Genny's Books and Stuff, January

Hello 2013! Another year awaits in this wonderful group - this will be my fourth.

I'm still getting organised, so there will be a lot of spaces on hold until I get round to filling in the details and finishing off my 2012 final thread, but meanwhile, here's a rather unseasonal photo to welcome any visitors:



(Cowes during Cowes Week Yaghting Regatta - photo from Red Funnel Ferry website)

I've decided to make my thread-topping theme this year images of places where I have lived. So this is starting with Cowes, Isle of Wight, where I was born. The first year of my life was lived in one of those blocks of flats overlooking the sea front.

And I'd also like to highlight favourite books from the period when I lived in the featured places. So what was I reading in the first year of my life? I'm afraid I can't remember exactly, and I was probably doing more chewing of the books than reading them at that age. In fact I'm struggling to remember the earliest books that came into my life - there must have been many picture books in those very early years but I cannot bring them to mind, though if someone were to show me one of them I would probably recognise it.

Probably most of my earlier childhood books got passed on to my younger sister, if they had not disintingrated first. The earliest book which I still have in my childhood collection - fittingly as singing along with reading has always been hugely important to me - is this song book, in an edition which dates from 1968, when I turned four. My copy is very battered and worn, and the pictures and layout of the pages are very familiar: I know I gave this one lots of wear and tear, probably from before I was old enough to read the words and certainly before I was able to read music:


My first sing-a-song book

Edited to add:
Following some reminiscences with my sister on my recent visit there, we recalled a picture book which it turned out she still has in her possession: Animal Tales by Georges Duplaix, illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky.


The illustrations are what we remember, not the text - it was recalling one particularly scary one showing a fox and a weasel fighting which helped us to track down the book.


Visitors, make yourselves at home, and do let me know what are your earliest book memories too.

Currently reading:



Oath of Gold - Elizabeth Moon ❖
Gilead - Marilynne Robinson ❖❖❖
Les Miserables - Victor Hugo ❖❖ ❝ (50% completed)

Posting rate:
Total 5,472 = average 2.32 daily on 1.1.2013
Total 5,566 = average 2.35 daily on 15.1.2013
Total 5,716 = average 2.40 daily on 31.1.2013

Books read so far this year

Key:
❝ = audiobook
❒ = ebook
❖ = from TBR acquired 2012
❖❖ = from TBR acquired 2011
❖❖❖ = from TBR acquired 2010 or earlier
❦ = Virago Modern Classic
GR = Group Read LT
BG = Book Group real life

Books read in January

1 The Children of Hurin - J R R Tolkien ❖❖❖
2 The Gift of Rain - Tan Twan Eng ❖ BG
3 Some Tame Gazelle - Barbara Pym ❖❦ GR
4 A question of upbringing - Anthony Powell GR
5 Mortality - Christopher Hitchens ❖ ❒
6 Thirty three teeth - Colin Cotteril ❖
7 Lady Audley's Secret - Mary Elizabeth Braddon ❖ ❒
8 Winter in Madrid - C J Sansom ❖
9 Flight Behaviour - Barbara Kingsolver ❖
10

2012 Reading Statistics

Ok, here are some end of year summaries/statistics (with 2011 figures in brackets afterwards where available for comparison).

Total read: 114 books (120) ;
of which rereads: 7 (16)
Fiction: 103 (106)
Non-fiction: 11 (14)

Genres
Crime/Mysteries: 34 (42), of which
-‘Golden Age’ mysteries: 6 (22)
-Contemporary crime: 23 (14)
-Historical mysteries: 5 (6)
General and literary fiction: 17 (17)
Children’s/YA: 13 (12)
20th century classics (including VMCs): 11 (8)
Fantasy: 11 (8)
19th century classics: 5 (6)
SciFi/distopian: 1 (5)
Humour: 3 (5)
Historical fiction: 8 (3)
Biography/memoir: 4 (5)
Religion/spirituality: 2 (1)
Poetry: 2
Travel/food: 1 (1)
Language: 1 (1)
Politics: 1

Authors
Total different authors read: 89 (83) - of whom
living: 57 (47);
dead: 32 (36)
Authors new to me: 41 (49)
Books by female authors: 61.5 - 47 different authors (66 - 44 different authors)
Books by male authors:52.5 - 42 different authors (54 - 39 different authors)

Authors by whom I read more than 1 book:
4: Joan Aiken, George R R Martin
3: Andrea Camilleri, Agatha Christie, Georgette Heyer, Barbara Sleigh, Terry Pratchett
2: Pat Barker, Martin Edwards, Tove Jansson, Rosamund Lehmann, Ngaio Marsh, Elizabeth Moon, Naomi Novik, Peter Robinson, C J Sansom, Tolkien, Martin Walker
(the previous year I read 7 each by Sayers and Christie, 6 by Pratchett, 3 by Potter, Allingham, Lively, Sansom, and 2 by each of another 12)

Books according to nationality of author:
UK: 82 (79)
USA: 17 (25)
Italian: 3 (2)
Swedish: 3 (1)
NZ: 2
Norwegian: 2 (1)
Finnish: 2
Icelandic: 1 (2)
Irish: 1
French: 1 (1)

Series
Total books read which are part of a series: 57 - ie exactly 50% of my reads for 2012. Of these:
First in series: 19
Middle of series: 34
End of series, or most recently published: 4

Source and format of books:

Own books: 97 (94) - of which 67 were acquired pre-2012 (51 in 2011, 11 in 2010, 5 pre-2010) and 30 during 2012
Library books: 13 (22) (including one ebook)
Other loans: 4 (4) - one borrowed in 2010

All traditional paper books apart from:
eBooks: 9 (8)
Audiobooks: 6 (5)

Of my 97 own books read,
12 were gifts
10 were bought new
61 were bought or mooched used
6 were bought with Audible subscription credits
8 were bought (2 full price, 2 cheap offer) or free (4) ebook downloads

Of all the books read,
45 were acquired from online sources (10 different sources)
69 were acquired face to face from actual physical bookshops, libraries or individuals (24 different sources)
including
20 from charity shops,
9 from library/church sales
4 from second-hand bookshops
4 new from bookstalls at book-related events and venues
3 new from specialist publisher/bookshops
1 new from large chain bookshop

Reflections on these year end stats...

Total read at 114 compared to 120 last year is not bad - I was hoping to read as many if not a few more, but I resisted the temptation to read lots of very short or children's books in the last week just to make up the numbers, because that's not the point. On reflection I feel sure I've been avoiding one or two interesting larger tomes this year simply because they are large and long and will slow down my book count, so am making it one of my challenges in 2013 to read a certain number of longer books (over 500 pages perhaps).

The proportion of rereads has slightly decreased - last year I acquired and re-read most of the Beatrix Potters, which bumped up the count somewhat! Most but not all re-reads seem to be childhood favourites; childhood was spent re-reading constantly because there was more time for reading that there were available books to read, thus the habit of re-reading particular texts is deeply engrained, whereas most books I've loved as an adult as much as some of those childhood favourites have nevertheless not been re-read.

Fiction to non-fiction ratio is about the same in 2012 as the year before; still a little lower than I would like. Non fiction nearly always feels like harder work than fiction, so when I'm tired (as I usually am) the pull of fiction is stronger.

Categories - always a little vague as some books are hard to fit. Broadly similar to last year. But I'm surprised I've read so little sci-fi this year. I think it's because I was tending to pick up Sci-Fi Masterworks at random from the library shelves in 2011, but visited the library less this year so that tailed off. It's an area I want to explore more, and I have several Iain M Banks on audio lined up, so hopefully 2013 will see me reading some of those.

Authors: I wouldn't have known without adding them up that I had read so many new-to-me authors - almost half of the authors I read (and the previous year it was over half of them). I think this would have been very different before LT - apart from book group choices, much of my reading was sticking with certain familiar authors, and tending to read my way through all their works and only slowly picking up recommendations for new people to try. Now I am trying so many new ones, I am neglecting to keep up with well-loved favourites. I suspect that collecting VMCs and trying to slowly read through the collection is increasing both the range of authors and the proportion of female authors. Like last year, the female/male split is fairly equal, with just over half books read being written by women. My (very incomplete) catalogue, however, contains a slightly different balance, with just over 60% of books by male authors, so either I've read more of the men in the past, or there are lots of male writers in my TBR pile which I am tending to overlook in favour of the women. It will be interesting to see how these trends continue over time.

The unconscious trend of my choices was even more Anglo-centric this year than last. It is natural I guess to love books set in my native land and written by familiar authors writing of at least semi-familiar culture and landscape; but I do want to explore more beyond these boundaries too. So one of my other 2013 categories will be books by non-UK, US or Scandinavian authors (since the latter has predominated in the foreign books I have read).

I started trying to list my series, as others have done, but gave up, as although I'm not reading as many as some, it is still so time consuming to keep track of them all. Interesting that half of my reading is from books which are part of series - mainly crime or fantasy, but not entirely. It does not surprise me to see that I have started many more series than I have finished in the past year - I wonder how I'll do next year?

My efforts to slow down on acquiring more books and read more of the ones I've already acquired were moderately successful, as is seen by the fact that over half the books I read were acquired pre-2012. Even so I still increased the TBR pile slightly over the course of the year, with 133 books acquired and 114 read.

That total of 133 acquired does not include ebooks or audiobooks, or only occasionally. I need to work out a more consistent approach to this. Previously I've only catalogued the audiobooks I've acquired once I get round to reading them, but that means I have a lot of titles languishing forgotten, so I aim to get them all catalogued, and in future to add them as I go along (I have also suspended my Audible subscription because I don't get through audiobooks fast enough to justify one purchase a month - mainly because I've chosen to spend my monthly credit on the longest possible books, to get best value for money!). I've also gone a bit mad in the past few weeks on Kindle Daily Deals and the post Christmas 12 Days of Kindle sale, so I've bought quite a few new ebooks when before I have mostly stuck to free classics. That trend is likely to continue if I'm realistic, so I should be cataloguing these impulse 'clicky click e-book purchases' as promptly as my real paper book ones.

So to summarise these rambling thoughts, here are some aims for 2013:

*Read some longer books
*Allow myself the luxury of some re-reads
*Read a little more non-fiction
*More sci-fi
*More reading from around the globe (not just UK, US and Scandinavia!)
*Try to finish a few series!
*Continue to prioritise reading from the pre-2013 TBR pile
*Add all my audiobooks to my catalogue
*Add e-book acquisitions as they arrive

I do have a few more goals to aim at, but these are the ones arising from reflecting on my stats.

I've finally finished tagging and rating the last of my 2012 reads, and so am in a position to try to pick out what were the best reads of the year.

I read 114 books altogether in 2012. With 7 5-star reads, 19 4.5-stars, plenty more 4-star and only three coming in below 3-star (one 2-star and two 2.5-star) this was a pretty good reading year overall. Looking back, I might want to change some of those usually rather arbitrary ratings to make certain books stand out more which I find have stayed with me longer. But I'm not going to start tinkering with my ratings now, I know that they are unsystematic and don't allow for ready comparisons between genres, but I'll just let them stand.

So here are my 2012 Favourites

Fiction
The Siege - Helen Dunmore - harrowing winter starvation scenes during the Leningrad seige
The Summer Book - Tove Jansson - exquisite evocations of Baltic summer and grandmother/granddaughter relationship
Bring up the Bodies - Hilary Mantel - fantastic! can she keep it up with the final book of the trilogy?
Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell - clever structure, engaging nested narratives, fascinating cross-currents
The Game of Kings - Dorothy Dunnett - I fell in love with Lymond, a sort of 16th-century more energetic Lord Peter Wimsey
Not the End of the World - Kate Atkinson - subtly interconnected short stories with mythical overtones in an everyday apocalyptic setting

Two of these authors new to me (Dunmore and Dunnett). I'm especially excited about discovering Dunnett, and am looking forward to reading more of hers very soon.

Honourable mentions to
The Count of Monte Cristo - because I lived with it for over 6 months as my main audiobook, not the fastest way for me to read a long book, but most enjoyable whenever I got going with it
and
Rebecca - as a 'classic' I've put off reading for far too long, not realising how different it would be from what I expected

And the booby prize for most disappointing book goes to PD James for Death Comes to Pemberley (). Dull and unnecessary!

Favourite re-reads
The Outing - Dylan Thomas - perfection in a short story, as small boy accompanies uncle and pals on a charabanc outing to Porthcawl, via every village pub en route
Watership Down - Richard Adams - the best guide to leadership skills disguised as an adventure story with bunnies

Non-Fiction
Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper - fascinating foody memoir about regional China
Writing at the Kitchen Table - more foody themes with this biography of the cookery writer Elizabeth David, who revolutionised English post-war cooking after a lively and unconventional few years living around the Mediterranean before and during the war.
Life - Keith Richards' memoir provided a memorable summer audio-listen, full of fascinating and entertaining details, which inspired me to listen to more Stones songs and brush up my fancy guitar tunings
Tolkien and the Great War - another biography, narrowly focussed on Tolkien's early life and his experiences in the trenches of WWI, and reflecting on the relationship between these experiences and his writings.

Books acquired in January

Gifts:
1 A Dance to the Music of Time: Spring - Read part 1
2 Disco for the Departed
3 The Patience of the Spider
4 Spell it Out
5 Troublesome Words
6 The Pinecone
7 A Discovery of Witches
Purchase/swap
8 Have His Carcase
9 Jingo
Gift
10 The Balkan Trilogy

Ebooks
1 The Granta Book of the African Short Story
2 1227 QI Facts
3 Mountains of the Mind
4 The Wild Places
Les Miserables (duplicate to compare with Audiobook)
5 A History of 20th Century Britain
6 Capital - John Lanchester
7 A Winter Book

February
11 Excellent Women

Books I'd like to read in 2013

Here is a list (work in progress) of some of those books which I want to bring nearer to the top of my TBR pile (or even acquire copies if I don't yet have them). This is in addition to the books listed in the next post which I acquired in 2012, presumably because I want to read them at some point!

A complete read/re-read of Barbara Pym novels (VMC group read)
A Dance to the Music of Time sequence of 12 novels by Anthony Powell (group read)
Start reading Iain M Banks' sci fi novels, of which I have the first few as audiobooks
Re-read The Silmarillion and some more reading around Tolkien

Books acquired in 2012 and not yet read
✔ = I have now read this
Priorities are marked in bold

The Yellow Wallpaper - Charlotte Perkins Gilman (VMC)
Strip Jack - Ian Rankin
In Patagonia - Bruce Chatwin
George beneath a paper moon - Nina Bawden
Herland - Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Respected Sir - Naguib Mahfouz
Spiderweb - Penelope Lively
Lords and Ladies - Terry Pratchett
Cutting for Stone - Abraham Verghese
Olivia by Olivia=Dorothy Strachey (VMC)
Every man in this village is a liar - Megan Stack
Orgy Planner wanted - Vicky Leon
The lake of dreams - Kim Edwards -
Honey from a weed - Patience Gray
Half of a yellow sun - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
✔Winter in Madrid - C J Sansom
We - Zamyatin
Something Rotten - Fforde
The holiday - Stevie Smith
The Jewel in the crown - Paul Scott
Eco-theology - ed Wainwright
Hearts undefeated: women's writing of the Second World War - ed Hartley
The sweet dove died - Barbara Pym
The vet's daughter - Barbara Comyns - VMC
Burger's daughter - Nadine Gordimer
The crowded street - Winifred Holtby
The Tulip - Anna Pavord
A fine of two hundred francs - Elsa Triolet - VMC
Calabrian quest - Geoffrey Trease
Oath of Gold - Elizabeth Moon - from Amazon Marketplace
To darkness and to death - Julia Spencer-Fleming - from Bookmooch
Un Lun Dun – China Miéville
No wind of blame – Georgette Heyer
They found him dead - Georgette Heyer
Slowly down the Ganges – Eric Newby
Duplicate death – Georgette Heyer
The unfinished clue – Georgette Heyer
Death in the stocks – Georgette Heyer
Red, white and drunk all over – Natalie MacLean started
Tell me a riddle & Yonnondio – Tillie Olsen (VMC)
The house in Clewe Street – Mary Lavin (VMC)
The rock cried out – Ellen Douglas (VMC)
A pin to see the peepshow – F Tennyson Jesse (VMC)
Troy Chimneys – Margaret Kennedy (VMC)
My career goes bung – Miles Franklin (VMC)
Blue skies & Jack and Jill – Helen Hodgman (VMC)
At the still point – Mary Benson (VMC)
Apparition & Late fictions : a novella and stories - Thomas Lynch
Walking papers : poems - Thomas Lynch
The lion's world: a journey into the heart of Narnia - Rowan Williams
The importance of being seven - A McCall Smith
The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller
The blotting book - E F Benson
On the black hill - Bruce Chatwin
The quiet gentleman - Georgette Heyer
Cold Earth - Sarah Moss
The track of sand - Andrea Camilleri
All the names - José Saramago
The broken bridge - Philip Pulman
The long song - Andrea Levy
The great fire - Shirley Hazzard
Broken music: a memoir - Sting
The adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle
Excursion to Tindari - Andrea Camilleri
Alice in Sunderland - Bryan Talbot
Gossip from Thrush Green - Miss Read
Cliffs of Fall - Shirley Hazzard
Acorna's Children: second wave - Anne McCaffrey & Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
Touching my Father's Soul - Jamling Tenzing Norgay
Van Rijn Sarah Miano
The black book - Ian Rankin
Espedair Street - Iain Banks
Excession - Iain M. Banks
How to be a woman - Caitlin Moran
The comfort of Saturdays - Alexander McCall Smith
Black Powder War - Naomi Novik
The Tiger in the Well - Philip Pullman
The Tin Princess - Philip Pullman
The Right Attitude to Rain - Alexander McCall Smith
Mad Puppetstown - M J Farrell
✔Thirty-three Teeth - Colin Cotterill
The Kappillan of Malta - Nicholas Monsarrat
Absolution by Murder - Peter Tremayne
Queens' Play - Dorothy Dunnett
Pawn in Frankincense - Dorothy Dunnett
Niccolo Rising - Dorothy Dunnett
Mortimer's Bread Bin - Joan Aiken
The Historian - Elizabeth Kostova
Master and Commander - Patrick O'Brien
Post Captain - Patrick O'Brien
Juggling - Barbara Trapido
Guy Mannering - Walter Scott
The Exploits of Moominpappa - Tove Jansson
Astercote - Penelope Lively
The Wild Hunt of Hagworthy - Penelope Lively
Going Back - Penelope Lively
Paradise Lost - Milton (audiobook)
✔ The Gift of Rain - Tan Twan Eng
The Christmas Angel - Marcia Willett - audiobook
Piece of my heart - Peter Robinson
Christmas at Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
My Grandmothers and I - Diana Holman-Hunt
High Rising - Angela Thirkell
The Winged Horse - Pamela Frankau
Love - Elizabeth von Arnim
✔Flight Behaviour - Barbara Kingsolver
✔ Some Tame Gazelle - Barbara Pym
Ebooks:
✔Lady Audley's Secret - Mary Elizabeth Braddon - free
Mayu : the life of a Finnish woman - Shahzad Rizvi - free
South: the story of Shackleton's 1914-17 expedition - Ernest Shackleton
Dominion - C J Sansom
Dracula - Bram Stoker
La Tulipe Noire - Alexandre Dumas
The Expats - Chris Pavone
The Lewis Man - Peter May
Gone to Earth - Mary Webb
The Sunne in Splendour Sharon Kay Penman
The Snow Child - Eowyn Ivey
✔ Mortality - Christopher Hitchens
The Red Pyramid - Rick Riordan
A long way down - Nick Hornby
Artemis Fowl - Eoin Colfer

Reading goals/categories for 2013

I don't want to keep a separate thread going in the 2013 challenge, and I may not pay much attention to these during the year if last year is anything to go by, but I would like to set myself some goals at the start of this year.

I'm going for 13 categories, in a stepped form, reading one book in the first category up to 13 in the last. This step structure makes a total of 91 books, which is nearly my total for last year. But I will allow books to be in more than one category, so that gives me a little more flexibility.

I'm going to list possible books under each category if I already have them in mind.

Category 1 - Graphic Novels

1

Possible:
Alice in Sunderland

Category 2 - Foreign Language

1
2

Possibles:
Le Grand Meulnes

Category 3 - Poetry

1
2
3

Possibles:
Walking Papers
Paradise Lost
Shakespeare's Sonnets (in progress)

Category 4 - Folio editions

1
2
3
4

Possibles:
A Time of Gifts
Can You Forgive Her

Category 5 - Theology

1
2
3
4
5

Possibles:
An Altar in the World
Theology: a very short introduction

Category 6 - Sci-Fi

1
2
3
4
5
6

Possibles:
Consider Phlebas
Player of Games
Use of Weapons

Category 7 - Re-reads

1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Possibles:
The Silmarillion

Category 8 - Audio-books

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Possibles:
Les Miserables

Category 9 - Non-fiction

1 Mortality
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

Possibles:
The Hare with Amber Eyes

Category 10 Global reads (not UK, US or Scandi-crime)

1 The Gift of Rain
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Possibles:
Half of a Yellow Sun

Category 11 - Prize nominees (Orange/Booker/Nobel etc)

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11

Possibles:
The Song of Achilles

Category 12 - Big Books (over 500 pages)

1 Winter in Madrid
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

Possibles:
The Jewel in the Crown
The Mists of Avalon
A Feast for Crows
Kristin Lavransdatter
The Forgotten Garden
They Were Counted
Stone's Fall
The Kappillan of Malta
Intervention

Category 13 - Virago Modern Classics (and Persephones)

1 Some Tame Gazelle
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13

Possibles:
The Corner that Held Them
Frost in May
Precious Bane

Cataloguing progress

A place to note how many books, other than new acquisitions, I manage to get round to cataloguing. Probably at least 3/4 of my library still to go.

No additional cataloguing this month, beside new books.

TIOLI plans this month
and progress with them.
✔ = READ

1. Read a book with no duplicate letters in its title
Cold Earth - Sarah Moss
Gilead - Marilynne Robinson
2. Read a book by an author you hadn't heard of before you joined LibraryThing
✔The Gift of Rain - Tan Twan Eng
✔Thirty Three Teeth - Colin Cotterill
Room - Emma Donoghue
3. Read a book that was not published by one of the Big Six
A Time of Gifts (Folio Society edition) - Patrick Leigh Fermor
6. Read a Book That Has Been Downloaded onto Your Electronic Reader at Least Six Months Ago
✔Lady Audley's Secret - Mary Elizabeth Braddon
Mayu: the life of a Finnish woman - Shahzad Rizvi
7. Read a book with a B somewhere in the title or author's name
✔Flight Behavior - Barbara Kingsolver
The Hare with Amber Eyes - Edmund de Waal
✔Some Tame Gazelle - Barbara Pym
8. Read a book that is part of a limited series, such as a trilogy
✔A Question of Upbringing - Anthony Powell
12. Read a book that has a wise man or a king as a character, or has the word 'wise' or 'king' in the title or author's name
✔ The Children of Hurin - Tolkien
The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller
13. Read a book that has won or was nominated for the Giller Prize
14. Read a book by an author who is commonly known by at least a three-part name
The Corner that Held Them - Sylvia Townsend Warner
Half of a Yellow Sun - Chimananda Ngozi Adichie
15. Read a book you discovered through use of the LibraryThing "If You like..." feature
Restoration - Rose Tremain (via Kate Atkinson)

Ooh, first, unless someone else slips in while I'm typing. A happy 2013 to you!

No, you are indeed first! Welcome and thank you!

Genny - I was waiting for your right reverand appearance! Love the Cowes shot full of actions as is this group today! I think the solitary vessel dwarfing the rest is Mr. Derus. Look forward to keeping up in 2013.

Hello Paul, welcome! You're right, I hadn't thought of that aspect, but the photo does rather well convey the sense of busy hubbub on the threads as we start our new year, doesn't it. Never thought of Richard as a Red Funnel Ferry before, mind you!

Hi Genny - pleased to see you again this year:)

Looking forward to following you in 2013.

Welcome back!

Hi Genny! Oh, what a gorgeous photo, and what a beautiful place to have lived!

Hi, Genny - found and starred! I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on Lady Audley's Secret. In case you're interested, I'm currently tutoring Madeline on Braddon's breakthrough novel, The Trail Of The Serpent - here.

Hello calm, Jenny, Jim, Nancy and Liz - thanks for visiting!

#19 Liz, I just finished reading the first few posts on your tutored read thread, as I wanted to know a little more about Braddon before I started. I'll be keeping an eye on that, though as I don't want to spoil the story in case I wish to read that one too, I may not follow it properly.

I've had Lady Audley as a free Kindle edition since my book group read Wilkie Collins Woman in White last year, and one of the group members mentioned she'd gone on to try some Braddon. It fit the bill of the TIOLI challenge to read an ebook that's been on the device for more than 6 months...

#18 Thanks Nancy - Cowes is quite an interesting place; in many ways its a very ordinary, slightly run-down little seaside town for most of the year, but for one week in August it hosts a world-class sailing regatta so fills up with wealthy yachting types and their hangers on (the Yellow Welly brigade, the locals call them) and you can scarcely move for cocktail parties and high fashion. Then they all disappear and it goes back to its sleepy old ways...

Hi Genny, slowly catching up with folks and starring. Your thread is disgustingly well organised :-)

Whew! I got behind here very quickly!

What a great list of projected TIOLI reads, Genny. I have a big desire to read The Gift of Rain but I'm trying to concentrate on books I own. Hmm, there is a good solution to that problem isn't there?

Happy New Year!

#21 Hi Jen. Like my life, my thread is organised only in theory! Lots of helpful headings but nothing much in them as most of it still needs sorting out!

#22 Never mind Kath, all caught up now!

#23 Hello Donna! The Gift of Rain is my real life book group choice for January, which means I got hold of a copy in December ready. So it will still count as reading one of the books off my TBR shelves. That wont work for book group choices for the rest of the year, which tend to account for a lot of my new acquisitions. I need to go prepared to the next book group with suggestions for future reads which draw on my existing TBR piles! Anyway, I'm really looking forward to discovering this author - I've not read The Garden of Evening Mists yet either.

I've added another pic to the top - a not very good quality cover image: the idea is to post a favourite book from the period of my life featured in the opening location photo. This should get easier in future threads - at least to remember some of what I was reading - though it will get harder to pick out a favourite the more recent it gets.

Happy New Year, Genny! Tan Twan Eng is great, IMHO. I hope you enjoy reading him.

Waving as you sail past on your voyage of exploration!

Genny, what a great way to organize your thread! The photo is lovely and I look forward to seeing others in your picture-bio thread. Your reading plans sound great and I'm eager to read what you think of the books you've listed. Happy New Year.

Huh, I suppose I'd best hang out here more since my only image of myself as the Red Funnel ferry involves a misspelling and a dirty image. Perhaps the Reverend Doctor can elicit some slight tinge of decency in my discourse if I camp out near her.

That is a gorgeous photo, Genny! And I hope you are feeling better today.

Happy New Year Genny!

It looks like you have a great reading month ahead of you! Chimananda Ngozi Adichie is great. Also, I just finished Garden of Evening Mists and I was very impressed.

Hi Genny. Beutiful pic. Like your "theme" for the top post - looking forward to follow the route...

I'm also planning to read Gilead in january (but no TIOLI yet)

#25 Hi Joe, welcome and thanks. Yes I'm hearing great things of TTE, I hope to have the same reaction as others.

#26 *Waves back at Suzanne and sails on*

#27 Hello Peg and welcome. I hope to be better this year than generally in the past about actually writing down my thoughts about books, not just listing them!

#28 Richard, my dear, you are welcome to hang out here as much as you like, but there are no guarantees of decency - which in any case even if it to be found is probably as difficult to pick up by proximity as indecency is, despite what scaremongers and bigots believe. (Trying not to work out what a dirty image and a misspelling might result in...)

#29 Quite a bit better, Roni, thanks, although a heavy chesty cough seems to be here to stay. And kept me awake for the few hours that were left once I'd stopped reading and posting on threads yesterday night. Now I need to stay awake to start packing (including wrapping lots of presents) to travel to my sister's - a 3.5 hour drive.

#30 Happy New Year to you too, Chelle! Thanks for visiting.

#31 Hello Rhonda, thanks for calling round to my thread! I'm looking forward to more Adichie - I read Purple Hibiscus in 2011 - and also to sampling Tan Twan Eng for the first time.

#32 Welcome Carsten - thanks, I like that photo too (not a viewpoint I've ever had as I'm usually seeing it from the ferry or from the sea front). Next stop will be the Netherlands, where I spent my school days...

Gilead is one which I started ages ago and for some reason stalled - I keep putting it back on my list of possibles and not quite getting round to it, not at all because I wasn't enjoying it but because I found it so intense, and feel I need to be in the right frame of mind to pick it up again. I hope this will be the month - but at this rate I'll have to go back and re-read from the beginning, or at least skim through quickly to remind myself what has gone before.

I should have travelled down to see my sister before the end of the New Year, but a dose of flu prevented me. Now I'm beginning to be over that nastiness enough to feel half human again, I'm meant to be travelling down today instead, and returning on Saturday.

Now, if anyone spots me around the thread during the next few hours, tell me to stop posting and get on with my present-wrapping, packing and last-minute work tasks that need doing before I head off south to Lincolnshire! The desire to keep up with this mad New Year rush in the group is proving too addictive, and distracting me from essential tasks if I'm ever to get away.

What a gorgeous picture, Genny!

Hi Genny - finally waded through the threads and found yours. Both Ilana and I listened to an audio of Lady Audley's Secret last year and enjoyed it. Ok, I'll leave you to get on with your packing and wrapping.

Genny, I hope you enjoy Lady Audley's Secret -- I thought it was delightful. And I love the photo, and the theme of places you've lived. Looking forward to "traveling" with you!

Hello Genny - glad I've tracked your 2013 thread down.

"I've decided to make my thread-topping theme this year images of places where I have lived." What a nice idea! I love the Cowes photo.

#36 "Now I'm beginning to be over that nastiness enough to feel half human again"

Harrah! Hoping the remaining half starts to feel better soon too.

Happy 2013, Genny! I hope you enjoy your visit with your sister. And to echo others, your thread organization is a marvel. I'll have to remember it for next year!

I hope you get more threads than I last year Genny as I am interested to look at all the places you've been - can't promise to spot Richard in all the photos though.

I had a similar idea as you spotted in putting up images of places important in my upbringing (well as up as 5 ft 6 ins can be).

If you're only half human at the moment laid low as you have been, it is a pretty spiffing half!

Hi Genny, Checking in for the new year. What a striking photo that is to start your thread!

Ooh, I'm looking forward to seeing photos of places you've been and lived - they're certain to be more interesting than mine.

I'm fortunate still to have most of the books I had as a child, and in fact they're on Charlie's shelves now! I have such wonderful memories of them when I was little; my mom read to me every day, and she was wonderful at it. It nearly brings tears (good ones) to my eyes when I witness her reading to Charlie, as her inflection and skill are just the same as they were 30-odd years ago.

Looking forward to following you again this year, Genny!

Ohh! Love your image! My mom had a very good friend who was either born or raised on the Isle of Wight! I've not been there, but my mom has. She has a most elegant surname, before marriage. I'll ask my mom about her friends former surname. I think off hand Pembrook might have been the last name. So swishy and elegant!

Hi Genny, what a wonderful TIOLI list for this month :) Half of a Yellow Sun was one of my fave reads last year. I hope you will enjoy it as much.

Looking forward to seeing all the places as well. Sadly I've only lived in three, and as one of them is a most depressing town in South Wales that was left empty of anything useful when the mines shut down, perhaps it's not the best idea for me to copy you.

Just trying to keep up! Hope things are going well...

As for the towns where the mines shut down...we have similar problems here in my area. Steel left the valley and several towns never recovered. They have become places where it is not safe to be at any time of day.. storefronts boarded up and general sense of hopelessness. So sad.

Hi! Love the picture topping your thread and the sense of hustle and bustle it evokes (also the lovely water color!). Look forward to seeing what you are reading this year.

I like the idea of featuring books from your childhood - especially ones associated with particular places. Lovely.

Happy New Year Dear One!

It's pretty hard to say Happy New Thread at message 52, but that's what I mean. You're clever to mix scenes from your past with books from the same period! I couldn't do that since I'm still living in the town where I was born. I hope you have a LOT of visitors so that we can see what's next soon!

In haste from my sister's house; proper update to follow.

I got here last night after a journey that was smooth enough traffic wise but a little scary because I was so tired, I had to keep singing a few phrases to keep myself awake, but having a bad cough made that not such a good idea. A stop and a cup of strong coffee helped, but I was relieved to arrive in one piece.

Since then, catching up with sister and family, first a late meal, then exchanging Christmas presents - not only the usual exchange of gifts for each other, but also passing to each other our father's gifts to us which he'd managed to post to the wrong daughters. I had received a gigantic box back around 18th December, with one address label with my address on and another with my sister's, so I guess that somehow I'd ended up with the wrong box; same thing happened to my sister, who had received my much smaller package. My box is smaller not because I am less well loved (I think!) but because my sister has husband and family who all receive their gifts too, whereas mine was just for one person.

Anyway, gifts were all unwrapped at last by about half past midnight last night. Mine included another seven books. I will list them all properly soon - but a nice mix of the expected (from my Amazon wish list) and the unexpected.

A question for anyone reading this thread:

What are the earliest books you can remember from early childhood (including picture books or ones that if they involved words were mainly read to you rather than by you)?

I ask this partly because I'm curious anyway, and partly to see if any of your replies jog my own memory about the first books I encountered. I'm still thinking about that. There were lots of Ladybird books early on, I know, and one (not a Ladybird) that I do now remember is Harry the Dirty Dog. I'll put a picture of that one up the top of the thread soon...

Are you my mother and Go dog go those are the two i remember most.... but my mom was a preschool teacher (as am i) so those types of book were in abundance....

Hmm........early books.

Goodnight Moon definitely was read to me a lot. I Want to See the Moon. Lots of Enid Blyton.

First book I remember 'losing' myself in while reading in a classroom was a Roald Dahl but not sure which. I had that moment where you blink and realise you lost everything around you, and now you're back in the room.

Can't think of others so will have to come back. However, my early years were in the late eighties, early nineties, so not much help to you remembering unfortunately.

Harry the Dirty Dog was one of my earliest books, too! The first books I can remember owning came the Christmas when I was 8 (library books only before that, I think) when I got a good haul of (mostly) Puffins: Stig of the Dump, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, the first two Malory Towers books and The Dalek pocketbook and space travellers guide. From the library I can remember reading Ant & Bee, Andy Pandy (and probably other similar children's TV spin-offs), Dr Seuss and Little Grey Rabbit books. I wish I was the kind of person who can remember learning to read before I went to school - but I didn't. I can remember my school reading books, though: Tip the dog and Old Lob's Farm were the first.

My earliest memories are all the stories by Hans Christian Anderson, William Hauff, Brother's Grim and I still own quite a few of the picture books my grandmother and my mother used to read to me. My grandmother bought most of the Puffin books for us, but we had other picure books as well.
I loved being read to, so once I started school I was quite lazy in starting to read - well, why should I? I had several people reading to me all the time - However, my grandmother made me read then. One page her, one page myself and eventually I didn't need anyone anymore to read to me. :) That was the time when I started to read my mom's children books such as Erich Kästner.

My earliest memories are of children's editions of fairy tales and nursery rhymes with lots of pictures. I think my parents must have told me bedtime stories because all I can remember are the stories and not books. I don't have any memories of actual picturebooks in the house. We also used to listen to the storytimes on the radio. My father had a book of adventure poetry and we used to learn verses by heart and I remember my mother reading from her childhood copy of Alice in Wonderland long before I read it. My uncle used to bring us lots of comics too, Superman, Richie Rich, Veronica and Archie etc etc and my grandmother subscribed to Look and Learn magazine so every few months arrived with a bundle of them.

Hi Genny - finally found you. Don't think I posted on your thread very often last year, but I was lurking a lot.

My earliest memory of a book was a copy of Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes which had really great illustrations. Still have it and it's in pretty good shape except for the bottom of the spine where some cat or other decided it needed to be gnawed on. The first book given to me was a copy of The Night Before Christmas which I received at the age of 9 months. Still have that one too. Other than that I had few books, which I always thought was weird because my mother's passion was reading (when she wasn't drinking or being quarrelsome). I don't think she was very interested in me when I was a child as evidenced by the fact that the person who taught me my ABC's was my baby sitter - a lovely man in his eighties from Blackpool, UK, Tom Pearson. He and his wife, Ada, also from the UK, were my main babysitters and I will always remember them fondly. (Mr. Pearson also taught me "The House That Jack Built".) If not for him I would have entered school an ignorant little savage. Instead I was just a little savage.

#37 Goede morgen, Diana! Nice to have a Nederlander visiting. I lived in the Netherlands all through my childhood from age 5 onwards, so the next photo when I start a new thread will probably be of somewhere familiar to you.

#38 Hi Kerry, good to see you. I'm glad to hear you and Ilana enjoyed Lady Audley - haven't got round to starting that one yet but hopefully soon.

#39 Laura, glad to have another endorsement for Lady Audley's secret - and I am hearing good things over on the tutored thread of her earlier book which Liz is reading with Madeline, so that's good... I'm looking forward to the virtual trip down memory lane too, and to trying to find a photo that will adequately represent the different places I've lived.

#40 Heather, I'm glad you've found me: it's quite a challenge, amid all the bustle, isn't it! As for health, I am feeling generally much better now, probably at least 3/4 human. The remainder is all cough, not painful but irritating and tiring.

#41 Julia, thank you for visiting my thread. My sisterly visit is going well. We are just trying to decide what to do today, as my lunchtime visit to another friend has been postponed till tea time so we have a few hours free. As to the organization, I'm not sure about that - I'm good at having the ideas, less good about following through and actually completing the different sections. We'll see if I'm any better this year...

#42 Hi Paul. Thank you for the compliment *blushes*. As for numbers of threads, while I can't hope to reach your level I certainly plan to have more than last year - not just for the sake of my thread-topper theme but because it may help me to get into the habit of doing thins as I go along, rather than leave everything to accumulate, if I manage to have monthly threads and do monthly wrap ups. So I think I have a rough scheme of 12 places to feature in my thread top photos - not counting every house/place of residence as there are far more than 12, but including most of the different towns/locations.

#43 Hi Katie, thanks for checking in. It is a striking photo isn't it - I'm sorry I can't claim credit for it myself!

#44 Amber, hello and looking forward to sharing this year's journey with you too. I don't see why my places of residence should be any more interesting than yours - to me they are mostly quite ordinary at the time because that was simply home - whereas yours would be different and exotic to me!

On childhood books, that's lovely to hear of your memories of being read to, and seeing/hearing your Mum do the same with Charlie today! You are lucky to have most of your childhood books still intact and being used. I do have a lot of mine with me still, but nothing really of the picture book variety. I imagine they would have been passed on to my younger sister. I've checked, and she doesn't have them either any more, though like me she is a book hoarder.

My earliest book memories are of my mother reading to me The Three Billy Goats Gruff, Cinderella, Oh, What a Busy Day and The Monster at the End of This Book. I know there were tons more (and as I've said, most of them are up on the shelves in Charlie's room right now), but as far as actual memories, these four stick out. The first book I ever checked out of the library on my own wasn't until my first day of Kindergarten (we lived out in the countryside and so didn't have access to the public library without paying for a membership, and we were poor enough that it was a luxury we couldn't afford at the time), and it was Drummer Hoff.

My childhood days were resonant of the Famous Five and then the Doctor Who collection with Biggles and the thrillers of MacLean and Innes. I do vaguely recall the Peter and Jane books from earlier still and more distinctly Wind in the Willows and The Brer Rabbit.

Genny enjoy your trip but please drive carefully. I have had times when I have been falling asleep at the wheel. Don't chance it pull across and have five minutes at least with a respite of closing your eyes stationary and not in-motion.

Oh and of course, Beatrix Potter. Can't forget hers. I suspect I will be popping back here several times to add more!

My earliest memory is the Dr. Seuss book And To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street. I remember being captivated by it.

Memory is a funny thing. I know I read voraciously as a child, but remembering actual titles is beyond me except for a few really memorable books like Little Plum which was so alien in culture to my own experience that it has stuck with me all these years.

Blueberries for Sal (picture book), Charlotte's Web read aloud by my father, and the first chapter book I can vividly remember reading myself is Danny the Champion of the World. Good memories - thanks Genny!

For a long period I know I was utterly obsessed with The Goops. Also a very non p.c. book involving a little boy who runs around a tree until he melts...... it reveals, of course, how very very ancient I am becoming. But I hear my mother's voice reading - she was a truly prodigious reader where we were concerned patient and willing to read whatever we asked - the Ant and Bee books were huge. One book that I utterly adored was about three little chipmunks and had incredible illustrations, but I have no idea what it was called. The Musicians of Bremen..... oh dear, oh dear, I'll be back. I feel that I am not digging deep enough yet.

I grew up surrounded by books to the point where individual ones don't always stand out, but the two that do stick in my memory are The Magic Pudding by Norman Lindsay and Green Eggs And Ham by Dr Seuss. I'm pretty sure I can still recite most of those two word for word. :)

I remember memorizing The Milkmaid and Her Pail from my grandfather's old reading primer...that was before I started school. Picture books that stand out are Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, The Pokey Little Puppy and like Katie...Blueberries for Sal. Kerplink Kerplank Kerplunk ... Boy I love that book!

My favorite as a kid was The little Engine that Could. My favorite from reading to my daughter is Miss Rumphius.

Hi, Genny! Happy 2013!

Early book memories . . . lots of Dr. Seuss and such. My Mom subscribed to the kids book club that had the Seuss books and others. Hop on Pop, One Fish, Two Fish, Green Eggs & Ham, Dr. Seuss's ABC, Eastman's Are You My Mother?. Oh, and Little Black, A Pony by Walter Farley. There was a book of Fairy Tales that we read all the time . . . wonder if I could find a photo of that? There was also a series of Bible Story for Children books Mom started to subscribe to, but she cancelled after the first few volumes because they weren't really age-appropriate for a really little kid. (The illustrations of the Great Flood gave me nightmares.) There were also a bunch of those Little Golden Books -- I remember one of Bedtime Prayers and one about Christmas, with a red cover, and Little Red Riding Hood.

HI Genny

My earliest book memory is The Wind in the Willows that my dad read to my sister and I. I think part of the reason I remember that one is that I still own the hardcover book that bought for me.
Other than that I had some disney books, Robert Munsch and some Dr. Suess books.

Hope you are enjoying your time with your family!

Hi Genny,

Interesting question. My mum has given me an early Ladybird ABC book that I liked a lot, apparently because the kitten was smiling in it - makes me smile to think of it now. There were a LOT of Ladybird books around, some of which have been handed down to me.

We were always at libraries so many many books will have come and gone, but I know we read plenty of fairy tales, the obligatory Dr Seuss and Where the Wild Things Are and such like. As eldest child, I've got clearer memories of them being read to my brothers than to me.

I went in search of the right Ladybird book and found this little gem of a website

http://www.ladybirdprints.com/

Have fun,

Jen

Oh, lost you for a moment there, but now I'm back onboard! Love the opening photos and the theme! I might steal that for use another year, but this year I have already committed to photos of illustrations from some of the lovely books in my collection. I also like the idea of early childhood books - I actually don't have that many books that I loved as a child - my mum wash't very sentimental about such things and gave a lot away I think. I do still have the odd gem though.
I also wanted to say I love how you've arranged your stats from last year, another thing a will "borrow" from you if I may. I haven't done that analysis of last year's reading yet - 2013 has been off to such a busy start- but I think I will do it soon, and your format is great! Happy start to the year Genny!

Fijn weekend, Genny!

Hey, Genny! Just checking in on the first 2013 thread for you. I love the sailing picture up top.

I have continued to be not very well, but being back at work officially since last Sunday I've been struggling along. Meanwhile my laptop has broken, so I can only access LT from my phone or my desktop - the latter is in my study and is where I should be when working, but don't like to linger when I'm not working. Hence my going quiet on LT for the last week. I really want to get back to some updates, replies and reviews, but I have a lot of work to do first today, so I'm trying to save the LT time for this evening.

Sorry to see you under the weather both physically and communication-ally.
Trust that the weekend will see you fully recovered and I am praying for a centrally heated church tomorrow or at least a thermally lined cassock.

Sorry to hear you are still unwell, Genny. I found my first week back to work hard and I'm well. I know it's hard to do in your job, but try to take things easier until you feel better.

Hi Genny! It took me a while to find your thread, but I've got you starred now. I hope you and the laptop recover soon.

*Popping my head in briefly, taking a break from preparing rotas etc* - thank you for your messages. My laptop is pretty sick - the bulb/lightsource in the screen has gone, so while it is still working I can't see the screen except by shining a very bright light at it slightly obliquely. A friend has suggested that in order to use it I can plug the monitor from my desktop into it - which assuming it works will be very helpful in allowing me to carry on with essential overdue work on my expenses, which are located on the laptop. But it still means I'll have to use it in the study not in the living room. Once I've sorted my finances and claimed my overdue expenses and thus got my bank balance back under control, I can think about repairing/replacing the laptop...

I hope that the laptop can be repaired/replaced soon, and you can grace us with your presence again. And that you begin to feel better as well.

Your thread is like a .. sort of a travelogue and a book journal and photo spread and..just an all around great thread to visit! Hope your laptop feels better soon.

Oh computer woes are the worst and I'm sorry you aren't feeling very well. And here it is, your busiest day. Take care.

I hope the laptop is back to working again soon, Genny! I hope you are feeling better as well. ((Hugs)) and a 'Happy Sunday' to you

77: the latter is in my study and is where I should be when working, but don't like to linger when I'm not working
I’ve got things mushed together, one room, one computer, which can be a problem sometimes.
81: I can plug the monitor from my desktop into it - which assuming it works
Should work, though it may take some annoying fiddling with which monitor displays what.

Haven’t commented in awhile because I remember next to nothing about early childhood, though I know there were books because I still have some, e.g. Winnie the Pooh. and I'm quite sure that I was read to. And it's not that there was anything wrong with my childhood to purge from consciousness. I don't remember dreams either.

Oh dear Genny! I must unlurk to say how awful it must be not to have your laptop in fine fettle. Being ill, well, it happens...but betrayed by technology?! Nay nay nay!

*smooch* for your rapid reconnection with the mobile world.

A quick check in after a VERY long working day. Thank you for all your good wishes for the speedy recovery of my and my technology's health.

Lucy (#84) todayis not necessarily my busiest day, and often I spend Sunday afternoon asleep, but today the way various things worked out I've been hard at work from 7.30am until just before 8pm, Over 12 hours working non-stop is not good. Well I did stop for lunch but it was a working lunch really, although a very tasty one!

So now I'm promising myself an hour of catch up time on LT in the study before I go and collapse in the living room. First I need to go back to my 2012 thread which needs some finishing off - then back here to update on books read, books acquired and various other things book related!

Hi at last Genny - I've only just found your thread and now I have 88 mesages to read (and I am looking forward to seeing what everyone's favourite first books were and adding mine.) I hope tomorrow is a bit quieter for you!

Genny, only just found your thread. I don't know how I could have missed it for so long!

Been thinking about your question about earliest books. Mine was The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies and Winnie the Pooh.

I just want you to know that I've been here, Genny....glad you're better; hope the cough finishes soon and the the laptop problem is quickly solved.
As to earliest children's books, I can only remember The Little Engine that Could. If you move forward in time a year or so, then I have great memories of things like The Five Little Peppers and Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates and Heidi that my mother read to me and that I read for myself again just as soon as I learned.

Well, I've been very busy not only last night but also most of today, my day off, finally finishing off my last thread for 2012, cataloguing acquisitions made over the Christmas and New Year period, and filling in most of the reserved spaces at the top of this thread with far more information than anyone can possibly want to read.

I've copied over the end of year stats and reflections on them into post no. 3 of this thread. Probably more interesting to most visitors is my list of 2012 favourite reads, here in post 2.

I've also settled on my goals or categories for 2013, up in post 8.

Source and format of books read in 2012 - copied and adapted from part of post 3 above:

As I was aiming to acquire fewer books in 2013 and read more of those on my shelves, I was interested to see these results:

Own books: 97 (94) - of which 67 were acquired pre-2012 (51 in 2011, 11 in 2010, 5 pre-2010) and 30 during 2012
Library books: 13 (22) (including one ebook)
Other loans: 4 (4) - one borrowed in 2010

All traditional paper books apart from:
eBooks: 9 (8)
Audiobooks: 6 (5)

I am conscious that most of the books I acquire and read are used (receiving quite a few new ones for Christmas, including several hardbacks, reminded me how rare this is) - so I decided to see just how many...

Of my 97 own books read,
12 were gifts
10 were bought new
61 were bought or mooched used
6 were bought with Audible subscription credits
8 were bought (2 full price, 2 cheap offer) or free (4) ebook downloads

And like everyone, I appreciate the ease of online purchasing, and the possibility of ordering something the instant you think of it, even in the middle of the night - but I also love and wish to support real bookshops and people making a living (or supporting charities) through selling books. So here's the breakdown of online versus real brick shop sources:

Of all the books read,
45 were acquired from online sources (10 different sources)
69 were acquired face to face from actual physical bookshops, libraries or individuals (24 different sources)
including
20 from charity shops,
9 from library/church sales
4 from second-hand bookshops
4 new from bookstalls at book-related events and venues
3 new from specialist publisher/bookshops
1 new from large chain bookshop

The main online sources for me are Amazon Marketplace (thus actually a large number of different booksellers), Bookmooch, Ebay and Abebooks, plus Amazon again for Kindle and the very occasional new purchase. If the temptation to buy Kindle special offers continues at the recent high rate during December and January so far, I will have to try to lessen my dependence on Amazon marketplace for other purchases if I wish to cut down my overall use of Amazon, which I'd like to do (I realise that Abebooks are also owned by them, so that is not truly an alternative). I mainly use Amazon or other online used-book sources to hunt out the next-in-series when I get impatient waiting to find one in a charity shop, or when I can't get hold of my next book-group read from the library.

I am blessed with a very good selection of contemporary and genre fiction at my local Oxfam charity shop, so that is my single largest physical source.

There you go, Genny, all caught up! And I hope you are feeling better!

Catching up on some more replies:

#45 Deb, I am curious now as to where on the Island (as we locals call the Isle of Wight, with that parochialism of all natives who assume their place is the only one that matters) your mum's friend was from. I don't know if Pembroke is an Island name - my own surname isn't, as that's my Dad's name but it's my mum who is the local girl.

#46 Hi Bianca, it's a good TIOLI list, but as always more hopeful than realistic. I hope I will get to Half of a Yellow Sun this month, or if not then, soon.

#47 Hi Jenny! It's hard for me to imagine having only lived in three places, as I've moved about so much. Some of mine have been a bit depressing too, but mostly the short term ones thankfully. Of course there are parts of the North East of England near where I am now which are still struggling to recover from the death of the coal mining and ship building industries too, but the suburb where I live is a very different place from those pit villages and river terraces.

#48 Hello Kath. How sad to hear of that sense of hopelessness and lack of safety, Kath. There are such huge human consequences to economic and political decisions, and then rarely the political will or economic means to make things better...

#49 Thanks for visiting, Heidi. I hope you are finding your way round this busy group ok! That water colour is great, isn't it.

#50 Thanks Lucy - the idea of the associated books was a late brain-wave after the original idea of the places. The problem is that for this first one I am struggling to find any, and for all subsequent places there will be the reverse problem of too many books and how to pick just a few!

#51 Happy New Year to you too, Linda - may it be a healthy and happy one for you!

#52 It may have been message 52, Peggy, but it was still only 3rd January, so definitely still ok to be exchanging New Year greetings! I can see that the associating books with past places of residence won't work for those like you who have stayed living in one place - such stability I find hard to conceive of! I find the fact of my frequent moves and different places of residence useful when cataloguing my older books and trying to remember the source - if I don't have anything more specific recorded, I can usually at least remember whether that book was acquired during my school days, my Cambridge days, my Oxford days, my Birmingham days, my Chelmsford days - and several other options too.

Thank you to everyone who has shared their memories of earliest books, following my question in post 53. Lots of different answers there, some of which I've heard of but didn't encounter at a young age, some of which pre-date or post-date my childhood, and some of them are ones that ring a bell and may have been part of my first book experiences too.

I talked with my sister while I was staying with her just after New Year, and between us we dredged up from our memories a few more early books. We do remember all the Beatrix Potter books, from The Tale of Peter Rabbit to The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck and The Tailor of Gloucester (I had great fun re-reading most of those books last year when seeing a hedgehog in my garden reminded me of Mrs Tiggywinkle and made me want to collect my own set of the books). And there were lots of Ladybird Books, both non-fiction ones and (I remember these better) their Well Loved Tales series. I particularly remember The Little Red Hen, Dick Whittington, and Goldilocks from those series. Then Judy, my sister, found a very battered copy of Animal Tales, a tiny but very fat illustrated book which I had been struggling to remember. I recalled being frightened by some of the illustrations, particularly of one involving a fox fighting - that was enough for Judy to work out which book I meant and find it on her shelves. I've posted the cover image and the (to a 4 year old) terrifying image of fox and weasel fighting back at the top of this thread. We read through some of the stories and poems - the text does not ring any bells at all, and is really rather flat and awkward, but the images were so very, very familiar as we looked through the book.

Neither of us have any memories of our mother or father reading to us, though they must have done so because I do remember an occasion when I was 'reading' to my uncle and he eventually realised that I was simply reciting a familiar text by heart, having heard it so often. I think I must have become independent fairly early, though I'm not sure how old I was when I could read properly, I know I had some reading ability by the time I started school at 5.

I do remember listening to 'Listen with Mother' on the radio, appropriately with my mother, in the years before we moved to Holland just before my 5th birthday. That programme with its traditional opening line: "Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin. ..." must have introduced me to many, many stories. The woman who made that famous announcement every day, Daphne Oxenford, has in fact just died, and they played the theme music for the programme on the radio when reporting this - such memories evoked by those opening bars of what I now know to be Fauré's Berceuse from his Dolly Suite.

I also recall quite a bit of listening to recorded books - I was wondering in what medium that can have been as it was just a bit too early for cassette tape to be readily used. I think we must have had some books that came with an attached vinyl record to play. One particularly sticks in mind - I can hear the voice of the narrator still very clearly in my head announcing the title: "Rich Cat, Poor Cat, by Bernard Waber". It's a story contrasting the lives of "some cats" who live in the lap of luxury, and are "scolded if they refuse their broccoli", and Scat the scraggly street cat who would be glad of any food at all. But it has a happy ending, as Scat is adopted into a new home, "and they named her Gwendolyn". Apart from Beatrix Potter it's the only book from those early days whose words have stuck in my mind, probably because we listened to the same recording many times. The pictures are wonderful too: here are some I found on a blog about children's books:

#54 Welcome Jennifer, thanks for visiting. I don't know either of those two books...

#55 And another Jenny - yes your early books will be about 20 years later than mine! I don't know the Moon books. My sister was a great Enid Blyton fan (mainly the Five Findouters series), but I never really liked her books. I read some early Roald Dahl later on, but not at the picture book stage.

#56 Kerry, I'm glad to find another who remembers Dirty Harry - the dog that is, not the Clint Eastwood character! As for Puffins, Alice etc - yes, those will all be coming up in my next thread probably. The earlier ones are harder to remember. Little Grey Rabbit I do recall, that was probably at quite a young age. We didn't have many Dr Seuss books, and those we had were mostly a bit later I think. My sister recalls Ant and Bee books, and even found one at home to show me, but I didn't recognise it at all. And TV spin-offs, yes - I certainly had something based on Noggin the Nog I think. My first reading book at school I do recall: Mouse Looks for a House, followed by Mouse Looks for a Friend. I remember getting stuck on the word 'lather' in the first book, and being afraid to ask the teacher. It's quite a big word for a 5-year-old!

#57 Bianca, how wonderful to still have some of the picture books your mother and grandmother read to you, and to have had them continue so long! I'm not sure whether my mother stopped reading to me because I wanted to read by myself, or whether I learned to read by myself because she stopped reading to me... I must have read some of those Hans Christian Anderson, and Grimm brothers fairy tales too, albeit in very simplified form. Perhaps for me th

#58 Kerry, thanks for those memories - someone else who listened to radio story times, that's great. Learning poetry by heart sounds like hard work, but I guess it comes fairly naturally if you are re-reading frequently or having things read to you repeatedly (the way people learn song lyrics still). Comics in our house were mainly my sister's choice - she was less keen on reading books but loved her comics - I think she had a short attention span in those days!

#59 Charlotte, thank you for de-lurking and posting those interesting memories. Great to still have those very early books! I have one or two that are cat- or dog-gnawed too - some favourite hardbacks from my later childhood that our new puppy got hold of (I was so angry and upset!). Thank goodness for Mr and Mrs Pearson the Blackpool babysitters, and for anyone who pays us benign attention in childhood...

#62 Amber, The Three Billy Goats was a familiar one for me too early on - probably in a Ladybird edition.
Yes, I've just looked it up, and found this very familiar cover picture:



#63 Paul, welcome! Of your earlier memories, Brer Rabbit rings a bell with me too, and Wind in the Willows but I'm not sure in what form I read that initially. A bit later on we had a recorded version that was some kind of abridgement or dramatised version, as I have very clear memories of the bit where Mr Toad is driving in a very unsafe manner while crying out "Poop, poop". Talking of cars, you will be pleased to hear that I drove home very safely and carefully from my sister's...

#64 Yes, Jenny, Beatrix Potter must have been a staple for most of us, through several generations. The quality of her prose as well as her illustrations is just perfect!

#65 Julia thanks for those memories - I'm not familiar with that particular Dr Seuss book. Nor Little Plum for that matter, though I did love another of Rumer Godden's children's books: The Didakoi, about a little gypsy girl. Also one where the main character's experience was very different from my own and very memorable as a result.

#66 Katie, I'm not familiar with Blueberries for Sal, but I loved Charlotte's Web when I was a bit older. The Roald Dahl was published a little too late for me.

#67 Lucy, thank you for The Goops - what or who were they? That reminds me of another book I spotted on my sister's shelves with a silly-name title: Bottersnikes and Gumbles. I can't remember much about what or who they were, mind you... you posted about Ant and Bee books just after my sister had shown me one one of them, but I'm afraid it triggered no memories at all for me, somehow that one must have bypassed me and gone straight to Judy.

The non pc book involving running around a tree until melting... was that not Little Black Sambo? I think it was the tigers who melt into butter, after chasing each other round a tree. I do remember some version of that one certainly - how far it had been modified by the late 60s I'm not sure now.

#68 Liz, I think Green Eggs and Ham was one of the few Dr Seuss I read - certainly its title is most familiar. I don't know your other one though... Ah, I see that it is an Australian one. Mind you, so was Bottersnikes and Gumbles, I seem to remember, and that one reached me ok.

#69 Hello again Heidi - another vote for the blueberries, that's great. I never came across your other two.

#70 Welcome Rhonda - I think I've heard of The Little Engine that Could - sounds like a very positive message!

#71 Hello Terri, and a Happy New Year to you too! Lots of memories there... I think my Animal Tales at the top of the thread may be one of the Little Golden Books you mention. As for illustrated bible tales, I guess there are quite a few stories in the Old Testament especially that are not very suitable for children, with or without illlustrations!

#72 Hello Chelle, thanks for visiting. It certainly helps us to remember those early reads if we still have the copies now, doesn't it! I don't know Robert Munsch, off to have a quick look... Right, I see he was publishing about 20 years too late for me, that's why! But I think I have seen The Paper Bag Princess at a friend's house.

#73 Hello Jen, thanks for that Ladybird website link - looking at that, particularly the fairy tales section, I spot many familiar covers. As for Where the Wild Things Are, I ought to have come across that, it was published just in time for my early reading years, but as far as I recall I only came across it much later.

#74 Glad you found me Hannah, it's hard amid this early new year frenzy and lots of new threads. Your thread top idea sounds lovely, I shall look forward to seeing those illustrations. As for stats, you are welcome to borrow anything that looks useful. The number of things I like to track has been growing year on year as I pinch ideas from other people's threads! Which is why it has taken me two weeks into the new year to finish off mine properly...

#75 Dank u vel, Diana!

#76 Hey Stasia, thanks for sailing by and hailing me!

#78 Thanks for your good wishes Paul. Funny you should mention a centrally heated church... We actually had no heating yesterday, thanks to pipes needing replacing following the recent installation of a new boiler which has led to old pipes leaking... I'm sure spending hours in a freezing church did not help. But we transferred two of the services into the church hall where there was warmth. And the snow did not start falling until yesterday evening when I was home and warm again.

#79 I'm gradually getting over it, Kerry, though it is indeed hard to take things easy meanwhile. And I've spent too long in a gradually cooling study this evening playing on LT, because once I get started I find it hard to stop!

#80 Katie, welcome, I'm glad you found the thread. Thanks for the good wishes for me and the laptop! I'm getting better, the laptop is just as broken as before sadly.

#82 Jenny I've made myself use the desktop in the study for a big catch up session, otherwise I was going to get too far behind before I can sort out the laptop. Still haven't had much time for visiting other threads, but I can do that once I'm up to date here...

#83 Kath, as I said on your thread, thank you for those kind words. I've loved all the contributions from visitors with their childhood book memories too, it's nice to have a bit of a theme and shared memories.

#84 We are scarily dependent on our computers, aren't we Lucy. Both work and leisure depend on them to a very great extent. Work wise I could manage quite happily without all those emails which are the bane of my life (too many, and no regular discipline of keeping on top of them, and everyone expecting instant replies) but I feel most bereft without my laptop in the living room for viewing TV on demand (my main way of watching usually) and catching up on LT.

#85 Thanks Stasia, and happy Monday to you (Tuesday soon!).

#86 One-room living was my experience all through my twenties, Katherine. It has its advantages and its drawbacks. In those days books, papers and a few clothes was all I owned. Now I've spread to fill a whole house (though mainly still with books and papers...). I still haven't tried the lap top via the desktop monitor yet - I really should have made a start on that today.

And I can't believe that no-one has mentioned Winnie the Pooh yet - or if they did, I missed it, sorry! Yes, those were among my earlier ones too. I can still remember some of the poems in Now we are six - especially the title poem:

When I was one,
I had just begun.
When I was two,
I was nearly new.
When I was three,
I was hardly me.
When I was four,
I was not much more.
When I was five,
I was just alive.
But now I am six,
I'm as clever as clever.
So I think I'll be six
now and forever.

Which I often quote to six-year-olds on their birthday (how much they appreciate this treat I am not sure...). Perhaps it is because we were 'hardly me' or 'not much more' that we struggle to remember those early books and other experiences! I have just a few 'snapshot' images of those early years in my mind, and a very clear cut-off point when we moved to a new country just before my fifth birthday.

#87 Richard, how kind of you to visit and leave smooches to aid reconnection!

#89 Cushla, sorry I've added a few more messages now for you to catch up on - but I look forward to hearing about your favourite early books when you have time to call back again.

#90 Rhian, threads are easily missed in the crowd, no worries. Flopsy Bunnies and Winnie the Pooh shows excellent taste i one so young!

#91 Peggy, thanks for the good wishes and the early book memory - someone else (banjo123/Rhonda) also mentioned The Little Engine That Could. Heidi is one I read for myself too, it's nice that you have memories of being read to though, I wish I had that. It is one of my main regrets in not having had children of my own that I missed the opportunity for reading with them (though I have had the occasional go when looking after godchildren when they were younger).

#94 I am indeed caught up now, Roni - and feeling much better too - I haven't been coughing much today, so that's a good sign.

Hope you get your church heating problem fixed soon. I think there is nothing more profoundly cold than a big ol' church. My father was the sexton at an Episcopal church here and it was often so cold in the winter during the week in that church that you could see your breath. It was a pretty big building and was hugely expensive to heat. I think the only time that it was warm was the night that it burned! Is your church a big one?

Am loving all of the memories about first books here. I can see where that picture of the fox fight might be a little troubling to a child - but it sure did make the book memorable for you! For myself the book that got to me was The Cat in the Hat - I did not like that book. All that chaos! I never read any of the other Seuss books because of it.

Rich Cat, Poor Cat is a blast from the past. It was one of my favorite childhood books. I got when we used to order books in elementary school from one of those little 4 page flyers that either came with the Weekly Reader or as a supplement or something. I wonder what ever happened to my copy? I will have to see if I still have it. If not, I definitely need to find one!

ETA: I just clicked through the link and discovered it is in my library. That means it is in the box of books I brought from my parent's house that has some of those old books! I need to get it out tonight!

I love Winnie the Pooh, Genny, though my memories come from reading it to my children rather than enjoying it as a child. I still have some of the Bobbsey Twin books I loved as a child along with my Shirley Temple Storybook and Andersen's Fairy Tales. Thanks for that trip down Memory Lane.

I am glad your coughing is better; hope you get the laptop problem resolved soon. We do get spoiled by our technology devices -- when they work!

Thanks for the link!

I remember amazingly little of my earliest books, before I was able to read for myself. I do know that my mother had some wonderful recordings (on vinyl) of the Winnie the Pooh stories that I would listen to endlessly. A very well known actor?? I also had my mother's Honey Bunch and Bobbsey Twins books -- the originals, from the 1930s/40s -- but I didn't read those until later, too. I remember the very first book that I read cover to cover, rapidly, was The Family From One End Street. Then there was My Naughty Little Sister. Lots and lots of Puffins and Armadas; the Enid Blyton school stories and more importantly for me, the Chalet School series. Then on to Geoffrey Trease, Swallows and Amazons, etc. I still have the copy of Anne Frank's Diary that I read at the age of 7... my parents never once decided that I shouldn't read something and I don't recall ever abusing that.

Hi Genny, I don't want to derail your thread, but I had to comment on that lovely poem you posted at the end of your 2012 thread. It has such a lovely flavour of Anglo-Saxonness about it. I've never head of Fanthorpe before but I'd be interested in reading more after that. Any book you'd recommend (and more to the point, where which contains the poem you posted)?

Oh, have I missed the bit where we all chip in with our favourite children's books? I'll add mine here if I may, as it is such a fun topic. I remember the very first book I ever read to myself was Where the Wild Things Are, which I have a copy of now, but sadly not my childhood copy, which I think that was from the library. One of the few books from my childhood I do still have on the shelves is Treasury of Literature for Children, which is a perfect anthology of children's literature, featuring either excerpts or whole stories from every imaginable source that a child could fall in love with - everything from bits of Arabian Nights and Aesop's fables, to Lorna Doone and Winnie the Pooh, with each story having a totally different style of illustration as well. The first book I read that was more words than pictures was probably James and the Giant Peach, an edition with lovely engraving style pictures in. I was a big Roald Dahl fan as a child.
Now I wonder if anyone on LT can help me identify this other book that I really vividly remember from from early childhood, but that I don't know the name of. I'd love to hunt down a copy. I was largely a picture book with a little text, and it was about a lonely little monster that lived in a cave by the sea. The pictures where very dark - as in, on a very limited colour palette, which is perhaps why it stuck out in my mind amongst a sea of more colourful children's books. If anyone can recognise it from that description I'd be amazed and forever grateful.
I love the illustrations of Rich Cat, Poor Cat Genny! Especially the one with all the advertising posters all mixed in, that's just so cleverly done. From the style of illustration alone I'm judging that it's a book from the 50's?(not that I want to lead to any speculation about your age.....) Anyway, I love that style. I might have to try and hunt down of copy of that as well...

I hope you are feeling well. What a great spring board question regarding early childhood reads. I was hooked on Doctor Doolittle books.

Great categories Genny and I have pandered to them somewhat you'll be pleased to note.

112: Oh, yes, Doctor Doolittle. Read multiple times when I was a kid. Showed up in a 75er thread last year, and someone said they've been edited to remove the 1920s racism.

I'm really enjoying all theses references to my childhood favourites. That ladybird edition of The Three Billy Goats was re-read often in my family along with Harry the Dirty Dog and Noggin and the Moon mouse. That singalong book looks familiar too, I think my primary school teacher may have used it!

Going back to grown-up books, you read some wonderful ones last year and look set to have another good reading year ahead of you. I loved Not the End of the World too. I found the off-beat mythological references and the ways the stories interconnected great fun!

Hi Genny - hope you're feeling better. I also remember Harry the Dirty Dog, which I loved, and also The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr. There was also a Golden Book I remember called Mickey Mouse's Picnic. We had lots of other Golden Books, but that one I remember for some reason.

A pleasure, as always to visit here... Thank you for sharing the cat book!

I have no memory of kids books....aside from the fact that for a year or two, I received books in the mail that had several stories each in them. I have again forgotten the details, but it was a great gift. My mom never read to us... and I mostly remember those little grey volumes of stories, and then "grown up "books that I found around the house..

High time for some book reports!

1 ❖❖❖ The Children of Hurin - J R R Tolkien



From: own shelf since 2008
Format: Hardback, new
Source: from department store book department sale
OPD:2007
Genre: epic fantasy

After a re-read of the Hobbit in November, and reading a biography of Tolkien in December which looks closely at the very early years of his writing which were also the years of his WWI experience (Tolkien and the Great War), I was in the mood for more Tolkien at the start of this new year. Of course he's not writing more, as he died in 1973, but his son Christopher has been editing and publishing his large body of unfinished, unpublished writings gradually ever since, starting with The Silmarillion; I picked up this particular volume 5 years ago shortly after it was published but have not yet got round to reading it.

Unlike most of the other volumes published by Christopher Tolkien, which consist of detailed archaeological excavations into the earliest drafts and different stages of the various writings, this is presented as a single coherent narrative, presented in a more readable manner than those earlier heavily annotated books.

The story of Turin Turambar and of his sister Nienor - the titular 'children of Hurin' - was one of the oldest of the narrative stories conceived by Tolkien - one of the Great Tales of what became the First Age of Middle Earth, alongside the tale of Beren and Luthien - and told by him in a variety of forms, some completed, most not - including long verse narrative and various prose versions of different length. It exists in the Silmarillion in a fairly short form of about 20 pages, and in a longer version in the book Unfinished Tales; in this book it occupies about 225 pages; Christopher T has pieced together the fuller versions with as little as possible editorial interference to make a coherent longer narrative. An introduction by Christopher briefly outlines the larger context in which the tale is set, and in appendices, alongside useful genealogy tables and a map, there is an outline of the textual history of the different version for those who are interested.

So is it worth reading? Well I was glad to be able to immerse myself in this longer version of a story whose basic plot details I was already familiar with from some of the earlier published versions. It is not a cheerful story though! Unlike its sister tale of Beren and Luthien, in which courage and love are sufficient to overcome insuperable odds, this is a dark story of a hero who is doomed, and becomes more so the more he struggles to escape his doom. The hero, Turin, is a conflicted mortal, brave and strong but rash, proud, stubborn and lacking in wisdom; everything choice he makes, however much meant for good, seems to turn bad. So although in the course of his young life he manages to defend kingdoms and kill dragons, it is at huge cost both to others and to himself, and he manages both to accidentally kill his best friend and unwittingly enter into the most inappropriate of marriages. There is no sign in this story of Tolkien's concept of the 'eucatastrophe' - the moment when everything is turned around and disaster is averted and good triumphs. The strength of the story - in part inspired by the Finnish Kalevala as well as the traditional Germanic tale of Sigurd the dragon slayer - lies in not shrinking from the kind of dark despair at human folly and violence that must have been the experience of many a survivor of the waste and chaos of the Somme trenches.

The book has beautiful illustrations by Alan Lee, mostly in sombre tones of brown and grey which match the darkness of the story.



For those who want to read about hobbits, this is not the book to read (just to be clear, they do not appear at all here) - but for people who want to explore some other parts of Tolkien's imagination and don't mind a darker story, this might be a better place to start than (eg) The Silmarillion which is largely lacking in extended narrative and thus quite hard for many readers to get into if they are looking for something like the Lord of the Rings. Reading The Children of Hurin is rather like, for example, reading the biblical story of King David in a separate and slightly expanded form rather than attempting to read the whole of the Old Testament, and as such I would recommend it.

2 ❖BG The Gift of Rain - Tan Twan Eng



From: own shelf since 2012
Format: trade paperback, used
Source: ebay (World of Books)
OPD:2007
Genre: historical/contemporary fiction
Prizes: Booker longlist 2007

With so many people enthusiastically recommending Tan Twan Eng's more recent Booker shortlisted The Garden of Evening Mists, I was happy when my book group suggested reading this, his first novel, for our January meeting.

Although this is contemporary fiction with a real and beautifully realised geographical location - the island of Penang, Malaysia - and with the action either contemporary or set within recent real historical events (just before and during the Japanese invasion of the island in WWII) there were actually some surprising similarities with my previous read. Both involve issues of friendship and betrayal, with main protagonists who become highly skilled warriors and swordsmen, who have intense and conflicted relationships with friends and family, who struggle to escape from what seems to be set down as their fate, and in the process make choices with good intentions but often disastrous results.

The warrior element of this story comes from martial art of aikido, and the relationship which is explored most fully in the book is that between the main character, Philip (half English half Chinese son of one of the successful business families of Penang) who aged 16 meets Endo-san, a Japanese man staying on an island on his father's estate; Endo-san soon becomes his aikido master. The effects of the physical, mental and spiritual training Philip undergoes seem at first to be very beneficial for his general well-being and his other relationships as Philip begins to grow up and mature - but then theatre of WWII spreads to their part of the world, the British flee, the Japanese invade and Philip - who partly because of his mixed racical heritage had always felt himself to be something of an outsider - suddenly finds himself with very divided loyalties and with very difficult decisions to make - the consequences of which he is still struggling with 50 or 60 years later in the framing narrative.

The writing is beautiful, the descriptions of the island, its architecture and communities, the natural landscape and the sea, are all very vivid; also vividly realised as the story progresses are the violence and horror of war and occupation as it affected this particular place. With fortune tellers messages being taken seriously by some characters, and hints of re-incarnation with patterns of relationship being repeated from former lives, there are mysterious elements within this story which some in our book group found hard to accept or understand. I don't think the reader needs to share these beliefs however, or needs to have any understanding or knowledge of the martial arts to appreciate the story; these are part of the melting pot of ideas and ways of life which Philip himself struggled make sense of from his mixed cultural and spiritual heritage.

If only for a vivid introduction to a part of the world and a time in history which were unfamiliar to me and which I was glad to read about, I would recommend this book - but the story is also gripping (and increasingly disturbing) and the moral dilemmas about loyalties in wartime are thought-provoking. I'm looking forward to reading Garden of evening mists soon.

Great review, Genny. This one's going on the Giant Freaking Wishlist.

Marvelously thoughtful review of The Children of Hurin - like you I found it very moving, but not easy, a side of Tolkien that deepens understanding of his other work, but not for most readers.

Nice reviews - I hope to get to both of those ... sometime:)

3 ❖❦GR Some Tame Gazelle - Barbara Pym



From: own shelf since late 2012
Format: used paperback - VMC edition
Source: Abebooks (The Book Factory)
OPD:1950
Genre: 20th century fiction
Group Read with Virago Group

Those who enjoy Barbara Pym these days (she's had her times of being completely out of fashion, while still alive and writing, and then coming back into popularity again) often seem do so because she evokes a world which no longer exists, a mid-20th-century world of spinsters and parish life, curates and evensong, all rather quaint and old-fashioned now, but beautifully and sharply observed with both comedy and pathos.

The opening lines of Some Tame Gazelle immediately plunge you into the setting, and the comedy:

The new curate seemed quite a nice young man, but what a pity it was that his combinations showed, tucked carelessly into his socks, when he sat down. ... Perhaps Harriet could say something to him about it. ... Of course he might think it none of their business, as indeed it was not, but Belinda rather doubted whether he thought at all, if one were to judge by the quality of his first sermon.

Harriet and Belinda are two sisters in a quiet English village, whose lives are absorbed in different ways by the local Church of England clergy and a small circle of friends. Harriet mothers and fusses over the young unmarried curates, while Belinda carries a long-held torch for the married (and rather obnoxious) vicar, Archdeacon Henry Hoccleve, with whom she was at university twenty years before; from the safe distance of next-door she envies Henry's wife Agatha and wonders what life would be like if she had married Henry.

This is the third or fourth Pym that I've read (I read one or two about 25 years ago, can't even remember which ones now, and A Glass of Blessings within the last couple of years) and I've certainly enjoyed what I've read so far and am looking forward to reading through all her works with the Virago group in this her centenary year. But what struck me in reading Some Tame Gazelle was not how quaint and distant this world was, but how closely it touched on my own experience (present as well as past) in many ways, both practically and emotionally. True, unlike Harriet I have never worn, let alone mended, a corset (nor needed to hurriedly hide them under cushions when visitors come to call) and indeed the general lack of attention I pay to my clothing would make Misses Belinda and Harriet Bede look at me very askance. But in several respects I felt I had much in common with these characters and their preoccupations, being myself a middle-aged 'spinster' (like the sisters), who was once a scholar of Anglo-Saxon and Middle-English (like Agatha - I also have a set of Early English Text Society volumes on my shelves and look fondly back on the days when I was studying The Owl and The Nightingale and other Middle English texts) and also - unthinkable in Pym's time - a Church of England vicar (though not an archdeacon). So while I was reading I was by turns reliving unrequited loves, academic aspirations and clerical self-delusions - and also noting that the petty everyday life of a parish has in some respects not changed as much as one might think or hope...

Above all it was the underlying pathos of the book which resonated with me - the theme (from which the novel gets it title) of everyone needing someone on whom to lavish affection and love - though perhaps not everyone finding Some tame gazelle, or some gentle dove:/ Something to love, oh, something to love!

The sisters, as the book unfolds, have several opportunities to go down the path of marriage and possibly find their 'something to love' that way rather than in unrequited regard or motherly fussing: but will they take that risk?. Their relationship with each other through all this, chalk and cheese though they are, emerges as one of the strongest in the book. Pym, who wrote this novel as a young woman in the 1930s though it was not published until 1950s, apparently based it on how she imagined she and her sister and their group of friends would be in middle-age - and in fact life imitated art in that she did herself remain unmarried and ended up living with her sister in an Oxfordshire village.

Many humorous moments lightened the rather introspective mood which the personal points of similarity prompted in me.

4 GR A Question of Upbringing - Anthony Powell



From: own shelf just arrived
Format: used paperback - omnibus edition (I don't have the cover shown above, but it captures the mood nicely)
Source: Christmas gift (from wishlist)
OPD:1951
Genre: 20th century fiction
Group Read
Series/sequence: 1/12

Not much to say at this point about this first of the sequence of 12 novellas which make up Anthony Powell's sequence A Dance to the Music of Time, which I'm reading for the first time, sharing in the group read with several others. (See thread here.) As the first book, this is clearly introducing us to some of the characters who will re-appear in future volumes. In four long chapters, the narrator Nick Jenkins (from the perspective of some time in the future) looks back on some of the relationships and incidents in his final years at public school, visiting friends at their very different homes, time in a boarding house in France to improve his French, and some of his experiences as an undergraduate at Oxford.

I didn't warm to any of the characters so far, including the narrator himself, who mostly plays the observer and commentator on others, giving away very little of himself - though I did begin to like him more when it became clear that he was a keen reader of fiction! I also found that I had some problems with Powell's style of writing, without quite being able to put my finger on why or what. He writes long and complex sentences - but I don't object to that in other writers, indeed I usually enjoy it. I'm hoping that as I continue to read this series, I will find something more to enjoy about it than I have done so far.

5 Mortality - Christopher Hitchens ❒



From: own collection since late 2012
Format: ebook
Source: Kindle special offer
OPD: 2012
Genre: essays/memoir

This is the first of Christopher Hitchens' writing that I have come across and read - I was alerted to it by Pat's recommendation last year. I was mainly aware of him as one half of the pair of Hitchens brothers who are famous for having such diametrically opposed views on matters political and religious and for falling out with each other (Peter being the conservative religious one who is based in the UK and Christopher the left-wing atheist brother who years ago moved to the US), but had no real sense of the person behind that media image. I was also aware that he had fairly recently died of cancer, but that was the extent of my knowledge.

So to read this short collection of essays , his final writings published posthumously, is to start at the end. I'm very glad I did so, and am glad to have some small insight now into the workings of a sharp, lively and entertaining mind. Much of what he writes here is moving, as he describes coming to terms with his diagnosis, dealing with the indignities of being a patient, and the difficulties of facing up to one's own mortality. He is also frequently funny - and scathing - particularly in describing how other people (notably some religious conservatives) have reacted to the news of his illness. The short book ends with a moving tribute from his wife.

From what I have read here, I found myself very much in sympathy with his outlook and appreciated his honesty and his insights; I hope I will make the effort to read more of his writing, including perhaps some of what he wrote on religion: I might not be in agreement with much of that, but he seems like someone whose writing and thoughts are worth engaging with.

Woah Genny, great reviews. I especially enjoyed the ones of The Children of Hurin and The Gift of Rain. I started the Gift of Rain and sort of ended up in a reading slump for almost two month - and didn't finish it. I think I definately have to re-visit it.

Wish you a great Friday :)

Snow and more snow! We are so ill-equipped to deal with this, society goes into panic and shut down mode...

I have to officiate at the burial of some cremated remains this afternoon. But it's not me who has to dig the hole in the frozen ground, I'm glad to say. And the churchwarden assures me that the heating in church is now working again so we should have a temperature nearer 16°C than 7 tomorrow...

More replies later after work.

Genny - I can imagine the chilly scene with you officiating at a sparsely attended funeral in sub-zero temperatures - grrrr keep as warm as you can.

Loved your review of The Gift of Rain which I haven't read yet but will soon.

Have a great weekend freezing officiations and churches notwithstanding.

Nice review!

Sorry about the snow. Cold here too, but no snow right now.

I always think that burying cremated remains is an odd choice. Throw mine into the wind!

A couple of great reviews of The Children of Hurin and The Gift of Rain. I've also had the Tolkien book in my TBR pile for years - I think I've probably put off reading it because I know the story is such a sad one.

I was struggling to remember the names of the first books I remember but thanks to the helpful link to the Ladybird site I can say two of them were Lost at the fair and Bunnikin's picnic. I think my Mum probably still has them.

My husband had to bury some cremated remains on Thursday. No snow but it was below freezing. He'd dug the hole beforehand but the pile of earth to fill it in was frozen solid. After he had chipped away at the heap for a while the mourners were happy to leave him to it as they departed for somewhere warmer...

Wow, looks like a spurt of energy has occurred here. A response to every post, plus reviews! Now I'm tired...

Great review of The Gift of Rain, Genny. I hope you post it on the book page so I can thumb it. I'm sure you'll enjoy The Garden of Evening Mists when you get to it.

Had to comment on Doctor Doolittle. I loved those books as a kid and was clueless as to the racism. When I re-read a couple with the thought of sharing them with my young kids, it was a big "oh no" for me. So the comment that someone said they've been edited to remove the 1920s racism resonated with me. I have mixed feelings about that kind of thing, but such editing might've allowed me to share the books with my kids. I just couldn't do it as they were.

Ok, I gave in and had a go at this meme which has been doing the rounds - I got this one from Peggy's (LizzieD's) thread. The answers are all taken from my 2012 reads.

Describe yourself: Raven black
Describe how you feel: Cheerfulness breaks in
Describe where you currently live: The crossing places
If you could go anywhere, where would you go? Not the end of the world
Your favourite form of transportation: His Majesty's dragon
Your best friend is: At Mrs Lippincote's
You and your friends are: Remarkable creatures
What's the Weather Like: Moominland midwinter
You fear: Grave mistake
What is the best advice you have to give? Don't look back
Thought for the Day: Salmon fishing in the Yemen
How I would like to die: Writing at the kitchen table
My Soul's Present Condition: Divided allegiance

I love your last one, and a great book as well. Also really appreciated your Hurin review above.

Great meme, Genny! I'm surprised at how many of us read Don't Look Back last year. That's the one common title that keeps popping up in all of these memes (including mine!)

Love your answers to the meme, Genny! I guess that if you were salmon fishing in the Yemen it would be warm??? I'm sorry about your fierce cold. We could actually use a little of it over and down here. I'm glad that poor folks and the homeless are not having to deal with real winter, but the mosquitoes are going to be even fiercer than they were last summer if some of the larvae (or whatever the form is that they take in the winter) are not killed off. In fact, I've even slapped a few this January. Oh. I read Don't Look Back too, and it's great advice, and I'm not sure how I missed it. Oh well. That was a very helpful review of Gift of Rain too. I'm looking forward to Garden of Evening Mists soon and sooner.

Grave Mistake made me chuckle. In the sense that you have a job that gives that a double meaning. Of course, messing up a funeral would NOT be funny, and I'm sure you're a model professional and never do that, but...well, now I think about it, it's hard to come out of this looking good. Just...the double meaning.

#134 "What's the Weather Like: Moominland midwinter" - Same here :-)

My favorite is Your favourite form of transportation: His Majesty's dragon

Genny, thanks for the fabulous review of The Gift of Rain. After reading The Garden of Evening Mists, I wondered about this previous selection, and you've answered my questions as to whether it's as good. Also, I love the children's illustrations you've posted : ).

Hi Genny, I have been mostly lurking here so far this year, but I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed your review of The Gift of Rain. I read it a year or so ago, and I am amazed at how that book still comes to mind frequently. I am looking forward to The Garden of Evening Mists at some point as well.

Wonderful review of The Gift of Rain--I'm going to have to add it to the wishlist....

Hi, Genny, just passing through. How are you enjoying Lady Audley's Secret?

#144 Just finished it earlier today, Liz, and enjoyed it very much, was interested to see the ways in which it did and did not fit with my expectations. I am also remembering a passing comment you made about it on the tutored read thread on The Trail of the Serpent and wondering what you were referring to - I'll have to go back and find the comment now, as I'm sure this is too vague for you to respond to.

Thank you to all who have been visiting - lots more replies coming soon I hope, but it is very late and I've promised myself I must get to bed earlier than I have been doing, so I will try to catch up more on replies and book reports etc tomorrow.

Glad to hear it, Genny - my comments were deliberately vague so as to avoid spoilers. I'll PM you with more specific remarks if you're interested?

Hi Genny, I'm just now catching up on your thread but what a treat that was. I love all the discussion of favorite childhood books. And you really must post your review of The Gift of Rain so we can thumb it. Lucky for me, I have a copy of that book already or I'd be putting it into my Amazon cart.

Your meme is very fun! I like it that your friends are Remarkable Creatures.

Some belated catching up on replies - not having my laptop sorted out still is really hampering my keeping up on my own and others' threads...

#105 Thanks Charlotte - the heating got fixed over a week ago but it has taken a long time for the church to warm up again as the weather has been particularly cold and everything had got so cold. I've been monitoring the thermometer gradually creeping up again. It is a large church. The new boiler we have just installed in the autumn should be a lot more economical to run, and at least I guess we have been saving a bit of money while it was off recently as adjustments were made! But I don't want that approach to saving to carry on all winter...

#106 Hello Lori, I'm glad someone else remembers Rich Cat, Poor Cat - and how great that you still have a copy - I am envious!

#107 Donna, glad to oblige with memories of childhood books. It's been great to see all the different books people mention, and quite a challenge to stick to the earliest books - I find it much easier to remember the ones from later in my childhood. No progress on the laptop yet - due to my intertia/tiredness and having too many other things I'm trying to get done.

#108 Glad you could follow me over here, billiejean!

#109 I had the same problem as you, Suz, remembering the earliest books. Honey Bunch I have never heard of, and Bobbsey Twins are a familiar name but no more to me. My Naughty Little Sister was one which my younger sister had - it should have been the other way round, I guess. I didn't ever get into Enid Blyton, but Swallows and Amazons definitely - but as you say, those are a bit later on. I remember noticing when I was around 7 or 8, with books that included a recommended reading age, that I was generally reading books recommended for about 2-3 years older than the age I was at. My parents didn't try to regulate my reading at all either - my Dad would generally read himself first anything that he bought for me, but more for the sake of general awareness than to censor anything - and I had free access to all the shelves where my parents books were: more of that on the next thread, perhaps!

#110 Katie, welcome - thanks for commenting on the poem at the end of my final last year's thread: not derailing at all - it's a shame when things get lost at the tail end of the old year.

In fact this gives me a good excuse to post the poem again over here - there may be one or two others who appreciate it. I did not know much about U A Fanthorpe before reading this volume: Selected Poems: U A Fanthorpe. I had come across one or two striking short Christmas-related poems in anthologies and liked the way she wrote, so I picked up this collection of hers in the Oxfam shop in Bloomsbury on that day in London 18 months ago when we had that LT meet up (this was after you'd left), and I read it early last year. The Tolkien one struck me particularly (you are right, she captures the feel of Anglo-Saxon verse well, while also including many of the other early influences on Tolkien's work), but there were lots of others that I really liked. As she started publishing poetry quite late in life, this is a relatively early collection representing only about 10 years of her writing career, so for a fuller picture you could look out for the later New and collected poems: U A Fanthorpe.

So in honour of Tolkien's birthday month, here it is again!

Genesis
(for J R R Tolkien)

In the beginning were the words,
Aristocratic, cryptic, chromatic.
Vowels as direct as mid-day,
Consonants lanky as long-swords.

Mouths materialized to speak the words:
Leafshaped lips for the high language,
Tranquil tongues for the tree-creatures,
Slits and slobbers for the lower orders.

Deeds came next, words' children.
Legs by walking evolved a landscape.
Continents and chronologies occurred,
Complex and casual as an implication.

Arched over all, alarming nimbus,
Magic's disorderly thunder and lightning.

The sage sat in his suburban fastness,
Garrisoned against progress. He grieved
At what the Duke's men did to our words
(Whose war memorial is every signpost).

The sage sat. And middle-earth
Rose around him like a rumour.
Grave grammarians, Grimm and Werner,
Gave it laws, granted it charters.

The sage sat. But the ghosts walked
Of the Birmingham schoolboy, the Somme soldier,
Whose bones lay under the hobbit burrows,
Who endured darkness, and friends dying,

Whom words waylaid in a Snow Hill siding,
Coal truck pit names, grimy, gracious,
Blaen-Rhondda, Nantyglo, Senghenydd.
In these deeps middle-earth was mined.

These were the words in the beginning.

U A Fanthorpe.

#111 Hannah, thanks for your contributions to the childhood books memory question. I think some of my earliest reading or being-read-to books must have been of the anthology/treasury of traditional tales type - probably why I can't remember particular books or authors but did get familiar with lots of those types of stories. I'm glad you like the Rich Cat, Poor Cat pictures - I think those illustrations are from the 50s, but I was reading the book in the 60s - I hope you manage to track down a copy, I don't know how easy they are to find.

Sorry I didn't respond earlier re trying to identify your childhood book - it doesn't ring any bells with me. Have you had any luck yet. I think there is a group somewhere on LT dedicated to identifying books, you might try there.

#112 Linda, thanks for dropping in and I'm glad you are enjoying the answers to the question. Doctor Doolittle certainly had plenty of fans - in our family it was my sister who liked his books more than I did.

#113 Paul, I'm glad you approve of the categories (sticking to them is another matter!) - I think I noticed some cross-over but I easily lose track of who had which idea first. It's as well we are not patenting our thread ideas!

#114 Yes Katherine - re Doctor Doolittle, I think I remember reading about that somewhere last year too. My main association with Doolittle is Rex Harrison singing 'Walk with the animals, talk with the animals'...

#115 Dee, it's good to see you here. I suspect you and I are probably of more-or-less the same vintage! I remember Noggin the Nogg stories too - and my mind immediately then jumps to early TV series, especially the Clangers - and then I remember where your username comes from so that is familiar ground for you too!

Glad you picked up on Not the end of the world - I really enjoyed those stories, and wish I had been better at keeping up with reviews last year as that was one of many I wanted to recommend but didnt' get round to writing a report for. I wonder how well all the fans of the Jackson Brodie books would enjoy it - it is very different from those in form and content, but with similarities: the way she explores family relationships - parent/child, sibling - and the way references to popular culture are woven in among more 'literary' (and in this case mythological) references. I got my copy from my mother, who has I think read some of her novels but didn't like this at all and couldn't finish it: I'm not surprised, as she doesn't like anything that is not about 'real life' - coincidence she can cope with, but not apparent magic or fantasy or the apocalpyse in a shopping centre. Thankfully the part of my genetic make-up that I get from my fantasy- and sci-fi-loving father means I can cope with and indeed enjoy the weird mix of a book like this!

#116 Hello Susan, yes I'm feeling better (and better still now that I'm replying than I was when you asked!). If I'm reading the clue in your username, you are just a few years younger than me, so Harry the Dirty Dog is clearly one from our generation. I read The tiger book later, I think. It's odd what makes some books stick in our minds. Your mention of Mickey Mouse reminds me that we had a series of Disney produced hardback books with I guess retellings of some of the stories in their films - but I can remember the covers better than the contents.

#117 And it's a pleasure to have you visit Kath - I guessed the cat lovers among us would appreciate Rich Cat, Poor Cat. Receiving books in the mail must have been exciting! Something that many of us are re-creating for ourselves today as we wait for parcels from Amazon or Bookmooch or whatever... I guess that those of us who were not read to very much soon learned to find our own sources of books and get on with our own reading, whether of children's or more 'grown up' books.

Swooping through on my broomstick, leaving a cloud of hugs behind

#118 - great review of Tolkien-story - good to get some background for it. It's on my list. Sounds a little like a greek tragedy. Wonderful illustration.

Looking forward to your review of Barbara Pym-novel...

Hey, Genny, just catching up on the threads after being off them with a stomach bug all week. Glad you are doing well and the church is warming up.

#120-22, 126, 128-130, 133 - Thanks Charlotte, Lucy, calm, Bianca, Paul, Kath, Heather, Joe, for your appreciation of my first two reviews of the year. I'm trying to turn over a new leaf and get the reviews done, not just think about them and put them off! So far, seven books read, two books reviewed ( and another three place-holders posted): I need to get my skates on!

For those who have not read either of them yet, I hope you enjoy them if/when you get to them. I have modified the reviews where necessary for more public consumption and posted them on the book pages as one or two requested further on.

#128 Paul, your picture of me in the freezing snowy weather officiating was pretty accurate. It was rather a grim occasion. Thankfully the sun had been shining for the funeral 3 days earlier, but no-one hung around very long in our usually pleasant and tranquil garden of remembrance on this occasion!

#129 Kath, re burial of cremated remains, it may seem strange but it is quite common here - people like to have a place they can go to remember loved ones, and while some do choose to scatter ashes in favourite spots in the countryside or by the sea, if they want somewhere near to home that they can regularly visit they often choose for the ashes to be interred in a plot in the crematorium gardens or in a dedicated garden like ours beside the church. Burials as opposed to cremation are pretty uncommon now, especially in city and suburban areas - we are running out of space frankly, so if you live in an urban area the nearest cemetary will not be very close by, but it may be possible to find a place for interring ashes much nearer to where you live. Not sure what I'd want for myself - as a single person with no offspring I'm not even sure who will be sorting out my funeral. Hmm, cheerful subject for the start of a new year!

#130 Heather, I'm sure you'll get round to the Tolkien book eventually! As for children's books, Bunnikins picnic rings a bell for me too...

#131 Kerry, that sounds familiar! But I'm lucky to have a verger who will dig the hole for me at least...

#132 Sorry to tire you out with my burst of posting last week, Katherine! I think I must have worn myself out too, as it's taken me another week or so to return with more replies...

#133 Interesting comments on the Doctor Doolittle revisions, Joe. While I think many of us have mixed feelings about works of literature being 'doctored' or edited to make them more acceptable to current sensibilities, and feel that the original work was of its time and should be read as originally written, yet there is perhaps a stronger case to be made for editing out casual racism, sexism or other undesirable language in children's books, especially those being read by younger children who are not yet capable of applying a critical filter which says 'This was a normal attitude for the 1920s but we have learned better since then and we do not view people in that way any more'. It makes sense if the books can be updated without changing the essential nature of the story, to do so so that new generations of young children can continue to enjoy them, if otherwise they would not be allowed to read them at all for fear of them learning undesirable attitudes.

I wouldn't want to apply this to texts being read by older children though, especially those being studied in senior/high school - part of the teacher's approach in studying them should be to help develop the young readers' critical faculties, to notice any examples of sexism, racism, homophobia, etc, to learn to distinguish between the views of and language used by characters and of the author's views which are not necessarily the same thing, to reflect on how much society and attitudes have changed since the book was written, and to debate whether/how it affects our enjoyment of a book if we do find the author's views objectionable (however much they may be typical of their age).

#135 Glad you like the meme reponses, Roni - I enjoyed Divided allegiance and hope to read the final book in the trilogy soon.

#136 Yes, Carrie, there was a lot of Fossum and other Scandinavian crime being read last year, wasn't there. I bet that title was popular for that question the meme because not so many titles are in the form of a command or phrase which could be taken as a piece of advice.

#137 Peggy, yes, that was my thinking! The cold spell has finally come to an end, after a final heavy snow fall last night everything is now beginning to thaw, and there are now flood warnings to replace the heavy snow warnings! We have very little problem ever with mosquitoes here.

#138 Hannah, I must admit I did have that double meaning in mind. The worst fear re funerals is getting the person's name wrong - not that I have ever done that, but it would be so terrible for the relatives if I did - but yes there is scope for all sorts of mix-up with grave plots etc which would be the cause of nightmares!

#139 Indeed Heather, and soon to be The Moomins and the Great Flood if news warnings are to be believed... Hope you are keeping warm and dry.

#140 Yes Kath, I do fancy having my own dragon to get about on. Especially with all this snow lying about, when I can't use my bicycle!

#141 Nancy, lovely to see you, glad you enjoyed the review and illustrations. Hope you and your family are doing ok.

#142 Judy, thanks for de-lurking, glad you enjoyed the review and it's good to hear that book is one that has stayed with you. It did provoke quite a heated discussion at our book group, with one or two really disliking it and others much more enthusiastic - I was more in the latter camp but interested in why others had taken against it so much.

#143 I hope you enjoy it, Jennifer; have you read The Garden of Evening Mists, his more recent book?

#144, 146 - Liz, I'd love to hear your more specific comments on Lady Audley. I need to get my review written soon (but I have a huge backlog of work stuff I'm putting off already, so I probably won't do that today).

#147 Hi Pat, the review is now posted, if you are still keen to thumb it. I need to write one for Mortality, too: it was your review last year which made me want to read that one. I'm glad I have read it; having read nothing of his before, it may be an odd place to start, but it certainly gives a good flavour of his writing style and philosophy, and a moving insight into someone coming to terms with disease and death.

#148 Particularly my LT friends, Lucy!

#153 That is quite a bizarre image, Richard, but not an unpleasant one! Thanks for flying by!

#154 Thanks, Carsten. Yes, there are echoes of an Oedipus-type tragedy in the story, though Tolkien said he was not so interested in Greek mythology as the Germanic and Scandinavian tales. As for Barbara Pym, that's a very different world! I hope to get a review written soon, but I have been procrastinating other tasks too long so probably not today.

#155 Sorry to hear you have not been well, Roni. I hope you have shaken off that bug.

All caught up on replies for now.

Here's a little update on reading progress and books acquired, copied from the top of my thread:

Books read so far in January

1 The Children of Hurin - J R R Tolkien
2 The Gift of Rain - Tan Twan Eng
3 Some Tame Gazelle - Barbara Pym
4 A question of upbringing - Anthony Powell
5 Mortality - Christopher Hitchens
6 Thirty three teeth - Colin Cotteril
7 Lady Audley's Secret - Mary Elizabeth Braddon

Currently reading:
Winter in Madrid - C J Sansom
Flight Behaviour - Barbara Kingsolver
Gilead - Marilynne Robinson
Les Miserables - Victor Hugo (audiobook) (40% completed)

Actually, haven't (re-)started Gilead yet - I told myself that was the next one to read, but promptly started the Kingsolver and the Sansom instead. Les Mis is plodding along slowly. I started this audio-listen in November, nothing to do with the film coming out which I wasn't aware of. Don't want to see the film until I've finished the book, which at current rate won't be until the summer.

Books acquired so far in January

Gifts:
1 A Dance to the Music of Time: Spring (Omnibus edition - Read first part).
2 Disco for the Departed
3 The Patience of the Spider
4 Spell it Out
5 Troublesome Words
6 The Pinecone
7 A Discovery of Witches
Purchase/swap
8 Have His Carcase
9 Jingo
10 Excellent Women (ordered, not yet arrived)

Ebooks
1 The Granta Book of the African Short Story
2 1227 QI Facts
3 Mountains of the Mind
4 The Wild Places
Les Miserables (duplicate to compare with Audiobook)
5 A History of 20th Century Britain
6 Capital - John Lanchester
7 A Winter Book - Tove Jansson

So, even ignoring ebooks, which I am tracking but in a separate list, I am already acquiring books faster than I am reading them, but on the other hand, the first seven acquisitions were Christmas gifts, so I won't be getting a similar large number of books that way in future months. There would have been an eighth gift book to list, but in fact it was a duplicate - two different sets of friends bought me a lovely hard-back copy of Flight Behaviour, one I received on Christmas Day, one arrived in the post on about 8th January. The duplicate is going to a good LT home. I am so pleased my friends knew me well enough to know that I'd like a book like this - I was definitely looking forward to reading it, as Kingsolver is one of my favourite authors, but would have got it out from the library or waited until it was available in paperback - it's just a shame that they both thought of the identical book! But as I have no shortage of books on the TBR pile, I can't really be too sad about that.

Genny, I just thumbed your review of The Gift of Rain. I'm glad you posted it. I'm also glad you liked Mortality. I still haven't read anything else Hitchens has written but in some ways Mortality was a good introduction to his life.

I'll be very interested in what you think of Winter in Madrid and Flight Behaviour. I have an unread copy of the first and want to get the second. I also need a push to try Gilead again so I hope you have success this time.

#160 Thanks for the thumb, Pat.

I'm enjoying both the Sansom and the Kingsolver so far. The story of Winter in Madrid is building slowly but well, my knowledge of the history and politics of Civil War and post-Civil War Spain are fairly basic but just about enough to grasp what is going on as a young English man arrives in Madrid in 1940 to act as interpreter and spy. With the Kingsolver I am loving her writing and the depiction of rural farming life in Tennessee and the unsettling consequences of unexpected visitors in the form of butterflies followed by tourists, scientists and others.

Genny, I ended up hearing several interviews on public radio with Kingsolver about Flight Behaviour. She talked about how hard it was to put the science of what was going on into the book without overdoing it. She also said she wanted to look at how different people looked at the same situation but had vastly different reactions. That's what got me hooked on wanting to read it because I find that kind of thing fascinating. Glad you're enjoying both books so far.

I have a mouse problem in my utility room. Have noticed it for the past couple of weeks: it (or they) has (have) discovered where I kept bags of birdseed - which in fact I'd forgotten about - to put out for the wild birds in the garden during winter months. I then tried to put the seed within sealed containers, and meanwhile have been remembering to put some out each day for the birds during the snowy weather, so they have benefited from the mouse's intrusion. But I knew that the mouse was still around, and have spotted a few signs and droppings. Today I noticed that the sack of dog food which was weighing down the lid of one of the secure containers was now getting rather light, so I lifted it up, and the lid underneath, and lo! not only signs of mouse activity but Mr Mouse himself (or herself?). I was not expecting that, somehow, and cried out "Oh! Mouse!" in rather a high voice! Happily there was no-one but Ty the greyhound to hear me. He is apparently no good at vermin control - I guess creatures have to be a little larger to catch his attention.

So I then quickly put the lid back on the box, opened the back door, re-opened the box and ejected said mouse out into the cold rain and melting snow. He looked so cute, I felt sorry to do so, and I know he's only trying to survive like all of us, but really I suppose I should get some sort of trap to remove him more permanently, as I'm sure he'll soon find his way back in otherwise.

Genny, 'tis the season for mice! We have a bit of an issue as well. A few weeks ago one of our cats started lurking near the oven, sitting very still and looking underneath. A few days later something had taken a bite out of some rolls that were left sitting out. My husband bought some humane traps which have proven successful a few times. Like you, we feel a little sorry releasing them into bitter cold weather, and in fact hubby kept one indoors for about 24 hrs this week -- much to my chagrine! I'm hopeful the catch and release method works well enough ... am a bit worried that it won't.

I just bought a brand-new car last July. You would think a brand-new car would be fairly impervious, but I have found evidence this winter that a mouse has been inside! There have been droppings on the center console, and a receipt that I had left lying on the passenger seat was shredded up into tiny pieces. It quite freaked me out, not because I am afraid of mice but because the last thing I want is for Mickey or Minnie to come scampering out while I am driving and run up my pantleg or something. That would be end of all three of us — the mouse, me, and the car.

#164 Yes I would rather try a humane trap than a killer one - but I wonder how far away you need to take the creatures to stop them finding their way back?

#165 That's weird - you would not think there would be anything much to attract them into a car (especially a new one - old ones of mind would have had secret supplies of crumbs and other mice-friendly things to seek out, I guess), as well as it being hard for them to find a way in. I suppose at least it was somewhere sheltered and a bit warm, if not particularly well stocked with food!

Not remotely caught up, but I wanted to skim a bit and say hello :)
I am wicked tired tonight... no thoughts to share..but many impressions received...

I am 80+ messages behind and not even attempting to catch up. I will just *wave* as I head through. . .off to play Elder Sign with Beth

#167-168 Hi Kath and Stasia - thanks for calling by, don't worry about catching up, it's impossible to keep up with everyone. But I appreciate the visit.

I'm off to bed now, after an evening spent on threads which should have been spent working - my procrastination skills are improving day by day!

There you are. I'll catch up on your thread later - just dropping an anchor to find back again. :)

HI Genny, just stopping by to wish you a lovely Sunday!

Enjoyed your story of the mouse/mice. I really can see how you feel about them, they are so cute, but they just don't belong in the house. *smile*

I just hate having to kill my tiny visitors, but they kind of force your hand, what with the mouse poop showing up just everywhere. I had a real problem with my previous stove which they liked to crawl up into and then do unspeakable things. Makes it kind of hard to bake lovely brownies for people and not feel like a really nasty person. (Not to mention the stench which was exacerbated by heat from the baking and persisted even after many cleanings!)

Fortunately Willie is a super good mouser - even at his advanced age. The trouble with that is, good though he is, he isn't infallible and then I have to resort to poison. Haven't seen one in the house since last summer - a fugitive from the extreme heat, I am sure.

We have three cats, and only one has any mousing skills whatsoever. I have witnessed the results before but she hasn't done anything recently. I shuddered at the oven story in #172 as the ones we have trapped have been perilously close to the oven. Ewwww....

>156 gennyt: Great analysis of the dilemma with books having racism and other -isms in them, Genny. What you say makes sense to me - I don't like changing the author's original work either, but in some instances not doing so means not exposing the child to an otherwise wonderful reading experience. Your point about older readers is right on the money.

#170 Welcome Kathy, do drop by again when you have time!
#171 Thanks, Bianca. Sunday was busy, but no more mice sightings so far. The trouble is that they think a nice warm house with food supplies is just the place to be!
#172 ugh to the oven story, Charlotte! I could do with a mousing cat, but the trouble is I'm allergic to cats.
#173 Laura, that's another drawback to the cat solution: there is no guarantee that a car will be a good mouser (or God moister, as my predictive text wanted me to say).
#174 Thanks, Joe.

I've left the mice in charge for 36 hours: I'm in Sheffield overnight, staying with my youngest goddaughter and family, and attending a training course tomorrow. Train journey 2+ hours each way gives plenty of reading time; I read quite a bit of Winter in Madrid (this month's chunkster) on the way down, and plan to read more of my collection of Orwell essays on the way back. I was reminded to pick up the latter by a radio programme this am, about his essay "Politics and the English Language" which is in the collection I'm reading but I haven't got to that one yet. BBC radio 4 is doing a series of programmes about Orwell currently (I wonder if it is an anniversary year?).

Genny, your mouse problem reminds me of issues I had when I first moved to Johor Bahru in 1994. I stayed with a friend in a house the company rented and we realised that there was mouse/rat activity in the house in the kitchen area. We bought a huge trap which was a fairly large mesh box which sort of invited the rat inside and then sprung closed when he took the bait. My heart skipped a beat when I returned home from work to find a disconsolate and pretty huge rat looking at me when I entered the kitchen. I think I share some genes with Ty as I was at an absolute loss as to how to proceed further and I had to wait for my housemate to return to see mission accomplished.

Sorry about the mouse problem - we had such a terrible infestation at one time that I have gotten over any mercy. I love them outdoors, I won't have them indoors. Luckily the two cats take care of 95%. Don't know if you have it in England but there is this minty stuff that you can sprinkle around your house that really does seem to repel them - doesn't kill them or hurt them, but if you keep it up they stay out. Problem is, I remember for awhile, then I slip up.

Interesting Tolkien homage, not sure what I think of it, but it is surely heartfelt and I appreciate that.

Racism in Dr. Doolittle books? Oh, my! How sad, how very sad.

>177 sibylline:: tell me more about the minty stuff, Lucy ... Is there a brand name I should look for?

164: 'tis the season for mice!
I’ve noticed that this year, with the attic occupied by a new cat (it was off limits to the old cats), I haven't heard scurrying and chewing in the ceiling. I actually like mice, raised them as pets when I was a kid, but they do get into things.

there is no guarantee that a car will be a good mouser (or God moister, as my predictive text wanted me to say). Oh, I had a good chuckle at that, Genny! I finally figured out how to disable my iPhone from trying to "help" me. Apparently, it and I are rarely on the same page when communicating!

Genny, I can't possibly keep up, but I wanted you to know that I'm at least thinking about you!
Sorry about the mouse. Oh dear. Oh dear. With four cats and a dog, we don't seem to have the problem at the moment. Oh dear. Oh dear.

This morning the hubster inspected our 3 humane traps and found they had all sprung, but only one contained a mouse. The little varmint(s) have apparently learned how to wriggle out. Ugh.

I'd like to barricade our God moister in the kitchen overnight so she can do her duty; alas, we have a very open floor plan and that's not possible.

LOL @ predictive text... I feel your pain :P

I would google Mice Mouse repellant and you'll find products like this one:
MICE

I too am glad you liked Mortality. I had read much of it in chunks in Vanity Fair before it came out as a book, but I'm glad I have the book as well. Hitchens' elder daughter (from his first marriage) works at our local bakery here in Brooklyn (and tells me Martin Amis is taking up residence a few blocks away...) She was in London earlier this year to discuss the possibility of erecting a bust or statue to his memory, but there is some concern that all of his enemies -- over religion, over Iraq -- would deface it. She's very smart & has just landed another part-time job at a film production company, which should see her getting started along her way.

Shall I lend you Tigger-the-Terror-Cat? He goes to work and all I have to do is pick up little mouse corpses - no fun, but better than having one run across my toes at night, I suppose!!

Genny, I hope you can make a deal with the mouse about your house; you the inside, he the outside? ;)

>185 sibylline:: thank you Lucy!

From today's Guardian:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/shortcuts/2013/jan/30/mice-invasion-dont-...

You are not alone, Genny.

>189 CDVicarage:: great article!

Must have been such fun for the listeners!

On the other hand, a friend sent me this today:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/30/domestic-cats-kill-billions-mice-birds-...

From yesterday's New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/30/science/that-cuddly-kitty-of-yours-is-a-killer...
When we had a mouse in the apartment a few years ago, the cat was as horrified as I was. So much for the killer instinct!

One of the more vivid memories of my childhood is my mother opening our under-sink laundry cupboard and a mouse jumping out. It shot across the laundry floor and out the back door - crossing directly in front of our cat, who watched it all the way with great interest but didn't move a muscle.

My mother (to cat): "WELL!?"
Cat (via expression): "Well, what?"

#185 - thank you very much, Lucy. I would so welcome an alternative to the nasty poison I've been compelled to buy. And if it stops the little critters outside and turns them away, I will be a super-happy householder.

I've seen that story about cats being such hideous monstrous murderers and I have to snort with derision. Especially when it comes to birds. I mean, come on! Birds have wings! Any bird who gets caught and killed is plainly too dumb to make use of his greatest advantage. And the mice - well I've seen plenty of mice take a good deal of abuse at Willie's paws and still make a clean get away. Hence the poison.

Hope the mice you left in charge of your house managed to demonstrate how responsible they were, Genny!

Thanks for all the mouse and cat stories and articles. I must do something about mine. It has now chewed a hole in the plastic box where I've hidden the bird seed. Determined creature(s)!

Have just finished reading Flight Behaviour, one of my Christmas gift books. Loved it!

> 193When we had a mouse in the apartment a few years ago, the cat was as horrified as I was.

I laughed so hard, tears came to my eyes.. well put!

Poor mice.. they do have a bad rep...

Oooh! Glad you loved Flight Behaviour.

Sorry to hear about the mouse problem. I don't think our cat is a good mouser (or God Meister either). She's endlessly fascinated by small moving creatures but will rarely do anything except watch them.

Really pleased you enjoyed Flight Behaviour!

Here's another item that you all might find interesting - one can just make these oneself, btw, using a bought collar with the quick release - just sew on the ruffle yourself..... cheaper. amazing how simple many solutions can be.
Birds Be Safe

#200 That link doesn't seem to go anywhere, Lucy, but I guess you meant this: http://www.birdsbesafe.com/

Placing things around the cat's neck reminds me of the fable Belling the Cat, which brings us back to mice again!

6 Thirty-three Teeth - Colin Cotterill ❖

From: own shelf since Oct 2012
Format: paperback, used
Source: Oxfam bookshop, Jesmond
OPD: 2005
Genre: detective fiction
Series: Dr Siri Paiboun (2/9)

The second outing for the retired-communist-doctor-turned-reluctant-state coroner of Laos, Dr Siri. I enjoyed this one as much as the first, and can see why so many friends here in this group are loving this series. Dr Siri himself and his supporting cast of characters, especially his assistants Dtui and Geung, are portrayed with great warmth, humour and humanity. The mystical dimension to the stories - which began with Siri being visited by the spirits of the dead including those upon whom he is performing autopsies - seems to be becoming more prominent, and I found this rather unexpected at first. There is already enough that is interesting and unusual in the setting, in the newly established communist republic of Laos, with all the political and social implications of people finding their feet in such a new world - but this spiritual dimension (reluctantly accepted by the scientific and skeptical Siri) adds additional richness, and perhaps serves as some kind of alternative world view to the official communist ideology laid down by the party. In a very funny scene, indeed, these two world views are brought head to head when Party officals summon all the shamans to a conference and attempt to force the spirits to follow their bureaucratic regulations, with chaotic results. This particularly story also involves an escaped badly-treated bear, a deposed king, several dead bodies of course and plenty of mysteries for Siri and his friends to unravel.

Highly recommended.

7 Lady Audley's Secret - Mary Elizabeth Braddon ❖ ❒

From: own e-collection since March 2012
Format: free e-book
Source: Kindle store
OPD: 1862
Genre: early detective fiction/sensation novel

I've been following the tutored read of The Trail of the Serpent, Braddon's second novel, and learning a little more about her and her style of writing and plots from Madeline's questions and Liz's comments and answers, while reading this, Braddon's third and most famous book, which I've had on my Kindle app since reading Wilkie Collins' The Woman in White last year.

An indolent, laid-back young lawyer, Robert Audley, takes his friend George Talboys - stricken with grief at the death of his wife while he was away in Australia trying to make a fortune for her - to visit his uncle Sir Michael Audley and his recent young bride Lady Audley. While they are there, Talboys mysteriously disappears, and Audley, trying hard to trace him, begins to suspect that he has been murdered.

That Lady Audley has a secret is no spoiler - it is there in the very title of the book! What her secret is seems obvious from very early on in the novel, though it emerges that there is more than one secret and things are not quite as they seem. Whether the additional plot twists and complications are an improvement to the novel, or represent a concession to Victorian sensibilities, is perhaps up for debate. The questions raised about women's limited options in society and the necessarily pragmatic/mercenary nature of many marriages are interesting; meanwhile the strong male friendship between Robert and George (with implicit homoerotic undertones) is given a central importance: at least, it is the driving force which stirs this previously inactive young man into almost obsessive activity in order to solve the mystery.

Easy to read and an engaging, straightforward style. What was sensational 150 years ago strikes the modern reader very differently, but this sensation novel is certainly worth the read.

8 Winter in Madrid - C J Sansom ❖

From: own shelf since April 2012
Format: paperback, used
Source: market bookstall, Sherborne
OPD: 2006
Genre: thriller/historical fiction

I've read and enjoyed Sansom's Shardlake series of historical detective novels set in Tudor England. This book, as the title suggests, has a very different setting, and one which is much less familiar to me although far more recent.

The main action of the novel takes place in the autumn and winter of 1940. Recovering from injury sustained in the retreat at Dunkirk, and struggling to adjust to the idea that Britain appears on the brink of defeat, Harry Brett reluctantly agrees to work for the British Secret Service in Madrid in Franco's neutral Spain. Under the cover of acting as an interpreter in the British Embassy he agrees to spy on an old school friend Sandy Forsyth, who appears to be involved in some shady dealings with elements within the Spanish government. This is not Harry's first visit to Madrid: he had spent time there with another school friend Bernie in the early years of the Spanish Republic, and had returned later during the Civil War to look for Bernie who had disappeared while fighting with the International Brigades. The novel explores the connections between these three very different friends - and an English Red Cross worker Barbara who comes to know all three of them - and their different responses to the complex social and political situations in Spain before, during and after the Civil War. There is also a love story or two woven into the thriller-type plot of espionage.

There is nothing special about the writing, and to some extent the characters are a little stereotyped: Bernie the radical, idealistic communist, Sandy the amoral opportunist, Harry the rather a-political liberal, Barbara the pacifist - but in their responses to the extremes of poverty and privilege in post-Civil War Spain and their different interactions with the fractured alliances of monarchists and Phalangists, socialists and communists, we are given a vivid picture of the complexity and tragedy of Spain in the early years of Franco's rule. For those who like me knew little of this period in Spain's history the book is certainly worth reading for this alone.

9 Flight Behaviour - Barbara Kingsolver ❖

From: own shelf since December 2012
Format: new hardback
Source: Christmas gift
OPD: 2012
Genre: literary fiction

I have read and loved almost everything that Barbara Kingsolver has published, including essays and short stories as well as her various novels, so I was delighted to receive this her latest novel as a Christmas present this year; I had been going to make myself wait until it came out in paperback, but now I had no need to exercise such patience!

I tend to group Kingsolver's novels into two types, those like The Poisonwood Bible and The Lacuna which are entirely or in large part set outside of the United States (ie the Congo and Mexico), and those like The Bean Trees, Prodigal Summer, Animal Dreams etc which are all set in America, mostly in very poor rural farming communities, which have given me a very different perspective on American life from the East or West-coast urban focus of most American TV, films and literature I have come across. According to this rough categorisation, Flight Behaviour belongs to the second group, set as it is within a poor farming community in the Tennessee mountains. But although the main character in the novel - young, bright and frustrated farmer's wife and mother-of-two Dellarobia Turnbow - has never travelled beyond the nearest small town even by the end of the book, instead, due to an unexpected phenomenon that may have either spiritual or scientific significance (or perhaps both), the world comes to her own doorstep, and the book explores the various clashes of culture which ensue.

Many reviewers have commented on the centrality of the issue of climate change in this book, and quite a few have disliked what they regard as too heavy an emphasis on this 'agenda' which for them detracts from the strength of the novel. Similar complaints have been made about some of her other novels too. I have never had this reaction to Kingsolver's writing: I do not see her as pushing an agenda, but exploring in her novels how people and communities deal with change and with difficult realities. Flight Behaviour is not really about climate change, it is about different kinds of wisdom and knowledge and how these are communicated and shared. It is about education, poverty and opportunities, and the fear of change. It is about what conditions force or enable people (or butterflies) to take flight and what forces or encourages them to stay.

The culture clash at the heart of the novel does not, to me, come across as a one-sided issue. As a scientist (a biologist) herself, before she became a novelist, Kingsolver writes with great sympathy and clarity about science, what it is and what it is not, and how it is misunderstood or manipulated by the media. But she also writes with great sympathy and clarity about the values and wisdom of rural farming communities - again, drawing on her own experience of being raised in rural Kentucky and currently living on a farm in Virginia. One of the initially most unpleasant characters in the book, Dellarobia's overbearing mother-in-law, is gradually seen in a more sympathetic light as we and Dellarobia learn more about her, and one of her qualities which we come to appreciate better is her knowledge of the natural world, including traditional wisdom about the names and properties of plants and animals passed down through generations but largely forgotten or ignored in the modern world. Meanwhile, a very entertaining encounter between Dellarobia and a climate-change campaigner with a checklist of suggestions for reducing her carbon footprint highlights the huge gap between their two worlds and lifestyles (culminating in the meaningless advice to 'fly less' to someone who has never dreamed of being anywhere near an aircraft!). The liberal, affluent, educated scientists and campaigners may have more awareness of the facts about climate change but they are also shown to be far more complicit in the high-consumption culture and lifestyle which has created the problem in the first place, whereas poor rural farming communities like Dellarobia's, most likely to suffer the negative consequences of change despite their general reluctance to accept its scientific basis, are also by the simplicity of their way of life (where eating locally and seasonally, recycling and mending are not so much lifestyle choices as the necessary consequences of poverty and lack of alternatives) are shown to be the least responsible for these ecological changes.

Kingsolver's language is, as ever, rich and full of beautiful images and phrases, while also having a certain earthy directness in describing the physical world and a light and humorous touch in conveying dialogue. I loved the way biblical imagery (the burning bush of Moses, Noah and the flood) was woven into the story, appropriately for characters for whom faith and scripture are very much part of the way they view the world. I loved this book and will definitely want to re-read it at some point - perhaps when I've had time to re-read some of her others too!

I have made myself post at least the basic book details of the last few books read this month - 9 read in total, and so far I've only managed to write reviews for two of them.

But I've just managed to complete the long-overdue task of claiming my work expenses, and although I still have a huge backlog of other tasks needing attention, thanks to a month of exhaustion which has exacerbated my natural tendency to procrastinate, at least I feel I have accomplished something today, and I am pleased to have read some good and even great books this month so that's definitely an accomplishment too!

Have removed this post - probably too much detail about my health and current situation; contact me by PM if you want to know more.

Sorry to hear that you are troubled so much right now with the fatigue, Genny. Hope the talk with the Bishop will help you getting some ideas on how to get on. Hope you have a good weekend.

Dear Genny, I am praying about this meeting - which has probably happened already, but that's O.K.
Meanwhile, you have read books this year so far that I REALLY want to read, especially the last four with comments pending. When will I get to them, when?

Genny, sending good wishes for your meeting.

Adding my positive thoughts and wishes for your meeting with the Bishop.

207: happily I have a couple of friends locally who are aware and offering support
Sending positive wishes for resolution.

Genny, my thoughts and prayers are with you too at your meeting today.

Hooray for expense claims but a big boo for work crisis. Will be praying for your meeting with the Bishop (although I suspect that's now taken place) and for you and everyone involved in any decisions following the meeting. I hope there's an outcome that is a relief to you.

On books: I really, really want to read Lady Audley's Secret but I have two of her less famous books in my TBR pile that I will read first (of course, I really, really want to read both of those too).

Hope that some positive outcomes are the result of today's meeting. Even with your fatigue, you've accomplished so much!

Chronic Fatigue? Hate it. I've been diagnosed with mono several times, even though I understand you can only get it once. Wonder if there's a weather system over UK/Normandy affecting us because I've been sleeping more than I'm awake and groggy when my eyes are open.

Praying. I do understand -- And, I understand the issues it brings with work too. *sigh*

Thanks for all the messages of support. Will update anyone who wants to know more.

mouse infestation: I have been to the hardware shop today and purchased a sonic device which can be effective at chasing them away apparently if they are confined to one room - which so far they seem to be. Also some metal mesh to fix over the ventilation hole in the utility room which must be where it/they are coming in. If I install both of these, and clean up the current mess, it will be interesting to see if they return. If so, I may need to resort to traps of some kind too.

Review for Some Tame Gazelle now posted here.

Thanks for the update. Still praying. May you look forwrad with hope and confidence to see what unfolds -- His plans for you are good. xox

It sounds hopeful, I think? The accommodation aspect is very difficult, isn't it. My husband should be retiring in less than 10 years (unless the rules change again) and we have nowhere to go at the moment. I am full of admiration for you to have done this job while living alone. It's the kind of job that eats into your life anyway - no 9 to 5 - and with no-one to discuss it with at home your sense of proportion must tilt sometimes. I can listen to Jon's comments/complaints but he still misses the community aspect of office life even after 25 years. And on a purely practical level a single priest always used to have a paid housekeeper or relative to run his (and it was his in those days) house. (See Barbara Pym et al!).

I do hope you can find a solution that will satisfy you spiritually, mentally and physically.

Genny thanks for the update, it does sound a bit hopeful and as you say, at least you've begun a process. The idea of community work that involves music, liturgy, teaching ... that sounds lovely.

Flight Behaviour...I'm not familiar with that one, and will have to investigate..

Sorry to hear of your health and work woes.. hope that things are resolved soon.. all of this wondering what is next has to be hard on you :( it would be me. I hope that you can put the worry aside until your next meeting and find a perfect solution for you at that time :)
hugs

Genny, I'm grateful that you and the bishop and the doctor are tackling this situation head-on. I'm praying too, and certain that the outcome will leave everybody concerned better.

Keeping you in my thoughts, Genny, as you face this new life change. It can be daunting, I know, to take on such a big change, but it can be exhilarating and freeing, too. It was a bit scary for me when I decided to leave my job to stay at home with Charlie, but I haven't for a moment regretted it, and I hope for the same happiness for you in whatever decision you make.

Genny, I pray that you will find the best compromise for your situation. With God, the Bishop, and doctor in charge, I'm certain the outcome will be good for you!

What a determined mouse. My 80-pound Lab is a good mouser. He gently holds them down looking slightly confused (both the dog and mouse) until my husband comes to the rescue. After that ordeal, I figure the mouse has earned the outside release that occurs. Btw, it must be a good deterrent because we haven't had a mouse in the house for several years!

Thank you, Carsten, Peggy, Rhian, Laura, Katherine, Nancy, Heather, Roni, Susan, Kerry, Kath and Amber (and Donna, who snuck in while I was typing this message for all your supportive comments. (Hope I haven't missed anyone!).

I mean to start a new thread for February, but I want to finish this one off by writing at least a few lines of a report/review for each of the books I read in January which are currently 'review pending' above.

there is something liberating about thinking of any other possibilities

I think that's a good way to look at it, Genny, especially since you don't want to continue with the status quo. I love the idea of working in a retreat house. I will be thinking of you and hoping for a solution that meets all your needs.

>225 Donna828:: One of the options to investigate is working in some kind of retreat house as part of the residential team that would offer hospitality to visitors
Wouldn't it be great if Gladstone Library had a position for you?! Bliss.

I've deleted one of my posts above, and edited some of the others as there was maybe too much information there for what is a public forum. Happy to communicate by PM on the non-book related stuff.

Re:: first books... I was reading on my own at 4. Mom read to me as well. We still have those early books. Tagalong was a fav of those (can't find the right touchstone). Someone mentioned the goop books. My folks got me a book club membership (kindergarten?) and that was one of my first books (which I still have). The first book I remember discovering on my own on the shelves of the library was The Boxcar Children. By that time I was devouring books... a trait I haven't lost :)

I've missed reading the edited posts but am sorry to hear of your problems - hope the outcome will be one that works for you.

Good luck with the mice! Thank you for fixing the link to BirdsbeSafe.

I hope the meeting goes well and you find some solutions.

Thinking of you and sending positive energy for a productive meeting with the best outcome possible.

I enjoyed your thoughts on Some Tame Gazelle Genny. Will keep on thinking of you and praying as you try to think through the different options available. Also hope the mouse situation is fixed soon.

Gather that something big is going on in your life Genny and hope that everything turns out well for you.

Good luck with the mouse/mice. Hope they see the error of their ways and relocate.

Genny, I hope whatever is going on with you healthwise is resolved soon!

Today is my seventh Thingaversary!

That means I get to buy eight books, one for each year plus one to grow. I have already had a little trip to the High Street and bought 3, including Pompeii by Robert Harris, from the Oxfam shop. The remaining ones need some planning.

Happy Thingaversary Genny! I love book shopping at Oxfam. You never know what treasures you'll find there!

Happy Thingaversary, Genny. I will look forward to seeing the full list of your acquisitions once you've taken them all on board.

Happy Thingaversary, Genny : ). Look forward to your list ...

Happy Thingaversary Genny! What a great tradition. I always love an excuse to buy more books. I read Pompeii several years ago and liked it very much.

I missed your earlier posts about health and work but I hope things are resolved to your satisfaction soon.

Happy Thingaversay...

Happy Thingaversary! 7 years--I'm impressed. :)

WooHoo! Happy Thingaversary, Genny!

Congratulations on your 7th Thingaversary, Genny!

Happy Thingaversary, Genny!

Happy Thingaversary -7!!! That's stamina, Genny

Happy Thingaversary! I really like Robert Harris' historical fiction although Pompeii is one I haven't read yet - my husband liked it though.

Happy Thingaversary! Best wishes to you in your health and vocation issues.

Happy Thingaversary, Genny! So - what are the other two books that you bought?

Happy happy 7th!!!!

The other two books, which I couldn't remember when I gave the earlier update, are:
A short history of tractors in Ukranian - which fits in one of the TIOLI challenges for this month, and
Right Ho, Jeeves - because a bit of Wodehouse silliness is probably what I need just now!

Good Morning Dear One!

Poo on me. I missed your Thingaversary. Sounds like you've been celebrated in approved style, and you still have FIVE to go!!! I'll be interested to hear what you think about the R. Harris --- I've been ogling both of Mary Beard's Pompeii books and can't quite commit to either or neither. It doesn't matter because I have her heavy Religions of Rome, the history and the source book, to make my way through. I also have a copy of *Tractors* and maybe I should pick it up for TIOLI too. What nifty possibilities!
AND my husband's childhood friend, who does this kind of thing for his own family, gave him a first edition copy of Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves for Christmas. We're both thrilled!!! A little Wodehouse silliness goes down well any time at all with us.
All just to say that I am in complete harmony with your purchases so far.

Hi Genny, I hope you enjoyed your Thingaversary. How's your mouse problem these days? We had to replace our first set of humane traps with another brand which has proven more effective (they figured out how to steal the bait from the first set). And now Midnight, the only one of our kitties that can mouse, has gotten involved. Saturday night we returned from seeing a movie to find a little dead present next to my reading chair. I was touched, truly I was. Last night I heard a noise in the kitchen and saw Midnight on the counter with a critter in her mouth. Thinking I was going to take it from her, she hot-footed it out of the kitchen and up the stairs. My husband started off after her (what he was planning to do, I have no idea ...). Just as I approached the steps I saw something pass quickly by. The mouse had taken a sort of flying leap from the top of the stairs into the living room and then scurried into the fireplace where we lost track of it. Midnight went off to sulk.

Seven! Wow. I'm new on the block compared to you, Genny. Congratulations!

Happy belated thingaversary!!

That's a great thingaversary!

Best wishes to you dear lady and I hope you are coping admirably with whatever slings and arrows are being posited in your direction. Finally got your book off to you after a long Book depo delay.

Happy belated Thingaversary Genny!
I have made a trip to the charity bookshop today, and amongst my finds was a Barbara Kingsolver, in this case The Poisonwood Bible which was on the wishlist due to hearty LT recommendations. Glad to see the writer, and that book, getting more praise here.

I've caught up on reviews for A Question of Upbringing - post 124, Mortality - post 125, Thirty-Three Teeth - post 202 and Lady Audley's Secret - post 203. Just two more and I will be all done for January.

You've been busy, Genny! I especially liked your review of 'Mortality'. I want to read that one someday, but not soon.

#261 Nice reviews Genny - Mortality, Thirty-Three Teeth and Lady Audley's Secret all sound good.

Catching up :) Hope things are going well!

Happy happy thingaversary and I hope RL sorts itself out in a good way and soon. I've been enjoying your reviews and appreciate that you post markers to help us go back and find them.

Ok, the final two reviews of January reads are now done:

Winter in Madrid here at post 204 and Flight Behaviour following it at post 205.

#265 Thanks Anne, I'm glad you appreciate markers. I didn't want to lose track of those reviews myself either, now that I've finally done them.
#264 Ok Kath, thanks for visiting.
#263 Thanks Heather!
#262 I hope you get the chance to read it, rosalita. It's a short read at least...

#238-260

Thank you for all your Thingaversary congratulations, Carrie, rosalita, Nancy, Heidi, Linda, Pat, Roni, Judy, Katie, Carsten, Heather, Terri, Charlotte, Lucy, Peggy, Laura, Jim, Chelle, Diana, Paul, Diana - I hope I haven't missed anyone.

I have ordered a few books to make up my Thingaversary allocation to the full total of eight books. So in addition to the three already purchased from Oxfam:

Right Ho, Jeeves
A Short History of Tractors
Pompeii

I am now awaiting delivery of the following which will help me continue with series and/or group reads over the next few months:

A Trick of the Light - Louise Penny
Out of the Deep I Cry - Julia Spencer-Fleming
The Palliser novels 1-6 (Kindle omnibus edition) - Anthony Trollope
Jane and Prudence - Barbara Pym
A Dance to the Music of Time: second movement - Anthony Powell

I will shortly be setting up my new thread, a rather late start for February!