Dudes22 Sews Up Her 2014 Reading - Part 3

Welcome to part 3 of my 2014 reading and quilting challenge. I've been having a good year so far.
My goal is 7 books in each of 14 categories based on quilting blocks and making one block each month to have a quilt done at the end of the year.

Category 1: 7 of 7 read - Log Cabin - COMPLETED
Category 2: 7 of 7 read - Chimneys & Cornerstones - COMPLETED
Category 3: 7 of 7 read - Pineapple - COMPLETED
Category 4: 8 of 7 read - Bow Tie - COMPLETED
Category 5: 8 of 7 read - Sunbonnet Sue - COMPLETED
Category 6: 7 of 7 read - New York Beauty - COMPLETED
Category 7: 7 of 7 read - Dutchman's Puzzle - COMPLETED
Category 8: 7 of 7 read - Mariner's Compass - COMPLETED
Category 9: 7 of 7 read - Bear Tracks -COMPLETED
Category 10: 7 of 7 read - Nine Patch - COMPLETED
Category 11: 7 of 7 read - Weathervane - COMPLETED
Category 12: 7 of 7 read - Grandmother's Flower Garden COMPLETED
Category 13: 7 of 7 read - Woven Ribbons - COMPLETED
Category 14: 7 of 7 read - Tic Tac Toe -COMPLETED

Paper: 68
E-Book: 9
Library: 12
Overdrive: 11

Pre-2014: 68
2014: 9
Library: 23
Pearl Ruled: 2

MYSTERY CAT:
Jan - (detective) Butcher's Hill by Laura Lippman
Feb - (series) Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich
Mar - (YA) - The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart
Apr - (Nordic) - The Bat by Jo Nesbo
May - (Golden Age) - Whose Body? by Dorothy Sayers
Jun - (Police Procedural) - Heat Wave - Richard Castle
The Delicate Storm by Giles Blunt
Jul - (Noir) - Dying Light by Stuart MacBride
Aug - (British) - Mr Churchill's Secretary by Susan Elia MacNeal
Sep - (Book Themed) - Booked to Die by John Dunning
A Killer Plot by Ellery Adams
If Books Could Kill by Kate Carlisle
Oct - (Global) -The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill
Thirty-Three Teeth by Colin Cotterill
Nov - (Historical) - A Stranger in Mayfair by Charles Finch
Dec - (Cozy) - Rueful Death by Susan Wittig Albert

GEO CAT:
Jan
Feb - The Pyramid by Ismail Kadare
Mar - In the Time of Butterflies by Julia Alvarez
Apr - Briar Rose by Jane Youlden
May - The Damascened Blade by Barbara Cleverly
A Time to Dance by Padma Venkatraman
Jun - Breadfruit by Celestine Vaite
The Secret Life of Lobsters by Trevor Corson
Jul
Aug - An Irish Country Village by Patrick Taylor
Sep - The Red Thread by Ann Hood
Oct - The Seamstress by Frances de Pontes Peebles
Nov - The Secret River by Kate Grenville
Dec - The Headhunter's Daughter by Tamar Myers

RANDOM CAT:
Jan - Climbing the Stairs by Padma Venkatraman - book with doorway/arch
Feb - children's literature
Mar - Home Safe by Elizabeth Berg - book w/bird on cover
Apr - poetry
May - Traveling With Pomegranates by Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor - mother/daughter theme
Jun - The Perfect Scent by Chandler Burr - roses
Jul - The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett - books about books
- Bookscout by John Dunning
- Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley
Aug - Village School by Miss Read - back to school
Sep - The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley - Toronto Film Festival
Oct - The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill - BBs from LT - DeltaQueen 2013
Nov - Dark Tide by Stephen Puleo - Mayday!
Dec - An Unfinished Score by Elise Blackwell - childhood wish

Category 1: Log Cabin Block – This block is representative of the home. I read somewhere that a red square was placed in the center to represent the hearth which was often the center of the home. Books chosen for this category will have titles that are family oriented – mother, father, sister, aunt, home, family, etc.

1. Home Safe by Elizabeth Berg (finished 3/14, TBR)
2. Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult (finished 4/14, TBR)
3. Back Home Again by Melody Carlson (finished 5/14; TBR)
4. Between Sisters by Kristin Hannah (finished 6/14; TBR)
5. Heart of My Sister by Chitra Divakaruni (finished 9/14; TBR)
6. The Mother-Daughter Book Club by Heather Vogel Frederick (finished 10/14; TBR)
7. The Headhunter's Daughter by Tamar Myers (finished 12/14; TBR)

Category 2: Chimneys and Cornerstones - This is a variation on the log cabin block. Since chimneys and cornerstones are tactile/actual things, I’ll be using this for non-fiction books.

1. Shelf Life by Suzanne Strempek Shea (finished 1/14; library)
2. Rural Free by Rachel Peden (finished 5/14; library)
3. The Secret Life of Lobsters by Trevor Corson (finished 6/14; TBR)
4. The Perfect Scent by Chandler Burr (finished 6/14; TBR)
5. The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison. Hoover Bartlett (finished 7/14; TBR)
6. A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson (finished 9/14; TBR)
7. Dark Tide by Stephen Puleo (finished 11/14; Overdrive)

Potential Reads:

Category 3: Pineapple Block – This is another variation of the log cabin block. The pineapple is a symbol of hospitality and friendliness and nothing's friendlier than food shared. I’ll be using this category for books/titles about food.

1. Butcher's Hill by Laura Lippman (finished 1/14; TBR)
2. Blackberry Winter by Sarah Jio (finished 3/14, nook)
3. Breadfruit by Celestine Vaite (finished 6/14; TBR)
4. Rosemary Remembered by Susan Wittig Albert (finished 6/14; TBR)
5. Fictitious Dishes by Dinah Fried (finished 7/14; library)
6. The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill (finished 10/14; Overdrive)
7. Rueful Death by Susan Wittig Albert (finished 12/14; Library)

Potential Reads:

Category 4: Bow Tie Block - Since this block looks like a man’s bow tie, I’ll be choosing books by male authors for this category. One of my verrrry open categories.

1. The Pyramid by Ismail Kadare (finished 2/14; TBR)
2. The Wild Girl: The Notebooks of Ned Giles, 1932 by Jim Fergus (finished 3/14; TBR)
3. Bookscout by John Dunning (finished 7/14; Overdrive)
4. Booked to Die by John Dunning (finished 9/14; TBR)
5. The Full Cupboard of Life by Alexander McCall Smith (finished 10/14; TBR)
6. Disco for the Departed by Colin Cotterill (finished 12/14; Overdrive)
7. Marcelo in the Real World by. Francisco X Stork (finished 12/14; Nook)
8. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (finished 12/14; TBR)

Category 5: Sun Bonnet Sue – This category will be used for female authors. My other verrrry open category.

1. Something Old, Something New by Beverly Jenkins (finished 1/14; library)
2. The Shortest Distance Between Two Women by Kris Radish (finished 3/14; TBR)
3. The Damascened Blade by Barbara Cleverly (finished 5/14; TBR)
4. Envious Casca by Georgette Heyer (finished 6/16; Nook)
5. Village School by Miss Read (finished 8/14; TBR)
6. The Secret River by Kate Grenville (finished 11/14; TBR)
7. An Unfinished Score by Elise Blackwell (finished 12/14; TBR)
8. Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult (finished 12/14; TBR)

Category 6: New York Beauty – This is another block which can have many variations and produce many different looks. This category will be for New York authors as I find them using the author profiles in LT. If the profile mentions NY as a residence, that’s good enough for me.

1. Bee Season by Myla Goldberg (finished 4/14; TBR)
2. The Morning Show Murders by Al Roker (finished 4/14; TBR)
3. The Midnight Show Murders by Al Roker (finished 6/14; TBR)
4. The Late Starters Orchestra by Ari L. Goldman (finished 7/14; TBR)
5. Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley (finished 7/14; library)
6. Mr Churchill's Secretary by Susan Elia MacNeal (finished 8/14; Nook)
7. A Stranger in Mayfair by Charles Finch (finished 11/14; IBook)

Category 7: Dutchman’s Puzzle – I’ll be using this category for mysteries.

1. In the Woods by Tana French (finished 2/14; TBR)
2. The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny (finished 3/14; Nook)
3. Whose Body by Dorothy Sayers (finished 5/14; Nook)
4. The Maze by Catherine Coulter (finished 6/14; TBR)
5. Shadows in the Vineyard by Maximillian Potter (finished 8/14; Library)
6. If Books Could Kill by Kate Carlisle (finished 9/14; Overdrive)
7. A Christmas Visitor by Anne Perry (finished 12/14; Library)

Category 8: Mariner’s Compass Block – A mariner’s compass is a navigational aid consisting of a pivoted compass card that rotates so 0 degrees north points toward magnetic north (or so it says in the dictionary if I read it right). I’ll be using this category for books with a place in the title that is not the USA or about traveling.

1. The Kalahari Typing School for Men by Alexander McCall Smith (finished 2/14; TBR)
2. China Trade by S.J. Rozan (finished 4/14; library)
3. Traveling With Pomegranates by Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor (finished 5/14; TBR)
4. An Irish Country Village by Patrick Taylor (finished 8/14; TBR)
5. The Road From Coorain by Jill Ker Cooraon (finished 10/14; TBR)
6. The Piano Shop on the Left Bank by Thad Carhart (finished 11/14; TBR)
7. An Irish Country Christmas by Patrick Taylor (finished 12/14; TBR)

Potential Reads:

Category 9: Bear Tracks – This is supposed to look like a bear paw. I’ll be using this category for books/titles about animals.

1. The Camel Bookmobile by Masha Hamilton (finished 3/14; TBR)
2. In the Time of Butterflies by Julia Alvarez (finished 3/14; TBR)
3. The Bat by Jo Nesbo (finished 4/14; nook)
4. Dog On It by Spencer Quinn (finished 5/14; nook)
5. The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (finished 7/14; library)
6. My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell (finished 9/14; TBR)
7. The Crane Wife by Patrick Ness (finished 11/14; Overdrive)

Potential Reads

Category 10: Nine Patch & Variations – The nine patch block is a simple enough block; in its simplest form it is 3 rows of 3 blocks each but there are many, many variations which can give a quilt many different looks. I’ll be using this category for books with numbers in the title.

1. The Eight by Katherine Neville (finished 2/14, TBR)
2. Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich (finished 3/14; TBR)
3. 7th Heaven by James Patterson (finished 3/14; TBR)
4. Forty Words for Sorrow by Giles Blunt (finished 5/14; TBR)
5. 8th Confession by James Patterson (finished 8/14; TBR)
6. Thirty-Three Teeth by Colin Cotterill (finished 10/14; Overdrive)
7. 1225 Christmas Tree Lane by Debbie Macomber (finished 11/14; TBR)

Category 11: Weathervane Block – I'm going to use this for books with titles that have weather related words in the title (i.e. clouds, sky, rain, etc)

1. In This Rain by S. J. Rozan (finished 3/14, TBR)
2. The Girl Who Remembered Snow by Charles Mathes (finished 3/14; TBR)
3. A Brewing Storm by Richard Castle (finished 4/14; library overdrive)
4. Heat Wave by Richard Castle (finished 6/14; library)
5. The Delicate Storm by Giles Blunt (finished 6/14; library)
6. Dying Light by Stuart MacBride (finished 7/14; TBR)
7. A Raging Storm by Richard Castle (finished 9/14; Overdrive)

Category 12: Grandmother’s Flower Garden – This is made from many hexagons which are supposed to look like flowers. Books with flower words in the titles or about gardens, etc will be put here.

1. Dandelions in a Jelly Jar by Traci DePree (finished 3/14; TBR)
2. Briar Rose by Jan Yolen (finished 4/14, TBR)
3. Alices's Tulips by Sandra Dallas (finished 4/14; TBR)
4. The Darling Dahlias and the Naked Ladies by Susan Wittig Albert (finished 7/14; TBR)
5. Tulip Fever by Deborah Moggach (finished 8/14; TBR)
6. A Killer Plot by Ellery Adams (finished 9/14; TBR)
7. The Darling Dahlias and the Confederate Rose by Susan Wittig Albert (finished 10/14; TBR)

Category 13: Woven Ribbons – I'm going to use this category for books/titles about crafts.

1. The Runaway Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini (finished 2/14; TBR)
2. Quilt As Desired by Arlene Sachitano (finished 4/14; TBR)
3. The Florabama Ladies' Auxiliary and Sewing Circle by Lois Battle (finished 6/14; TBR)
4. Needles and Pearls by Gil McNeil (finished 8/14; TBR)
5. The Red Thread by Ann Hood (finished 9/14; TBR)
6. Knit One, Pearl One by Gil McNeil (finished 10/14; Overdrive)
7. The Seamstress by Frances de Pontes Peebles (finished 10/14; TBR)

Category 14: Tic Tac Toe Block – If you look at this a certain way, you could say this is a variation of a nine-patch block. I’ll be using this category for YA and children’s books.

1. Climbing the Stairs by Padma Venkatraman (finished 1/18; TBR)
2. The Mysterious Benedict Society & the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart (finished 3/14; TBR)
3. A Time to Dance by Padma Venkatraman (finished 5/14; TBR)
4. If I Stay by Gayle Forman (finished 8/14; TBR)
5. The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley (finished 9/14; Overdrive)
6. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer (finished 10/14; TBR)
7. Thanksgiving at the Inn by Tim Whitney (finished 11/14; TBR)

And here are the blocks I've made so far for my quilt:

Well, here I am ready to start the last third of the year. Im hoping to start finishing some of my categories soon.

Spent today making grape jelly and juicing up some more tomatoes for the freezer. The garden is winding down so hopefully more time for reading soon. I'm still trying to finish a couple of books I carried over from last month.

I've enjoyed this thread so much this year and your quilt is going to be fabulous. Homemade grape jelly sounds amazing! You are one very talented lady. Hard to believe we are looking at the last third of the year!

Happy new thread!

>23 DeltaQueen50: - Thanks Judy - I like making jams and jellies, even though I make more than we need. I give them away to friends and family. This year was strawberry, strawberry-rhubarb, blueberry, and grape. Yes, the quilt is coming along and I've enjoyed this as a theme for this year. I'm thinking about bringing it back in 2016.

>24 rabbitprincess: - thanks rabbit.

Happy new thread, Betty! Revisiting all those wonderful quilting squares is getting my crafting fingers itching. Grape jelly was a favorite of mine as a kid. I haven't had it in eons. I must see if I can pick up some at the store today.

Thanks Lori - fact is I'm not that much of a jelly eater either. But I like making it and giving it away.

Book 68: My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell
Category: Bear Tracks Block - books about animals or with animal in title

i think it was from Judy (DeltaQueen) that I first heard about this book and it's been on my TBR for a couple of years now, patiently waiting its turn to be read. I thoroughly enjoyed this story of the author's early years on the island of Corfu and the animals he saw/acquired while there. I'll definitely be reading more of his books.

What a wonderful memory of all this year's reading that quilt will be.

Happy new thread!!

>20 dudes22:
Those area beautiful!! Well done, you!

Thanks Eva - I need to pick the easiest of the blocks I have left and get going on Sept's block. We off on vacation next week and I've decided that's a good time to take my machine for maintenance, but that means I lose it for 3 weeks.

Book 69: A Killer Plot by Ellery Adams
Category: Grandmother's Flower Garden - garden themed titles
CAT: September Mystery

First book in the "Books By the Bay" mystery series. I wasn't liking the heroine at the beginning of the book, but she gradually got better. Like any first book, a lot of time introducing secondary characters. A couple of interesting ones, so I'll be continuing with this series, hopefully sometime next year.

>32 dudes22: I recently bought that one, so I'm glad you found it good enough to continue the series.

Book 70: The Red Thread by Ann Hood
Category: Woven Ribbons - books/titles about crafts
CAT: September GEO - Asia

"In China there is a belief that people who are destined to be together are connected by an invisible red thread."

Maya Lange runs an adoption agency called The Red Thread to help couples adopt girls from China. This novel follows six couples through the process. The author alternates with the stories of how the six girls the couples will eventually adopt ended up needing to be adopted.

The author of this story is local and the idea for the novel probably started with her own life. She lost her 5 year-old daughter and a few years later adopted a baby girl from China. She actually places the story in Providence, RI where she lives and lots of her references (streets, towns, etc) are actual places in Rhode Island.

It was probably a stretch to put this in the Geo CAT for this month because very little of the story takes place in China, but I'm going to put it there anyway.

#34 What a wonderful name for an adoption agency! When I was in Chicago this summer, there was a reunion at the hotel we stayed in of families who had all gone to China together to adopt daughters. Back then, they took a group picture of all the couples with their new babies. They asked me to use all the cameras to take reenactment photos - the girls are about 13 years old now. The happiest group of American teenagers I've ever seen! It makes you wonder what the plight of those girls would have been if not for those adoptive parents.

That's nice, Sandy. The policy/attitude that baby boys are preferred in China is disturbing. The brief background stories of each of the babies being adopted refers to this practice.

Disturbing, yes. What has that done to Chinese society - that overabundance of men? Are there wives enough for all of them? China's loss has certainly been America's gain, and all the other countries who took in those unwanted Chinese girls.

There was mention in the book that if the first child was a girl, they could have a second child to try for a boy. So maybe that's where the wives come from? In the book, one couple had twins, both girls, and left one at the orphanage. I don't want to say too much in case someone wants to read it, but the book did have different stories about how the girls ended up being put up for adoption.

Book 71: Heart of My Sister by Chitra Divakaruni
Category: Log Cabin Block - family related titles/books
CAT: none

This is the story of two cousins being raised in India in the same household, who are more like sisters than cousins. But when one of them discovers a big secret from their past, it changes how she feels. Their paths separate as each is married and goes off to their own life. A twist in the story at the end was something I didn't see coming. I'm not sure why this languished on my TBR for so many years! but I'm glad I finally read it.

Book 72: If Books Could Kill by Kate Carlisle
Category: Dutchman's Puzzle Block - mysteries
CAT: September Mystery

Second book in the cozy series about a book restorer who keeps finding dead people and becoming the main suspect. This time it is one of her tools which is used as the murder weapon. I can't decide how much I like this series. Quite a cast of characters.

Book 73: A Raging Storm by Richard Castle
Category: Weathervane Block - weather related titles
CAT: none

Second novella in the Derek Storm series by whoever is pretending to be Richard Castle. Sort of a continuation of book on end definitely not solved by the end.

This last book completes my first category for this year - the Weathervane block. Only 13 more to go. Once they start falling, I'm hoping they fall like dominoes.

Book 74: A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
Category: Chimneys & Cornerstones - non-fiction
CAT: none

The story of Bill Bryson walking the Appalachian Trail. I've heard good things about Bryson's writing and this was certainly true of this book. Lots of interesting information about the Trail and some humorous parts too.

I'm not a big fan of Bill Bryson's writing, but I did love A Walk in the Woods.

This is the first of his that I've read. Heard about it somewhere here on LT. I think there is another one that someone recommended, but I can't remember which one right now.

Here is my Sept block. This one is called "Bear's Paw" or "Bear Tracks". I'm using this block for my books about animals or with animal names in the title.

Now that I have 9 blocks done, it's time to start planning how I want to put it together and plan the last 3 blocks so that it looks cohesive. I bought some material for the sashing for between the blocks and I realized I didn't have enough of the light material to finish my blocks so I had to pull another light color to use for the last blocks. I lucked out as I'll have 4 blocks with no light color, 4 with the first light and 4 with the second light. i'm even going to start putting it together so I'll have something to show at the end of Dec.

>44 dudes22: - What a fitting name for the September block pattern!

I'm really looking forward to seeing the the finished quilt at the end of December.

Another gorgeous block, I can't wait to see the finished product!

Hurray! Love the block!

This may be my favorite block yet. Of course, I think that every month!

& the Bear Paw goes so well with A Walk in the Woods. I agree with Taiko. It's my favorite too.

Thank you all so much! I'm really enjoying making the blocks and look forward to having a quilt when I finish. I may do the same thing next year, although I won't be using it as my theme. One block a month only takes a little while and it is nice to think I'll have a quilt done at the end.

Book 75: The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley
Category: Tic-Tac-Toe Block - YA books
CAT: Random - Toronto Film Festival

Second book in the Flavia de Luce mysteries. This time a puppeteer dies and Flavia noses around to figure out who did it and also solves a 5 year-old death. Not sure how far behind I am, but I am enjoying them.

I love Flavia de Luce, even though this wasn't my favourite in the series.

>52 dudes22: There are six Flavia books right now, with a seventh coming out next year. Plenty of time to catch up! :)

>54 christina_reads: - I'm hoping to catch up on a bunch of series next year. Six/seven isn't as far behind as some I'm reading.

Book 76: The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill
Category: Pineapple Block - food related
CATS: October Global -takes place in Laos
Random - Book Bullet from DeltaQueen (Judy) from 2013

I've read about this series on more than just Judy's thread, but I made note of it when she reviewed it last year. When someone else mentioned the series again this year, I decided I would definitely get to it.

Dr Siri Paiboun has been appointed coroner in Communist Laos in 1976, a position for which he feels he is not qualified even though he is 72 years old. Despite little equipment or chemicals to preform tests, he wants to discover what has happened to the people he autopsies even when his superiors just want him to write a report and be done with it. Dr Siri also sees his "patients" in his dreams at night giving him hints about what happened to them.

I really liked this book - the pace, the humor, while still being a mystery. I'm looking forward to continuing this series.

Thanks Judy - and all you others who wrote about this book.

I've got The Coroner's Lunch on this month's reading list too. Glad to hear your thoughts on it.

I've got The Coroner's Lunch on my wishlist - and it's been there for quite a while. I need to find an excuse to read it soon.

It makes me happy to see so many people enjoying Dr. Siri! This series is a wonderful blend of historical fiction, mystery, marvelous characters, and just a touch of the paranormal like a gentle frosting of confectioner's sugar.

I see that the next one in the series will fit into my challenge this year, so I may continue with book 2 either later this month or next month.

Always happy to see love for Dr. Siri & Company!

When I can, I like to read the first two in a series fairly close together. I find it helps me fix the characters in my mind.

Book 77: The Mother-Daughter Book Club by Heather Vogel Frederick
Category: Log Cabin Block - Family related books
CATS: none

A YA book that is centered around middle school angst about 4 girls and their mothers who form a book club and are reading Little Women.

I had quite a nice day yesterday even though the weather wasn't the greatest ( kind of chilly and gray). I met up with my sister and we went to a street craft festival in the town my sister lives in. They blocked off a couple of blocks for vendors to set up in the street and down into a municipal parking area. I managed to get a couple of Christmas gifts for people who are a little difficult to find something for. And a few things for myself. (The local quilt store was having 30% off store wide - can you say " fabric addiction"?) Then we had lunch, I dropped her off and went over to my brother's farm on the way home for a chicken and some vegetables which will be dinner tonight. I think I might even make an apple crisp today.

>64 dudes22: That sounds like a perfect day! "Fabric addiction" - yes, I can say it and I know it well! Did you know that it's genetic? At least, I guess it must be since my mother also has it. Chicken and vegetables and apple crisp - one of our favorite menus.

Alas - not. My husband's cousin is visiting his sister and they're going shopping in a little village near us and then they're going to call so we can meet for dinner. So the chicken will have to wait till tomorrow or Tues.

Book 78: Knit One, Pearl One by Gil McNeil
Category: Woven Ribbons - books with craft titles/themes
CATS: None

Kind of a chick lit book. The third in a series about a woman whose husband is killed in a car accident, leaving her with 2 small boys. she has to sell her house and move to a small, British seaside village and takes over running a yarn shop for her grandmother. Now in the third book, she has a daughter named Pearl and is still trying to juggle the shop, her children, her love life, and various school and town things. Seems to be the last in the series for now.

Book 79: Thirty-Three Teeth by Colin Cotterill
Category: Nine Patch Block - Books with numbers in title
CATS: October Mystery - Global - set in Laos

Set in 1970s Laos, this is the second book about the coroner Dr Siri who gets mystical help to solve mysteries.

I'm glad that you enjoyed your first Dr. Siri book and now you have gotten to the second one before me! I hope to read Thirty-Three Teeth later on this month.

What did you think of Thirty-Three Teeth? I read The Coroner's Lunch this year and enjoyed it. And I have to get some time for Flavia again too!

I liked it just as much as the first book. I'm even thinking of reading the rest of the series next year.

Book 80: The Seamstress by Frances de Pontes Peebles
Category: Woven Ribbons Block - books/titles about crafts
CAT: October GEO

In the late 1920s and 1930s, Brazil was in the midst of upheaval. There were "Colonels" who as land barons ruled their own territories because there was no true central government. There were cangaceiros who were like bandits living in the hardships of the outlands.

The Seamstress is the story of two sisters, Emilia and Luzia who have been taught how to sew by their aunt who took them in when their parents died. Luzia has a deformed arm from a childhood accident and is not liked in the town. Emilia wants to go to a big city, marry well,and be fashionable. When a band of cangacerios comes to the town, Luzia, attracted to the leader of the group, decides to leave with them. Emilia soon chooses to marry and moves to the city of Recife.

The book alternates between the two sisters and the story of their lives told from each different point of view. I found I had a lot of sympathy for each of them and they were real enough that I was upset that each didn't know what the other was going through and thinking. There was also a lot of information on the politics going on in Brazil at the time. For a long book (600+ pages), it kept my interest and I wished real life didn't interfere so I could read it faster.

I think on some level, I expect all books to end well. The killer gets caught, the boy gets the girl, ... You know what I mean. Even though I expected that Luzia would die, I thought she would at least see Emilia and her son before she did. That she should die without either of them know the misunderstandings of things that they interpreted wrong through the years was very sad for me.

The fact that it bothered me that much shows me how well this book was written. Probably one of the best books I've read this year.

ETA: I realized after that maybe I shouldn't have said that the fact it bothered me showed it was well written. Because that's not always true. What I meant was the writing had me invested in what happened.

Book 81: The Darling Dahlias and the Confederate Rose by Susan Wittig Albert
Category: Grandmother's Flower Garden Block - books with flowers in title
CATS: none

Another in the series about the Darling Dahlias Garden Club in Darling, Alabama. The stories about a Southern town in the 1930s and the mysteries that occur there that the Dahlias solve.

I loved The Seamstress. What a ride!

Book 82: The Road From Coorain by Jill Ker Conway
Category: Mariner's Compass Block - books located outside the USA
CATS: none

This book is a memoir of Jill Ker Conway's life growing up in Australia until she left to come to America at age 26. Her parents acquired land in the New Soth Wales outback of Australia and started a sheep ranch out there. Jill was born out there and had 2 older brothers. Because the ranches are so huge, a child's life is somewhat solitary. Then there was a drought and her father died under circumstances that indicated it might have been suicide instead of an accident and the family left and moved to Sydney leaving a manger on the farm.

The book continues to tell her story until she leaves Australia at the age of 26 to attend graduate school at Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts. Although not part of the story, she eventually is appointed the first woman president of Smith College in Massachusetts in 1975. (Smith is a women's college)

Her observations about her mother and living with her "eccentricities", changes in viewpoint, and demanding nature were hard to read sometimes. That Ms Conway could write about her mother so honestly must have been hard to do as she does not come off as a nice person.

I really enjoyed this and it's been sitting in my TBR pile at least since I started keeping track of it in 2009. I wonder what other gems are in there, sitting neglected and patiently waiting?

I was planning to post my quilt picture today, but the camera battery died and I can't find the charger. I'm going to try a work-around after the football game.

>75 dudes22:
So, Smith's went over 100 years without a female president?! About time, then. :)

Knowing there is still conversation about the glass ceiling, I'm thinking that, at the time (1975), this was a major accomplishment.

ETA:Even for a college for women.

Book 83: The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer
Category: Tic-Tac-Toe Block - YA books
CATs: None

This is a short novel about a minor character from book 3 of the Twilight series.

Here is the October Block. It's called a Pineapple block and symbolizes hospitality so I'm using it for my food title/books category.

Sorry the picture isn't that good. I lost the battery charger to my camera so I used my iPad to take the picture.

That's pretty. Do you know why the pineapple symbolizes hospitality? It just isn't obvious to me.

What a beautiful square!

Kay - Apparently, back in colonial times, a hostess would place a pineapple in the center of the table when having guests to show welcome. I'm guessing because they were hard to come by (being a tropical fruit), it showed that she valued her guests. I think the block is called pineapple because if you looked at a pineapple from the top you would see the overlapping skins going around.

Here in RI, there's a street in Providence ( the capital) where there's an arch over the street with a pineapple hanging from it. It's at one end of a section called "Federal Hill", the Italian section of the city. If you use one of the image sites like Bing and search for "Federal Hill Providence" you can see a picture of it.

ETA: it's also a variation on the log cabin block in construction.

Very cool!

I really like this square. I like how the colors match but the patterns are different.

>83 dudes22: I know that pineapple! (Went to Providence College for undergrad...ate in Federal Hill many a time!)

>86 christina_reads: - yes, there are lots of good restaurants up there.

Book 84: The Full Cupboard of Life by Alexander McCall Smith
Category: Bow Tie Block - books by male authors
CATS: none

I was looking for a "feel good" read, so I thought I would read another in the Ladies Dectective Agency series. I didn't like this one as much as the others when I finished it. I thought it was a little thin story-wise. But I still like the overall tone of the book.
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Love the quilt block - I've never made this pattern and am a little intimidated by it. Yours looks great!

I was too, Sandi. I did it like you would do a log cabin, going around and then using squares at the corner to do the triangle pieces because I couldn't find a paper pieced block that would finish the size I wanted it. You just have to be careful that it doesn't "gain" size as you go, so I measured every round to make sure it stayed square and in size. I've got a couple of pictures of quilts just made of pineapple blocks in various color combinations and settings and I'm thinking of doing a whole quilt now that I've found it's not as difficult as I thought. You should give it a try.

You make it sound easy! I've learned (the hard way) of the importance of making sure everything is square and properly sized every step of the way. If that's the only trick, then maybe it's not as difficult a block as it looks. They do make beautiful quilts when put together in carefully planned color combinations...

Oh yes - I've learned that lesson myself!

I have to admit that if you look real close (I don't think you can see it in my picture), a couple of the triangles in the corner the intersection of the straight pieces exactly where they should. I used squares sewn on the diagonal and then cut to 1/4 inch seam, and a couple of times I trimmed the seam before I realized they didn't set on the corner exactly right and I couldn't fix. Oh well - it is what it is. Most people won't even notice.

No, it's not noticeable in the photo, and most people wouldn't notice if they held it in their hands. And of those of us who might, most of us wouldn't care. It's part of what makes a quilt special - those small imperfections that prove it was made by human hands.

I've done that corner technique you described - I think it's hard and don't like to do it. Of course piecing triangles is harder, so I DO do it. It's times like that when I wish I were hand piecing. You're supposed to be able to make quick and easy flying geese using that method, but I always make mine bigger than called for and then trim them down because they're usually a little wonky. They turn out looking great, and no one but me knows what I had to go through to get there!

Yes, I use that technique for flying geese too and I also find that they can come out wonky. I'm making a baby quilt that has a zigzag row (4 rows) that's made with half-square triangles and there are so many seams. The first row I made was almost 2 inches longer than it was supposed to be and I had to take out seams and make them a little bigger to make it the right size. I think what happened is that the strip that had appliqued elephants pulled the strip in a little which also made it a little smaller than it should have been. Next time I'll make that strip longer and then cut it to the size of the zig zags.

We learn more by experience than from books, don't we?

Love the quilt square! I am one of those sewers who can measure four times, cut once and still manage to get pieces that don't completely match up. I continue to marvel at the quilt squares you have been making.

Beautiful quilt block! Your colour choices are lovely.

>96 lkernagh: & >97 VivienneR: - thanks guys.

I've realized that if I'm going to have a quilt top to show everyone at the end of the year, I need to get going and start putting some of these squares together. I have already bought the material to go between the squares, so as soon as I finsh the baby quilt I'm working on, I'll need to start that.

I also need to get my act together and post my 2015 challenge. I've been waiting because I was hoping to get a new laptop which would make it easier, but I'm not sure when that's going to happen, so maybe I'll work on it later this week.

I am holding off on posting my 2015 challenge until after Christmas. My fingers are itching to get over there but I have decided to stand firm and stay here for the remainder of 2014. It will get too confusing for me if I add another group to my Talk right now!

I know. I started to read the threads that were posting and some were only holding places, so I decided to wait til the end of the year and then I'll read through all of them and decided which ones I'll follow for the year. The only ones I've been following so far are the CAT threads.

Book 85: The Crane Wife by Patrick Ness
Category: Bear Tracks Block - book with animal or animal title
CAT: none

I thought I heard about this book here on LT, but I can't remember who might have mentioned it. The book is based on a Japanese folk tale the author says. But since I'm not familiar with it, it's kind of hard for me to say anything about it in relation to that. In this book, George is awakened one night by a keening sound which turns out to be a crane with an arrow through its wing in his back yard. He goes out and rescues it. The next day a woman comes into his print shop and they begin a relationship. That's all I'm going to say because I'm having a hard time deciding how to describe the story and all that goes on.

>101 dudes22: "That's all I'm going to say..." -- but won't you at least say whether you liked it or not?

I'm sorry. You're right, I should have said that I did like it. I liked the way the story flowed and the writing. And I wanted to be able to see the paper cuttings that were made. I'm just not sure I understood it as I should have if there was this relationship to the Japanese folk tale that I don't know. Makes me wonder if there was something I may have missed.

Reading some of the other reviews posted, I saw one comment that there was a song written which tells the same story. Maybe it was quoted in the book's epigraph? Anyway, there is a YouTube video of a performance of that song: http://youtu.be/aPOMHM6waxk. I thought it was very nice.

And thinking of cranes, I remember the International Crane Foundation site I visited during my recent trip to Wisconsin and seeing the cranes from all around the world they have there. Beautiful creatures - it's no wonder that they play such a prominent role in folklore. Some of those birds are as tall as a man.

So, I seem to have become intrigued with the Japanese folk tale, and the adaptation of it that you read. I see our library has a couple of other versions of the story, plus this one. Sounds like a nice winter reading project.

Yes - two lines from the song by the Decemberists were used as the epigraph.

The acknowledgments also direct you to the website of Su Blackwell (www.sublackwell.co.uk) to see more of the book/paper cuttings like the cover.

Not sure if I'll remember about the Crane Foundation if I get to Wisconsin some day, but I hope so. Sounds like it would be interesting..

Very nice October quilt block!

The Crane Wife sounds interesting. I've never read anything by Patrick Ness but others have recommended him to me.

Book 86: A Stranger in Mayfair by Charles Finch
Category: NY Beauty Block - NY authors
CAT: Nov Mystery - Historical

I really enjoy this series about detective (and now Member of Parliment) Charles Lenox set in the 1860s. No fingerprints, no DNA, no phones, no cars - just his wits and analytical mind. I thought this 4th one didn't have as many twists and I managed to figure out different parts before they were revealed, but I still enjoyed it. I think maybe next year, I'm going to catch up with this series and read the ones I haven't yet.

>107 dudes22: The book I was planning to read for this month's mystery CAT is taking forever to come in from the library, so meanwhile I think I'll check out A Beautiful Blue Death and give this series a try. Good thing I recently abandoned a different series!

I hope you like them. And there are only 8 so far, so not the biggest investment in time. I read the last one on my iPad or I'd offer to send it to you.

ETA: actually there's a 4.5 book, so I guess there are 9.

Book 87: The Piano Shop on the Left Bank by Thad Carhart
Category: Mariner's Compass Block - books which take place outside the U.S.
CATS: none

Interesting book about pianos written by an American who is/was living in Paris and becomes friends with the man who runs a piano repair/sale shop near his apartment.

>109 dudes22: I'm about a third through A Beautiful Blue Death and liking it very much! And my library has them all. Lenox reminds me of like a less eccentric and sober Sherlock Holmes, so he's charming in his own right.

Glad you're liking it.

Beautiful quilt blocks and lots of good reading here. I'm glad to see you're enjoying Dr Siri.

Book 88: Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919 by Stephen Puleo
Category: Chimneys and Cornerstones - non-fiction books
CATS: Random - Mayday! Mayday!

Although I live only 70 miles from Boston, I don't remember ever hearing about the Great Molasses Flood of 1919. I'm thinking that part of the reason is that there was so much else going on historically at that time that my teachers in school didn't have the time to talk about it. And it seems from reading this book that there wasn't much written about it either before Stephen Puleo wrote this book. The book covers the decade of 1915 (when the tank construction began) until 1925 (when the legal case was concluded).

Written in novel form instead of just straight informational, it reads very easily and interestingly even with all the information which is included. I liked the way the author included many events that directly and/or indirectly contributed to this tragedy or were effected because of it. These include the end of WWI, the passage of the Prohibition amendment to the Constitution, women's suffrage, the labor unrest during this time, the effect of the anarchists, immigration, and the economy in general. The author had to do a lot of research which is mentioned at the end of the book and even that was interesting.

This is probably going to be one of my top five reads of the year.

>114 dudes22: I'm definitely going to have to add this to my "request soon from the library" list! It sounds fascinating.

>114 dudes22: That book has been on my wish list for a long time. I kept seeing copies at our used bookstore for awhile, but by the time I got ready to purchase a copy, there were no copies available. I'll have to look again the next time I go. If not, I'll probably just ILL it.

It really was!

I remember someone else read Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919 about a year ago. I was shocked. It sounds like the title of a comedy, but I'm sure it was far from funny to the people who lived through it. If I don't find it already on my WL, I'm definitely adding it. And maybe The Crane Wife too.

Book 89: The Secret River by Kate Grenville
Category: Sun Bonnet Sue block - women authors
CAT: Nov GEO

This book was a Man Booker Prize Finalist in 2006 and its writing certainly deserves its place there. The story of Will Thornhill, a convict who is deported from England to New South Wales in 1806 with his wife and the struggles he goes through to try and make a life there. As much as I liked the writing, I found the story depressing and dreary which is probably how things were there in the early 1800s.

On a different note: my Nov quilt block is done and will be posted after Thanksgiving. But I've manged to leave what I think will be my most difficult block for Dec. What was I thinking? It's probably no more difficult than the Mariner's Compass block, but I'm having troubling finding a pattern that's the right size to match the rest of the blocks. I'll probably have to zoom up or down on my printer to get it the right size. And I've managed to have 3 table toppers and one baby quilt that need to be finished. Feeling a tad stressed.

I read it back in January and it is one of the better books of the year. I heard about the disaster from reading a YA book called 13 Hangmen and wondered why I had never heard of it.

I just finished reading it too - fascinating and heartbreaking at the same time.

Book 90: 1225 Christmas Tree Lane by Debbie Macomber
Category: Nine Patch Block - books with numbers in title
CATS: none

This last book in the Cedar Cove series reviews all the stories that took place in previous books making it quite a busy book with not much of an actual story. Well - a little one to bring all the other characters into the story.

Book 91: Thanksgiving at the Inn by Tim Whitney
Category: Tic Tac Toe Block - YA books

I found this in my TBR pile and thought this short book would be appropriate this week. When Heath's grandfather dies, he and his father must stay for three months and manage his grandfather's bed and breakfast to inherit his estate. His father and grandfather have been estranged for most of Heath's life and his father is a very difficult man. Some interesting characters and a thankful and forgiving theme make this a quick read.

ETA: I just saw in one of the other reviews that this is intended for 9-12 year olds, which explains a lot.

>123 dudes22: I looked back at my review of that book and noted that I'd commented that it seemed to bring all the characters back. I think I mainly thought it was just a way to "wrap up" the series for long-time fans of the series.

>124 dudes22: Thanksgiving books are sometimes hard to find. It was appropriate for this week.

I read the molasses flood book a number of years ago. I thought it was fascinating!

I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving.

Thanks - same to you.

Well, here's my block for November. It's called the Weathervane Block although I have no idea why. I used this block for books I read with weather in the title. That just leaves me one more block to finish. I'm going to start on it tomorrow with a goal of getting it done and putting all the blocks together before the end of Dec. I've decided that I'll probably have it professionally quilted next year, but hopefully I'll at least have the top done to show by the end of the year.

>128 dudes22: Nice block, Betty. It will be nice to see the final product.

Very nice! I like the red plaid :D

>128 dudes22:
Very pretty! I can see a stylized weather vane in there - they usually have the cardinal points, don't they, along with the "pointer" bit.

Can't wait to see the final quilt!!

Yes, it is pretty! You'll have a very festive quilt when you're finished.

Thanks all - the rush to finish is on.

>131 -Eva-: - you could be right Eva. If you squint, maybe.

As usual I love that block, this is going to be such a great quilt when it's all put together and every time you snuggle under it, you can think of LT!

I have had a lot of fun doing this. I may think about doing something like this again to use up some of my fabric "scraps" that I tend to keep when a project is finished.

I spent all day yesterday in bed with the flu - well - between the bed and the bathroom. So cyber-surfing, no reading, just sleeping and... And I had my flu shot this year, so I'm guessing it wasn't as bad as it could have been. And I still feel a little punk today, so I might just take it easy. There were a couple of cyber deals I'm rather unhappy I missed.

Book 92: Disco for the Departed by Colin Cotterill
Category: Bow Tie Block - male authors
CAT: none

In looking for a book for my unfinished male authors category, I decided to read another in the Dr. Siri series by Colin Cotterill. Although I still don't understand all of the political information, I enjoy the stories in this series.

I like that quilt square! Boo on the flu. Glad to see you are feeling a little better today. I completely forgot about Cyber Monday... probably a good thing I did. ;-)

The good/bad news is that many places extend the sale beyond the day so many Cyber Monday deals are still out there. There were a lot of Kindle deals I couldn't pass up yesterday.

Book 93: An Irish Country Christmas by Patrick Taylor
Category: Mariner's Compass Block - books taking place outside the U.S.
CAT: none

Next in the Irish Country series for me taking place around the two weeks prior to Christmas. I really enjoy this series about an Irish country GP and his young associate and the people of the village they work in.

Just one question for someone who might know - while the author is describing the Christmas dinner, there is mention of "bread sauce". Can someone tell me what it is? Not gravy because that is mentioned separately.

ETA: I decided to look it up in wikipedia and a couple other web sites. But do you put it on something? The meat? The vegetables? I'm curious enought to give it a try if I can figure out how it's served.

I just looked up Bread Sauce and I have to say it doesn't sound all that appealing, and I am surprised that one would make that and gravy as well. It seems to mostly be served as a sauce with poultry, but I think I would rather have gravy.

That's what I thought. Maybe someone who's had it will give us a better idea.

Book 94: A Christmas Visitor by Anne Perry
Category: Dutchman's Puzzle - mysteries
CAT: None

I just started with the first book in this series last year and am continuing this year with book 2. Short, quick little novellas set around Christmastime with a mystery to each.

>136 dudes22: I noticed that they said the most prominent flu strain didn't make the vaccine this year but that people should still get one if they haven't had one.

>140 dudes22: I thought I'd read that one, but it isn't showing up in my LT list. I'll have to check the copyright date. If it was before I started actively using LT to track my reads, I probably did read it.

>143 dudes22: I'm pretty sure I read that one when it first came out, but again, it was before LT tracking. I would have read it from the library.

>144 thornton37814: - Yes - I saw that on the news too. And I did have my flu shot. My husband thinks it might have been food poisoning. Either way - not pleasant.

I'm down to my last 4 books for this challenge and may even finish a little early instead of skidding to a stop at the last minute. One of the ones I'm reading is Marcelo in the Real World. I bought it for my Thingaversary at the beginning of the year. It was a BB I took from Judy (DeltaQueen) a couple of years ago and I am LOVING IT !! And already have a few people I'm going to recommend it to.

>146 dudes22: Based on your opinion as well as Judy's I'm taking a bullet on Marcelo in the Real World too!

Betty, sorry to hear you were sick. What you had might not have been influenza, as gastric symptoms (while not unheard of) are not really common with the actual flu, except in children. It sounds more like it might be food poisoning, as your husband suggested. Whatever it was, I'm sorry you had to deal with it and I sure hope you're feeling better!

Hope you are feeling better, too! Can hardly wait to see the finished quilt!

>148 tymfos: - >149 mysterymax: - thanks for the kind thoughts. AH - the quilt....I haven't started my Dec block yet, and there's probably no way I'll have the blocks together, but I've figured out a way to give everybody an idea of what it will look like.

Book 95: Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X Stork
Category: Bow Tie Block - male authors
CAT: none

I really enjoyed this book which a took as a BB from Judy (DeltaQueen) a couple of years ago and bought for my Thingaversary this year.

As a fairly high functioning person with Asberger's syndrome, Marcelo is looking forward to working at the school he attends for the summer before his last year of school. But his father thinks he should spend the summer working atthe law firm he owns to experience the "real world" and perhaps decide to attend a regular high school in the fall. How he interacts with the people at the law firm from his perspective and decisions that he has to make and how he internally arrives at them made an interesting story.

I loved Marcelo in the Real World too. He got ASD right, at least how it is for some people, and loved how he shook up the real world.

I'm glad that you enjoyed Marcelo in the Real World as I remember really liking it as well. As >152 cammykitty: says - the author got it right!

Book 96: Rueful Death by Susan Wittig Albert
Catgeory: Pineapple Block - book with food in title
CAT: Dec Mystery (cozy)

Another book in her China Bayles series, I wasn't as thrilled with this one as others. In this book she goes to a monestary for a retreat and is asked by the Mother Superior to help solve a mystery of who has been setting fires there. There's also an internal struggle about in what direction the monestary will go and a past love interest pops up.

Went to a book sale today and came home with 11 books. Merry Christmas to me! Mostly fill-ins for series I'm reading, but I did get The Fault in Our Stars which I was wanting to read either after I finish my challenge this year or next year.

Sounds like you had a very productive day!

"came home with 11 books"

Well done, you! :)

>156 DeltaQueen50: - >157 -Eva-: - Judy & Eva - considering there have been times when a book sale would see me bring home 30-50 books, I showed admiral restraint. ( plus I brought a smaller bag to help rein me in.)

Happy Holidays to you! Sounds like they are off to a good start!

Thanks max - same to you. Since ident usually receive books for Christmas (although I sometimes get a gift card), I figured I'd treat myself.

>155 dudes22: Make sure you have a full box of tissues before you start it!

>161 mamzel: - ok good to know! I've been avoiding reading reviews so I wouldn't know what happens. I just know it's getting a lot of good buzz.

I loved The Fault in Our Stars. Hope you enjoy it too, and I think it's great that you treated yourself to books!

Book 97: The Headhunter's Daughter by Tamar Myers
Category: Log Cabin Block - books with family in title
CAT: Dec Geo

This is the second book about a missionary in Africa. This time a white girl who was kidnapped when she was a baby and raised in an African tribe is found and brought back to the town after 13 years. As with the last book i was slightly dissatisfied when I finished the book. Not sure why. Just seemed like it wasn't much of a story.

One more book to go. Then one or two extras if the time permits.

Book 98: An Unfinished Score by Elise Blackwell
Category: Sunbonnet Sue Block - women authors
CAT: Random

Susan, a viola player, learned that her lover Alex, a famous conductor, had been killed in a plane crash from the news while she was preparing dinner for her family. She is blackmailed into completing a symphony which he had started to write by his widow. I missed a lot of the musical references which might have increased my enjoyment of the book.

This book completes my challenge. 14 categories and 7 books each. As there are still a couple of weeks left, I think I'll try to squeeze in 2 more books for an even 100. I have an ER book which needs to be read and then maybe another small one.

Congratulations on finishing - and with a couple of spares!

Congratulations! Can't wait to see the finished quilt!

Congratulations on finishing!!

Woo hoo! Congratulations!

Congratulations!

Thank you all. Now that my cookie baking and wrapping are done, I'm going to work on the Dec block. Oh why did I leave what is probably the hardest block for the end?

Congrats on completing your challenge!

Congratulations, Betty, I've really enjoyed following both your reading and quilting progress this year.

I can't wait to see your finished quilt! It'll be spectacular!

Congratulations on completing your challenge!

Stopping by to wish you and yours a Merry Christmas and best wishes for 2015!

A very Merry Christmas to you and your family, Betty.

Merry Christmas! I've enjoyed following your reading and quilting this year. Good luck with that last block.

Just wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful year ahead. I'm looking forward to all those book bullets and seeing your final quilt.

Congrats! & Merry Xmas!

Thank you all and Merry Christmas and a Happy reading New Year to all! I'm working hard on the last block and I still have a week left. Thanks for all the encouragement with my quilt project. I've liked it so much, I'm thinking of doing something similar again next year. I've enjoyed my challenge(s) this year and am looking forward to next year. Time to start tallying up all those stats for this year.

Merry Christmas Betty!

Happy Christmas, Betty! I'm looking forward to seeing your final quilt square.

Well, here it is - my final block for my quilting challenge. The Dec block is "New York Beauty" and represents the crown on the Statue of Liberty. I used this block for books I read by New York authors.

I won't get my blocks put together this year, but I've laid them out on my design wall to give you guys an idea of what I have planned. But you'll have to use a little bit of imagination. I'm planning to put a narrow strip of gold around each block and then the green fabric between each block. Then the focus fabric around the entire quilt. I'll post it on my 2015 thread when it's done, but we're going to be away most of January so I probably won't get it put together until February. AND NOW - TAH DAH!

I have to say I've really enjoyed doing this and may use this idea again to use up some of my other excess fabric pieces to do another "scrap" quilt.

Beautiful! It's been a treat seeing the quilt come together block by block. Looking forward to the final product!

>185 dudes22: Looks great! I can't believe you had time to do that AND read a hundred books!

Wow, the December block looks super challenging! Congratulations on a successful reading ear and on the creation of a beautiful quilt!

>185 dudes22: Beautiful, even before the finishing touches. I don't know which I enjoyed more on your thread: the books or the quilting. Well done!

Wow! Stunning. Well done, both reading and quilting. Happy New Year!

Thank you all so much!

Book 99: Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult
Category: Sunbonnet Sue Block - women authors

A thirteen year-old being raise by her grandmother, a psychic, and a drunken washed-up PI combine in a search for Jenna's mother who disappeared from an elephant sanctuary 10 years ago. Told in alternating chapters, Jenna's chapters tell of the search and her mother Alice's chapters tell of her work and study of elephants and how they deal with grief in Africa and at the elephant sanctuary she worked at in New Hampshire.

A couple of the issues I had with the book were resolved by the big reveal/twist at the end. Having previously read almost all of her books, I didn't find this one as riveting as some of the others. I did find the information in the elephant chapters very interesting, but ultimately only found this so-so.

The quilt is beautiful! It's been so much fun to see the progress each month.

>185 dudes22:
That's so beautiful!!

Book 100: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Category: Bow Tie Block - Male authors

Last book of 2014 and book #100. I've got nothing new to say that hasn't been said about this book.

I'll post my summary sometime in the next couple of days, but, meanwhile, Happy New Year to all and best wishes for a good reading year.

2014 Summary:
Total number of books read - 100
Books from TBR pile (including ebooks) - 69
2014 and library/overdrive books - 31
Female authors: 58
Male authors: 42

Best books of 2014:

Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X Stork
In the Time of Butterflies by Julia Alvarez
Rural Free by Rachel Peden
The Seamstress by Francis de Pontes Peebles
Dark Tide by Stephen Puleo

Worst books of 2014:
In the Skin of the Lion by Michael Onadtaaj
Whose Body by Dorothy Sayers
Tulip Feverby Debra Moggach

-------------------------------

YEAR END STATS COMPARISON:

Here is a side-by-side comparison of my reading stats for the past four years:

No. of Books read:
2014 - 100 (69 from TBR)
2013 - 92 (88 from TBR)
2012 - 88 (65 from TBR)
2011 - 76 (56 from TBR)

Largest book read by page count:
2014 - The Seamstress by Francis de Pontes Peebles at 656 pages
2013 - Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn at 720 pages
2012 - Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese at 688 pages
2011 - The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins at 648 pages

Smallest book read by page count:
2014 - Raging Storm by Richard Castle at 25 pages
A Brewing Storm by Richard Castle at 25 pages
Bookscout by John Dunning at 25 pages
2013 - The Rose of Fire by Carlos Ruiz Zafon at 12 pages (yes 12)
2012 - November Ever After by Craig T. Greenlee at 168 pages
2011 - Green Angel by Alice Hoffman at 144 pages

# Pages read:
2014 - 31,610
2013 - 29,706
2012 - 29,172
2011 - 25,682

Average # pages per book read:
2014 - 361 pages
2013 - 326 pages
2012 - 332 pages
2011 - 292 pages

Favorite Reads:
2014
Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X Stork
In the Time of Butterflies by Julia Alvarez
Rural Free by Rachel Peden
The Seamstress by Francis de Pontes Peebles
Dark Tide by Stephen Puleo

2013
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Steig Larsson
American Godsby Neil Gaiman
Love Anthony by Lisa Genova
Riding the Bus With My Sister by Rachel Simon
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

2012
House Rules by Jodi Picoult
Left Neglected by Lisa Genova
The Map of Lost Memories by Kim Fay
Robbing the Bees by Holley Bishop
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

2011
One Thousand White Women by Jim Fergus
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky
Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks
A Mango Shaped Space by Wendy Mass

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Year end meme:

Describe yourself: The Seamstress

Describe how you feel: Home Safe

Describe where you currently live: 1225 Christmas Tree Lane

If you could go anywhere, where would you go: A Walk in the Woods

Your favorite form of transportation: The Camel Bookmobile

Your best friend is: The Girl Who Remembered Snow

You and your friends are: Climbing the Stairs

What’s the weather like: Heat Wave

You fear: Shadows in the Vineyard

What is the best advice you have to give: Quilt As Desired

Thought for the day: If I Stay

How I would like to die: In the Woods

My soul’s present condition: A Time to Dance

Very nice stats Betty, I'll see you on your new thread!

I like how you did your stats. The Seamstress was good, wasn't it?

I copied the format from someone else last year. Helps me see how things have gone over a few years. Yes Kay, I enjoyed it quite a bit.

Love your year end recap and meme. My favorite response is the idea of The Camel Bookmobile as the favorite form of transportation!

Congratulations on a great year of reading! It was interesting seeing your statistics covering the past four years. I also enjoyed your quilting theme for the year ... the blocks are beautiful!

Your quilt is going to be a true work of art when it is all put together. It's just beautiful, Betty.