Streamsong tries again in 2014

Open for business and welcome!

I had a wonderful reading year in 2013, but wasn't terribly successful in diminishing Mt TBR. In fact it went from Mt TBR to Planet TBR and it's trying to acquire its own atmosphere.



(Image from the Tattered Cover website)

I'm setting my goal at 50 books that were living on my shelves prior to January 1, 2014. (50 books was also my goal last year and I read about 35 books).

I can't update my ticker, but as of 8/13/2014 I've read 34/50 ROOTS




To keep myself in the geologically oldest part of the Planet, I'm giving myself points for each book I read, with older books getting more points.

Here's how it works:

1. ROOTS cataloged into LT in 2006 --8 points
2. ROOTS cataloged into LT in 2007--7 points
3. ROOTS cataloged into LT in 2008--6 points
4. ROOTS cataloged into LT in 2009--5 points
5. ROOTS cataloged into LT in 2010--4 points
6 .ROOTS cataloged into LT in 2011 --3 point
7. ROOTS cataloged into LT in 2012-- 2 point
8. ROOTS cataloged into LT in 2013 -- 1 point
9. ROOTS not previously entered into LT but which have been around the house pre-2014 (many of these are pre-2006)--1 point

The goal this year is 185 points (My goal in 2013 was 160 points and I achieved about 120 read)




And now for the twist:

Because of the shortfalls in my goals in 2013, I'm going to try something different.

I'm going to do a category-like pyramid challenge. The minimum goal is to read 5 books from each year I've been on Library Thing with 10 books read from 2013. This will be 50 books and about 180 points.

The ultimate goal is to read 6 books from 2006, 7 books from 2007, 8 books from 2008 etc., with a jump of 20 books from 2013. This would give me a total of 82 books and 307 points--more than three quarters of my usual 100 books a year that I read.

Here's how the pyramid challenge is going:
First Star = minimum 5 book goal
Second Star = overall goal
Asterisks beyond second star: books beyond overall goal

Total Roots Read for year: 47

2006 **** *
2007 ****
2008 ****
2009 ***
2010
2011 ****
2012 ****
2013 ********* ********
NPC: ***
(NPC = Books Owned Prior to 1/1/2014, but Not Previously Cataloged in LT)

1 Category Completed: 2006
4 Categories with minimum completed: 2006, 2008, 2012, 2013

Here's what I think of as my main thread over on the 75ers's group:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/173567#4675260

SIX BOOKS CATALOGED INTO LT IN 2006
(8 points each)

1. I and II Timothy/Titus (People's Bible Commentary) - Armin W. Schuetze (2/13)
2. Hosea/Joel/Amos (People's Bible Commentary Series) - Paul E. Eickmann (2/24)
3. John (People's Bible Commentary) - Gary P Baumler - 3/12
4. Numbers: People's Bible Commentary - Paul W Kuske - (5/21)
5. Obadiah Jonah Micah: People's Bible Commentary - Cyril W. Spaude (6/12)

-----MINIMUM GOAL-----

6. Hebrews People's Bible Commentary -Richard E. Lauersdorf (6/20)

-----ABOVE GOAL-----

7. Proverbs People's Bible Commentary - Roland Cap Ehlke (7/6)

SEVEN BOOKS FROM 2007
(7 points each)

1. Om-Kas-Toe: Blackfeet Twin Captures an Elkdog - Kenneth Thomasma - RandomCat -Children's Book
2. Buddha by Karen Armstrong
3. The Living Reed by Pearl S Buck (9/28/2014)
4. Take the Reins by John L Moore - 9/29/2014
5.

-----MINIMUM GOAL-----
6.
7.

Possibility: Walk in My Soul

EIGHT BOOKS FROM 2008
(6 points each)

1. The Screwtape Letters - C. S. Lewis - (1/11) -
2. We Like It Wild by Bradford Angier - (1/25) -
3. Pilgrim at Tinker Creek - Annie Dillard (2/20) -
4. The Life of an Ordinary Woman by Anne Ellis (6/1) -
5. The Lighthouse by P. D. James (6/28)

-----MINIMUM GOAL-----

6.
7.
8.

Currently Reading: Collapse - Jared Diamond

NINE BOOKS FROM 2009
(5 points each)

1. Stop Being Mean to Yourself - Melodie Beattie - GeoCat - North Africa;
2. Simply Sane - Gerald May (10/26/2014)
3. Blue Like Jazz - Donald Miller - (10/30/2014)
4.
5.
-----MINIMUM GOAL-----
6.
7.
8.
9.

Currently Reading:

Possibilities: Good Omens; One for Sorrow, Shy Boy

TEN BOOKS FROM 2010

1.
2.
3.

*****I'm going to have to rethink this one since I only have three books that I haven't read that were added in 2010. There is that box of books from a book sale that I may have purchased in 2010......
4.
5.
-----MINIMUM GOAL------

6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Reading: A Place of My Own - Michael Pollan

ELEVEN BOOKS FROM 2011
(3 points each)

1. Morality for Beautiful Girls - Alexander McCall Smith - finished 4/7/2014
2. Sarah's Key - Tatiana de Rosnay 8/22/2014
3. The Apostle Paul - Luke Timothy Johnson Great Courses audio 11/09/2014
4. Blue Shoes and Happiness = Alexander McCall Smith - 11/11/2014
5.
-----MINIMUM GOAL

6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.

Possibility: Woman in the Mist

TWELVE BOOKS FROM 2012
(2 points each)

1. The Great Courses: Great World Religions: Christianity (The Teaching Company) - Luke Timothy Johnson; (1/9/2014);
2. 1066 (The Great Courses, No. 8422) - Professor Jennifer Paxton - (finished 2/01/2014) - audiobook -
3. A Study in Scarlet - Arthur Conan Doyle finished 5/10
4. 1 Dead in Attic - Chris Rose - finished 8/31/2014
5. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

-----MINIMUM GOAL-----

6. The Namesake - Jhumpa Lahiri (10/29/2014)
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.

TWENTY FROM 2013
(1 point each)

1. Yellowstone Has Teeth - Marjane Ambler (1/7/2014) -
2. On Sal Mal Lane - Ru Freeman - (1/23/2014) -
3. Mrs Dalloway - Virginia Woolf - (1/29/2014) -
4. Sherlock Holmes: The Montana Chronicles - John S. Fitzpatrick) - ( 2/5/2014) -
5. Curse of the Pogo Stick - Colin Cotterill (2/18) -
6. The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon - Alexander McCall Smith - LTER - (2/27) -
7. Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith - Jon Krakaur - (3/8/2014) -
8. Einstein: His Life and Universe- Walter Isaacson (3/31/2014)
9. Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza pandemic of 1918 - Gina Kolata (4/29) -
10. - The New Testament and the People of God - N. T. Wright - (5/3)

-----MINIMUM GOAL-----

11. The Monster of Florence - Douglas Preston - audiobook in the car (5/23) -
12. A Religion of One's Own - Thomas Moore - LTER (6/10)
13. Pudd'nhead Wilson - Mark Twain- 7/18
14. Road Dogs - Elmore Leonard - 7/26/2014 audiobook in the car
15. Teaching At the Top of the World - Marilyn Forrester - 8/5/2014
16. The Long Farewell - Michael Innes - (8/13/2014)
17. Spirit Tailings: Ghost Tales from Virginia City, Butte and Helena by Ellen Baumler (10/16/2014) -
18.
19.
20.

Currently Reading:

NOT CATALOGED INTO LT BUT OWNED PRIOR TO JANUARY 1, 2014

(no specific goal on this one--these come as I sort through boxes of books stashed upstairs)

1. Wouldn't Take Nothing For My Journey Now - Maya Angelou (6/10/14)
2. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Robert Persig (8/30/2014)
3. Night Watch - Terry Pratchett (9/6/2014)
4. Murder for Christmas - Thomas Godfrey (12/26/2014)

Currently Reading:

And Finally:

In order to decrease the size of the good planet, I'm going to try to keep my acquisition at half or less than the number of books I've read off Planet TBR.

(My original goal was to acquire a book only after I've read the previously acquired book, but we all know how **That** would work out!

I figure, to pull off my challenge, I need to read 1 acquired in 2014: 1 acquired in 2013: 2 acquired 2012 or earlier. (1:1:2)

January: 7 books total read; 6 were ROOTS; 3 of the ROOTS were acquired in 2013; Ratio = 1:3:3
February: 12 books total read; 9 were ROOTS; 3 of the ROOTS were acquired in 2013. Feb Ratio =3:3:6; Total yearly ratio =4:6:9
March: Total Number of books read - 8: 4 were ROOTs; 2 of the ROOTS were acquired in 2013. Monthly ratio: 5:2:1; Total ratio = 9:8:10
April: Total Number of books read - 9: 2 were ROOTS; 1 ROOT acquired in 2013. Monthly ratio: 7:1:1 Total ratio for year = 17:9:10 (ideally should be 8:8:16 -- darn those new books!)
May: Total Number of Books Read - 9; 4 were ROOTs; two of the ROOTs were acquired in 2013; Total Monthly Ratio = 5:2:2 ; Total Yearly Ratio is 21:11:12; (It should be 11:11:22)
June: Total Number of Books Read - 11; 6 ROOTs; 1 of the ROOTS acquired in 2013; Total Monthly Ratio = 5:1:5; Total Yearly Ratio is 26:12:17
July: Total Number of Books Read - 8; 4 were ROOTS; 2 ROOTS acquired in 2013; Total Monthly Ratio: 3:1:3; Total Yearly Ratio is 30:14:19
August: Total Number of Books Read So Far - 10; 2 ROOTs acquired 2013; 3 ROOTS acquired in 2012 or earlier. Monthly ratio: 5:2:3; Total Yearly Ratio: 35:16:22
September: Total Number of Books Read so Far - 7; 3 ROOTs acquired in 2012 or earlier (not previously cataloged). Monthly ratio: 4:0:3: Yearly ratio: 40:16:25
October
November
December

More housekeeping to keep me on track:
Number of books left to read: Minimum goal:entire total

2010 - 3
2009 - 2:6
2011 - 1:7
2007 - 1:3
2012 - 0:7
2008 - 0:3
2013 - 0:2
2006 - 0:0 Overage: +1
Not previously catalogued: + 3

January:
- Total Roots read: 6
- Total Books acquired: 2
February
- Total ROOTS read: 9
- Total Books Acquired: 6
March:
- Total ROOTS read: 3
- Total Books Acquired: 1
April:
- Total ROOTs Read: 2
- Total Books Acquired: 7
May
- Total ROOTS Read: 4
- Total Books Acquired: 4
June
- Total Roots Read: 7
- Total Books Acquired: 1
July
- Total Roots Read: 4
- Total Books Acquired:
August
- Total ROOTS Read: 5
September
- Total ROOTS Read: 3
October:
- Total ROOTS Read: 4

Total Roots Read for year: 45
Total Acquired for year: 51 (+21 from Mom & Dad's library)

2006 **** *
2007 ****
2008 ****
2009 ***
2010
2011 ****
2012 ****
2013 ********* ********
NPC ***
(NPC = Roots Owned prior to 1/1/2014 but Not Previously Cataloged in LT)

1 Category Completed: 2006
4 Categories with minimum completed: 2006, 2008, 2012, 2013

I starred you for 2014, streamsong. Welcome back.

That is an awesome picture and a great setup! Good luck in 2014!

Oh I like your goal and the way your tracking older books. This is my first year in this group but I'm getting lots of good ideas. Starred your thread to keep up with your progress.

love the idea of the pyramid, I may have to think about how I could do that along with my ARD, Audio, and E-book breakdown.

Great setup for 2014. Love the picture and the Planet TbR. Wishiung you best of luck for your challenge!

Streamsong-love the image!
Good luck with achieving your goals!

Happy reading!

And remember_ A house with out books is like a night sky with stars.
That's my theory and I'm sticking to it ... :+}

Here i iz!

::slaps star on the door::

:)

Ohhhhhhh, love your graphic! Good luck with your challenge.

Wow--thanks, everyone for stopping by.

So far, so good. Three out of the three books I've read so far this year have been ROOTS as are the 5 (! - not a typo) I have going right now.

I love January! Since I count ROOTS as everything owned prior to January 1st, anything I put my hand on is a ROOT. I have so many great books that I acquired last year, I think I could read all year from my 2013 books. And that's the reason why I give myself points and pyramids to try to get to some of the older books.

1. Yellowstone Has Teeth - Marjane Ambler - - ROOT 2013; (1point)
Fun memoir of living year round in Yellowstone National Park in the 80's. I acquired this one at the Montana Festival of the Book after hearing the author speak on a panel of women who write about the backcountry. (Much to the disgust of the presenters, the panel had been titled 'Babes in the Woods' - groan)

2. The Great Courses: Great World Religions: Christianity (The Teaching Company) - Luke Timothy Johnson - - ROOT acquired 2012; (2 points) =3/180

In December I did a little mini challenge of my own reading books about Christianity and religion. This was one I didn't quite complete. It is also the last installment of a 5 part course on the great religions which included Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam. Interesting stuff, but I'm glad to have them done!

3.-The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis - - ROOT acquired 2008 = 6 ROOT points for 9/180

The last of my religion in December reads. This is a Christian classic where a senior devil, Screwtape, advises his younger nephew on how to handle his assigned 'client'. It's a format where thought-provoking daily livng meets irony. Quite enjoyable. I have several more books by C.S. Lewis living on the planet and may get to more as the year progresses.

#1 is now on my TBR.

I also read and enjoyed Screwtape. :)

Hi Lor--Yeah, I actually saw you had it listed on the TIOLI and I thought I could get it done last month for a shared read. Didn't quite work, but you were definitely the inspiration for reading that particular book.

Better late than never, right?

My copy was purchased back about 2001, so it was a really deep ROOT.

The Screwtape Letters sounds good and I love everything I have ever read by C.S. Lewis so I just may have to go there. If I am lucky my library may have it. I am trying to cut back on book purchases this year. ROFL!~!

BTW; love that graphic!

Welcome! Gorgeous graphic. And such an ambitious target. Best of luck for that!

Roots of the mountain, Lor. heehee

I have several more CS Lewis books on the planet. Perhaps I'll get to more of them before 2014 rolls out the door.

Rainpebble, thanks for stopping by! Yes, visiting other people's thread is sooooooo dangerous for me, too, as far as book bullets and buying books.

Nice to meet you, Miss Watson! I don't know if I'll achieve my goal, but I'll give it a go - and - so far, two weeks into January, I'm on target. ;-) I didn't make 50 books last year, but I think I went wrong in the first few months by not reading enough ROOTS in the early months.

Love the graphic for your Planet TBR (which is probably a more apt descriptor of mine as well)! Great progress so far - I'm looking forward to seeing what else you launch :)

Mine is more like "Universe TBR"...

My computer is down for a week or two :-(

I'm not going to be able to post reviews for a bit, but I will at least try to sneak in quick posts from work, to keep track of my goal!

Thanks for stopping by Caramellunacy and Lor. Wow--there are lots of great puns there that I hadn't even considered around launching and planets and missions to deepest space. I'll have to think about this a while!

And in the meantime, I've read:

Root # 4. On Sal Mal Lane - Ru Freeman - (1/23/2014) -

Started slow with several dozen hard-to-keep track of characters, but I ended up loving this story of a neighborhood of Buddhists, Hindus and Christians, Singhalese, mixed race burghers, and Tamils, well-to-do and poor all caught up in the Sri Lankan civil war.

I purchased this in May last year in preparation for the Bellingham Washington Booktopia. I read Ms Freeman's first book, A Disobedient Girl, which I absolutely loved, but somehow this one got pushed into a corner.

BTW, Ms Freeman was a delight to meet! Funny and personable. I'll look forward to her next novel.

Root #5. We Like It Wild by Bradford Angier - (1/25) - . Added to LT 2008

In the mid-1950's, Bradford Angier and his wife left their established careers in New York City (he a writer, she a ballet dancer) in order to spend one year living off the land in a remote part of Canada, the Peace River Valley near Hudson's Hope, British Columbia. This year changed their life trajectories forever. Full of lots of details of their lifestyle.

I'm currently reading several more ROOTS, all acquired in 2013. Not surprising, I guess, since I was behind with several LTER books, as well as having acquired a couple for reading in January. And also, of course, these are the subjects I am more interested in now, more so than the unread books from 2006.

It'll be a challenge to see if I can keep up with reading the older ones!

I figure, to pull off my challenge, I need to read 1 acquired in 2014: 1 acquired in 2013; 2 acquired 2012 or earlier. (1:1:2)

With 5 books done, my current ration is 0:2:2.

It looks like I'll get the 'acquired in 2013' catagory finished the earliest!

Sorry about the computer. Happy reading!

Computer trouble is sooo frustrating! And 2 weeks is a very long time to be without one.

Oh no! sorry about the computer troubles. Hope it's fixed sooner than expected.

The good thing is, without a working computer, you should catch up on your reading... ;)

yay--the computer is back!

It will take me a bit to get caught up, but in the meantime, I'll add:

ROOT #6 Mrs Dalloway - Virginia Woolfe - finished - 1/29/2014 - purchased 2013 for RL Book Club = 1 ROOT point

February
ROOT #7 1066: The Great Courses - Jennifer Paxton - finished 2/1/2014; audiobook in the car; purchased 2012 = 2 ROOT points



How It Fit Into My Reading Now:
- audiobook in the car;
Challenges:
ROOT #7/50; acquired 2012 = 2 ROOT points (19/185)

I'll admit it.

I haven't studied much history and almost nothing at all of British history. So when I found a used copy of this at the FOL sale, I snatched up this short (3 hour) lecture series, as I am a fond of the Teaching Company classes.

I think this is a good, working introduction to the subject, probably perfectly geared to the neophyte like me. Although I would need to listen to this several more times, to have a firm grasp of the complicated relationships and alliances during this period, at least I now know just how they complicated they really were.

I also have a bit of understanding about how English became the complicated and beautiful language it is due to the Normandy invasion as both language and customs were integrated by the British.

I enjoyed the lecturer, Jennifer Paxton, who has a great deal of enthusiasm and a bit of humor about her subject.

Recommended for those who'd like a basic working knowledge of the subject - probably not in depth enough for someone with previous study.

Yeah! Great news, Janet.

Glad to hear the computer is back! :)

I know I feel "lost" when my computer (or ISP) are not working...

Thanks for stopping by, Connie, princess and Lor. It's lovely to have the computer back, but I am completely behind on everyone's threads.

Catching up with all the activity is really hard work after a prolonged absence, isn't it? But such fun.

Hello Miss Watson--Nice to see you!



ROOT #8/50; -Sherlock Holmes: The Montana Chronicles by John S Fitzpatrick - Finished 2/5

purchased 2013 - 1 ROOT point for a total of 20/185

It's fun to think of Sherlock and John tooling around your own home territory and interacting with your state's historical figures. To enhance this effect, there are historical photographs of locations the two visited reproduced within the text-- play houses, race courses and mines.

It's written well enough, although the historical aspects are the star of the book and not the famous pair of detectives or the mysteries (which were pretty straightforward and didn't really need a super sleuth to solve them).

Since I live in the area and am interested in the history, I would have given the book a solid

However, one of the mysteries revolves around copper baron Marcus Daly's famous racing stallion, Tammany. I'm a horse lover and breeder, and so I was especially looking forward to this one. The solution to the mystery as why no mares were gotten pregnant, is unfortunately, absolutely ludicrous and leaves both writer and editor with egg on their faces. If a mystery is going to hinge on a certain event such as the breeding of horses, then it needs to fall within the realm of possibility.

Here's the spoiler: A mare would be put in with the stallion for breeding. But then, in the middle of the night, the mare was switched with a mare owned by a rival breeder - only the second mares were bred. In reality, the first mare would have been bred within ten minutes after being put in with the stallion. I think the author envisaged a romantic evening by the happy couple followed by topping the night with a romantic encounter after they got to know each other well enough --heehee.

For this it lost a star, and so ended up with

Oh dear! That is quite the error! But funny in a way ;)

That's what I thought too!!

I agree!

As Sherlock says, "Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth."

Just not sure how much eliminating the author did ......

ROOT #9/50 = I and II Timothy/Titus (People's Bible Commentary) - Armin W. Schuetze (finished 2/13)

cataloged into LT in 2006 - purchased 1990's? = 8 ROOT points for 28/185

At least twenty years ago, I determined to get to know the Bible better, and signed up to receive one of these commentaries published by the Lutheran Concordia House Publishers, each month.

Well, you can guess how long it took to fall hopelessly behind, although over the years I had read several. This huge set doesn't look bad on the book shelf, though. ;-)

Two years ago, as part of my 2012 New Year's Resolutions, I started reading the entire set, 15 minutes a day. I knew as always, that I would get bogged down half a dozen books into the Old Testament, so I decided to follow this rotating scheme of Bible reading here: http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.html.

In 2012, I did pretty well and completed about half of the books. In 2013. I slowed waaaaayyyy down.

Two plus years in, I'm currently on week 38 according to the website one year plan.

I'd really like to get this done this year. There are 44 books total (some, like this one, combine several Bible books). I just ordered the last few books I need to complete this set. (Yes, I'm ordering new books so I can read old books. Sigh.)

Coincidentally, I will be finishing a couple more of these very soon, hopefully before the month is out.

Go, Janet, read! :)

38 weeks in! You are well over half way, and I'm guessing they are pretty interesting since you've decided to read them all. I can just imagine how good it will feel to look at them on the shelf and know they're not only attractive to look at, but you've enjoyed their contents. :)

Thanks, Lor for stopping by.

Hi Merryann--it's good to see you here. Interesting? Hmmmm. Parts are interesting, parts are a slog to get through. I do feel like I am becoming more conversant with more parts of the Bible. So much of it - especially in the Old Testament - would have gone over my head without a commentary to help fill in the history.

The ROOT reading is going well. I'm on track, I think, to get the whole challenge of 75 ROOTS completed. But the other night I had a nightmare about reading a book and not being able to fit it into my challenge scheme. In post 11, I am somewhat obsessively looking at statistics in a variety of ways to see if I am on track. If I get too obsessed or even anxious about it, I'll back off and just read.



10. The Curse of the Pogo Stick by Colin Cotterill - (finished 2/18) - ROOT acquired 2013 = 1 ROOT point for 29/180.

I enjoy the humor in the Dr Siri series as well as the insight into Lao and Hmong cultures. The shamanistic aspects which sometimes put people off of this series? I just count them as opening my eyes to a different world view.

Colin Cotterill is an author that I definitely wanted to read more of this year, so reading this one was a joy and not a job.

>48 streamsong: "If I get too obsessed or even anxious about it, I'll back off and just read."

That's a good way to look at it that I'll try to keep in mind also. I joined lots of groups, wanting to be part of EVERYTHING...even knowing I would get stressed and not be able to keep up with them all. I'm finding it best now to just enjoy this group, and know I can participated in the others later in the year when things ease up a bit.

Hey, Mary Ann, my thoughts exactly! See my posts in the 75ers!

Yup, if you look at my thread on the 75'ers you'll see all the challenges I've signed up for. So far it's manageable; this is partly due to it being very early in the year so I can choose books to fit almost anywhere in very empty categories. As my ROOTS pyramid fills, it will get harder.

I bought 65 books last year that I didn't read. I've found that all those books look very good to me -- I if I just read those 65 books, I would have a wonderful reading-my-ROOTS year; but it wouldn't get any of the older books read. It's kind of fun to see how my tastes have changed since I first joined Library Thing in 2006.



Root #11. A Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard. Acquired 2008 = 6 ROOT points.

I had attempted this book previously, but had given up on it. If not for the group read on the 75'ers, I don't know if I would have made it through this time, either.

Someone pointed out that they felt it was very helpful to read the Afterword prior to the book. This was key for me too, and, as my book didn't have the afterword, I was greatful it was mentioned.

Dillard's prose is highly descriptive and I like the unexpected twists. But sometimes it seems like eating an entire death-by-chocolate cake at one sitting. It took me reading this in small bites to enjoy its beauty and complexity without getting overwhelmed. In the end, I enjoyed this journey that is both a description of God and nature and would like to read more of Dillard's work. (Good thing, because I know I have another one on the Planet).

ROOT # 12. Hosea/Joel/Amos (People's Bible Commentary Series) - Paul E. Eickmann (Acquired pre -2006 = 8 ROOT points)

Another of The People's Bible Commentary series that I've been using to read through the Bible. (See post 45).

Good job! I've only read 4 ROOTs so far in 2014...

Thanks, fuzzi.

I'm actually a bit behind on quickie reviews for my thread. Yay! I'm actuallly up to 15 ROOTS.

But I'm most proud of the fact that I am keeping my 'purchased/acquired in 2014 pile' about equal to half the number of ROOTS I've read. (OK, I'm a little bit ahead, but yesterday I ordered **One** book instead of the ***THREE*** I really, truly wanted.

It's so tough...I know!

Only one book instead of three? All I can say is that is admirable self-restraint. I'm failing miserably at that.

I applaud your restraint in book buying and the 15 ROOTS read! :)

More ROOTS than books bought. You are doing good. Wish I could say the same.

Thanks for stopping by MissWatson, rabbitprincess and Familyhistorian - Yes, it's funny to be so proud of myself for not buying those other two, but I really, truly am! My house has truly reached critical mass for number of unread books, though.

My father passed away last fall and Mom is downsizing to a senior living apartment, so I know I will soon be adding more of their books to my library. I'm going to count them as separate acquisitions, though, to keep me on track with limiting my book buying.

ROOT #13. The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon - Alexander Mccall Smith - Acquired 2013 as an LTER Book = 1 ROOT point

And my Review:

This is the 14th installment of the No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series.

I enjoy this series. The characters are quirky and fun, and the Botswana society interesting.

In this installment Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi tackle change. Their personal and professional lives are changing as is Botswana itself. What is traditional that should be kept? When is modern better?

All this and two fun mysteries, too: one involving a smear campaign against the Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon and one involving a mysterious heir. The mysteries are light comfort-food cozies served with lots of Botswana savor. As usual, they have enough of a twist that the solution is never obvious.

As I received a copy of the audiobook to review, I’d like to say that I love the reader, Lisette Lecat, who brings a perfect voice to complement the story.

If you need a bit of pleasant escapism, I recommend this series.

ROOT # 14. - Stop Being Mean to Yourself - Melodie Beattie - acquired 2009 = 5 ROOT points

How It Fits Into My Current Reading:
GeoCat - North Africa - Algeria, Egypt;
TIOLI # 15 personal story/memoir;
ROOT acquired 2009

Several years ago I read a couple of Melodie Beattie's books on co-dependency. I thought them thought provoking, so I picked this up at a library sale - where it has languished for several years on Planet TBR. For the northern Africa GeoCat challenge, I chose the oldest book I had with the proper setting.

This is a personal memoir of Beattie's. It journals a physical as well as a psychological and spiritual journey.

In 1996, Beattie was moved by the site of a crescent moon and star in the sky to travel to northern Africa. She landed in Casablanca which she found impenetrable. She then moved on, against much advice, to worn-torn and hostile Algeria. Miraculously, she found a guide who was willing to share with her some of the history and culture of this war ravaged country.

Finally, she went to Egypt. Again, she found a guide who showed her the beauty of his culture, brought her into his home, and arranged for her to meditate in a pyramid so she could feel its power.

I enjoyed the descriptions of northern Africa, especially those of Algeria, which due to sanctions, is mysterious to many westerners. It was interesting to see Beattie's moments of spiritual clarity and growth of independence. The book was a fairly interesting, quick read, but definitely didn't offer any life changing bits to me. This is one I'll set free.

ROOT # 15. Om-Kas-Toe: Blackfeet Twin Captures an Elkdog - Kenneth Thomasma - Acquired 2007 = 7 ROOT points

How It Fits Into My Current Reading
- February RandomCat -Children's Book
- 10. Read a book with a species of animal that you have owned as a pet in the title
- ROOT #15.
When my kids were in grade school, author Kenneth Thomasma would make appearances at the school, talk about his series of books about Indian children and have copies of his books available as a fundraiser. My daughter, especially, enjoyed his books and I read the ones that the kids purchased. I picked this one up at a library sale as I had not read it.

But when I heard Sherman Alexie speak last year and then checked out Alexie's blog, I was led to a blogger that listed Thomasma as a white author not respected by Native Americans as he portrayed how 'whites think Indians should act' instead of how they really act.

So when the challenge came up to read a children's book, I pulled this one off the shelf.

It's historical fiction, set in the 1700's in Montana at a time when the Blackfeet Indians first saw and obtained horses or 'elkdogs' which is a translation of the Blackfeet word.

I found a lively adventure that I enjoyed. At birth, the girl twin is supposed to be put to death, but the mother convinces the elders to let her keep both babies. The boy twin especially becomes an asset to the tribe, with a pet raven who helps the tribe out on several occasions with finding game and a lost baby. Eventually, the girl twin finds and captures a stray horse with the help of her brother. All of this is mixed with the day to day activities of the tribe and some skirmishes with enemy tribes.

Improbable? Probably, but then many kids' adventures books are. I felt the Blackfeet tribe was in no way disrespected, but I'll definitely keep the comments of the blogger in mind.

I plan on listening to Sherman Alexie's Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian as a counterpoint to this one.

And My First ROOT for March!



ROOT #16 Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith - Jon Krakauer - audiobook purchased FOL sale 2013 1 ROOT point


In 1984, brothers Ron and Dan Lafferty murdered their younger brother's wife, Belinda Lafferty as well as her 18 month old daughter. Two additional men waited in the car. Many other people, including Belinda's husband Allen Laffterty, had heard that there was a plot afoot.

The brothers believed that they had direct orders from God to execute Belinda since she had encouraged her sister-in-law to take her children and leave an abusive marriage. The baby daughter was executed so 'she wouldn't grow up to be a bitch like her mother.'

Author Jon Krakauer shows how the brothers' belief in their cult-like splinter of mainline Mormonism seemed to give them the authority to commit the act. Krakauer relates quite a bit of history of the Mormon religion; from its charismatic and rather strange and bloody beginnings, to the present when more than 230 Mormon splinter groups exist.

I enjoyed the look at Mormonism in general and the splinter groups in particular as well as some of the background on belief systems within cults. The crime itself was bloody. The interview with Dan Lafferty where he maintains this murder as justifiable execution is chilling.

(63) Yippee!

So, what's it about? ;)

I'll try to get a bit of a review done later--right now I'm all reviewed out!

Basically it's a sociopath meets Fundamentalist Mormonism and twists it into his own path where he can convince others that a woman and her 18 month old daughter deserve to be executed. It's an interesting look at the power of cults where an individual can convince others they are a mouthpiece for God.

Sounds a bit like Helter Skelter, regarding cults.

I'll watch for your review. :)

Some familiar books here. I'm glad to hear you liked The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon. I love Lisette Lecat's narration of this series. Such fun.

Also Under the Banner of Heaven is one that both The Hubster and I found fascinating.

>66 fuzzi: Lor--Thanks for stopping by. The mind control that cults have is incredible to me.

I'm currently listening to a non-ROOT audiobook, Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief, for a group read in the 75'ers. Very fascinating, but very scary. Scientologists have the deep pockets to sue anyone that criticizes them. They even made the US IRS back down after years of litigation - it's how they got their designation as a religion here in the US.

>67 SuziQoregon: I have several more of the Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency on my list of ROOTS. I think I listened to a couple of them as audiobooks, but others are brand new to me. I'm currently reading Morality for Beautiful Girls which I thought was a reread, but I'm not remembering much of the plot, so perhaps not.

Stayed up a bit latish to finish one more ROOT for March.



ROOT #17 Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson - Purchased 2013 for the November 2013 Book Club meeting; = 1 ROOT point.

I have no idea why I kept putting it aside. Walter Isaacson writes fascinating biographies and Einstein was a very interesting person. My only excuse is that it sometimes took more thoughtful effort than I can put in in the evenings after work.

I only finished three ROOTS for March. I'm still ahead of myself to reach my lower goal of 50 and on target to reach my higher goal of 75, but I used up the slight margin I had going into the month.

I have several books checked out from the library right now, AND I'm helping my 87 yo Mom move into a retirement apartment, so I'll need to be very mindful of choosing ROOTS in April since I need to read 6 per month to get there.

Here are the numbers I need to complete my pyramid challenge: (I'm keeping statistics in >11 streamsong: to help keep me on track)

Number of books left to read: Minimum goal/ entire total

2011 - 5/11
2009 - 4/8
2007 - 4/6
2012 - 3/10
2010 - 3
2013 - 2/12
2008 - 2/5
2006 - 2/3

Good luck this month! Hope the move goes well. The thought of moving makes me feel uneasy -- having to pack up all those things! And by "those things" I primarily mean books ;)

>70 streamsong: you're very organized. I can't put a date on when I acquired most of my books. I'm trying to get to those older than 2013, but just started one I bought 14 months ago...but, hey! It's still a ROOT. ;)

My 86 yo Dad is visiting, staying with us while he is here to get another hip replacement. I think I have an inkling of how you must be feeling with your Mom. :)

>71 rabbitprincess: Hello! Yes, I totally understand about packing the books! Mom, is downsizing from a largish house with lots of storage to a two room apartment. The challenge for her is sorting through stuff, choosing what to take. That means most of their library is available...

>72 fuzzi: Hi Lor --I thought you'd been a bit quiet lately! You sound busy. I hope things go well with your Dad!

I don't really know when I bought my pre-LT books, but I've been a member since 2006. I love being able to catalog my books and seeing who else has them. My catagories are actually when I catalogued them on LT--which is a bit hit or miss sometimes, especially in the early years after joining.

I need to read six books a month to keep on track for my pyramid goal.

I'm currently reading the following ROOTS:

Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza pandemic of 1918 - Gina Kolata acquired 2013
Morality for Beautiful Girls = Alexander McCall Smith - (2011- this might be a reread?)
A Study in Scarlet - Arthur Conan Doyle (2012)
The New Testament and the People of God - N. T. Wright - (2013) may not finish this month

Up Next: A Religion of Your Own - Thomas Moore (LTER 2013)
And hopefully this month: Plainsong by Kent Haruf (2011)

That's a glorious mixture of books! :)

Heehee - I think you just described my life.

First ROOT for April!



ROOT #18: Morality for Beautiful Girls - Alexander McCall Smith (acquired 2011 = 3 ROOT points; total =69/185)

After winning and reading a LTER audio of the most recent Number 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, I decided to go back and read some of the ones on Planet TBR. I believe I may have listened to this one as an audiobook quite a few years back, but I enjoyed reading it in paper form. Either I had forgotten many of the subtleties, or perhaps I missed them listening to the audio.

One thing I like about this series are the mysteries without bodies. It's so nice not to have a murder around every corner!

Yeah!!!!!

>76 streamsong: Yes! Another one bites the dust...

>76 streamsong:, I did not know they were less body-filled mysteries! Oh! I must read them now! Thank you.

>79 Merryann: I thought the same thing. And now I have 13 books in dutch by Mr Mc Call Smith in my BookBullet folder!

Well, there are the occasional bodies. In one a child goes missing and the speculation about what happened to him is quite sad.

They are not great literature, the mysteries aren't wonderfully complex; some people find them far too saccharine. But they are straightforward and .. well ... kind for lack of a better word which is sometimes exactly what I want to read next.

Thanks for the warning. I will not like that, but I'm glad to know about it in advance, and I think I'll still read one of these.

The only other ROOT I finished in April:



ROOT #19: Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus That Caused It by Gina Kolata- acquired 2013 = 1 ROOT point.

The often forgotten 1918 influenza epidemic was huge - worldwide more people died than in WWI and WWII combined. There were 19,000 deaths in New York City alone.

This book gives an account of the epidemic and then details the search for reasons this wave of influenza was so deadly and what it can teach us about a future influenza pandemic.

I enjoyed the stories of the search for the virus - from Eskimo flu victims and far northern miners buried in the Permafrost layer to carefully preserved tissue samples stored in a national archive of samples from military dead. While the book ends with many questions, a lot of those questions, such as why this particular strain of flu was so deadly, are still being addressed by researchers today - and the perfect vaccination against the ever-changing virus is still out of reach.

I read this as part of the Science Religion & History group read on various books about the 1918 epidemic.

I'm currently working on three ROOTS so May should have higher numbers:

A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle
A Religion of One's Own by Thomas Moore - this is a neglected ER book from last fall (how does that happen that I've had it six months!)
The New Testament and the People of God - N. T. Wright part of a year long group read of hi Christian Origins and the Question of God group read

And I'm also absolutely committed to reading:
The Life of An Ordinary Woman by Anne Ellis
The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston - audiobook
A ROOT from South Asia -- it was going to be Buddha by Karen Armstrong, but that one seems to be in hiding; perhaps instead The Wedding Wallah by Farahad Zama

so here we go! I am committed to doing better than the last two months!

I liked A Study in Scarlet :)

I'd like to read (or re-read since I've read some of them) all the Sherlock Holmes books. DD put them all on Planet TBR a few years back. I'm thinking about one a month. A Study in Scarlet is fun. I re-watched the Cumberbatch/Freeman version of it, which was much more fun when you get the in jokes.

And I've finished my first ROOT for May. I had hoped to finish this one in April, but didn't quite make it. It fills up the minimum level (10 books) of my 'acquired in 2013 category. >9 streamsong:

ROOT #20 The New Testament and the People of God by N. T. Wright purchased 2013 = 1 ROOT point. Total 71/185

This is by far the most scholarly book on Christianity that I've read. It's the first of a four volume set which is a year long group read here on LT. (Well, it looks like it might take me a bit longer than that).

This one covers Jewish thought and worldview at the time of Christ. Although I got a bit lost in some of the scholarly arguments and debates, I feel like I have a much more solid view of why Christ's message was seen as not just revolutionary but subversive.



I'll definitely go on with the series. Alas (!), however, I only bought the first volume last year so they won't count as ROOTS.

>86 streamsong: I'm having so much fun reading the original Holmes stories and noticing things that were mentioned in the Cumberbatch/Freeman episodes!

>88 rabbitprincess: I don't buy many DVD's but I think I'll have to buy the Cumberbatch/Freeman series. They make me laugh!

.....and I've finished A Study in Scarlet for Root number 21.

Two more for the month which I haven't mentioned:

ROOT #22. Numbers: People's Bible Commentary - Paul W. Kuske
How It Fits Into My Current Reading:
- personal challenge to read all the books of the Bible with a commentary (Using the People's Bible Commentary series)
- ROOT #22/50; acquired 2006 = 8 ROOT points (Total: 81/185)

and





ROOT #23:- The Monster of Florence - Douglas Preston - ROOT 2013 = 1 ROOT point (Total: 82/185); audiobook in the car

Author Douglas Preston moved his family to Florence, Italy to find that a notorious serial killer known as The Monster of Florence, murdered two of his victims in a nearby olive grove. Preston becomes caught up in trying to solve the identity of the killer; he joined forces with Mario Spezi, an Italian journalist who has also been consumed by the mystery of the killer who only kills couples found while they are making love.

But then, the story takes a bizarre turn. The local police and another Italian investigative unit have been in a fierce rivalry to solve the crime. Men have been arrested and even done prison time for the murders only to be exonerated later. And the police don't like Spezi and Preston's investigation and end up using evidence the pair have uncovered to charge the two journalists with the crimes.

A truly strange tangle. In many ways, this story of the Italian justice system has helped me to understand the tangle of Amanda Knox and the murder of her roommate.

Congratulations on your ROOT total! It appears you are "on track" to achieve your 2014 goal. :)

Hi Lor- and thanks!

I'm on track to get 50 books read, but to finish my 'pyramid challenge' will take about 75 ROOTs and I'm not sure I'll make that. It would be really nice to get that many books off Planet TBR, but on the other hand, I enjoy all the new stuff, too.

I've got two more ROOTS more than halfway done: The Life of an Ordinary Woman from 2008, and A Religion of Your Own, an ER book from 2013.

Can't believe it's June!

I read The Monster of Florence years ago and made a similar connection to the Amanda Knox trials (also a sad strange tangle with many of the same bizarre occult accusations - which may have something to do with the fact that they were handled by the same prosecutor).

I think the book does much better as an expose of the corruption and confusion of the Italian justice system than it does as a "true crime" book - not least because I found the authors' theory of whodunnit hard to follow and not terribly well-thought-through. Plus I was a bit confused that this wasn't once compared to the (to me at least) strikingly similar Son of Sam murders...

>94 Caramellunacy: Very true! it's almost like two books in one, with neither one as well focused as it could be. I'm not too familiar with the 'Son of Sam murders-- guess I'll have to Wikipeding.

ROOT #24. The Life of an Ordinary Woman - Anne Ellis - ROOT #24/50 acquired 2008 = 6 ROOT points; Total 88/185

Author Anne Ellis grew up in the mining camps of Colorado in the late 1800's. This is her memoir of those years as well as her life as a young wife and mother in the early 20th century.

It was a life where men and women both worked exceedingly hard. They often endured Colorado winters in previously abandoned cabins with walls made of a single thickness of boards. Wages were slim as mines and towns petered out, requiring going on the next place where gold had been found.

There was the dream of riches to come contrasted with the reality of the present: constant struggling to feed and clothe families in an area of no medical care. Deep bonds were formed between neighbors helping people to get through. Eventually unions also joined the scene, although miners' strikes caused more hardship for the miners' families.

I found this an interesting look at the time and place. I've enjoyed other pioneer memoirs (perhaps because I grew up with the stories of my grandparents' homestead). For me, this one lacked a certain spark.



If anyone's interested in the genre, I'd still recommend Letters of a Woman Homesteader which I read last year.

ROOT #25. Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now - Maya Angelou - ROOT #25/50 not added to LT when acquired = 1 ROOT point (89/185)

- Read in honor of a great woman's passing.

This is a very short book (139 pages) of very short musings (2 or 3 pages). In addition, there are lots of blank pages and white space as well as title pages for each essay. The result is that it can be read very quickly and that none of the themes are very developed.

Neverthless, it's a good introduction to some of Maya's philosophy on such topics as whining, racism and lessons her mother and grandmother taught her.

"Many things continue to amaze me, even well into the sixth decade of my life. I'm startled or taken aback when people walk up to me and tell me they are Christians. My first response is the question 'Already?' It seems to me a lifelong endeavor to try to live the life of a Christian. I believe that is also true for the Buddhist, for the Muslim, for the Jainist, for the Jew and for the Taoist who try to live their beliefs."

mostly due to the extreme shortness of this book.

>96 streamsong: I second the recommendation of Letters of a Woman Homesteader!

>98 fuzzi: That was a good one, wasn't it Lor?

ROOT #26 A Religion of One's Own - Thomas Moore - LTER- 2013 ROOT #26/50; 1 ROOT point =90/185;

Need to write a review for this because it was an LTER book from last fall. Interesting in places, but the fact that it took me months and months of reading in short bits sums it up.



ROOT #27 Obadiah Jonah Micah People's Bible Commentary - Cyril W Spaude (#27/50) pre 2006 = 8 ROOT points =98/180

- Personal challenge reading through Bible with commentaries. I must admit, I enjoyed reading both Jonah and Micah and learned a lot from this one.



ROOT#28 Hebrews People's Bible Commentary -Richard E. Lauersdorf # 28/50; acquired pre 2006 = 8 ROOT points 106/180; completed 6/20

Yay! and I'm completely done with my first category - 6 from 2006. However, I'll continue reading these Bible commentaries for 15 minutes a day so I'm liable to go over the goal in this category. It's turning into a lop-sided pyramid at best.

It's a bit confusing because I am reading seven of these commentaries at once (>45 streamsong:) and so coincidentally often finish several in a short period of time. The commentary on Proverbs will be done soon, too.

And the Roots I'm currently reading:



This is the first PD James I have read and I'm really enjoying it. It's not a problem that I have jumped it towards the end of the series and it's fairly complex. 16 suspects plus 3 policemen on an island - lots of names! And I love all the book and literary mentions.



I've enjoyed Karen Armstrong's books, even though they tend to get quite complex. This one so far seems to be one of her simpler ones-- or perhaps I'm just used to her style, her references to the axial age and Buddhism in general. I've read a couple of her titles, have a couple more on the Planet and partially read (but not quite abandoned) two others.

>99 streamsong: very good, indeed! I liked it so much, I sent my copy to my sister, who lives in Oregon. I replaced my copy with a Kindle edition that was cheap through bookbub.com.

ROOT #29 The Lighthouse - PD James
How It Fits Into My Current Reading:
- MysteryCat - Police procedural;
-GeoCat - islands and bodies of water;
- Random Cat - name of rose (Garden Light);
- TIOLI #15. Read a book by a grandmaster;

ROOT 29/50 acq'd 2008 = 6 ROOT points 112/180

Inspector Adam Dalgliesh and two of his team are called to a very private, retreat island for only the most elite clients, after a body is found hanging from the lighthouse. Investigation happens. A random outbreak of SARS complicates things. Further body ensues.16 suspects on the island, plus three policemen and no one is allowed on or off.

This is the first mystery by grandmaster mystery author PD James that I have read. It's number 13 in the series, but worked well enough as a stand alone, although I'm sure I missed many of the nuances in the private lives of the investigative team members. I enjoyed the writing, and I'm always happy when there are allusions to books and literary quotes. It was a complicated mystery with bits of clues scattered throughout.

I would certainly read more of this series, but at this time, there are other series on Planet TBR that are higher on my list.

...still working on Buddha; it would be nice to get it done in June!

>102 fuzzi: Thanks for stopping by, Lor. Yup, that kind of book that you can't wait to share with someone else doesn't come along nearly often enough! Althougg, since joining LT, I've certainly found a lot more of them.

>104 streamsong: that and Follow the River were two I ***HIGHLY*** recommended, was it last year? Maybe it was 2012, but my recommendations stand.

I'm working on my second Leon Uris book, QB VII. So far it appears to be as good as Exodus. Oh, and they're ROOT books, too.

30. Buddha - Karen Armstrong

- Root # 30/50 from 2007 = 7 ROOT points 119/180


If you see a biography of the Buddha, it's not a biography of the Buddha.

So Karen Armstrong explains the paucity of information about Gautama, the Buddha's, life. And yet, she manages to sketch the bit of what various traditions have handed down about the Buddha's life, along with some information about the beginnings of Buddhism and the axial age - a topic she expounds on in several of her books - and created a satisfying whole.

I think this book is a successful scaffolding on which one can begin to build knowlege of Buddhism. It's not deep, but will provide a basic understanding of early events in the religion.

I had read Thich Nhat Hahn 's book, Old Path White Clouds: Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha several years ago. I mostly remember it being a beautiful account, but I remember little of the content. Perhaps time for a revisit of that one.

31. Proverbs People's Bible Commentary - Roland Cap Ehlke
- Root # 31/50 acquired pre 2006 = 8 ROOT points (127/180)

32. Pudd'nhead Wilson - Mark Twain
ROOT 2013 =#32/50; acquired 2013 = 1 ROOT point = 128/180
- American Author Challenge;

Each chapter starts with a bit from Puddn'head's Journal:

"Adam was but human - this explains it all. He did not want the apple for the apple's sake, he wanted it only because it was forbidden. The mistake was in not forbidding the serpent; then he would have eaten the serpent."

And I loved this part of the description of the porches in small town Missouri::

"When there was room on the ledge outside of the pots and boxes for a cat, the cat was there - in sunny weather- stretched at full length, asleep and blissful, with her furry belly to the sun and a paw curved over her nose. Then that house was complete, and its contentment and peace were made manifest to the world by this symbol, whose testimony is infallible. A home without a cat -and a well-fed, well petted and properly revered cat - may be a perfect home, perhaps, but how can it prove title?"

It's the story of a 1/16 Negro slave (indistinguishable from a white woman except for her clothes and accent), who gives birth to her 1/32 Negro slave son on the same day the white heir of her master's family is born. She fears for her son's future, and since no one but she can tell them apart, she switches them when they are a few months old. The switched son grows up spoiled, self-centered and dissolute, racking up huge gambling debts. He eventually murders his guardian in order to hide the debts lest he be disinherited.

There is an aspiring lawyer in town, who on the first day of his arrival, made a joke which was misunderstood. From this he got the name of Puddn'head - an idiot. He has an odd hobby of taking fingerprints - he does it multiple times with infants and then again as they grow into adulthood. He makes the discovery that the fingerprints are unique to each individual and do not change with time.

A bloody fingerprint left at the murder scene (click to see)enables him to deduce the murderer as well as the fact that the babies were switched when quite young. At this time, fingerprints were not used in solving crimes and so this is a unique twist to the plot.

I thought it was interesting that palmistry also made an appearance and seemed to be taken quite as seriously as fingerprints.

The book I read had a second entry bound with it called Those Extraordinary Twins. It turns out that Twain had originally written Pudd'nhead as a farce, with the main characters a set of conjoined "Siamese" twins based on celebrated Italian conjoined twins. Eventually Twain says that he saw the tragedy of the Pudd'nhead story did not work with the farce of the twins, so he separated the two. In Pudd'nhead, the conjoined twins became Italian twins of noble birth, one of whom gets blamed for the murder.

The Italian twins are a distraction in Pudd'nhead. There are traces of them being conjoined - for examples, they have always slept in the same bed and they worked in a circus side show, an odd occupation for Italian nobility. Some of the gags about the twins' natures being completely different, running against each other for office, and kicking the dissolute young son off a stage (with conjoined twins, who could tell who did the kicking?) don't work as well with regular twins.

In my opinion, Twain was right to remove the conjoined twins from the story and leave the story of racism and slavery. However, the whole story of Pudd'nhead could have used further rewriting with the Italian twins written out altogether, or at least their story cleaned up better.

In a way I'm sorry I read Those Extraordinary Twins, because while it did give insight into Twain's creative process, it also spoiled a lot of the Pudd'nhead story for me. It's not a stand alone story, as large sections that were left in Pudd'nhead are merely summarized.

33. Road Dogs - Elmore Leonard
- ROOT #33/50 ; acquired 2013 for 1 ROOT point = 129/180
- audiobook in the car

This novel brings together three characters who apparently have appeared in others of Elmore's works: Jack Foley, Cundo Rey and Dawn Navarro.

Jack Foley, the most prolific bank robber in America with a score sheet of 127 jobs, has just been released from prison. There he became fast friends - road dogs in prison speak - with Cundo Rey. Road Dogs have each others' backs. Nobody messes with road dogs.

So it's no surprise that Cundo pays for a high priced lawyer to get Jack's sentence reduced and then offers Jack a place at his estate to wait until Cundo also is released from prison a short time later.

Keeping the home fires burning at the estate is Dawn Navarro, whom Cundo calls his angel. But Dawn hasn't been waiting as patiently and piously as Cundo believes. Instead it's more the waiting of a black widow spider carefully setting her web in place to acquire Cundo's money once he is released.

I had acquired this one when there was a buzz here on LT after Elmore's death last year. I hadn't read anything by Leonard except one of his early western short stories that appeared in an anthology.

Road Dogs carried me along and I thought that the characters were well-realized.

But it's just not my genre.

- ROOT # 34/50 Teaching at the Top of the World - Marilyn Forrester -
How It Fits Into My Current Reading:
acquired 2013 for 1 ROOT point = 130/180;

I had intended to read this book for July's month's Arctic/Antarctic Geocat challenge, since much of the author's time was spend at Prudhoe Bay and Barrow, Alaska, the northernmost points of the United States.

It started out quite promising with the adventuresome author heading off to Alaska, hoping to find work in a town booming from the construction of the Alaskan oil pipeline. I liked her spirit, as she headed off with $200 in her pocket, knowing full well from a friend that at the time, a hamburger in a café would cost $20.00.

Unfortunately, it was a horribly self-centered account, with the author was more interested in relating anecdotes about her social life and her acquaintances (I don't think she ever had a landlord or a work supervisor whom she felt wasn't over controlling). I would have preferred much more about the actual conditions in the Arctic, and more of the native and Eskimo kids she taught once she went back to college and got her special education credentials.

Instead we got her indignation over her married lover refusing to help her with tuition expenses. I couldn't help but wonder if his four kids had college accounts ...

And the heartwarming story of the six year old Native boy who was neglected and abused and dearly wanted to be her son. Friends hinted that she would probably be able to adopt him. And so .... she decided she was not up to it and distanced herself from him. According to her update, as an adult he was homeless and a drug addict.

Back in the 70's, I remember reading Tisha and loving it. I expected this to be a more modern version of teaching in the Arctic. It wasn't.

I doubt anyone will ever see a copy of this as it is a self-published story that I picked off a FOL shelf, loving, as I do women's memoirs. But if you do ever see it sitting there ...... walk quickly away. Not recommended.

>109 streamsong: not every genre is for everyone...but it's good that you gave it a try. :)

Nice job on your ROOTs so far! :)

(112) Oh no, a book/author bullet!

ROOT # 35/50 The Long Farewell - Michael Innes
- acquired 2013 = 1 ROOT point 131/180

Inspector Appleby visits his longtime friend, Shakespeare scholar Lewis Packford, while both are holidaying in Italy. Packford is highly excited. Could he have found a book annotated in the very hand of the bard?

A few weeks later, back in England, Packford shows up dead. It appears that he has committed suicide after scandal has erupted. Instead of being an eccentric, confirmed bachelor, Packford has been found to be a bigamist with two secret wives.

But something doesn't add up.

This is the first Innes/Inspector Appleby mystery that I've read, and I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed the clever dialogue and found it a bit more cerebral than many of the mysteries I have read. I remember Innes being quite popular when I was working in a bookstore in the 70's. I may be fifty years late to the Innes party, but now that I'm here I'll be looking for more by him.

Hi Lor -Thanks for stopping by! Yup, you always hit a few clinkers along with the wonderful reading.

I'm still fairly well on track for finishing my minimum challenge of reading 5 books for each year I've been on LT - but I'm not catching up on my pyramid challenge the way I would like! Not impossible to do but a lot of books yet to go.

But I've now equaled the total number of ROOTS (38) that I read last year, so I'll at least beat that number!

Here's what it looks like at the end of August:

2006 **** *
2007 **
2008 ****
2009 *
2010
2011 **
2012 ****
2013 ********* ******
NPC **
(NPC = Roots Owned prior to 1/1/2014 but Not Previously Cataloged in LT)

One Star: Minimum goal of 5 books completed: 2006, 2008, 2013
Second Star: All books for Pyramid Challenge Completed: 2006

Uh oh. I left things hanging here in mid August so I guess I need to do a bit of posting.



36. Sarah's Key - Tatiana de Rosnay finished 8/22/2014

How It Fits Into My Reading Now:
- geocat- Western Europe;
- TIOLI # 2. Read a book with a Top 50 Historical Event listed in its CK;
- ROOT #36/50 - 2011; given to me by my cousin = 3 Root Points 134/185

"On July 16 and 17, 1942, 13,152 Jews were arrested in Paris and the suburbs, deported and assassinated at Auschwitz. In the Velodrome d'Hiver that once stood on this spot, 1,129 men, 2,916 women, and 4,115 children were packed here in inhuman conditions by the government of the Vichy police, by order of the Nazi occupant. May those who tried to save them be thanked. Passerby, never forget!"

This story is told in two time lines in alternating chapters. In the first timeline, 10 year old Sarah and her parents are rounded up by French police and taken into what became known as the Vel d'Hiv, a deportation to Auschwitz for immediate death. It was a roundup known for its extreme brutality and from which only a handful of escapees survived. In addition, it was not done by the Nazis, but by the French police, acting of course, under Nazi orders during the French occupation.

During the middle of the night raid, Sarah impulsively locks her four year old brother into a hidden closet to keep him safe. She imagines that they will all return to their home later that day to let him out.

In the second timeline, some sixty years later, American journalist Julia Jarmond, writing a piece on the massacre, finds that her husband's family owns an apartment that was seized after Wladyslaw and Rywka Starzynski, parents of 10-year-old Sarah and four-year-old Michel disappeared into the roundup.

She hunts for the fate of the family and becomes obsessed by the clues leading her to Sarah. Her marriage to an extremely self-centered man falters along the way as he demands that she abort her unexpected, mid-life pregnancy while she is in the midst of her research into this massacre of families and children.

I had read both positive and negative reviews on this book here on LT. I knew it was both a shocker and a tear-jerker and didn't really plan to read it. But my cousin and her husband, who had lived several years in France, gave it to me as a thank you gift several years ago as both of them had really enjoyed it.

Like much of the world, including most of the French population, I did not know that the Vel d'Hiv occurred. I found the story compelling and very sobering. The author is a good enough writer to carry the narrative along and I liked the alternating story lines. I was caught up by the story and I read it eagerly. However, I was not fond of the ending. I am extremely doubtful whenever a relationship with a man the protagonist doesn't know produces a happily-ever-after.

Give it a try for the history and the humanity. But bring your hanky.

3.8 stars

Another From August:

Another From August:



37. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Robert Pirsig - finished 8/30/2014
How It Fits Into My Reading:
- RL bookclub;
- ROOT #37/50; not previously entered into LT = 1 ROOT point - 135/185
- August TIOLI #8. Read a book with an amusing LT tag (a book I own and pretend to have read)

If you were in college in the 70's, you may well be familiar with this one.

In this autobiographical novel, the author manages to weave philosophy, mechanical engineering, recovering from a mental breakdown and taking a road trip into one narrative, creating a book with an almost cult-like following.

Our narrator does not refer to himself by name although he calls his previous self Phaedrus. He is travelling cross country by motorcycle with his son, Chris, and other friends who accompany them partway. In his head he writes a chautauqua, a narrative with teaching points, as he goes.

Phaedrus had been a college professor and then returning graduate student who had a mental breakdown due to what he calls paranoid schizophrenia with depression. Phaedrus was hospitalized and given several dozen electrical shock therapy treatments, which caused him to lose the memory of his previous life. He hopes that during this long trip, he can reconnect with his son, who is showing many signs of stress which our narrator fears are early signs of mental illness. He also hopes that he can find the part of his own life that is missing.

During the trip, he is obsessed with the technological maintenance of his motorcycle - spending part of each day fiddling with various mechanical processes and using it as vehicle (pun intended :-)) to explore the philosophies of technology and humanity and what the notion of quality is - if one cannot define what is good, how can one find it? Is quality the Buddha that permeates all things in life?

I had listened to an abridged, audio version of this book several years ago. Since I'm not well-grounded in philosophy and not much interested in mechanical workings, I knew I missed major points and so, I had picked up a print copy from a library sale table. I'm not sure I would have ever reread it though, without the push of reading it for my book club.

I know that even with the reread, many of the points sailed right over my head and I skimmed over some of the seemingly endless discussion. Overall, though, I found it a trip worth taking. Recommended primarily for those who enjoy philosophical argument.

And the last of August: (finished 8/31/2014)



38. 1 Dead in Attic - Chris Rose -
How It Fits Into My Current Reading:
- TIOLI #13. Read a book about tropical cyclones/ a hurricane;
- ROOT #38/50 acquired 2012 = 2 ROOT points 137/185

This is a series of newspaper columns written by journalist and New Orleans resident Chris Rose in the year following Hurricane Katrina's devastating blow to New Orleans.

Well written short accounts of courage, heartbreak and irony (oh the irony - it seemed to be everywhere Rose looked) as this great city struggled back to its feet at the same time acknowledging that some things change forever. Because they were written at the time events occurred, they definitely have a sense of immediacy. But at times, as Rose bemoans decisions made by local politicians, it would be nice to have a bit more of the big picture, including identification of who some of the local players were.

This was originally self-published under the same title, but as a much shorter volume. Rose was contemplating publishing a second volume which he would entitle "The Purple Upside Down Car" when the book was picked up by a national publisher and the two volumes published the same title. According to Wikipedia, Rose was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Distinguished Commentary in 2006 and won a Pulitzer for his contributions to the Times-Picayune's Public Service Award.

3.7 stars It went on just a shade too long in my opinion. :-)

- ROOT #39/50 Men at Arms - Terry Pratchett
- owned prior to 1/1/14, but not previously cataloged

A dead clown has been found with a very strange hole blown through his chest. Coincidentally,an ominous wizard-created weapon called a 'gonne' has disappeared from its place of safety in the Assassin's Guild. The gonne works by hurling projectiles through a tube after an explosion of gunpowder. And the gonne whispers to people; if they possess it, they want to use it.

This is also the backstory of several of my favorite characters. Angua joins the Night Watch in an affirmative action program. Sam Vimes marries the Lady Sybil and plans to retire.

I've been reading through the Discworld series, but not in any particular order. I started with several that were favorites of my kids, followed by several of the newest ones as they were released. I tried starting at the beginning, but just wasn't hugely charmed by the earliest in the series.

But this one - definitely one of my favorites so far!

So my newest Discworld plan is to start in the middle and read outward both directions - which altogether sounds like a Discworldish thing to do.

4 stars

Still catching up with September!



#40. The Living Reed by Pearl S Buck
- acquired 2007 = 7 ROOT points

In the 70's, I read quite a few of Pearl S Buck's novels. From time to time, I still pick them up when I see them in a used book store. This one has been living on Planet TBR since 2007.

This is a family epic of Korea. It followed three generations of a family beginning with Il-Han, an advisor and scholar to the queen in the 1880's.

When the queen is assassinated by Japanese forces and Korea occupied by Japan we see the son, a resistance leader code named The Living Reed, eventually being overcome and like many young Korean fighters, fleeing to China, where he took part in the communist revolution there. Eventually he returns to Korea, and sees the heartbreak of the country arbitrarily divided by US and Russian administered zones after the ending of WW II.

The central character of the book, however, is Korean history. I honestly didn't have much knowledge of this region and learned a lot. Korea has been coveted as a stepping stone by Russia, China and Japan for centuries. During the rise of the Western Powers, many Koreans looked to Woodrow Wilson and the US to help them in their struggle for independence. It was a vain hope; time after time the US let the Korean hopes down.

Still Korea itself resembles the living reed, bamboo, springing up in strange places after appearing dead, bending but not breaking.

It was a slow book to get through, but I thought it was well worth the time.

I love Pearl Buck! I'm adding this one to my TBR list!

Just peeping in and saying HI!

>119 Tess_W: It's nice to find someone else who enjoys Pearl Buck. It's funny, though isn't it - I'm trying to read my ROOTs and yet I keep acquiring more when I visit everyone else's thread!

Hi Connie--thanks for stopping by:

This one was from September:



41 Take the Reins - John L Moore
- ROOT #41/50 - Acquired 2007 = 7 ROOT points
- September TIOLI # 22. Read a book from the 900 section of the Dewey Decimal System

I'm working hard to read at least 5 ROOTS (unread tomes on my shelf) that I cataloged into LT from each year I've been here, and this book is another one that I've had since 2007.

This is a series of short meditations by a preacher/dryland Eastern Montana rancher who is taking life lessons off his ranch in order to pass them on to his eleven year old son: persevere, work hard, enjoy the beauty of sunrise from horseback and the majesty of wildlife.

Dryland farming and ranching is a tough life. It has no irrigation and is subject to the whims of weather. There are drought years, and range fires and blizzards and many of them can ruin the season's income. Too many of them and your livelihood disappears all together.

It was an interesting look at the lifestyle.

But I did have objections to the book. I don't like the author's parenting style.

For instance, in one scenario, the son is dismounting from a horse and the horses reaches forward with a hind leg and 'cowkicks' the boy as he is getting down. The author is impatient that the incident frightens his son and forces him (literally) to get back on the horse and dismount again. Be a man. Persevere. Face your fears and get back on. And the child does so without further incident.

But the author later discovers that the horse had cowkicked and broken the leg of a previous adult rider and so he sells the horse. But he never acknowledges that he was wrong in forcing his son back into a dangerous situation.

So, it's interesting for the Montana lifestyle and the author's obvious love of the land, but I can't recommend it as a manual of meditations on how to raise your son into a man.

2.5 stars

Onto October:



42. Unbroken - Lauren Hillenbrand
How It Fit Into My Current Reading:
- September Eastern Asia Geocat challenge – Japan (finished in October);
- World Map - Japan
- Oct TIOLI #10. Read a book with both orange and black on its cover;
- audiobook in the car;
ROOT #42/50- acquired 2012 = 2 ROOT points 154/185;

I'm not sure what to say about this one since it's been reviewed and discussed widely.

Louis Zamperini , headed for trouble, was in scrapes with the local police from the time when most kids are beginning to read. But when his brother forced him into running in a school track program, Louis found out he enjoyed it. And he found that he could be good, even great.

He smashed high school and open records for the mile run. Although he was not at his physical peak when he ran in the Berlin Olympics, he impressed everyone, even Adolf Hitler, with a tremendous burst of speed during one race.

He was widely regarded as the man who would accomplish the first four minute mile.

But then World War II intervened and Louis became a bombadier in the South Pacific. When his plane went down in the ocean, he and another man survived in an open life raft longer than any other downed American, battling lack of food and water, relentless sun, sharks eager to pull the men from the raft and even a Japanese strafing. But his rescuers were Japanese, and Louis spent the rest of the war under the most brutal conditions imaginable, being starved and tortured in a Japanese POW camp and seeing his friends die around him.

Once again Louis managed to beat the odds and return home at the end of the war to his eagerly awaiting friends and family. Re-entry into normal life was tougher than Louis had imagined. He was no longer able to run due to an injury he received while a POW. His new marriage and baby daughter were at risk as he self-medicated what what we would now call PTSD and depression with oceans of alcohol.

And then, once again, his life course changed as he was reluctantly dragged to a Billy Graham Crusade. He became a Christian, turned his life around and became 'Unbroken' once more.

A remarkable story of courage and an unwillingness to admit defeat.

43. Spirit Tailings: Ghost Tales from Virginia City, Butte and Helena - Ellen Baumler -
How It Fits Into My Current Reading:
- Halloween/Spooky read on the 75'ers group
- October TIOLI #14 - Read a book that is dark
ROOT #43 - Acquired 2013 = 1 ROOT point

When you live in a part of the Old West, settled by miners during gold, silver and copper rushes, you have disputes. You also have citizen-riven justice like Virginia City's famous Vigilantes and then, well, you have ghosts.

This is a fun collection of stories from mining camps-turned-cities published by the Montana Historical Society. The local histories are the star and are quite entertaining. The subsequent ghost stories lack something in the chills-along-the-spine department and read more like third person accounts of neutral events.

One definite chill, though, in an account of a haunted hotel in Nevada City with a deep male voice saying, "Get Out". Pretty standard ghost stuff, except that a friend's brother captured a deep male voice saying that same thing in the same location when her brother was videotaping a tour they were taking.

An entertaining October read.

>122 streamsong: I'm skipping reading the review on this one jic there are spoilers...it's back on my TBR list for this month. :)

>124 fuzzi: I'm sorry it was spoilerish for you, fuzzi. Until your comment, I had not thought of non-fiction as having spoilers.

From curiosity, I went to Amazon to see how they had handled it. Their book description was pretty close to mine with one exception - I will put this as a spoiler but I hope you read it eventually. Louis Zamperini went through incredible hardships and turned his life around more than once. But when he came home from the POW camp, he *was* broken and spiraled into a nasty cycle of drinking and self medication. Until .... his wife took him to a Billy Graham crusade and he turned his life over to Christ, and once more became 'Unbroken'. Yet none of the descriptions or reviews I read mention this aspect of his life, instead putting the emphasis on the amazing fortitude he showed during his previous trials.

Oh, I just didn't read your review, because so many people don't consider spoilers when they write about a book they've read. Once I read Unbroken:, I will definitely read post 122 and 125.

I might know that the Titanic was sunk in 1912, but I'd be unhappy if someone gave away details from A Night to Remember before I had a chance to read it. :)

Understood, Lor. Haven't read ANTR - you may have hit me with a book bullet on that one.

And still continuing with October reading:



44. Simply Sane by Gerald May
- ROOT #44/50 2009 = 5 ROOT points
- The_Hibernator's September/October Suicide and Mental Illness Read;
- TIOLI #1: Read a book with a species of bird named in the narrative (martini /4; pattern /5)

The subtitle of this book, “The Spirituality of Mental Health” piqued my curiosity since it is an intersection of two of my interests.

Message: Struggling against the person you really are and not paying attention to what is going on now will make you very unhappy. At the same time, while you need to drop the impossible struggle for perfection, you must recognize that change may be part of the authentic self that you need to become.

I found much of the book to have a Zen -like koan quality without the author actually mentioning Buddhism. This book was written in 1982, before some of the more recent popular works on Buddhist practices in psychology, such as those on mindfulness, were published. This seems to be an ancestor of those more recent and to me, at least, more relevant books.

Still in October:



45. The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
- ROOT # 45/50; acquired 2012 = 2 ROOT points - 161/185
- October Real Life Bookclub;
- October TIOLI # 7. Read a book whose title starts with a letter of HALLOWEEN in rolling order;
- state map: Massachusetts

As a young man in India, Ashoke Ganguli was reading a book of Nikolai Gogol's short stories when there was a horrendous train crash. Ashoke was pulled from death in the wreckage when a rescuer noticed the movement of the fluttering pages.

Ashoke and his new bride Ashima, moved to the United States soon after they were married in order for Ashoke to go to schoo. He thend then moved on to a career in US acadamia. His bride, Ashima, is a housewife, isolated by her lack of English. She finds her friends among other Indian immigrants.

It is the Indian custom to give children 'pet' names that are used by the family and friends, and also a 'good' name, which is a formal auspicious name . Their American born son was given Gogol as his pet name. Since a pet name is never used in formal or legal situations, it did not matter to his parents that this name is neither Indian nor American and, and, as Gogol says “not even a proper first name” but a surname. But mix a lost letter from his Grandmother who had chosen the boy's 'good' name, with a bit of American bureaucracy, and Gogol becomes his official name, much to the owner's unhappiness.

Gogol is a self-identified ABCD :American Born Confused Desi. It's a slightly perjorative term used regarding the first generation of Indian Americans, struggling to find their place. Gogol finds himself navigating the complex Indian culture of his parents, as well as the American culture which he longs to be part.

It's both a coming-of-age story and a modern immigration story as a boy finds his place, standing atop several worlds. It's a story I was glad to share. Recommended.

>127 streamsong: take the bullet, it's a good one. ;)

You have five ROOTs to read? I have four to complete by December 31st...let's ROOT for each other!

I'm happy to ROOT you on!

Actually, though I'm way behind on reviews so only have TWO left to make my goal of 50.

I'd love to get at least the minimum of my pyramid challenge done though, too - and that would be 7 more books. I'll get as far as I can, but I'm not sure I'll make that one.

Even if I don't complete my pyramid challenge, I've read way more ROOTS than last year and so I will set it up this way again!

Yesterday I took a sheet of small "smiley" stickers and stuck one on the spine of most of my ROOT eligible books. I then placed the books on the main bookshelf, at EYE LEVEL.

If that doesn't help me "get'er done", I don't know what else could!

Great idea!

Good idea.

Last of the October books!:


#46/50. Blue Like Jazz - Donald Miller
How It Fits Into My Reading Now:
- October RandomCat: Read a book bullet from a fellow LT'er;
- Oct TIOLI #1 - Read a book with a bird in the text, but not in the title (penguin)
- ROOT #46/50; Acquired 2009 = 5 ROOT points (167/185)

The subtitle of this book is "Nonreligions thoughts on Christian Spirituality", which I think is a bit misleading. They essays are definitely Christian – just a slightly different form than your standard church theology.

I’ve had this on my TBR stack for several years. I’m really glad I finally got around to it. Donald Miller tells of his spiritual walk during his college and early adulthood. It’s a time when many question what they believe, and often, if they are raised in a Christian home, it’s the first time their faith is truly intellectually challenged. Miller chose a different path than many college bound Christians – he chose Reed College which he calls one of the most liberal colleges in the Pacific Northwest. There he found his faith grew by leaps and bounds.

One of my favorite college scenes was the confessional booth he and a small group of friends set in the middle of a very wild college festival. But in this confessional booth, Miller did not expect their guests to confess their sins, but apologized for the wrongs Christianity had inflicted on others throughout history. And that certainly got the attention of many of the dyed-in-the-wool atheists who stopped there. How do you argue with someone who is humbly and sincerely apologizing?

From the opening words: “I once listened to an Indian on television say that God was in the wind and the water, and I wondered at how beautiful that was because it meant you could swim in Him or have Him brush your face in a breeze”, to the closing “Much love to you and thanks for listening to us sing” I loved this book. I wished I had read it when I was in college, so I did the next best thing: I just bought a copy for my nephew, a junior in high school. I’ll be looking for more by Donald Miller.

4.5 stars

Root 47. The Apostle Paul (The Great Courses - Luke Timothy Johnson
How It Fits Into My Current Reading:
- November TIOLI #5. Read a book with an embedded word in the title
- audiobook in the car;
- ROOT #47/50 - acquired 2011 = 3 ROOT points (170/185)

This is another of the really good Coursera/The Great Courses series, this one by well-known New Testament scholar, Luke Timothy Johnson.

Johnson examines Paul's ministry through the New Testament Acts of the Apostles and through Paul's letters. He examines the authenticity controversies of several of them and also looks at content as well as the intention behind the content.

I listened to this audio several times, as I listened to the relevant sections as I a, doing my 'reading through the entire Bible with commentary' project. To finish it up, I now listened to all the sections in their proper order, one additional time.

I think I'd have to re-listen several more times to have a good grasp on this subject matter. I'll also look for more by Dr. Johnson.

Recommended – 4 Stars.

ROOT 48. Blue Shoes and Happiness - Alexander McCall Smith
How It Fits Into My Reading Now:
- started for Oct MysteryCat: Global Mysteries;
- Nov TIOLI #15. Read a book where the title or author's name contain a "traditional" Thanksgiving holiday item, though not necessarily food
- ROOT #48 acq'd 2011 = 3 ROOT points =173/185
Another enjoyable entry in the No 1 Ladies' Detective series. Like the others of this serie that I've read, it's filled with warmth and gentle humor, along with a bit of a Botswana twist. I've read lots of mysteries this year since I've been reading along with the MysteryCat challenge, but sometimes it's a nice change to read one where a bit of blackmail doesn't leave a pile of bodies. These are great as a sparkling palette cleanser between more serious reads.

Just two more. You can do it!

I've given up on reviews, but finished one more ROOT:



49/50. Murder for Christmas: 26 Tales of Seasonal Malice - Thomas Godfrey
- (not added when acquired) = 1 ROOT point -174/185

I have two more ROOTS in progress and hope to finish one (or both!) yet this year.

>139 streamsong: That looks very appropriate for the season. Just one more to your goal - you can do it!

Yup, I'm madly reading the last hundred pages of Collapse. This one has taken me a very long time to get through, but I'm learning a lot.

Go, Janet, GO!

Done!

CONGRATULATIONS!