Marell's 75 Books in 2012

Hi everyone. I just joined the group. My name is Mary and I just retired on September 30, 2011. I am married with three grown sons. We will be moving from sunny California to Central Illinois in a few months. I love to read: fiction, mysteries, non-fiction, a range of things. I usually have two books going, a fiction or non-fiction read and a cookbook, book of poetry or essays, something that you can skip around in. Looking forward to a happy year of reading in 2012.

http://www.librarything.com/topic/130318

My rating system:

★★★★★ - Excellent; a favorite
★★★★ - Very good; a great read
★★★ - Good, but with a problem or two
★★ - Just okay or some aspect about it I didn't like
★ - Didn't like it

JANUARY:
1. The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains by Owen Wister★★★★★
2. Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo★★
3. The Secret Holocaust Diaries: The Untold Story of Nonna Bannister★★★★★
4. Winter: A Spiritual Biography of the Season★★★★
5. Brooklyn by Colm Toibin★★★★
6. Cool in Tucson by Elizabeth Gunn★★
7. Abide With Me by Elizabeth Strout★★★★
8. Little Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Depression by Mildred Armstrong Kalish★★★★
9. Cannery Row by John Steinbeck★★★★★
10. Pray for Silence by Linda Castillo★★
11. Breaking Silence by Linda Castillo★★
12. Bird of Another Heaven by James D. Houston★★★1/2
13. In the Woods by Tana French★★★
14. The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande★★★★

FEBRUARY:
15. Doc by Mary Doria Russell★★★★★
16. The Wayward Bus by John Steinbeck★★★1/2
17. Death of Kings by Bernard Cornwell★★★★★
18. One O'Clock Jump by Lise McClendon★★★
19. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens★★★★★
20. Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter★★★★

MARCH:
21. Venus in Copper by Lindsey Davis★★★★★
22. Making Toast by Roger Rosenblatt★★★★
23. A Grave in Gaza by Matt Beynon Rees★★★★
24. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley★★★★
25. The Winter of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck★★★1/2
26. Second Violin by John Lawton★★★1/2
27. Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers★★★★
28. The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga★★★★
29. Sweet and Lowdown by Lise McClendon★★★1/2

APRIL:
30. A Mortal Terror by James R. Benn★★★★
31. When Will There Be Good News by Kate Atkinson★★★★★
32. The Likeness by Tana French★★★★
33. The Kitchen Counter Cooking School by Kathleen Flinn★★★★★
34. Isaac's Storm: A Man, A Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History by Erik Larson★★★★
35. The Night Train by Clyde Edgerton★★★★1/2
36. The Moon is Down by John Steinbeck★★★★★
37. The Pure in Heart by Susan Hill★★★★★
38. Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson★★★
39. Restoration by Olaf Olafsson★★★1/2

JUNE:
40. The Iron Hand of Mars by Lindsey Davis★★★★
41. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck★★★★★

JULY:
42. The Royal Physician's Visit by Per Olov Enquist ★★★★
43. Poseidon's Gold by Lindsey Davis★★★★★
44. A Conspiracy of Friends by Alexander McCall Smith★★★★★
45. Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay★★1/2
46. Cloud of Witnesses by Dorothy L. Sayers★★★★
47. The Red Pony by John Steinbeck★★★★

AUGUST:
48. Last Act in Palmyra by Lindsey Davis★★★★★

SEPTEMBER:
49. The Sea Wolf by Jack London★★★★

NOVEMBER:
50. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien★★★★★
51. The Tale of Oat Cake Crag by Susan Wittig Albert★★★★★

DECEMBER:
52. Broken Harbor bt Tana French★★★★
53. The Darling Dahlias and the Confederate Rose by Susan Wittig Albert★★★★★
54. The Case of the Deadly Butter Chicken by Tarquin Hall★★★★★
55. An Irish Country Christmas by Alice Taylor★★★★★
56. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens★★★★★

Welcome to the group!

Glad to see you joining us for 2012, Mary!

Thanks for the welcome. I think I posted the thread correctly. If not, can somebody help me?

Also, I just finished The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains by Owen Wister. A marvelous story set in Wyoming Territory. I knew about this book for years and seen it at the little library I used to go to but never picked it up. I'm so glad I did. An oldie but goodie!

I agree with you about The Virginian. It is an oldie but goodie.

Your thread is just fine, Mary!

Welcome! Glad you decided to join us. You're doing fine, thread-wise!

FYI, we've added a couple of wikis to the mix this year. The first is where we keep important threads. The second is the Threadbook where we have a directory to all the members' threads. Both help keep a handle on the chaos! :)

2. Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo. I believe this book is the first in a somewhat new mystery/thriller series. It takes place in Ohio in January. Made me cold with chills in more ways than one.

Thanks, Jim. I'm so glad I finally joined this group. Everyone is so friendly and helpful.

#7: I have read the first couple in that series and enjoyed them both. Glad to see you liked the first one, Mary.

Hi, Mary! Wow, you've got a big move coming up - my family and I moved from Ohio to Wisconsin this past summer, so I know what a big upheaval that can be. Good luck with the move and I look forward to seeing what you'll be reading this year!

Hi Amber! It is a big upheaval. You accumulate a lot of stuff in 43 years of marriage! In addition, we are moving from a big suburb of big Los Angeles to a rural town of 700! My boys are grown up so it will be just my husband and I moving (one son and his wife and other family there), but it may still be an adjustment; one I'm looking forward to, however. Thanks again for your good wishes and I look forward to seeing what you are reading as well!

Wow, quite a change for you, I imagine, Mary. Good luck with the move!

3. Finished The Secret Holocaust Diaries: The Untold Story of Nonna Bannister with Denise George and Carolyn Tomlin

This book was a recomendation in Nancy Pearl's book BOOK LUST TO GO. The writer of the diaries was a young Russian Orthodox girl who recounts her happy childhood memories and horrific experiences in Russia, Ukraine and Germany during World War II. She lost her entire family during the war. She emigrated to the U.S. in 1950, married an American and raised three children. She died in 2004. She began transcribing the diaries in the late '80s. She kept her memories, diaries and photos a secret from her family until the 1990s when she showed them to her husband.

Nonna (I feel I can call her by her first name) was not a professional writer and she began writing her diaries and poems as a very young girl. I found her to be a charming personality. She was fluent in a number of languages. Her writings have an immediacy about them that drew me in and haven't let me go. She never lost her faith in God and retained love and hope until the end of her life.

4. Winter: A Spiritual Biography of the Season. Lovely.

5. Brooklyn by Colm Toibin. This is the first book I've read by him. If his others are as well-written as this one, he may become a big favorite of mine. I loved this book.

6. Cool in Tucson by Elizabeth Gunn

A fast-paced police procedural. No real surprises and I anticipated most of it but it was a quick read and held my interest to the end.

#15 I have a copy of Brooklyn on the TBR shelves, but have not read it, or anything else by Toibin, yet. I'm glad to hear you loved it.

#17 Hi Genny. I've written a little review of Brooklyn.
Set in a small town in Ireland and New York around 1950. It has a slow, deliberate pace. I could identify with Eilis so much at that age, trying to find her way in the world but feeling so alone and adrift. The character of Tony could have been better developed; in fact, I wish the book had been longer. Eilis settled in a part of Brooklyn "just like Ireland." Although some things in the two places were similar, the difference between them was striking to me. Ireland felt claustrophobic and narrow. In Brooklyn, even though circumstances seemed the same in so many ways, there was more hope and opportunity to develop so your life wouldn't be lived in a straight-jacket. It is one of the draws and beauties of America, especially in that era. It was a world I didn't want to leave so quickly. I thought it a heart-breaking (in places) and wonderful story. The way the book ends helps you make your own happy ending.

That does sound good. I must put it further up my TBR pile!

I'd like to know your thoughts once you read it.

Somehow I got on a roll with Linda Castillo's police procedurals, I think because they are such quick reads, once I start, I have to finish them RIGHT NOW, but I need to stay away from this type of book. Too much violence, foul language, etc. I really prefer cozy mysteries, historical mysteries and good police procedurals without all the gore.

I just finished Bird of Another Heaven by James D. Houston. It is a historical fiction novel that takes place in Northern California (Sacramento and Bay areas) and on the island of Oahu. I went to Oahu last year and this story made me wish I had learned more about Hawaiian history and culture before my trip and made me want to jump on a plane and go back.
I also liked the parts of the book dealing with the main character (Nani's) family in California. I was less interested in the present-day life of Nani's great-grandson and found myself impatient to get back to the historical story.
All in all, it was a pretty good book and as I said before, it really piqued my interest in Hawaii.

In the Woods by Tana French was pretty good (although I said I was going to avoid these types of books). I read Faithful Place a couple of years ago and liked it much better than this one. I do plan on reading her other books, but not for awhile.

Doc by Mary Doria Russell. What a book! I could hardly put it down. Outstanding writing right from the first line. I appreciate the author giving some background at the end, given the lack of true facts and all that has been written over the years about these figures.

I think I could listen to John Holliday talk all day long.

This is the first book I have read by this author. Now that I've finished Doc, I can't wait to read her other books. As Doc would say, "I am agog with anticipation."

Hm, the first books I finished in January and February are westerns. Is there a theme in this somewhere?

Death of Kings by Bernard Cornwell. I think this is a great series, actually the only ones of his numerous books I have read. They are very violent, but those were violent times. The world is changing, kingdoms are being won and lost and the mighty Uhtred of Bebbanburg is embroiled in all of it. My son likes them too, and we impatiently wait for the new one to come out.

One O'Clock Jump by Lise McClendon is a mystery that takes place in Kansas City, Mo. The book begins on September 1, 1939, the first day of WWII. It has a wonderful sense of time and place. The language used also reflects the time and locale, with lots of slang. The writing was somewhat jerky and awkward at times with jarring transitions from scene to scene.

It was a good read but not stellar in my opinion. There is a sequel, Sweet and Lowdown, which I would like to read. I think this would have been a good basis for an interesting series and the writing perhaps gotten better and smoother over time, but there are only the two books.

I got this book as an Amazon Kindle. It was a terrible copy with numerous typos throughout. I don't have a lot of experience with Kindle, so I don't know if the poor quality is typical. It was only 99 cents so . . .

Making Toast by Roger Rosenblatt is a memoir of a father dealing with his daughter's death and about him and his wife helping their son-in-law care for their three grandchildren and the family's struggle to carry on and cope with their lives. It is often painful to read but full of love as well.

The Pure in Heart by Susan Hill is the second in the Simon Serrailler mystery series. This is the first of the series I've read. Lovely writing, empathetic, with characters you can care about, no gore, profanity at a minimum, used only at appropriate times. I was drawn in from the beginning. Her characterizations of the children in the stories were done so well. And, I was really rooting for Andy Gunton and hope he will be in the next book.

The only other book I've read by Ms. Hill is In the Springtime of the Year and that was a while ago. I liked that book as well and thought it a different and interesting read. So happy to have rediscovered this author.

I'm a big fan of Olaf Olafsson. I have now read all of his books. His writing is so fine and subdued; events sometimes sort of sneak up on you; I always think a lot reading him.

The writing in Restoration was as lovely as always, but I finished it wishing there had been more to it. In spite of the flaws in this book, I would read it again and will read anything he writes.