Rabbitprincess harvests more ROOTS in 2015

Back again with you fine folks in the ROOT group for 2015!



Photo taken on my balcony in 2008. The BF grows vegetables every year, with mixed results. These are the peppers.

As for book harvesting, I'm sticking to my usual goal of 50 ROOTS, which allows me to support bookshops and the library.

Ticker:


And in an effort to revisit some oldies but goodies, Operation Going Through the Stacks (Stalks?) is under way.

2015 Reading List

Italics = books off the shelf. Bold = Favourite book of the month. Parenthetical notes will indicate audio, rereads, and other relevant information.

January
1. The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction, by Alan Jacobs
2. The Long Goodbye, by Raymond Chandler
3. The Man in the Queue, by Josephine Tey
4. Darkwing Duck: The Duck Knight Returns, by Ian Brill and James Silvani
5. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley
6. Bred in the Bone, by Christopher Brookmyre
7. The Luck of Troy, by Roger Lancelyn Green
8. The Water Room, by Christopher Fowler
9. The Cornish Coast Murder, by John Bude
10. As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust, by Alan Bradley
11. A Big Hand for the Doctor, by Eoin Colfer (Dr Who box set #1)
12. The Riddle of the Labyrinth: The Quest to Crack an Ancient Code, by Margalit Fox
13. Brighton Rock, by Graham Greene

February
14. Sleepyhead, by Mark Billingham
15. The Long Shadow: The Legacies of the Great War in the Twentieth Century
16. Astérix et les Gothes, by Goscinny and Uderzo
17. Blithe Spirit, by Noël Coward
18. Saints of the Shadow Bible, by Ian Rankin
19. Psychiatric Tales: Eleven Graphic Stories of Mental Illness, by Darryl Cunningham
20. Brideshead Revisited, by Evelyn Waugh
21. The Day of the Triffids, by John Wyndham
22. SS-GB, by Len Deighton
23. Astérix and the Picts, by Jean-Yves Ferri and Didier Conrad (trans. Anthea Bell)
24. The Nameless City, by Michael Scott (Dr Who box set #2)
25. The Pythons Autobiography by the Pythons (unfinished)

March
26. A Case of Spirits, by Peter Lovesey
27. Foxglove Summer, by Ben Aaronovitch
28. The Tragic Story of the Empress of Ireland, by Logan Marshall
29. MaddAddam, by Margaret Atwood
30. The Clue in the Crossword Cipher, by Carolyn Keene
31. Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest, by Wade Davis
32. The House on the Strand, by Daphne du Maurier
33. Epitaph, by Mary Doria Russell
34. Death on the Cherwell, by Mavis Doriel Hay
35. El Deafo, by Cece Bell
36. No Relation, by Terry Fallis
37. Playback, by Raymond Chandler
38. The Spear of Destiny, by Marcus Sedgwick (Dr Who box set #3)

April
39. Doctor Who: Time Trips, by Cecelia Ahern et al.
40. A Scream in Soho, by John G. Brandon
41. Barometer Rising, by Hugh MacLennan (reread)
42. Mauritius, by Theresa Rebeck
43. Bizarre London, by David Long
44. The Frozen Thames, by Helen Humphreys
45. Live Right and Find Happiness (Although Beer is Much Faster), by Dave Barry
46. How to Build a Girl, by Caitlin Moran
47. The Sussex Downs Murder, by John Bude
48. A Morbid Taste for Bones, by Ellis Peters
49. The Roots of Evil, by Philip Reeve (Doctor Who box set #4)

May
50. Daddy Lenin and Other Stories, by Guy Vanderhaeghe
51. The Low Road, by Reginald Hill
52. How to Speak Brit, by Christopher J. Moore
53. No Safe House, by Linwood Barclay
54. Lords of Misrule, by Nigel Tranter
55. Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen (reread)
56. The Curious Case of the Copper Corpse, by Alan Bradley (Overdrive)
57. Introduction to Marine Engineering (Revised 2nd Edition), by D.A. Taylor (partly finished)
58. Nineteen Seventy-Four, by David Peace
59. Work Simply: Embracing the Power of Your Personal Productivity Style, by Carson Tate
60. Mystery in White, by J. Jefferson Farjeon
61. Tip of the Tongue, by Patrick Ness (Doctor Who box set #5)
62. The Influencing Machine: Brooke Gladstone on the Media, by Brooke Gladstone and Josh Neufeld

June
63. Moonfleet, by J. Meade Falkner
64. Ross Poldark, by Winston Graham
65. Mr. Mercedes, by Stephen King
66. The Napoleonic Wars: A Very Short Introduction, by Mike Rapport
67. Death at Windsor Castle, by C.C. Benison (reread)
68. Doctor Who and the Horror of Fang Rock, by Terrance Dicks
69. Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen
70. The Nursing Home Murder, by Ngaio Marsh
71. The Ships of Canada's Marine Services, by Charles D. Maginley
72. Something Borrowed, by Richelle Mead (Doctor Who box set #6)

July
73. Moonbeams from the Larger Lunacy, by Stephen Leacock
74. Nineteen Seventy-Seven, by David Peace
75. Sarum, by Edward Rutherfurd
76. Full Upright and Locked Position: Not-So-Comfortable Truths About Air Travel Today, by Mark Gerchick
77. The Likeness, by Tana French
78. No Known Grave, by Maureen Jennings
79. A Midsummer Night's Dream, by William Shakespeare (reread)
80. The Wolfe Widow, by Victoria Abbott
81. The Dead Hour, by Denise Mina
82. Doctor Who and the Abominable Snowmen, by Terrance Dicks
83. The Hollow Man, by John Dickson Carr
84. The Bastard of Fort Stikine: The Hudson's Bay Company and the Murder of John McLoughlin Jr., by Debra Komar
85. Slip of the Knife, by Denise Mina
86. McGarr on the Cliffs of Moher, by Bartholomew Gill
87. Maphead: Charting the Wide, Weird World of Geography Wonks, by Ken Jennings
88. The Story of the Mary Rose, by Ernle Bradford
89. The Zebra-Striped Hearse, by Ross Macdonald
90. The Ripple Effect, by Malorie Blackman (Doctor Who box set #7)

August
91. Players, by Terrance Dicks
92. It's Been Said Before: A Guide to the Use and Abuse of Clichés, by Orin Hargraves
93. Charles II: His Life and Likeness, by Hesketh Pearson
94. Autobiography, by Morrissey (audio, read by David Morrissey)
95. Demelza, by Winston Graham
96. Finders Keepers, by Stephen King
97. South Riding, by Winifred Holtby (reread)
98. Raven Black, by Ann Cleeves
99. Gideon's Ride, by J.J. Marric
100. Remembered Death, by Agatha Christie (reread)
101. OxCrimes, ed. Peter Florence and Mark Ellingham
102. The Story of Hampton Court Palace, by David Souden and Lucy Worsley
103. Engines of War, by George Mann
104. Notes from a Small Island, by Bill Bryson
105. Spore, by Alex Scarrow (Doctor Who box set #8)
106. The Golden Age of Murder, by Martin Edwards

September
107. Where the Shadows Lie, by Michael Ridpath
108. Ashes to Dust, by Yrsa Sigurdardottir (trans. Philip Roughton)
109. Never Have Your Dog Stuffed: And Other Things I've Learned, by Alan Alda (audio, read by Alan Alda)
110. Kensington Palace: The Official Illustrated History, by Edward Impey
111. Murder on the Orient Express, by Agatha Christie (reread)
112. The Beast of Babylon, by Charlie Higson (Doctor Who box set #9)
113. Mussolini: His Part in My Downfall, by Spike Milligan
114. Still Midnight, by Denise Mina
115. Dead Water, by Ngaio Marsh
116. Jeremy Poldark, by Winston Graham

October
117. Floodgate, by Alistair MacLean
118. The Horizontal Man, by Helen Eustis (part of the Women Crime Writers 1940s omnibus)
119. Arthur & George, by Julian Barnes
120. In a Lonely Place, by Dorothy B. Hughes (part of the Women Crime Writers 1940s omnibus)
121. The Blank Wall, by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding (part of the Women Crime Writers 1940s omnibus)
122. The Two Faces of January, by Patricia Highsmith
123. The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century, by Steven Pinker
124. Faithful Place, by Tana French
125. I Think You'll Find It's a Bit More Complicated Than That, by Ben Goldacre
126. The Ocean at the End of the Lane, by Neil Gaiman
127. Strange Shores, by Arnaldur Indridason (translated by Victoria Cribb)
128. The Gigantic Beard that Was Evil, by Stephen Collins
129. The Mystery of the Haunted Cottage, by Derek Landy (Doctor Who box set #10)

November
130. Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?, by Roz Chast
131. Fighting in Flanders: Gas. Mud. Memory., by Mélanie Morin-Pelletier
132. Secret Warriors: Key Scientists, Code Breakers and Propagandists of the Great War, by Taylor Downing (partly read)
133. How the Light Gets In, by Louise Penny
134. The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck
135. The Last Confession, by Roger Crane
136. Memento Mori, by Muriel Spark
137. The Guy on the Left: Sports Stories from the Best Seat in the House, by James Duthie
138. Very British Problems: Making Life Awkward for Ourselves, One Rainy Day at a Time, by Rob Temple
139. Warleggan, by Winston Graham
140. The Instant Enemy, by Ross Macdonald
141. Richard Bolitho, Midshipman, by Alexander Kent (part of the Midshipman Bolitho omnibus)
142. Midshipman Bolitho and the Avenger, by Alexander Kent (part of the Midshipman Bolitho omnibus)
143. Band of Brothers, by Alexander Kent (part of the Midshipman Bolitho omnibus)
144. Nothing O'Clock, by Neil Gaiman (Doctor Who box set #11)
145. Naked Statistics: Stripping the Dread from the Data, by Charles Wheelan
146. The Z Murders, by J. Jefferson Farjeon

December
147. The Red House Mystery, by A.A. Milne
148. Broken Harbour, by Tana French
149. Exploring English Castles: Evocative, Romantic, and Mysterious True Tales of the Kings and Queens of the British Isles, by Edd Morris
150. Ten Little Indians, by Agatha Christie (reread)
151. Vertigo, by Boileau-Narcejac (translated by Geoffrey Sainsbury)
152. The Plantagenets: The Kings Who Made England, by Dan Jones
153. Ten Lords a-Leaping, by C.C. Benison
154. To Love and Be Wise, by Josephine Tey
155. Lights Out, by Holly Black (Doctor Who box set #12)
156. Le Misanthrope, ou L'Atrabiliaire Amoureux, by Moliere
157. A March on London, by G.A. Henty
158. A Very British Murder, by Lucy Worsley

Welcome back! Nice photo. Did you get to eat any of the peppers in that year?

>2 rabbitprincess: What a great idea so I copied it to my thread. Hope you don't mind. Good luck with your challenge.

>3 MissWatson: Yep, a few. They're a lot smaller than the store-bought peppers but quite good. We've also grown green beans, carrots and tomatoes (those never seem to do well).

>4 Carmenere: By all means! :) Good luck to you as well.

good luck!

Good luck in 2015!

Great to have you back. Wishing you good luck.

Hi there! Good luck with your ROOTs!

Glad to see you here and good luck!

Good luck - hope you manage to get through both books and peppers!

Good luck! Like your idea of picking a favorite book each month.

Good luck in 2015!

Just stopped by to drop off a star and say I'm looking forward to seeing what you read this coming year!

Thank you all for the well wishes! I'll keep you posted on the status of our garden as well ;)

Good to see you here again. Good luck!

Does Going Through the Stacks mean rereads? 'Cause everything I've put on my pile so far is a new read. Maybe I should create a reread list as well.

Good Luck with your Challenge and your gardening!

>16 connie53: Thanks, Connie, and same to you!

>17 hairballsrus: Yep, they're rereads. Mostly really old ones that I keep at my parents' place. I'm reading them to see which are still worth keeping.

And thanks! I hope we'll have a better gardening year this year.

Good luck this year, rabbitprincess! I look forward to what you uncover during your digs. :)

May all your wishes come true.

Looking forward to following your reading and your gardening this year!

Happy New Year and good luck with your reading goals, RabbitPrincess!

>19 LauraBrook: Thanks, Laura! So am I :)

>20 Ameise1: Thanks so much, and happy new year to you as well!

>21 witchyrichy: Thanks! :D

>22 tloeffler: Thanks, the same to you!

****

"Finally" my first ROOT of the year. This is actually part of a four-book omnibus. As part of my rules, each book in an omnibus counts as a separate ROOT, so you'll see three more Chandlers on here before the year is out.

The Long Goodbye, by Raymond Chandler

ROOT 1 of 50
Source: Chandler omnibus received as a gift
Rating: 3.5/5

Philip Marlowe first meets Terry Lennox when Terry is dead drunk and falling out of his wife's car. They become friends of sorts, drinking gimlets in run-down bars, when one day Terry's wife is murdered and he wants Marlowe's help to leave the country. This puts Marlowe in a precarious position with the police. Meanwhile, the wife of a famous historical fiction writer wants to hire Marlowe to find her husband, who is prone to going on benders and needs to be kept at home to finish his latest book. As you might expect, these cases will somehow come together, and are not just connected by the prodigious amounts of alcohol involved.

It's been a while since I've read Chandler, so it's difficult to compare this with other books of his. It is certainly surprising in places, and unsurprising in others. What surprised me the most was how some of the characters' concerns and assertions still hold true 60 years after the book was written: one character laments the predatory, advertisement-driven aims of newspapers, and how planned obsolescence and the disposable society are taking over traditional consumer attitudes, while the historical fiction writer claims he writes big books because the public thinks that bigger books mean better value.

I did feel that The Long Goodbye was a bit long (har), but that might just have been me being impatient to get to the next book in the omnibus, Playback.

Sounds like the Chandler was a great read!

I am never sure how to count omnibus editions -- but your rule makes sense to me. Glad to hear that more Chandler is to come :)

Congratulations on a great start to another ROOT year!

I have to confess I've struggled with the little Chandler I've read. I find his narration really abrupt, which I get is part of the whole pulp-noir genre, but for some reason I just can't ever seem to immerse myself in his books. Love, love love the movie adaptations though (one of the few times I've found the movie to be better than the book). But I like the idea of trying another Chandler and thinking about the characters' social values and such.

My Chandler issues could also be because I don't drink (I'm allergic to alcohol), so I end up with my "Hemmingway problem", where I start to think to myself, "Yeah, yeah, we get it, you had another drink, can we get back to the story already?"

Oh great, this entire post just made me sound like a teetotaler prude. I'm not, I swear, but reading both Chandler and Hemmingway always make me wonder if I wouldn't like them more if I drank, I guess that's what I'm trying to say.

DAMMIT! I had a post typed and then I hit Backspace and lost the whole thing! Grrrrr! Take Two!

>24 Tess_W: It was pretty good!

>25 leslie.98: I also figure if I waited to count it as one book, it would take a lot longer to do so ;)

>26 karen_o: Thanks, Karen! :)

>27 Shutzie27: That's fair. His similes especially can be very jarring at times, so depending on the book it will take a while for me to settle in. Fortunately, The Long Goodbye didn't seem to have as many of those. It is one of his later works.

Haven't tried any of the movies yet but might do sometime. He himself was a pretty fair screenwriter, adapting Double Indemnity, which I loved in both book and movie form.

They sure do drink a ridiculous amount of alcohol. I'm amazed they're even able to function. And with everything I learned about the dangers of alcohol in high school health class (and even just reading studies later in life), my main thought is "oh their poor livers, what are they doing?!"

Speaking of fictional characters' alcohol consumption, I enjoyed this study of James Bond's drinking habits from the 2013 Christmas issue of the British Medical Journal: http://www.bmj.com/content/347/bmj.f7255

>28 rabbitprincess: hee hee, funny ;)

Good idea counting each book in an omnibus. I was wondering about that myself. I have The Black Jewels Trilogy on my pile as well as another fantasy series.

Your comments about alcohol consumption make me think of the first Charles de Lint novel I read when I was a teenager. Only in that case, one the main characters constantly rolled their own cigarettes and it drove me barking mad!

>28 rabbitprincess: - Love the James Bond alcohol analysis. It is funny how distracting that can be in some books when you feel like they are drinking on every other page. Makes me wonder how they stay sober. Have you ever read anything by Gwenyth and Constance Little? Delightful books with characters always having a cocktail it seems.

>29 avanders: The Christmas issues are always funny. The 2014 Christmas issue contained a study on the age of waiting-room magazines.

>30 hairballsrus: I can see the logic in both approaches to counting omnibuses (either as a single book or as individual books). The good thing about this challenge is being able to define it to suit our respective circumstances!

It's surprising how often little tics like that can be so repetitive in a book!

>31 LittleTaiko: I haven't read anything by them, but they do sound delightful. My library has only one book by them, but I'll keep an eye out when I'm used-book shopping. Do you have any partlcular favourites?

****

Last year I discovered that I'd previously counted books owned by my boyfriend as ROOTS, since we live in the same house. So with that in mind here is my second ROOT of 2015.

Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley

ROOT 2 of 50
Source: BF's collection
Rating: 3.5/5

This is one of those books where you think you know what happens, simply by hearing so much about it in pop culture, but it ends up surprising you when you actually read it. I found it very readable for a 19th-century novel, with shortish chapters and breaks that make it clear who's narrating.

>28 rabbitprincess: I thought I'd replied to the awesome Bond post but catching up on threads here I see I haven't! Sheesh...Anyway, that's great, thanks for posting! I shared it with my hubby (who is all about quantifiable data) and he loved it as well.

And just to put my two cents in, I thought omnibusses were just a more efficient way to collect different works, so I'm in the each book counts seperately camp. :-)

>33 Shutzie27: I went into Frankenstein expecting to hate it but read it several times growing up. It is surprisingly easy to read.

I only read Frankenstein this past summer and I liked it.

>27 Shutzie27: Your post about the amount of alcohol consumed immediately made me think of Nick and Nora Charles in The Thin Man -- especially in the movie versions, they drink martinis all day long!

>28 rabbitprincess: The article about Bond was a hoot! Thanks for the link.

>32 rabbitprincess: awesome! Thanks for the introduction to something new! I love that kind of "evaluation" :)

And oo, Frankenstein is another book I have to read! I think it's somewhere on the shelves.... if not, there's always free kindle classics ;)

>32 rabbitprincess: - Hard to choose just one so I'll give you a short list instead of the ones I gave a four star rating to.

The Black-Headed Pins
The Black Iris
The Black Coat
Black Corridors
The Grey Mist Murders
The Black Smith
The Black Curl
The Black Stocking
The Black Eye

There are more - apparently the only two that I didn't like very much were The Blackout and The Black Rustle.

>33 Shutzie27: No worries, I have that happen all the time! I don't have access to LT during the day, so when I get home I skim-read a lot of threads, think of replies, but then don't actually stop to reply. Thinking about it is the same as doing it, my brain says.

>34 Tess_W: It was a good one!

>35 leslie.98: Oh my gosh yes! So many martinis, so little time. The only characters I've seen drink more martinis are Hawkeye and Trapper on M*A*S*H.

>36 avanders: Yep, it's certainly easy to find. My BF's copy was a Penguin Classics edition. I didn't bother with any of the introduction or notes.

>37 LittleTaiko: Oh good! The Black Stocking is the only one my library has, so I'm glad you liked it :)

****

This ROOT takes me back to my childhood, sort of.

The Luck of Troy, by Roger Lancelyn Green

ROOT 3 of 50
Source: Wigtown, Scotland
Rating: 3/5

Told more like a children's adventure story than a simple recitation of the myths, this was an enjoyable diversion. Includes an author's note about which sources Green consulted to put together his version. Makes an interesting companion piece to his The Tale of Troy.

I count the books in an omnibus as single books read to my read total of the year. But an omnibus is one ROOT for me. That sounds a bit strange, I do admit. But it works for me. An omnibus is added to my library as one so if it's of the shelves it's one too.

Can you still follow my thoughts? I hope so.

I've been thinking about counting books contained in omnibuses separately as well, but still just about in the it's one book camp. Though I may end up treating ebooks and physical books differently.

>39 connie53: Connie, I think that makes a lot of sense.

>40 Robertgreaves: Isn't it strange how e-books just feel different? I have them in their own collection, but try to add them based on the print ISBN they're from (if it's available). But it never feels like they quite "go there."

My reasoning is that there are practical limits on the size of a physical omnibus. I might be willing to call 3 novels in one volume one ROOT but there is no reason an ebook omnibus couldn't be 20 or 30 or more volumes. The complete works of Dickens or Trollope for example.

The other big difference for me in ebooks is that I can't see my progress (or lack of) the way I can in a book. There is no ''telltale compression of pages" to indicate I've nearly finished.

>42 Robertgreaves: That's exactly it! Even if you can see your percentage complete or pages in .. it just feels different when you can't see your progress.... I'm still very grateful for my kindle and I do still want the voyage (bc I have a problem w/ technology... must... have... it...), but it's just not the same as a book.... (sigh)

I have come to a compromise with my Kindle: I read it downstairs during the day but I must have a "real" book on my bedstand at night. My other compromise is that I'm allowing myself to read new books (like the most recent ones by Bernard Cornwell and Alan Bradley on the Kindle and focusing on the analog books for my ROOTS list. After all, it's the real books that take up all that space, isn't it?

>42 Robertgreaves: said "The other big difference for me in ebooks is that I can't see my progress (or lack of) the way I can in a book. There is no ''telltale compression of pages" to indicate I've nearly finished."

One of the biggest drawbacks to an e-reader, in my opinion. Plus, you can't flip ahead to the next chapter break to see how much further the way you can in a printed book. On the other hand, a printed book can't read aloud to me when my hands are busy (making the bed for instance), a feature I am finding increasingly useful.

Anyway, to go back to the discussion about omnibus editions. I am still teetering on the fence... maybe I will count print omnibuses as a single book but for ebook omnibuses, count each novel (or play) separately. But then what do you do with the print omnibus when you have read just one of the books, not the entire thing? Count it as still "currently reading" until you finish it? Put it back as "to read"?

>43 avanders: One thing I was relieved about was being able to press Menu and seeing the page number equivalent on the e-book on Kindle. But the book I'm currently reading I bought as an e-book because it's what I could afford and it doesn't do that. It's driving me bonkers!!! I always just feel like I should know what page I would be on were I reading the book-book.

And I have the same technology problem! I love techno-gizmos as well and need a new Kindle (the corner is cracked in my beloved Kindle Keyboard, so I'm always missing one or two words in the first two lines of a new page), but just want an e-reader and Amazon apparently isn't doing that anymore (hence my clinging to the Kindle Keyboard).

I'm also bummed I can't select my purchased New OED for the dictionary in the new models, and don't want back lighting, just the e-ink screen, which I love. I'm thinking of getting the old-new 6" Kindle, but heard a rumor the software upgrades won't work on it, grrrr....and this is why, at the end of the day, I just love the spicy, wooden smell and feel of a good, old-fashioned book. :-)

I've not really thought about the omnibus issue before. I think mostly the series I own are separate books, the few that I own as an omnibus I think I'd just count as one book as it is physically one book on the shelf. But then I'm thinking about my one book of The Complete Works of Shakespeare - there's no way I could count that as just one book! It's all so very complicated! :)

I'm really enjoying this discussion of omnibuses and of the merits of ereaders and print books!

>39 connie53: Yep, I follow! My "read in 2015" tag will end up doing the same thing -- it will consider my omnibus a single book, because that's how I've entered it in my catalogue, but my reading log (in a text document) will count it as four books. So my tag count will be a bit off, but short of entering all the books individually there is not much I can do about that.

>42 Robertgreaves: I'm imagining a complete works of Dickens omnibus in physical form and it's making my wrists ache just thinking about holding it up!

At first I thought it would be more useful to read big books on my ereader, but I think I do need that physical cue of the "compression of pages" to help orient me in the book (and give me hope that the end is near). It also doesn't help that Overdrive can sometimes have funny ideas about what constitutes a "chapter". I'm reading an ebook of a Christopher Fowler mystery novel and it includes about four or five actual chapters in a single "chapter". I'm using the overall page count as a rough idea of where I'm at, but it's not perfect.

>44 witchyrichy: There are also studies that say that screen reading right before bed is really distracting -- maybe less so with the Kindle than with an iPad or a tablet with ereader functionalities (as opposed to a dedicated ereader) -- so having a real book on the nightstand is an excellent idea!

And how is the most recent Bernard Cornwell? I have so many of his books on my TBR!

>45 leslie.98: I've put omnibuses back in the to-read collection if I haven't finished reading all of them yet.

>47 Jackie_K: Yeah, the complete works of Shakespeare is definitely one I'd count as separate volumes!

I own a Kobo Glo and I'm loving it. My Kobo has a feature where you can see the table of contents. And that is exactly like in the real book. I now am reading Een feestmaal voor kraaien as an ebook and as a real book. During day time at home I read the book and in bed or when I'm outside the house (train, work, waitingroom) I use the Kobo. I can easly switch between them using the ToC to find out were I've stopped reading in both of them.

E-readers have an e-ink screen that is easy on the eyes and I can dim the backlight the Kobo Glo has so it's not that bright.

>49 connie53: Yes, I have a Kobo Glo as well and think it's a great eReader (I also have a Sony eReader which I also like but they got bought out by Kobo and no longer have a store, so I mainly use that for my Project Gutenberg freebies now). My only complaint about Kobo is I have found their Customer Services awful! Every time I have needed to contact them it has ended up taking ages for them to a) understand the issue and b) come up with a solution. I did feel slightly better though when I saw someone online complaining about the Kindle/amazon customer service, it sounded like that wasn't any better!

Another proud Kobo Glo owner here. I've found the best way to get customer service is via the Kobo FB page.

Knock on wood! I've never had severe problems with my Kobo so I would not know about customer services. The only problem I had was on vacation in Turkey when my Kobo decided to throw all books away and I needed to find an internet connection to reset it. Luckily for me I brought some real books too!

>50 Jackie_K:, I must say that I have 5 Kindles (2 for me, 3 for grandsons registered to me) and Amazon has been nothing but generous to me. When my Kindle quit working after 13 months (1 month after warranty), they gave me a new one, free of charge. When my grandson dropped his and broke the screen, they gave me a new one free of charge. They reset each one before sending them to me so that all of my or my grandson's stuff was already on the Kindle when we got it. When I ran over my charger cord with my chair leg and cut in half, they sent me a new one, no charge! I have called them probably 4-5 times asking about several features and they have always been able to help me. One time my grandson hit a book to buy by mistake and I emailed them and they refunded my money. No complaints here about Amazon.

>53 Tess_W: I also have had the great Amazon Kindle replacement service, another reason I'm hesitant to jump ship to another e-reader.

Tess, if you don't mind me asking, which Kindle do you have? I'm considering getting a Paperwhite 2 because that seems to be the one everyone with the latest model prefers. I'm going to have to do something, that much is certain. I prefer regular books but on occasion like a Kindle book or get it because I don't want to wait for a book to be used/paperback/on sale and can only afford the Kindle version.

> 48 What Christopher Fowler are you reading? I've read two books of the Peculiar Crimes Unit series and love it!

>54 Shutzie27:, I have 3 different models....I have the original keyboard one, the original touch, and the last2 for my grandsons have been Kindle Fires. I do not have the paperwhite yet...that is on my wish list, but I can't justify it when I have 2 working others!

>46 Shutzie27: Ooh, I didn't realize that the page showing was a book-by-book feature... That makes sense :P All publishers should put page numbers as an option! (and, even better for me, an "x of y" pages notation would be even better!)

Hmm, I don't know what you mean Amazon isn't doing e-readers anymore? I though the basic kindle model was that? Or.. maybe I'm misunderstanding :) But oh, the software upgrade doesn't work on it? .... That's terrible and ... illogical?

>54 Shutzie27: >55 Tess_W: etc. :)

I have the paperwhite (the first one), so I haven't experienced any problems.
Also, FYI, it's not back-lit. "In Amazon’s Kindle Paperwhite, four LEDs mounted on the bottom of the reader shoot light toward the surface of the display." I.e., it's like shining a light on your book or kindle, as opposed to tablets, which are backlit and strain your eyes :)

I.e., part of why tablets are bad on eyes/bad for sleep is the blue-lighting & the backlighting; the bottom/side-lit paperwhite *shouldn't* be causing insomnia or eyesight issues for anyone.

But at the end of the day, I agree w/ you... real books are where it's at!

>55 Tess_W: Gotcha. I'm technically on my third Kindle (there was glasses-less stepping on the first, the second was cat casualty and the third was a fell asleep on it whoopsie ... man, I guess I'm pretty hard on my Kindles...).

I'm always too scared to deviate from the Keyboard. But I think it's time to make the plunge (once I save up the cash; for now, I'm reading my book in a narrow column, like it's the world's longest newspaper article, lol).

>56 avanders: OK, the basic Kindle model *is* an e-reader, but it would have the software update that integrates Goodreads since Amazon bought GR and have the new dictionary feature. It also has a bunch of other stuff I just don't want like pop-up character explanations, links to Wikipedia, chapter summaries, kids free time, etc.

On the Keyboard, I can select which dictionary I want it to use; since I read a *lot* of British mysteries, I prefer the new OED that I bought for my Kindle specifically for that purpose because it often has cool definitions for early 21st century British slang, and because I'm a word nerd.

I guess the new dictionary may have those too, but I'm still grumpy and ambivalent about having shelled out the cash for a digital OED and not having the option to use it.

That being said, now that I know the Paperwhite isn't back lit, I think I'm leaning towards that one. Thanks!

>57 Shutzie27: ahh. Makes sense :) Yep, good luck w/ whatever you end up choosing!

>53 Tess_W: that does sound good service. I hadn't particularly looked for reviews of Kindles, I just came across one from someone I knew who was very frustrated with them for some reason, and it made me feel better. I'm hopeful that once I've sorted out my current issue with Kobo (which is mainly down to having to first change the email address the account is registered to, and then changing my laptop) I'll be good to go. I do really love my Glo.

>51 Robertgreaves: I did contemplate trying to contact them via twitter, but I'll try and remember the fb page ruse next time - thanks for the tip!

>59 Jackie_K: I love my Glo too! Did you sort out the issue? Is it working again?

>60 connie53: Unfortunately it has not been sorted out, in fact it is a hundred times worse now. The latest advice (which did sound like it would sort it out) involved having to do a factory reset. Unfortunately at some point during the restoration the screen froze, and now I can't even switch the silly thing on, never mind read anything on it. I could cry right now :( I took Robertgreaves' advice though and have messaged them via facebook, let's see if they've got someone sensible on the case. I am really really cross.

Thanks, everyone, for keeping my thread warm! It's interesting to read about all of your experiences with the various types of ereaders. My BF's parents have a Kobo, but it can be a bit fussy.

>54 Shutzie27: I was reading The Water Room, the second in the series. I love Bryant and May! I wish they could be my grandpas.

>61 Jackie_K: That sounds awful! I hope Kobo gets their act together and helps you out!

****

For Christmas I got a 12-book box set of Doctor Who novellas. And you guessed it, each one will be counted separately! I'm reading one per month, so here is this month's novella:

A Big Hand for the Doctor, by Eoin Colfer

ROOT 4 of 50
Source: Dr Who box set
Rating: 3/5

This story involves the First Doctor and his granddaughter, Susan. Colfer has said it's set before the TV series begins (in 1963). It is enjoyable overall, especially the properly nasty villains.

>62 rabbitprincess: I just read that last year! I agree with you, they'd be the most interesting grand parents ever. Hmm...perhaps it's time to pick up the third book....

>62 rabbitprincess: but of course they should count separately! ;)

>51 Robertgreaves: a massive thank you Robert for the fb tip - whoever it is who deals with their fb page is SO helpful! I am glad to report my Glo is successfully resurrected, so I am not so upset now about that (I AM upset about the fact that my new laptop appears to have faulty USB ports so it's not recognising other devices being attached to it - eReader, phone etc - but at least that's not Kobo's fault!).

Glad it worked out for you. I have the same trouble with my somewhat elderly laptop. The USB ports are very temperamental. Is yours a Lenovo?

>66 Robertgreaves: Yes it is. I can't say I'm very impressed with it so far :(

PS Sorry rabbitprincess, I'll stop spamming your thread with my technology woes! Hope your ROOTing is going well! :)

>67 Jackie_K: No worries! I haven't finished any more ROOTS yet so this has been a pleasant diversion ;)

At home I'm reading Brighton Rock, by Graham Greene, which started out thrilling but has become bogged down, so I am considering just looking up the ending and having done with it. I want to see the Richard Attenborough movie version but the library doesn't have it!

On the bus I'm reading Sleepyhead, by Mark Billingham, the first in his Tom Thorne series (Thorne being played by David Morrissey in two TV adaptations!). It has some creepy moments but I've been able to skip the worst ones. I don't like serial killer novels where you spend much time in the serial killer's head. Yucky.

I am unlikely to finish any more ROOTS today, so here is my monthly recap:

January recap: 5 ROOTS pulled (YTD: 5)

The Long Goodbye, by Raymond Chandler
Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley
The Luck of Troy, by Roger Lancelyn Green
A Big Hand for the Doctor, by Eoin Colfer
Brighton Rock, by Graham Greene

ROOT of the month: Frankenstein -- it turned out a lot more readable than I was expecting and was so much better than the generic monster-movie versions we're all accustomed to.

In January I felt unable to focus for long periods, probably because I'm taking two courses this semester instead of one, as I've been doing in previous semesters. And a couple of reading plans changed; my mystery reread ended up being abandoned and put on the giveaway pile, and my alternate history has been moved to February.

Also in February I have some Canadian content lined up in my ROOTS pile, both fiction and non, which I'm looking forward to. And if I can squeeze in Playback, by Raymond Chandler, I can return the Chandler omnibus to the shelf for a while. (I've already read the first two books in the omnibus and wouldn't mind rereading them, but perhaps at a later date.)

A nice start to the year! I have several classics I want to read this year and am hoping I have an experience similar to yours with Frankenstein, that they are more readable than I am expecting.

Sounds like some great reading! I, also, was pleasantly surprised by Frankenstein.

Sorry to hear that Brighton Rock didn't work for you. Ah well, different strokes for different folks as the saying goes...

>70 witchyrichy: It was indeed! I hope you have similar luck with your own classic reading.

>71 Tess_W: It turned out a lot better than I was expecting!

>72 leslie.98: I wanted to like it... probably a case of wrong time and wrong place. I have enjoyed other Greenes more.

****

First ROOT of February

Sleepyhead, by Mark Billingham

ROOT 6 of 50
Source: AbeBooks
Rating: 4/5

A very creepy premise, but I enjoyed the detective investigating the case and would read more in the series. Also, the *really* creepy bits were easy to skim over, thus preventing me from having nightmares ;)

>69 rabbitprincess: That's one of those books (Frankenstein) I've been meaning to read forever... Glad to hear it's more than we think ;)
You're doing a great job w/ your ROOTs!
>73 rabbitprincess: sounds really interesting!

>74 avanders: Haha I fell off the wagon after this first ROOT. Only just completed my second for February today!

Yep, Sleepyhead is pretty good. Of course, I could be biased because it was adapted for television starring David Morrissey...

****

Second ROOT of February!

Brideshead Revisited, by Evelyn Waugh

ROOT 7 of 50
Source: Friends of Library and Archives Canada book sale
Rating: 3.5/5

A very melancholy book. I read this for the British Author Challenge in the 75ers group, and now I want to reread some of the older Waughs I know I've read before. And I want to track down the TV adaptation of this one, which features Jeremy Irons as Charles Ryder. (My edition of the book is also a TV tie-in, and I did not recognize Jeremy Irons on the cover. So young!)

>75 rabbitprincess: ah, it happens :) My Jan was more ROOT'ful than my Feb so far too.... :)

>76 avanders: And Feb is such a short month that it's very easy to let it slip away!

****

Finally managed to get another ROOT in. I will likely read one more little one tomorrow: the second of my Doctor Who novellas. For now though here is ROOT #8:

SS-GB, by Len Deighton

ROOT 8 of 50
Source: Chapters
Rating: 2.5/5

I was inspired to pick this up by news that the BBC had commissioned a TV adaptation of it. I hope the adaptation is more interesting than the book. The problem is that it's a really interesting concept (what would have happened if Britain had lost the Battle of Britain?), but it's hard to engage emotionally with the characters. Also, it's a bleak world in a way that I couldn't handle for some reason.

I would hesitate to discourage anyone from reading this, because Len Deighton is a brilliant writer and he spent a great deal of time researching and building this all-too-believable world, so if the premise interests you, you can certainly give it a try.

>77 rabbitprincess: very true!

And Congrats! :)

Final ROOT of the month!

The Nameless City, by Michael Scott (Doctor Who box set #2)
ROOT 9 of 50
Source: Book Depository
Rating: 4/5

A delightfully creepy adventure with the Second Doctor and Jamie (THE BEST Second Doctor companion). Also, the Tardis has more of an active role in this one.

****

February recap: 4 ROOTS pulled (YTD: 9)

Sleepyhead, by Mark Billingham
Brideshead Revisited, by Evelyn Waugh
SS-GB, by Len Deighton
The Nameless City, by Michael Scott

ROOT of the month: Might have to go with Sleepyhead on this one. I was expecting it to be really creepy (serial killer, ew) and it certainly was, but I was able to skim over most of it without losing any important plot points. So yay! Also, my copy is a TV tie-in edition with David Morrissey on the front. :D

February was a bit of a pressure-cooker month, probably because it was so short. I had my wisdom teeth out at the beginning of the month but was more restless than anticipated, so I didn't get as much reading done as I would have liked. I had visions of finishing off stacks of books, but I got through maybe two? Even then my reading didn't really pick up until I returned to work the following Monday (the procedure was on the 5th, which was a Thursday, and I took Thursday/Friday off).
Also, I am laughing at my reading plans from last month: the CanLit I'd put on the TBR pile is still there, and I'm not sure whether its number will be up in March either as I have a lot of group reads and challenges scheduled (however, all but one use ROOTs, which is good!).

In March I will be reading some Jane Austen for a year-long group read, some Daphne du Maurier for a monthly group read, and some Margaret Atwood for a sci-fi group read, among other things. Lots of women writers this month, which is very appropriate since International Women's Day is on March 8.

>79 rabbitprincess: Sounds like a great month of reading? What Austen(s)? And I just read Oryx and Crake last year after seeing Margaret Atwood speak and have to say I was shocked at how much I enjoyed both her lecture and the book, though I won't likely be finishing the trilogy.

Thanks for the reminder about Women's Day!

>79 rabbitprincess: delightfully creepy, sounds great! :) Maybe I should read some of those Dr. Who's one of these days.....

>80 Shutzie27: This month (or rather March and April) is Mansfield Park, which I own and have not read. The Atwood I'm reading is MaddAddam.

>81 avanders: And the good thing about these little Dr Who stories is that they're only about 60 pages or so. Nice little nibbles for a lunchtime read. They are also available in e-form. I actually didn't think I'd get to read them before, because at first they were e-book only and not likely to be acquired by my library.

>82 rabbitprincess: oooooh, even better!

ooh, I just picked up a pretty copy of Mansfield Park (one I also have not yet read) - it's sitting on my shelf beckoning for when I leave the Romanovs!

>82 rabbitprincess: That's actually my favorite Austen book, though I find it's not the favorite among the die-hard Austen fans (Austonians?).

>83 avanders: And Doctor Who stories in general are very quick to read.

>84 Caramellunacy: Yay! Mine is a Penguin Classics edition.

>85 Shutzie27: I started it a while ago but didn't finish, and then I tried listening to the radio drama featuring David Tennant and Benedict Cumberbatch when BBC Radio re-aired it last year, but didn't finish that either. Hoping the third time will be the charm!

****

First ROOT of March:

Foxglove Summer, by Ben Aaronovitch

ROOT 10 of 50
Source: Chapters, bought with my Christmas gift card
Rating: 4/5

This is the fifth book in the Rivers of London series, which is lots of fun if you like London and magic and irreverent first-person narrators. This book sends Constable Peter Grant to the countryside instead of having him stay in London, but it's still a lot of fun.

I got Foxglove Summer as Christmas present from sister. It's sitting there patiently on the TBR shelf.

>86 rabbitprincess:, Hold up - there is a BBC radio drama with DAVID "TIGGER" TENNANT AND BENEDICT CUMBER-"MY VOICE SOUNDS LIKE A JAGUAR TRAPPED IN A CELLO"-BATCH and I didn't know???
This must be remedied

>86 rabbitprincess: & >88 Caramellunacy: - I do believe that would definitely increase the enjoyment factor for Mansfield Park which could use a bit of a boost in my opinion.

>87 Robertgreaves: It's a good one for when you're in the mood for something light!

>88 Caramellunacy: Indeed there is! It's available via amazon.co.uk and might be available through Audible, but don't quote me on that.

>89 LittleTaiko: Benedict plays Edmund Bertram and David plays Tom, I think. And Felicity Jones is Fanny Price. I hope it is enjoyable for you!

****

Second ROOT for March:

MaddAddam, by Margaret Atwood
ROOT 11 of 50
Source: Perfect Books, Ottawa
Rating: 4.5/5

A great way to wrap up the trilogy, which I will end up rereading at some point in the future. Hopefully none of the more horrific elements will have come true by then.

I always want to read Margaret Attwood, but am a bit scared by the whole dystopian thing (especially as reality is already so depressingly dystopian at times). I do have a couple of her books, maybe this will be the year I try...

>91 Jackie_K: I'll be interested to hear about whatever you try by her! I seem to have mostly read her dystopias: the Oryx and Crake trilogy and The Handmaid's Tale. The only non-dystopia of hers I think I've read was Alias Grace, which was pretty good.
And yes, sometimes dystopia in fiction seems a bit too close to the truth...

****

The House on the Strand, by Daphne du Maurier
ROOT 12 of 50
Source: Christmas gift
Rating: 4/5

Time travel with a twist, plus Cornwall as the setting. A winner in my books!

>92 rabbitprincess: the two I currently have on the TBR pile are The Handmaid's Tale and Alias Grace. My husband likes her stuff, he's got the Oryx & Crake trilogy and some other things too, I think. But his tastes in reading are pretty different to mine, usually.

>93 Jackie_K: Alias Grace might be a good one to start with, then. I'll be interested to hear what you think if you try her work this year!

****

No Relation, by Terry Fallis
ROOT 13 of 50
Source: Perfect Books, Ottawa
Rating: 4/5

I was mildly skeptical about how interesting I'd find the protagonist, but I quickly became drawn into this story. I am also glad that I don't share my name with a famous person, as many of the characters in this book do. That would get old, very quickly.

Hurray, I've read all of the books in my Raymond Chandler omnibus once! I'll go back and reread the first two later in the year.

Playback, by Raymond Chandler
ROOT 14 of 50
Source: Chandler omnibus
Rating: 3/5

Of all of Philip Marlowe's cases, this is probably the one he's had to take the most on faith. He's hired through a middleman on behalf of an unknown party to tail a woman named "Eleanor King", who is later revealed to be Elizabeth Mayfield. Why she is supposed to be followed, Marlowe does not find out until almost the end of the book. Along the way, he discovers a lot of other people are interested in her, and interested in putting him off the trail as well.

This was Chandler's last completed novel, published the year before his death. In terms of plotting, it is probably a bit more plodding than some of his earlier works; I found it frustrating that it took so long for Marlowe to learn why exactly he was on this particular case. The novel was apparently reworked from a screenplay; perhaps it would have been more economically told in movie form. It is also a somewhat racy case for Marlowe, who somewhat improbably beds two women over the course of the novel (thankfully, not too much detail is employed, although the details that are employed make me think Marlowe might be indulging in some wishful thinking). Perhaps these scenes are also remnants of the screenplay…they seemed gratuitous.

This isn't one of Chandler's best books in terms of story, but the writing is pretty good; he doesn't resort to similes nearly as much as he does in earlier works, and his capsule descriptions of the cast of characters are effective. But this is probably a book best suited to more committed fans of the Chandler oeuvre.

A little Dr Who novelette that will probably be my last ROOT of the month:

The Spear of Destiny, by Marcus Sedgwick
ROOT 15 of 50
Source: Dr Who box set
Rating: 4/5

The Third Doctor, Jo and some Norse mythology. I had fun. That's all I asked, and this book delivered.

****

March recap: 6 ROOTS pulled (YTD: 15)

Foxglove Summer, by Ben Aaronovitch
MaddAddam, by Margaret Atwood
The House on the Strand, by Daphne du Maurier
No Relation, by Terry Fallis
Playback, by Raymond Chandler
The Spear of Destiny, by Marcus Sedgwick (Doctor Who box set #3)

ROOT of the month: MaddAddam -- what a great conclusion to the trilogy!

Interesting how 2/3 of my ROOTs had some sci-fi element to them (The House on the Strand involves time travel). This year is a big sci-fi year in general, thanks to an SFF challenge over at the Category Challenge group.

In April I'm hoping to look at some rereads and maybe finally get back to some Scottish books, given that I have a whole category for them in my Category Challenge. I'll also be continuing my reading of Mansfield Park, I hope, if the other characters don't infuriate me enough to make me quit. (It is true that Fanny is a bit passive and lacking in initiative, but the other relatives aren't exactly going out of their way to ensure that she feels truly comfortable with them.)

>86 rabbitprincess: good to know.. I really have to "get on that" ;)

>88 Caramellunacy: l.o.l.

And overall, congrats on all your ROOTs!! 15 of 50 is great progress!

>97 avanders: Thanks! I derailed a bit this month thanks to a generalized reading slump, but I managed a reread for this month, which might help me get back on track.

Barometer Rising, by Hugh MacLennan
ROOT 16 of 50
Source: Chapters, via gift card
Rating: 5/5 (reread)

The first time I read this book, set in Halifax, Nova Scotia, just before the Halifax Explosion of December 6, 1917, it was exactly what I wanted to read at that particular time. I decided to reread it now in hopes of counteracting a reading slump. We'll see how that works out, but at any rate I enjoyed my reread. (Now to read for the first time all of the other MacLennan books I've stockpiled.)

Last week I went shopping and ended up in a used bookstore that I hadn't visited in a while. I'd been out shopping for something else but had been unsuccessful, so I decided to make up for it with book buying. This is what I bought:

Lord and Master, by Nigel Tranter (Master of Gray Trilogy 1/3)
The Courtesan, by Nigel Tranter (Master of Gray Trilogy 2/3)
Past Master, by Nigel Tranter (Master of Gray Trilogy 3/3)
The Devil in Velvet, by John Dickson Carr
Invitation to a Dynamite Party, by Peter Lovesey
Doctor Who: Logopolis, by Christopher H. Bidmead
The Only Game, by Patrick Ruell (aka Reginald Hill)

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

>90 rabbitprincess: I have secured the Mansfield Park adaptation and am enjoying listening to it on commute (I really must look into more audiobooks). I have to say, though, Benedict doesn't seem to sound much like himself and I keep picturing Henry Crawford as Colonel Andrews from the Austenland movie (James Callis), which is entertaining me.

I may actually pick up the novel sitting on my shelf now!

>98 rabbitprincess: I'm on a reading slump too. I might have to dig out something short, just to get my mojo back!

>98 rabbitprincess: >102 Jackie_K:.. maybe it's the time of year? I've been blaming it on the book, but maybe it's just Spring? (i.e., "me too")

>99 rabbitprincess: yay! new books are always a joy :)

>100 Tess_W: It was a good haul!!

>101 Caramellunacy: Yay, glad you're enjoying it! :) It was recorded over 10 years ago, so I guess Benedict sounds a bit younger than he does now. I wish you luck with the print edition; I had to give up.

>102 Jackie_K: Hope you got your mojo back! Mine isn't really coming back much, or it's sabotaging itself by insisting that I need to be bogged down in five large novels at the same time.

>103 avanders: That could be it! Now that we finally have sun and warm temperatures (even warm enough to wear sandals and dresses!) I've been getting outside and walking a lot more.

****

Two ROOTS since my last update:

How to Build a Girl, by Caitlin Moran
ROOT 17 of 50
Source: Chapters
Rating: 4.5/5

Readers of Caitlin Moran's How to Be a Woman may note some broad similarities between Johanna Morrigan's and Caitlin Moran's life paths, but Johanna is very much her own person. I loved this book, especially the descriptions of what it feels like to form really deep friendships and discover something you love to do.

The Roots of Evil, by Philip Reeve (Doctor Who box set #4)
ROOT 18 of 50
Source: Doctor Who box set
Rating: 4/5

I love me a good Fourth Doctor story, and The Roots of Evil is no exception. Quick and fun. I finished in half an hour.

****

And now it's time for the April recap! How did we have a third of the year go by already? Gack!

April recap: 3 ROOTS pulled (YTD: 18)

Barometer Rising, by Hugh MacLennan
How to Build a Girl, by Caitlin Moran
The Roots of Evil, by Philip Reeve

ROOT of the month: How to Build a Girl. Lots of good quotes from this one.

I didn't get nearly as much reading done in general, or rather it didn't feel like I did. I kept starting and abandoning a whole bunch of books, including Mansfield Park, which I'll try again another time. Part of me is thinking I've overcommitted on the reading challenge front; there are so many interesting side challenges that I use to try to whittle down my TBR that I'm losing some spontaneity. And the books I do pick up are huge, because I am crazy ;)

In May I'll be reading some more big books, but I have a couple of mysteries/thrillers on the on-deck pile to look forward to as well.

>104 rabbitprincess: Oo both How to Build a Girl and How to Be A Woman are on my library lists! Looks like a good one!

Congrats on 3 ROOTs read in April!

I was also having difficulty by having picked several books that were "boggy" and reading them at the same time... I've finally started finishing them, though, and I hope to get back on track (meaning: reading mojo) :)

Does it bother you that you're losing some spontaneity? It definitely bothers me after a few books... I start to get cranky that I can't just pick up whatever I feeeeeel like... ;P

>104 rabbitprincess: I have the same problem, a few books on the go at the same time! I'm seriously considering a Jar of Fate for next year.

>105 avanders: - I don't know about her, but there are definitely times I'm cranky because I'm reading something that needs to be read for a challenge, book club, etc...instead of something just because I want to. Being the nerdy rebel that I am, I then grab something light and fun, devour that in a couple of hours, and promptly feel better!

>107 LittleTaiko: lol yep, works for me too ;)

That might happen to me, but except for one read, all of my bookclubs read have been wonderful and I would have probably read them sooner or later, anyway!

>106 Jackie_K: Now moving up to eight books on the go, which is some kind of record for me. I should do a cull this weekend.

>107 LittleTaiko: >108 avanders: Yes! That's precisely the sort of feeling I'm getting. So out goes the historical fiction and in comes Linwood Barclay's most recent (so far) novel, No Safe House (which is also a ROOT).

>109 Tess_W: Yay! I love hearing that book club books turn out well. I'm not part of a book club, but my BF's mum is part of one and I will loan her any of their selections that I happen to have. I also make note of interesting titles and read them on my own, usually at least a year after they were first brought to my attention.

>110 rabbitprincess: good :) Reading is mostly for pleasure anyway, right? Shouldn't it be pleasurable? ;)

>109 Tess_W: and >110 rabbitprincess: agreed! I love it when book club books turn out well... I've read some excellent books that way -- some I never would have picked up! Of course there are also some duds, but that's bound to happen :)

>110 rabbitprincess: - yea! Glad you found something else to read.

Just saying hi!

I just got done with a boggy read myself and know what you mean about quasi-obligatory reads...part of me feels like I really should read a book a friend of mine wants to discuss with me, and part of me wants to go on a graphic novel or light read binge just to shake the cobwebs from the last book. And feeling obligated to read something is main reason I've never joined a book club.

>111 avanders: Yes, it should be! So I am going to do my best to use the various side challenges I see around as suggestions and not orders ;)

>112 LittleTaiko: It was a good'un!

>113 Shutzie27: Hi! :) I think a palate cleanser book sounds like a great idea. And agreed, that is why I've never joined a book club either. LT is a much better "book club", since we can read what we want, when we want ;)

****

First ROOT of May:

No Safe House, by Linwood Barclay
ROOT 19 of 50
Source: Perfect Books
Rating: 4.5/5

This was just what I needed to cure a reading slump, so I am not sure how accurate or objective this rating is.

>114 rabbitprincess: You know, sometimes I think ratings are so ... inherently inaccurate. They are based on the reader's feelings/impressions at the time they read the book. But at the end of the day, if a book warranted a 4.5 rating from you, then it was a great book for you on that day -- i.e., it's accurate in that sense ;) And YAY that it got you out of your reading slump!! Those are the best of all :D

What really irks me is when people on Amazon vote a review unhelpful when it's clearly helpful, just in disagreement w/ their own opinions. Like, you'll read those VINE reviews at the beginning of the reviews, and they're informed, lay out the plot, and provide their opinions on the pros and cons of a book.. and some people say it's unhelpful? That is a helpful review. Even if I disagreed w/ their conclusions, the review is helpful. {grumble, grumble} But hey, that's just one of my personal pet peeves ;)
Sorry for the mini-rant... :-o

>115 avanders: That is indeed irksome! I agree entirely.

Two more ROOTS!! I think my reading slump might be alleviated.

Lords of Misrule, by Nigel Tranter
ROOT 20 of 50
Source: FOLAC book sale
Rating: 3/5

This one took a while to finish. It's the first of a trilogy, but I think I'll take a break before reading the other two volumes. Also, they have to arrive from AbeBooks (I just ordered them today).

Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen
ROOT 21 of 50
Source: bought with a DVD of the Emma Thompson version
Rating: 4.5/5

My second time reading this. I read it for the year-long Austen group read over at the Category Challenge. This was one side challenge I was happy to complete. :)

Woo hoo! Reading Slump be gone! :)

Probably the last ROOT of the month (I like to end on a high note):

Tip of the Tongue, by Patrick Ness (Doctor Who box set #5)
ROOT 22 of 50
Source: Doctor Who box set
Rating: 4/5

I continue to enjoy this box set. The books make delightful little nibbles on a weekend morning.

>118 rabbitprincess: how do the books rate compared with the TV show? My husband is a big fan of the show, but I'm wondering if the books would make a good gift or if they wouldn't be his thing... hmmm.

>119 Jackie_K: This particular box set contains 12 very short stories (only about 40 pages on average). I think they are intended for a younger audience, because the set is published by Puffin Books. Full-length Doctor Who novels might be more to his taste. Or if he likes audio, Big Finish produces a wide range of full-cast audio dramas that are supposed to be very good.

>120 rabbitprincess: thank you very much. I will wait and see if he has any suggestions for his birthday present and bear these in mind if we're stuck!

>121 Jackie_K: You're welcome! I imagine Barter Books would have a good supply of the classic Doctor Who novelizations ;) My all-time favourite so far has been The Mind Robber, but I also really enjoyed Gareth Roberts' novelization of the lost episode Shada. If your husband likes the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, that might be a good choice.

****

May recap: 4 ROOTS pulled (YTD: 22)

No Safe House, by Linwood Barclay
Lords of Misrule, by Nigel Tranter
Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen
Tip of the Tongue, by Patrick Ness

ROOT of the month: No Safe House. It managed to kick me out of a reading slump and was a very exciting read.

Overall, the month did have some pretty good reading. The second half of the month was better, as I managed to get back into the reading groove and resume being ruthless about dumping/deferring books that aren't working for me at the present time.

My on-deck pile for June contains a lot of Britishness, or more specifically Englishness. I'm planning a reread of South Riding, by Winifred Holtby, and a first-time read of Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen. Also on the cards is a reread of Death at Windsor Castle, by C.C. Benison, which takes place at the Royal Ascot weekend so is pencilled in for mid-June.

>122 rabbitprincess: Congrats on 4 ROOTs for the month!
I've heard Northanger Abbey is wonderful.. so it's made its way onto my TBR pile... now I just have to find the time to read it ;)
Looks like a fun June planned!

Just popping in to say hello! I'm looking forward to seeing what you think of Northanger Abbey, it's one of my favorite Austen books.

Have a great weekend and happy reading!

>123 avanders: Boy, do I ever hear you on finding the time to read things! Northanger Abbey is up next. I literally just moved it to first position in my purse (I always carry three books with me: one is the book I'm currently reading, one is the backup, and one is the backup to the backup). I also finished Death at Windsor Castle last week. South Riding will probably end up in July, but I am really looking forward to reading it again.

>124 Shutzie27: I'm looking forward to reading it! :) And thank you for stopping by!

****

After despairing of my ability to finish ROOTs because of my propensity to borrow too many library books (and then get bogged down in chunkster ROOTs), I managed to polish off two in the past few days.

Death at Windsor Castle, by C.C. Benison
ROOT 23 of 50
Source: adopted from Grandma
Rating: 5/5

This was a delightful reread and I have not changed my enthusiastic rating. It was especially fun to read it now, since Ascot is next weekend. Good timing.

Doctor Who and the Horror of Fang Rock, by Terrance Dicks
ROOT 24 of 50
Source: a bookstore in Scotland, probably one in Wigtown
Rating: 4/5

A novelization of a Fourth Doctor adventure, this involves lighthouses, the turn of the 20th century, and Leela being an awesome female. Creepy atmosphere, too.

>125 rabbitprincess: - love your system! Must have alternatives in case one is a huge fail!

>125 rabbitprincess: oh my goodness! Is your bag heavy?? I carry multiples w/ me when traveling, of course, but day-to-day, if I find I'm unprepared, I'm thankful for the technology of kindles & reading-on-your-phone (definitely not my first choice, but does in a pinch ;)) Carrying multiples all the time sounds lovely though.... :)
Hope you enjoy Northanger Abbey!
& Congrats on your ROOTs!

Yes, thank goodness for modern technology. Emergency reading at the tip of one's fingers.

>128 Robertgreaves: Emergency reading, what a wonderful expression!

>126 LittleTaiko: I started carrying extras during the winter, when snowstorms on the commute made me worry I'd run out of reading material. But I guess they could also be good for catering to other reading moods!

>127 avanders: Depends on the books I'm carrying. I bought my purse specifically because it is big enough to carry three paperbacks (and then bought the same model in a different colour, because one is more of a summer colour and the other is more of a winter colour). If I have a big hardcover from the library in there I carry only one extra book (living dangerously).

Northanger Abbey is so good so far!! I am really enjoying it.

>128 Robertgreaves: >129 MissWatson: An excellent expression! Haha for me emergency reading is simply having a book in my purse at all times, even if there is no conceivable reason for me to need reading material. (True story: my fanciest purse, the one intended for weddings, is big enough to hold a mass market paperback.)

If you go out with just one book there is always the possibility you might finish it and be stranded without anything to read.

>131 Robertgreaves: LOL! That is when I utilize my emergency reading using the Kindle app on my phone :)

>131 Robertgreaves: Sometimes if I have only one book on me, I'll go buy a couple of magazines or newspapers to tide me over.

>132 leslie.98: I am impressed that you can read on your phone! I find the screen much too small (but strangely I am OK with reading huge mass market paperbacks with teeny weeny text).

When I replace a phone, I always get the biggest screen I can as reading is obviously a very important feature.

I'm so glad I'm not the only one with emergency reading material, although mine is in the car since I don't carry a purse. At one point I had 13 books in the car...the hubby pointed out this may have been excessive. Still, though, one never knows....

And I'm glad you're enjoying Northanger Abbey!

>130 rabbitprincess: must be a big bag!! ;)
Glad you're enjoying Northanger Abbey so much! I have been hearing a lot of that lately and I'm just going to have to get on the Northanger Bandwagon soon!!

>132 leslie.98: lol likewise ;)

>133 rabbitprincess: funny how we have certain gut responses to things... I all-but refuse to read on my iPad (though I do have the kindle app on there), but I'm perfectly fine on my iPhone. Illogical, I know ;P

>135 Shutzie27: Sounds like a fun car! ;)

oooo I can hardly read on my phone, it is way too small! I always have a book and my Ipad in my purse--it's a large purse and I don't go anywhere without it. Sometimes I leave it in the car, but seldom!

While I can read on my phone if I have to, I prefer to use it for audiobooks. The problem is sometimes audio is inappropriate or inconvenient...

>138 leslie.98: oh yes, I love having audio books so available through my phone now! I listen to books on my way to and from work :)

I consider my phone an emergency only measure for books but love reading long articles on the Instapaper app on it. But even then, reading on a screen for too long just hurts my eyes, even with spepia tone/dimming.

>134 Robertgreaves: I have an iPhone, which I really only read on when I'm in an area without wifi and need to do an "emergency" check of LT. For that I tilt the phone sideways, because the screen is too narrow to read the Talk threads on. If I want to read an ebook I use my iPad, because it feels more like a book.

>135 Shutzie27: That sounds like a great car! I think when I went purse shopping, I had just been to the library and used the books I had on hand to test the capacity.

>136 avanders: This is the same model as (or a model very similar to) my purse, of which I have two: one blue and one purple. It is fairly substantial!

Northanger was so good! And very fast. I finished it in two days.

>137 Tess_W: I don't like leaving my purse in the car either. I don't even like leaving it at the front door when visiting somebody's house. It has to stay with me at all times.

>138 leslie.98: Yes! I have audiobooks on my phone, too, although that's mainly because my iPod is getting too full of music. Why did I think 16 GB would be enough?

>139 avanders: I really only listen to audiobooks at home, because otherwise the ambient noise gets in and distracts me. Have to get back to my current audiobook sometime. I'm stretching it out as long as I can because (a) I don't usually listen to audiobooks and (b) David Morrissey is narrating it, and I will be sad to have the book end.

>140 Shutzie27: Same here. I turn the brightness on the iPad down as low as possible, but it does hurt my eyes after a while. And I've found I don't enjoy books on the iPad as much as I do on paper.

****

This ROOT puts me halfway to my goal, which is good since we're almost halfway through the year!

Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen
ROOT 25 of 50
Source: Christmas gift, I think
Rating: 4/5

I tore through this in two days. Maybe three. The word I want to describe my reading experience might be "refreshing", but I can't put my finger on why. It just felt fizzy and delightful.

Excellent progress!

Interesting discussion about the emergency reads everyone has. I knew I was in the right group. I have a book at the bottom of my bag at all times and have a stash at work until I can make it to my main supply at home. Of course, I have been known to dash into a books store or library if the need is dire!

>141 rabbitprincess: pretty! And it looks like it works great to serve its purpose :)

And "Why did I think 16 GB would be enough?" lol! That is why I had to upgrade my phone, even though my last one was, otherwise, working just fine. Fortunately, it went to a good home :)

Re audio books - only at home - I have the opposite problem. The only time I don't have external distractions is in the car ... at home, there's way too much activity! Sounds like you have a couple of good reasons to elongate the experience! ;)

And re reading on iPad/iPhone -- I agree re the contrast. There's an app called BookShout (which I don't necessarily recommend, but maybe, depending on what you're looking for), that at least has going for it an option to change the background to a light ivory with medium brown text -- SO much easier to read w/ that contrast. I don't understand why more non-eReader apps don't have that kind of option!

And CONGRATS on being halfway to your goal! Can't wait to read that one... :)

>143 Familyhistorian: lol doesn't the need always feel dire? ;)

>142 MissWatson: Thanks!

>143 Familyhistorian: Good idea to keep a stash at work!

>144 avanders: It is a very reliable purse :) Interesting to hear about the BookShout app. I just checked iBooks and the Overdrive app (which I use to read ebooks from the library) and both have an option to turn the screen sepia, which I did not know/had forgotten. Will have to see if that helps with my reading ebooks.

****

One last ROOT for June.

Something Borrowed, by Richelle Mead
ROOT 26 of 50
Source: Doctor Who box set
Rating: 3.5 stars

I cannot comment on this without spoiling it significantly. It was pretty good, and it's made me want to dig out my other Sixth Doctor book sooner rather than later. So hurray!

****

June recap (holy cow, it's already the end of June!): 4 ROOTS pulled (YTD: 26)

Death at Windsor Castle, by C.C. Benison
Doctor Who and the Horror of Fang Rock, by Terrance Dicks
Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen
Something Borrowed, by Richelle Mead

ROOT of the month: Northanger Abbey. Such fun!

The ROOTS I did manage to complete this month were short and snappy. I am in the middle of a couple of big ones at the moment, so July's numbers ought to be a bit higher. I've also had a whack of library books coming in, and of course those always seem to take precedence. (An interlibrary loan is raising an impatient eyebrow at me right now, in fact...) Onward and upward!

>145 rabbitprincess: nice! I haven't done much reading (e-reading) on the overdrive app -- good to know it has that option too! :)

Congrats on passing your halfway point!

>146 avanders: Thank you!

****

Starting the month off right with another ROOT.

Moonbeams from the Larger Lunacy, by Stephen Leacock
ROOT 27 of 50
Source: EVM
Rating: 4/5

It's no Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town, but still very enjoyable. Also 100 years old this year, but some of the humour remains timeless.

This ROOT has been growing roots on my bedside table.

Sarum, by Edward Rutherfurd
ROOT 28 of 50
Source: Knotanew Bookstore, Peterborough, ON
Rating: 3.5/5

I liked the bits about Salisbury Cathedral best. Could also have done with one less chapter on the prehistoric people... I had the same problem with his book about London. But overall it was quite good.

****

Went book shopping today and came home with seven books, including the third and fourth books in the Dublin Murder Squad series by Tana French. I was especially glad to find the third book, because it's in the middle of the backlist and so would take 3-5 weeks for Chapters to ship if I were to order from them.

And because I needed to make some room for my purchases, I did a mini-purge of my shelves, which included giving away Going Through the Stacks book #38, Dr. No, by Ian Fleming. It will go on the pile destined for my BF's parents' church bazaar (which isn't until the fall, but I'm definitely prepared).

>148 rabbitprincess: fun, book shopping! And double-fun, a mini-purge! (I don't know why, but I enjoy those too ;))

>149 avanders: It can be quite liberating to get rid of books you know you're not going to read anymore!

****

Yesterday was a fantastic day for books. I finished three long-standing books, one of which was a ROOT. And today I finished another ROOT.

The Likeness, by Tana French
ROOT 29 of 50
Source: Christmas gift
Rating: 3.5/5

Judging from the reviews of the first two books in the series, many people strongly prefer either the first or second book. I fall into the camp of those who preferred the first book, In the Woods, but I still liked The Likeness. It could have used some trimming in the middle, but the ending definitely held my attention.

A Midsummer Night's Dream, by William Shakespeare
ROOT 30 of 50
Going Through the Stacks #39
Source: Birthday gift
Rating: 4/5

A reread for the June HistoryCAT challenge. My favourite parts are the ones featuring the "rude mechanicals" and their play, Pyramus and Thisbe. Had to resist reading those scenes out loud on the bus (although there was much smirking on my part).

Glad you enjoyed it. I need to re-read Willie!

>150 rabbitprincess: woo hoo! Great Rooting!!

> 148 The Dublin Murder Squad is one of my favorite mystery series; I am continually blown away by Tana French's ability to write in such distinctly different voices. I need the fourth one myself. It's interesting to me how The Likeness gets such mixed reviews; I loved it but every review I've read disliking it has points I can see, but just didn't bother me.

>151 Tess_W: It had been quite a while since I'd read it. It scratched the Shakespeare itch and was a bit lighter than my original thought, which was Henry IV Part 1.

>152 avanders: Thanks!

>153 Shutzie27: My mum was reading reviews on GR and she thought it was interesting that people who like the first one seem to not like the second one as much, and vice-versa.

****

Another ROOT down.

The Wolfe Widow, by Victoria Abbott
ROOT 31 of 50
Source: Chapters
Rating: 3/5

This installment of the Book Collector series involves the novels of Nero Wolfe, so now I have to start reading those ;) This was not my favourite in the series, but it was a good bus book.

Reading about winter is a good way to stave off the summer heat!

Doctor Who and the Abominable Snowmen, by Terrance Dicks
ROOT 32 of 50
Source: used book sale
Rating: 3.5/5

Slightly above average for the Target Doctor Who novels. This is actually a novelization of a story that aired on television, so it is interesting to read and imagine how they would have rendered the special effects at the time (it aired in 1967, and sadly it is one of the missing stories, with only 1 of 6 episodes still existing in BBC archives).

I can remember that story on screen, but I was far too young to worry about how exactly the special effects were done. Actually, I still prefer not to know how special effects are done, I'd rather just let the illusion work.

>156 Robertgreaves: I think what interests me most about the older special effects is the ingenuity that would have had to be used to create these illusions. Nowadays everything seems so easy with CGI and green screen.

****

From Yetis to the great lumbering bear that is Dr Gideon Fell...

The Hollow Man, by John Dickson Carr (also published as The Three Coffins)
ROOT 33 of 50
Source: used bookstore in Ulverston, England
Rating: 3.5/5

Another bamboozling locked-room mystery from the master of the form. I never expect to guess the solution with JDC. But with Gideon Fell as the detective, it is at least an amusing ride.

>155 rabbitprincess: fun! reading about winter in July... hadn't really considered it ;)

and >157 rabbitprincess: sounds fun too!

>158 avanders: I'm also considering nautical books as a way to cool down. We're due for another heat wave next week. Blargh. It is also supposed to rain/thunderstorm today, but I'll believe it when I see it.

****

This was a fun one!

McGarr on the Cliffs of Moher, by Bartholomew Gill (also published as The Death of an Irish Lass)
ROOT 34 of 50
Source: Friends of Library and Archives Canada book sale
Rating: 4/5

My first in the McGarr series, although this is actually the third book. The title is what drew me in: "Cliffs of Moher? YES PLEASE." It's got a great setting -- the Cliffs, County Clare, Galway and Dublin all feature at some point -- and the mystery had me turning the pages at a reasonable clip.

>159 rabbitprincess: smart! ;) Agreed... BLARGH on heat waves!!!

>160 avanders: I love heat waves! There is one coming next week. Now it's like autumn out here. Storm and rain and only 15C.

>161 connie53: Mmmmm, like autumn is the BEST way for ANYTHING to be, imho. ;)

>160 avanders: Yesterday was the worst. We had an actual temperature of 35 and a humidex ("feels like") of 43 Celsius. It was too hot to exist!

>161 connie53: Next heat wave we get, I'm packing it in a box and sending it to you ;)

>162 avanders: I don't mind temperatures in the 20s with a moderating breeze, but it's when it gets humid and the sun's beating down that I really feel uncomfortable.

****

Two more ROOTs, which will likely be it for the month, although you never know.

The Zebra-Striped Hearse, by Ross Macdonald
ROOT 35 of 50
Source: Xmas gift 2014
Rating: 3.5/5

Not the worst Archer mystery, but not the best either. A bit on the repetitive side, and the hearse doesn't actually show up all that much. It just makes a good title.

The Ripple Effect, by Malorie Blackman
ROOT 36 of 50
Source: Doctor Who box set
Rating: 3.5/5

This is the Seventh Doctor story in the box set, and it's not bad. I do like stories involving Bizarro Daleks though.

>163 rabbitprincess: I will be checking my mail box!

>164 connie53: Excellent!

****

July recap: 10 ROOTS pulled (YTD: 36) -- once again I somehow can't count when logging books individually. Edit August 8: discovered I'd numbered both Hollow Man and Cliffs of Moher as #33, hence my confusion.

Moonbeams from the Larger Lunacy, by Stephen Leacock
Sarum, by Edward Rutherfurd
The Likeness, by Tana French
A Midsummer Night's Dream, by William Shakespeare (reread)
The Wolfe Widow, by Victoria Abbott
Doctor Who and the Abominable Snowmen, by Terrance Dicks
The Hollow Man, by John Dickson Carr
McGarr on the Cliffs of Moher, by Bartholomew Gill
The Zebra-Striped Hearse, by Ross Macdonald
The Ripple Effect, by Malorie Blackman (Doctor Who box set #7)

ROOT of the month: McGarr on the Cliffs of Moher, by Bartholomew Gill. It was a close call between this and Moonbeams from the Larger Lunacy, but the McGarr book brought back lots of happy memories of my trip to Ireland last year.

It was a highly productive month this month, helped by the fact that I was bringing a lot of short books, especially mysteries, on the bus. I've also started reading at breakfast and lunch while at work. Those little ten-minute stretches add up!

The on-deck pile is turning a bit historical and non-fictiony at the moment, with mysteries from the library to balance things out.

I think I found a little heat wave in my mail box! I'm enjoying it very much. Thanks RP

Did you read all of Sarum in July? I am impressed! It took me about a year to read it. I am reading Rutherford's London at about the same pace.

>165 rabbitprincess: Unless I'm dining with somebody, I always read when I'm eating! Diet experts say that's really bad though. And nothing wrong with that historical pile;)

>166 connie53: Great, glad to hear it! ;)

>167 Familyhistorian: Haha no, I started it in late May, after the long weekend. But it was a pretty speedy read for a Rutherfurd. It also helped that I tried not to borrow too many library books while I was reading it.

>168 Tess_W: It feels so weird to just eat while staring off into space! I have to be looking at SOMEthing, and figure a book is better than the computer screen, since that's what I look at all day at work.

I'm looking forward to that historical pile! First up will be the second in the Poldark series, Demelza.

****

First ROOT of the month yesterday!

Players, by Terrance Dicks

Category: Doctor Who
ROOT 37 of 50
Source: BMV, Toronto
Rating: 4/5

Time travel, alternate history, England, the Boer War, and Winston Churchill -- this adds up to a really interesting adventure for the Sixth Doctor and Peri.

>169 rabbitprincess: Just finished the first of the Poldark series and need to buy the 2nd! Loved it!

>169 rabbitprincess: May to July is an amazing pace for a Rutherford. You must have been concentrating hard on finishing it. I tend to put his books down once I have read a time period. I think I really need a continuous story relating to the same characters to make a good amount of headway on a book.

>163 rabbitprincess: No! Sounds horrible! But it's nice that there are people out there (lookin' at you, Connie ;)) who enjoy it!

>165 rabbitprincess: congrats on your super productive month!

>168 Tess_W: me too... is there another way to eat?

>172 avanders: I enjoy heat waves because I can do nothing else but read when they are around. And I can handle the heath.

>173 connie53: that's a great reason to enjoy them! ... I still have a hard time overcoming that, though .. maybe it's that second part... have a harder time handling the heat! ;)

>174 avanders: just dress light, stay in the shade and don't move too much, Ava.

>175 connie53: all good suggestions!

>170 Tess_W: What I like about the Poldark series is how short a time period each book covers, and how much happens within that period. Demelza is an excellent read so far. Hoping to finish it in the next couple of days.

>171 Familyhistorian: Yes, I had my mum nagging me to finish it because she had just finished it recently and wanted to discuss it ;) She treated it like a collection of short stories, possibly stopping after a time period as well.

>172 avanders: Thanks! :)

>173 connie53:, >174 avanders:, >175 connie53:, >176 avanders: Yep, I too cannot handle heat very well. Not moving too much is an excellent tip. What I find difficult is trying to make myself walk more slowly, because I naturally walk very fast.

****

Finished a ROOT this morning and declared another one finished.

Charles II: His Life and Likeness, by Hesketh Pearson
ROOT 38 of 50
Source: EVM
Rating: 3.5/5

A biography of Charles II published in 1960, but I imagine it is still broadly accurate. More focus on Charles and his character, as opposed to the historical events surrounding him, although there is enough context to situate the reader and prompt them to want to find out more.

Autobiography, by Morrissey (audio, read by David Morrissey)
ROOT 39 of 50
Source: iTunes
Rating: 4/5

Three stars for the content, an extra star for David's narration, which was really the reason I picked up the book in the first place. I've been reading it off and on since January, but that is more because I'm a terrible audiobook listener than because of the book itself.

Continuing with the Poldark series...

Demelza, by Winston Graham
ROOT 40 of 50
Source: Phoenix Books, Owen Sound, Ontario
Rating: 4/5

Volume 2 is just as good as Volume 1. Having the miniseries characters in my head also proved enjoyable. Mmmmm Aidan Turner. And Verity is perfectly cast, too.

I had this one on the bedside table for the past couple of weeks and have really enjoyed it.

South Riding, by Winifred Holtby
ROOT 41 of 50
Source: Xmas gift
Rating: 4/5

This was a reread and I especially enjoyed reading it again after having seen the miniseries. Of course, now I want to watch the miniseries again. Funny how that works.

I have about 8 or 9 books in this series and am only just now finally reading another one!

Gideon's Ride, by J.J. Marric
ROOT 42 of 50
Source: BMV, Toronto, ON
Rating: 3/5

I liked that this was about the London public transit system! Overall, it met my expectations, so a positive three stars as opposed to a "meh" three stars.

You are just tearing through those ROOTs! Only 9 more!

Hi Rabbitprincess! Great idea about "cool down" reads; I could use one of those. Maybe a pirate book next.....

>181 avanders: I wouldn't read nearly as many of these without the encouragement and motivation of this group!

>182 Shutzie27: Ooh, a pirate book would be fun! I still have my eye on that David Cordingley book you recommended and will have to find time for it soon. I did actually borrow it from the library earlier this year but ran out of time to read it.

****

Going through the stacks again to reread.

Remembered Death, by Agatha Christie (also published as Sparkling Cyanide)
ROOT 43 of 50
Source: Grandma
Rating: 4/5

I read this dozens of times as a kid but still managed to forget how the person who done it actually did it, and why. (I did remember who, though, so something must have stuck!) This is one of the Colonel Race novels and was expanded from a short story featuring Poirot.

>183 rabbitprincess: yeah me too :)

7 more!

>184 avanders: And then there were six (more).

Engines of War, by George Mann
ROOT 44 of 50
Source: Chapters, bought with my Christmas gift card
Rating: 3.5/5

I had to buy this book because it features the War Doctor, who appears in the Doctor Who 50th anniversary special "The Day of the Doctor" and is played to perfection by Sir John Hurt. It is set during the epic Time War between the Daleks and the Time Lords and is one of those fun, relatively undemanding sci-fi reads. Could have been a bit shorter though.

>185 rabbitprincess: Oh, gosh, I didn't know there were any Who novels out there featuring the War Doctor! I might have to take a look at that one.

>186 bragan: Especially because I'm not sure how many the BBC would try to produce! It seems like a very limited time frame for him to operate in. It is certainly worth checking out, if only for the fun of imagining John Hurt's voice in your head :)

****

Speaking of Doctor Who, this will be my last ROOT of the month:

Spore, by Alex Scarrow (Doctor Who box set #8)
ROOT 45 of 50
Source: Doctor Who box set
Rating: 4/5

The Eighth Doctor encounters an alien threat with just the right amount of peril in a story that does not outstay its welcome. It's hard to review these very short stories...

>187 rabbitprincess: I don't know, the war seems to have lasted a long time, and no doubt it was extremely eventful! But I'm not sure I can see them launching a whole series of books set in that period. Heck, I kind of hope they don't; I think a lot of the details of the War are probably better left to the imagination. But I'm still definitely curious enough to want to read this one., if only just to see more of Hurt's version of the character. I really enjoyed the little of him that we got.

>188 bragan: True, by its very nature the Time War does stretch across all of time and space. But I agree, I'd like to have SOME part of the Time War left to my imagination.

John Hurt is the best! Now whenever I read a quote involving timey-wimey, I read it in his skeptical tones. "Timey-WIMEY?!"

****

I probably won't finish any more ROOTs today so here is a summary of the month.

August recap: 9 ROOTS pulled (YTD: 45).

Players, by Terrance Dicks
Charles II: His Life and Likeness, by Hesketh Pearson
Autobiography, by Morrissey (audio, read by David Morrissey)
Demelza, by Winston Graham
South Riding, by Winifred Holtby (reread)
Gideon's Ride, by J.J. Marric
Remembered Death, by Agatha Christie (reread)
Engines of War, by George Mann
Spore, by Alex Scarrow (Doctor Who box set #8)

ROOT of the month: Demelza, by Winston Graham. After reading this, I wanted to scoop up the next book in the series immediately! But I have only two left on my shelves… I have to find the rest.

Overall I am very satisfied with the ROOTS I have read. A lot of them were picked for various challenges at the Category Challenge that have been great for helping me decide what to read next.

For the first half of the month I may end up reading more library books, because I will be on vacation for the second half of the month… and I've already started trying to figure out which books to bring! So far my choices for the trip include general fiction, mysteries and some humour, as well as an e-copy of David Copperfield to complement the paper ROOT I want to read this month but do not want to risk carrying in my suitcase.

First ROOT of September:

Never Have Your Dog Stuffed: And Other Things I've Learned, by Alan Alda (abridged audio, narrated by Alan Alda)
ROOT 46 of 50
Source: library CDs
Rating: 4.5/5

This was kind of a reread; I've read the print edition before but not the audio. The audio is abridged, which is annoying, but at least it is read by Alan Alda himself. The rating is 3.5 for the content (taking into account the abridgement) and an extra star for Alan's narration.

Four more! I was gone for a bit, but I come back and look what happened! ;)

Looks like you're rooting out some good ones :)

>191 avanders: Yep I've been having pretty good luck with ROOTS and with my reading in general over the past couple of months :)

****

Second ROOT of September:

The Beast of Babylon, by Charlie Higson
ROOT 47 of 50
Source: Doctor Who box set
Rating: 4/5

Decided to read my Doctor Who box set book early this month. This one features the Ninth Doctor, Christopher Eccleston, and ends up very good, especially in the companion department.

You are nearing the target, RP. Very good job!

>192 rabbitprincess: that's nice :) I've hit a slow patch... looking forward to getting "back to it"!

>193 connie53: Thanks, Connie!

>194 avanders: hope the slow patch speeds up soon!

****

Mussolini: His Part in My Downfall, by Spike Milligan
ROOT 48 of 50
Source: adopted from a colleague doing a book purge
Rating: 4/5

This rating is in relation to the previous 3 volumes of war memoirs. I found this one more straightforward -- fewer silly interludes -- and loved the descriptions of shows put on by the band.

Glad you enjoyed Milligan, I can't stand him!

>196 Tess_W: He is definitely an acquired taste, and even then it's possible to acquire a taste for only some of his work. I prefer his memoirs to his poetry, but then I'm not much of a poetry person to begin with.

****

Finished another of the many ROOTS I brought on my trip.

Dead Water, by Ngaio Marsh
ROOT 49 of 50
Source: Salvation Army bookstore, Montreal
Rating: 3/5

It is fitting that I finished this book in Cornwall, England, because that is where it is set. This was a better Ngaio Marsh than I've read for a while (haven't had much luck with the past two books of hers I've read), but the blurb on the back cover misidentified the murder victim, so that led to some confusion as the book ended without that person being killed.

>197 rabbitprincess: I do wonder sometimes whether blurb writers actually read the books. There are times I've read a blurb and thought afterwards that the blurb was describing a different book to the one I actually read.

>197 rabbitprincess: >198 Robertgreaves: weird! That's quite the mistake! :)

>198 Robertgreaves: Same with cover designers -- sometimes I wonder what book they were attempting to describe! (I am thinking specifically of some of the Agatha Christie novels published in paperback by Fontana -- they had some trippy, irrelevant covers.)

>199 avanders: It was! The copy sounded good but was completely wrong!

****

With this book, I have reached my target. Additional ROOTs will go toward the group goal.

Jeremy Poldark, by Winston Graham
ROOT 50 of 50
Source: Phoenix Books, Owen Sound, ON
Rating; 4/5

The third book in the Poldark series. If you liked the first two, you'll probably like this one.

>200 rabbitprincess: Congratulations on reaching your goal! :)

>200 rabbitprincess: Hooray, well done! :)

Well done, rabbitprincess.

Congrats!

>201 leslie.98: >202 Jackie_K: >203 Robertgreaves: >204 Tess_W: Thank you, all! :)

Congrats on reaching your target. Well done.

Well done!

>200 rabbitprincess: Woo hoo!! Congrats!

>206 Ameise1: >207 MissWatson: >208 avanders: Thanks! :)

This is as good a time as any to do my September recap:

September recap: 5 ROOTS pulled (YTD: 50).

Never Have Your Dog Stuffed: And Other Things I've Learned, by Alan Alda (audio, read by Alan Alda)
The Beast of Babylon, by Charlie Higson (Doctor Who box set #9)
Mussolini: His Part in My Downfall, by Spike Milligan
Dead Water, by Ngaio Marsh
Jeremy Poldark, by Winston Graham

ROOT of the month: Jeremy Poldark, by Winston Graham. I love this series! And my mum bought a copy of the fifth book, so I still have two more books in my (family's) possession to read.

On the culling front, I did an OK job too. Two of this month's ROOTs found new homes: the Spike Milligan book went to complete @JackieKirkham's collection, and the Ngaio Marsh was left at one of the flats we rented on our recent UK vacation.

October might be a bit slower for ROOTs as all the library holds I suspended during my vacation are slowly becoming reactivated… including two 4-novel omnibuses of women crime writers of the 50s and 60s, which of course are both in transit and will probably arrive at the same time. Those might end up being partially read and re-requested! But I do plan to stick to ROOTs for my bus books as much as possible.

The month is 1/3 gone already, but I have two ROOTS to show for it!

Floodgate, by Alistair MacLean
ROOT 51 of 50
Source: Ottawa Public Library book sale
Rating: 2/5

This was a strange book. It was not my least favourite MacLean, but there are definitely better ones. I didn't like it enough to keep, so off it goes to another book sale!

Arthur & George, by Julian Barnes
ROOT 52 of 50
Source: BMV Edward St. location, Toronto
Rating: 5/5

This is my book of the month already. Halfway through, I was already planning a reread, one in which I'd transcribe quotes into my commonplace book. And now I have to wait for the TV adaptation to come in at the library.

You did it! And some more

Congrats!

>210 rabbitprincess: I know, unbelievable it's already October 11th?!?!

Oh wow, I have Arthur & George on the shelves... I keep reshuffling! ;)

>211 connie53: and >212 Tess_W: Thank you both! :)

>213 avanders: Tell me about it! I have an "on-deck" pile on one of my bookcases that keeps growing and changing with every new book that catches my eye.

>214 rabbitprincess: the same here!

>214 rabbitprincess: >215 connie53: lol sometimes I feel too easily distracted... this group helps me remember I'm not the only one ;)

Wow! Two books past target! Good job!

Congrats on meeting your target and going beyond.

>215 connie53: >216 avanders: Nice to know I'm not alone in being distracted while picking what to read next! :)

>217 craso: >218 Familyhistorian: Thank you both! I could probably raise the target, but it does feel good to go beyond and contribute to the group total.

****

Here's the third book past target.

The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century, by Steven Pinker
ROOT 53 of 50
Source: The Book Company (a Chapters store), Ottawa
Rating: 5/5

I had high expectations for this book. Fortunately, it met them, and I have spent the past week gushing about this book to all of my editor/writer colleagues.

>219 rabbitprincess: I enjoyed The Sense of Style as well. I read it as part of the required reading for a course last year.

>220 Familyhistorian: It would make a great course book, especially for the chapter on grammar. I did feel that that would be a good thing to read in a class where you could ask the professor for clarification. It's been a while since I've looked at sentence trees.

****

This has been a very good reading month. This is my second five-star book in a row.

Faithful Place, by Tana French
ROOT 54 of 50
Source: Book Bazaar, Ottawa
Rating: 5/5

I debated between 4.5 and 5, but the more manageable length and the tighter focus of this installment in the Dublin Murder Squad series ended up persuading me to award the full five stars. Spent most of the book feeling winded from all of the emotional gut-punches. Very well done.

>221 rabbitprincess: I've read this book too and gave it ****.

>222 connie53: It was very good. I've added the next book in the series to my "read this soon" pile, but "soon" may end up being next year! So many ROOTs.

****

Finished a somewhat spooky Halloween read.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane, by Neil Gaiman
ROOT 55 of 50
Source: Chapters
Rating: 4/5

Great atmosphere in this one and some decidedly sinister moments (the monster flapping in the breeze gave me the creeps). Also, nice and short so you're not spending too much time being creeped out.

>223 rabbitprincess: "So many ROOTs" ... RIGHT?! French's books are more on that long list....

And I really enjoyed that Gaiman one too! :)

>224 avanders: I've already gone and added the 4th Dublin Murder Squad book to the on-deck pile! She and Denise Mina have been providing excellent mystery entertainment this year.

The Gaiman was a great book and a great cover too!

****

Two more ROOTS to finish out the month. Recap post coming later.

Strange Shores, by Arnaldur Indridason (translated by Victoria Cribb)
ROOT 56 of 50
Source: Chaptigo
Rating: 3.5/5

An important book in the Erlendur series. To say more would be to give spoilers. The rating is 3 for my actual enjoyment, and an extra 0.5 for the importance.

The Mystery of the Haunted Cottage, by Derek Landy
ROOT 57 of 50
Source: 12 Doctors, 12 Stories box set
Rating: 5/5

Easily my favourite story in this Doctor Who box set. A very enjoyable half-hour :)

You're really motoring now!

>226 Jackie_K: Indeed! Now I really am wondering whether to up the target to 55 or 60 next year...

****

October recap: 7 ROOTS pulled (YTD: 57)

Floodgate, by Alistair MacLean
Arthur & George, by Julian Barnes
The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century, by Steven Pinker
Faithful Place, by Tana French
The Ocean at the End of the Lane, by Neil Gaiman
Strange Shores, by Arnaldur Indridason (translated by Victoria Cribb)
The Mystery of the Haunted Cottage, by Derek Landy (Doctor Who box set #10)

ROOT of the month: Arthur & George, by Julian Barnes. It's a book I'm looking forward to rereading with my commonplace book by my side, ready to write down quotes.

In November, I will still be trying to tackle the pile of library books that have come in, but I'm doing better at being ruthless and returning the ones I don't have the time or inclination to complete. And having a teetering "on-deck" pile of ROOTS is a good reminder to ensure that I have balance in my reading. The on-deck pile consists of general fiction, mysteries and SFF, so a nice balanced month ahead in terms of subject matter as well!

>225 rabbitprincess: Another reminder for me to get started on that series.... ;)

>227 rabbitprincess: Will also have to move Arthur & George up on the list.....

>228 avanders: So many series! And I hope you like Arthur and George. I'm now 47th on the list at the library for the TV adaptation.

****

The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck
ROOT 58 of 50
Source: the BF's collection
Rating: 4/5

This was a thought-provoking book, especially Chapters 15 and 27. It was interesting to be reading a book that my BF has read, because he would ask where I was at and want to know my reactions. He needs to read more books, because this is fun :)

>229 rabbitprincess: I knooooow!! I love seeing the tv/movie version of a book after I've read it! Will have to include that one too.... :)

>229 rabbitprincess: Glad you enjoyed Steinbeck, I wish I were a fan, but I'm not!

>230 avanders: Enjoy!

>231 Tess_W: I enjoyed it even more for the discussion opportunities it afforded. Now I am hunting for more books to put in the BF's reading orbit. He reads very, very slowly, and doesn't like to leave books unfinished, so whenever he does read he wants to make sure it's a REALLY good one. And maddeningly he doesn't take recommendations, so I just talk up books at every possible opportunity to implant them in his subconscious ;)

****

Second ROOT of November:

Memento Mori, by Muriel Spark
ROOT 59 of 50
Source: Friends of Library and Archives book sale
Rating: 3/5

This story just kind of happened, for lack of a better word, but I did like Spark's observations on how various people deal with getting older, so I'd consider reading another book of hers.

Congrats on completing your goal this year! I'm glad to see that you're still working on ROOTing things out. On reading books your boyfriend has read, that's one of the reasons I pass so many books on to my Mom. It's fun to see where the other one is at, and what they think about things. Mom is currently reading the latest Flavia de Luce book, and it's fun teasing her about what's going to happen.

>233 LauraBrook: Thanks, Laura! It is so much fun to share books with someone. And to some extent fun to share television. My parents were just watching a repeat of last night's episode of Doctor Who and I was interested to see their reactions.

****

Two more ROOTS brought to you by my bus reading.

Warleggan, by Winston Graham
ROOT 60 of 50
Source: Phoenix Books, Owen Sound, Ontario
Rating: 4/5

So many surprising developments in this one! My BF thought it sounded a bit soapy when I described it to him, but I eat up the books anyway! This will make a verrrrry interesting Season 2 of Poldark.

The Instant Enemy, by Ross Macdonald
ROOT 61 of 50
Source: Christmas present from 2012 (eek!)
Rating: 4/5

I agree with the New York Times quote on the front of my copy: "Moves fast and is full of surprises". Glad I finished at home because there were a lot of startled exclamations directed at the book. Great stuff.

This will probably be my last ROOT of November.

Nothing O'Clock, by Neil Gaiman
ROOT 62 of 50
Source: Doctor Who box set
Rating: 4/5

I enjoyed this Eleventh Doctor adventure. It was fun to hang out with him again.

>235 rabbitprincess: a Dr. Who book by Neil Gaiman? Do tell....

>236 avanders: It's just a tiny little book that is part of the box set I've been reading all year, but it is fun. Actually Neil Gaiman even wrote an episode of Doctor Who, a Matt Smith episode called "The Doctor's Wife."

****

How is it 11/12 of the way through the year??

November recap: 5 ROOTS pulled (YTD: 62)

The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck
Memento Mori, by Muriel Spark
Warleggan, by Winston Graham
The Instant Enemy, by Ross Macdonald
Nothing O'Clock, by Neil Gaiman (Doctor Who box set #11)

ROOT of the month: Good question. Three of the five merited four stars, and they were all good for different reasons. I will say The Grapes of Wrath, then, because I was not expecting to like it as much as I did, and it stayed with me for a while after reading it.

In December, I hope to get to a few big historical fiction and mystery books. This is probably an overly optimistic reading plan, but we'll have fun trying. I am also trying to sneak in a French book this month to meet that goal in my Category Challenge.

>237 rabbitprincess: thanks! Sounds great :) Didnt know he wrote an episode either!

I know, tomorrow is December?!

I really liked Matt Smith's Doctor, and the Neil Gaiman episode was one of the highlights (although I think my favourite was the Van Gogh one - I cried my eyes out at that!).

>238 avanders: And it's a freezing-rainy start to the month here! Yuck! I took the bus as much as possible today instead of walking, which ended up being a wise decision from the sounds of things. Icy sidewalks are no fun.

>239 Jackie_K: My favourite line of Matt Smith's tenure is in the Neil Gaiman episode: "Did you wish REALLY hard?!" ;)
My favourite episode (apart from Van Gogh, which I agree was brilliant and very sad) is Dinosaurs on a Spaceship, because it's gloriously bonkers. Also it has Mr Weasley, Inspector Lestrade AND Argus Filch!

>240 rabbitprincess: what a start to the month! Here, cold but clear :)

And I really need to get back to that series!!

>238 avanders: Gaiman wrote two Matt Smith episodes, in fact. The second one was "Nightmare in Silver," featuring the Cybermen. Not nearly as memorable as "The Doctor's Wife," but I liked it.

I had no idea he'd written any Who novels, though. Even short ones.

Sigh. If I had thirteen lives and a time machine, maybe I'd be able to make an attempt to keep up with all the Who stuff in print.

>242 bragan: very cool! :)
Lol yeah it seems daunting...

>241 avanders: Fortunately the weather has improved since Tuesday. Milder than usual, which will be annoying if that's the weather around Christmas (I always want snow at Christmas), but at least it is not freezing rain!

>242 bragan: Oh yeah, I'd forgotten about Nightmare in Silver! Would love to see Gaiman write a Capaldi episode, especially since Capaldi also appeared in Neverwhere.

>242 bragan: and >243 avanders: So many Doctor Who books, so little time. I will have to use my time machine as a library to store all of them!

****

Got in a surprise first ROOT of the month by switching from a library e-book to a download from Project Gutenberg (I consider PG books to be "owned" since I store them permanently on my iPad, rather than borrowing them from the library).

The Red House Mystery, by A.A. Milne
ROOT 63 of 50
Source: Project Gutenberg
Rating: 3/5

An enjoyable mystery that would be fun for aficionados of Golden Age detective fiction. And interestingly this is the only A.A. Milne book I've read.

>244 rabbitprincess: I know, me too... Snow for Christmas! :D

And a time machine to store books? Intriguing...

>244 rabbitprincess: Oh, Gaiman and Capaldi would be an amazing combination. Want!

And, yes, the other reason I'd love to have a TARDIS is for the dimensionally transcendental book storage capacity. :)

>245 avanders: No snow here yet... still smashing temperature records :( On Friday we got up to 11 degrees C and the old record was 9. Now the temperatures are starting to drop, but of course they come with the potential for freezing rain! Can't win.

>246 bragan: Also for its ability to suspend you outside of time, allowing you to finish up that highly thrilling mystery novel without having to stay up all night.

****

Speaking of thrilling mysteries:

Broken Harbour, by Tana French
ROOT 64 of 50
Source: Book Bazaar, Ottawa
Rating: 4/5

Almost caught up on the Dublin Murder Squad series! Eep! Have to pick up a copy of The Secret Place, which I hope is out in paperback now. I also hope that Scorcher Kennedy, the protagonist of this installment, shows up again soon.

>247 rabbitprincess: And nobody would be able to bother me while I was reading, if I parked myself outside of time and space in the Temporal Vortex to do it!

>248 bragan: I approve immensely of this plan!

****

Lots of goals checked off with this book: it's a ROOT, it's a Going Through the Stacks book, and it provides a refresher for the upcoming TV adaptation.

And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie
ROOT 65 of 50
Going Through the Stacks #41
Source: Big Box o'Christies
Rating: 5/5

I remembered whodunnit but not how, and I very nearly stopped reading before the chapter that explains how. Excellent atmosphere and fiendishly plotted.

>247 rabbitprincess: hope your winter outlook has improved since last week! :) It's so funny... New Mexico (where I live) always seems to have the opposite problem, weather-wise, as the rest of the country. Last winter we had gorgeous weather and minimal snow... this winter it's been cold while the rest of the country is in the 60s!

>249 rabbitprincess: sounds like a great read :)

>250 avanders: Tomorrow's high: 16 degrees! Gack! And then by Monday we're down to lows of -15. I'll take your cold weather if it means consistency!

And yes, it's a classic!

****

This is festive in character name only.

Ten Lords a-Leaping, by CC Benison
ROOT 66 of 50
Source: Christmas gift from 2013
Rating: 2/5

I wanted to like this book more than I did. A character in this book features in another series by Benison that I dearly love and that I wish had continued. So really I must just want that series back and nothing else is going to cut it.

>247 rabbitprincess: Ooooh, I have been "saving" Broken Harbor for when I know I'll have large swaths of uninterrupted reading time, but your review may make it my first read for 2016! I just love the Dublin Murder Squad series.

Anyway, Happy Holidays! Or Belated Happy Chanukah, Merry Christmas, or Joyous Festivus, or Happy Solstice, or... Good tidings, at any rate. :-) And Happy New Year.

>251 rabbitprincess: wow that is quite the temperature range!!
And Merry Christmas!

>251 rabbitprincess: Aw, a bummer! I've often wanted to read that series. Do you like the others? Was this one a dud? Or are they all "blah"? They're such chunksters that I'd hate to get a few hundred pages in and not care what happened any more.

And a belated Merry Christmas to you!

>252 Shutzie27: Thank you for the holiday greetings! I hope you like Broken Harbour. Looking forward to picking up a copy of The Secret Place now that it's out in paperback.

>253 avanders: Isn't it something?? Now we are back to more seasonal temperatures. The high was around minus 8 and the windchill felt about 10 degrees colder. Also, we had a snowstorm. FINALLY SNOW!!!
Thank you for the Christmas wishes!

>254 LauraBrook: The only one I really liked was the second one, Eleven Pipers Piping. I have no idea why they are so long, especially since his other series (the Jane Bee one I keep bringing up on the slightest pretext) never clocked in at so many pages.
Extra-belated Merry Christmas back at you! :)

****

I was home sick with a cold today so, once I'd spent a few hours sleeping, I spent the afternoon going through some books in hopes of adding a few more ROOTS to our group total.

Le Misanthrope, by Molière
ROOT 67 of 50
Source: library book sale
Rating: 1/5

More of an it's-not-you-it's-me scenario. Apparently I find French verse from the 18th century difficult. Maybe if Wishbone had done a version of it...

A March on London, by G.A. Henty (which keeps initially touchstoning to The Road, by Cormac McCarthy, because that makes so much sense :-/)
ROOT 68 of 50
Source: EVM
Rating: 1.5/5

All of the characters talk in long-winded flowery speeches, very declamatory and didactic... which to be fair is probably the point of these books, to teach children about history. Still, even though children probably had longer attention spans when the book was originally published, I must confess myself defeated.

Lights Out, by Holly Black
ROOT 69 of 50
Source: Doctor Who box set
Rating: 3.5/5

And my Doctor Who box set is complete! It's been a great year exploring this collection. This story features the Twelfth Doctor and he is in fine form.

****

That's probably all the ROOTS I'll get to this year; I want to read a couple of library books and take them back before the end of the year. I'll do a recap post at the end of the month.

>255 rabbitprincess: Who did the translation of your Molière? I have found that it makes a big difference -- I recommend the Richard Wilbur translation. Of course, you might just not like Molière regardless of translation...

>256 leslie.98: I read it in the original French, which was probably part of the problem. The French was probably less modern than I'm accustomed to, and the explanatory notes weren't terribly helpful because I sometimes didn't understand them either. I will keep the Richard Wilbur translation in mind though!

Oh, wow! Are you bilingual? I guess that reading the original French of Moliere must be like reading Shakespeare -- close enough to contemporary speech to not require a translation but different enough to be difficult.

When I was in school we studied Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme in French as one of our set texts. I remember enjoying it at the time (although my French was much much better then than it is now!).

I haven't read any other Moliere, although from what I remember from reading commentaries back then, most of his plays seem to have a pretty similar storyline...

I was in a play at school about Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme. No idea what part I played, something like the wife of some teacher.

>258 leslie.98: Yes, I'm bilingual :) And I hadn't thought about Molière as being similar to Shakespeare in terms of how their language compares to contemporary language, but that's an excellent point! Maybe I need a side-by-side edition with Molière "translated" into modern French.

>259 Jackie_K: Before this play, the only Molière I had consumed in any form was The Imaginary Invalid, because of a TV series called Wishbone -- a kids' show in which a Jack Russell terrier re-enacts classic literature that is relevant to his humans' modern-day adventures.

>260 connie53: Class plays can be such fun. I did a presentation on Molière in my last year of high school (so when I was about 17 or 18) but did not re-enact any of the plays.

>255 rabbitprincess: yay snow!! :)

When you say your Doctor Who box set is complete... you mean you've read them all? Of how many?

>262 avanders: The box set contained 12 novelettes, so I've read all 12. It worked out very well, one per month!

****

December recap: 7 ROOTS pulled (YTD: 69)

The Red House Mystery, by A.A. Milne
Broken Harbour, by Tana French
Ten Little Indians, by Agatha Christie
Ten Lords a-Leaping, by CC Benison
Lights Out, by Holly Black (Doctor Who box set #12)
Le Misanthrope, ou L'Atrabilaire amoureux, by Molière
A March on London, by G.A. Henty

ROOT of the month: Broken Harbour, by Tana French. I really love this series!

I'm trying to plan less in 2016, or rather use challenges and group reads as a way to build my reading list without being locked into reading things in a specific month. In January I have a British Library Crime Classic to look forward to, and I have two books languishing on the on-deck pile that I hope to get to eventually. And I really want to finish up David Copperfield and The Return of the King!

****

Thanks for hanging out with me here! See you in the 2016 group!

>263 rabbitprincess: oh, very nice! :)