. . .

Don't recognize any of those authors, Prop - but of course that is the very reason we talk books!

Hi Prop - I'm interested to hear what you thought about How to be Cool in the Third Grade. That sounds like a good one to read-aloud to my son (who is currently trying to figure out that very issue)!

And reviewing...

Bucky Katt’s Big Book of Fun by Darby Conley was a Christmas gift from my daughter. We’re both fans of the “Get Fuzzy” serial cartoon, and this is a collection of some of the stories of Bucky Katt, Sachel (the dog), and Rob (the owner?).

The Unteleported Man by Philip K. Dick was on a library shelf and, while generally I enjoy Dick’s work, this one left me very unsatisfied. The story about a man trying to find out what really happens to people transported (like in Star Trek) to another world. They go but never return. Rachmael ben Applebaum is attempting to get his starship in working order to make the trip by standard travel (no teleporting here!) when the story takes some strange twists into hallucinogenic and parallel universes. I finished the short novel, but IMHO, it’s not one of Dick’s better efforts.

My Rotten Life: Nathan Abercrombie, Accidental Zombie by David Lubar is a fun story about how Nathan is one of the Second Besters at his school. He does accidentally start turning into a zombie and then spends the rest of story alternating between being a hero and trying to find a cure for his condition. I’ve been vetting books for my second grade nephew and this will be a fun read around this time next year when he’s thinking fourth/fifth grade interests. It was fun and is the first of a series of books about Nathan’s adventures.

Tents, Tigers and the Ringling Brothers by Jerry Anns is an historical review of the Ringling Brothers and their circus, published in Wisconsin. It’s absolutely William’s level of reading, chock full of pictures and diagrams, and definitions of new words. My only complaint with the book is I really wish editors and writers proofed their books for spelling and grammar—especially with something written for a school-age child. There were a couple of glaring mistakes, but I can guarantee you that William will not notice them—so a history book is next from his Aunt Laurie.

How to be Cool in the Third Grade by Betsy Duffey is a book I found on my reorganized bookshelves at home. Whether I got this for my children or it was given to me, I will be passing it on to William in a couple of months. A young boy wants nothing more in the world to be “cool” with his classmates—and he knows that Mom walking him to the bus and kissing him goodbye is not cool. Superhero underwear is not cool. The story shows the efforts that work—and the ones that don’t—for our young hero to finally be a full-fledged third grader who is nothing less than cool. I found some of the style a little dated, but the story is short and snappy, and it realistically details the agony of this situation. And yes, porch_reader, I'd recommend it for you and your son. He'll probably sigh quite heavily at plot points!

The Matchlock Gun by Walter D. Edmonds has been around a long time, is a Newbery winner, and is a true story. You can’t beat the combination of this short but stirring tale of a family alone on the frontier of early America.

When the Cat’s Away and Frequent Flyer by Kinky Friedman once again find Kinky and friends investigating murder, mayhem, drugs, organized crime, and cats. Total mystery fluff and therefore very appropriate for my attitude just after the first of the year!

(Edited to correct some glaring grammar errors!)

Laurie

I'm curious to know how you heard of Tents, Tigers and the Ringling Brothers. I'm interested in reading it, but the publications adviser in me would go crazy with the spelling and grammar errors.

Hey, I got the Bucky Katt book from one of my lads for Christmas. I love when Satchel decorates his room.

#25--I was visiting my son in Madison at Thanksgiving, and he happens to live about two blocks from a set of shopping centers. One had a Barnes and Noble and the other had a Borders. I went looking at local stuff (and missing series books) when Robert had to work on Friday. Voila! The Ringling Brothers book. *and sigh* I can't figure out which irritates me more--typos in the books-or-people who write notes in library books (especially when they "correct" dialect grammar).

#26 I have to say Bucky Katt and Satchel are pets after my heart. But man oh man, do I empathize with Rob.

People correct dialog in library books?

Oh man.

Brick-stick beatings may be required.

Greetings Laurie...I de-cloak to offer a nasty temptation for a book lover vis-a-vis Madison...has your son taken you to Baraboo? It's the home of the Circus World Museum which HAS to be on any circus fan's must-see list. The Divine Miss, my errr ummm companion I suppose, is the daughter of a Madisonian and a circus nut. I've been to that museum More Than Once, and even though I don't like circuses, I like that place! The books in the store are fascinating!

Oh, and have you visited Taliesin yet? Frank Lloyd Wright's stuff is beautiful, but for someone as tall as I am (6'2") it's uncomfortable...so I spent more time in the bookstore. Bliss!

Resuming cloaking device now. Read happy!

Wauw, what a great rec list! I have challenged myself to read 12 books about Iran/of Iranian writers this year, one each month, and thanks to you (and gregtmills) I now have The Ayatollah Begs to Differ on the list.

Oh, and I'll be lurking :)

Aha - here you are!

#29--Nope, haven't been to Baraboo, but will certainly ask to go when the weather's a bit more welcoming to an Angeleno! Robert went to Ripon College and since you have to go Appleton to get there from any coast--I discovered a fair amount of history and authorship in the local area. Now that he's in Madison, new opportunities abound.

And for the record, I'm over the half-way point of Cryptonomicon (yea!!), joined the challenges for Anna Karenina, Moby Dick, and the Prydian Chronicles (managed to have the clerk log me on at the bookstore to find the correct spelling here), reading The Story of Edward Sawtelle for my RL book club, and Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene on the daily commute. Haven't started Anna or the Chronicles, but actually got nearly 40 pages into Moby Dick this time. It must be knowing that others are sharing the reading that makes it so much easier than I thought it might be.

Wow! Lots of good reading going on at your house, Amy.

Yeah, I forgot that I picked up The Dark Tower series in honor of blackdogbook's support of Stephen King and it's on the coffee table. *sigh*

I didn't read very much between November and January 1, and I think that the craving just overtook me! (And my baby sister's Amy when she's not Amanda, but LOL--people say we all eight look alike.)

ooh, The Dark Tower series, I plan to re-read that again....some day

And the latest batch...

The Fire-Eaters by David Almond
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
Diamonds Are Forever by Ian Fleming
Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene

The Fire-Eaters by David Almond is another interesting story by the author of Skellig. Set in England during the period of the Cuban missile crisis (not fully identified as such in the story, this is the story of a young man trying to deal with his father's illness, a truly cruel teacher and whether schooling is needed when the world appears to be heading for the oblivion of a nuclear war. He meets McNulty, a fire-eater by profession who is fascinating for all sorts of reasons. A young adult book, perhaps a bit intense for elementary levels, although its subjects are that age--I recommend it.

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle has been on my shelves for a very long time and I've not read it before now. (Thanks William--I'm still vetting!) This is a classic in all the right ways about a trio who set out to save the father (of two of them) through time and space and dimension. This book would be great for the elementary school audience it aims for, although I was perhaps not quite so intrigued with the story.

Diamonds Are Forever by Ian Fleming--James Bond, of course! I'm reading the series in order and this one worked on all levels. I enjoyed it quite a bit.

Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene was fabulous--a satire of the British Secret Service, set in Baptista's Cuba--I thoroughly enjoyed Wormold's induction into spying and his continuing attempts to extricate himself (without, of course, losing the monetary rewards of being a station chief).

Currently reading: Finger Lickin' Fifteen, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, Cryptonomicon, The Gunslinger, Moby Dick, and Anna Karenina. I think I'm in overdrive from not reading in December! Next two messages deleted because they are duplicates!

I actually prepared a personal 999/1010 Challenge for this year, even though I didn't finish last year's challenge list. (I got tangled into series and recommendations.) Of course, the first 22 books on the list are from last year's list, and they are mostly histories or chunksters (my definition is over 800 pages). There are an additional 78 slots on the list, mostly filled, and my categories for this year are:

++ 2009 "Leftover" Group 1 (consisting of 9 books)
++ 2009 "Leftover" Group 2 (consisting of 9 books)
++ Chunkster (including 4 "Leftover" plus 3 75er Group Reads)
++ Children's (because I'm reading anyway to vet books for my nephew plus one 75er Group Read)
++ Young Adult (because I loved last year's choices)
++ 75er Recommendations (because of the list in message 2 which is ever green and growing)
++ Presidents (because this is the second year of the challenge)
++ Complete or Return (books I've started and stopped or borrowed and need to return)
++ Mysteries (Next in order for various series)
++ Strikes My Fancy (A "fill in the blanks" during the year)

Then, because I can't count anyway, there's the Plus One category for each of those sections to make each category read a total of 10 books. For the "Leftover" categories, I'll read an author or title from the 1001 Must Read list-just for fun.

#39: Looks like some fun reading there this year, Laurie!

Thanks, it should be a fun year. But having already spent my year's book allowance, I really, really need to get books off the TBR stacks, so most of the titles come from that particular black hole.

#39 I've done something similar this year (although not so many categories), for very similar reasons - I came to a point last year that the 999 Challenge books felt like a chore, which put me off reading them a little. Hopefully self-directed lists will work better for both of us! ;)

#42--The categories come down to the fact that I'm going to read the mysteries, children's, and YA books in any event, and I got myself hitched into four 75er challenges of books I wanted to read--so why not count them. I included the histories and biographies because I like reading them as my "non-fiction" genre of choice, but sometimes they get a bit boggy.

However, I'm really pleased with myself because I've finished 3/100 books on the list:

Children's
The Cat Who Went to Heaven by Elizabeth Coatsworth

Plus One
Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene (a 1001 Must Read author)
Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovitch (Mysteries--next in order)

So maybe this year--but I won't beat myself up if I get distracted into some really fine books.

>36 Prop2gether:,37,37: Diamonds are Forever is an interesting Bond episode for me...it's one of my favorite of the books and one of my least-favorite of the movies (excluding consideration of the Roger Moore episodes...which I despised). I found Mr. Kidd and Mr. Wint boring rather than villainous, Jill St. John never did it for me, and the gymnastics wannabees/assassins were just a bit too silly, even for a Bond film.

#44 Tad--I really enjoyed Diamonds are Forever--seemed to have more character and better plot. The films have not been huge attractions for me, except for the "Who's the best Bond" debates.

I've five more books to add:

Finger Lickin Fifteen by Janet Evanovitch
The Cat Who Went to Heaven by Elizabeth Coatsworth
The Gunslinger by Stephen King (Dark Tower I)
The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander (Prydain Chronicles Challege Read)
The Green Mile by Stephen King

Currently reading Cryptonomicon (yes, still!), Moby Dick (nearly at the challenge mark); Anna Karenina (barely started), half-way through this month's RL book club read of The Story of Edgar Sawtelle--oh, so Hamlet!

and on to the reviews. . .

Finger Lickin Fifteen by Janet Evanovitch was one of the best of this series. This time around it was Lula and Grandma who were the worth the time, plus there was a real plot line involving Ranger. Stephanie Plum was also in the book.

The Cat Who Went to Heaven by Elizabeth Coatsworth is an early Newbery winner, the retelling of a fable about a Japanese artist and his painting of the death of Buddha. Gently told, it is a lovely fable for younger readers about death and love.

The Gunslinger by Stephen King is the first in the Dark Tower series, which I have never read. Both Blackdogbooks and a book buddy at work have recommended the series, so--I've dived in. This book introduces some characters and situations which were sometimes muddled because King is setting up the reader for future reading. I've started the second book, and now some of the action seems more directed. All of which is to say, that I did enjoy this book--it just seems (and is) an incomplete story.

The Green Mile by Stephen King is the entire story in one volume. I did not read this when it first came out because I was one of those really annoyed by the selling tactic (okay, okay used by Dickens, Collins, and many others) of one chapter/chapter book at a time. Somewhere I did read one of the chapter books, but I had not read the entire novel until now. It is amazing, and it is prime King when he works outside the nasty, horror mode. Again, thumbs up.

#46: I definitely have to get to Finger Lickin' Fifteen soon. I just love Grandma Mazur.

*sigh* More pressure to start the Plum series.

I haven't read King in a long, long time, but your review of The Green Mile makes me think that I should go back and seek out some of his non-horror work -- sounds good. :)

It is great to know that Janet Evanovitch finally is getting her act together and re-claiming some of the charm of her original books. I'm greatly disappoined in some of her recent books.

Regarding The Fire Eaters, post 36, Anita recommended David Almond and I've been hooked on his books since. I agree with you, The Fire Eaters was a bit intense.

Glad you're enjoying The Dark Tower series so far. Drawing of the Three is probably my favorite of the series, which is what you're into now, right?

The Green Mile is one of those underrated King's, I think because it's outside of the typical genre for him and because of the marketing ploy, which I hated and withstood also.

Hi,

I am in a "King" mood between the children's books and group reads I'm doing, which I find interesting. I usually enjoy his novels (there are exceptions), find his short stories very scary, and his occasional forays into other styles worth the trek.

Yes, I have finished The Drawing of the Three and did enjoy it more than The Gunslinger. I'm not sure if I would have done as well if I were reading it out of order, but I've got The Wastelands on my coffee table.

David Almond's books, curiously enough, remind me of King, and I find that my reactions are quite similar. Usually I like the work, but occasionally it's a bit intense.

Since my last notes, I've finished:

The Long Walk by Stephen King (when he was Bachman)
The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King
Shakespeare's Secret by Elise Broach
The Twits by Roald Dahl
Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry
Carrie by Stephen King

Currently reading:

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle (very near the end)
Moby Dick, Anna Karenina, and The Black Cauldron (75 Group Reads)
The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles (a reread)
Cryptonomicon (almost two-thirds through!!)

Read 17 books entirely through in January (as compared to 4 or 5 in December), and feeling good about my most of my choices so far.

Reviewing...

The Long Walk by Stephen King is a "Bachman" book and I was totally engrossed from the beginning in this story. In some future, young men enter a lottery (involving a test and essay as well) to walk until they drop. Literally. The prize is all you can wish for (somewhat vague), but the consequence of dropping out once you start is actual death. The walk starts in the hinterlands of Maine and has even reached Massachusetts one year--the walkers must keep a 4 mile per hour pace the entire time (yes, 24/7) and, while they earn warnings for falling behind (3 and that's it), one warning is dropped for each additional hour walked. That's the outline. The story is that of some of the walkers, the allegiences which form and disband, who will fail, who will succeed, and--what is success. A big recommendation, although I warn you that some readers find the ending "fuzzy." I thought it was a logical extension of the story.

The Drawing of the Three is part 2 of the The Dark Tower series, and I liked this one better than The Gunslinger, although the first book neatly sets up the lead character. On his quest to the Dark Tower, the Gunslinger must find companions to join him. Saying anything more is intruding on a storyline which is becoming more interesting in each volume.

Shakespeare's Secret by Elise Broach is a mystery for readers around 10 to 12. Hero (she and her sister Beatrice were named by their parents for the lead women in Much Ado About Nothing) has never had luck at school or with friends. At her new school, things follow the standard pattern. So, when the next door neighbor and the son of the police chief explain about the mystery of her new home--somewhere there's a massive diamond which may be linked to Queen Elizabeth I and explain who the "real" Shakespeare was--she's hooked into the search. Nicely written. especially for girls at Hero's age (sixth grade).

The Twits by Roald Dahl is about an especially nasty couple who earn their comeuppance. It's not the best nor most enjoyable Dahl, but it does have his wicked humor.

Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry is another early Newbery winner about the legend of a young South Pacific island boy who comes of age. As a legend book, it was nicely done. Today's readers may find it a bit stilted, but it is told in an oral tradition style which suits the story well.

Carrie by Stephen King is a reread from long, long ago. I had forgotten the structure of this novel is mixed (past/present/future interspersed), and it works very well--no wonder this one worked. Good work, Tabitha, in retrieving it from the waste basket.

Just started The Story of Edgar Sawtelle this week. I've only read the prolouge, which was very intriguing.

The Wastelands is good, too, maybe my second favorite.

#53: Oh, I really enjoyed The Twits--I used to read it aloud to my fifth graders, and the gross things in Mr. Twit's beard always got a great reaction. In fact, I do seem to remember having them draw his beard one year. One boy drew it full of fuzzy purple mushrooms and green hamburger patties...eeew!

#54--Finished The Story of Edgar Sawtelle and it was an excellent retelling of Hamlet. I've noticed that my local book group and a fair amount of reviews don't like the ending, but it is the logical extension of the story--at least to me. I was fascinated by all the training exercises as well. Enjoy!

#55--I mostly really like Roald Dahl, but found The Twits not as entertaining as some of his other works. It's still Dahl, which makes it much better than most, but I can see where a classroom of fifth graders would love your exercises!

Okay, so before I forget, I've finished:

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski
Thinner by Stephen King (as Bachman)
The Running Man by Stephen King (as Bachman)
'Salem's Lot by Stephen King
The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews Edwards (which is a reread after many years to see if it still worked for me)

Lots of King--seems to be filling the spaces between the group read books and the book club reads. But--it also fulfills my goal of reading all of his works.

How did you like Thinner? I remember reading it quite some years ago, but I don't remember what exactly I thought of it, though I don't think it's a favourite King-book of mine.

Ah, The Running Man - classic film ;o)

...maybe I should read it...

#58-59--Well, as you can see, I'm in a Bachman frame of mind. I'm enjoying these books more as an older reader than I would have years ago. I also enjoyed Thinner more than The Running Man and The Long Walk more than Thinner. These novels tend to be much shorter than most of King's "regular" fiction, and there are not a lot of happy endings, but I am very glad I've read them as part of King's canon of works.

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski was all over LT last year, and was my RL book club selection last month. The touted parallels to Hamlet are very well done, even where tweaked by this author. Others have extensively reviewed the book, but I did enjoy the writing, the parallel aspects of play to book, and, no, I don't think the ending was a cheat.

Thinner by Stephen King (as Bachman) is about a man who finds himself cursed with a single word "Thinner" by a Gypsy. The curse is a result of a fatal accident which is legally swept away, and each of the "sweepers" is also cursed. However, the "Thinner" curse is the one we follow in the novel, and the protagist literally starts losing weight at an extraordinary rate. The novel follows his attempts to lift the curse, and has a nicely twisted ending.

The Running Man by Stephen King (as Bachman) is one I think I've read before, but I have certainly seen the film. The two diverge hugely on plot and outcome, but the theme of a man running of his life for entertainment of the masses is nicely set up in this story.

'Salem's Lot by Stephen King--okay, I avoided this one for years, initially because it was about vampires and I was simply not interested in vampires. But today? Where can you look on book shelves where you don't find vampires? Yeah, yeah, yeah. So--he got me to jump at least twice, and while the story is now very familiar, King still manages to keep a little surprise for the reader. Plus I'm going to find a character from this novel in The Dark Tower series. Hmmm.

The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews Edwards, and, yes, it's that Julie Andrews (Edwards). This is a reread of a story I hugely enjoyed years ago when it first came out. Andrews has a very nice touch, not at all treacly, in this story of three children who join a professor in his search for the last of the really great Whangdoodles. It's written for elementary age children and very charming. Of note in this edition is a preface from the author where she explains why she never authorized illustrations for this story. Her characters need to use their imaginations to succeed, and she wanted readers to have the ability to see the Whangdoodle and Whangdoodleland on their own. If you missed this one, it's worth the hunt.

I am passing on all the Stephen King stuff - not my cup of tea - but I will look for The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles. It sounds charming. Thanks for the recommendation, Laurie!

Laurie

I read Thinner years ago and I remember that it was highly creative.

I put The Story of Edgar Sawtelle lower on my TBR list last year after some hohum reviews, but I think it will move up the pile again after your comments. Thanks.

Funnily enough, Thinner was the first Stephen King book recommended to me (it's the favourite of a mate), but I never seem to get round to it - maybe I'll give it a go soon...

kiwidoc, I would encourage the moving up of Edgar Sawtelle. I am not finished with it yet, but I think it is a very well-written book. I think it may have suffered from over-hype, as some good books often do.

Thinner was interesting in lots of ways, because King avoids entangling himself in the side stories which spring up. He allows himself more leeway in his longer novels, but this one is pretty straightforward, and even the ending is perfectly plausible (although apparently not for the film version).

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle was a pleasant surprise to me because, after all the hype noted by blackdogbooks, there were some amazingly crushing reviews. The writing is excellent, and the parallels are very strong, even when some of the lead characters are canine. It will be interesting next week to see how my RL reading group feels, because we had not all finished last month, but several had commented that they were dissatisfied with the ending. If you know the source material, you will not be surprised or disappointed.

So to lighten things up a little, I've read the following:

Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater
Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary
Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

All three were because they are listed for William's age level, and because I had not read any of them. What a treat!

Mr. Popper's Penguins is a charming story of a painter who finds himself first with one, then two, then eventually twelve penguins in his home. How will Mr. Popper manage to feed the birds and his family? How will Mrs. Popper react? How about the Popper children? I enjoyed this one a lot.

Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary is an epistolary novel for early readers. Leigh Botts writes his favorite author so he can complete a school project. The novel is only Leigh's letters and journal, but it is quite easy to picture the responses sent by Mr. Henshaw. The story progresses from second through sixth grade, while Leigh is learning to cope with school, writing, and his parents' divorce. Excellently presented, especially for its target audience.

Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan is a very short (less than 70 pages) story of how Sarah comes from Maine to the prairie to live, after responding to an ad for brides. The story is direct and loving, but amazingly short for all it covers.

#66: I remember reading Mr. Popper's Penguins when I was a kid. I will have to go back and revisit my childhood with that one!

I do not ever remember reading Dear Mr. Henshaw though. I enjoyed Cleary's The Mouse and the Motorcycle ("If a mouse can have a motorcycle, Mom, why can't I?") and several of the Ramona and Henry Huggins books. I will have to track Mr. Henshaw down.

I am also adding Sarah, Plain and Tall to the BlackHole since I have never read it.

I read all those kids stories aloud to my kids - brings back the memories.

Wow! Another month nearly gone, and I've gone through a pile of books for William (sorting them by content, size, and gender bias), a boatload of Stephen King, three of the Pyrdain Chronicles, part of Moby Dick, and still trekking along on a couple of others.

I'm up to 36 books now, but I count everything:

Roadwork by Stephen King (when he was Bachman)
Danny Champion of the World by Roald Dahl
The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli
The Black Cauldron and The Castle of Llyr by Lloyd Alexander (Books 2 and 3 of the Prydain Chronicles)

#69: It has been years since I read The Door in the Wall. You are tempting me to go back and re-read it!

How are you liking Moby Dick?

#70--While The Door in the Wall was an interesting story for a slightly older reader than William, I found myself thinking fondly of The Little Lame Prince which has a similar premise (the lord or lord's son who is lamed and must learn life's lessons) and even of The Secret Garden with more favor. I think de Angeli absolutely got the flavor and language of the period, but sometimes the story got a bit stodgy for me. On the other hand, it is a Newbery winner, and it does have a dandy little resolution.

#71 Moby Dick and I are trudging a bit, but the fact that I made it chapters into the story is excellent. I think reading Bartleby the Scrivener last year made the writing more accessible to me. I'm behind on the group read, but going well for me.

So reviews of the last batch. . .

Roadwork by Stephen King (as Richard Bachman), which is good, but frankly I enjoyed The Long Walk better. The Bachman books are King writings that I've simply ignored for years. Blaze was a reminder that no matter what the name, the man is a storyteller, so I tried these. This one is about a man who is losing his home to an eminent domain highway improvement. The storyline is predictable, but again, I like the way King handles his stories.

Danny Champion of the World by Roald Dahl was a surprise! Who knew that Dahl, the master of pun and twisted stories, would have a delightful father-son story about poaching. It's a grade above William's level now, but will go to him next year.

The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli is a story that reminded me variously of The Secret Garden and The Little Lame Prince, two other children's books about young lame boys and the people who help them grow up. This is a Newbery winner, but it is a bit dated for today's readers (frankly, I think it probably was when it won), but it does have a dandy ending about the young medieval lad who learns how to find his "door in the wall."

The Black Cauldron and The Castle of Llyr (books 2 and 3 of the Prydain Chronicles) by Lloyd Alexander are part of the Group Read for that series, and I enjoyed these continuing adventures. Characters are maturing, plots are thickening, and futures are in doubt. Two more books to go!

Also finished the following:

Cujo by Stephen King
Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick
The Black Flame by Stanley G. Weinbaum
The Secret of the Andes by Ann Nolan Clark
The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
The Bells of Nagasaki by Takashi Nagai
The Santaroga Barrier by Frank Herbert

#73: I already have Danny, the champion of the world and The Door in the Wall in the BlackHole. One of these centuries I may actually get to them.

I am interested in seeing your reviews on the Weinbaum and Nagai books, Laurie.

Interesting commentary on The Story of Edgar Sawville. I'm wavering on that book because it's popular, but at the same time... the cover blurb gives me the gut feeling that I won't like it. I'll keep your comments in mind.

I love The Boxcar Children made me want to run away from home and live in a train.

Me too, and that was 40 years ago! Great that they've held up so well over time!

Hey Prop,

Glad you're enjoying the King so much. Just started Under the Dome myself. Also, posted a review on The Story of Edgar Sawtelle on my thread. I think I enjoyed every bit as much as you did. A favorite for the year.

#78 you started Under the Dome? sigh, I'm putting it off. I know once I start I'll get sucked in and nothing will get done until I've read the last page - such is the power Uncle Stevie holds over me.

Chiming in on support of Roald Dahl's books. He is fantastically creative. He was a real cad in life, but a true genius of the written word.

Thanks for the notes--I did enjoy The Story of Edgar Sawtelle and recommend it. Ignore the blurbs and the reviews, and just read it. If you are familiar with Hamlet, all the better to follow the twists in the plot. In many respects, it reminds me of Jane Smiley's Thousand Acres, which is a retelling of King Lear. When the writer is good in reinterpreting Shakespeare and the reader is not as familiar with the source material, it can be difficult to appreciate either story. However, I believe both of these stories stand on their own.

Here are my reviews:

Cujo by Stephen King was not one of my favorites. Having known a couple of St. Bernards, it's harder to deal with a rabid version. I also had some continuity issues with some of the story, but, it's (as beeg noted) "Uncle Stevie" writing, and you just go with the flow.

Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick was an absolute delight, and I enjoyed the book as much I enjoyed the film several years ago. It's a tale of two boys who by all accounts should never be friends, and become knights on a couple of quests. There is sadness and death and crime, but love and inspiration and humor. What a great combination.

The Black Flame by Stanley G. Weinbaum, recommended by TadAD, was another delight. An "early" science fiction novel, in its "restored" version, it is easy to read with some beautiful imagery and language. Basically a Rip Van Winkle saves the future story, it is both more than that, and makes me wonder what would the man have written had he lived. Thanks for the recommendation.

The Secret of the Andes by Ann Nolan Clark is the story of a young shepherd in the Andes, of Incan descent, who discovers what his life's destiny means to him. It's a Newbery winner, but a bit arcane for modern readers, and very slow. There really isn't much in active plot going on nor is there a lot of Incan history to build the boy's reactions, but it was worth the reading.

The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner was a surprise to me, mostly because I enjoyed a story about brothers and sisters living on their own in a boxcar. Frankly, sibling stories, especially from the 1920s and 1930s, usually drive me bonkers. As the oldest of eight, I am often annoyed with how well all the brothers and sisters always get along (The Brady Bunch on television was another annoyance!), but this was just fine. It's the first of a huge series (even if you stop after Gertrude stopped writing them!), and I suspect as an adult that the fun will pale after a few next in series, but I'm going to try them and see what happens.

The Bells of Nagasaki by Takashi Nagai was stunning. I found this on someone's thread (and I've misplaced my master list, so I have to look it up). The story of the American bombing of the city, told by an eyewitness who was a doctor and researcher, is a wrenching read. Nagai's book was kept from publication for years, initially by MacArthur and the occupation forces in Japan, and it is easy to see why. The graphic details of the days surrounding the bombing are not easy to read, but Nagai comes out of the worst with hope in his heart. Very much worth the reading.

The Santaroga Barrier by Frank Herbert is a reread for my RL book club this month. I love this novel about the small town of Santaroga in California, where the secret is in the Jaspers.

I should note as well the following quote from Freak the Mighty which I love:

This is true. He really does keep a dictionary in his knapsack, it's his favorite book, and he pulls it out like Arnold Schwarzenegger pulling out a machine gun or something, that's the fierce look he gets with a book in his hands.

>81 Prop2gether:: The Nagai books sounds interesting. I'll add it to the Wish List.

James Dickey wrote a book about the bombing called To the White Sea. I think it may have been published posthumously. I didn't like it very much though.

Black Rain is a terrific book about the aftermath of the bombing. It is by the Japanese writer Ibuse Masuji - fiction though, not nonfiction.

#82 love the quote!

Just popping in to say that Sydney, my big white cat who lost his tail last year, passed away last night, peacefully at home. He was nearly 19 years old (with me for 16 years), and had suddenly been ill in the past week. Things are a little unsettled at the moment.

I am sorry to hear about Sydney. I am glad he went peacefully, although I imagine that does not make it any easier on his loved ones.

8...-{

It's so hard to lose a pet who has been a friend for such a long time. My heart aches for you.

Wow! 19?! He was obviously well-cared for and loved. You take care.

Thanks for all the nice thoughts. Syd was a gentlemanly cat and he was well-loved for many years. Now I'm down to 3D and Spicy, who are a sister act at about 16 years old. This will be interesting.

I see the optometrist about new glasses today, and it must be about time. I'm having problems with my reading glasses!

Completed:

M is for Magic by Neil Gaiman (2010 Challenge)
The Silver Wolf by Alice Borchardt (75er Recommendation)
Secret Heart by David Almond
Aunt Dimity Digs In by Nancy Atherton (2010 Challenge)
Taran Wanderer by Lloyd Alexander (75 Group Read)
The State of Jones by Sally Jenkins and John Stauffer (75er Recommendation)

I'm so sorry that you lost a beloved pet.

I'm sending big hugs to you.

Oh, so difficult to lose a pet... how wonderful he lived so long! Hugs and condolences to you.

Sorry that Sydney had to leave you, it is always hard.
(((hugs)))

Thank you all again for your good wishes. I miss my big white cat, but I still have two cats (albeit elderly as well) who are filling some of the chairs.

for my reviews...

M Is For Magic by Neil Gaiman is a delightful collection of stories. I regularly enjoy Gaiman stories more than his longer works, but I've barely started on his works, so we'll see how it goes. I read that this collection is drawn from two other collections, but no matter. They were interesting, fun, and meant mostly for older teens, although I found the book in the children's section. Go figure.

The Silver Wolf by Alice Borchardt was found originally on avaiatkh's thread and it sounded intriguing. I enjoyed the story of a young woman who has "abilities" from her father and a very nasty maternal uncle in a Rome that is very much in decline from its glory days. I enjoyed the book, and will look for the sequel, but it seemed a tad long to me, with some sections needing some judicious editing. On the other hand, the characters were fascinating and the descriptive prose was beautiful. Borchardt is Anne Rice's sister, and there are some similarities in their choices. However, Borchardt does have a distinct voice and, as I noted, I did enjoy the story.

Secret Heart by David Almond is interesting, as anything by Almond is, but I'm not sure I can say I enjoyed the reading. Some of Almond's work is extremely dark in theme and this book was almost mystic in presentation. Almond's books are distinct works and while I enjoy most of his writing, this was not one of my favorites.

Aunt Dimity Digs In by Nancy Atherton is the next-in-series, and was a very nice cozy read. The "digs" refer to archeological digs in the town.

Taran Wanderer by Lloyd Alexander is the fourth in series for the Group Read of the Prydain Chronicles. I will comment later after the group has reached this book.

The State of Jones by Sally Jenkins and John Stauffer was found on a thread (still looking for my list to say whose), and I enjoyed this read on a little-known area of US Civil War history. There's some controversy about the book and the topic (a county that declared itself aligned with the USA, not the CSA), but the writers include a fairly extensive bibliography to look for other information on the subject. I enjoyed the writing.

Recently finished:

From Russia With Love by Ian Fleming
Christine by Stephen King

Currently reading:

The Brontes Went to Woolworth's by Rachel Ferguson
The Archivist by Travis Holland
Moby Dick, The Count of Monte Cristo and Anna Karenina for Group Reads as well

I am glad to hear that the other cats are helping you cope with Sydney's loss.

I like that you are reading Ian Fleming's 'James Bond' novels. I undertook that task one year and found that I had to space them out quite a bit because the writing was so...dry, masculine and detail oriented. Yet, so, so cool. You may have inspired me to pick up where I left off. :)

I keep meaning to rerturn to the Aunt Dimity series but I keep forgetting. :-/

Ouch! It's been a while since I posted here. Been ill a couple of times and extremely busy at others, but really--there's no good excuse for not "talking to" good friends about books.

To recap my books since mid-March:

From Russia With Love by Ian Fleming
Christine by Stephen King
Cycle of the Werewolf by Stephen King
The Archivist's Story by Travis Holland
The Brontes Went to Woolworth's by Rachel Ferguson (ER)
The Waste Lands by Stephen King (Book III of The Dark Tower)
Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination by Helen Fielding
Wizard and Glass by Stephen King (Book IV of The Dark Tower)
Wolves of the Calla by Stephen King (Book V of the The Dark Tower)
Here There Be Dragons by Jane Yolen

Reviews to follow. . .

#99: Nice to see you back, Laurie!

Not being a Stephen King fan, I will pass those by, but I am interested in seeing what you think of The Archivist's Story.

I enjoyed both The Brontes Went to Woolworth's and Here There Be Dragons. I hope you did too!

Is there any sequence to the 007 books or can they be read in any order, like how they released the movies?

The publication order is the right sequence for the main novels. The books can certainly be read out of order. For the most part, they're stand-alone. However, some characters and events a given novel are referenced in later ones. If you can, I recommend reading them in order.

Yes, about the reading order for the Bond novels--I'm working my way through in publication order. It's a bit of habit when I'm dealing with continuing or recurring characters, because I hate to read out of sequence plot or character developments.

From Russia With Love by Ian Fleming was fascinating in that Bond, although mentioned, does not make an appearance in the story until about half-way. I enjoyed this outing, and it seemed a bit more "mature" than the earlier romps, but it is still Bond.

Christine by Stephen King--ah, a boy and his car! I haven't seen the film version in a very long time, and now I'm not sure I'd want to--the story as told by a third party to the love affair is quite neatly presented, and I did enjoy the reading.

Cycle of the Werewolf by Stephen King was a find on a bookstore shelf and I figured, why not? It's short, it's a one-line plot about werewolves, and I found it both entertaining (and a bit funny) and appropriately scary (just because it's about werewolves). Turns out to be a misfired attempt to write a story to fit illustrations for a calendar, so there are 12 basic sections plus some great artwork. I recently recommended it to an "I'm NOT a Stephen King fan" and she thoroughly enjoyed the story and its payoff.

The Archivist's Story by Travis Holland was originally found on CatyM's thread, about a writer in Stalinist Russia, who finds himself assigned to the archives where deviant (wrong politics, wrong writing, wrong whatever) writers' works go while the writers themselves are interrogated. Short, but very powerful, the story revolves around the archivist's dilemma of obeying his superiors or his heart, regardless of the consequences. I greatly enjoyed this work and thanks to CatyM for the mention.

The Brontes Went to Woolworth's by Rachel Ferguson was a title I saw and was intrigued by, and so I was very pleased to receive a copy through the Early Reviewers program. Sadly, I was disappointed by the book and its premise: three young women who live an singularly insular life and create a world to suit them. That description is perhaps not fair if you were entranced by the visions, but I found it too long. I got the joke, the program, and the probable resolution early on, and wished that it had been a long short story of perhaps 90 pages rather than 180+ pages of novel. It is very era-specific, and that may also be part of the problem, because some of the patter seems forced. It's a good book for readers of the era, for fans of the author, and I commend the Bloomington group for reprinting hits of earlier years. This one just didn't suit my cuppa.

The Waste Lands, Wizard and Glass, and Wolves of Calla are books 3, 4, and 5 in The Dark Tower series and to say I inhaled them is to understate the obvious. Between the three novels, there is almost 3,000 pages of story continuing the quest of Roland Deschain and his companions. I really enjoyed both The Waste Lands and Wolves of Calla, and found the middle book to be necessary for plot and character development. I was thoroughly amused to find King's warning to readers on Book V to stop reading if they have not read the earlier volumes because they will "get" the story, but not the meaning of the events. There are two more in the direct series, and since Mr. King has just interjected himself as a character, it will be interesting, but I need a break for something lighter or heavier or just plain on a different plane.

Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination by Helen Fielding was found on TheTortoise's thread, and it was quite a bit of fun. Olivia Joules (originally Rachel Pixley) is a newspaper reporter who does fluff and desperately wants to do serious writing. She has an emergency survival kit which would amaze the Boy Scouts in its completeness, and a serious suspicion about the movie producer she's just meet. But Olivia has an overactive imagination, and things progress quite rapidly once she is taken for a spy. Some aspects reminded me of Our Man in Havana by Greene where the main character is sort of but not really a spy, but this had some nice 21st century twists. I enjoyed it quite a bit, and that was a very pleasant surprise.

Here There Be Dragons by Jane Yolen is a delightful collection of dragon short stories and poems. Absolutely recommended.

Hi Laurie

Great to read your posts. I recently purchased five-six of the Aunt Dimity books at my local library for .10 each. I can't wait to dig into them.

Anything by Jane Yolen is great. I haven't read Here There Be Dragons, but I'll certainly check it out of the library. Have you read Briar Rose? I read this one last year. Stasia read it last week, and like me, she recommended it.

I've heard that Olivia Joules is a fun book, I should really track it down one of these days...

I loved the title of The Brontes Went to Woolworths but have heard a couple of negative reviews now, so don't want to read it anymore. Thanks for saving me! ;-)

If you enjoyed Olivia Joules, have you read Cause Celeb? I think you may like it...

Whisper, be sure to read the Aunt Dimity stories in order-they make very little sense otherwise. And they are a delightful fuzzy cozy read.

I read Briar Rose years ago as part of the series of alternative tellings of fairy tales and loved it. I've read a lot more to Jane Yolen since and really enjoy her storytelling.

dk_phoenix, Olivia Joules was a hoot, but no, flissp, I haven't read Cause Celeb. I read the first Bridget Jones book and wasn't greatly impressed, although I loved the movie (can Colin Firth do anything wrong?). Hence, I hadn't actively looked for her books. But I did greatly enjoy Olivia, so maybe....

bonniebooks, I've only read positively glowing reviews of The Brontes Went to Woolworth's, so I thought I was the only "downer" in the list. It was just too long in the telling for my taste, and, while I enjoy fantasy a great deal, this one just didn't work for me.

Going back to Moby Dick and my library books this weekend--I have to finish some so they can be returned before I got to NYC to visit my daughter.

Laurie

You are right about needed to read the Aunt Dimity series in order. Last year I read Snowbound and was lost.

I'm heading off to do a google search to learn the order of the books.

Well, LOL, the first one is Aunt Dimity's Death, which sets up the premise for the series.

Ah, to be reading The Dark Tower series for the first time. Glad you're enjoying it so much. Some folks hate that he introduced himself as a character, but I found it interesting.

BDB--it's not the first time I've found an author in his or her own work, so I figure it's just part of the dynamic now. I did have to take a respite from some intense reading for the past few weeks though. And, yes, I am enjoying the series (not all the books, but the series).

There were a couple of the books I didn't enjoy as much but they moved the series along. From what you have left, I didn't care much for #6, but the final is awesome.

Oh my, I'm behind in posting my reading:

The Poison Belt by Arthur Conan Doyle
Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman
Dr. No by Ian Fleming
The Sorrows of Young Werther by Goethe
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
Aunt Dimity's Christmas by Nancy Atherton
Lucky Breaks by Susan Patron
Raven Summer by David Almond
The Cavalier in the Yellow Doublet by Arturo Perez Reverte

All but one of the above being library books due before I return from New York, I will review a bit later....

Hi Laurie,

Just stopping by to say hello as I saw your thread bubble up to the top. I've never read that particular Atherton. I've only done a few of the Aunt Dimity books; I should go back and find the rest.

Is the Perez-Reverte in the Alatriste series? That's another I've started and not kept up with in the press of books.

David Almond's books tend to be a bit dark, but well worth the read. Did you like Raven Summer? I haven't read this one yet.

I've been hunting for a good used copy of the Goethe book, but it seems to be a rare one in the used market.

Hey, Laurie. Nice bit of recent reading. I am curious about the Goethe since I have never read that one.

ETA: I have both Odd and the Frost Giants and The Westing Game home from the library now. I will be curious to see what you thought of them.

Well, I'm in NY, using my daughter's laptop, so I'll wait on posting full reviews, but to answers the questions here:

This was the fifth in series for Aunt Dimity and I'm reading them in order because she builds her characters through her stories. Not too complicated, not too long, just nice cozy reads--this one teaching Lori Shepard a few forgotten lessons about humankind.

This was also the fifth in series for Captain Alatriste, recently translated into English. It's not as action-filled as some of the others, but the Captain is still dealing with honor and the king and his eclectic band of companions. It's also chockful of history if you simply follow the storyline.

Almond's books are often very dark, but I enjoyed this more than a couple of recent outings. Again, coming of age and the breaking down of friendships and the hazards of family are explored. It ends on a slightly out-of-kilter note for me, but if you enjoy Almond's other works, this one won't disappoint.

I found Sorrows of Young Werther in a used book store, a Signet paperback edition. I passed it on to the library book collection mostly because it was full of notes and underscoring (in INK) from the last reader, apparently for a class. So, it was possibly not the best copy to send to a fellow reader, but better in a classroom.

Really enjoyed both Odd and the Frost Giants and The Westing Game--the first was written for a festival and the second won the Newbury. Both short, rather elegant tales (supposedly for children--ha!), and highly recommended.

Brought 8 or 9 books to NY; let's see how far I get!

Hey, I wasn't hinting around! It's just funny to me what seems to make the used rounds.

BDB--LOL, I didn't take it as a hint, was just appalled at how marked up the book was, and, yes, I had trouble finding it as well. The Signet edition includes some other stories and seems to the "school edition" on my local library shelves. You might try there. The story is around 200 pages, including an afterword, so it's not too long.

#120: Mac, if you can stand reading it off your PC screen it is available on Project Gutenberg.

Sorry, no, I need the musty smell of yellowing pages and flakes of binding collecting in my lap as I read. Haven't figured out the whole 'Kindle' thing; so foreign to me.

#123: I much prefer the print versions too, so I know what you mean.

>123 blackdogbooks: & 124: While vastly preferring the feel of a real book, I have to say that I like the Kindle much better than I expected. I can't stand reading off a computer screen—backlighting is a no-no, as is having to sit up in a chair at a desk. But, I finished War and Peace on the Kindle and it wasn't bad. Putting a cover on it for protection actually made it feel more like a book, plus it was a fraction of the weight.

I don't see it ever displacing paper in my mind, but for travel or "let's just stop in at the diner after the lacrosse game" it works well.

Okay, some late reviews:

The Poison Belt by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is a short novel about Professor Challenger and his friends, this time dealing with a mysterious cloud which seems to be killing off the world. It's not too difficult, although the language is somewhat archaic for modern readers. I did enjoy meeting up with this group again.

Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman is a delightful short novel about a boy named Odd (who is also a bit odd) and incorporates some Norse mythology into the action. I have recommended this to several others, all reports coming back positive.

Dr. No by Ian Fleming--James Bond next-in-order (and that's good, because this one specifically starts where the last one ended!) and I'm growing fonder of Mr. Bond in written form than I anticipated.

The Sorrows of Young Werther by Goethe is one of those classic must read (which is also on the 1001 Must Read list), which was highly romantic, then tragic, then tragic-romantic for several generations. Ostensibly the letters of a young man who is inclined to depression and anxieties who falls madly in love with a soon-to-be and then is married woman, the ups and downs of Werther's longings and activities are certainly well-written. However, having read other works by Goethe years ago, this one was not as interesting to me as it might have been when I was younger.

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin is the story of a game to inherit an estate, involving individuals and families in a convoluted attempt to "win" the estate. It was fun, especially with the additional materials at the end of the book. A Newbery winner and nicely done!

Aunt Dimity's Christmas by Nancy Atherton is next-in-series in this cozy, cozy mystery series about Lori Shepard and her family and friends. This one had some expected seasonal object lessons, but it was fun to reconnect with the characters.

Lucky Breaks by Susan Paton is the sequel to The Higher Power of Lucky returns us to Hard Pan and Lucky's plans to celebrate her birthday. I did not enjoy this book as much as the first--Lucky was obnoxious and some of the storyline seemed a bit mean-spirited. Maybe it's just a "middle" book if Paton writes about Lucky again, but this is not a recommendation from me.

Raven Summer by David Almond is yet another coming of age novel from this writer. His books tend to be quite dark, and this one is a bit lighter than the last one I read. I do enjoy his writing, but not for everyone.

The Cavalier in the Yellow Doublet by Arturo Perez Reverte. Sigh. Captain Alatriste. Sigh again. This fifth in the series is not action packed as several earlier novels have been, but the Captain is still very much an honorable man who lives in his time for his king and country.

more to come....

Next in completion:

The Yellow Wall-Paper by Charlotte Gilman Perkins
The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King
This is Water by David Foster Wallace
The High King by Lloyd Alexander (last of the Prydain Chronicles)
The Stone Gods by Jeanette Winterson
The Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl
Skylark by Patricia MacLachlan
Whose Body? by Dorothy Sayers
The Shootist by Glendon Swarthout
One More Day by Mitch Albom (a Mother's Day gift from my son)
Bernard Shaw on War, an ER book

reviews to come....still reading Moby Dick and moving right along!

Laurie

Stasia mentioned that you read Raven Summer. I finished this book tonight. I agree with you...It was dark. I don't think I'm going to be reading any more of his books. They seem to be getting very heavy and somewhat convoluted. It's a shame because I loved Skelig.

Also a shame about the follow up to The Higher Power of Lucky. I really loved that book, and since I trust your judgment, I won't be reading the next one.

#126: I do not know that I have ever read The Poison Belt so I will have to look for that one. I have read The Lost World, so I am familiar with Challenger.

It sounds like you liked Raven Summer more than I did. It got to be a little too much Lord of the Flies for me.

Hi!

Awesome that you liked Odd and the Frost Giants -- I'm glad I'm not the only one. Anytime an author can make Norse mythology fun -- and Gaiman is particularly good at it -- I think it's a winner. :)

Hello again, now about my last comments...

For Raven Summer, well, I can't really say I liked it (although I did like better than a couple of others), but Skellig is still the one I enjoyed best. Kit's Wilderness won a batch of awards, but I haven't been able to sit with it long enough to get into the story, so that may be next on reading from Almond's writings. For someone who claims to have had a normal and happy childhood, he can get awfully involved in very unhappy scenarios in his books.

As for the Lucky books, the second book was disappointing, and really did little to advance characters or plot. I'm hoping that anything else I may read by Paton will be more involving.

And yea for the Professor Challenger gang! The members are totally pre-feminist, totally self-involved, and fun to follow. I liked The Lost World and found The Poison Belt on a library shelf. Predictable, but nice to rejoin the gang for a slightly non-industrial age paean.

I loved Gaiman's Odd and his adventure. I'm finding that Gaiman's children's work are more engaging for me, but that's just fine because I really have enjoyed those works very much.

Oops--too long for my computer to add in reviews, so on to next message...

So my latest reading included:

The Yellow Wall-Paper by Charlotte Gilman Perkins, from the 1001 Must Read list, a very short novel (or a long story) about a woman's breakdown and the attempts by her doctor/husband to cure her around the beginning of the 20th century. Compared with The Awakening by Kate Chopin, this story is sharper in many respects and much more direct. Highly recommended.

The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King--I needed a break from the Gunslinger books, and, although this book is related to that series through some characters, it is much more a fantasy tale of two brothers, an evil adviser, murder and mayhem, and a great tie-in to a doll's house. If you are an avowed non-King fan but love fantasies, this is just perfect for you, especially as an introduction to King's "lighter" side of writing. I very much enjoyed this novel.

This is Water by David Foster Wallace is the only speech Wallace ever gave to a graduating class, and it was quite entertaining, especially given Wallace's fairly recent death. My daughter's boyfriend is a huge Wallace fan and she bought the book to read something less daunting than infinite Jest or even Girl with Curious Hair. As such, it is a nice introduction to Wallace's style and wit.

The High King by Lloyd Alexander (last of the Prydain Chronicles) is the fifth in the series, read for the 75 Challenge read. I enjoyed three of the five books, didn't enjoy so much the second and fourth, but the series as a whole is a very nice juvenile introduction to a fantasy series. The best known title in the series is probably The Black Cauldron, but it is a series best read from start to finish.

ouch! my computer glitched again...

The Stone Gods by Jeanette Winterson tells three stories of characters with the same names and issues, and melds them all together through the images of the stone heads of Easter Island. Winterson's writing is fabulous, but terribly difficult to describe in cogent terms. Her characters are to some aspect self-projections, I think, and her writing is not for everyone. I've enjoyed her work to date and do recommend this, especially if you are a fan.

The Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl is just trying to feed his family. This children's book is fun, witty, and now I think I will see the movie (which I missed last year).

Skylark by Patricia MacLachlan is the sequel to Sarah, Plain and Tall, this time involving draught and hardships on the prairie. Again, extremely short with a lot of story packed in--recommended, but you have to read the first book first.

Whose Body? by Dorothy Sayers is the first of the Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries, and initially, I didn't like Lord Peter too much. However, he grew more fun as the story progressed, so on to the next adventure.

The Shootist by Glendon Swarthout is most famous as John Wayne's last film, about a "shootist" (gunslinger) who is dying of cancer. The book ends on a very different note from the film, which was changed at Wayne's request. I think Wayne was right in his perceptions, but this ending is powerful in itself. Except for the ending, the story is the movie plotline--no great surprises. Just a nicely paced Western novel.

One More Day by Mitch Albom was a Mother's Day gift from my son. Since it's the story of a mother, told by her son, it was a lovely gift indeed. And because it's Albom, there were laughs and sighs and tears as well. I did indeed recognize some of those conversations!

Bernard Shaw on War, an ER book, is a selection of Shaw's writings on the subject of war pulled from his plays, his essays, his prefaces, and his letters. Philip Pullman wrote a strong introduction to the work, Shaw is one to read.

I also love the way The Talisman fits into the Gunslinger's world.

Books like The Yellow Wallpaper scare me soooo much more than a book like Sharp Teeth that I read again for *fun* last night.

I agree with you regarding David Almond, I wonder about the source of such darkness.

Lord Peter does grow on you as the series progresses. I'm not too far into the series yet, but I've heard it gets even better when his lady love enters the picture.

#137 - Definitely.

I am looking forward to more King soon, but there's so much to read! My RL book club was supposed to read Mazel by Rebecca Goldstein, but I'm the only one who even started the book and I'm only half-way through. It's not as compelling as some of my other reads. And there have been a few:

Confession by Dominic Stansbury
After the Fireworks by Aldous Huxley (ER)
Kill Now, Pay Later by Robert Terrall
Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs (read for Librivox by Mark Smith)

two short plays--

Mr. Peters' Connections by Arthur Miller
Molly Sweeney by Brian Friel

as well as

Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli
Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
Whittington by Alan Armstrong

It's been a good week for shorter works, although I'm down another 70 pages or so in Moby Dick.

so on to review time. . .

Confession by Dominic Stansbury is a Hard Case Crime novel, told in first person about a series of murders involving neckties and such. The narrator's mistress is found dead with his tie around her neck--did he or didn't he? These novels are short, quick, not-too-involved reads and I enjoyed this one.

After the Fireworks by Aldous Huxley was an Early Reviewer book. The cover's a bit odd, and the story was slower than I would have liked, about an older man/younger woman (the writer and his fan) who become involved with each other. The blurb calls it a story with "tragic" consequences. I think that's a bit strong for today's readers, but it is good Huxley, and not too very long.

Kill Now, Pay Later by Robert Terrall, another Hard Case Crime, this one involving a private detective accused of murder and mayhem. Again, I like the series, and I enjoyed this book.

Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs (read for Librivox by Mark Smith)--WOW! Mark Smith, who is one of the volunteer readers for Librivox, does a fantastic job of reading this classic adventure. It's very obvious he's enjoying reading the story and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the 9 hours or so of novel. I was truly surprised by the ending, though, because I thought I knew about Tarzan and Jane--oh well, movies are rewritten works. Highly recommended, free download, and on the 1001 Must Read list.

Mr. Peters' Connections by Arthur Miller is a one-act play wherein Mr. Peters meets up with various people from his life. Not highly original, not as much fun as the playwright thinks it is, but not too long.

Molly Sweeney by Brian Friel is a two-act play about a blind woman who undergoes surgery to regain her sight. There are three characters and they do not interact at all. Each is in a set place on stage, and tells the story in monologue fashion. It's a fascinating notion, because the play reads much more like a short story.

Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli is a Holocaust story for children, which is slightly different in tone and style than any other I have read. The main character is a young (6 to 8 YO) orphaned boy who is a Gypsy in Poland. He winds up in Warsaw, becomes part of a homeless boys' gang whose members wind up in the Jewish ghetto. He is totally confused by the actions of others around him, although he learns very fast how to survive. The ending was a bit fast and furious for me, but the story was extremely well told.

Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli was a direct reaction to reading Milkweed. This book, however, is the Newbery winner for Spinelli, which details how Jeffrey Magee, orphaned to the care of distant relatives, starts running and doesn't stop. In the process, he gets involved in race relations in his town, and it was a nicely turned story for kids in late elementary school.

Whittington by Alan Armstrong is a Newbery Honor book about a cat who claims to be a descendent of Dick Whittington's cat. While helping the animals and young humans on a farm, he incorporates the fable version of Dick Whittington's story and everyone learns lessons for life. It was a bit long for the moral overtones, but well told. I did enjoy it.

currently reading...

Bridge to Terabithia plus Moby Dick (the story just picked up again after the whaling lessons) plus another ER to complete....

>140 Prop2gether:: I was truly surprised by the ending, though, because I thought I knew about Tarzan and Jane

You have to read The Return of Tarzan (book #2)...then the planets will align into the story you thought you knew... :-)

Wow, you've read a lot of good books lately. The Eyes of the Dragon is one of my favorite King novels. I know a lot of King fans don't like it because it's fantasy and different from most of his books. I always liked that he wrote it for his daughter, who didn't like the horror books.
I never realized that Glendon Swarthout wrote The Shootist. His Bless The Beasts and Children is one of my all time favorite books. And a decent movie as well.

I have Milkweed home from the library now, so I will be getting to it in the next few weeks. I hope I like it as much as you did.

Ooo, Tarzan of the Apes sounds fun, and I think I'll be adding Molly Sweeney as well.

Tad--I figured that somewhere the books match the movie scenario, but this ending was quite "noble," wasn't it! *sigh* Another series started. . . .

VioletBramble--I know I read Bless the Beasts and the Children years ago, but I was surprised by how versatile Swarthout's writing appears to be. If you find it, The Shootist was worth the time to read.

alcottacre--I enjoyed Milkweed more as a story than I did Maniac Magee, although both books deal on a child's level with some pretty heavy topics. The Milkweed ending seemed rushed to me, but maybe that's because I wanted to know more about the lead character, especially as an adolescent. Still-a satisfying read.

Luxx--I have to say, I had started Tarzan of the Apes in standard book form and got bolluxed up in the writing. Hearing it told, however, was magical--which, come to think of it, is probably why the movies have been so successful.

finished Bridge to Terabithia and nearly three-quarters through Moby Dick. I do have an ER book to finish and review, so back to the books----

Reviews for

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
Elysiana by Chris Knopf
Daisy Miller by Henry James
Passager by Jane Yolen
Hobby by Jane Yolen
Merlin by Jane Yolen
The Gammage Cup by Carol Kendall
Fourth Grade Rats by Jerry Spinelli
Aunt Dimity Beats the Devil by Nancy Atherton

Okay, so a boatload of children's books here plus one classic novella and one very cozy mystery--all the keep me moving through Moby Dick.

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson is a wonderful story of friendship and imagination and death. I saw the film about a year ago, but the book was just as wonderous. This is another Newbery winner and it's very, very good.

Elysiana by Chris Knopf is a "new" type of mystery for this writer. I'd not heard of his earlier series work and got this one as an Early Reviewer edition, but it reminded me a lot of Elmore Leonard mixed up with a bit of Kinky Friedman. It was fun for the reading, but I seriously almost never made it past the first chapter. For me, it seemed there was a serious effort by the writer to make his lead female character totally unattractive in every way, and it was very off-putting. Set on an island, with an oddball set of characters in the sixties, it manages to be fun, but not wildly memorable.

The Young Merlin Trilogy by Jane Yolen is comprised of three short novellas: Passager, Hobby, and Merlin. I actually read all three because, wanting to read a Yolen children's book, I accidentally checked out Merlin before discovering it was the third in the series. Yolen reinvents the Merlin legend as a story of the boy from 8 through 12 years old, being first abandoned in the forest, then living on a farm, then traveling with magician, and then seeming to come into his own. Frankly, the only one of the series which I enjoyed was the first, Passager (the titles all refer to types of hawks or merlins) because it seemed the most direct. The second and third books are not as cohesive and I seriously did not like the plot line of the third. But, it's Yolen, and the lady can definitely turn a phrase out nicely, so if you like her work, you should try this set.

The Gammage Cup by Carol Kendall was a delight! Thanks to TadAD, on whose thread I found this gem. Written for mid-elementary children about five people ousted from their village for daring to be different, it has a gentle lesson on individuality and heroism, and a very basic plot line. I liked it very much.

Daisy Miller is Henry James's novella of a young woman who flaunts custom and society and is punished for her acts. Told by an admirer, it is a nicely told story of that era and not the often tedious prose of some of James's other works.

Fourth Grade Rats by Jerry Spinelli is the story of a new fourth-grader who is trying to come to terms with being in the fourth grade. Nicely done for that age reader.

Aunt Dimity Beats the Devil is the next in series for this cozy mystery. I read an LT review where the writer takes issue with the fact that Lori Shepard, heroine of the series, seems to have a strong roving eye in each story. It's true, but mostly because the men she admires remind her so strongly of her husband, Bill, which, in turn, makes her quite faithful. This mystery involved books, a ghost in a castle, and Guy Fawkes day.

I am nearing the last quarter of Moby Dick, and have also read several Holocaust-related books in the past two weeks, which have been excellent. Separate reviews to follow....

Milkweed is one of my favorite reads of 2010. I think it is an incredible book.

You are reading so many great books.

Long time since I visited your thread. I'm glad you enjoyed Silver Wolf, I have the next book in the series but I'm not sure when I'll get to it.
I've read a couple in the Bloomsbury Group series A kid for two farthings and Miss Hargreaves. They both sounded more fabulous than they read. I still have a couple more to read including The Brontes went to Woolworths, but they are not priority reads.
I liked Milkweed and recommend Uri Orlev's books if you want to read more along those lines.
I'm putting The Gammage Cup on my tbr list.

I have always loved The Bridge to Terabithia; I'm glad you enjoyed it as well.

I've always enjoyed Yolen's work, so I'll have to check out the Young Merlin Trilogy... I'm surprised I haven't heard of it before, to be quite honest!

>146 Prop2gether:: :-D

Amy
I'm currently listening to the audio version of The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton. I think Daisy Miller might make a good companion piece to follow after Wharton.

>146 Prop2gether:: Btw, there is a sequel to The Gammage Cup, The Whisper of Glocken. I enjoyed it though I didn't find it quite as heart-warming as the first.

There's also a book of hers that I've never read, The Firelings—in fact, I've never even seen a copy. Some people list it as third in the series but...looking at the book description...it appears to have nothing to do with the Minnipins.

Just dropping in to day I'm finally caught up on your thread (I got behind awhile ago due to school and finals and graduation and whatnot). Great reading! I'll be combing back through your thread after work to add a lot of books to my wishlist ;-)

okay, okay, okay, here's the latest set:

Trollbridge by Jane Yolen and Adam Semple
Aunt Dimity: Detective by Nancy Atherton
New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

and in a separate category for reviews:

Gotz and Meyer by David Albahari
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen

Trollbridge by Jane Yolen and Adam Semple (her son by the blurb) is a melding and retelling of the 12 dancing princess and the three billy goats/troll fairy stories. It's classic style reinvention by Yolen of fairy tales in which there is a bridge and a troll, 12 butter princesses who customarily pitch butter busts of themselves into the river for the troll, and three brothers who are in a band who are out for non-tour jaunt. Mix the elements, have a smart princess who plays the harp join with the most melodic of the brothers--and beat the troll at his game. This is one of two "rock and roll" fairy tales by Yolen and it was cute.

Aunt Dimity:Detective by Nancy Atherton has Lori Shepard returning home to find a murder investigation in full swing. This book addresses opening Lori's "roving eye" when her husband's out of town, but man on man, did her husband come home with style! Anyway, nice cozy mystery series.

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer is the second Twilight book, and *meh* for me--it's a tweener. Edward and the Cullens move away for Bella's sake, she nearly self-destructs until she spends time with Jacob, who, in turn, grows into his heritage and becomes a wolf. Everyone is in danger, out of danger, moping, yelling, whatever. Meyer's is a very fast read, but not the best in town. I do see the appeal, however, for teens in this series.

and to continue. . .

The next three books. plus Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli which I reviewed above (#140), are all Holocaust-related and worth the time to check out:

Gotz and Meyer by David Albahari is a narrative telling of a WWII concentration camp for Jews in Serbia. The narrator, himself a survivor because his mother hid in a small town for the war, starts trying to find out who his family members were that were processed through the camp. The writer is now an unmarried literature professor who discovers in documents that the main death vehicle was a truck using carbon monoxide, driven by two SS officers, Gotz and Meyer. He can find very few details about the men, so he visualizes them as virtually interchangeable men, one of whom is married and one of whom is not--Gotz or maybe Meyer. The professor takes his class on a field trip to envision the camp and the truck ride, and the effects are both heartbreaking and banal. Because the book is written in a journal style, there are no paragraphs and no chapter breaks. This makes the story as unrelenting for the reader as it is for the narrator.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne is extensively reviewed throughout LT, and it is a powerful story of an extremely naive 9 year old German boy whose father takes the family to reside at a camp. There are no other children, except his sister, and the one boy in the striped pajamas with whom he establishes a daily meeting. The ending is heartbreaking, especially because it is as naive as the boys, and as inevitable as the history we know.

The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen is a story of young Hannah, bored at the annual Passover Seder, who opens the door to invite Elijah to the table, and finds herself in a Polish Jewish community as the Nazis arrive to relocate Jews to a work camp. Hannah, who has the benefit of history to know what is happening, must reconcile herself to realities of the new world she finds herself in.

Three of these books are either written for or about children, somewhere between 8 or 9 years old and 12 or so, who find themselves in the horrific, extraordinary times of WWII concentration camp experiences. They are naive, they are afraid, they don't understand the consequences of simple actions--but they are all children nonetheless and their stories are extraordinary reads.

Gotz and Meyer was a disturbing and fascinating read. The journal, sentence by sentence structure, forces the reader to follow the narrator through his personal discovery of how relentless the destruction of a people is when it becomes the ordinary order of business.

I have recommended all three books to several other readers, and I recommend them to you. None is a long read in pages--but each will be a read to remember.

Gotz and Meyer looks very good to me. Thanks for the recommendation, Laurie. I will look for that one.

ditto what Stasia said.

I have a copy of Troll Bridge around here somewhere that I haven't read yet. Good to hear it's a fun story!

I thought Troll Bridge was fun too, but have not checked out the other rock n' roll fairy tale -- have you?

Nice overview of the children's/YA holocaust literature -- I've read the Yolen, but not the others, so thanks very much for the rec.

You're all welcome, and I hope you find the books as intriguing or moving as I did.

beserene, I've got the other rock n' roll fairy tale Pay the Piper out from the library, so maybe next week.

Since my last report, I've read:

Night Walker by Donald Hamilton (a Hard Case Crime mystery)
Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer (Twilight series)
What-The-Dickens by Gregory Maguire
Hellboy: Seed of Destruction by Mike Mignola and John Byrne
The Touchstone by Edith Wharton
Moby Dick by Herman Melville

Night Walker by Donald Hamilton is another of Hard Case Crime's reprints of noir myteries. A naval reserve officer, recalled to duty, hitches a ride to base, and finds himself in a hospital with his face entirely swathed in bandages. The mystery's not too hard, the women are pretty and unnecessary, and all resolves well. This series is a nice break from more intense works.

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer is the third Twilight book. Bella is the cause of vampiric war; Edward and Jacob must co-exist; and this book is better than the last. *meh* but totally engrossing once you start.

What-The Dickens by Gregory Maguire is about an orphaned tooth fairy, as told by a young man babysitting his cousins on a dark and stormy night. I found Wicked to be a tedious read for the last half of the novel and, as a result, I've not been tempted by the sequels. I love the Oz books and I liked Maguire's idea, but it just was too long for me. Same thing with this shorter, more YA novel. It's not quite a fairy tale, it's not quite a disaster or hero story (endangered children), and I found much of the tone very smirky and not appealing at all. If you are a Maguire fan, however, you will probably love this book.

Hellboy: Seed of Destruction by Mike Mignola and John Byrne (and a bunch of others) is a "graphic novel" (I still think of them as comic books with great printing) that is the basis for the original Hellboy movie. I like both Hellboy movies as "guilty pleasures" and the book was a nice adjunct. It was in a library display in the children's section, which surprised me. It was a pleasant interlude.

The Touchstone by Edith Wharton is a short (less than 100 pages) novel about a young man who sells love letters in order to raise the money he needs to marry his girl. The letters were written to him by a famous woman author who was increasingly infatuated with him until her death. The publication of the letters is sensational and he begins to feel as if he has committed a crime. The story is very taut, focused on the the young man, his relationships with the two women in his life, and, at some points, his friend who helped him get the letters published. I was thoroughly engrossed in the story and consequences of guilt.

Moby Dick by Herman Melville--*happy dance here* It only took more than two decades, but I finally finished this classic. I started reading with the 75er read, and I remembered someone in this group commenting that Moby Dick is essentially three parts: story, whaling history and information, and story. True, true, true. Someone in the group read commented on how interesting the whaling part was, and I agree to the extent that it really is necessary to understand the final chase through the seas. I could not put the book down for the last 30 pages.

Oooh I like the sound of The Touchstone - perhaps this would be a good Edith Wharton starting point for me?

flissp, I'd recommend The Touchstone (which was originally published in the UK as The Gift from Grace) as an opening Wharton read (can't get my touchstones to work properly--sort of ironic). I like her works, but this one is short enough to wish it was longer. The edition I read had a foreward written by Salley Vickers which was informative, and, again short.

Congratulations on finishing up Moby Dick, Laurie!

Moby Dick really WAS gripping at the end! I found it very interesting in the beginning, as well. I loved that scene in the Nantucket church...and the story of how Ishmael met Queequeg.

Well, Moby Dick was worth the time and effort, but I certainly would not have tried again had the group read not been going. It was fascinating reading others's impressions of the writing and story, and it encouraged me to get through. So thanks!!!

Since then, I've completed:

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
My Dad's a Birdman by David Almond
Sabriel by Garth Nix
Paris in the Twentieth Century by Jules Verne

Catching Fire is the sequel to the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, and was still a fast, intriguing read, although not as involving as the first book. The game winners, having been promised a lifetime free from the games, are now forced to compete again in a game which is rigged from two directions--the government and the contestants. There's insurrection brewing throughout the sectors and the competition is supposed to quell the rebels and their plans. The game is quite horrific and ends with a set-up for book three, and while I enjoyed the read, it's another instance that reminds of how the second Matrix movie just ended with a note to essentially "stay tuned for more." *sigh*

My Dad's a Birdman by David Almond is a relatively sweet story from this author (who is often quite dark) about a girl and her father who get involved in a competition.

Sabriel by Garth Nix is book one of the Abhorsen/Old Kingdom trilogy, and is part of a 75 Group Read. I thoroughly enjoyed this fantasy, which features a strong female lead character plus a wall, magic and magical characters, and lots of Death in both personifications and storyline. More to come, because I'm now about one-quarter through the second book in the series, Lirael.

Paris in the Twentieth Century by Jules Verne is a fascinating read, one of Verne's first works, which was refused by his publisher and then not discovered until long after the author's death. Set in Paris of 1961, Verne's publisher found it too fantastic and too depressing--Verne describes (although not in these terms, of course) a metro system, electric chairs, a world in which French is no longer the "world" language because American English has taken on that role, books and literature (indeed, "culture" in most forms) has been allowed to disappear (shades of Fahrenheit 451!), and young Michel is not only in love with writing, but finds it very difficult to live in a world which deals in facts and figures. Coincidentally, I'm also reading Hard Times by Charles Dickens where facts and figures are the sought-after goals of two main characters. Hmmmmmmmmm.

I have not yet read Catching Fire although I have owned it since last year. When I found out it ended on a cliff hanger I detemined not to read it until book 3 was out - and I already have Mockingjay on pre-order!

And three more...

The Interesting Narrative of Olaudah Equiano by Olaudah Equiano
The Barrio Kings by William Kowalski
Lirael by Garth Nix

The Interesting Narrative of Olaudah Equiano is an autobiography of a slave become free man in the 1700's, and is one of the 1001 Must Read selections (which is interesting, because it, like several other autobiographies, is on that list which is supposed to be fiction works--hmmmm). Actually, I listened to the book on a Librivox set-up. My earlier experience with Tarzan of the Apes was so positive that I was eager to try Librivox for another work, and this one was a fascinating experience in that at least 8 different persons (male and female, of varying nationalities) read the 12 chapters. I suppose the purpose was to universalize the experience of the author, but it was also interesting just as a listening experience, and made the book feel more "modern" than it is.

The Barrio Kings by William Kowalski was an Early Reviewer book which was short and snappy. Written for Rapid Reads, an imprint designed to provide short, direct works for readers with poor reading skills and vocabulary, it works well. Initially, the story and dialogue reminded me of Dick and Jane readers (okay, okay, I'm old enough to have actually learned on those!), but the story was basic and strong enough to carry it off. Rosario Gomez has a job which promises promotion once he earns his GED, a very pregnant girlfriend, and--from his past, a gang friend just released from prison. Will Rosario stay on his new path or will he fall back into the gang? That's the story, and Kowalski did a good job keeping everything flowing to a conclusion.

Lirael by Garth Nix is the second book in the Abhorsen/Old Kingdom trilogy 75 Group Read--and I inhaled the book. It took just over two days to finish the 700+ pages, and now I'm itching to move on to complete the story. Argh!

#168: I will have to look for the Equiano book. Thanks for the review of that one, Laurie. If I cannot find it in print form, I will definitely look for the audio on Librivox.

I have not even started Lirael yet. I guess I better do that!

You are reading at the speed of light! For now I'm adding The Touchstone by Edith Wharton.

Uh, the Garth Nix books sounds good. I'll have to look for them.

Wow, nearly half the year gone! Adding...

Pay the Piper by Jane Yolen and Adam Semple
Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Volume 1 by Stephenie Meyer and Young Kim
The Devil's Pool by George Sand

Have to review these and the year to date. Hmmmm.

I'm curious regarding Pay The Piper. Did you like it?

So, Pay the Piper is a varient on the Pied Piper story and, while Yolen is hard to beat, I did not enjoy this story as much as Trollbridge a couple of weeks ago. This was her first Rock'n'Roll Fairy Tales written with her son, but it just didn't engage me and I was frustrated by the resolution.

Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Volume 1 by Stephenie Meyer and Young Kim is exactly what you suppose would be a graphic novel of the first in the series. The illustrations by Kim are very nice, but frankly the characters other than Bella were not distinguishable (all the vampires look very much alike). Okay, but just a curiosity for me.

The Devil's Pool George Sand was another Librivox recording I listened to, this one with a single reader, J. M. Smallher, and she was quite good. This is another of the 1001 Must Read, and the story itself, which is less than two-thirds of the pages, was quite charming: a widower with children, who is approaching old age because he's 28, sets out to woo a widow in a neighboring town. He is accompanied by his son and a young woman who is going to her new sheepherding job. It becomes a tale of love, lust, and happy endings. However, there are two caveats to readers here: just as Shaw loved his prefaces, Sand incorporates a long preface about country life and manners before the story, and then adds several appendices about marriage rituals. These are easily one-third of the published work, and, frankly, not as compelling as the story itself. However, I did enjoy the story and I am glad I've read this work.

Sherlock Holmes Was Wrong by Pierre Bayard, found on sten's thread some time back, is another literary dissection by Bayard of how the mystery author is wrong about whodunnit in a work. This time it's The Hound of the Baskervilles and, while there are some interesting psychological discussions and plot deviations, Bayard asks his reader to assume a lot of facts and action in the story which he cannot support. It was an interesting exercise in rewriting a classic work and thanks for the referral!

So I have two more to report on, then I'm moving to a new thread for the rest of the year:

Any Small Goodness: A Novel of the Barrio by Tony Johnson
Seize the Day by Saul Bellow

gotta run first though....

Any Small Goodness: A Novel of the Barrio by Tony Johnson was a quick tweener read about a young boy whose family moves to the barrios of Los Angeles, and how he and his family cope. The title refers to his father's comments that any small goodness can make life better. It's a message book about keeping your identity and making the world a better place. Apparently it was a city read for Glendale, and it's a good read for that age, especially in this city.

Seize the Day by Saul Bellow is a 1001 Must Read, short, about one day in the life of a man who simply cannot get anything to work out like he wants. He needs money, is involved with a scam artist, has family troubles, and more. There was more humor involved than I thought there would be, and I liked it more than other reviewers.

I've moved to a new thread now...

http://www.librarything.com/topic/94150

See you there.