Idle Days in Patagonia

gr4c5Leave a comment

Hudson, W. H. Idle Days in Patagonia. London: J.M. Dent & Sons, Ltd. 1954.

In the very beginning Idle Days in Patagonia holds your attention. Hudson first grabs you with his narrow escape from drowning when the boat he was a passenger on went aground. Then after a trek through the dunes without food or water he arrives at an Englishman’s camp where he proceeds to shoot himself in the knee with a revolver. Then, if that wasn’t enough, while his companion goes to seek help he inadvertently cuddles up with a poisonous snake that has found its way into his sleeping bag. What’s even more astounding is that he is glad the Englishman isn’t there because he would have killed the “poor” creature! Because Hudson is an ornithologist he tends to go on and on about birds. Great if you are into that sort or thing. Not so much if you aren’t. Towards the end of Idle Days in Patagonia Hudson belabors certain subjects (I found his chapter on eyes to be rather dull) to the point of reader disinterest. All in all Idle Days in Patagonia was like a giant freight train that started off with a great deal of energy, but once the fuel source was depleted, rolled to a slow and painful stop.

Favorite passages, “To my mind there is nothing in life so delightful as that feeling of relief, of escape, and absolute freedom which one experiences in a vast solitude, where man has perhaps never been, and has, at any rate, left no trace of his existence” (p 7).

Reason read: December – January is the best time to visit Patagonia (I guess).

Author fact: If you have ever read The Sun Also Rises by Hemingway you know Hudson was mentioned.

BookLust twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called simply “Patagonia” (p 173).

Final Solution

gr4c5Leave a comment

Chabon, Michael. The Final Solution:a Story of Detection. Read by Michael York. New York: Harper Audio, 2004.

In a nutshell: a mute boy of nine or ten years old is discovered walking with a large gray parrot through the English countryside. When it is discovered the parrot speaks German (reciting poetry and rattling off strange numbers) it is determined the boy is Jewish and has escaped Nazi Germany. He is taken in by a vicar and his family and all seems well until another boarder in the vicar’s home is brutally murdered. Is there a connection between the newly arrived boy with the literate parrot and the untimely death of a fellow boarder? A once famous but now virtually unknown and very elderly detective is pulled out of retirement to find out.
While Final Solution is one of the shorter “detective” stories I have read thus far I enjoyed the character development immensely. The very first character you meet is the thinly veiled Sherlock Holmes. Chabon doesn’t come right out and say this is the illustrious character of Conan Doyle, but savvy readers can recognize Holmes in the details. What is surprising is how decrepit Chabon makes the retired detective out to be. True, our mysterious sleuth is 89 years old and more interested in bee keeping (even though he doesn’t like honey), but from description alone I expected him to fall to pieces any second. He really is a walking bag of bones!

Reason read: I read somewhere that January is Adopt a Rescued Bird month. Ironically, the bird in Final Solution does need rescuing at some point!

Author fact: I did some poking around and discovered that while Chabon is really good looking he scoffs at anybody or anything that would recognize him for that since it is not something he earned.

Book trivia: There is a section of Final Solution that takes an odd turn. The story is told from the point of view of the parrot. His musings about chicken are funny.

BookLust Twist: From More Book Lust in the chapter called “Parrots” (p 183). Simple enough.

Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet

gr4c5Leave a comment

Cameron, Eleanor. The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1954.

It all starts with a green ad in the newspaper, “Wanted: A small spaceship about eight feet long, built by a boy, or by two boys between the ages if eight and eleven…” (p 4). David Topman is just that boy. After reading the advertisement he sets out to build a spaceship with his friend, Chuck Masterson. He and Chuck are about to set off on a wild adventure, one that takes them (and a chicken named Mrs. Pennyfeather) to outer space and the satellite called Basidium-X (the x is for the unknown).
This is a great story that entwines science with fantasy and wild imagination. I am particularly partial to why Mrs. Pennyfeather needed to come along as a mascot although I feel bad for her husband, Rooster John and their family…

Reason read: First month, first chapter. Simple as that. Plus, I needed a kids-eye break from the heavy nonfiction I have been reading.

Author fact: Cameron spent some time as a research librarian. Rock on.

Book trivia: This is actually part of a series. Sadly, I won’t be reading any others. They look like fun.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the introduction (p x) but not listed in the index. Technically, according to my own rules I didn’t have to read this one. Eleanor Cameron isn’t listed in the index either.

Ancient Athens on 5 Drachmas

gr4c5Leave a comment

Matyszak, Philip. Ancient Athens on 5 Drachmas a Day. Thames & Hudson

This is a very different guide book; definitely one like no other. For starters, don’t think you can use this in modern-day Greece. It’s a time machine of sorts. You explore ancient Athens as if you are a tourist from 2,500 years ago. In addition, it is full of humor. Where else can you learn how to say “Unhand my wife immediately, you drunken unpleasant fellow” in Greek? Matyszak calls this a “useful phrase” to know! But that’s how Matyszak’s entire “guide” is – full of humor and wit.

Goofy quotations, “If inspired toward romantic adventure, a traveller should note that Boeotian women are as famed for their beauty as Boeotian men are famed for their thick-headedness – but also that even when true, the general is not reliable guide to the particular” (p 13).

Reason read: So, there is this day in celebrated in January called “Female Domination Day.” What better time to read about Greece?

Author fact: Matyszak is a Greek historian which explains why he wrote Ancient Athens… and followed it up with Ancient Rome…

Book trivia: While Ancient Athens on 5 Drachmas a Day is really short it is packed full of really interesting facts and covers a wide array of information. I particularly liked the photographs of Greek art.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Just So Much Greek To Me” (p 120).

Lives of the Painters…vol 4

gr4c5Leave a comment

Vasari, Giorgio. The Lives of the Painters, Sculptors and Architects, Vol 4. Translated by A.B. Hinds. London: J.M. Dent & Sons, Ltd, 1927.

Reason read: Way back in October I started the series in honor of National Art Month. I am finally finished!

One of the coolest features of all four volumes is that if you want to see some of the art describes the  location of where it can be seen is mentioned in the footnotes (or, at least where it was at the time of publication). For example David Ghirlanai’s art can be seen in the Musee de Cluny in Paris. One of the more frustrating features of all four volumes is that Vasari gets sidetracked very easily. He should be talking about one artist but ends up focusing on another. I can’t count how many times he said, “But back to —.” Deja vu. I said this in Vol. 3’s review as well. Vasari inserts himself more in volume 4 than in previous volumes like when talking about his friend Francesco (De’ Salviati or Francesco Rossi) but especially at the end, when he includes his own biography. The final chapter is devoted to himself so that Vasari can speak of his own life and artistic accomplishments. I will admit 100% I ran out of steam before I got to Vasari’s chapter about himself.

Favorite parts & quotes, since he said it so often, “But after this somewhat lengthy digression, which however I do not think out of place, I return to Rustico” (p 37). My favorite artist had to have been Rustico. He was generous and fond of animals, “He so tamed a porcupine that it remained under the table like a dog, and sometimes pricked people’s legs…” (p 32).

Author fact: What I constantly had to keep in mind was that Vasari was writing about his contemporaries. He worked with some of the artists he writes about although he refers to himself in the third person which is a little odd.

Book trivia: In every volume of Lives of the Painters there is an illustration of one of the artists. In volume four it is Michelagnolo’s.

BookLust Twist: From More Book Lust in the chapter called “Ciao, Italia” (p 46). Can I just say this was a huge pain in the butt. For one thing, Pearl mentions Vasari’s Lives of the Painters… but fails to mention it is four volumes (essentially four books).

Postscript ~ something funny is going on with LibraryThing. My review for Vol. 3 is on the Vol. 4 page and yet it’s like to the review belongs to someone else. At first glance I haven’t written a review and I haven’t until you see it’s the review for Vol. 3. Weird. I’m not sure how to fix that.

Rabbit Hill

gr4c5Leave a comment

Lawson, Robert. Rabbit Hill. New york: Dell Publishing, 1975.

This is a kids book an adult could easily read in an hour or so. It’s simple but extremely cute. It’s the story of a family of rabbits excited by the possibility of a new family moving into their neighborhood. New residents mean gardens full of food, sheds full of hay, houses full of warmth.
One of the best things about Rabbit Hill is how human Lawson makes these animals. For example, Father Rabbit is constantly bringing up his Kentucky Bluegrass days and Mother Rabbit is always fretting about one thing or another. The animals around Father know to quickly change the subject or else they will be talking about the southern good ‘ole days all afternoon and the animals around Mother know to avoid certain subjects like pesky little boys and noxious car fumes.

Favorite quotations, (from the letter from Mother Rabbit to her uncle after she invites him to visit them) “…and maybe you shouldn’t risk your life although you haven’t much of it left but we will be looking forward to seeing you anyway” (p 49).

Reason read: The television show “All Creatures Great & Small” aired in the month of January and since Rabbit Hill has so many different animal characters I decided to read in honor of the show.

Author fact: Lawson was a gifted artist and illustrated his own books, including Rabbit Hill. I guess I can blame Lawson for my being deathly afraid of the cover when I was a kid. Just look at that rabbit! His expression is positively creepy!

Book trivia: Rabbit Hill is a Newbery Award winner.

BookLust Twist: From More Book Lust in the chapter called “Best for Boys and Girls” (p 22).

Vanity Fair

gr4c5Leave a comment

Thackerary, William Makepeace. Vanity Fair: a Novel Without a Hero. New York: The Book League of America, date unknown.

The story opens with two graduating students leaving Miss Pickerton’s academy for young ladies. One graduate, Amelia Sedley, is well loved and receives an enormous send off while her companion, Rebecca Sharp, barely garners a glance. Becky is an orphaned governess, traveling with Amelia as her guest. Once at the Sedley home Rebecca sets out to become betrothed to Amelia’s brother, Joseph. Jos serves as Collector of Boggley Wollah in the East India Company’s Civil Service. Once that attempt fails Rebecca becomes even more amoral and shameless. In today’s terms she would be classified as a psychopath because of her lack of conscience and her inability to feel anything for her fellow man. Amelia is disgustingly sweet and Rebecca is shamelessly indifferent. Neither one makes a satisfying hero in Thackeray’s eyes. I found the story to be plotless and pointless. What made the reading more difficult was Thackeray getting confused and mixing up the characters.

Lines that got me for one reason or another, “Now and then he would make a desperate attempt to get rid of his superabundant fat, but his indolence and love of good living speedily got the better of these endeavors at reform…” (p 13), “Sir Put Crawley was a philosopher with a taste for what is called low life” (p 41), and “…if you are not allowed to touch the heart sometimes in spite of syntax, and are not to be loved until you know the difference between trimeter and tetrameter, may all poetry go to the deuce and every schoolmaster perish miserably!” (p 60).

Reason read: First month, first chapter. Wish I hadn’t.

Author fact: Vanity Fair (published in 1848) was Thackeray’s best known work.

Book trivia: I was astounded to learn (through IMDB) that Vanity Fair was made into a movie for the big screen and television nearly a dozen times. It even had a radio version.

BookLust Twist: From More Book Lust in the introduction (p x). Pearl says Vanity Fair is one of the books at her bedside.

Leave Your Sleep

gr4c5Leave a comment

Merchant, Natalie. Leave Your Sleep: a Collection of Classic Children’s Poetry. New York: Frances Foster Books, 2012.

I will admit I am biased when it comes to anything Natalie Merchant puts her stamp on. Over the years Ms. Merchant has proven time and time again that she is a humanitarian and an educator. She just happens to have a beautiful voice to go with that caring heart. And having all said that, that is why I bought three copies of Leave Your Sleep. I thought it was appropriate to send one to my public library. I took the chance because there is no way of knowing if they bought it for themselves (no online catalog) but I doubt they did. I also bought a copy for my sister’s family. I don’t know if they will listen to it more than once so I have asked them to pass it along to their public library when they are finished. Do you see a pattern?
Then, of course, I bought my own copy. I will not be donating mine to any local library, though!

Leave Your Sleep is comprised of nineteen poems set to music and, in the book version, accompanied by the wonderful  illustrations of Barbara McClintock. Having the illustrations in front of me banishes my own imaginings but at the same time expands my visions, if that makes sense. For example, take The Sleepy Giant by Charles Edward Carryl. When I first heard Natalie’s musical interpretation in 2008 my mind saw an ancient old man for a giant who was decidedly, thanks to an accordion and somber drums, very very creepy. In the book version of Leave Your Sleep the 372 year old giant is a portly Victorian woman looking a bit like Winston Churchill. Not as creepy as my own imagination scared me. On the other hand the village in Vain and Careless by Robert Graves far exceeded the pictures in my head. The poem came alive in ways it hadn’t before seeing it on the printed page.

The continuing magic is how the book is arranged. Thoughtful consideration was given to every aspect from layout to packaging. Ms. Merchant’s introduction personalizes the project and gives the poems a resonating warmth. I am guessing she thoroughly collaborated on the illustrations because the girl in Equestrienne by Rachel Field looks a lot like Natalie in her video for the song Kind and Generous.

My favorite poem in the entire collection (cd and book) remains ee cummings’s Maggie and Milly and Molly and May. It’s my childhood played out before me.

Alice in Wonderland

gr4c5Leave a comment

Carroll, Lewis. The Complete Works of Lewis Carroll: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. New York: The Modern Library, 1958.

Everyone knows the story of Alice in Wonderland. If they don’t remember the duchess with the baby piglet or the gryphon they surely remember the queen who was constantly crying, “off with his head” or the white rabbit with the pocket watch and white gloves who was always late. And who can forget the caterpillar smoking the hookah on the giant mushroom or the episodes of Drink Me, Eat Me? There is no doubt that Lewis Carroll had a strange imagination. In rereading Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland I was taken back to a fantastical world where flamingos and hedgehogs were used as croquet pieces, Alice’s tears could create a flood, fish wore wigs and Alice grew and shrank so many times I lost count. My favorite scene was the trial and the king who wanted a sentence before the verdict. It’s satirical and funny. Perfect for kids and adults.

Favorite quote: From the introduction – in a letter Lewis wrote, “I never dance, unless I am allowed to do it in my own peculiar way” (p 8). Funny.

Reason read: Lewis Carroll was born and died in the month of January.

Author fact: Lewis Carroll’s real name was Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson and he was the Mathematical Lecturer of Christ Church.

Book trivia: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland has been adapted into many different movies, theater productions, musicals, and television shows. Too many to count.

BookLust Twist: From Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Comics with a Sense of Place” (p 68).

Jan ’13 is…

gr4c5Leave a comment

Holy crap I am late with the list. “I’m late, I’m late” said the White Rabbit! Okay, okay! I just finished The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland so sue me.
January 2013 is another year of hope and of promise. Kisa and I are going to see Trey Anastasio at the Palace in a few weeks. I officially started training for the 5th Just ‘Cause Walk and, and. And! I am training to run a 10k in March. Yay me. But, here are the books…before I get too carried away.

  • Rabbit Hill (speaking of rabbits) by Robert Lawson in honor of when All Creatures Great & Small first aired. Get it? Creatures = rabbits. This is a kids book so I’m hoping to fly through it.
  • The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith in honor of January being Female Mystery month. I’m listening to this on cd. It’s the first one in the series so expect to see Alexander McCall Smith on my book list for the next 4 or 5 months.
  • Lives of the Painters, Sculptors Vol 4 by Giorgio Vasari ~ this (finally, finally) ends the series started in October in honor of Art Appreciation month
  • Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackery ~ in honor of the first month of the year I’m reading something from the first chapter of More Book Lust.
  • Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet by Eleanor Cameron ~ in honor of the a Happy New Year. Another kids book to lighten the mood.
  • Ancient Athens on 5 Drachmas a Day by Philip Matyszak ~ Okay, get this – Female Domination Day in Greece happens in January, hence reading something Greek.
  • Tatiana by Dorothy M. Jones ~ in honor of Alaska becoming a state in January. Mo one locally has this book in their library so I had to ILL it. It might have to come from Alaska. How fitting.
  • Final Solution by Michael Chabon ~ in honor of January being Adopt a Rescued Bird month. This is another book I will listen to in the car or while working out.

For the LibraryThing Early Review program I am just finishing up Gold Coast Madam by Rose Laws. I also received notification of a January Early Review book but as always I won’t mention it by title until it’s in my hot little hands (or in this case, cold little hands since it’s 6 degrees outside).

Apples Are From Kazakhstan

gr4c5Leave a comment

Robbins, Christopher. Apples Are From Kazakhstan: the Land that Disappeared. New York: Atlas & Co., 2008.

I think this quote sums up Robbins’s primary reason for writing Apples Are From Kazakhstan, “Unexpectedly, vague curiosity developed into real interest during that time [two years], and continued to grow, until I became determined to visit the birthplace of the apple” (p 10). This comes after sitting next to an American who told him, “apples are from Kazakhstan.” What follows is a delightful travelogue of all things Kazakhstan. The chapters bounce around, punctuated by delightful illustrations. While Robbins uncovers the skeletons in Kazakhstan’s closet he also manages to unveil the beauty of a country few know anything about.

Quotes I really liked, “I began to wonder how many more toasts I could bang back without dying” (p 71) and “Camels now roam where ships once sailed” (p 121 ).

Side note: I think the cover is striking. At first glance it is an apple with an awkward bite of out it. Looking closer it still is an apple but the “bite” is the country of Kazakhstan with the bordering “stan” countries and the Russian Federation around it.

Reason read: Kazakhstan won it’s independence in December.

Author fact: Robbins was so moved by the statement “Apples are from Kazakhstan” that he wrote a book about the country.

Book trivia: I’ve been reading a lot of reviews that call this book In Search of Kazakhstan: the Land that Disappeared.

BookLust Twist: From Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Where in the World Do These Books Belong” (p 262).

Gold Coast Madam

gr4c5Leave a comment

Laws, Rose and Dianna Harris. Gold Coast Madam. Chicago: Lake Claremont Press, 2012.

I honestly couldn’t tell you if I liked reading this book or not. There were times when I thought it wildly entertaining while other times I found myself distracted by questioning Laws and her motives for wanting to publish her story.
The most sincere chapters were in the beginning. There is no denying Laws had a difficult childhood. She learned at a very early age that some men will do anything for sex and, for the most part, get away with it. When she was still a child her father was caught having sex with someone other than her mother. As a result he and his mistress were beaten but that didn’t stop them for continuing their illicit activities. When Rose’s mother wanted Rose to get married and have children Rose’s early strategy was to pick a guy to date for a month until one got her pregnant. That lucky sperm donor would become her husband. Way to pick a soul mate! Unfortunately, she latched herself to someone who wanted nothing more than to keep her pregnant. Rose was pregnant eight times in as many years. When she admitted to aborting one of the children her husband beat her senseless.
From here the story goes downhill. Oddly enough Rose was never able to succeed at a legitimate business to support herself and her five children. For some reason the only thing she excelled at was prostituting herself and the $400 an hour call girls she employed. She calls herself a “hanky-panky entrepreneur” and coyly suggests she had all of Chicago in the palm of her hand. Everyone from high ranking officials to members of the Chicago mob were at her beck and call. Every time she got into trouble it was always the fault or screw up of someone else. One claim I couldn’t wrap my brain around was that she didn’t involve her children in the “hanky-panky” business but that seems improbable. Kids are really smart and at one point they were living in the hourly rate motel used for hookups. How could they not know what was going on?
Like I said, I’m not sure what I think about this book. It’s conversational style makes it a very easy if not skeptical read.

Pulse Still There

gr4c5Leave a comment

This list thing is keeping me honest. I strayed from it only because of another list; a list that actually came first. Come to think of it I probably should have posted that list. It has the whole landscape mapped out. But, maybe that’s too boring. I’ll have to modify my lists for next month. Anyway, here’s the pulse check for the end of December…with the other books added in (if it wasn’t confusing enough).

  1. Abide By Me by Elizabeth Strout (Aug)
  2. Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
  3. Among the Missing by Dan Chaon (Jun)
  4. Apollo: the epic journey to the moon by David West Reynolds (Jul)
  5. Added: Apples Are From Kazakhstan by Christopher Robbins
  6. Arctic Grail by Pierre Berton (Feb, although I started this last year)
  7. Ariel by Sylvia Plath (Sep)
  8. At Home in the Heart of Appalachia by John O’Brien (Sep)
  9. Beautiful Swimmers by William Warner (May)
  10. Before the Knife by Carolyn Slaughter
  11. ADDED: Bellwether by Connie Willis
  12. Beneath the Lion’s Gaze by Maaza Mengist (May)
  13. Beyond the Bogota by Gary Leech (May)
  14. Big Mouth and Ugly Girl by Joyce Carol Oates
  15. ADDED: Billy by Albert French
  16. Brass Go-Between by Oliver Bleeck (Feb)
  17. Breakfast with Scot by Michael Drowning
  18. Brush with Death by Elizabeth Duncan
  19. Burma Chronicles by Guy Delise (Nov)
  20. Burning the Days by James Salter (Aug)
  21. Camus, a Romance by Elizabeth Hawes
  22. Cardboard Crown by Martin Boyd (Apr)
  23. Cat Who Ate Danish Modern by Lillian Jackson Braun (Jun)
  24. Child that Books Built by Francis Spufford (Sep)
  25. Churchill, a life by Martin Gilbert
  26. Conspiracy and Other Stories by Jaan Kross (Aug)
  27. Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner
  28. Deafening by Frances Itani (Oct)
  29. Death in Verona by Roy Harley Lewis (Jun)
  30. Diamond Classics by Mike Shannon (Apr)
  31. Dining with Al-Qaeda by Hugh Pope (May)
  32. Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby (Aug)
  33. Domestic Manners of the Americans by Fanny Trollope  (Mar)
  34. Edward Lear in Albania by Edward Lear
  35. Fanny by Edmund White (Mar)
  36. Final Solution by Michael Chabon (Jan)
  37. Fixer by Joe Sacco (Jul)
  38. Footnotes in Gaza by Joe Sacco (May)
  39. Full Cupboard of Life by Alexander McCall Smith (May)
  40. Gabriel Garcia Marquez by Gerald Martin (Mar)
  41. Galton Case by Ross MacDonald
  42. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos (Apr)
  43. Girl in Landscape by Jonathan Lethem (Feb)
  44. Going Wild by Robert Winkler (Oct)
  45. Golden Spruce by John Vaillant (Jun)
  46. Good Thief’s Guide to Paris by Chris Ewan
  47. Good Thief’s Guide to Vegas by Chris Ewan
  48. Good-bye Chunk Rice by Craig Thompson (Feb)
  49. Grand Ambition by Lisa Michaels (Jun)
  50. Guardians by Geoffrey Kabaservice (Nov)
  51. Hole in the Earth by Robert Bausch (Mar)
  52. House of Morgan by Ron Chernow (Apr)
  53. House on the Lagoon by Rosario Ferre (May)
  54. Joy of Cooking by Irma Rombauer (Feb)
  55. Kalahari Typing School for Men by Alexander McCall Smith (Apr)
  56. Light Infantry Ball by Hamilton Basso (Sep)
  57. Lives of the Painters, vol 2, 3 & 4) by Giorgio Vasari
  58. Morality for Beautiful Girls by Alexander McCall Smith (Mar)
  59. No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith (Jan)
  60. Nobody Knows My Name by James Baldwin (Aug)
  61. Ocean of Words by Ha Jin (Oct)
  62. Old Friends by Tracy Kidder (Sep)
  63. Panther Soup by John Grimlette (Nov)
  64. Points Unknown edited by David Roberts (Jun)
  65. Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson (Jan)
  66. Return of the Dancing Master by Henning Mankell (Aug)
  67. Rosalind Franklin: Dark Lady of DNA by Brenda Maddox
  68. Rose Cafe by John Hanson Mitchell (Apr)
  69. Scar Tissue by Michael Ignatieff
  70. Scramble for Africa by Thomas Pakenham (Jul)
  71. Southpaw by Mark Harris (Oct)
  72. ADDED: Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers
  73. Tattered Cloak by Nina Berberova
  74. Tea Time for the Traditionally Built by Alexander McCall Smith (Jun)
  75. Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith (Feb)
  76. Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (Jul)
  77. Time, Love, Memory by Jonathan Weiner (Nov)
  78. Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy Sayers
  79. Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackery (Jan)
  80. Viceroy of Ouidah by Bruce Chatwin
  81. What you Owe Me by Bebe Moore Campbell (Nov)
  82. Wholeness of a Broken Heart by Katie Singer
  83. Widow for One Year by John Irving (Mar)
  84. Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken (Sep)
  85. ADDED: Women of the Raj by Margaret MacMillan
  86. Working Poor by David Shipler (Jul)

Dec ’12 was…

gr4c5Leave a comment

December 2012 was a decidedly difficult month. I don’t mind admitting it was stressful and full of ups and downs. How else can I describe a period of time that contained mad love and the quiet urge to request freedom all at once? A month of feeling like the best thing on Earth and the last person anyone would want to be with? I buried myself in books to compensate for what I wasn’t sure I was feeling. And I won’t even mention the Sandy twins. But wait. I just did.

  • The Wholeness of a Broken Heart by Katie Singer ~ in honor of all things Hanukkah. This was by far my favorite book of the month.
  • Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner ~ in honor of Iowa becoming a state in December. This was a close second.
  • The Tattered Cloak and Other Novels by Nina Berberlova ~ in honor of the coldest day in Russia being in December. I read a story every night.
  • Big Mouth & Ugly Girl by Carol Joyce Oates ~ in honor of Oates being born in December. I was able to read this in one sitting.
  • The Women of the Raj by Margaret MacMillan ~ in honor of December being one of the best times to visit India
  • Rosalind Franklin: Dark Lady of DNA by Brenda Maddox ~ in honor of Franking being born in December
  • Billy by Albert French ~ in honor of Mississippi becoming a state in December
  • Apples are From Kazakhstan by Christopher Robbins ~ in honor of Kazakhstan gaining its independence in December.

In an attempt to finish some “series” I read:

  • Lives of the Painters, Sculptors and Architects, Vol 3  by Giorgio Vasari (only one more to go after this, yay!)
  • Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers

For audio here’s what I listened to:

  • The Galton Case by Ross MacDonald ~ this was laugh-out-loud funny
  • Bellwether by Connie Willis ~ in honor of December being Willis’s birth month

For the Early Review Program with LibraryThing here’s what I read:

  • Drinking with Men: a Memoir by Rosie Schaap

And here’s what I started:

  • Gold Coast Madam by Rose Laws

For fun: Natalie Merchant’s Leave Your Sleep.

Bellwether

gr4c5Leave a comment

Willis, Connie. Bellwether. Read by Kate Reading. Blackstone Audio, 2009.

Funny. Funny. Funny. Sandy Foster is a sociologist working at the research corporation, HiTeck, studying trends in the form of fads. Just how do they start? When we first meet Sandy she is trying to deduce when the fad of hair bobbing first erupted. It’s a conundrum. But, the bigger conundrum is Sandy’s work relationships. While Flip is the most annoying mail clerk known to mankind Sandy finds herself quoting her. While Sandy is practically engaged to a sheep ranger she finds herself drawn to a fad resistant coworker studying chaos theory.

I don’t know what it is about the most recent audio books I have chosen to listen to but I’m on a roll picking humorous ones. The Galton Case by Ross MacDonald was great and so was Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy L. Sayers. Bellwether by Connie Willis is just as good, if not funnier. Listen to it. Seriously. But, make sure you are listening to the version read by Kate Reading. She is hysterical as Flip.

Reason read: Willis was born on the last day of December…

Author fact: If you check out winners of the Nebula award you will see Connie Willis’s name a few times. She’s won it at least five or six times.

Book trivia: The title of the book is really clever. Bellwether refers to the practice of putting a bell on a castrated ram who leads his flock of sheep. This bell ringing allows herders to hear them coming before they see them. So, the phenomenon of bellwether is the creation of an upcoming event or trend.

BookLust Twist: From Book Lust in the chapter called “Connie Willis: Too Good To Miss” (p 246). As an aside, Nancy Pearl says her favorite Willis book is Bellwether.