Turn the Page October
Posted: 2018/10/10 Filed under: audio books, E-Books, Early Review, Fiction, NonFiction | Tags: africa, Bosnia, Bryce Courtenay, cats, Doris Lessing, Dorothy Dunnett, Early Review, family, Fiction, Hal Roth, Henry Roth, historical, immigration, Ivo Andric, Jan Morris, John Grisham, librarything, NonFiction, Nora Roberts, Oxford, Robert Wilson, romance, sailing, series, South africa, sports, time travel, travel Leave a commentFiction:
- The Chronoliths by Robert Charles Wilson – in honor of October being Star Man month.
- Bridge on the Drina by Ivo Andric (EB) – in memory of Mehmed Pasa Sokollu’s passing. He designed the bridge over the Drina river.
- Playing for Pizza by John Grisham (EB) – in honor of the Verdi Fest in Parma that takes place every October.
- Call It Sleep by Henry Roth (AB) – to remember the Tom Kippur War.
Nonfiction:
- Oxford Book of Oxford edited by Jan Morris – in honor of Morris’s birth month.
- African Laughter by Doris Lessing – in honor of Lessing’s birth month.
- Always a Distant Anchorage by Hal Roth – October is Library Friend Month & I had to borrow this from a distant library.
Series continuations:
- Tandia by Bryce Courtenay – to finish the series started in September in honor of Courtenay’s birth month.
- The Race of the Scorpion by Dorothy Dunnett (EB) – to continue the series started in August in honor of Dunnett’s birth month.
- Finding the Dream by Nora Roberts (EB) – to finish the series started in August in honor of Dream Month.
Fun:
- Joey Goes to Sea by Alan Villiers – a gift from my aunt Jennifer.
Early Review for LibraryThing: nada. I have the promise of three different books but they haven’t arrived yet.
December Did Not
Posted: 2017/01/04 Filed under: audio books, biography, books, childrens book, Early Review, Fiction, list, NonFiction | Tags: africa, biography, Candice Millard, childrens book, classic, Dominique Lapierre, Early Review, Elizabeth Enright, Esther Forbes, Fiction, grief, historical, india, italy, John Hemming, Larry Collins, Lauren St John, librarything, Margaret Visser, memoir, NonFiction, ocean, Patricia Grace, Paul Revere, Peru, pytheas, Rome, series, Stephane Gerson, Theodore Roosevelt, war, yoga Leave a commentDecember did not suck entirely. I was able to run 97 miles out of the 97 promised. The in-law holiday party was a lot of fun and I got to most of the books on my list:
Nonfiction:
- Conquest of the Incas by John Hemming (DNF)
- Rainbow’s End by Lauren St. John
- Paul Revere and the World He Lived in by Esther Forbes
- On the Ocean by Pytheas (translated by Christina Horst Roseman)
- Geometry of Love by Margaret Visser
- Freedom at Midnight by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre .
- River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt’s Darkest Journey by Candice Millard (AB)
Fiction:
- Tu by Patricia Grace – I read this in four days because it was due back at a library that didn’t allow renewals.
Series:
- Spiderweb for Two by Elizabeth Enright. I listened to this on audio on my lunch breaks. It was a good way to escape for a little while each day. Confessional: I didn’t finish the whole thing but since it is a continuation of the series it doesn’t matter.
Early Review:
- Yoga for Athletes by Ryanne Cunningham – this was an October book that took me a little time to review because I was too busy using it to run!
- Disaster Falls: a family story by Stephane Gerson
Know Your November
Posted: 2016/11/01 Filed under: audio books, books, Fiction, NonFiction | Tags: Allen Drury, childrens book, Colin Cotterill, David Halbertam, Ecuador, education, Elizabeth Enright, fantasy, Fiction, history, James Hilton, jon kabat zinn, Laos, Manning Coles, medical, meditation, Moritz Thomsen, Neil Gaiman, NonFiction, Perri Klass, politics, series, spy 1 CommentI am trying to move into this month without cracking up or breaking down. I’ve lost the run temporarily and even a small interruption sets me back. You know it is with a mental stability that isn’t quite that solid. I don’t want to say anything more than that.
Here are the books. Nonfiction first:
- Living Poor: a Peace Corps Chronicle by Moritz Thomsen – in honor of the month Ecuador’s civil war for independence ended.
- Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life by Jon Kabat-Zinn – (AB) in honor of the holidays and how much they can stress you out. I’m reading this and listening to it on audio.
- The Fifties by David Halberstam – in honor of finishing what I said I would.
- Baby Doctor by Perri Klass – in honor of National Health Month.
Fiction:
- Goodbye, Mr. Chips by James Hilton – in honor of National Education Week. This should take me a lunch break to read.
- Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman – in honor of Gaiman’s birth month.
- Advise and Consent by Allen Drury – in honor of November being an election month (and is it ever!).
Series Books:
- Then There Were Five by Elizabeth Enright – (EAB = electronic audio book) to continue the series started in September in honor of Enright’s birth month.
- A Toast To Tomorrow by Manning Coles – to continue the series started in October in honor of Octoberfest.
- Love Songs from a Shallow Grave by Colin Cotterill – to END the series started in May in honor of Rocket Day.
Tear of Autumn
Posted: 2016/09/27 Filed under: audio books, Book Reviews, BookLust I, Fiction | Tags: 2016, audio book, book lust i, book review, Charles McCarry, Fiction, mystery, september Leave a commentMcCarry, Charles. The Tears of Autumn. Read by Stefan Rudnicki. Oregon: Blackstone Audio, 2005.
Reason read: Cold War ended in September.
Paul Christopher is back; Christopher, the the cool-as-a-cucumber, jet-setting, incorruptible CIA secret agent. This time he is trying to convince his superiors he knows who killed John F. Kennedy and why. But, is this a story of revenge or not? When Vietnam’s president, Ngo Dinh Diem, is assassinated Christopher can’t help but think there is a connection when JFK is murdered just three weeks later in Texas. Was Oswald just a switch someone far-reaching flicked on? Christopher seeks the truth and along the way puts the people he cares about in danger (especially a love interest, of course). While the plot is predictable and the characters, typecast, I enjoyed Christopher’s next adventure.
Author fact: McCarry also wrote The Last Supper and Shelley’s Heart both of which are on my list.
Book trivia: this is part of a seven-book series but I don’t think you would be missing anything if you didn’t read them one right after the other or out of order.
BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Cold War Spy Fiction” (p 61).
Septembering
Posted: 2016/09/01 Filed under: audio books, books, Early Review, Fiction, NonFiction | Tags: classic, Colin Cotterill, Early Review, Elaine Harger, Fiction, franz kafka, humor, librarians, librarything, memoir, mystery, Nien Cheng, NonFiction, Steven Millhauser, William Faulkner Leave a commentI’m not exactly sure what September will bring. The renovations for the library are finally finished (with a crazy punch list, I might add). The backyard is complete minus the hot tub, fire pit and patio furniture (that’s stage II). I have a half mara in ten days so I’m anticipating a good run month. Here are the planned books:
- Curse of the Pogo Stick by Colin Cotterill – to continue the series started in May in honor of Laos Rocket Day
- Edwin Mullhouse: the life and death of an American Writer – to honor kids in September
- Life and Death in Shanghai by Nien Cheng – Mao died of cancer in September.
- Tears of Autumn by Charles McCarry – Cold War ended in September
- The Trial by Franz Kafka – September is the best month to visit the Czech Republic.
- Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner – September is Southern Gospel month
- Which Side are You On? by Elaine Harger – an Early Review from LibraryThing.
August Ahead
Posted: 2016/08/01 Filed under: audio books, books, Fiction, NonFiction | Tags: Amazon, audio book, aviation, books, Colin Cotterill, Columbia, Dalia Rabinovich, David Grann, Ernest Gann, Fiction, Frederick Busch, Henning Mankell, James Baldwin, Laos, mystery, NonFiction, sweden Leave a commentMy obsession with moving rocks has come to an end now that the big boys are playing in the backyard. This hopefully means I’ll scale back to just two fanatical activities: running and reading. Or reading and running. I wonder who will win out? I am in the last month of training before the half marathon, but here are the books planned for August:
- Anarchy and Old Dogs by Colin Cotterill – to continue the series started in May in honor of Laos Rocket Day. I have been able to read other books in the series in one to two days.
- Dogs of Riga by Henning Mankell – in honor of July being one of the best times to visit Sweden (listening as an audio book).
- Lost City of Z: a tale of deadly obsession in the Amazon by David Grann in honor of August being the driest month in the Amazon.
- The High and the Mighty by Ernest Gann in honor of August being Aviation month.
- If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin in honor of Baldwin’s birth month (print & AB).
- Children in the Woods by Frederick Busch in honor of Busch’s birth month (short stories).
- Flora’s Suitcase by Dalia Rabinovich in honor of Columbia’s independence.
PS – on the eve of posting this I ran 7.93 miles. Why the .93? My calf/Achilles started to give me grief so I had to stop. Now I wonder if the running has a chance to catch the books?
Just July
Posted: 2016/07/31 Filed under: audio books, books, Fiction, NonFiction | Tags: Amitav Ghosh, Andrew Eames, Arthur Conan Doyle, audio book, books, Colin Cotterill, Cornelius Ryan, Elizabeth Gaskell, Eric Jerome Dickey, Fiction, NonFiction Leave a commentJuly was a nutty month. Lots of music: Phish three times, Warren Haynes at Tanglewood, Dead and Company twice, and Coldplay. (August is only Pearl Jam and Mieka Pauley.) We made it up to Monhegan for a week and down to CT twice. And! And. And, I moved a lot of rocks (don’t ask). For the books it was:
- Milk in my Coffee by Eric Jerome Dickey
- Disco for the Departed by Colin Cotterill
- Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell (AB)
- The Last Battle by Ryan Cornelius
- Sign of the Four by Arthur Conan Doyle
- The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh
- 8:55 to Baghdad by Andrew Eames
I think, once I got used to Dickey’s style, I grew to like Milk but my favorite by far was The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh. Is it a movie? Because if it isn’t, it should be. I said that in the review as well.
Full disclosure: I had Lost Upland on my list as well. I simply ran out of time and couldn’t get to it. I’m okay with seven books for the month.
