MichiganTRumpet Blasts into 2015!

Hello and Welcome! A new year and a new start. This is my Second (!) year in the 75er group and I've thoroughly enjoyed my time here!

My name is Marianne, I'm a 50ish lawyer living and working in the Boston area.

I'm still finishing up on my 2014 thread, but plan to be back soon to finish up 'contruction' here.

1. Paris Architect by Charles Belfoure
2. The Devil's Star by Jo Nesbo
3. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
4. Caveat Emptor: The Secret Life of an American Forger by Ken Perenyi
5. The Leopard by Jo Nesbo
6. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
7. The Light in the Ruins by Chris Bohjalian
8. The Abbot's Agreement by Melvin Star
9. Then Again by Diane Keaton
10. Saving Grapes by. J.T. Lundy
11. Let's Just Say It Wasn't Pretty by Diane Keaton
12. The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddartha Mukherjee
13. Independent Ed: Inside a Career of Big Dreams, Little Movies, and the Twelve Best Days of My Life by Edward Burns
14. Paris in Love by Eloisa James
15. Swamplandia! by Karen Russell
16. Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy by Helen Fielding
17. Lila by Marilyne Robinson
18. The Circle by Dave Eggers
19. Revolutionary Summer: The Birth of American Independence by Joseph J. Ellis
20. The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant
21. Flirting with French: How A Language Charmed Me; Seduced Me, and Nearly Broke My Heart by William Alexander
22. Blue Plate Special: An Autobiography of My Appetites by Kate Christensen
23. Moriarty by Anthony Horowitz
24. GI Brides: The Wartime Girls Who Crossed the Atlantic for Love by Duncan Barrett & Nuala Calvi
25. Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel
26. After the War is Over: A Novel by Jennifer Robson
27. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
28. Leaving Everything Most Loved by Jacqueline Winspear
29. As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust by Alan Bradley
30. The Marco Effect by Jussi Adler-Olsen
31. The Wright Brothers by David McCullough
32. Dead Wake by Erik Larson
33. Funny Girl by Nick Hornby
34. A Conspiracy of Faith by Jussi Adler-Olsen
35. Muse: A Novel by Jonathan Galassi
36. The Curious Case of the Copper Corpse by Alan Bradley
37. The Purity of Vengeance by Jussi Adler-Olsen
38. The Last Bookaneer by Matthew Pearl
39. An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro
40. Hothouse: The Art of Survival and Survival of Art at America's Most Celebrated Publishing House, Farrar, Straus & Giroux by Boris Kachka
41. No Time Like the Past by Jodi Taylor
42. Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
43. Journeys in English by Bill Bryson
44. Nora Webster by Colm Toibin
45. Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stragal
46. The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz
47. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
48. Euphoria by Lily King
49. Tinseltown: Murder, Morphine and Madness at the Dawn of Hollywood by William J. Mann
50. Spinster: Making a Life of One's Own by Kate Bolick
51. A Dangerous Place: A Maisie Dobbs Novel by Jacqueline Winspear
52. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
53. A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson
54. Paris Time Capsule by Ella Carey
55. The Girl in the Spider's Web by David Lagercrantz
56. Girl Waits With Gun by Amy Stewart
57. The Hummingbird by Stephen Kiernan
58. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
59. Blanche on the Lam by Barbara Neely
60. Trigger Mortis by Anthony Horowitz
61. The Secret Chord by Geraldine Brooks
62. Seven for a Secret by Lyndsay Faye
63. I Must Say: My Life As a Humble Comedy Legend by Martin Short
64. What Could Possibly go Wrong by Jodi Taylor
65. Farhenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
66. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
67. The Fatal Flame by Lyndsay Faye
68. Thirteen Ways of Looking by Colum McCann
69. The Hanging Girl by Jussi Adler-Olsen
70. Accidental Saints: Finding God in All the Wrong People by Nadia Bolz-Weber
71. Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann
72. Ships and Stings and Wedding Rings by Jodi Taylor
73. Tsar of Love and Techno by Anthony Marra
74. The Very First Damned Thing by Jodi Taylor
75. In a French Kitchen by Susan Hermann Loomis

May all your wishes come true.

Hi Marianne--Happy New Year to you. I've starred you, and will try to delurk more often this year!

I loved the proposed New Year Resolutions you posted on my 2014 thread, Marianne. Right back at ya -- Read, read, read!

Happy New Year, Marianne!! Lots of great reading in 2015, I hope.

Hello, Marianne! I found you! Marking my spot.

Marianne, I am overjoyed that you are back for another go in 2015



Happy New Year from your friend in Kuala Lumpur

Happy new year Marianne!

Happy New Year Marianne. I hope to be a more regular LT participant in 2015.

Stopping by to plant a star

Happy New Year!

Glad to see a 2015 thread Marianne.

Stopping by and dropping a star. Looking forward to following you again this year Marianne. Wishing you and yours a very happy new year :)

Star dropped! Read, indeed!

Happy New Year, Marianne! Happy reading in 2015.

Happy New Year, Marianne! May it be filled with fabulous!

Welcome back!

And here you are! Happy new year, Marianne. Looking forward to spending more time with you and John this year ... maybe sometime this month? PM me if you have some free weekends?

Happy New Year, Marianne! It is so great to see your thread now up and ready for visitors! Starred so that I can find my way back here.

Happy New Year, Mary Ellen!

Happy New Year, Marianne!

Dropping off my star and wishing you all the best in 2015, Marianne!

A very happy New Year to you, Marianne. I hope it's the best one yet!

Stopping by to say hello and drop a star.

Happy New Year.

Happy weekend, Marianne!

What are your thoughts on the new coach for Michigan? Did Edd send you a text message? He wanted to, but I'm not sure if he did.

Happy New Year!

Wow, this is an explosive thread, with lotsa fireworks (not to mention the trumpet...) Happy 2015!

Only your second year!!? Sometimes it seems like you are more of a fixture than that!! (In a good way, I hasten to add).
Great to see things off with a bang here, I look forward to following you again.

Ah, here you are, Marianne. Happy New Year! Here's to your second year being even better than the first.

Hello, hello! Looking forward to your sophomore year in the 75'ers. May it be a good one!

Happy New Year, Marianne!

Yay you're here!

Hi Marianne. I hope you're doing well out there in Michigan!

Happy new thread! Here's hoping your first book of the new year will be a 5 star one!

Hello- Marianne!?!??!
Don't leave us hanging here.
I hope all is well in Marianneland.

Hmmm...someone seems to be missing. I hope you're doing OK, Marianne.

Stopping by to wish you a lovely weekend, Marianne!

Happy weekend Marianne!

Where are you, lady? Hoping everything is okay...

When ever I see Marianne's thread name I think of the last scene of "It Happened One Night" with that gleeful (and very sexy) toot on the trumpet.

Hope all is well in Beantown Ms M.

Just checking in to add my wishes to everyone else's, that everything is okay but you are just busy...

I hope you are al right, Marianne!

Chiming in to say that I also miss you. Hope all is well, and that you are just very busy.

I know she's okay because we have a friendly wager going for Sunday's game.
Re-Pete, she sends me a book. Pats win, I send her one.

May the best team win. I don't think I want to get into the middle of this...

Glad to hear she doing fine! Thanks for sharing.

>48 BLBera: You know how that turned out....

In the meantime, I'm now deciding what book to send to Marianne..... it's not a bad consolation prize to get to choose a book to send to someone!

Stopping by again Marianne! Hope to see you soon!

Hi Marianne. Here is hoping you haven't been snowed under by the overabundance of winter in your neck of the woods this year.

Still missing you....glad to hear you were able to meet with Darryl and some other LT'ers recently.

It was great to meet you and your husband this weekend, Marianne! I had a blast with the two of you, Caroline and Edd, and I hope to see you again in Boston later this year.

Good to see you are still out and about even if your LT attendance has waned.

>53 laytonwoman3rd: Hello there Linda! I am humbled to think I might actually be missed! I do lurk and check in on everyone here now and then. Hope all's well there with you. I thoroughly enjoyed my weekend with Darryl, Caroline and her husband, Edd. My husband and I have managed to meet up with Caro and Edd, occasionally, and have introduced the to a local breakfast place known for homemade sausage. Darryl is every bit as charming in person as he is on his posts.

>54 kidzdoc: We're already counting the days until you're anticipated return in November, Darryl! Although you might want to consider October in order to catch the Boston Book Festival!

>55 Oberon: Erik! So good to hear from you! This year has been the perfect storm of time consuming leadership activities: Massachusetts Bar Association, my alma mater (Michigan) and my church ( President of the Congregation). All worthy and exciting organizations, but a the overlap between the three has had me running ragged. Add in some challenging RL issues ....

My reading has managed to stay on par with 2014 levels -- whew! -- and I've been struck by several book bullets from my lurking on others threads. Am hopeful I can be more active again once things settle down a bit.

Hope all's well with you! Thanks for checking in!

I'd love to return to Boston in October, Marianne. However, I'll take my last two weeks of vacation that month, and I plan to visit Spain, and possibly Portugal.

Mary Jo!! So good to see you posting, a trend which I hope will continue.

Marianne, looks like we are returning to posting at pretty much the same time. Great to see you back on the threads. xx

Marianne! What a good surprise to see you here again.

Glad to see you checking in, Marianne. We miss our book pals when they are away.

Marianne, shall we go to the Boston Book Festival together?

Hey, look who dropped in! :)

You're back?! I hope so :)

Nice to "see" you Marianne.

It's so wonderful to see you posting, Marianne. Happy Sunday.

Glad you are back on LT, Marianne.

For my Christmas/Hanukkah/Solstice/Holiday image this year (we are so diverse!), I've chosen this photograph by local photographer Mark Lenoce of the pier at Pacific Beach to express my holiday wishes to you: Peace on Earth and Good Will toward All!

Have a lovely holiday, Marianne

Thinking of you, and hope you have a lovely holiday.

I would be remiss if I did to wish you a wonderful Christmas, Marianne!

Happy Holidays, Marianne.

Happy New Year, Marianne. Next summer in the Berkshires!

Thanks to all who stopped by!

Facing a lot of "End of the Year" reporting, so am up to my eyeballz. Am hoping to take New Year's Eve Day off.

In the meantime --- Maybe??? --- I hope to finish Number 75!!!

It's going to be a close one!

As a promise to myself that I really will be more present here in 2016, I've started my new thread.

Here it is! http://www.librarything.com/topic/210040

I keep my fingers crossed that you'll reach your target.

Happy Holidays, Marianne!

2016 thread starred. :-)

>76 Ameise1: Thanks Barbara! It is going to be a VERY close thing!

>77 jnwelch: Thanks Joe! Happy Holidays to you, too! I most appreciate the star and that you haven't given up on me yet!

>75 michigantrumpet: OK, starred you!

>79 laytonwoman3rd: thanks Linda! I appreciate the star!

75. In a French Kitchen: Tales and Traditions of Everyday Home Cooking in France by Susan Hermann Loomis



Loomis has written several charming books recounting her experiences as an American, now living -- and cooking! -- in France. I have always enjoyed her chatty, conversational style. I understand she has given cooking classes in her home. Her writing takes on the same warm tenor as one imagines you would hear sitting at her kitchen table. Her latest "In a French Kitchen: Tales and Traditions of Everyday Home Cooking in France" allows us a peek, not just into her own kitchen but those of her friends and acquaintances.

As explained by Loomis (and in my experience typical of other nationalities' home cooking), much of French home cooking has a solid basis in the recipes and techniques learned from Mamie or Maman. These traditions are not the basis of fussy rarified restaurant cooking but the satisfying stuff enjoyed every where. I love that Loomis includes a chapter on the French use of 'leftovers', which spells 'homey' to me. There are separate chapters on produce, salad, cheese, desserts, bread, breakfasts, and pantry organization. The book helpfully ends with a by the month collection of menus with accompanying recipes.

Ther are 85 recipes scattered throughout. However, this is not a cook book per se. The recipes are provided more as an example and guide to the techniques and traditions being discussed. Mine was an early Uncorrected Advanced Reader Copy. The organization was a bit rough for the titles of the recipes in the index and for locating what one wanted. However, I felt the recipes themselves were clearly written, with proper techniques and quantities needed and servings produced.

I have made a few of the recipes, and the Cream of Mushroom soup, various salads, Rhubarb and ginger tart, and braised broccoli were all excellent. My favorite chapter by far was on Cheese!!! As handy a primer as one will find anywhere. Quite useful as I prepare a cheese tray for New Years'!!

I am a big one for sitting down to read a cookbook cover to cover. This book --with the lovely talks of how people like me cook on the other side of the world -- was right in my wheelhouse!

How appropriate I celebrate #75 with a cookbook!

And a lovely one received through the LT ER program! Thanks LT! You've made my year!!

Congrats on reaching 75, Marianne.

>83 Ameise1: Thanks so much! It was a close thing!!

Wow. made it to 75 - good for you. see you on the other side.

Congrats on 75 - just in time! Happy New Year.

>81 michigantrumpet: Sounds like #75 was the perfect book on which to end the year. I love cookbooks too.

Hurrah on squeezing in #75 today!

>85 ffortsa: >86 BLBera: >87 thornton37814: >88 ronincats: Thank you, Judy, Beth, Lori and Roni! Was rushing around getting ready for incoming house guests, but made it with about 9 hours to spare!

Congrats!

Congrats on 75, Marianne!

>90 drneutron: and >91 lkernagh: Thanks Jim and Lori! Hoorah! Now I'm back at zero!