Kerry (avatiakh) reads lots of books in 2018 #2

Wanaka - I was there a couple of weeks ago

Welcome to my 2018 thread. I'm Kerry from New Zealand and have been in the 75er group since 2009. I read lots of books from all genres and this year I'm hoping to read more of the ones stashed around my home.

Currently Reading:

Carpentaria by Alexis Wright - iPod audio

My 2017 Year in Reading

My 2018 Category Challenge: http://www.librarything.com/topic/274682

1: New to me writers
2: Young at Heart
3: Crossing Over - YA books & graphic novels
4: European writers
5: Short Stories
6: Folk and fairy
7: Essays & poetry
8: Thrillers - crime, spies, mystery
9: BIG BOOKS
10: Focus - Arthurian literature
11: Foodie things
12: Reading about the Middle East with focus on Israel
13: ANZAC
14: Nonfiction
15: Science Fiction & Fantasy
16:Folio editions
17: General fiction
18: Keeping tabs: e-books and audiobooks

ANZAC challenge 2017/8

ANZAC Bingo 1x25
1: Read a book set around WW1 - Somme Mud by E.P.F. Lynch
2: Read a dystopian novel - The Quiet Earth by Craig Harrison
3: Read a book published between 1950-1979 - Living in the Maniototoby Janet Frame (1979)
4: Read a book about convicts or forced migration - The Second Bridegroom by Rodney Hall
5: Read a book by a dead author - Towards another summer by Janet Frame
6: Read a book from a 'best of' list - The Secret Chord by Geraldine Brooks
7: Read a book with a rural setting - The White Earth by Andrew McGahan
8: Read a book with yellow on the cover - Between Sky and Sea by Herz Bergner
9: Read a book less than 200 pages - The Severed Land by Maurice Gee
10: Read a book set outside Australasia - The Wild Girl by Kate Forsyth
11: Read a journal/memoir (can be fiction) - Looking for Darwin by Lloyd Spencer Davis
12: Read a book about colonists/settlers - Salt Creek by Lucy Treloar
13: Read a book with a name in the title - The Legend of Winstone Blackhat by Tanya Moir
14: Read a fantasy novel - The Magicians' Guild by Trudi Canavan
15: Read a book about the goldrush - It's raining in Mango by Thea Astley
16: Read an award winner - Chain of Evidence by Garry Disher
17: Read a book with a murder - Trust No One by Paul Cleave
18: Read a book by a young writer under 35yrs - While we run by Karen Healey
19: Read a book with a school/education setting - Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay
20: Read a book published in 2016/17 - Tell the truth, shame the devil by Melina Marchetta
21: Read a book with a # or quantity in the title - Sixty Lights by Gail Jones
22:Read a book about a marriage - Perfect Couple by Derek Hansen
23:Read a young adult book - My sister Rosa by Justine Larbalestier
24: Read a book by an indigenous writer - Mutuwhenua by Patricia Grace
25: Read a book with an animal/bird on the cover - All the green year by Don Charlwood

75er & other Reading challenges

I participate in the monthly TIOLI challenge and occasionally get a book read for the BAC (British Author Challenge) hope to try the Irish Author Challenge here in the 75er group. In the category challenge group I've joined in a few already and I also try to read a book for the almost defunct Orange/Bailey's Jan/July group.

Group/shared Reads:

Jan:
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley - READ

February/March/April: Young Henry of Navarre by Heinrich Mann
August/September/October: Henry, King of France by Heinrich Mann

Bookloving Kiwis BookPool Challenge - Jan2018
This is a Goodreads group I belong to and I enjoy this challenge that runs twice a year -
my three Jan books are -
Frankenstein - READ
Beck by Mal Peet - READ
The Godwits by Robin Hyde


I'm also going to try to read CP Snow's Strangers and Brothers series -
there's 11 books, plus I have a copy of his The Search, so that's one book each month. I picked up the first 9 at a book fair some years ago.

Time of Hope
George Passant
The Conscience of the Rich
The Light and the Dark
The Masters
The New Men
Homecomings
The Affair
Corridors of Power
The Sleep of Reason
Last Things

February Reading Plans:
Will be finishing up book I already have on the go and a few library books. My other focus this month is on crime/thriller fiction, I have so many lying around that I need to tackle.

Currently Reading:
______
Between summer's longing and winter's end by Leif Persson - Fall of the Welfare State Trilogy #1
Call it sleep by Henry Roth - put this aside last month and need to finish it
Gullstruck island by Frances Hardinge - on my bedside table, so read a couple of chapters last month
Man's search for meaning by Victor Frankel - long on my tbr, intro done
Darkness Visible : A Memoir of Madness by William Styron - started
The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman - on audio, I don't listen to this as much as I should
The Magicians’ Guild by Trudi Canavan - on iPod, hardly listen to audio these days, need to make an effort
also - ABANDONED, don't feel like fantasy at present
Time of Hope by CP Snow

___

Library books:
made a start on all of these...
This is London by Ben Judah
Something Rotten by Alan M. Gratz - Hamlet retelling
Lullaby/The Perfect Nanny by Leila Slimani
The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide

also forgot but need to make a start on - Young Henry of Navarre by Heinrich Mann

Witchfairy by Briggite Minne (2016 Belgium) (2017 Eng)
picturebook

A sophisticated picturebook with illustrations by Carll Cneut. I didn't really fall for this one, I thought the story was a little contrived and the illustrations too sophisticated and slightly ugly.
A young girl fairy thinks her magic wand is stupid and runs away to live with some witches. Her mother finds her and together they continue to spend time with the witches every now and then.

39) The New Zealand Cat by Rachael Hale McKenna (2017)
photography

Finally my library loan came through for me, there have been a huge number on the queue for this one. Beautiful book of photographs of a lot of beloved cats accompanied by a few paragraphs telling us what makes this cat special. Many are rescue cats as McKenna worked with HUHA (Helping You Help Animals) to find some of these felines. A wide selection, many are maimed or have sad stories. The cat on the cover is Krona, and his original owner brought him to the vet to get put down as he couldn't find a new home for him. The vet refused and the cat eventually found a home at HUHA headquarters where he helps them foster dogs.
I own a copy of McKenna's beautiful The French Cat and by the by she lives in Wanaka.



She's done some lovely dog books as well. Just google her name and see some of her fabulous photos.

Happy new thread! Wanaka looks beautiful.

Happy new thread, Kerry!
I did a search for Rachael Hale McKenna photo's, thank you :-)

Happy new thread, Kerry.

39 books already!!

Happy new thread, Kerry! Great reading so far.

Happy new thread, Kerry. What a beautiful photo at top. (And some great reading as well).

>8 drneutron: >12 BLBera: Wanaka is beautiful and there are many lovely spots in that area of the South Island. I'm pleased that I visited this area many years ago when it was much more untouched by tourism. I found the famous QUeenstown far too touristy on this trip, we lasted a couple of hours there.

>9 FAMeulstee: Hi Anita. Her photos are a bit posed but beautiful for all that. We are in the process of getting 1 or 2 kittens, just started looking yesterday. I think I've been smitten by the idea since reading The New Zealand Cat.

>10 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul, my reading has slowed right down at present. It's too hot and humid to read for long.

>11 ronincats: Hi Roni. Thanks, I'm making a point of picking up my own books and forgetting the hype for some of the library books I've brought home.

Congrats on a new thread and on cruising through the books!

40) Out of the shadows: my life's journey from Mönchengladbach to Milton and beyond by Walter Hirsh (2013)
memoir

Educator Wally Hirsh was New Zealand's Race Relations Conciliator and Human Rights Commissioner in the 1980s and had a rather high profile. His wife, Adele was secretary at the school that my older children attended so at the time I was more aware of her. Later in his career he became principal of the school before heading off to a very busy retirement of tramper, tour guide, adventurer, environmentalist and emerging potter.
I was interested to read this after coming across an old news item of the controversy surrounding the announcement of his appointment as RRC at the time. The Maori people were aggrieved that the position wasn't given to a Maori again. Also Hirsh was a prominent member of the Jewish community and a Zionist, and this was during the time of the antisemitic United Nations Resolution 3379 "Zionism is a form of racism and racial discrimination" which was finally revoked in 1990.
Hirsh and his family left Germany in 1938 when he was only 2 years old, they were lucky to obtain visas to live in New Zealand through their father's cousin who already lived there. He describes growing up in small town Milton, where during the war years, the family was seen as German not German Jewish.
An interesting read, Hirsh introduced community schools in Wellington in the 1970s. The book is quite personal in many ways as he ties in through the years the way the extended survivors of this German Jewish family try to keep in touch when they have scattered all over the world.
I'd like to read more about his educational accomplishments.

Macbeth sees Duncan's ghost - view from the benches

On Sunday we went to the Popup Globe afternoon performance of Macbeth. It was extremely humid and despite being better prepared daughter almost fainted again about 40mins into the performance. So we made it outside and she recovered thanks to the wonderful staff who made her lie down, take off her shoes, drink water and have a barley sugar. They then found us a couple of seats so Dana was able to sit for the rest of the play. We missed the murder of Duncan and came back in time to see Banquo's. My son was still standing as a groundling and got spattered with 'blood'. Overall was very enjoyable for all the drama of the fainting.
About 7 people had fainted by the time Dana did and coming back in they were hauling off an older woman who had been right by the stage.
Dana is determined to do everything right before we go to see Julius Caesar this coming Saturday. Hoping that the temperature dips a little before we go.

>4 avatiakh: Love the penguins!

Glad your daughter got such good care - and hope Saturday goes well. How exciting to see two shows in a row.

41) The travelling cat chronicles by Hiro Arikawa (2015 Japan) (2017 Eng)
fiction

Rather delightful story of an ex-stray cat and his travels with his owner to find a new home for him. As they visit several of his old school friends who have offered to take the cat, there always seems to be a reason for them to stay together. The back story of the young man is slowly revealed through these visits and the end of the book is quite heartbreaking. I did shed some tears.
There's a note at the end of the book explaining why the cat on the cover bears no resemblance to the cat in the book, simply that the author and designer fell for this illustration which they found online. It's by Shuai Lui, a Chinese cerebral palsy sufferer whose work is supported by Chilture.com, a studio of disabled artists.

>4 avatiakh: I really didn't remember there were that many C.P. Snow books. Well it was a long long time ago. I remember being told that Corridors of Power was a very realistic look at life in high government circles, but what I remember from the BBC production was more of a soap opera vibe.

>19 quondame: Thanks for your comments. I won't be able to start till next month, too much to do this month.

Happy new thread!

42) The FitzOsbornes at war by Michelle Cooper (2012)
YA

The Montmaray Journals #3. The last in the trilogy, just a lovely warm set of books, sort of in the vein of I capture the castle. Sophia keeps a journal starting in 1936 when she's 16 and this last book covers the war years and into her adult life. I read the first two some years ago and never got round to reading this one till now. The island kingdom of Montmaray is fictional and lies just off the coast of northern Spain.

Here's a brief description of book #1: Sophie FitzOsborne lives in a crumbling castle in the tiny island kingdom of Montmaray with her eccentric and impoverished royal family. When she receives a journal for her sixteenth birthday, Sophie decides to chronicle day-to-day life on the island. But this is 1936, and the news that trickles in from the mainland reveals a world on the brink of war. The politics of Europe seem far away from their remote island—until two German officers land a boat on Montmaray. And then suddenly politics become very personal indeed.

>21 ChelleBearss: Hi Chelle

Wonderful reading here as always, Kerry and a great Lake Wanaka topper. My absolute favourite holiday remains the family visit we paid to NZ's South Island some five or so years ago.

Have a lovely Sunday.

>18 avatiakh: The Travelling Cat Chronicles and A Brief History of Montmaray have both been added to the list!

43) The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman (2000)
YA
His Dark Materials #3. A reread, or rather a listen this time to the audio. Took some time as I haven't had many opportunities to listen while driving of late, but an unforeseen drive to Hamilton for a funeral had me getting through 3 of the last 4 discs in one day.
This is an excellent trilogy, I was very surprised by how much I didn't remember of the last two books. I liked how this final book wrapped up, though I felt the time spent in the Land of the Dead did drag a little. I'm now able to pick up the first in his new series, The Book of Dust.

>24 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul - yes, it's a great place for a holiday. We enjoyed the heatwave at the beginning of our stay, the storm and dramatic dropping of temperatures later in the week were less welcome.

>25 souloftherose: Heather - I think you'll find both rather charming reads.

I've been on a bit of a downer this week with back pain, just muscular from a too intense gardening session last weekend. Getting over it but it hasn't been pleasant and I haven't felt like reading for several days. Yesterday I had to take my mother to the funeral of a family friend, so I swallowed a couple of panadol and managed ok.
My reward today was meant to be a trip out to the SPCA to finally pick three gorgeous ginger boy kittens we've been admiring, only to get there and find that they're being held back from adoption for a few days in case they've caught an infection. So now we have to play the waiting game and hope that they don't get nabbed before we can adopt them. It works on a first come first served arrangement, they won't hold them for us.

Fingers crossed that you get those adorable kittens. :)

I'll cross my fingers for you! Hope you get those kitties (and of course share some kitty pictures!:)

>28 MickyFine: >29 ChelleBearss: Thanks. We didn't intend to get 3 kittens just that I take my daughter with me and we can't agree on how to break the little threesome up, I keep hoping someone will have taken one before I go back but the three were still together yesterday. There are other kittens up for adoption but our hearts are currently with these ones.

Currently making my way through Frances Hardinge's Gullstruck Island. I'm not finding it as good as it probably is, I think I'm needing to read some nonfiction.


Last weekend we again went to the Popupglobe for a performance of Julius Caesar. The cast was gender reversed so all the main parts went to women and two men acted as the wives of Brutus & Caesar. I only got to see the first half as I had to meet up with my youngest son in the city. Happy to report that my daughter managed not to faint this time, she stayed upright for the whole performance.
We have one more groundling experience at the Popupglobe, in a couple of weeks, The Comedy of Errors. Today she is hankering to go to a street theatre performance of Two Gentlemen of Verona.

Ooo, will you post pics of your new kitties? And thank you for adopting from a shelter! I always feel I a saving lives when I adopt from them! :-)

>31 jessibud2: >28 MickyFine: >29 ChelleBearss: Ok, I got a call this morning, 30 mins before the SPCA opened that the boys would be available. We immediately jumped in the car and got there just as it opened. So we now have 3 ginger babies. My daughter adopted one and I adopted the other two. They're very sweet and just getting used to us. I'll post photos when we take some decent ones.
Sad having to wave goodbye to all the others that we got to know on our visits there. A little ginger one named Cheeseball got adopted at the same time as ours.

Woo hoo on the new acquisitions to the family, Kerry!

>32 avatiakh: Lots of fun and joy with your new little family members!

Love the name cheeseball! Hope you and your daughter have a lovely time enjoying the new arrivals.

>32 avatiakh: Congratulations on the new kitten additions to the family :-)

Yay, you got all three! That's amazing
Can't wait for little ginger pics!

>32 avatiakh: Congratulations Kerry!
Can't wait for the pictures of the three ginger kittens :-)

Daughter is sending me some photos now, she deleted them from her camera so I couldn't upload.
Their SPCA names were: Max, Bradley and Tony.
We liked Max and have kept it, though we've expanded it so his 'official' name is now - Maximus Bigfoot (hoping he grows to be a very big cat).
Tony has been named - Gaius Baltar after the Battlestar Galactica character, my son wanted just Baltar but we resisted and held out for the full name, he'll go by the name, Gaius.
Dana renamed Bradley to Conrad, after the writer as she studied Lord Jim last year. His full name will be Claudius (Claw) Conrad.

>39 avatiakh: I like the names! Our little dachshund Manny is really Viggo Linus Manuello, or Vicious Little Monster (he started his reign of terror by savaging the ears and tails of our two elderly dogs)

Anxiously awaiting the kitten pictures!

DOB: 20 Nov 2017

Gaius - startled as he checks out Yaron's work area

Checking out the great outdoors (our driveway) - Conrad standing and Max & Gaius on the windowsill.

Max & Gaius

Conrad

Max in action

Max & Gaius

They are in my oldest son's room, he doesn't sleep there at present but two sons use it for work and study. The kittens are being serenaded by classical guitar as Alon does lesson preparation, he's a guitar teacher. Luckily there is a semi-hallway area where we can put the litter trays. Their favourite sleeping spot is at the back of a computer cupboard. It's full of junk, old boardgames, shoes etc and they love diving in over it all and finding sleeping spots on the two shelves.

Max is ginger and white. Gauis has similar ginger tabby markings though very little white and Conrad is a stripey ginger.

Excellent cardboard scratching tunnel type plaything from k-mart with 2 kittens squashed on top of it.

Max trying to sleep

>40 quondame: very cute name. I remember our late-beagle, Ginny, doing the same when she was a new puppy to our home. She abused the kindly nature of our old labrador, Petra, even taking over Petra's huge dog bed leaving Petra to balance herself precariously on the tiny puppy-sized bed.

>41 thornton37814: Done. My favourite so far is Max, he's playful and friendly. The other two seem to hang out together much more.
Next step is to introduce our female cat to them, we've assigned her the role of foster mum, though I'm not sure how keen she'll be. Waiting a few more days before we do this.

>45 avatiakh: They don't seem to be too intimidated. Mine were a bit fearful of their new digs at first. Their mom was basically a stray cat who adopted my brother's family but wouldn't let them get too close to her. She just accepted their food, etc. Fortunately they are all people cats now. All three are next to me at the moment.

>46 thornton37814: I'm not sure on their background. They've had cat flu but are now healthy. Our present cat came with our late black one and they were quite feral. She's a tabby and is only friendly with two of my adult children, likes me when I'm about to feed her.

So sweet! And how great that they are all together and not separated! Good for you all!

>42 avatiakh: >43 avatiakh: What cuties! It looks like things will be lively at your house for a while!

>49 quondame: Yes indeed. Personalities are emerging.

Absolutely adorable! And how wonderful that you didn't separate them. They look like they are settling in quite nicely. I've always been struck by how distinctive cat "personalities" are, regardless of the fact that they've had the same set of experiences, more or less. You'll have a blast with them, and I'm sure your older cat will adjust -- eventually. Foster mother? Hmm, well, maybe. It depends on how mellow she is. Oddly, when I added Fergus to the household here, I had hoped to give Molly a friend as she and Cassie did NOT get along well at all, and after Tigger's death, I feared Molly would become more lonely. Instead, Molly has become even more bonded to me (I think she has convinced herself I'm just a very strange version of a cat) and she and Cassie have learned to tolerate each other, even sleeping right alongside each other -- unprecedented. Molly can walk past Cassie and even hazard a quick lick on the head without being hissed at. NEITHER of them like poor Fergus, who is too young and bouncy. Oh well.

LOVE the names. Especially CLAWdius. Even if he'll be known as Conrad. Shall be monitoring your thread for kitten therapy as well as book news now!

>42 avatiakh:, >43 avatiakh: So cute!

Happy Sunday, Kerry. I love that Wanaka topper! That is gorgeous. Love all the cats too. They are adorable. I hope you are doing well and enjoying those books.

Lovely photos of the kittens - looks like they are having a great time in their new home. Thank you for sharing them.

Thanks for sharing the pictures, all three look adorable. I hope your older cat can handle them ;-)

Kitten report: Freya, our older cat is aware of them. She's seen them several times at a distance and we've also let her explore the room they've been limited to, while they sat in the pet crate and looked at her. She seems only mildly interested though that could change. They are interested in her.
Since yesterday we've given them the freedom of the hallway and stairs from time to time. They love the stairs.

Our local morning news TV show is running a poll today: Have you read a book in the last 12 months. Thankfully it is currently at 86% Yes.

>56 avatiakh: - So cute!

>57 avatiakh: - LOL! Clearly, that poll question was not aimed at LTers... ;-)

The kittens are adorable! Good luck with the integration with your current cat. :)

I love your new kittens (and older cat)! I'm down to only one (feral) cat now. My favorite (feral cat whom I fed for 15 years didn't return one cold day during this winter. I was so sad about that.

It's so sad that many people do not read books at all. What do they do instead? I wonder.

>56 avatiakh:

From their Wild Kingdom expressions,
it looks like they MAY allow others to live in their domain!

44) Gullstruck Island by Frances Hardinge (2009)
YA
I've had this for a few years and went to a talk last year by Hardinge that inspired me to move it up the tbr pile. This is a great story, I didn't fly through the book due to spending most of my time of late dealing with our 3 new little charges.
The book is set on an imaginary island with at least three volcanoes. The longest settled people are the Lace who have spun much of their lore around stories regarding the volcanoes. There are the Lost - special individuals who can leave their bodies behind and explore the island, returning to their earthly forms to give news from around the island, give weather warnings etc etc.
Hardinge is a volcano groupie and just had to write a book centred on volcanoes especially after spending time in New Zealand visiting numerous volcanoes on an earlier visit.
The US title is The Lost Conspiracy.

>48 jessibud2: >58 jessibud2: They are racing all around the downstairs of our house at least twice a day now.

>51 Chatterbox: Freya, our lady cat, is doing the 'ignore and they might just go away' act rather than showing outright hostility. I think they'll get on just fine eventually. Last night we had all the kittens in the pet cage and brought Freya into the room. The kittens purred and swivelled their little heads to see her, she tried very hard not to make eye contact.

This evening our neighbour's big ginger cat was sitting outside one of our French doors looking in at them playing. He sometimes uses our cat door so we've closed that off for the time being. Freya mostly comes and goes via a balcony and an adjacent tree. Freya has bonded with my daughter, Dana, she spends a heap of time in her room.

>52 souloftherose: Hi Heather - we are loving having these babies in the house.

>53 msf59: Hi Mark. Wanaka is a must visit spot.

>54 charl08: Hi Charlotte - Tonight they discovered the hole in the lining of our footstool. Freya and her late playmate, Morrigan made this their home when they were kittens and by the looks of it it will be a favourite spot for these ones as well.

>55 FAMeulstee: Hi Anita. So far our cat has been fairly quiet about it all.

>59 MickyFine: Thanks. They're so much fun.

>60 SqueakyChu: Madeline, that's so sad about your cat stopping to turn up. Our beautiful black cat, Morrigan, just disappeared from our lives 3 years ago. We are kicking ourselves that we didn't have him microchipped.

>56 avatiakh: They are very much interested in our older cat!

>56 avatiakh: The kitties appear to be settling in!

>63 avatiakh:

Having heard of a male cat and kittens tragedy, it might be good to keep him out
until the little ones can defend themselves.

>66 m.belljackson: Yes, I'm aware of what can happen. He came back again this morning to look through the window at them. I've let him sniff one of their blankets. I'd say he's neutered so wouldn't be as bad as a tom cat. The kittens start to purr as soon as they see him or our female cat.

Reading plans for March - off to a poor start for the month and have decided that it has to be a housekeeping month, which means finish every book that I've started and make good progress on the Heinrich Mann book.

If the male cat is neutered, he has no biological impetus to harm the kittens. Our older neutered males have tolerated our kittens this last year just fine, and they have adopted 16 year-old Zoe as a foster mom. It's neat to see one or two of them curled up with her or grooming her (and vice versa).

ETA just caught them all together in a living room chair and snapped a quick photo. Zoe is the top left cat.

>62 avatiakh: I need to get back to reading through Hardinge's back list and Gullstruck Island sounds like a good one.

Your new kitties are very cute, Kerry.

Gullstruck Island does sound good. I've also had the Pullman series on my shelves for years. One of these days.

Your Popupglobe sounds wonderful. What a great opportunity to see a lot of plays.

The FitzOsbornes at War sounds like a series I would like. Off to see if my library has copies.

>69 ronincats: Have given the kittens free range of most of the house through the day, they are restricted to the original 'lockup' room at night. They are so curious, turning up in unexpected corners etc etc. and also knocking over ornaments on shelves they have no business climbing to.
Still no progress with Freya, she looks at them but still isn't keen to meet them. Our big ginger visitor has come over a few times to watch their antics through the glass on our doors. Your photo gives me hope that Freya will eventually come to enjoy them.

>70 souloftherose: I have Twilight Robbery now sitting quite high on my tbr pile, though I might just go with her latest first, A Skinful of Shadows.

>71 BLBera: You MUST read Philip Pullman, anything of his is very good. A Brief History of Montmaray by Michelle Cooper is the first FitzOsborne book.
We have one last PopupGlobe encounter coming up this Saturday. Already looking forward to it.


Not doing much reading though I am accomplishing a great sorting of my books. I have so many great books but unfortunately very limited shelf space. So I'm going to cull lots of children's books, fiction that looks fairly boring, obscure fantasy/scifi and old tattered books. My copy of the gulag archipelago is quite revolting, I'll never read from it, it has to go.

Under the same sky by Britta Teckentrup (2017)
picturebook

Very delightful, with die cut peek through shapes so that the pages are linked across the book. Basically, using the animal kingdom as the example, we are all different but all live under the same sky. The text is strong.


Sylvia and Bird by Catherine Rayner (2009)
picturebook

A lonely young dragon makes friends with a young bird. A cute friendship story.
Rayner did the lovely Augustus and His Smile picturebook.

Under the same sky looks beautiful Kerry. I'll have a look for it.

>74 charl08: It just made the Kate Greenaway Medal shortlist - http://www.carnegiegreenaway.org.uk/greenaway-current-shortlist.php

I've found it hard to read anything much these past couple of weeks. I've started several books but not got far into any of them. Oh well, I'll just keep reading at a much slower pace.

Today we went to an afternoon performance of The Comedy of Errors at the Popupglobe. It was so much fun. We stood right beside the stage for this performance.

Antipholus of Syracuse and his servant, Dromio of Syracuse, arrive in Ephesus before donning local dress

Dromio

water fight at the abbey - this was done in slo-mo and was hilarious

Doctor Pinch & his dervish attendants

dervish dance

...and I have lots of kitten photos. Don't want to overdo this but they are very cute and now have the run of the entire house.

Max the booklover

First time all on a couch with Dana

all cuddled up on top of the books I've been sorting

favourite past time - cat toys and newspaper

Oh and the lineup for this year's Auckland Writers Festival has been announced and for me it's underwhelming. I've bought tickets for a Neal Stephenson event and that's it. I have no curiosity to see any of the other writers, the star will be Karl Ove Knausgard but I'm happy to just hear him interviewed on the radio or tv. The only other event is possibly Kapka Kassabova talking about borders in Europe.

>76 avatiakh: & >77 avatiakh: Thanks for sharing all the pictures, Kerry!
The play looks good and the kittens are adorable!

Adorable photos! They look like a lot of fun!

I love the shot of the three kittens all looking at the camera. Sounds like you've been keeping busy, Kerry!

>72 avatiakh: A Skinful of Shadows is excellent - I haven't read Twilight Robbery yet but ASoS was so good I'd probably recommend that one more...

>73 avatiakh: Under the Same Sky sounds like it might be a good present for my god-daughter - thanks for the rec.

>7 avatiakh:& Kittens! I'm not sure it's even possible to overdo kitten pictures on the internet - share away!

>78 avatiakh:
As nuts as Karl Ove can be, he does have a certain attraction!

45) The Tygrine Cat: On the run by Inbali Iserles (2011)
children's fiction

This is the sequel to The Tygrine Cat which I read a few years ago and always wanted to get the sequel read as Iserles went on to write some of the Warrior Cats books and also now has a series about foxes, Foxcraft, that I'd like to read.
Mati is special, he's the last purebred Tygrine cat, his mother sacrificed her life to save him, sending him on a ship far from his homeland. Now that he's almost grown he must defeat the phantom that his enemy has sent after him and reclaim his birthright. Exciting reading for children.

>76 avatiakh: The play looks awesome!! I would have loved to see the slow-mo water fight. LOL

>77 avatiakh: Kitties and books everywhere. Perfect.

Happy Monday. : )

Our kittens are now fairly at home on the outside as well as inside. I'm trying to restrict access the front of our house where our driveway is. It's hard as however much access I give them outside they want to have more. We have a reasonable outside area but there they are, trying to scale the fence or seeking out a gap somewhere to get to the neighbour's backyard. Today they tried climbing trees with limited success, they are in awe of the birds that fly across the garden and have noted that birds sit in trees.
Right now two are crashed out on the sofa and one on a pile of books after a good two hour stint in the garden.
Our older cat is tolerating them, starting to stay in the same rooms as them and bump noses occasionally.


harder than it looks?

crashed out

beside their hiding place in the wisteria

moth brigade

surveying part of the backyard.

>85 Berly: The slo-mo was hilarious.
Some more cat photos for your viewing pleasure

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I had some book vouchers burning a hole in my pocket so -
The Yark by Bertrand Santini - translated children's book, can't get past that cover illustration with lots more inside
Obsidio by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff - YA scifi book 3, I need to get bk 2 read
The ToyMakers by Robert Dinsdale - his latest, I've enjoyed all his other books
Scythe by Neal Shusterman - YA, my daughter encouraged this one, I like Shusterman's books so was happy to oblige
Good Omens by Gaiman & Pratchett - lovely new hardcover edition - bought to give to daughter for her collection
All this by chance by Vincent O'Sullivan -2018 NZ fiction, sounds like an interesting read. I really liked his Let the river stand from 1994, so he's not particularly a prolific writer much more of a poet and was the New Zealand poet laureate 2013–2015.

Love, love, love the kitten pictures! Look like lots of fun watching them.

>89 ronincats: What Roni said - keep them coming!

>88 avatiakh: Ooh, hadn't realised Obsidio was out - I also need to read Gemina first though!

Hi, Kerry. Just checking in. Love all the kitty photos. They are adorable but I am also sure they keep you busy. If you have them outside, make sure they don't get any birds. Smiles...

Hope your books are treating you well too.

Love the kitty pictures!

>88 avatiakh: I saw the Robert Dinsdale in the stores yesterday and almost bought it as I remember how much you like his books.

Have a lovely Sunday.

Love the kitty photos! They look like adorable bundles of trouble!

>89 ronincats: Hi Roni - they've now got lots of confidence in the tree climbing department.

>90 souloftherose: Hi Heather - last year I got to a Auckland Writers' Festival session with Amie Kaufman. Very impressive, talked a lot about collaborative writing and how they consult with NASA to make sure their science is as correct as can be.

>91 msf59: Hi Mark. they seem quite mesmerised by birds. There's a little fantail (piwakawaka) that is resident in our garden that is especially noticeable as it flies quite low and the tail feathers open up and close.
http://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/birds/birds-a-z/fantail-piwakawaka/

>92 SandDune: Hi Rhian - more to come

>93 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul - I made a start on The toymakers and it feels like it will be a good one. This seems to be his 'made it' book as I've never seen his work on sale before here in NZ.

>94 ChelleBearss: Hi Chelle - loads of fun.

I picked up a number of YA books from the Scholastic factory shop the other day. The woman who works there knows me fairly well by now and we have quite interesting chats. She is interested in what I make of Anna Day's The Fandom as it has a mature sticker and she's not allowed to sell it to an under 14 yr old. I've made a start and not sure yet what makes it a mature read.

My reading has gone right down these past few weeks, partly because of the kittens, partly doing some book culling and general decluttering and partly because I have 3 university students in the house at present. All want to discuss the various subjects that they're studying and I'm finding it harder and harder to burrow into a book each evening.

So another kitten update. They've grown and I'm more inclined to call them catlings at this stage. One of my sons calls them 'the gingernuts' and has renamed Gaius to Sylvester though he's the only one to call him this.


meeting the neighbourhood part 1 - beautiful long haired blue-eyed persian belonging to our Sikh neighbours. Friendly encounter.
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Max - the tree climber, there's a big leap needed to get to our balcony that he's not able to do just yet.

takes two
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meeting the neighbourhood part 2 - Hugo finally meets the gingernuts. Hugo started visiting us a few months back, even used our cat door quite a bit and has followed Freya up the tree and onto our balcony. These past few days Yaron has woken twice to find Hugo sleeping in his bedroom. He came several times and watched the kittens through a window when they first arrived.
Anyway I let the kittens out in the early morning a couple of days ago and came back outside to find Hugo surrounded by kittens. He stayed in the garden for about 30mins, walking around and watching them. The kittens stalked him, I think he got a bit overwhelmed by their playful antics at times.

>96 avatiakh: Love the photos!

>96 avatiakh: Great pictures. They look so fierce.

Beautiful pictures of the catlings!
I'm thinking it's a good sign if university students want to talk about their subjects, but I would find the lack of reading space a bit challenging, to say the least.

46) The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner (2000)
children's fiction
The Queen's Thief #2. Finally finished this after starting early in March. I wasn't keen on the punishment dealt out to Gen in the first couple of chapters and this made me put the book aside for a couple of weeks. I hope to pick up the next book sometime soon.

>100 avatiakh: That was a shocker. No way I could have put the book down for a second. It's hard not to devour the whole series in one long gulp each time I've started. Gen's capabilities seem more focused than diminished after QoA.

My goals for April have to be reading less from the library and more from home. I've started listening to Carpentaria and am enjoying that so far.
I still have to finish Call it Sleep, though now is not the time to pick it up as I want to dive into Young Henry of Navarre. I've also picked up Jo Nesbo's Macbeth from the library and want to race through that.
I've also got The Fandom on the go and want to read Peadar Ó Guilín's The Invasion which follows on from The Call.

>101 quondame: Yes, I don't like to see my heroes suffer like that but it did make for a stronger storyline.
My reading is still going slow so I can't race through any series at present. I thought reading YA would work for me but it hasn't. Hoping that some crime novels will do the job.

Not much left to post on my young catlings except that they are outside for most of the day now and come into the house for food and at night. Yesterday they discovered the catnip that I planted a long while back and so had a big play in my herb garden. They're up and down trees, I've let them venture out front a few times, but mostly they're having fun in my garden still with occasional jaunts into neighbouring backyards to climb trees. They get a lot of fun with a small pile of sand, it heats up in the sun and they love the way the sand falls through their paws. So far they've hunted a number of crickets.
The weather turned last night and autumn is definitely here, rainy and wind gusts so I'm hoping they'll get used to the catflap and I won't have to leave doors open.

a favourite sleeping place is under the table, here we spotted them squeezed onto just one chair. Pulling out a chair is now a game of cat roulette.

Freya is getting friendlier, though doesn't pose for photos
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catnip heaven

Today I have to concentrate on making some frozen meals for my mother. She's a diabetes type 2 and her blood sugar has risen so she has to have insulin injections. My sister-in-law is insisting on her following a brutal diet of 3 x frozen meals a day that she prepares along with my other sister-in-law. I had no idea till a recent visit that my mother was only eating frozen meals. Anyway she asked me to make some as I'm more likely to add spices and herbs to the mix. She'll turn 90 in three weeks and still lives independently although her cottage is on the same lifestyle block as my brother.
This coming winter will be her first without a woodburner, it's been replaced with a heat pump.

She doesn't eat chicken so that cancels out a lot of the meals and soups I usually make for my family.
I'll make her a ciorba soup with pork meatballs instead of the chicken ones I usually make, vege stock not chicken stock.
Darryl's mexican matzo ball soup with vege stock
A tomato based sausage stew with caramalised onions
Something Mexican - burritos or enchiladas
Stuffed mushrooms
Maybe some small pizzas
The portion sizes are very small, she eats very little now and has lost a lot of weight, down to 50kgs (110lbs).

Any healthy sugar-free suggestions welcome.

>104 avatiakh: I love those photos! I love to see cats enjoying themselves and one another's company.

Loving the catling photos! I wonder if they'll spend more time inside once the weather cools down? Ours is outside as much as possible when it's warm and the reverse when cold, wet or windy.

Was there a reason you are reading Young Henry of Navarre now? Is it the one by Heinrich Mann? I have it on my shelf, but haven't dared pick it up yet.

Cat pictures are gorgeous, the colours are beautiful.

>105 avatiakh: How did the soups turn out Kerry? I have made a couple based around butternut, as that makes quite a thick texture soup (which I like), and parsnip and pea (which is very simple) but I suspect that has a lot of sugar in because of the natural sweetness of the peas. I wondered what is frozen for breakfast, but I don't know whether that is linked to the needs of the diet. In the past I've made a kind of Thai fish broth (with white fish like hake) which is very tasty but light - does she eat fish?

I've just read Imagine wanting only this which has got rave reviews everywhere as the first GN (more memoir really) by a new writer but reminded me of your comments about a GN about a young woman going travelling. Some of the ideas were interesting, but it all seemed a bit self-centred and underdeveloped.

>106 thornton37814: >107 souloftherose: They are definitely staying inside much more during this current windy rainy entry to autumn and winter.

>108 arubabookwoman: Yes it's by Heinrich Mann. I'm meant to be doing a shared read of this and the sequel over in the category challenge group. The other lady has sped through the first one and enjoyed it. We both had it sitting on our shelves gathering dust and I had mentioned it as a possible group read late last year. We gave Feb, Mar, Apr for this book & have lined up Aug, Sep, Oct for Henry, King of France.
Link to our shared read - http://www.librarything.com/topic/287114

>109 charl08: Thanks for all these hints. She does eat fish and I had looked up a couple of Asian recipes but didn't get to them in the end.
My soups turned out well and I got a few packs of 300ml plastic containers to freeze one-serving portions. I managed to make all the items on my list plus a delicious penne ricotta bolognese dish that tasted really good and some Mexican stuffed peppers. And they all fit into her freezer at the other end which was a relief and we got some tasty treats in the fridge as well.
My wrong - she doesn't eat a frozen breakfast, my sister-in-law has put together a lot of single serve portions of muesli and plain porridge that she eats.
She's going to make her own soup over the winter. We talked about it, I think that having the meals done for her means she has a lot more time to fill in and no reason to go to the supermarket etc.
I stayed the weekend and we went out for a cafe breakfast one morning and had boiled eggs the other time.
She loves going out and is still extremely social. She still meets her swimming group for morning tea, she skips the aquarobics part, just arrives for the coffee and gossip. She also still goes to church, her monthly jazz club and outings with a social club she belongs to. She'll have to renew her driver's license after her birthday.
She said her grandfather used to say of her that - 'Elizabeth is always ready for a gallop'

Yes, I'm a bit tired of those GN memoirs where the debut author is trying to get into the industry from art school or whereever. I have to recommend the Japanese memoirs and biographies of the great GN, anime & manga artists/writers. These come at the end of successful careers and give a wonderful overview of the industry. The Osamu Tezuka Story: A Life in Manga and Anime is really wonderful.

47) The Fandom by Anna Day (2018)
YA

I read this to find out why it has a 'mature reader' sticker on it. A fantastical type adventure story where 3 friends and a younger brother dress up in cosplay of their favourite book & film, 'The Gallows Dance' for Comic-con. Somehow they end up in the story itself and with the main character killed off, Violet must step into her shoes and finish out the story so hopefully they all get to go home. Not as easy as they think especially as Violet must go to the gallows for the story to end.
This feels like a hodgepodge of several books and tv shows like Life on Mars. Every now and then Violet can hear her father or mother talking, and hospital-like sounds, so you sort of guess that she at least is in some sort of coma. It does have enough going for it to be a popular generic read, but there are more compelling reads out there.

I did like that the rebel Thorn's backstory included the loss of his great love, Ruth, and so he became a ruthless leader.

Now my main read is my library book, Macbeth by Jo Nesbo. This is part of the Shakespeare series and Macbeth is cast as leader of a SWAT team with Duncan, the new Chief Commissioner of the Police. I'm enjoying it, but as I know what happens in the play, it sort of sucks that the book will probably follow along fairly predictably. I liked how Howard Jacobson managed to transform The Merchant of Venice with his Shylock is my name.

Decided to give up on the Jo Nesbo - makes no sense to read when it follows the play so closely. I got to the point where Duncan has been murdered and the aftermath.
Brought home from the library:
Hotel Silence by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir - Icelandic novel
Curry: eating, reading and race by Naben Ruthnum - nonfiction
Little Gods by Jenny Ackland - Australian novel that's getting lots of buzz

>113 avatiakh: I have seen the Nesbo in the shops but haven't been tempted so far - I thought the idea was to put a new twist on an old tale. A suspense story with no suspense does rather miss the point.

Have a lovely weekend.

Nice photos of the catlings! So cute.

So many sweet cats on the thread :)

>114 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul - having just seen Macbeth performed and listened to my daughter quote from the play rather a lot, it was too much to expect me to enjoy this particular take. I do like Nesbo, loved the Harry Hole, though they did get a tad brutal.

>115 kidzdoc: Hi Darryl - very much enjoying our catlings

>115 kidzdoc: Hi Megan. love our collection of gingernuts

48) Raven Black by Ann Cleeves (2008)
crime
Enjoyed this first in the Shetland series. I've been reading really slowly of late so was pleasantly surprised to race through this one. A murder mystery on a Shetland island introduces us to a number of memorable characters.

Catling update:
They are now using the cat door like they were born to it, so they come and go all through the day and night.
They still love the catnip and I'll have to plant some more as it is looking fairly ragged.

Gaius happy to sleep on some paper rubbish

Max in a paper shopping bag, this was torn to shreds in a few minutes but was a lot of fun to watch

A very favourite place, just in front of the fridge, right beside their food bowls.

>119 avatiakh:

Great and welcome photos!

Shopping bag one reminds me of when my big calico cat got her head caught in a handle
and jumped to the floor - since then,
we clip them all.

>121 m.belljackson: We take lots of photos, it's almost a form of therapy. They are soooo cute. I'll remember that about the handles. Years ago my cat got a fish hook stuck in her mouth which entailed a visit to the vet. Had been on a fishing trip and had left bait on a couple of hooks...

Oh, what a trio!!

>120 avatiakh: What a PURRFECT pose!

Love all the cat pictures! They look like quite the content bunch

>120 avatiakh: I'm with the kitties - I normally like a spot close to or in front of the fridge!

Hope your weekend has been a great one. xx

Gorgeous pictures - love the tail poking out of the bag, very cute.

>123 ronincats: >124 thornton37814: >125 ChelleBearss: >126 PaulCranswick: >127 charl08: Thanks everyone. We're loving our three additions to the household and trying hard to give each one lots of attention. They in turn are being totally adorable in return.

My mother had her 90th birthday party this past weekend. It was well attended and several people commented on how sharp her memory is still which is a blessing for the next generation that are only beginning now to have questions about their heritage.
My sister-in-law organised everything and I have to say that renting a bouncy castle to keep the little great grandchildren busy was a brilliant idea.

My mum with one of my brothers

49) The silver blade by Sally Gardner (2009)
YA
This is the sequel to The red necklace which I read when it first came out and then never got round to reading the sequel. The story is set in the time of the French Revolution and has mystical elements which work in very well with the time period. It contains whiffs of The Scarlet Pimpernel and The picture of Dorian Grey. Highly enjoyable and I didn't feel that forgetting the first book's plot detracted at all from my enjoyment of this one.

Kitten pics on my thread now, Kerry, if you're interested.

The language of angels: a story about the reinvention of Hebrew by Richard Michelson (2017)
picturebook

Lovely children's story about Ben-Zion, the son of Ben-Yehuda who brought Hebrew into the daily lives of the Jewish people. Ben-Yehuda wrote the first Hebrew dictionary and made up many new words for the modern world. Ben-Zion was brought up speaking only Hebrew, which made for a lonely friendless childhood to begin with.
Not completely factual but very interesting to see how some new Hebrew words came to be.
The artwork by Karla Gudeon is sympathetic.

50) The Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy by Douglas Adams (1978)
original radio show recordings / audio

I listened to the original radio recordings of the Primary and Secondary Phases which were fun, bizarre and included lots of sound effects. The behind-the-scenes cds were interesting and informative.
'The complete original full cast BBC Radio production. This CD box set contains both radio series (twelve episodes in all) plus Douglas Adams's Guide to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which takes a behind-the-scenes look at the much-loved comic science fiction phenomenon. Narrated by the original Voice, Peter Jones.'


51) The Thirty Nine Steps by John Buchan (1915)
fiction
Richard Hannay #1. This was a re-read, though my first time was years and years ago so it was all new to me. I enjoyed this and have the next one on my kindle app ready to go. I picked up the last three books, old Penguin paperbacks, a couple of weeks ago so intend to read through the series.

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52) Fever Crumb by Philip Reeve (2009)
53) A web of air by Philip Reeve (2010)
54) Scrivener's Moon by Philip Reeve (2011)
Fever Crumb trilogy / Mortal Engines prequel
Read all three books this past week. Exciting prequel set in the world of Mortal Engines telling how London got its wheels. Fever Crumb is a young girl who doesn't know her parentage at the start of the trilogy, it turns out she's fairly special, brought up in the Guild of Engineers.

55) The book that made me edited by Judith Ridge (2016)
nonfiction
Lovely lovely recollections by a bunch of YA writers, mainly Australian, on which book made a significant impact on their lives early on and why. Such a diverse set of stories, I really loved this. Several writers/books I'd not heard of at all.

>132 avatiakh: I've recently been listening to the dramatisation of Eoin Colfer's continuation to the series with (most of) the original voices. I love the cast, they really make the stories for me.

Hi Charlotte - looks like something I should lookout for. Colfer has written some great books for children.

I've been bogged down these past few weeks with supporting my daughter through her uni study as she suffers from bouts of anxiety and is getting counselling. So I'm currently a mini-expert in Adorno and the Frankfurt school and also multiple aspects of the psychology of videogamers. I also know the film, 'The Crying Game' inside out. All very interesting but not many books have been read. Now I'm proofreading my son's essay on the historiography of the origins of the French Revolution.

Anyway I've just returned from a few days away. It rained every day so it was a fairly unexciting trip. I managed to finish 4 books and get a good chunk of Call it sleep read. I also read George Orwell's 1945 essay on antisemitism, it had been mentioned somewhere as being as relevant today as it was back then. Another milestone was finally sitting through 'Casablanca', so now I can officially say I've seen the film. Came home and picked up the latest Jumanji dvd from the library and watched that, silly fun.
Our catlings have started hunting for real, dead mouse deposited in kitchen this morning.

Getting caught up and loving all the wonderful pictures of your new furkids!

>128 avatiakh: - What a wonderful picture. Happy belated birthday wishes for your mom!

>137 lkernagh: We love our three babies so much. They continue to amuse and entertain.

While looking up a particular book, The Jew Car by Franz Fuhmann, I happened upon The German List series of books by Seagull Books, a publisher in India. Many interesting modern German novels all translated to English.
http://www.seagullbooks.org/index.php?p=book_list&cat_id=MTE1
http://indianquarterly.com/the-little-publisher-that-could/

..and their beautiful catalogue - http://www.seagullbooks.org/webIndCatalogue17.pdf

I love the pictures of the kitties. What cuties.

>118 avatiakh: I really enjoyed this as well. There's a very good series called "Shetland" based on this series.

>140 BLBera: Yes, I'd like to read more of the series and watch the tv series eventually.

56) The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope (1974)
YA fiction
This was a Newbery Honor Book and one I've had on my to-read list for a long while. I loved it, a magical Tam Lin retelling set just before Elizabeth I takes the throne.
Lady-in-waiting Kate must pay for her younger sister's impulsiveness in sending a letter in support of Princess Elizabeth to Queen Mary. She is to be exiled to a remote castle, the Perilous Gard, a place known only to a few as a source of power for the faerie world.
Recommended and now have Pamela Dean's Tam Lin out from the library.


All of this is true by Lygia Day Penaflor (2018)
YA
Decided to abandon this after 90-100 pages read, mainly that it's a library book and I don't want to waste my time on frivolous reads. I saw it on a list from Readings Australia, 'Best reads of 2018 so far' and the plot took my fancy. A young writer, newly and successfully published, befriends a bunch of privileged NYC high schoolers. Her next book is all about them. It's told in reportage style and that is quite compelling so would be a quick read, just not great characters enough to keep me going though will be enjoyed by teens.
I saw Sara's Face by Melvin Burgess suggested as a better read on the bookbag review site - 'uses a reportage style for a tense thriller that ponders on the nature of fame and celebrity.' I liked this one, I read it a few years ago.

The Readings Australia list - https://www.readings.com.au/news/our-favourite-books-of-2018-so-far

Hi Kerry, I finally made it over to the 75ers and starred your thread. Congrats on the kitties and to your mom, who looks fabulous. A stray recently followed me and my daughter home. We were all set to keep him, but luckily (?) he was microchipped and was taken to be reunited with his owner. I am not a cat person, but this guy was special.

>144 labfs39: Welcome to my thread Lisa. I've been greatly quiet here this year with a multi-month reading go-slow going on. I hope you are doing well. Great that the cat was able to go back to his original home even though you did bond with him. My sister-in-law has recently adopted a couple of well nourished stray cats that hang around their semi-rural property.

57) Of mice and men by John Steinbeck (1937)
novella
I've been meaning to pick this up since the 75ers did the year long Steinbeck group read a few years back. So finally saw it on my phone's kindle app and started reading it a couple of weeks ago.
I loved it though as the story progresses you think that there's only one way this is going to end for it to be considered a classic and that does not mean all things rosy.

58) Alex by Pierre Lemaitre (2011)
crime
I first noticed Pierre Lemaitre when his book Blood Wedding came out and was on display at my local bookshop. Later on I picked up this paperback at a charity shop but only got round to reading it these past couple of days.
I found this quite a compelling read, the book is in three parts. It starts off almost as a horror story, a gruesome kidnapping, then twists. It was the first of Lemaitre's books to be translated to English and stars Police Commandant Camille Verhœven. There are 4 Camille Verhœven books and this is the second one. Irene (OMG, the first book title that comes up with this touchstone) is the first book and I'd suggest starting there as this one relives many moments from the first book.

Sorry to hear about the go-slow on the reading front Kerry. Good to see you back: not least because I've added Lemaitre to the wishlist - hope they have all three at the library so I can read them in order, too.

>147 avatiakh: I cannot read these sorts of books, but I bought it for my sister, who thought it was very good. I should see if she has the others.

>148 charl08: I just got Irene out from the library, so will be reading it soon I hope. Not sure why they decided to translate the second book first.

>149 labfs39: I understand, I couldn't tolerate a steady diet of crime fiction like this, but enjoy them sprinkled through my other reading.

59) Beautiful Mess by Claire Christian (2017)
YA
The manuscript for this book won the 2016 Text Prize, an award that I try to read all winners of. I'm still two books behind, the 2015 winner, The Book of Whispers and last year's winner, The Extremely Weird Thing that Happened in Huggabie Falls which was recently published.

This was a very soulful story about two teens and their evolving relationship. Ava is still mourning her best friend, Kelly, who died in a suicide. She meets Gideon, new at the Magic Kebab where they both have part time jobs. Gideon is very different, he's into poetry and shuns social media. While he has many problems of his own, he helps Ava see beyond her grieving for her friend.
Beautifully done.

'Shortlisted under the title Waste, Beautiful Mess tells the dual stories of Ava, lost and angry at the world, and trying to figure out how to live without her best friend by her side, and Gideon, awkward, anxious and trying to figure out how to get by without freaking out. Beautiful Mess is a fresh and relatable story of grief, getting out of your own way and finding your tribe.' Publisher Michael Heyward.
‘Beautiful Mess is the most sensitive explanation of depression and how it affects lives that I have ever read. If you read any other book and felt a bit uncomfortable about the depiction of depression, read this one and understand more. Recommend it to your teenagers, your students, your friends with teen kids. It might help them understand and recognise themselves in some of the pages.’ The Sapling

eta: The author, Claire Christian, writes here about the background to her book, teenage mental health etc.
https://www.whimn.com.au/strength/mind/theres-something-seriously-wrong-with-the...

60) Call it sleep by Henry Roth (1934)
fiction
I took forever to read this book though that was completely due to me and nothing to do with the book. I started in September and read quite a chunk and then just didn't read more than a few pages at a time until earlier this month. I found the dialogue quite difficult to follow at times, then after finishing the book, read that this was deliberate by Roth, as English was a foreign language for the immigrant families, he wanted the reader to experience the same 'stumbling block' when reading.
Basically the story of a young Jewish immigrant boy, David, growing up in New York. His father sees him for the first time when he arrives with his mother from the Homeland. The father, the bearer of a ferocious temper, does not take to him at all. David is terrified of his father and his temper and this terror grows to reflect almost everything in David's world except for the sanctuary that his mother provides in her serene presence.

Lots of great reviews here on LT. I read the introduction once I finished the book and it gave some interesting insights.

61) Man's search for meaning by Victor Frankl (1946)
memoir
I only read the first part of this book plus the two prefaces. The second part is a description of Frankl's logotherapy and the third part is based on a lecture Frankl gave on logotherapy.
The first part is a memoir of Frankl's experience in the Holocaust and his insights into how he and others managed to survive their years in concentration camps. He developed his psychological theory of logotherapy from his experiences and I'm not in the mood to continue reading analysis of this so stopped reading after part one.

>152 avatiakh: You appreciated Call it Sleep more than I - I couldn't get over how unpleasant almost everyone in the novel was, but especially the girls and women were doused with extra ick.

>154 quondame: Oh you are so right! I just felt that everybody's lives were so sh*t at that time in New York in the book that I forgot how awful the aunt was to her husband & step daughters and how awful they were to David and each other. I loved how Roth managed to capture David's inner turmoil.
eta - I appreciated how Roth captured the unpleasantness.

Just getting caught up. Love the kitten photos. It looks like constant action at your place!

62) Not if I save you first by Ally Carter (2018)
YA

Entertaining action & survival yarn from Carter. I haven't read her other books but decided to try this one. It's mainly set in Alaska with a bit of a back story set in the White House. Maddie has spent the past six years living in the Alaskan wilderness with her father, an ex-Secret Service agent to the President. Things hot up when her ex-best friend, the son of the President, who has a reputation for misbehaving, gets sent to spend some time out with Maddie & her Dad. Then once her Dad has been sent on an urgent medical rescue, the Russian kidnappers turn up.
The story is exciting and well paced, just a bit too 'Presidential' for me. Great reading for teens, there's a touch of romance but mostly this is about getting out of a bad situation and surviving in the bitter cold. I liked that both teens brought needed skills to the party, Maddie was especially well adapted to the outdoors.

>156 nittnut: Not too bad now, just so much ginger in the house. They don't go outside so much, it's too cold. Much colder winter this year, though still mild by most standards.

I just had a lovely week in Nelson researching my family ties to the area. Really good to finally get back there. Today I went to the NZ Society of Genealogists Family Research Centre to finally see what's offered there. The people were very helpful though the info wasn't anything more than I get through my own internet and ancestry account (I just paid for a one month access) so I'll go back to look through some of the other resources. It costs $5 for each visit, so if I went every week it would be almost the same as an online subscription.


Ernest Rutherford monument at the site of his birthplace in Brightwater. It shows him as a young schoolboy carrying an arithmetic textbook.

all that's left of Spring Grove where my greatx2 grandfather was a publican.

classic wreck of house near Wakefield

Tasman

shipwreck at Motueka

beach walk, Motueka

Halifax St cafe, Nelson

sheep at Wakapuaka cemetery, Nelson.

Love all the "heritage" photos! Glad you enjoyed your trip.

Nice photos, Kerry!

I love the idea of a heritage trip, and the photos are great. Have you ever tried one of the DNA testing companies like 23 and me that offers you the option to contact genetic relatives?

>160 thornton37814: Thanks. I spent an hour at the local Nelson NZSG's Ancestor Attic which was very helpful. They suggested I spend time at Nelson library which I did and my next trip I'll make an appointment to visit the Provincial museum's archives. My daughter and I also located several family headstones in various cemeteries, bought flowers and went back to them.
The Nelson province was one of the first settlement areas founded by Wakefield in the early 1840s. My greatx3 grandfather brought his family out on the first ships in 1842. The fledgling town was about 4500 strong in1861 when they took in the 'Taranaki refugees', about 1200 women and children fleeing a war in the Taranaki. Their menfolk stayed behind to defend their settlements.

>161 kidzdoc: Thanks Darryl. We had beautiful weather, the winter sunlight and stillness of the sea was a stunning combination especially on the coastal drive to Motueka.

>162 labfs39: Lisa - my husband is a huge fan of DNA testing. We use FTDNA and all of us have tested. He's found it really useful as his Jewish family is much more unknown and scattered. He uses skype to keep in contact with a huge number of people. I'm less inclined though have made some contact with a few 2nd/3rd cousins who tested and matched. We started when I bought an ancestry DNA kit for my son as a birthday present a couple of years ago. He was really interested after watching 'Meet the Izzards' which followed UK comedian Eddie Izzard on a journey of DNA & migration.

>158 avatiakh: Lovely pictures, Kerry, thank you for sharing.
The beach looks so tranquil and I didn't know before Rutherford was born in New Zealand.

Hi Anita, there are lots of roads and streets names Rutherford in most local towns and a Rutherford Hotel in Nelson, where he did his high school education.

63) Helen and the Go=Go Ninjas by Ant Sang & Michael Bennett (2018)
graphic novel.

Bennett is a NZ film-maker and has done an award winning nonfiction book. This is his first graphic novel story. Ant Sang is a well known local illustrator with several books and a couple of graphic novels to his name. I'll try anything that has Ant Sang's name to it.
Helen is kidnapped and taken to a future dystopian world where it quickly turns out that the women should have kidnapped her boyfriend who is called Marion. Back in Helen's time he was on the verge of inventing 'peace-balls' which by 2355 have become mind control devices. The story is entertaining and actionpacked. The artwork is solid.

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64) Aotearoa Whispers: The Awakening by Gonzalo Navarro (2011)
graphic novel
Quite an impressive debut though I'm not sure if Navarro has published anything since. He's a Chilean transplant to New Zealand and wanted to give something back to his new community. The GN is aimed at young urban Maori seeking a reconnection to their culture.
13 yr old Kahi Moana walks through the streets of Christchurch (after the first earthquake and before the second), he looks at statues and the Cathedral and wonders where he fits in to it all. His father is Maori and his mother is English, rather than embracing both cultures, he feels like he doesn't belong anywhere. He picks up a 10 cent coin on the pavement - there is the Queen of England on on side and a Maori koruru (mask) on the other. He visits his Maori grandmother who tells him a couple of stories, one about Te Rauparaha, a chief & war leader from the 1800s who created the most famous of the hakas and the other is one of the Maui myths. As Kahi leaves the house, he's ditched his rapper $ chain and is now wearing a carved pounamu pendant, a koha from his grandmother.
All this in the first half of the GN, as I turned to part two I discovered that it was the same story but in Maori. So a bilingual GN, quite an achievement.
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Have just returned from 10 days in Australia. Have to say that Queensland and northern NSW are a lot warmer and sunnier than mid-winter Auckland, so a welcome break.
The sad note is that 99% of NSW and most of Queensland rural areas are grappling with a devastating drought that is ruining many farmers. The banks have been hostile to the idea of helping their rural customers and this has led to many farmers forced into bankruptcy and lots of mental health problems. The government is finally acknowledging the problem and injecting money and other resources but it's too late for many.
'Scientific analysis of Australia’s drought extremes has shown the current crisis is likely to be the worst in 400 years.'
https://www.news.com.au/technology/environment/climate-change/cost-of-hay-to-fee...

I read a few books and finally finished my read of Young Henry of Navarre by Heinrich Mann which I'd been sidelining all year. The book weighed at least 1kg so was a good feeling to leave it behind at a bookswap shelf at a shopping centre. Needless to say, I filled my suitcase with more books to bring home and will list the binge later on along with a few photos.

>168 avatiakh: Glad you had a nice trip to Australia. So sad about the drought, though.
I will, someday, come back to Australia. It was my best trip so far and I am excited to take Nate there someday.

edited

Glad you had a good trip, but sorry to hear about the problems with drought. Europe seems to be facing similarly difficult/ unanticipated weather conditions this summer.

Hi Kerry! I hope all is well with you.

> Did you every get around to Something Rotten? It looks interesting.

Someday I want to visit Australia! Big bummer about the drought. I didn't know it was the worst in 400 years. Yikes.

Oh I'm doing poorly this year, just not reading and posting enough.

I hear what you're saying, Kerry. Me, too.

64) Curry: Eating, Reading, and Race by Naben Ruthnum (2017)
nonfiction

This was an interesting read about the Indian diaspora and identity. How it manifests in food and books. If you are the second or third generation of Indian immigrants you are still expected to eat, cook and write like an Indian from India. About visiting India, the old country, and being annoyed that it hasn't stood still in time like your memories of growing up there.
Ruthnum grew up in small town Canada and his parents' bookshelves were full of typical South East Asian 'immigrant books' or 'curry books' as he calls them.

From a Canadian newspaper review -
'In the more literary currybooks discussed in the second section, Ruthnum laments that the internal battle over identity always plays out the same way: The protagonist's home country, frozen in nostalgic and authentic amber, offers a respite from feelings of displacement. But for second-generation people living in Canada, Ruthnum says, things are more complicated. He returns often to the very particular "weirdness" of being a racialized person in a diaspora, recognized as a tourist in your parents' home country, yet rarely accepted with no questions in the country of your birth. He knows his family's history in the "East" (Mauritius) informs his sense of self and his writing, but he resents the idea that this history must define him going forward. This internal push-and-pull is a classic currybook set-up, but in writing Curry, Ruthnum wants to change the ending to the story.' https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/review-naben-r...

>176 brodiew2: Sigh. Books just don't hold my attention at present, even when I'm enjoying them.

65) Gunshot Road by Adrian Hyland (2010)
crime
Emily Tempest #2. This was an entertaining crime read set in Australia's Northern Territory. Emily Tempest has a new job with the police, Aboriginal Community Officer. When there's a death of an old man at the Green Swamp Well Roadhouse her new boss thinks it's a cut and dried natural causes death, but Emily thinks otherwise....and gets into a lot of trouble while trying to solve the murder.
Will be going back to read the first book.

66) The Broken Shore by Peter Temple (2005)
crime
This was an excellent crime read. Police corruption, coverups and more. The book starts with the death of a local philanthropist, the murder is quickly pinned on some aboriginal lads from the nearby settlement. Detective Joe Cashin who is still recovering from injuries related to a big Melbourne investigation is asked to investigate. He's back living in his rural childhood home for some months and working with the local police.
The story is complex and unusual and Joe Cashin is in a lot of pain. The storytelling is exceptional and the characters are all well-rounded.

67) Fintan's Tower by Catherine Fisher (1991)
children's fiction
A children's fantasy based on Celtic myth. Jamie finds a book in the library that only he can read, it has his name on the cover and leads him and his sister into another world. I enjoyed this and will look out for others by Fisher.

From the author's note: 'the idea for this book came from an ancient poem called The Spoils of Annwn, so old and broken that it’s hard to read, but it seems to tell the story of a raid, made by Arthur on a tower in the Otherworld. I love the Arthurian myths, especially the Welsh versions, and from them I took a lot of elements of this story- Cai, the Oldest Animals, and the Cauldron itself.

68) Young Henry of Navarre by Heinrich Mann (1935)
historical fiction
Long and absorbing read on how Henry IV came to be king. I enjoyed this and now have the sequel, Henry, King of France to read.
Blurb: 'Heinrich Mann's most acclaimed work is a spectacular epic that recounts the wars, political machinations, rival religious sects, and backstage plots that marked the birth of the French Republic.'

69) The lie and how we told it by Tommi Parrish (2018)
graphic novel

Couldn't be convinced on the illustrative style, I just don't go for how Parrish depicts people in this, everyone is ugly. The story is about a guy and a woman meeting by chance about 15 years after finishing highschool together. They end up spending the evening together socialising and both realise they have nothing much in common anymore.
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70) Saga Vol. 5 by Brian Vaughan (2015)
71) Saga Vol. 6 by Brian Vaughan (2016)
72) Saga Vol. 7 by Brian Vaughan (2017)
graphic novels
I read these over the past month or so and I have Saga #8 ready to pick up from the library. Scifi epic adventure about a cross-species family, whose races are at war with each other. Loads of interesting characters. Art by Fiona Staples.

73) Station Zero by Philip Reeve (2018)
YA
Concluding instalment of the Railhead trilogy. I enjoyed this trilogy set in a futuristic world where trains travel through special gates to other dimensions or planets. Control is key and the battle over empire, gates & trains makes for a fast moving fun read.

74) Less by Andrew Sean Greer (2017)
fiction
Winner of the Pulitzer Fiction (2018) Award. I thought this would be more comic than it was, mainly due to the playful cover art.
Novelist Arthur Less is about to turn fifty and his younger ex-boyfriend has just invited him to his wedding. Less feels like a failure and so accepts all the invitations that he's been ignoring and goes on a round-the-world trip to obscure events in order to not attend the wedding.
Sort of painful read that has bright points, just probably not my type of read. I did end up liking poor Less.

75) Boy swallows Universe by Trent Dalton (2018)
fiction

Magnificent coming of age story. I loved this big bold story weaved by Dalton, an Australian journalist. This is his debut novel and it is a highly entertaining book set in the rougher edges of Brisbane's urban sprawl. It's about Eli Bell, the second of two brothers who are told by his mother and step father that they are special. A celebration of the joy of family even through the roughest of experiences - family breakdown, drugs, criminals, cruelty, neglect, separation. Eli Bell shines through.

Dalton based the story on his own 1980s childhood. https://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/lifestyle/houdini-and-the-escapist/news-st...

76) Mutuwhenua by Patricia Grace (1978)
NZ fiction
Patricia Grace's first novel. The novel is about a young Maori woman who falls in love with a European (pakeha) New Zealander and after marrying him and moving to the city, realises that the strong spiritual ties to her Maori whanau (family) and land is threatening her happiness.
While fairly dated, the novel gives one a nostalgia for older simpler times. I liked that the book introduces the reader to the Maori concept of whangai.
'Whāngai is a Māori customary practice where a child goes into the care of relatives, such as a grandparent, aunt or another member of the same hapū or iwi. The arrangement can be flexible because the child can return to the care of the birth parents or another relative.
Whāngai placements may occur for many reasons, like giving a child to people who cannot have children, consolidating land rights, or passing down traditions and knowledge.'

Ok, that was my reading for part of July and all of August. I'm hoping to read a bit more in September and have lined up quite a few children's books as well as some fiction and a couple of nonfiction reads.

Back in July we had a couple of weeks in Australia - just the Gold Coast in Queensland and Coff's Harbour in north NSW.

kookabura outside our apartment on the railing - they're quite loud as this video shows - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqdRQxgtZtI

I saw more used bookshops here than I ever do in Auckland.

Byron Bay - first time here in many many years, lovely beach, still has a village vibe but too many cars spoiling it for everyone.

Coffs Harbour is a small town, not much to offer really. I didn't want to go there but my husband hadn't been before so we went. There are lots of lovely beaches all up and down the coast and rural places to visit so we filled our time rather well.

idyllic view from our room in Coff's Harbour

book exchange in the shopping centre's foodcourt. I swapped three books there on our last day.

Coff's Harbour beach

another beach

visitor to our room

Urunga

Dorrigo National Park

Red Rock beach

Magpie Books in Woolgoolga

Diggers Beach in Coffs harbour

Diggers Beach

Lots of warning signs for Australian wildlife

My Aussie book haul
Displaced person by Lee Harding - YA, one of the swap books, I've read this and wanted my own copy
Edward Britton by Gary Crew - a swap book, looks interesting
A woman of the future by David Ireland - another swap book, I collect the Text Classics
The Dry & Force of Nature by Jane Harper - discount buy
Less by Andrew Sean Greer - discount buy
big little lies by Liane Moriarty - discount buy, wanting to read more of her books
The Bookshop of the Broken Hearted by Robert Hillman - read good reviews
Boy swallows universe by Trent Dalton - great reviews everywhere
The edges of empire: New Zealand in the middle of the nineteenth century by Paul Moon - NZ history book found in a charity shop

Back home to winter and cats and trying to work on our kitchen table and being overun by felines -

Lovely pictures Kerry. Looks like it was a great trip for books and views.
The cats look very comfortable!

Hi Charlotte - I've been absent for much of the year and have only kept up with a couple of threads. Every time I think I've got it together again we have another domestic disaster. Mostly it's because my youngest is struggling through her first year of university, it's been a bigger challenge than I would have thought. I expected her to fly and she has crash landed at every turn. Presently on mid semester break so I can catch up and do some reading, she's doing one less paper this semester and it seems to be working better.

I've also been doing a lot of family history research. My husband just found that he's DNA related to about 50 people at one kibbutz. Hilarious as they try to find the missing link and tie all the family together. The entire kibbutz had their DNA tested for genealogy.

>187 avatiakh: Congratulations on reaching 75, Kerry!
And with a great book, I will be waiting for the translation.

>190 avatiakh: - >194 avatiakh: Thanks for sharing the pictures of your holiday. Lovely beaches and bookstore, was that a magpie visiting the room?

>196 avatiakh: That is an adorable red pile :-)

Congrats on reaching 75, and thanks for the photos -- I love all the bookstores!

>199 FAMeulstee: Hi Anita - it was a really great read that one and I just finished a really good children's book, the author hasn't published anything for children for the past 12-14 years so was a surprise to see a new book by her. I loved her Finn's Quest trilogy.

Yes, pretty sure it was a magpie, it came right into the lounge and then retreated to the balcony. Much prefer a kookabura for all the noise they make.

>200 BLBera: Hi Beth - I loved going into the used bookshops though I ended up spending my money in a huge discount chainstore, 'Big W'. They had new books discounted right down and so I ended up buying quite a few newer books cheaper than the used bookshops were selling their books for.

Great holiday pictures, Kerry, and I love the way your boys are snuggled up together!

Congratulations on passing the 75 book mark!!!

Hi Roni - thanks. I've been terrible about keeping up this year. So apologies to you and everyone and time for a new thread.

Congrats!

Thanks

Great photos and book haul, Kerry.

Congratulations on hitting the 75 books mark!