Tess's 2014 Root Reads

This will clear off one entire shelf of a bookcase!

Happy Reading, Tess and welcome to the club.

1. The Last Wife of Henry VIII by Carolly Erickson FINISHED
2. Born to Rule: Five Reigning Consorts, Granddaughters of Queen Victoria by Julia P. GelardiGAVE UP OUT OF HOUSE!
3. The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett FINISHED
4. Dreamers by Angela Elwell Hunt
5. The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman FINISHED
6. "Why Won't You Just Tell Us the Answer?": Teaching Historical Thinking in Grades 7-12 by Bruce A. Lesh FINISHED!
7. After the Fire by Belva Plain FINISHED
8. Social Studies That Sticks: How to Bring Content and Concepts to Life by Laurel Schmidt
9. Queen Victoria by Lytton Strachey FINISHED!
10. Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever FINISHED
11.War of the Worlds FINISHED
12. The Ming Story Tellers FINISHED FINISHED
13. The Hundred Foot Journey FINISHED
14. Across the Blue Pacific by Andrew Parker FINISHED
15. Anne of Cleves: Henry's Luckiest Wife by D. Lawrence-Young. FINISHED
16. Catherine Howard: Henry's Fifth Failure FINISHED

Most of these books have been on my shelf for 5+ years. Most are off-sized/big/bulky. I don't read my books near as much since I got my Kindle-which I've been reading almost exclusively. This year I will try to clear one entire shelf.

Thanks, Connie. This is a much needed "club" for me!

Welcome! I'll be interested to hear what you think of The Man Who Loved Books Too Much.

I'm putting off going to the movie........have to read the book first!

Happy New Year Tess and good luck with your challenge.

Thanks, rain and back atcha!

Hi Tess. How is it going reading the 'big bulkies'? I am approaching the end of a 400 page book, which is about as big and bulky as I, personally, get. I hope you're enjoying yours. :)

Hi Merryann....I'm finding it difficult...and I know it's the bulkiness. My books do have a lot of pages, but more than that, they are off-sized....bigger than the average book....that's why they are all on a shelf by themselves. I have started Queen Victoria and must say I do like it. This particular biography is written like a narrative; so it's not so dry. Also, I read a lot on my Kindle after I go to bed, with the lights out....and now I can't do that because I need a light for real books. I bought one of those $10 lights you attach to a book for bed reading, but again.....I much prefer my Kindle, and I never thought I'd say that! I prefer my Kindle for reading only, but like the real books on the shelf, to flip through, to admire, to read in the daytime. Odd, eh?

I agree, Tess, that's what surprised me too. I did not want to get a reader, I wanted the real thing. But a year ago I bought a Kobo Glo and things are now so much easier. Reading in bed is and travelling or going on a holiday is. Not dragging boxes of books to France or a 700 page book in your handbag is. I never thought I would appreciate my Kobo that much.

I don't suppose you're lucky enough that Queen Victoria is one of the .99 Kindle books, are you? So, you could read the book during the day, and continue on in the Kindle at night?

Not lucky enough, Merryann! The Queen Victoria that I'm presently reading is a large book, about 13 x 18 inches and it isn't even an ebook, yet, if ever. I'm almost finished with it.

Good for you! I hope it's continued to be an enjoyable book to read.

Finished "Why Won't You Just Tell Us the Answer?": Teaching Historical Thinking in Grades 7-12 by Bruce A. Lesh. This is basically the way I teach history anyway, so a lot of it was review and the theory behind why I do what I do. I did get one new idea for Teddy Roosevelt and the Panama Canal, though.

My goal is to finish reading Queen VIctoria TODAY! (Superbowl Sunday!)

Good luck! :)

Yeah, another ROOT down! Very good light biography of Queen Victoria.

Well done!

Started root # 3, The Zookeeper's Wife. It is the story of a husband/wife zookeeper in Warsaw, Poland beginning in 1930. It is now 1939 and the war has devastated the zoo. It is a true story, but told in 3rd person. It is quite good. And to think, it's been on my shelf for years!

That is the beauty of upROOTing, Tess.

It's a snow blizzard here, sub-zero temps. I skipped church today and finished that entire book! Woot!

Good for you! Blizzard!!! Brrr

It's too late now, but for future reference, the Lytton Strachey bio of Queen Victoria is available for free from Project Gutenberg in Kindle and many other ebook formats.

Thanks, Robert! Bought the book 4-5 years ago and it sat on the shelf.....

Project Gutenburg is a good source for ebook versions for anything over 100 years old.

Yes, I have downloaded several books from that site.

Finished The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman. 4 stars. Review written. Now, I must step aside from Rooting for 2-3 weeks and read my birthday book Lincoln: The Assassination that shocked the World and The Hundred Foot Journey this month's selection of my book club. See you in a few!

Finished Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever by Bill O'Reilly. It was a great book! It was not dry and boring history, but told more in a narrative. The first 3rd of the book was Grant and Lee and the surrender at Appomattox. The second 3rd of the book was the assassination conspiracies and plots. The last 3rd was the hunt for Booth and the other conspirators and their fate. I know this book has been criticized by some historians for borrowing from other research and not being "deep" enough; but it was satisfying to me.

Now I am off to read about The Last Wife of Henry VIII. I have read much about him and wives one and two; but not much about the last wife.

Happy Reading, Tess!

Book Exchange: I have 3 really nice books that I would like to exchange! I would be willing to mail one of them to your house if you have one (that you would recommend) that you would mail to me. Let me know if you are interested! I was thinking 1/2 Priced Books, but I'd prefer to make a personal exchange. I think it sounds fun!
Up for Grabs:

1. Killing Lincoln: The Assassination that Changed America Forever by Bill O'Reilly

2. The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman

3. Don Quixote: Man of La Mancha

Let me know if you are interested in any of the three!

It's always exciting to choose the next reads! My next Kindle read will be The Hundred Foot Journey, which is our teacher's book club read for June and for a hardcopy book I will tackle Born to Rule: Five Reigning Consorts, Granddaughters of Queen Victoria. The root challenge really has me going! If I would have known it was going to motivate me this much, I would have probably chosen more roots!

Great work! You can always increase your goal later if you want, or donate extra ROOTS to the group total (which is what I end up doing).

>36 rabbitprincess: And I do the same thing. There are always people who sign in to the challenge and never are seen again. So we, the readers who read more ROOTs, have to step into the gap!

How is the reading going recently, Tess?

Going well, Jackie, thanks for asking! I'm more than halfway through and it's only April. My next read will be long and laboring though, so I will be slowing down a bit. Will be reading Born to Rule: Five Reigning Consorts, Granddaughters of Queen Victoria by Julia P. Gelardi. A little heavy on the history and historiography, but I'm such a big fan of Queen Victoria literature that I almost feel that I must follow her grandchildren. Anyway, several of them spread hemophilia around in the European royal houses, so should be interesting. How goes your reading?

>39 Tess_W: mine's going a bit slowly to be honest, but if I can finish my current book and get through one other by the end of the month, I will be on target still :)

Here are 3 of my bookcases. One is books 100+ years old! One case is double stacked--meaning there is row behind the ones you see. The other is a picture an antique school desk (I am a teacher) with some antique school books. I couldn't figure out how to insert pictures here, so I hope this works! I also have 3 more metal shelves in the basement, where the books are wrapped in plastic seal bags to save from dampness and dirt! Am I a bibliophile?
http://www.librarything.com/gallery/member/tess_i_am48/junkdrawer

Ok, "Failure!" I have read 33 pages of Born to Rule: Five Reigning Consorts, Granddaughters of Queen Victoria and I'm so very confused. There are 5 granddaughters, 10 parents, and assorted royal grandmothers and aunts and second cousins, all with names that really sound and look alike. I can't keep the characters straight. If the author had perhaps done one chapter per granddaughter and moved to the next, it might have been readable. I'm still going to count it as a root, because I tried and it will be leaving my home!

I always need a family tree to follow that sort of thing.

Yes, family trees are essential for this sort of book, especially because these royals always have the same names. Does the book not provide one?

I did not see one, but that is a great idea! If it doesn't, then I will look online.....I know the lineage back to Queen Victoria, but it's everybody else! I will have to grab it out of the donate pile tonight.

>41 Tess_W:, Beautiful bookshelves. I love that desk! I can practically see a little boy leaning forward to yank the braid of the little girl in front of him. :)

#46-Merryann-The school desk has a special place in my heart. Firstly, I sat at one just like when I went to school, as did my both parents. In fact, we went to the same elementary school and had the same 1st grade teacher. My mother and father who both had last names that started with "W", sat one in front of the other. My mother said my father pulled on her braids all the time and stuck the end of her into his inkwell. This desk came from an auction of that very same school just before they tore it down.

That's really a desk with lots of memories, Tess. I really love that.

That's a wonderful story to have, to go with that lovely desk!

Really like the book The Man Who loved Books Too Much. This book was evenly balanced between the good guys and the bad guys. Good "reporting". A very easy read.

Just finished Catherine Howard: Henry's Fifth Failure. It was a good, easy read. Now I have completed an individual read on all of Henry's six wives. I can leave Tudor England. For my next read I'm going to tacker Dreamers which is the fictionalized story of Biblical Joseph in Egypt. This is a paperback book (non ereader), so will take longer! Since I'm so used to my Kindle, it is difficult to adjust to paper and print, but I force myself to go back and forth.

Finished #13 today: Dreamers by Angela Elwell Hunt. I got this book for just a dime in a pile of books that were labled "seconds." It is historical fiction, my favorite genre, so thought I would give it a try. It is the story of the Biblical Joseph, Potiphar, and Potiphar's wife. The part about Joseph and the Egypt's famine is true to the time period. I was exceptionally surprised at the accuracy of the Thutmosis' and Amenhotep's reigns. This was an easy, excellent read!

And you paid just 10 cents for it? Wow.

Went crazy on Amazon-Kindle! All of their H.G Welles books are free....d/l about 5 of them, although 2 are short stories! These won't get added to my TBR challenge until next year!

Finished After the Fire by Belva Plain. Normally,I don't read books such as this, but my friend insisted that was a great book. I was thinking this was strictly romance, but it did explore the loss of a familar life, children, etc. It was a good break from my usual.

@54 planning ahead :-)

Free e-book at Project Gutenberg----The Burning Secret by Stefan Zweig

Oh, Zweig is wonderful! Thanks for this--off to download.

I read today, but for the life of me, I can't remember where...it will probably come to me in about 3 1/2 weeks!: People seem to be reading more with ereaders, but the pleasure is not as great as will a real book. I'm mulling this, and I'm close to saying I agree, but I'm not ready to go that far yet. I will have to "observe" more!

I love my reader, but I love my books too. I never thought I would own a reader, but in January 2013 I bought a Kobo Glo. And I take it with me every where I go. It keeps my books out of danger of being damaged. And I think it's really great for reading in bed.

For me, living abroad, the Kobo Glo and the Google books and Kindle apps on my tablet give me access to so many books I just wouldn't be able to get here. Plus if I've got a lot to carry or am travelling, it's so much easier to bring along than books.

I'm always carrying some paper books while travelling too. My Kobo Glo gave up on me in the middle of my holiday in Turkey. I was very happy I had 2 books along just to be safe.

Yes, always carry one paperback book in case the Kindle goes out!

Fortunately, I can charge my Kobo Glo from the same charger as my phone uses. I also have Google Books, Kindle and Kobo apps on my tablet.

All my goodness in not bringing home masses of books was undone this weekend. I helped my friend pack up her grandfather's house...........so many books.........my friend doesn't read. It took me 3 hours to pick out 2 boxes of books that appealed to me....they are mostly from the 1960's and 1970's, some titles are recognizable, some aren't. Sighhhhhhhhhhhh, I'm ready to start Roots 2015! Some of my titles:
The Princess Priscilla's Fortnight
The Shoes of the Fisherman
Lonely Crusader: The Life of Florence Nightingale 1820-1910
The Wild Grapes
The Moonflower Vine
The Artist

And about 30 others!

>65 Tess_W: Well, at least your new acquisitions didn't involve you spending money. You have listed some interesting titles and I am sure there are many more in the boxes.

Sounds like a lovely afternoon and a nice haul! Those books will be happy to have a new home with you. And hey, never too early to start thinking about next year ;)

I did not put the original 5 Little House on the Prairie books on my ROOTS14, but I should have. I have not read them for 50 year and the re-reads are so wonderful! I can finish each one in 2-4 hours, or an afternoon sitting, and they are so pleasant. Am just going to "donate" those as roots to the group!

>64 Robertgreaves: It wasn't a charger problem. It just went black and it eat all my books on it when I got it back to work again using the wifi in the resort. Nothing on it any more. So I'm thinking about getting a SD card to put some books on to carry along on vacation.

I will definitely be on board for the 2015 ROOTs!

That is scary. I hope you managed to re-stock it when you got home.

Oh my....passed a garage sale and on tables were piles of books.....I never go to garage sales ever....but books? So I turned around, parked and went to browse. The books, by the 100's, were the Reader's Digest Condensed Books. I read them as a teen, because my mother belonged to the club. I remember them fondly. I know they are not supposed to be great pieces of literature, because they are condensed....but still...for 10 cents each! I brought home 10 of them! I will probably pick and choose what I read, but in reality, I got 70 condensed books for a buck! I never will forget that I read The Scarlet Pimpernel through one of these books and that prompted me to get the "real" "entire" version. As a teenager though, I couldn't much tell the difference between the two. !

Extra's that were not on my TBR pile, that I will "donate" to the group:

Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder FINISHED
Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder FINISHED
The Mill River Recluse bu Darcie Chan FINISHED
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak FINISHED

Well, after 16 months of 'no buys', I"m regressing fast! Firstly, the garage sale. Then I came across Holocaust survivor books. I teach a course on the Holocaust.....there were some great buys, for $2. A teacher should add to her library, shouldn't she?

My Mother's Secret by J.l. Witterick is a bestseller about a family that rescued Jews and an escaping German soldier.

Dancing With the Enemy by Paul Glaser tells the story of his mother who danced her way to survival by teaching the SS how to dance at Auschwitz. Out of 1200 who arrived with her at Auschwitz, only 8 lived.

Hi Tess, I feel with you on the book buying thing. I had lots of good intentions! but they went up in smoke!

I just finished another new purchase, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. It was so-so. I have reviewed and added to my ticker.

Stayed up all night to finish Shutter Island, 6 hours of my time I can never get back. What a stinky book!

Through the Postern Gate by Florence L. Barclay is a novella about English manners and how in the end, they are a bunch of hogwash. It was a free book, but still, I wouldn't necessarily waste my time on it.

Off for a vacation to Charleston, SC and Savannah, Ga. Lots of sight seeing. I doubt I will get much reading done at all! See you in July!

Have a nice trip!

Enjoy your holiday, Tess.

Thanks so much! While in Charleston I went to Fort Sumter and visited the U.S.S. Yorktown--WOW, that ship is amazing. I spent 4 hours roaming the 3 levels. Also spent time walking through some beautiful magnolia gardens and gazing at some antebellum mansions. And of course, plenty of seafood for the landlocked lady! Then we traveled to Savannah where we took a buggy ride around the city. We also went down to the river. At midnight we took at Ghosts/Goblins of Savannah tour--it was 'amusing', meaning I'm glad I went, but wouldn't go again. While I enjoyed vacation, glad to be back in my own bed . I got ZERO reading down this past week.

Just finished The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. In general, I'm not a fan of time travel. I only read this book because someone gave it to me. However, I must say this was done well. It is a love story, a modern-day fairy tale. It was a very few times confusing, especially when the time traveler would have 2 personas on earth at the same time, or would come back before the time he left!

I *loved* Time Traveler's Wife - in fact I'd say it's up there in my top 5 books ever. One of the few books that actually made me cry (and not just sniffle - proper bawling!).

#83--Jackie, I literally sobbed near the end, also!

>83 Jackie_K: I did love that book too!

Bought and finished The Fast metabolism Diet Cookbook by Haylie Pomroy. Going to follow the diet to a T for 28 days, says I will lose 20 lbs. This is a toughie for me because no pastas, noodles, dairy, wheat! But I know those things are what is keeping me from losing weight. So I embark on Monday, following my family reunion on Sunday.

All of a sudden, I don't feel like reading...haven't felt that way for 3-4 days and I'm home all day/night long. What's up?????????

Just finished Great Tales from English History (Book 2): Joan of Arc, the Princes in the Tower, Bloody Mary, Oliver Cromwell, Sir Isaac Newton, and More by Robert Lacey. This was a quick read, for history. Nothing new, this would be a great first book or overview of English history from about 1400-1650. If you've already studied this period, this will lack depth.

Just finished Kindred by Octavia E. Butler, a time traveler/historical fiction. Better than I thought it would be. Reviewed. Going to read Bill O'Reilly's Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot next!

Finished Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot by Bill O'Reilly. This is simply one of the best books I have ever read! Reviewed. Now off to read one of by ER books!

I'm in a Kennedy mood lately...just finished Mrs. Kennedy and Me a recounting of his years as Jackie's secret service agent. It was a quick, easy read. Reviewed. Now, I'm off to read Closed Case: Lee Harvey Oswald and the Assassination of JFK, to get the tail end of the story!

>89 Tess_W:: I read Kindred for my Feminist Literature class a few years ago and I really enjoyed it. Such a harrowing story!

Just finished re-reading Little House on the Prairie, still good after 49+ years! Will go to book #4 in the series, now.

Now that beats my 30 something year ROOTS for sure!

Case Closed: Lee Harvey Oswald and the Assassination of JFK by Gerald Posner

I went looking for a conspiracy theory....................

I can definitely now see why there is so much confusion regarding JFK's assassination viz a vis The Warren Commission Study and the House Select Committee on Assassination's Report. Firstly, most of the major players lived in a bizarre world where lying was a way of life as well drinking. Seventy-five percent of key players came from abusive homes or were domestic abusers themselves. Over 50% of the key players had documented psychiatric problems. Both Oswald and Ruby had documented violent tempers. Ruby, in fact, acted as a bouncer often at his own clubs, because he liked to brawl and those he threw out were often beaten so badly an ambulance had to be called. Sadly, Marina Oswald was the most sane of the lot. Both Oswald and Ruby were hero wannabes. The craved and sought the limelight. Oswald was so delusional that even the KGB wanted him out of Russia. They were afraid he was going to do something stupid and draw international attention to them. Oswald's visa to Cuba was denied as the Russians advised the Cubans that he was a troublemaker. Oswald loved Fidel Castro and hated JFK after the Bay of Pigs Invasion. Oswald was a crack marksman. Oswald just happened to be in the right place at the right time. To think Oswald was part of a conspiracy is very far-fetched. It would have to involve others who all acted in accordance with prescribed actions even before they knew Kennedy was coming to Dallas; not likely. (beginning with a dishonorable discharge from the Marines in 1959 to his being hired at the Texas School Book Depository) As to Ruby, he would have been involved in organized crime, IF they had permitted him! In fact, he had called a crime family to come help him out in his nightclubs, but they had refused. Ruby was friendly with the Dallas police, they frequented his establishment and several policemen had girlfriends who danced at the Carousel. Ruby often took sandwiches and drinks to the police station and newspaper offices. On the day of Oswald's killing, Ruby, who always carried a gun, did not intend to kill Oswald. I draw this conclusion from the fact that he took one of his beloved dogs with him to the police station and left the dog in the car. He would not have left the dog in the hot car for more than 5 minutes. Ruby only fed his dogs fresh ground meat and took them to the vets every 2 weeks for shampoos and grooming. To me, that says that he did not plan on being in the police station for a long period of time. What was he doing at the police station anyway? He was just next door at Western Union, sending some money to one of his dancing girls. He had closed his clubs for 3 days out of respect for JFK and this dancer complained she did not have rent or grocery money so Ruby, who was very generous by anyone’s standards, wired the money to her. He saw all the hub-bub next door and walked over for a look-see. After he shot Oswald, he said that Oswald’s smirk made him go wild. He said he could not let Oswald get away with killing JFK, hurting Mrs. Kennedy and the children. Ruby actually thought he had so much clout and so many people were happy that Oswald was dead, that he was going to walk and be a national hero. This could not have been pre-meditated because the under-sheriff made the decision to move Oswald and it happened within 5 minutes. He set up a decoy car (because they had already gotten many threats on Oswald’s life) to leave where they usually exited the prisoners and he was going to have Oswald go through the basement.
I have studied all the conspiracy theories and there are huge gaps in all of them. There are people who in 1964 told a much different story than in 1966 or 1978. Some stories were diametrically the opposite. In many of the testimonies, witnesses could not identify Oswald from a photograph or said they are sure they saw him with so and so when it was well documented he was in Russia or jail. Some of the theories were:
1) LBJ ---not likely. He didn’t want JFK to come to Texas, his stomping grounds. Throughout it seemed as if LBJ was clueless. It was Bobby Kennedy who insisted that LBJ be sworn into office in Dallas in the plane before it took off for DC. He did not want the country to be without a president.

2) The Mob-they weren’t interested in Ruby. Ruby was seen as a snitch for the cops, and he often did. Now, it’s not to say that the mob did not have a beef with Robert Kennedy. There is just absolutely no evidence that Oswald ever had contact with anyone even remotely connected to the mob.

3) CIA/FBI—why? They in fact had not followed up or watched Oswald closely since he returned from the USSR. The Kennedy’s let J. Edgar Hoover get away with anything he wanted...because he had the goods on them!

4) KGB—they certainly would not have used Oswald

No other theory holds water. There was no 2nd gunman on the grassy knoll! Abraham Zapruder was on the grassy knoll taking a home movie of the Kennedy motorcade. That is the only evidence! He heard shot one coming from the Texas Depository Book Warehouse, looked up and indeed some a lone gunman 6th floor, corner window. Then he heard 2 more shots. All the people who said they saw 2 men or saw a sniper on the grassy knoll were just wrong or making it up. There were 2 men in several of the windows of the Book Warehouse, watching the parade, but on the 6th floor, corner window, there was only one man, Lee Harvey Oswald, Marine sharpshooter, armed with a gun with a scope that when tested by the Army said was accurate up to 500 yards. Oswald was only 200 yards away.

By the way, I wanted to find a conspiracy, but I just couldn’t!

>87 Tess_W:, Well this is what happens when I do keep up on reading threads. Now I'm curious as to how you snapped out of the 'don't feel like reading' thing. Did you just change the types of books you were reading to something new and different? Did you ever figure out what caused it?

Merry Ann:
No idea why I felt like that but it lasted about a week! Picked up right where I lrft off!

Maybe sometimes the brain just needs a bit of rest and down time. :)

Ok, only took about 10 tries but I think I have the hang of posting pics!

Love the picture!

Wow! I'm glad you persisted. That's an awesome picture! I know exactly what I'm going to say next time someone gives me the 'Have you read all of your books?' line, now. :)

I forgot to ask: is the person in the picture related to the quote?

#105--no idea, Miss! I found the picture on Pinterest.

#104-It's the truth, Merry Ann! For bibliophiles or book hoarders, it's the truth!

The Cobra Event by Richard Preston told the very plausible story about a biological disease weapon being released by a terrorist. It went into detail about the disease (very interesting) and the inner workings of the FBI (not so interesting). I had previously read his book, The Hot Zone, which was a true story about the Ebola Virus. I preferred that book to this one. 3 Stars Reviewed.

My first Kay Scarpetta novel. So-so. This mystery took place across the ocean between Charleston and Rome. Lots of characters and names that were too close, such as Dr. Maroni and Dr. Marino. Why? The story is choppy and new characters are mentioned, but don't really play a major part in moving the story along. There are also many acronyms which the readers are unaware, most dealing with govt. agencies and medical organizations, I believe. This is book #15. I would have to think books 1-14 would be better, because this book will be the first and last Kay Scarpetta I'm reading. 3 stars, reviewed.

Hi Tess, just stopping by and saying hello.

I love the picture! Or rather the quote ;-))

#110-Thanks, Connie. Good to have you "back"!



My 32nd root of this year is The Midwife of Hope River. This is a novel which begins in the 1920's and goes into the Great Depression. It is the story of a young woman, who, through a set of circumstances, loses her husband and then miscarries their child. She ends up being a wet nurse and when she loses that job she flees and takes refuge with a midwife, who becomes her mentor. Eventually, Patience inherits the "job" upon the death of her mentor. This book is about the trials, tribulations, and triumphs. I liked this book because of its broad spectrum. The setting is a small mining town in Appalachian West Virginia. Included in this tale are the struggle of the unions, the hardships of coal mining towns, the KKK, and yes, a bit of romance. Very enjoyable and informative. 5 Stars. Reviewed.

New here so I'm going back to the beginning of your thread ....

I am not a fan of Bill O'Reilly's but Killing Lincoln was on my son's summer reading for his AP lit class so we checked it out at the library. My insatiable inner history nerd wants to read it, regardless of how "deep" it is or who wrote it! Also, my inner history nerd is a bit envious of your trip to Ft. Sumter.

I had forgotten all about Mrs. Kennedy and Me. It was on my WL for quite a while.

Have never read any Little House on the Prairie books, but always loved the TV series.

>101 Tess_W: Haha! I would never be able to figure out how to do much on my computer except for the saving grace that I have tech support, i.e. teenagers!!!!

#112-Thanks for stopping by, avidmom! I visit and read all those "nerdy" history things because I'm a high school history teacher!

This novel takes place in the antebellum south. It is told through the eyes of 3 individuals: Sarah, mulatto child of the master and Emmaline, the kitchen slave, Theodora, the master's wife, and Clarissa, the master and his wife's daughter. It is your typical slavery fair...human beings beat, bought and sold. This book is pretty predictable, except for the last 2 pages, which contains 2 zingers. Actually, most of the book is not about The Wedding Gift! 3 stars, reviewed.

Feeling a bit deepressed...today (Monday) I must start preparing for going back to school. I report next Monday. I LOVE my job, but I hate getting up and getting dressed at 5:30 AM. In the summer, I stay up will 3AM and sleep till noon. I am not a morning person! During the summer I read in the afternoon at the pool or on the deck. I read in the evening because I do not watch TV, for the most part. After this week, my reading time will be from 8:30 pm till I fall asleep, sometimes 9PM! Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

I feel your pain! School starts tomorrow here. My oldest will start his senior year at a new high school (his choice). Over the last few years, he's gone to a charter school just a few blocks away so he walked. But now I gotta get up early and play taxi. *sigh*

I report for my district job (I'm a teaching assistant/tutor) a few weeks from now too.
Summer is over.
*double sigh*

Finished book 4 of my Laura Ingalls Wilders re-read of 50+ years, On the Banks of Plum Creek. As good as I remembered it!

Is your first day of school with the students today? Hope you had a good day!

I am also a high school teacher (physics) and we go back on Sept 2, but the students don't come until the 4th, so we can ease back into routine. First two days we wouldn't be dressed up, and we definitely eat out. I commiserate with your change in hours. I am also a night owl, sleep in person, and spend quite a while getting adjusted, but I never can get to bed early.

I hope your first few days back at school went well, Tess. I must admit I really admire teachers, it's a job I know for sure I could never do! People often complain that teachers have such long holidays, but I think they deserve twice as many!

#118, 119

Thanks ladies! My first day back was Wed., Aug 20th. Needless to say I'm exhausted. I'm a night owl by nature. I stay up till about 2-3 AM in the summer and sleep till 10-11ish. Then come the 3rd week of August, I must get up 5:30 AM and my body, every single muscle is screaming no, no no! I've been getting up (with a headache), going to work, coming home and literally crashing, barely moving till bedtime. I'm sure I will adjust in the next 2-3 weeks. Of course, I'm too tired to read, so hopefully, that ability will return in the next 2-3 weeks, also!

>120 Tess_W: I was surprised to hear that you were back a school already. School years around here don't start until after Labour Day. This year will probably be even later as the teachers are still on strike.

Here (Scotland) the schools mostly went back last week, but we finish here for the school summer holiday in mid-June. In the rest of the UK they tend to finish end of June/start of July and then go back the first week of September.

Our last day will be May 31. So we get out fairly early, it's the reward for starting early!

Sigh.....I've really been doing well not purchasing books since I started this group, but I fell off the wagon! In the last week I picked up:


AND
musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain
Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger
Someone at a Distance
Midwives
Devil in the White City
Tulip Fever
Sapphire and Shadow
In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin

In addition, I purchased the following DVD's (all used):
Clint Eastwood's 70's thriller: Play Misty for Me
Robin Williams in Mrs. Doubtfire
84 Charing Cross with Anne Bancroft and Antony Hopkins.

I guess I'm settled in for a long winter!

Hi Tess - Since you were kind enough to stop over and visit my thread, I thought I'd return the favor. I posted another comment about Tulip Fever for you when you get a minute to visit. I see some interesting books you've read. How did you like The Hundred Foot Journey? My girlfriend and I went to see it a week or so ago and I was thinking I'd see if I could grab the book from the library if they have it.

> 124 We watched "Mrs. Doubtfire" the Friday after Williams's death. Love that movie!

Hi Tess! Just checking in; hope all is well!

A book for children in grades 2-5. The story was interesting and the artwork was amazing! I will be wrapping this one and it will go to a reading grandchild for Christmas or birthday, whichever comes first!

Hi Tess, I made it to your Thread! I hope the adjusting to the new waking hours did go well. I'm a night person myself but only in a moderate way. Reading till 1 - 2 AM is my thing. And I have to get up early since school started too. But not THAT early: my alarm clock is set for 7.15 AM.

Freckles by Gene Stratton-Porter is the coming of age story about and abandoned orphan at the turn of the century. This is a very short novel and that is good because it is mind-numbing boring! The book moves at such a slow pace that several times I was tempted to pitch it. 2 stars

Hi Connie, Karen!

The garden harvest is upon me and between that and going back to school, no time for reading! Today I shucked and cut and froze 10 lbs. of sweet corn, (10 lbs. AFTER cutting it of the cob) and 5 gallons of tomato juice. I made chili with some of the tomatoes.

I've been having that same problem myself. Although I didn't go back to school:). Not sure how many ears 10 lbs is but I did 60 ears a couple of weeks ago for the freezer and then did 20 more to do corn relish. Every couple of days I do a bucket of tomatoes through my juicer to freeze since I have enough soup left from last year. I'm almost glad the season is coming to an end. Tomorrow I have grape jelly to do.

Well 48 ears netted five 2lb. freezer bags of corn. Good luck with the jelly! I did black raspberry jam earlier about the first of august and it is so good!

I know - I always think that I'll have plenty of time in the summer to sit on the deck and read, but that's not usually the way it works out. I did both strawberry and blueberry jams earlier this year from berries I picked at a local "pick your own" place.

I'm just really so tired! I need to get adjusted to getting up at 5:30...I can't seem to shake it. I'm so tired that after dinner I just fall asleep before reading even 2 pages! I haven't read anything substantial for 4 weeks!

The first month of school is a doozie. I've been trying to read at night as well, and two pages is probably my limit as well.

>137 Tess_W: I LOVE that poem!!!! Thanks for sharing.

>138 avidmom: Me too!

>137 Tess_W: What a great poem!

That's a great poem. I love Julia Donaldson (and having a baby means I now have the excuse to get lots of her books). The Gruffalo of course, but she's written so very many wonderful kids books, and I'm sure must be responsible for a whole new generation of book-lovers.

Finally, after 7 weeks, I have made the adjustment from summer schedule to school schedule. I can now relax and "read." I am re-reading one of my very favorite books The Gift Upon the Shore, a beautifully written and detailed novel about the post-apocalyptic age. I read it 4 years ago and it is the book of the month for my book club in December. I love the use of beautiful words, which one doesn't find much anymore, and also the famous quotes that begin each chapter.

>142 Tess_W: Yay for feeling back to normal! Hope you get to enjoy lots of fabulous reading.

I love the poem and 'stole' it to put on my Dutch book-club forum.

I'm glad you are feeling better, Tess! Happy reading.

Finished the reread of The Gift Upon the Shore and again, it was one of my top five books ever read. I now need to move off to one of my ER books (paper book) and will search out my Kindle for my next e-book read.

Hi tess
am here to just cheer you on. You are doing so well!
Also loved the poem and the quote at the beginning!

Happy reading

Tess, congratulations on doubling your goal!

Thank you both! This is my first time joining the group. I didn't know how fast/slow I would read, so my goal was off quite a bit. I will know better next year how to set a more realistic number.

You'll get the hang of it. The first year I did it, I came up short. Last year I went over and my goal was the same. This year I lowered my goal a little because I wanted to fit in more library books to fill in series, etc. I'm over by a couple already so will be over this year too.

I'm thinking of putting A Gift Upon the Shore as a potential read for the SFFF CAT next year. I know little about science fiction, etc so a recommendation this good helps me out. I'm going to go look and see if the library has it as an ebook and put it on my list.

It's not really heavy sci-fi. In fact, I'm surprised it categorized as that. It's more of a regular novel that takes place during a post-nuclear attack. The focus is not on the attack, but on the relationships people have and how they have to get along during this time period. It's a great book and it is my bookclub's read this month.

Oh - ok. I was looking at the tags the book had and it had "science fiction", "distopia", but that's ok - it still sounds like a good book. A book bullet for me.

I've read all of O'Reilly's books and this one did not disappoint!

I'm thinking of getting this for my husband for Christmas this year. I always get him a book and I think he'd like this one.

Oh oh....my friend brought over a box o books! I gleaned and took 7 and asked her to take the rest to Goodwill or Salvation Army! I netted the following (like an early Christmas!)
The Novel by James Michener one of my favorite authors (I see the touchstones not working)
Brooklyn A Novel by Colm Toibin
Watchers by Dean Koontz
New York The Novel by Edward Rutherfurd
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut...I can't believe I still haven't read this!
Six Years by Harlan Coben
Drowning Ruth by Christina Schwarz....leery of this one as it's Oprah's Bookclub...I usually run away screaming from those books!

I received this book as an early review book I requested in July but received in late August or early September, just about time school started. I have finally found the time to read and review it. This was an excellent book! The story of 2 individuals who have life changing situations to cope with.

Don't know why I can't get this image smaller!

>154 Tess_W: Nice haul there, Tess!

Very slow going..........every now and then I lose my desire/will/gumption to read. I haven't read for 4-5 days. I'm willing myself to get back to it!

Ok, my love for reading is back! Every now and then I need to take a 3-4 day break! I'm going to bed now with The Piano Tuner.

>158 Tess_W: That last sentence can be read in more than one way! Glad to hear your love for reading is back.

<159 I always "shock" people by saying that I'm going to bed with whomever I'm reading about at the moment (Patton, Jay Gatsby, Franz Stangel, etc.)!

Going to be a "bad" day for me tomorrow, book wise! I've volunteered at our school library fund raiser at Barnes and Noble. Teacher's discount is 25% tomorrow!

>161 Tess_W: They probably count on volunteers like you to increase the funds raised!

I was a bad girl today, but I expected such! After my 20% teachers discount and 15% discount for working today and aa $50 BN gift certificate (which I've had for over a year) I ended up with 5 books for myself, 1 for a girlfriend, and 2 for my granddaughter for only $31! That's pretty good for all new books, something which I seldom buy.

I netted the following reads:
Tumbleweeds
Miss Julia to the Rescue
The Night Circus
Longbourn
The Sociopath Next Door

I will be placing them on my 2015 TBR list!

That's not so bad. My girlfriend has invited me to a book sale next weekend. I only hope I could leave with just 5 books. I think I'll make a list of books I'm looking for and try to stick to just those. Yeah - right - like that will happen!

Yeah, Het nachtcircus!!! Such a beautiful book. Enjoy. And don't feel bad about buying books!

>165 connie53: I feel bad that I'm defeating my purpose to dwindle my TBR! I have over 300 books that need to be read, now 305!

Read 2 books quickly, because I'm giving them to my grandchildren for Christmas and they have beautiful illustrations! They being The Wolf Girls by Jane Yolen and The Mary Celeste also by Jane Yolen. These were both history mysteries. Good for ages 8-10.

Hi Tess, I know that you like history and think that you will appreciate this site that I ran across the other day http://canadianmysteries.ca/en/index.php. It is an evolving site that will be covering the loss of the Franklin Expedition starting in June. I had a look at the coverage on the death of Tom Thomson and it is extensive - I have been researching information on this family for years and they have information on the site that I haven't seen before.

>168 Familyhistorian:, Hi familyhistorian! That site you recommended looks fabulous! I have bookmarked it!

>169 Tess_W: I got lost in there for hours looking at all the documents in the Tom Thomson mystery.

I have to hurry up and finish my last 2 roots from 2014! Lots to go, unmotivated!

Only two more! You can do this!

A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, Tess!

The Piano Tuner by Daniel Mason was a real snoozer. It had potential, but it was never realized. The setting is imperial Britain. A "rebel' British officer/doctor orders a famous French piano, the Erad, sent to him at his remote location outside Burma. The British send him the piano. Then several months later he demands a piano tuner. They also locate one and send him to this remote location. Supposedly this Dr. is a traitor and the British are trying to catch everybody connected to him in a trap, although we don't find this out to the end. Had we found this out sooner, maybe the plot would not have seemed so outrageous.

Hope you're having a great Christmas and New Year, Tess.

>175 Robertgreaves:, Ty Robert, back atcha!

This book was hyped like crazy. I know that most middle schools use it in literature class. I really tried to find some redeeming value, but I couldn't! 2 stars

Boy, a $50 B&N gift certificate goes far with a 25% off one item and a 10% teachers discount at the $1.99-2.99 table! I've fallen off the wagon---16 books!

Yee haw! Sounds like a great haul! :)

My last root read of 2014 was so dismal that I'm giving it up 50% through. Since I teach the Holocaust I thought this would be a great read about Franz Stangl, the Commandant of Treblinka. However, most of the book is not about Stangl, but short snippets of "remembrances" were from various people. I started jotting down names/relationships, but it became tedious every other paragraph. I quit at page 175/306 and I still don't know much more about Stangl than when I started. Glad my school paid for this book as it was a consideration for the class I teach.
2 stars

bad luck that you had it for your last one. Ah well, new beginnings...

Your last two ROOTs didn't sound like they grabbed you at all. I hope that your ROOTs of 2015 are better. Don't feel bad about the 16 books - I ended up with 18 for December and I wasn't on the wagon for any time in 2014 as my acquisition ticker shows.

Your latest acquisitions make me feel slightly less guilty, if that's any consolation!

Boy, my last 3 roots have been stinkers! The entire year was excellent reading till the last week of December!



This book was so bad that could not even figure if there was indeed a plot. I must say I only read 25% of the book, because my life on earth is too short to waste any more time on this drivel. The book is a series of letters from a young girl to her father about random topics. The girl has a brain disease for which she needs surgery. Glad I got this for free from Amazon. In this case, I did get what I paid for!

Stinker #4, another "freebie" from Kindle. I only read about 15 minutes of the book (and only 30 mins left to go!) and the language was foul and crude, when not necessary. I could write this crap with my eyes closed. What a waste of 15 minutes!