lkernagh (Lori) continues to read ROOTs in 2016

Hi everyone! This will be my third year of ROOT reading. In 2015 I managed 34 ROOTs - an increase of 8 ROOTs from my 2014 tally - and I am feeling motivated to increase my goal this year and aim for 40 ROOTs in 2016. As with previous years, the only caveat is that books read (or the audiobooks listened to) need to be books I own as of December 31, 2015. I am looking forward to starting the challenge on January 1, 2016.



Happy ROOT reading, everyone!

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ROOTs Read:

1. Uncle Bob's Red Flannel Bible Camp: From Eden to the Ark by Steve Vernon -
2. The Storyteller by Mario Vargas Llosa -
3. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy -
4. N is for Noose by Sue Grafton -
5. In the Woods by Tana French -
6. Driftmetal by J.C. Staudt -
7. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini -
8. The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly -
9. Afterimage by Helen Humphreys -
10. The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch -
11. Clarissa Harlowe or the history of a young lady - Volume 1 (of 9) by Samuel Richardson -
12. Clarissa Harlowe or the history of a young lady - Volume 2 (of 9) by Samuel Richardson -
13. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides -
14. Clarissa Harlowe or the history of a young lady - Volume 3 (of 9) by Samuel Richardson -
15. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden -
16. O is for Outlaw by Sue Grafton -
17. The Private Lives of Pippa Lee by Rebecca Miller -
18. The Woman in White by Wilki Collins -
19. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver -
20. Clarissa Harlowe or the history of a young lady - Volume 4 (of 9) by Samuel Richardson -
21. Wicked by Gregory Maguire -
22. Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky -
23. Clarissa Harlowe or the history of a young lady - Volume 5 (of 9) by Samuel Richardson -
24. P is for Peril by Sue Grafton -
25. The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry -
26. Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt -
27. Q is for Quarry by Sue Grafton -
28. R is for Richochet by Sue Grafton -
29. Clarissa Harlowe or the history of a young lady - Volume 6 (of 9) by Samuel Richardson -
30. S is for Silence by Sue Grafton -
31. Clarissa Harlowe or the history of a young lady - Volume 7 (of 9) by Samuel Richardson -
32. T is for Trespass by Sue Grafton -
33. The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean -
34. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell -
35. Enduring Love by Ian McEwan -
36. Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende -
37. Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith -
38. A Month in the Country by J. L. Carr -
39. Tulipomania by Mike Dash -
40. The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh -

OVERFLOW READING

41. Clarissa Harlowe or the history of a young lady - Volume 8 (of 9) by Samuel Richardson -
42. Annabel by Kathleen Winter -
43. Ilustrado by Miguel Syjuco -
44. Home by Marilynne Robinson -
45. U Is For Undertow by Sue Grafton -
46. City of Thieves by David Benioff -
47. Where Angels Fear to Tread by E. M. Forster -
48. The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni -
49. The Many Deaths of The FireFly Brothers by Thomas Mullen -
50. The Manual of Detection by Jedediah Berry -
51. Clarissa Harlowe or the history of a young lady - Volume 9 (of 9) by Samuel Richardson -
52. Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather -
53. The Hanover Square Affair by Ashley Gardner -
54. Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts -
55. Plainsong by Kent Haruf -

Welcome back and have a great reading year!!

Welcome back! I'm going to steal your tracking idea. Like having them all listed in one spot.

Good luck with your reading! Have a Happy New Year!

Good luck with ROOTing, Lori!

Welcome back, and happy reading this year!

Thanks everyone! Looking forward to reading more ROOTS!

Especially looking forward to your audio reads.

Welcome back, Good luck, &

Welcome back and a Happy New Year!

Thanks >9 detailmuse:, >10 avanders: and >11 MissWatson:!

Good luck with your reading (and ROOTing) this year, Lori! Good to see you back.

>13 Caramellunacy: - Thanks! I am hoping to read a ROOT or two this weekend. ;-)

ROOT #1 - Uncle Bob's Red Flannel Bible Camp: From Eden to the Ark by Steve Vernon
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: Spending Time with my Furry Friends
CAT(s): Embrace Your Uniqueness (January RandomCAT)
BingoDOG: N/A
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: e-book
Original publication date: March 1, 2014
Acquisition date: August 23, 2015
Page count: 106 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.30 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca website book listing webpage:

Forget about that Russell Crowe NOAH movie with all of those weird stone giants and all of that soap opera melodrama that never really happened - if you really want to get the REAL story on what happened on the day that Noah built that big old floating zoo you REALLY ought to talk to Uncle Bob. While you are at it get him to fill you in on all of the inside information on what REALLY went on in the Garden of Eden - because he knows that too. Yes sir and yes ma'm - this is the story of the Old Testament as retold by the red flannel storyteller his-own-self - namely, Uncle Bob.

Review:
A nice twist on how to communicate the well told bible stories, with a refreshingly modern spin. Vernon got me to chuckle a number of times as "Uncle Bob" provides a plain-speaking man's take on everything from the seven days creation, Adam and Eve and the 'incident' that drove them from the Garden of Eden, the disastrous sibling-rivalry thing between Cain and Abel and good old Noah just trying to understand why, at 500 years of age, God wants him to build an ark. The numbers/stats geek that I really appreciated Vernon's reminders of the very, very long life span of some individuals depicted in the book of Genesis - like Seth living to 912 years old. The modern vibe Vernon provides is fun and has some great literary and other modern references that will not go unnoticed by certain readers. I got a good chuckle out of this bit:

"The Ark is painted," Ham said.
"What color did you decide on?" Noah asked.
"We went with grey on grey," Shem said.
"How many shades of grey can you choose from?" Noah asked.
"At least fifty," Ham said. "The way I hear it."

Now, this is where I get to mention the fact that Vernon is a "new-to-me" author, so I was rather surprised when I read the Afterword and discovered, In Vernon's own words, that he USUALLY writes horror fiction and ghost story tales. Well, let me tell you, Vernon has a good funny bone in his body as well, and knows how to present the Bible stories in a refreshingly fun manner - and with clean humour, for those of you who may be concerned about inappropriate content - which I believe may appeal to reading audiences, both young and old.

As an aside, this read has now convinced me to move my copy of Christopher Moore's Lamb further up my TBR pile. ;-)

>15 lkernagh: That sounds like a real fun book, Lori! I love the quote.

>15 lkernagh: cute! :) I also like that quote!

>16 connie53: and >17 avanders: - It was a fun fast read and a good start to my ROOT reading.

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ROOT #2 - The Storyteller by Mario Vargas Llosa - translated from the Spanish by Helen Lane
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: Spending Time with my Furry Friends
CAT(s): GeoCAT (South America)
BingoDOG: About/by an indigenous person (Machiguenga tribe of Peru)
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: Trade paperback
Original publication date: 1989
Acquisition date: January 22, 2011
Page count: 256 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.40 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the book back cover:

At a small gallery in Florence, a Peruvian writer stares with fascination at the photograph of a tribal storyteller deep in the jungles of the Amazon. He is overcome with the eerie sense that he knows this man...that the storyteller is not an Indian at all but an old school friend, Saul Zuratas. As recollections of Zuratas - a Jew, a perpetual outsider - flow through his mind, the writer begins to imagine Zuratas's transformation from a modern to a central member, the voice and the chronicler, of the primative, unacculturated Machiguenga tribe. Weaving the mysteries of identity, storytelling, and truth, Vargas Llosa has created a spellbinding tale of one man's journey from the modern world to our origins, abandoning one in order to find meaning in both.

Review:
My first comment is to not read this book like I did. I started it as my 'read in bed' book before falling sleep. That did not work well for me as: 1) I tend to fall asleep after about 10 pages of reading; and 2) to properly appreciate the story being told here, and the shifting points of view, it is best to set aside uninterrupted, wide awake reading time. If you do this, you will be rewarded with Llosa's intimate sweeping inclusion of folklore, legends and beliefs of the Machiguenga, an indigenous Amazonian tribe, to the broader, modern examination of the culture clash between 'traditional' and 'modern' as we slowly lose all of the traditional customs and beliefs of indigenous people who share this planet with us. Everything from religion to linguistics to sociology, politics and ethnography is examined or touched upon in this quasi-memoir-styled story that, in the end, left me feeling that there is more fact and truth than fiction and fabrication in this one. It is very much a call to examine and to be willing to be accountable for the damage we as a modern race are doing to our cultural history and our environment.

A richly textured read worthy of a reader's full, undivided attention.

Both of these sound like great ways to start your ROOT reading. I'm going to have to keep The Storyteller in mind when I get around to reading something for the indigenous bingo square. It sounds like a fascinating book.

>18 lkernagh: I love that cover!
& Good advice re the book.. it's always nice to know ahead of time if it's a book one should read in as few sittings as possible (e.g., what I recommend for Night Film) or a book you can read in bits and pieces :) Sounds like an interesting book!

>19 LittleTaiko: - I am hoping that I can maintain my ROOT reading by reading a minimum of three ROOTs a month, while aiming for four or more. The Storyteller is really a wow read, but you have to pay close attention to the narrators as he seamlessly shifts between them.

>20 avanders: - The cover is also a perfect cover for the book. I hate book covers that are pretty or eye catching but miss the mark when it comes to representing the story. This one represents the story perfectly!

I've picked up his books from time to time, read a few pages, loved them and put them back down--I don't know why. The Storyteller sounds like something I would really like, so I'm adding it to my list--thanks!

Hi Lori! I'm looking forward to all of your ROOTing this year!

>22 ipsoivan: - The Storyteller is my first Llosha read. Well I cannot comment on what his other books may be like, I can see where a reader would not feel motivated to read a story from cover to cover.

>23 LauraBrook: - Thanks Laura! I am a bit slow so far but I was slow last year and managed to read more ROOTs than planned, so I remain optimistic this year.

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Finished what I am going to count as my third ROOT for 2016. I owned a cope of the e-book for War and Peace, which I completed as a combination read/audio listen, so I am counting this one.

ROOT #3 - War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy - audiobook translation by Contance Garnett, read by Frederick Davidson
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: Big Tomes
CAT(s): N/A
BingoDOG: Published before you were born
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: e-book/audiobook
Original publication date: 1869
Acquisition date: October 25, 2015 (e-book version)
Page count: 1634 pages / 60 hours of listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.40 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: adapted from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

War and Peace broadly focuses on Napoleon’s invasion of Russia in 1812 and follows three of the most well-known characters in literature: Pierre Bezukhov, the illegitimate son of a count who is fighting for his inheritance and yearning for spiritual fulfillment; Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, who leaves his family behind to fight in the war against Napoleon; and Natasha Rostov, the beautiful young daughter of a nobleman who intrigues both men. As Napoleon’s army invades, the story follows characters from diverse backgrounds—peasants and nobility, civilians and soldiers—as they struggle with the problems unique to their era, their history, and their culture.

Review:
I am so glad that the group read afforded me the opportunity to finally buckle down and tackle this one, which has been an albatross of sorts of my previous reading failures. If you, like me, have repeatedly struggled and abandoned reading this one in written form, may I suggest you consider attempting an audioread? Listening to the story as opposed to slogging through a physical read has made all the difference for me. Yes, the story is rather long-winded and I really found the war/battle scenes started to get to me - as did the sections where Tolstoy waxes philosophical on various topics - but I was rather surprised to discover that: 1) Tolstoy has a sense of humor; 2) he does an excellent job conveying his historical analysis of the Napoleonic Wars and where he differs from the viewpoints of historians of his era; and 3) he really knows how to present well-rounded characters for his readers. I admit that I didn't take to all of his characters - thank goodness, I had plenty of characters to develop any love/hate relationship with! - prime examples in the first half of the book being a decided dislike I developed for Natasha and Nickolei. Okay, I admit that it was their youthful idealism that grated with me so I was glad to see then transform into characters worthy of some attention. I really enjoyed witnessing the transformation of a number of characters as the story progressed. I admit there were times when I had a bit of difficulty keeping all of the characters straight in my mind - seriously, the pet names, etc just added to my overall character confusion! Tolstoy, when in story mode (not waxing philosophical or in historical analysis mode), tells a really good story, filled with romance, social status and even a tiny bit of intrigue.

... but I still don't understand why the story had to be so darn long! Seriously, by the time I had reached the epilogues, I was done. That being said, I will probably re-read it at some point, with a focus on the philosophical aspects. Tolstoy does present some interesting arguments. I just wasn't in the mood to focus on those parts on this read.

Overall, really glad to finally be able to strike this one off my reading Bucket List. I think I am now ready to consider tackling Moby Dick.

>25 lkernagh: I finished the very same translation of War and Peace in January. I feel just about the same way as you, although I grew to love all the characters. I have no desire to reread, but I think it was very much "above" where my mind was when I was reading. I think Tolstoy is a master story teller, albeit with a bit too much detail for me. P.S. It was the Napoleonic Wars (which did run into 1812), but the War of 1812 was the British vs. the U.S.

Another War & Peace Reader! Congratulations! Good tips on the audio read -- I often find that, because I listen to book on my way to and from work, I can get through a lot in a car that I wouldn't w/ a book when left to my own devices ;)

>26 Tess_W: - Oh good grief.... did I go and mix up my wars? I am never very good at keeping those things straight. ;-)

>27 avanders: - Thanks! For some reason, I find the classical literature reads seem to work better for me as audioreads as opposed to physical reads.

ROOT #4 - N is for Noose by Sue Grafton - audiobook read by Mary Peiffer
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: Challenges, Challenges
CAT(s): N/A
BingoDOG: N/A
WomanBingoKIT: From your "To Be Read" Pile
Source: TBR
Format: audiobook
Original publication date: 1998
Acquisition date: July 14, 2013
Page count: 342 pages / 9 hours of listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.80 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: adapted from the amazon.com book listing webpage:

Tom Newquist has died. A detective in the Nota Lake sheriff's office, Tom was tough, honest, and respected by all. He was also a heavy drinker and a workaholic, much to his wife Selma's distress. And now that Tom is gone, Selma can't help but wonder what it really was that was troubling him…. What made Tom so restless during the last six weeks of his life? Why was he up all night and brooding all day long? What?or who?was at the heart of his dark moods? With the coroner's report in hand, Selma decides to enlist the help of Kinsey Millhone to find the truth about what happened to her husband. But the residents of Nota Lake keep their secrets close and their enemies closer. And the deeper Kinsey's investigation goes, the closer she comes to confronting the most dangerous outcome of all: the truth…

Review:
Another good installment in the Kinsey Millhone/Alphabet series and a perfect change of pace for me after having spent the past 4 weeks listening to War and Peace. This one pretty much picks up just two months after where M is for Malice left off. While my prime enjoyment for these stories comes from being able to 'travel back in time' to the 1980/90's with a spunky female private investigator to visit, this one had a good level of suspense built in. While this was one of those rare times where I was able to figure out the culprit before the reveal, Grafton was still able to keep my interest as Kinsey worked her way through the details to the conclusion.

Overall, a good solid mystery and a great reading palette cleanser for me.

ROOT #5 - In the Woods by Tana French
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: Blind Date with a Book
CAT(s): N/A
BingoDOG: Debut Book
WomanBingoKIT: Less than 10 Years Old
Source: TBR
Format: Trade paperback
Original publication date: 2007
Acquisition date: December 1, 2012
Page count: 429 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.20 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.com book listing webpage:

As dusk approaches a small Dublin suburb in the summer of 1984, mothers begin to call their children home. But on this warm evening, three children do not return from the dark and silent woods. When the police arrive, they find only one of the children gripping a tree trunk in terror, wearing blood-filled sneakers, and unable to recall a single detail of the previous hours. Twenty years later, the found boy, Rob Ryan, is a detective on the Dublin Murder Squad and keeps his past a secret. But when a twelve-year-old girl is found murdered in the same woods, he and Detective Cassie Maddox—his partner and closest friend—find themselves investigating a case chillingly similar to the previous unsolved mystery. Now, with only snippets of long-buried memories to guide him, Ryan has the chance to uncover both the mystery of the case before him and that of his own shadowy past.

Review:
I do like to read the occasional police procedural but only occasionally as I tend to find them rather grim, dark and gritty reads. Some of them can also be rather graphic in their descriptions of the crime. That doesn't sit well with me. French’s novel has all of the elements of a police procedural that I enjoy - the investigation into the crime scene, the rounding up of suspects and the questioning of witnesses/neighbours – with the grim, gritty and graphic aspects muted and not in your face every page. What makes this one even better than the average police procedural read for me is the focus French places on the relationship between the two lead detectives, Cassie and Ryan, and the sharp introspective detail of Ryan’s narrative. It is a slow-building story, another aspect I appreciated as I am not a big fan of stories that are all about adrenaline pumping action. I like my mysteries/thrillers to be sleepers, more about getting analytical and figuring out the details, not the ‘shoot first and ask questions later’ stuff. French really knows how to build the psychological profile of the character while still stringing the readers along, letting them think they have a handle on the situation. The only quibbles I have are my dislike of some choices made by Ryan and how he tries to justify those choices/decisions. Well done, but just rubs me the wrong way and lead me to dislike Ryan as a character.

Overall, I am really glad to have finally read this one and to know that I have copies of The Likeness and Broken Harbour waiting for my on my bookshelves… I just need to track down a copy of Faithful Place.

I enjoyed this book very much for the same reasons you give in >30 lkernagh:.

>30 lkernagh: Yay! I am glad you liked it. The psychological aspect is really interesting. And as you read later installments it's amazing to see how her first-person voices vary.

Sending good book-finding vibes your way so you can get a copy of Faithful Place. If for some reason it doesn't turn up, I have a copy you can borrow once my mum is done with it... although that might be a while.

>31 connie53: - I was very impressed with the quality of the writing and the plot development, Connie, especially considering it is French's debut novel!

>32 rabbitprincess: - Thanks RP! I have my fingers crossed that I will be able to pick up a copy of Faithful Place and hopefully even a copy of The Secret Place at the annual book sale the first part of May. Barring that, I should be able to pick up copies at Russell's Books or one of the other book haunts of mine. Thank you so much for the offer of a borrow!

ROOT #6 - Driftmetal by J.C. Staudt
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT, Fantasy February
Category: Books with One Word Titles
CAT(s): N/A
BingoDOG: Self-Published
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: e-book
Original publication date: January 2015
Acquisition date: August 15, 2015
Page count: 164 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.60 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.com book listing webpage:

In a shattered world of airships and windborne cities, Captain Muller Jakes' crew betrays him when his plot to steal a fortune in gravstone goes awry. A lost city, a deadly sabotage, and a series of narrow escapes will force him to choose between his freedom and the lives of thousands. A high-flying adventure full of gadgetry, treachery and intrigue; a pleasing blend of steampunk and cyberpunk.

Review:
Part one in a serialized novel and more sci-fi/fantasy with steampunk elements than a full on steampunk read, this was a fun adventure story filled with airships, pirateers, a territorial police/militia to dodge and shady dealers in commerce. The world build is good. I like the idea of a stream universe where cities and towns are build on floating masses and where two species of humans exist: the primies who are the shunned original fully human species and the techsouls, an evolved hybrid of humanoid with blue blood, synthetic skin and mechanics as part of their makeup. Muller Jakes is your rogue, opportunist bad guy with a disdain for the law-abiding members of his world. Yes, he has an axe to grind with some people and yes, he has an unnerving knack for finding himself in the thick of trouble, but he is one of those bad guys one cannot help but like, at least a little. Staudt keeps the pace of this adventure ride notched up and throws in some interesting twists.

Overall, an enjoyable sci-fi/fantasy read that I think will appeal to readers who enjoy stories like Chris Wooding's Retribution Falls.

>25 lkernagh: congratulations on War and Peace!!

Thanks! Always a good feeling to finish a big book like W&P.

ROOT #7 - The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: Dust Collectors
CAT(s): GeoCAT (Central Asia - Afghanistan)
BingoDOG: Survival Story
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: Trade paperback
Original publication date: 2003
Acquisition date: September 27, 2009
Page count: 400 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 5.00 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: adapted from the book back cover and the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

Raised in the same household and sharing the same wet nurse, Amir and Hassan grow up in different worlds: Amir is the son of a wealthy Kabul merchant, a member of the ruling caste of Pashtuns while Hassan, the son of Amir's father's servant, is a Hazara, a shunned ethnic minority caste. Their intertwined lives, and their fates, reflect the eventual tragedy of the world around them, a world of increasing ethnic, religious, and political tensions of the dying years of the Afghan monarchy. When Amir and his father flee the country for a new life in California, Amir thinks that he has escaped his past. But years later, an old family friend calls Amir from Pakistan and reminds him: "There is a way to be good again." and Amir journeys back to a distant world, to try and right past wrongs against the only true friend he ever had.

Review:
What can I say about this one that hasn’t already been said by others? This is an amazing story, tackling such broad themes of friendship/brotherhood, courage, sacrifice, betrayal and a quest for redemption set against the backdrop of pre- and post-war Afghanistan. A coming-of-age story that packs quite the punch, exposing the reader to the very soul of Amir, the story’s main character, in a brutally honest manner as Amir grows from a young child into a man who has to finally face something he has been trying to bury away for years. Hosseini’s writing is rich – dare I say provocative? – and presents the reader with a vivid image that stayed in this reader’s mind long after I had finished the story. For a debut novel, Hosseini has created a complex story of fragile relationships between fathers and sons, of the bonds between close friends, of the desire to correct a wrong and presents it to the reader with such beautiful, poignant, heart-rendering intimacy I was completely drawn into the story and even though parts of the story was painful to experience, I didn’t want it to end.

Overall, a remarkable and very memorable debut novel, worthy of all the praise that it has received and my best read so far in 2016! I can also highly recommend the audiobook version, read by the author.

>37 lkernagh: Nice - a 5 star review! That's another book on my very-short list. ;)

>37 lkernagh:, >38 avanders: I loved The Kite Runner, what a great book to have waiting in the TBRs! Didn't like Hosseini's next as much, and haven't read anything more by him.

>37 lkernagh: >38 avanders: Not really on my short list. But on my shelves anyway and moving up.

>37 lkernagh: - That book has been on my shelf for several years. Really do need to get to it someday soon.

The most wonderful thing I remember about that book is that after the fall of the Taliban, I kept hearing on NPR about people flying kites and I really wondered why. After reading the book I understood the significance and thought what a wonderful thing it was.

>37 lkernagh: Great review! That one is on my TBR list for sure.

>38 avanders:, >39 detailmuse:, >40 connie53:, >41 LittleTaiko:, >42 karenmarie: and >43 LauraBrook: - It is amazing to find a gem of a story like The Kite Runner while ROOT reading. Glad to see I managed to send some book bullets with my review!

>42 karenmarie: - I would never have understood the significance of the kite flying either, before reading The Kite Runner.

ROOT #8 - The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: Blind Date
CAT(s): N/A
BingoDOG: Coming of Age Story
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: Trade paperback
Original publication date: 2006
Acquisition date: October 29, 2011
Page count: 340 (plus 140 pages of 'extras' I didn't read)
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.80 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

High in his attic bedroom, twelve-year-old David mourns the death of his mother. He is angry and alone, with only the books on his shelf for company. But those books have begun to whisper to him in the darkness, and as he takes refuge in his imagination, he finds that reality and fantasy have begun to meld. While his family falls apart around him, David is violently propelled into a land that is a strange reflection of his own world, populated by heroes and monsters, and ruled over by a faded king who keeps his secrets in a mysterious book... The Book of Lost Things. An imaginative tale about navigating the journey into adulthood, while doing your best to hang on to your childhood.

Review:
If you like your fairy tales retellings to have a twisted, dark undertone of malevolence and violence, this story should appeal to you. I tend to lean towards the lighter, more comic takes on the classics (think Christopher Healy's The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom or Marie Phillips The Table of Less Valued Knights) so there were moments when this story kind of hit my uneasy buttons even while bringing back some rather fond memories of my childhood experiences reading Grimm's Fairy Tales. That is not to say that this story is all dark and foreboding. When David encounters the dwarfs - and you know which dwarfs I am talking about here - that was a truly excellent bit of comic fairy tale retelling. I like the historical WWII setting Connolly sets for David's real world, which provides an interesting parallel for the troubles to be encountered in the other realm. The characterizations are good and I appreciate how deftly Connolly weaves the various fairy tales references into his own story. Even though I found the story to be a bit slow on the uptake, once David enters the other realm, the action pick up and keeps a steady pace through to what I thought was a perfect ending for the story.

Overall, a well written enchanting coming-of-age story about the enduring power of storytelling.

ROOT #9 - Afterimage by Helen Humphreys
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT, CAC
Category: Books with One Word Titles
CAT(s): N/A
BingoDOG: One Word Title
WomanBingoKIT: By or About a Woman
Source: TBR
Format: Trade paperback
Original publication date: 2000
Acquisition date: May 15, 2011
Page count: 247
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.60 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

When the young Irish maid Annie Phelan arrives at the country home of Isabelle and Eldon Dashell, she is swept into a world of artistic ambitions and hidden passions. But she also discovers a marriage that has grown distant and two people who see her as a blank slate upon which to project their own desires and failed dreams. Jealousy, longing and sensuality intertwine in this mesmerizing novel of aesthetic obsession and unfulfilled dreams.

Review:
There are so many wonderful ways to describe Helen Humphreys writing: alluring, elegant, poetic, poignant. This is one of my favorite Humphreys reads so far, mainly for Humphreys’ borrowed use of certain aspects of British photographer Julia Margaret Cameron to create a very different but probably equally passionate photographer in Isabelle Dashell. I am a big fan of the Victoria England setting so it should come as no surprise that I appreciated Humphreys’ quasi-Gothic portrayal of the Victorian England class system and the interesting display of the slow dying of one art form with the rise of another. Sadly, the story itself didn’t satisfy me or flow as luxuriously as Humphreys’ prose. The emotional and intellectual triangle between Isabelle, Annie and Eldon – their various attachments, longings, desires and frustrations – have a gradual building tension that works well here but the overall character development seems a bit unbalanced to me. I thought Eldon was a wonderful character and reasonably well developed given the rather secondary role he played. I felt as though I could understand his deep set longing and his detachment from his wife and her life. As for Isabelle, well, I get her frustrations but her single-minded focus and rather rude disregard for other people’s feelings makes her nothing, in my mind anyways, more than a shallow woman driven by her passion for her art (allegorically composed photography). I also found Annie’s character to be a contradiction that did not sit well with me, as being just a bit too naive and accommodating while at the same time questioning with some marked superiority her employers, the Dashells. This story is a feast for readers who enjoy re-reading passages as opposed to re-reading whole stories. Favorite passage for me:

... what she does is not really about life, about living. It is about holding on to something long after it has left.
Like grief. Like hope.
Life is the unexpected generosity of a kiss.
It is the falling moment. Unrecorded.

Overall, a beautifully written story that receives high marks from me for its prosaic beauty and its capture of the Victorian England class system, but low marks for the characterization of Isabelle and Annie that left me rather frustrated as a reader.

>46 lkernagh: I have a couple of Helen Humphreys books on my TBR but not that one. I've heard others say that her writing is beautiful but not always satisfying.

"beautiful but not always satisfying" is a great way to describe at least a couple of the Humphreys books I have read, namely her debut novel Leaving Earth, The Reinvention of Love and now Afterimage. The Frozen Thames and Coventry are two great books were I found she was able to present a satisfying story (or vignettes of stories in the case of The Frozen Thames). The Lost Garden is the one that I still waffle between it being a satisfying read and being one that left me wanting .... well.... something more, even if it was just a better understanding of the deeper meaning built into that one. I mean to re-read The Lost Garden at some point to see if there was something I didn't catch when I read it the first time.

>48 lkernagh: Have The Frozen Thames and The Lost Garden in my TBR pile.

Your review of War and Peace is 5 star! I agree, I will read it again at some point. Now that I know the story, I'll also concentrate on the philosophy......but not anytime soon.

I've just wish listed The Storyteller. It sounds intriguing.

>49 Tess_W: - The Frozen Thames is a gem of a book, Tess, as you have probably seen if you have been checking the reviews here on LT. Humphreys writing has a quality of quietness to it, which I felt was really present in The Lost Garden. I hope you enjoy them when you get a chance to read them.

>50 Carmenere: - Thanks Lynda! Tolstoy really packed an awful lot into W&P... almost as if it was meant to be his oeuvre. I think you would like The Storyteller!

The Frozen Thames is one of the two I have also, and it was LT reviews that prompted me to find it and buy it. The other is The Evening Chorus which I bought when it was an Amazon kindle deal. I hope to get to at least one of them soon.

The Evening Chorus is one of the books I haven't read yet. If you do get to reading that one first, I am looking forward to seeing what you think of it.

>45 lkernagh: ooooooh that's anOTHer on my shelves! Argh! Want to read EVERYTHING NOW! (the limit of time is so challenging sometimes... ;))

Ha, if it is any conciliation, I have been hit with a few BBs for books on my TBR shelves, too. ;-)

>55 lkernagh: ;) It's nice to know we're all in this together!

>55 lkernagh: yes, I've had over 20 BBs between this group and the Category Challenge this year already. I've managed to only buy two of them though, and wishlisted the rest.

The only Humphreys book I've read is The Frozen Thames. I found it a bit uneven, but I think that it is likely that some of the vignettes will speak to a reader while others won't. This one sounds wonderful!

>56 avanders: - Good point!

>57 Jackie_K: - The BB do abound and there seems to be an interesting correlation to the number of BBs and the number of threads visited. ;-)

>58 ipsoivan: - Short stories can come across as uneven or unsatisfactory. I admit I wished some of the stories in The Frozen Thames were expanded upon. *sighs*

ROOT #10 - The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: Blind Date
CAT(s): N/A
BingoDOG: Adventure
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: Trade Paperback
Original publication date: 2006
Acquisition date: February 22, 2009
Page count: 544
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.40 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

They say that the Thorn of Camorr can beat anyone in a fight. They say he steals from the rich and gives to the poor. They say he's part man, part myth, and mostly street-corner rumor. And they are wrong on every count. Only averagely tall, slender, and god-awful with a sword, Locke Lamora is the fabled Thorn, and the greatest weapons at his disposal are his wit and cunning. He steals from the rich - they're the only ones worth stealing from - but the poor can go steal for themselves. What Locke cons, wheedles and tricks into his possession is strictly for him and his band of fellow con-artists and thieves: the Gentleman Bastards. Together their domain is the city of Camorr. Built of Elderglass by a race no-one remembers, it's a city of shifting revels, filthy canals, baroque palaces and crowded cemeteries. Home to Dons, merchants, soldiers, beggars, cripples, and feral children. And to Capa Barsavi, the criminal mastermind who runs the city. But there are whispers of a challenge to the Capa's power. A challenge from a man no one has ever seen, a man no blade can touch. The Grey King is coming. A man would be well advised not to be caught between Capa Barsavi and The Grey King. Even such a master of the sword as the Thorn of Camorr. As for Locke Lamora ...

Review:
Loved it. Loved it. Seriously... Loved it! Okay, yes... I was tearing my hair out in frustration every time the darn story reached a plot climax and then segued into an "interlude". OMG, talk about messing with a reader's mind! If you like your stories to have a solid linear format to them, avoid, or consider yourself duly warned regarding Lynch's first book in his currently 7-book The Gentleman Bastard Sequence series. I am such a sucker for male protagonists that seem to have all the luck cards going against them, especially when they have even a shred of moral dignity in them. I loved this story for its 'caper' appeal.... I love sting operations (think everything from The Great Train Robbery to The Italian Job and the whole Oceans movies franchise and you get what I mean). Also, I really saw some interesting parallels in the story and the fiction I have read to date focused on the Borgias of the Italian Renaissance period and Venice, with all the waterways, the pledges of allegiance, the power struggles, the acts of vengeance and even the weapons (stilettos and crossbows). Spine-tingling gripping stuff with a wonderful blend of drama, intrigue and glitz. I wish I could say that Lynch's ability to build a world was startlingly memorable, but sadly, I really struggled to see the world Lynch visualized or maybe I saw too many parallels to a historical reality to allow me to let his vision take over.

Overall, a great escapism piece filled with some great one-liner comebacks and a protagonist to cheer for, even if he is a thief by trade.

Loved it too!!!

>60 lkernagh: oooooh that's been on my shelves for a WHILE... glad you enjoyed it so much! Will have to get to it soon... (I feel like I say that so often ;p)

>61 connie53: - Such a great book! I am looking forward to reading further into the series.

>62 avanders: - Oh, I can highly recommend you fund time to pull that one off the shelves for reading!

-----------------
Rather slow end to March. The only ROOT reading I managed is I have finished the first two volumes of Samuel Richardson's 9-volume book Clarissa Harlowe, so at least I can count two more ROOTs read to close out March.

ROOT #11 - Clarissa Harlowe or the history of a young lady - Volume 1 (of 9) by Samuel Richardson
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: My 2016 Clarissa Read
CAT(s): N/A
BingoDOG: N/A
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: e-book
Original publication date: 1748
Acquisition date: October 27, 2015
Page count: 318
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.10 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: From the LT book summary:

Based on the 18th century novel by Samuel Richardson, this is the original tale of fatal attraction and dangerous liaisons. A wealthy young heiress, famed for her virtue, is sought by a man wishing to seduce her and destroy her reputation. For the first time in his life he becomes genuinely infatuated with his prey, and sows the seeds of his own fate.

Review:
This dragged a bit at the start. Always a bit of a challenge to get the lay of the land and the characters when a story is in pure epistolary format. Volume 1 provides a good backgrounder in the main characters - Clarissa, her friend Anna Howe, the rake Mr. Robert Lovelace, Clarissa's suitor Mr. Roger Solmes and the menagerie that comprises Clarissa's closest family contacts - her mom/dad, brother/sister, aunt and uncles. A bit over-the-top dramatic at times, especially considering we are dealing with what appears to be on the surface as a disagreement between Clarissa and her family as to her chosen path in life: marriage to Roger Solmes or Clarissa's preferred choice of a independent life. As with any story early one, some information appears to be kind of missing. Overall, an interesting read - if a bit long winded - and I am looking forward to volume 2.

ROOT #12 - Clarissa Harlowe or the history of a young lady - Volume 2 (of 9) by Samuel Richardson
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: My 2016 Clarissa Read
CAT(s): N/A
BingoDOG: N/A
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: e-book
Original publication date: 1748
Acquisition date: October 27, 2015
Page count: 288
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.80 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: From the LT book summary:

Based on the 18th century novel by Samuel Richardson, this is the original tale of fatal attraction and dangerous liaisons. A wealthy young heiress, famed for her virtue, is sought by a man wishing to seduce her and destroy her reputation. For the first time in his life he becomes genuinely infatuated with his prey, and sows the seeds of his own fate.

Review:
Well, this was darned more exciting than Volume 1! the family drama - a bit over the top - has now come to fruition and some nice juicy tidbits are coming to the surface. Clarissa continues to operate a bit like a seesaw - one minute gaining my praise and the next my groans of frustration - and her dear friend Anna Howe is a bit of a mixed blessing when it comes to providing Clarissa with wisdom and words of assistance. As for Clarissa's family, well good grief, who needs a family like them? Seriously, I am not surprised Clarissa is at her wits end trying to get them to see her point of view on the subject of marriage to their chosen (aka Roger Solmes) over the fears of the rake Lovelace. High drama for sure! And as for that "WTF?!" last letter from Clarissa to her Anna - Richardson does know a thing or two about stringing along a reader and throwing them the high drama bone. Me thinks it does not bode well for our fair maiden....

Oh, I must reread that soon. I so loved that book when I read it for a course.

Hi Lori! I've started Clarissa Harlowe and am enjoying it. Even though the Late Georgian and Regency periods are among my favorite and I'm fairly well up on the complexity of the language, I am finding that I must pay Strict attention to the book or I'm lost in a morass of commas, and clauses, and Huh?s. A great challenge.

>66 ipsoivan: and >67 karenmarie: - Glad to see the posts of my Clarissa reading are attracting interest!

>66 ipsoivan: - I can see how one may consider a re-read of Clarissa... quite the story!

>67 karenmarie: - I am with you on having to pay strict attention when reading Clarissa.... Good written language but the complexities of the sentences - you think they could figure out how to state what they want to say in two sentences, not 10 pages! - but it is the wealth of nuances, innuendoes, contrivances and the polite putdowns that I am really enjoying.

ROOT #13 - Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: Blind Date
CAT(s): N/A
BingoDOG: N/A
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: Trade Paperback / Audiobook
Original publication date: 2002
Acquisition date: May 12, 2012
Page count: 544 pages / 21 hours, 21 minutes of listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.35 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: From the macmillan.com website book listing:

"I was born twice: first, as a baby girl, on a remarkably smogless Detroit day of January 1960; and then again, as a teenage boy, in an emergency room near Petoskey, Michigan, in August of l974. . . My birth certificate lists my name as Calliope Helen Stephanides. My most recent driver's license...records my first name simply as Cal." So begins the breathtaking story of Calliope Stephanides and three generations of the Greek-American Stephanides family who travel from a tiny village overlooking Mount Olympus in Asia Minor to Prohibition-era Detroit, witnessing its glory days as the Motor City, and the race riots of l967, before they move out to the tree-lined streets of suburban Grosse Pointe, Michigan. To understand why Calliope is not like other girls, she has to uncover a guilty family secret and the astonishing genetic history that turns Callie into Cal, one of the most audacious and wondrous narrators in contemporary fiction.

Review:
The biographical feel of this multi-generational story hit all the rights notes with me. Calliope (Callie)/Cal is a wonderful narrator and Eugenides infuses the character with the right balance of wide-eyed awe, adolescence awkwardness and comic witticism. I really appreciated the genealogy mapping of the DNA-trail towards its final destination. Eugenides has done his medical/scientific research, leading me to understand more about recessive genes than I ever thought I would learn while reading a fictional story. The historical backdrop of the Stephanides family - first in Greece and then in Detroit, Michigan - is also well drawn, with a wonderful epic quality to it, but for me, the selling point of the story are the delightful pop-culture metaphors/allusions found on the pages, like “Her belly rose like Jiffy Pop”, in relation to Callie’s pregnant mother. The narrative tone remains consistent and engaging, even when it shifts between present and past tenses. The very hermaphroditic/androgynous nature of Callie/Cal resonates in Eugenides’s use of “I” , infusing the one word with both male and female tone, filled rich with mocking cynicism while examining what one reviewer has called “the tug of war between destiny and free will” or that never ending nature/nurture battle. At its heart, this is very much a coming-of-age story and one that never gets overshadowed by the "Big Ticket" topics swirling through this story.

With Middlesex, I feel Eugenides has proven his ability as a writer to craft a story on a grand scale, while never losing sight of the details that make it such an intimate and rewarding reading experience.

ROOT #14 - Clarissa Harlowe or the history of a young lady - Volume 3 (of 9) by Samuel Richardson
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: My 2016 Clarissa Read
CAT(s): N/A
BingoDOG: N/A
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: e-book
Original publication date: 1748
Acquisition date: October 27, 2015
Page count: 232
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.10 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: From the LT book summary:

Based on the 18th century novel by Samuel Richardson, this is the original tale of fatal attraction and dangerous liaisons. A wealthy young heiress, famed for her virtue, is sought by a man wishing to seduce her and destroy her reputation. For the first time in his life he becomes genuinely infatuated with his prey, and sows the seeds of his own fate.

Review:
A bit of a letdown after the interesting build up in Volume 2. Yes, we now get to see some of the story from 'the rake' Lovelace's point of view, and it is fun to see how well matched Lovelace and Clarissa are when it come to a battle of wits, but still....there were some really, really boring parts here. The story has almost taken on a whole "He said, She said" approach and while there is no really easy way to introduce multiple narrations in an epistolary novel except in the manner utilized here by Richardson, I still feel let down a bit after all the excitement in Volume 2. If I had to place a bet at this point, I would say that there are 10 to 1 odds that Clarissa will slip up first, and in a bigger way than she already has as the drama has now migrated to London, even if Lovelace has made a couple of tactical errors of his own on the 'conquest' front. Really, for a seasoned 'rake' to fumble even slightly is a bit of a revelation in itself. Onwards to Volume 4....

ROOT #15 - Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: Blind Date
CAT(s): N/A
BingoDOG: N/A
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: Trade paperback
Original publication date: 1997
Acquisition date: February 22, 2009
Page count: 448
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.00 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: Adapted from the amazon.com website book listing:

Beginning in a poor Japanese fishing village in 1929, Nitta Sayuri tells the story of her life when, as a nine-year-old girl with unusual blue-gray eyes, she is taken from her home and sold into slavery to a renowned geisha house in Kyoto. We witness her transformation as she learns the rigorous arts of the geisha: dance and music; wearing kimono, elaborate makeup, and hair; pouring sake to reveal just a touch of inner wrist; competing with a jealous rival for men's solicitude and the money that goes with it; a world where appearances are paramount; where a girl's virginity is auctioned to the highest bidder; where women are trained to beguile the most powerful men; and where love is scorned as illusion.

Review:
Yes, I am continuing to enjoy my reading journey of fiction stories disguised as memoirs or personal history retellings. I never tire of these types of stories! Memoirs of a Geisha is not your typical “rags to riches” kind of story, even if the selling into slavery is a good “rags” starting point. I grate at the idea of treating human beings as “commodities” but I couldn’t help but be captivated by the details of geisha life and the depiction of Japan of the 1930’s. Giving the story extra “oomph”, Golden surrounds our protagonist with a cast of characters that is, on its whole, just the right blending of fairy tale heroes in Mameha and the Chairman and villains in Hatsumomo, that I almost chuckled a bit at Golden’s version of the proverbial ‘glass slipper’ when it made an appearance. While the story kind of fizzles out near the end for me, Golden’s portrayal of Sayuri and her struggles in the geisha world of Gion is richly rewarding glimpse into a forbidden world, even if Sayuri comes across overly naïve at times.

ROOT #16 - O is for Outlaw by Sue Grafton - audiobook read by Judy Kaye
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: Catchall
CAT(s): N/A
BingoDOG: N/A
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: October 12, 1999
Acquisition date: July 14, 2013
Page count: 336
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.10 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: From the amazon.com website book listing:

Once Mickey Magruder was a cop with a wild streak. And Kinsey Millhone was a younger cop who adored and married him. Then Mickey was implicated in a fatal beating, and Kinsey walked out. Now, fourteen years later, she comes face-to-face with those tragic years and Mickey's harrowing downward spiral after he lost the job he loved--and the marriage he loved a little less. Mickey lies dying in an L.A. hospital. Trying to find out how Mickey got there, Kinsey uncovers evidence that he was innocent of the beating charge. But as she searches through the lives that swirled around Mickey's--lives gone wrong and lives gone well--Kinsey must also search the blind spots of her own life, including one that hides a killer.

Review:
Not one of Grafton’s better books in the Kinsey Millhone series, IMO, but that could be in part due to the change in reader for the audiobook. Having consistently listened to the voice of Mary Peiffer from A is for Alibi through to N is for Noose, I found it a little jarring to suddenly have to get used to a new “voice”, just like I would probably struggle if - GASP! - Grover Gardner were replaced as reader for the Inspector Montalbano books…. But I digress. What I did like about this installment is that we get to learn about Kinsey’s first husband, more about Kinsey’s childhood and the short time she spent as a rookie cop. Kinsey continues to encounter offbeat characters - in this installment a Tarot card reading granny and biker-dude with some anger management issues - and Grafton manages once again to provide an action-packed climax, but for the most part, this was just an average read for me.

>69 lkernagh:... wow, for the first time, I finally want to read that. :)

>69 lkernagh: This is on my TBR pile, I think I will move it up! Also, I dearly loved Memoirs of a Geisha, right until the end where I though it hurried and unlikely.

>73 avanders: - Ha, makes me think you have been avoiding it for the same reasons I did: I thought it was going to be a dry read. It is actually more entertaining than I would have expected.

>74 Tess_W: - Geisha was a good read. I really glad I finally got around to reading both books!

ROOT #17 - The Private Lives of Pippa Lee by Rebecca Miller
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: Dust Collectors
CAT(s): GeoCAT (North America)
BingoDOG: N/A
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: Trade paperback
Original publication date: 2008
Acquisition date: December 5, 2009
Page count: 240 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 2.70 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: adapted from the book insider cover:

At 50 years of age, Pippa Lee is the devoted wife of a brilliant publisher thirty years her senior, proud mother of grown-up twins, and an adored friend and neighbour. But where once she was content with her seemingly enviable world, Pippa finds her life beginning to unravel. Amid the buzzing lawnmowers and suburban coffee mornings in the retirement community of Marigold Village - and away from the stimulation and distraction that had consumed her life in New York City - she starts to wonder, how did she find herself in this place?

Review:
My first comment upon finishing this one is I find the choice of title a bit…. Odd. If by “private lives” the author means the growing inner turmoil Pippa experiences, then I still struggle with the “private lives” bit. Maybe it is in reference to the fact that Pippa’s life with Herb, her husband, is a polished veneer and very different from her intense and psychologically damaging childhood years where her Dexedrine-addicted mother’s manic behaviour is a catalyst for Pippa’s own wild and unhinged youth. Either way, the title is a strange one, but maybe fitting for what is a rather odd story. The story dissects Pippa’s life into sections in a manner that one reviewer refers to as being “like opening a series of Russian Dolls, each intricately wrought, self-contained and self-revealing”. Sadly, I have to agree with the reviewer when they go on to say that each section is just as empty as the last. There is a lot of show, but not a whole lot of substance in this one. The supporting characters seem to come across as slightly exaggerated personalities but even then, there is still an overall flatness of tone to the story. Miller may have done this on purpose to enhance the rather dreamy, sedate aspect of Pippa’s personality (making me think of a Stepford Wife on suppressants), and if so, I am not sure that it works in the way Miller intended. Even when there are what are probably supposed to be shocking scenes - thinking of when the younger Pippa is a participant in an amateur S&M movie - the whole reading experience is a bit surreal.

Overall, a different kind of story of self-examination and discovery but one that didn’t really work for me. Maybe it works better as a movie... I don't know. The fact that it was immediately made into a movie shortly after being published tells me that someone somewhere thought it had potential.

>73 avanders: lol yes... dry and maybe preachy. But it sounds like it is actually really good!

>69 lkernagh: I too loved Middlesex -- the playfulness, the science, the Detroit history.

>69 lkernagh: I, too, loved Middlesex. Thanks for your good review.

Hmmm, I have The Private Lives of Pippa Lee on my tbr. I still want to read it, but perhaps you've bumped it down a bit.

Middlesex is one of those books I feel that I should have read but haven't for some reason. Someday.

>77 avanders: - It does have it's preachy bits but overll, a pretty easy flowing read.

>78 detailmuse: - Good highlights for Middlesex. I am looking forward to reading more Eugenidies.

>79 karenmarie: - So happy to see you also enjoyed Middlesex!

>80 Nickelini: - I have to admit the story was compelling in place and then just kind of... strange. I really want to track down a copy of the movie adaptation, mainly to see if the movie will help me make more sense of it all.

>81 LittleTaiko: - Someday sounds good to me. ;-)

ROOT #18 - The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: Spending Time with my Furry Friends
CAT(s): RandomCAT (Colour Your World)
BingoDOG: N/A
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: Trade paperback
Original publication date: 1859
Acquisition date: May 12, 2012
Page count: 645 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.60 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: adapted from multiple sources:

Marian and her sister Laura live a quiet life under their uncle's guardianship until Laura's marriage to Sir Percival Glyde, who is a man of many secrets. Could he be connected to the strange appearances of a young woman dressed all in white? And what does his charismatic friend, Count Fosco--whose white pet mice enjoy running in and out of his waistcoat--have to do with it all? From the hero’s foreboding before his arrival at Limmeridge House to the nefarious plot concerning the beautiful Laura, this is a story of secrets, mistaken identities, surprise revelations, amnesia, locked rooms and an unorthodox villain, all of which lead drawing master Walter Hartright to turn detective in order to uncover the truth.

Review:
Reading the classics can sometimes be a bit of a “hit-or-miss” adventure for me, especially if I encounter an author who’s writing style leaves me rolling my eyes in frustration. It was my read of Dan Simmons Drood and his in-depth portrayal of the interesting friendship between Collins and Charles Dickens that lead me to acquire a copy of Collins’ The Woman in White.

There is a lot to like in this story. I found the use of multiple narrators works really well, especially as each narrator has their own distinct “voice”. I like the idea of the story being revealed slowly, one character’s point of view at a time. And what a cast of characters! As described by one reviewer, Collins invented a “mannish, eloquent Marian Halcombe; a faithful and angelic Laura Fairlie; a sinister, secretive Percival Glyde and a seductive and cunning Count Fosco”. The characters are complex and the dance they engage in is one of filled with mistrust… perfect fodder to drive the suspenseful plot forward.

I will admit that Hartright’s encounter on the highway to London at the start of the story had me hoping for a gothic ghost story. No such luck on the ghost story front but I was still satisfied with the devious plot that unfolded before my eyes and the secrets to be gleaned and teased into the open. As a psychological mystery thriller, it is a goodie and well worth the read.

>82 lkernagh: I have to admit the story was compelling in place and then just kind of... strange. I really want to track down a copy of the movie adaptation, mainly to see if the movie will help me make more sense of it all.

Here's a funny story about The Private Lives of Pippa Lee (I think it's funny, anyway. I haven't read it yet, so maybe I'm wrong). I used to volunteer at a massive book sale at my daughters' school where a family in the book biz donated 10,000 new books. We'd get this truck load and have about 7 hours to try to sort them into childrens, picture books, novels, and various non-fiction. Most times, I was the only volunteer that knew ANYTHING, so I was in charge of directing the sorting. It was a Catholic school, and most people were really chill, but the parish priest did wander through, so we always pulled any books that had demonic or really racy covers. Fair enough. But one year, one of the parents was convinced that The Private Lives of Pippa Lee was pornographic. I knew nothing about the book, but said "Really???!!" and he replied "Yes! Just read the back cover!" Of course I brought a copy home and sometimes pick it up and read the back cover searching for the secret pornographic message. He was a sweet man, but had no judgment whatsoever about books.

If he only knew how many books looked innocent, but but were really, really not. Sometimes I displayed them prominently. When it comes to books, I'm kinda like that.

Obvious porn. Anyone can see that:

>83 lkernagh: oh! That was a SantaThing gift for me this past year.. I hadn't previously heard of it, but glad to see you enjoyed it so much! Excited to read it!

>84 Nickelini: lol nice ;)

>83 lkernagh: I have a copy of The Woman in White as it was one of my RL book group books a few years ago. Unfortunately real life took over and I never managed to get beyond the opening, so I never did find out what happened! One day I will read it through, I've heard so many good things about it.

> Clearly pornographic. Look at that exposed arm flesh. And could the gaze be yearning??

>84 Nickelini: But of course it's pornographic! You can seen that in the wink of an eye.

>84 Nickelini: - LOL! I have to admit I struggle to find anything pornographic on the back cover of The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, although I will admit that Pippa the character goes through a phase in her teens where she pretty much didn't care about the drugs or the casual sex she engaged in so maybe that is what he was thinking about?

Yes, a woman lying in bed - fully clothed - with her arm flung to the side must be a wanton hussy..... ;-)

>85 avanders: - I am always happy when I am pleasantly surprised by a book. ;-)

>86 Jackie_K: - The Woman in White is definitely one of those stories the reader invests time in to read it. Part of me can understand why the book, as originally published in serial form, was such a hit with the masses. I can see where the readers were probably up in arms when they had to wait for the next installment!

>87 ipsoivan: - LOL.... excellent!

>88 connie53: - Even better... a wink!

--------------------------------
One the reading front, I managed to finish my reads of both The Poisonwood Bible and Volume 4 of Clarissa. Reviews to follow. Current audiobook read is Wicked by Gregory Maguire - time for a bit of a change of pace, I think! - and Volume 5 of Clarissa is lined up as my e-book read... and both will qualify as ROOT reads.

ROOT #19 - The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: Blind Date
CAT(s): N/A
BingoDOG: N/A
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: Trade paperback
Original publication date: 1998
Acquisition date: February 22, 2009
Page count: 560 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.70 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the author's book webpage:

"The Poisonwood Bible" is a story told by the wife and four daughters of Nathan Price, a fierce, evangelical Baptist who takes his family and mission to the Belgian Congo in 1959. They carry with them everything they believe they will need from home, but soon find that all of it—from garden seeds to Scripture—is calamitously transformed on African soil. What follows is a suspenseful epic of one family's tragic undoing and remarkable reconstruction over the course of three decades in postcolonial Africa.

Review:
I have avoiding reading this book for a number of years now. Why? Well, I don't really know... I just felt as though I had to be in the right frame of mind for what I saw as just another missionary family heading to Africa to spread the Christian word. I have never been a big fan of 'converting' individuals to a different belief system, so I was expecting a bit of heavy handed scripture preaching of the fire and brimstone kind. Well that is in there, in the form of Nathan's bullying personality, I discovered instead a sharp, poignantly written story from the point of view of the Price women... and what a story it is! You know this isn't going to be a typical story when it starts off with the family figuring out how to get all their "essential" belongings (including cake mixes and pinking shears - I had to refresh my memory as to what pinking shears are) to the Congo when each passenger is restricted to forty-four pounds of luggage, "and not one iota more.". Set against a backdrop of dramatic political events - and the hostility of villagers to Nathan's fiery brand of Christianity - this story has it all: sin, redemption, social injustice... pretty much everything but salvation, unless salvation comes in the form of understanding and accepting moral risk, personal responsibility and the ways in which private lives can be shaped and shattered by the events we find ourselves exposed to. There is probably a lot more symbolism to be found in this story, but for me, it is the attention to detail and the wonderful unique voices Kingsolver has given to the five Price women that made this a spellbinding read for me, even if we never get to find out what is going on in Nathan's mind... I guess we are just to assume that Nathan is the person described by the women of his family.

A captivating read for anyone interested in Congolese political history or life in an equatorial rainforest, sans luxuries of indoor plumbing, clean drinking water and electricity.

ROOT #20 - Clarissa Harlowe or the history of a young lady - Volume 4 (of 9) by Samuel Richardson
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: My 2016 Clarissa Read
CAT(s): N/A
BingoDOG: N/A
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: e-book
Original publication date: 1748
Acquisition date: October 27, 2015
Page count: 240 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.40 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the LT book summary:

Based on the 18th century novel by Samuel Richardson, this is the original tale of fatal attraction and dangerous liaisons. A wealthy young heiress, famed for her virtue, is sought by a man wishing to seduce her and destroy her reputation. For the first time in his life he becomes genuinely infatuated with his prey, and sows the seeds of his own fate.

Review:
I am starting to get frustrated with Lovelace, Clarissa and Clarissa's friend Anna Howe. For starters, Clarissa has now been gone from her family home for well over a month in the company of a known rake and she still thinks there is a chance that her family will welcome her back into the family and consider her virtuous. Really?!? We are talking about a time when all a woman had was her virtue, and once that was gone... well,... life just gets nasty. As for Lovelace, I have decided the man is the human equivalent of a cat, playfully batting a small mouse between its paws, not hurting the mouse but still capable at any moment to tire of the game and finish the poor rodent off. At least Clarissa is proving to be a bit more wily and resilient than the average mouse young woman, and even manages to lead Lovelace (albeit temporarily) down paths of action he doesn't expect to find himself embarking upon. As for Clarissa pen pal and only confident, Anna is about as helpful as a dish rag most times but I still do not understand why Clarissa did what she did with Anna's offer of assistance, especially if the assistance could have availed Clarissa as a means to escape Lovelace. We also now have a clearer picture of the opinions of various members of Lovelace's family and his closer friends, like Belford.

I can only wonder where Lovelace and his scheming plots will lead to next. If it is going to be anything like what he alluded to in the last letter to Belford, I will be thoroughly disgusted with him.

I just realized that I have made it to the half-way mark for my planned 40 ROOT reads this year. Looking forward to seeing if I can amp up the ROOT reading and clear more books off the TBR book shelves.

Congratulations on reaching the halfway point!

Woo hoo congrats on hitting the halfway mark!

Congrats! And a bit ahead of schedule, too!

Quick weekend hello and congratulations on the halfway mark, Lori!

>93 MissWatson:, >94 avanders:, >95 Tess_W: and >96 karenmarie: - Thanks everyone! I am hoping to keep the momentum going but I am noticing that my other challenge reading is taking a bit of a back seat. We will see how June and the summer months pan out. Summer is usually my best reading time.

... one more ROOT completed to close out May.

ROOT #21 - Wicked by Gregory Maguire
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: Books with One Word Titles
CAT(s): N/A
BingoDOG: N/A
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: Trade paperback
Original publication date: 1995
Acquisition date: May 12, 2012
Page count: 406 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 2.80 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the barnesandnoble.com website book listing:

When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked? And what is the true nature of evil? Gregory Maguire creates a fantasy world so rich and vivid that we will never look at Oz the same way again. Wicked is about a land where animals talk and strive to be treated like first-class citizens, Munchkinlanders seek the comfort of middle-class stability and the Tin Man becomes a victim of domestic violence. And then there is the little green-skinned girl named Elphaba, who will grow up to be the infamous Wicked Witch of the West, a smart, prickly and misunderstood creature who challenges all our preconceived notions about the nature of good and evil.

Review:
I don't know.... maybe it's because I was never taken with the original Wizard of Oz story, but this one really just fell flat for me. I love Maguire's character development for Elphaba... I never in a million years expected the "Wicked Witch of the West" to be a political/religious/animal activist with a deadpan outlook on all that occurs giving it a slightly unintentional satirical bent, and I really love Nanny... she is a hoot! The world build is okay but the plot... OMG, the plot is a plodder, IMO. It just kind of drags along. I am decidedly not a fan of the plot. Even the outcome left me feeling just "meh".

So much potential with a wonderful character that resonates with me, but .... well.... I just felt the plot was spinning its wheels in the mud and going nowhere. Oh well, can't love them all.

Wow you're reading a lot of sizeable books! I've lately had trouble even getting through novellas but the immersion in a tome sounds good.

>98 lkernagh: bummer that you didn't really enjoy Wicked .. I really liked it, but I do seem to like all things Oz... ;)

>98 lkernagh: - I really didn't enjoy Wicked when I read it either. The musical is awesome - hard to believe the book was the basis.

>101 LittleTaiko: Agree with you on both counts. I resisted seeing the musical for ages because I thought the book was such a slog (and I really didn't like what Maguire did with any of the characters), but ended up loving the musical, which only follows the bare bones of the book.

>99 detailmuse: - LOL that you should mention the "sizeable books" I have been reading... that only occurred to me when I did a quick year-to-date summary of my reading. According to my overall reading stats - which include but is not limited to my ROOT reading - I have been averaging 331 pages per book read so far this year... and that is even with my parceling out my Clarissa reading by volumes. ;-0

I have to admit, I do love reading the "Big Books", especially if I am resorting to audiobooks. I can chew through a 400-page read like Wicked in just over a week, by listening during my walking commutes, etc.

>100 avanders: - That is probably where we differ. I never developed any love for the original Wizard of Oz movie adaptation starring Judy Garland as Dorothy, and never developed a desire to read the original book, for that very reason. Even kids like I was can develop some rather stubborn tendencies. ;-)

>101 LittleTaiko: - Really.... the musical is good? I may have to reconsider my original decision to never see the musical production of Wicked, but given where I live, it is probably a remote possibility that it will ever make it over here. At least you admit it is hard to believe that the book was the basis for the musical.... that alone is a bit of a redeeming statement.

>102 Caramellunacy: - Another lover of the musical, and not so much the book! Very interesting! Now I am intrigues.... must go see if YouTube has any trailers for the musical.

>101 LittleTaiko: >102 Caramellunacy: funny.. I think because I liked the book so much.. I didn't like the musical as much :-/ But my husband loved it! It was good... I just liked the book better ;)

>103 lkernagh: lol true.. we all have our stubborn tendencies ;)

>101 LittleTaiko: to >104 avanders: My sister loved the musical. I bought her the book, because, well, books are always better than movies/stage productions, right? She hated the book. I started the book, having never seen the musical, and abandoned it with glee.

>105 karenmarie: - Well you've answered my question then as to whether it matters whether you see the musical or read the book first since you abandoned the book. For me I saw the musical first so the book came as a huge disappointment. I could see where someone who read the book first would be quite surprised at how the musical turned out.

>104 avanders: - LOL!

Love the discussion of the musical versus the book for Wicked!

ROOT #22 - Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: Blind Date
CAT(s): N/A
BingoDOG: In Translation
WomanBingoKIT: From your "To Be Read" pile
Source: TBR
Format: Trade paperback
Original publication date: 2004
Acquisition date: May 15, 2011
Page count: 448 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 5.00 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the barnesandnoble.com website book listing:

Beginning in Paris on the eve of the Nazi occupation in 1940. Suite Française tells the remarkable story of men and women thrown together in circumstances beyond their control. As Parisians flee the city, human folly surfaces in every imaginable way: a wealthy mother searches for sweets in a town without food; a couple is terrified at the thought of losing their jobs, even as their world begins to fall apart. Moving on to a provincial village now occupied by German soldiers, the locals must learn to coexist with the enemy—in their town, their homes, even in their hearts.

Review:
I have tried to write this review five times now. Each attempt seems like a poor offering to explain how much this was a compelling read for me. This is a story that will stay with me, for a number of reasons. Némirovsky’s portrayal of life in France during those early war years (June 4, 1940 through to July 1, 1941) is amazing, especially when I think about how Némirovsky wrote this pretty much contemporaneously as the events of the war unfolded, making the serenely reflective manner of the story to be something one would only expect from an author conveying an ex post facto experience. I love how, In “Storm in June”, Némirovsky makes use of a select number of individuals to communicate the emotions and widespread chaos of the burgeoning sea of humanity attempting to flee the German invasion of Paris. Even with the shifting narrative, Némirovsky manages to bring clarity and focus on her individual characters at an almost microscopic level. "Dolce", the second novella in the story, has a bucolic feel to it, tucked away in the tiny French village of Bussy, under German administration. This made for fascinating reading as a narrative of day-to-day village life under German occupation.

In writing this story, Némirovsky plays no favorites. She assumes the role of an outside sociologist watching events unfold, another amazing aspect of this story considering she writes about the good and bad, heroism and cowardice, crossing class lines to exemplify acts of venality, cowardice and hypocrisy as well as of extreme heroism.

.... still not happy with this review so I am just going to say that if you haven't read this one... READ IT!

ROOT #23 - Clarissa Harlowe or the history of a young lady - Volume 5 (of 9) by Samuel Richardson
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: My 2016 Clarissa Read
CAT(s): N/A
BingoDOG: N/A
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: e-book
Original publication date: 1748
Acquisition date: October 27, 2015
Page count: 290 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.85 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the LT book summary:

Based on the 18th century novel by Samuel Richardson, this is the original tale of fatal attraction and dangerous liaisons. A wealthy young heiress, famed for her virtue, is sought by a man wishing to seduce her and destroy her reputation. For the first time in his life he becomes genuinely infatuated with his prey, and sows the seeds of his own fate.

Review:
OMG.... What can I say, spoiler free, except to comment that Lovelace is one very conniving, dubious individual. The fact that he has the time to come up with the various contrivances to test Clarissa's virtue is so despicable gives a whole knew understanding top the term "rake". No wonder Clarissa is feeling at her wits ends! She is hitting brick wall after brick wall in seeking her deliverance. Thankfully, she is not a woman without calculating means to counter and stymie Lovelace in his quest. This test of virtue he is exposing Clarissa to is just a young rich man's fancy gone way to far...why he doesn't spend his time chasing policeman's caps, etc I can only guess is due to his aversion to doing any jail time. As for Clarissa's family... where the heck have they been this past volume??? Nice family if they are that quick to disown their daughter and absolve themselves of any involvement in Clarissa's predicament , forgetting the fact that their desire that Clarissa marry the unwelcomed Solmes character as a "husband" for Clarissa, and was pretty much the precipice to everything that follows, makes me want to shame the family as being unworthy. Makes me wonder if a form of social media in the 1700's have produced a very different result to date (considering Clarissa's predicament comes down to the inability of Clarissa to find any "champions" to her cause other than than her friend Miss Howe and the more recent quavering of Belford, Lovelace's friend.

Overall, I can see why anyone trying to read the story based on letter dates gets frustrated. I swear over half of the story is captured in letters written between April and early July! I need a break from the drama - and drama it is!.

Congrats on reaching the half way point, Lori!

>108 lkernagh: wow, 5 stars! I'm glad you found a book you enjoyed so much! :)

>110 connie53: - Thanks Connie!

>111 avanders: - It was a wonderful read!

ROOT #24 - P is for Peril by Sue Grafton - audiobook read by Judy Kaye
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: Catchall
CAT(s): N/A
BingoDOG: N/A
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: 2001
Acquisition date: July 14, 2013
Page count: 384 pages / 10 hours of listening time
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.20 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca website book listing page:

Kinsey Millhone never sees it coming. She is mired in the case of a doctor who disappeared, his angry ex-wife, and beautiful current one–a case that is full of unfinished business, unfinished homes, and people drifting in and out of their own lives. Then Kinsey gets a shock. A man she finds attractive is hiding a fatal secret–and now a whole lot of beauty, money, and lies are proving to be a fatal distraction from what Kinsey should have seen all along: a killer standing right before her eyes. . . .

Review:
I found this to be one of the better books in the Kinsey Millhone series. This time, Kinsey finds herself involved with two separate cases (one not exactly by her choice), which gives a good sub-plot and adds a nice bit of suspense to the story. I like how Grafton comes up with plausible mysteries, continues to bring back supporting characters like Kinsey’s landlord, Henry and maintains the detailed 1986 setting. Always fun to travel back in time, as it were! I was a bit surprised when Grafton deviated from her usual “the last chapter” and explanatory epilogue wrap-up. Instead, she leaves the reader with an implied ending which I thought worked rather well.

>113 lkernagh: I love the Kinsey Milhone series and am up-to-date through X. I, too, like the meticulous detailed 1980s setting. I wonder if Grafton is going to stop after Z or do something else interesting? I was just shocked to read that she's 76, so imagine that she might rest on her laurels.

Wow, I had no idea Sue Grafton is in her 70's! Good on her for continuing to write but as you say, she may decide to hang up her hat after she writes the Z book in the series.

ROOT #25 - The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: Dust Collectors
CAT(s): N/A
BingoDOG: N/A
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: Trde paperback
Original publication date: 2006
Acquisition date: February 22, 2009
Page count: 400 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.30 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the back book cover:

"My name is Towner Whitney. No, that's not exactly true. My real first name is Sophya. Never believe me. I lie all the time..."

Towner Whitney, the self-confessed unreliable narrator, hails from a family of Salem women who can read the future in the patterns in lace, and who have guarded a history of secrets going back generations, but the disappearance of two women brings Towner home to Salem and the truth about the death of her twin sister to light.

Review:
Totally not what I was expecting. I thought this was going to be one of those slow family/friendship quasi-romance summer beach reads. While there is a romance element to the story, I found this to be more of a quick reading suspense story. Barry’s use of an unreliable narrator, shifting reality/dream sequences, Gothic atmosphere, an eccentric family and some interesting modern day parallels to Salem’s witch trials history made this a near perfect read for me. I love how Barry uses lace as the medium for the mind readers/fortune tellers of this story, imbuing the lace with a spiritual connection, kind of like Ojibwe dreamcatchers, meant to filter out bad dreams. The addition of the Calvinists, a religious group that admonishes the modern ‘witches’ of Salem and Towner’s family connection to Cal, the leader of the religious group, is perfect tinder for fueling the story.

If it hadn’t been for what I felt was a rather sub-par ending after such a great suspense-building climax, this would have been a 5-star read for me. Even so, I still found this one to be an excellent mystery/suspense read and a stunning debut novel. Brunonia Barry has now been added to my “must read” authors list.

As a word of warning, the story does contain some scenes of domestic violence that some readers may want to avoid.

>116 lkernagh: ooh this could be a Root for me. You make me want to pull it out.

>116 lkernagh: oooh sounds very interesting!

>117 detailmuse: - I never would have read The Lace Reader now expect for the fact that I have owned my copy since 2009 and I have a Category Challenge category for books I have owned prior to 2010. Gotta love it when a 'nudge' produces a wonderful read!

>118 avanders: - It's a goodie!

ROOT #26 - Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: Dust Collectors
CAT(s): N/A
BingoDOG: N/A
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: Trade paperback
Original publication date: 1996
Acquisition date: February 22, 2009
Page count: 368 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.60 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the local library catalogue book listing page:

Life in impoverished Depression-era Ireland holds little promise for young Frank McCourt, the oldest son in a tightly-knit family. Living by his wits, cheered by his irrepressible spirit, and sustained by his mother's fierce love, Frank embarks on an inspiring journey to overcome the poverty of his childhood and reach the land of his dreams: America.

Review:
To read - or in my case, listen - to McCourt's poverty, illness and family hardship upbringing in Limerick, Ireland was like experiencing his childhood firsthand. A very haunting experience. The excellent descriptive writing made it possible for me to visualize Ireland of the 1930-1940's. While there is some humour in this memoir - Angela's two female cousins who descend upon Frank's as yet unmarried parents when they still resided in America is a hoot to read about! - but other than that, this one does not have the overall cheery feel I found in Brendon O'Carroll's Agnes Browne memoir series. Even as the painful childhood described in this one made me weep for Frank (and really want to wring his father's neck!), I found this to be a somewhat cathartic read: a purging of the past to move on with the future. I am already looking forward to reading the next book, 'Tis, in the author's memoir series.

... but I have to say, I do question why this one seems to have been tagged as "Fiction" by some LT members. A "fiction" tag? Really??

>120 lkernagh: I found this book very moving when I read it ages ago, and it's stuck with me in detail. So much to say! The parents were so awful, but I think the mother was just severely depressed. This is one of the few books that I remember so much about. I like Irish fiction, and sort of throw every Irish book up against this in comparison.

>116 lkernagh: The Lace Reader is on my shelves just waiting to be read, and I'm at loose ends after reading 7,530 pages of Outlander in 8 books.

>120 lkernagh: Huh, fiction. I zoomed over to my catalog and confirmed that I've got them tagged nonfiction and memoir. I'll be interested in your take on 'Tis: A Memoir, his second book. I've read both. I also have a book by his brother, A Monk Swimming by Malachy McCourt. I love the title, but haven't read it yet.

I have both Angela's Ashes and 'Tis: A Memoir on my TBR pile. I've heard lots of good things about them.

>116 lkernagh: - Funny, I ended up liking the book better because of the ending. Can't actually remember what it was but my review mentioned that I liked the ending. It was a book that sat on my shelf for so long before finally reading it last year.

I too thought Angela's Ashes was fabulous and 'Tis almost as good. Liked his third (Teacher Man) much less.

I love eveyone's comments on the previous reads! I am a little distracted these days so please accept my upfront apologies for the lack of individual responses.

ROOT #27 - Q is for Quarry by Sue Grafton - audiobook read by Judy Kaye
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: Catchall
CAT(s): N/A
BingoDOG: N/A
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: 2002
Acquisition date: July 14, 2013
Page count: 12 hours, 38 minutes listening time / 368 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.90 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

She was a "Jane Doe," an unidentified white female whose decomposed body was discovered near a quarry off California's Highway 1. The case fell to the Santa Teresa County Sheriff's Department, but the detectives had little to go on. The woman was young, her hands were bound with a length of wire, there were multiple stab wounds, and her throat had been slashed. After months of investigation, the case remained unsolved. That was eighteen years ago. Now, the two men who found the body, both nearing the end of long careers in law enforcement, want one last shot at the case. Old and ill, they need someone to do the legwork for them, and they turn to Kinsey Millhone. They will, they tell her, find closure if they can just identify the victim. Kinsey is intrigued with the challenge and agrees to work with them. But revisiting the past can be a dangerous business, and what begins with the pursuit of Jane Doe's real identity ends in a high-risk hunt for her killer.

Review:
Having Kinsey team up with the two retired/on medical leave "older men in blue" gave this one a nice change of pace. Loved how Kinsey had to keep referring the guys while they chase down new clues in what is a very old cold case. As with all Kinsey Millhone stories, the "slice of life" perspective Grafton brings to the stories make them perfect comfort reads for me. I did chuckle as Kinsey and the retired Sheriff's officer, Stacey Oliphant, engage in an eating tour of 1980's circa fast food joints, a new experience for the 70 year old Oliphant. Also, I never thought I would learn a new method for how to iron a dress shirt while reading this one. That was an unexpected bonus! I hate ironing dress shirts. What makes this story extra interesting for me is that this one has more of a police procedural aspect to it. Grafton admits in the afterword that the inspiration for this story was a true cold case that was brought to her attention one evening during a dinner with friends.

ROOT #28 - R is for Richochet by Sue Grafton - audiobook read by Judy Kaye
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: Catchall
CAT(s): N/A
BingoDOG: N/A
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: 2004
Acquisition date: July 14, 2013
Page count: 11 hours, 38 minutes listening time / 384 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.70 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

Reba Lafferty was a daughter of privilege, the only child of an adoring father. Nord Lafferty was already in his fifties when Reba was born, and he could deny her nothing. Over the years, he quietly settled her many scrapes with the law, but he wasn't there for her when she was convicted of embezzlement and sent to the California Institution for Women. Now, at thirty-two, she is about to be paroled, having served twenty-two months of a four-year sentence. Nord Lafferty wants to be sure she stays straight, stays at home and away from the drugs, the booze, the gamblers." "It seems a straightforward assignment for Kinsey: babysit Reba until she settles in, make sure she follows all the rules of her parole. Maybe all of a week's work. Nothing untoward - the woman seems remorseful and friendly. And the money is good." But life is never that simple, and Reba is out of prison less than twenty-four hours when one of her old crowd comes circling round.

Review:
As with some other Kinsey stories, what starts out as a straightforward job spirals out of control into a crazy game of "cat and mouse". The mystery isn't much of a mystery... this is more of a suspense read with a new romantic interest for Kinsey thrown into the mix. Happily, there is a good sub-story focused on Henry Pitts, Kinsey's landlord. I really liked the Reba Lafferty character. I can see that Grafton probably had some fun coming up with a wild child version of Kinsey for Kinsey to interact with.

ROOT #29 - Clarissa Harlowe or the history of a young lady - Volume 6 (of 9) by Samuel Richardson
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: My 2016 Clarissa Read
CAT(s): N/A
BingoDOG: N/A
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: ebook
Original publication date: 1748
Acquisition date: October 27, 2015
Page count: 286 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.90 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the LT book summary:

Based on the 18th century novel by Samuel Richardson, this is the original tale of fatal attraction and dangerous liaisons. A wealthy young heiress, famed for her virtue, is sought by a man wishing to seduce her and destroy her reputation. For the first time in his life he becomes genuinely infatuated with his prey, and sows the seeds of his own fate.

Review:
Volume 6 Summary: A bit of excitement in this volume as Clarissa exhibits sudden fits of feistiness and calculated planning that has even Lovelace having moments of panic – not something I would have expected given that Lovelace has appeared to be the one in control up until now. What still continues to baffle me is “why”…. Why does Lovelace continue to plague Clarissa? I mean, I know that some individuals will persist in a course of action contrary to the desires of the object of interest, but even Lovelace must realize this really has gone too far, even for him! Of course, I was clapping my hands with joy when the events at the end of Volume 6 unfolded. Well played Clarissa!

ROOT #30 - S is for Silence by Sue Grafton - audiobook read by Judy Kaye
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: Challenges, Challenges
CAT(s): N/A
BingoDOG: N/A
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: 2005
Acquisition date: July 14, 2013
Page count: 12 hours, 7 minutes listening time / 368 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.80 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.com book listing webpage:

Cases don’t get much colder than that of Violet Sullivan, who disappeared from her rural California town in 1953, leaving behind an abusive husband and a seven-year-old named Daisy. But P.I. Kinsey Millhone has promised Daisy she’ll try her best to locate Violet, dead or alive. All signs point to a runaway wife—the clothes that disappeared; the secret stash of money Violet bragged about; the brazen flirtations she indulged in with local men, including some married ones. Kinsey tries to pick up a trail by speaking to those who remember her—and perhaps were more involved in her life than they let on. But the trail could lead her somewhere very dangerous. Because the case may have gone cold, but some peoples’ feelings about Violet Sullivan still run as hot as ever…

Review:
Grafton appears to be have developed an interest in writing cold case mysteries for Kinsey to solve. I am good with that. I love cold cases…. There is something about sifting through evidence that has already gone through police scrutiny, been abandoned for decades and when investigated with a new set of eyes, a new thread, a new line of inquiry comes to light. This time, Grafton added a new element to her bag of story-telling tricks: the use of a series of flashback chapters, enabling the family, friends, and other community members of missing person Violet to inform the reader of the events of the days in the lead up to the July 4, 1953 disappearance. At first, I wasn’t sure how well this was going to work – I have gotten rather used to these stories starting with Kinsey’s usual monologue – so I was a bit disorientated when chapter one started off back in 1953. Once I got my bearings, I was able to settle in for yet another good Kinsey Millhone read.

Looks like you are having fun with your ROOTs reads. Lori.

You are just flying through the Grafton books! At this rate you'll be caught up soon.

Just popping in to see what you are up to, Lori! Some good reading going on over at your place.

>131 Familyhistorian: - Hi Meg, I am having fun with my ROOT reading. Did not expect to find the gems I discovered this year. Looking forward to finding other "gems" hiding on my bookshelves!

>132 LittleTaiko: - The Grafton books are perfect distraction reading! Love them for that very reason! ;-)

>133 connie53: - Hi Connie, I am a bit of a non-existent person on the threads lately so always happy to see someone stop by my thread.

ROOT #31 - Clarissa Harlowe or the history of a young lady - Volume 7 (of 9) by Samuel Richardson
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: My 2016 Clarissa Read
CAT(s): N/A
BingoDOG: N/A
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: ebook
Original publication date: 1748
Acquisition date: October 27, 2015
Page count: 293 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.60 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the LT book summary:

Based on the 18th century novel by Samuel Richardson, this is the original tale of fatal attraction and dangerous liaisons. A wealthy young heiress, famed for her virtue, is sought by a man wishing to seduce her and destroy her reputation. For the first time in his life he becomes genuinely infatuated with his prey, and sows the seeds of his own fate.

Review:
Volume 7 Summary: I continue to be amazed at all that Clarissa experiences/ encounters/ endures. I am not surprised that she is thinking of closure and good no her for continuing to want nothing to do with Lovelace. That man is despicable beyond belief. If I hadn’t been so horrified by the unexpected turn of events Clarissa encountered (and which even Lovelace was shocked to learn about!), I would have laughed at how even the master of manipulation was not in control of all events as they unfold. Thank goodness there are people in the story like Lovelace’s friend Belford to try and balance out the wrongs of Lovelace and Clarissa’s family. Yes, I continue to point a finger at the Harlowes for their mean-spirited condemnation of Clarissa’s plight. Anyways…. Onwards I read.

ROOT #32 - T is for Trespass by Sue Grafton - audiobook read by Judy Kaye
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: Challenges, Challenges
CAT(s): N/A
BingoDOG: N/A
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: 2007
Acquisition date: July 14, 2013
Page count: 12 hours, 30 minutes listening time / 384 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.40 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

A miser and a hoarder, Gus Vronsky is so crotchety that after he takes a bad fall, his only living relative is anxious to find him some hired help and get back home as soon as she can. In an effort to help, Gus's neighbor, private investigator Kinsey Millhone, runs a check on an applicant for the job, Solana Rojas. Social Security, driver's license, nursing certification: It all checks out. And it sounds like she did a good job for her former employers. So Kinsey gives her the thumbs-up, figuring Gus will be the ideal assignment for this diligent, experienced caregiver. And the real Solana Rojas was indeed an excellent caregiver. But the woman who has stolen her identity is not, and for her, Gus will be the ideal victim...

Review:
Without a doubt, this is my favorite Kinsey Millhone read so far. The story starts out with a rather mundane shadowing of Kinsey as she engages in the more routine aspects of her day-to-day detective work – serving papers on a deadbeat dad, conducting a background check and working on a car accident insurance case. Even the neighbourly assistance of contacting Gus’ relative and convincing her to come out the California to see to Gus gives the impression of a bit of a ho-hum read. Nothing could be further from the truth. Grafton does a fantastic job mapping out a case of identity theft and a shocking tale of elder abuse. Unlike previous Kinsey Millhone stories, the focus is not on a mystery to solve, although the details regarding accounts of the insurance case could qualify as the mystery in this story. The reader is informed upfront about the identity theft. The story is more an escalating battle of wits as Kinsey finds herself up against an advisory who is devious, cunning and a master manipulator who knows just how to turn the tables when she thinks someone is on to her. The character profile of Solana is amazing in its detail. Following on the heels of S is for Silence, Grafton makes use of two narrators, Kinsey and Solana, to enable Grafton to present to the reader the inner workings of Solana’s mind. let me tell you, that is one disturbing woman! The topic of a caregiver preying on the individual they have been hired to care for was a deeply disturbing topic for me and part of the reason why I found this to be such a “page-turning” audioread. The details of how Solana infiltrates a person life and sequesters them from any outside contact is very disturbing. As with the previous books in the series, Grafton’s skill at ratcheting up the tension/ suspense is evident.

ROOT #33 - The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: Spending Time With My Furry Friends
CAT(s): DeweyCAT
BingoDOG: N/A
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: Trade Paperback
Original publication date: 2010
Acquisition date: May 2, 2015
Page count: 416 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.60 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

Why did Gandhi hate iodine (I, 53)? How did radium (Ra, 88) nearly ruin Marie Curie's reputation? And why is gallium (Ga, 31) the go-to element for laboratory pranksters? The Periodic Table is a crowning scientific achievement, but it's also a treasure trove of adventure, betrayal, and obsession. These fascinating tales follow every element on the table as they play out their parts in human history, and in the lives of the (frequently) mad scientists who discovered them. THE DISAPPEARING SPOON masterfully fuses science with the classic lore of invention, investigation, and discovery--from the Big Bang through the end of time.

Review:
A great read for any chemistry geeks out there. I loved the stories Kean incorporates into this one but overall, I found it to be a tad heavy on the science, so really best geared as a read for chemistry/ periodic table geeks first.

ROOT #34 - The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: Blind Date
CAT(s): N/A
BingoDOG: N/A
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: Trade Paperback
Original publication date: 2010
Acquisition date: May 11, 2014
Page count: 512 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.90 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.com book listing webpage:

The year is 1799, the place Dejima in Nagasaki Harbor, the Japanese Empire’s single port and sole window onto the world, designed to keep the West at bay. To this place of devious merchants, deceitful interpreters, and costly courtesans comes Jacob de Zoet, a devout young clerk who has five years in the East to earn a fortune of sufficient size to win the hand of his wealthy fiancée back in Holland. But Jacob’s original intentions are eclipsed after a chance encounter with Orito Aibagawa, the disfigured midwife to the city’s powerful magistrate. The borders between propriety, profit, and pleasure blur until Jacob finds his vision clouded, one rash promise made and then fatefully broken—the consequences of which will extend beyond Jacob’s worst imaginings.

Review:
This is one of those slow, simmering reads that creeps up on the reader... or I just developed a fascination when the whole British/Dutch trade wars surfaced. Overall, an interesting glimpse into a cloistered Japan, but I still find Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha to be the better read, IMO, although the theme of 'prisoner' in all it's forms that runs through this one was rather interesting to note.

ROOT #35 - Enduring Love by Ian McEwan
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: Dust Collectors
CAT(s): N/A
BingoDOG: N/A
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: Trade Paperback
Original publication date: 1997
Acquisition date: February 22, 2009
Page count: 272 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.20 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the public library book listing webpage:

In one of the most striking opening scenes ever written, a bizarre ballooning accident and a chance meeting give birth to an obsession so powerful that an ordinary man is driven to the brink of madness and murder by another's delusions. Ian McEwan brings us an unforgettable story—dark, gripping, and brilliantly crafted—of how life can change in an instant.

Review:
I now understand the love - hate relationship some readers have with McEwan's works. Yes, he is a master at capturing the personalities of obsession, compulsion, mania, etc. As much as I loved Amsterdam, Enduring Love really came across to me as nothing more than a deep dive, self-absorbed navel gazing experience, even if it was a disturbing read. McEwan has a gift for capturing the minutiae of personal life but I kind of question why I require this level of detail to appreciate the subject of obsession and obsessive love. Yes, McEwan's details of Erotomania or de Clérambault's syndrome, is an interesting presentation and it works, but seemed like a bit of a slog to wade through the minor details just to comprehend the story arch and plot development. Just a little on the heavy detail / minutiae side. I am still not totally turned off from any further McEwan reading but I will be reserving the books I still need to read for when I am in the mood for the rather depressive topics McEwan writes about.

5 More ROOT's read! Yeah!!

Hi! I couldn't possibly catch up on the threads after my crazy-long absence, but I just wanted to say hi :)

Also, I just noticed that you're only 5 away from your ROOTs goal-- awesome!

>140 connie53: and >141 avanders: - Thanks both of you! It is rather exciting to be getting so close to my goal, with 4 months still to go in the year!

ROOT #36 - Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: Dust Collectors
CAT(s): N/A
BingoDOG: N/A
WomanBingoKIT: Set in Lartin America or Asia
Source: TBR
Format: Trade Paperback
Original publication date: 2000
Acquisition date: September 27, 2009
Page count: 416 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.70 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

An orphan raised in Valparaiso, Chile, by a Victorian spinster and her rigid brother, vivacious young Eliza Sommers follows her lover to California during the Gold Rush of 1849. Entering a rough-and-tumble world of new arrivals driven mad by gold fever, Eliza moves in a society of single men and prostitutes with the help of her good friend and savior, the Chinese doctor Tao Chi'en. California opens the door to a new life of freedom and independence for the young Chilean, and her search for her elusive lover gradually turns into another kind of journey. By the time she finally hears news of him, Eliza must decide who her true love really is.

Review:
A solid historical fiction piece with a strong, independent-minded heroine set against the wonderful backdrop of 19th century Chile and the California Gold Rush of 1849. This story has all of the trappings of a satisfying historical fiction read: solid grounding in historical facts; interesting multi-faceted characters; vividly drawn backdrops of Chile, Canton, China and California; a wonderful ethnic mix English, Chinese, Chilean, Mexican and Americans; and steady pacing for the adventure the reader embarks upon with young Eliza. This one has all other qualities of an epic read with a lighter touch… I didn’t feel as though I was being dragged through some sweeping saga, like I do with some epic reads. Allende keeps the story grounded with the focus trained on her handful of key characters, given a more intimate, personal impression of the historically expansive California Gold Rush and the three continents the story is set in.

A delightful historical fiction read and I now understand why Allende is considered to be such a gifted novelist.

ROOT #37 - Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: Blind Date
CAT(s): GeoCAT (August - Sub-Saharan Africa)
BingoDOG: N/A
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: Trade Paperback
Original publication date: 2002
Acquisition date: May 11, 2014
Page count: 256 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.50 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

Precious Ramotswe is the eminently sensible and cunning proprietor of the only ladies’ detective agency in Botswana. In Tears of the Giraffe she tracks a wayward wife, uncovers an unscrupulous maid, and searches for an American man who disappeared into the plains many years ago. In the midst of resolving uncertainties, pondering her impending marriage to a good, kind man, Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni, and the promotion of her talented secretary (a graduate of the Botswana Secretarial College, with a mark of 97 per cent), she also finds her family suddenly and unexpectedly increased by two.

Review:
McCall Smith continues to enthrall me with this second book in his No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series. I really like how he manages to weave connected stories together, allowing the reader to enjoy the mysteries while at the same time obtaining a better insight into the day-to-day lives of the characters against the Botswanan backdrop. These stories fit into what I consider to be cozy/comfort reads. They involve ordinary people facing problems/concerns centered around human relationships. It is this focus on societal and familial bonds that makes these such a joy to read. I also like how McCall Smith maintains a theme of morality through the stories, having Mma Ramotswe face moral dilemmas when assessing potential harm that may occur if a certain course of action is taken, or not taken, as a result of the investigation. As you can imagine, some gentle directional input from Mma Ramotswe is usually required. These stories are not stories of high-flying suspense or riveting chase scenes, and I like them for that very reason. If I want high suspense, I will pick up a thriller to read.

ROOT #38 - A Month in the Country by J. L. Carr
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: Blind Date
CAT(s): N/A
BingoDOG: N/A
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: Trade Paperback
Original publication date: 2000
Acquisition date: May 13, 2012
Page count: 160 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.40 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

Tom Birkin, a veteran of the Great War and a broken marriage, arrives in the remote Yorkshire village of Oxgodby where he is to restore a recently discovered medieval mural in the local church. Living in the bell tower, surrounded by the resplendent countryside of high summer, and laboring each day to uncover an anonymous painter's depiction of the apocalypse, Birkin finds that he himself has been restored to a new, and hopeful, attachment to life. But summer ends, and with the work done, Birkin must leave. Now, long after, as he reflects on the passage of time and the power of art, he finds in his memories some consolation for all that has been lost.

Review:
What a wonderful, soft spoken novel. A perfect read for a lazy, hot, sunny August afternoon. Carr imbues the story with a sense of loss, be it for times gone past, for lost loves and lost opportunities or just the “warm hug” feeling of poignant memories of a distant summer. The stories has a gentleness to it, dwelling on the idyll, even when fleeting memories of the horrors of war past are evoked. It is a story of a summer of contentment, of making that turning point from scarred past into hopeful future. I particularly love how Carr presents the atmosphere of happy contentment as a series of understated contemplative moments, in line with Birkin’s gentle labours to bring to light the wonderful mural on the church wall buried beneath centuries of grime, where discovery is like a jigsaw puzzle – starting out as a series of seemingly unconnected pieces that with time, come together to present a coherent picture to marvel at. As one reviewer, Ingrid Norton, has commented,

“Carr’s great art is to make it clear that joy is inseparable from the pain and oblivion which unmakes it. In a world where the most vivid heavens and hells are of our creation, Carr suggests, paradise and purgatory are deeply personal. What we value in life, then, may also be the most difficult to share.”

Overall, a wonderfully rewarding read, and a reminder of just how life’s moments can become a precious fountain of evocative memories that can be experienced over and over again.

>146 lkernagh: Oh I'm getting that. Wonderful review.

>146 lkernagh: Lovely, isn't it. I read A Month in the Country a few years ago, and then thought I'd donated it away. In the meantime, I thought about it and decided I really needed to reread it. A year later, a friend returned it to me and I realized I hadn't given it away after all. So happy that it's still on my shelf.

>143 lkernagh: it's great! I'm envious ;)

>144 lkernagh: that's on my "watch list" :)

>144 lkernagh: I've never read any of Allende's fiction, but I did read her memoir Paula which was about her daughter, it had me in tears, it was a wonderful book and very sad.

>147 detailmuse: and >148 Nickelini: - A Month in the Country is a divine read!

>149 avanders: - I never thought I would make it to my ROOT goal so quickly! I am now looking forward to adding to the group total for the rest of 2016. The Allende book is a goodie and I am looking forward to reading more of her books.

>150 Jackie_K: - I will keep an eye out for a copy of Paula. Thanks for bringing that one to my attention!

ROOT#39 - Tulipomania by Mike Dash
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: Books with One Word Titles
CAT(s): N/A
BingoDOG: N/A
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: Trade Paperback
Original publication date: 1999
Acquisition date: May 15, 2011
Page count: 273 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.10 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

In the 1630s, visitors to the prosperous trading cities of the Netherlands couldn't help but notice that thousands of normally sober, hardworking Dutch citizens from every walk of life were caught up in an extraordinary frenzy of buying and selling. The object of this unprecedented speculation was the tulip, a delicate and exotic Eastern import that had bewitched horticulturists, noblemen, and tavern owners alike. For almost a year rare bulbs changed hands for incredible and ever-increasing sums, until single flowers were being sold for more than the cost of a house. Historians would come to call it tulipomania. It was the first futures market in history, and like so many of the ones that would follow, it crashed spectacularly, plunging speculators and investors into economic ruin and despair. This is the history of the tulip, from its origins on the barren, windswept steppes of central Asia to its place of honor in the lush imperial gardens of Constantinople, to its starring moment as the most coveted--and beautiful--commodity in Europe. Historian Mike Dash vividly narrates the story of this amazing flower and the colorful cast of characters--Turkish sultans, Yugoslav soldiers, French botanists, and Dutch tavern keepers--who were centuries apart historically and worlds apart culturally, but who all had one thing in common: tulipomania.

Review:
An excellent read... better than I was expecting. While the book is focused on the tulip mania that overtook the United Provinces - which now comprise modern day Netherlands - from 1635 to the first half of 1636, it is the amazing similarities of that mania to other more recent sharp boom/bust market scenarios, like the amazing climb and spectacular crash of the price of bitcoins, that caught my attention. The trading of tulips was outside of the regulated stock and futures markets of the time period, and its frenzy was in part fueled by the fact that any one from the wealthy to the common artisans and workers could get involved, even in a small way, in the hopes of cashing in a profit. The lure of making cash in such a simple way must have been too good for many to pass up. With that information in mind, I was only somewhat surprised to learn that the Dutch artist Jan van Guyen had invested, and lost almost everything but the shirt off his back, in the tulip crash. He had given up painting during the tulip mania and it was only because of the financial straights he found himself and his family in that he returned to painting, leaving behind a legacy of brilliant landscapes that, in the words of the author, "many of which would have probably never have been painted had he made his fortune in the tulip trade".

I was saddened to learn that some of the rarer tulips that helped fuel the tulip mania, are lost to us forever, except in preserved paintings, like this one of Semper Augusta:



Interestingly, the vivid colorful markings of the highly sought after tulips like the Semper Augustus, were not a product of cultivated hybrid breeding. They were a product of a broken tulip infected with the mosaic virus. While the bulb industry has managed to wipe out the mosaic virus, as the author notes, " The infinite variety that each broken tulip could display is gone, and with it much of the flower's capacity to fascinate and astound."

Overall, a wonderful blending of "horticulture meets financial markets" kind of read.

ROOT#40 - The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: Spending Time with My Furry Friends
CAT(s): September GeoCAT - Souther Asia (Burma)
BingoDOG: N/A
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: Trade Paperback
Original publication date: 2000
Acquisition date: December 10, 2010
Page count: 560 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.10 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: adapted from multiple sources:

1885 Burma: Rajkumar is a young stateless orphan helping out in a market stall in the dusty square outside the royal palace in Mandalay, when the British force the Burmese King, Queen and court into exile. Haunted by his vision of the Royal Family and Dolly, a child attendant of the royal entourage Rajkumar encountered being escorted under armed guard into exile in India - and with the help of an itinerant merchant from Malacca - Rajkumar will make his fortune deep in the teak forests of upper Burma. Now and adult and wealthy, Rajkumar travels to the obscure town where the Royal Family has been exiled, and his family and friends become inexorably linked with theirs.

Review:
This is one of those sweeping saga stories that has appealed to a number of readers here on LT. Sadly, while there were sections that I found made for excellent story telling, for the most part, I think it is a book filled with too much: Too much time span coverage (the story spans 100 years and three generations), too many topics (the story covers everything from cultural differences, colonialism, war, political ideology, lumber enterprises, photography), too many characters (the story jumps around between immediate family, friends, neighbours, in laws), too much attention to minute details (I don't really need to know the make and model of every single vehicle and camera used in the story).

Maybe I am going through a bit of historical fiction burn out, but I found this story jumped around too much, tried to be too grand and over the top and as such, became a chore to read, even as I enjoyed the wonderful descriptive details of Burma and India.

>152 lkernagh: That whole tulip craze was a fascinating time in history.

>152 lkernagh: >154 Nickelini: yes indeed. I have a book by Anna Pavord on my TBR which is about exactly that.

>154 Nickelini: - Agreed. Fascinating reading! I never imagined something like a tulip to become a "hot commodity". The things we learn reading books. ;-)

>155 Jackie_K: - Making note of Anna Pavord. I would love to learn more about the tulip mania.

ROOT #41 - Clarissa Harlowe or the history of a young lady - Volume 8 (of 9) by Samuel Richardson
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: My 2016 Clarissa Read
CAT(s): N/A
BingoDOG: N/A
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: eBook
Original publication date: 1748
Acquisition date: October 27, 2015
Page count: 286 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 2.85 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the LT book summary:

Based on the 18th century novel by Samuel Richardson, this is the original tale of fatal attraction and dangerous liaisons. A wealthy young heiress, famed for her virtue, is sought by a man wishing to seduce her and destroy her reputation. For the first time in his life he becomes genuinely infatuated with his prey, and sows the seeds of his own fate.

Review:
Volume 8 Summary: Humm….. I am starting to get rather tired of the whole posturing of Lovelace, moralizing of Belford and continued virtuous-expounding of Clarissa. As for her family, I agree 100% with Colonel Morden and his opinion of the lot of them. Best bit of eye-rolling entertainment was reading the over-the-top letters by Mr. Brand… a perfect example of someone who thinks waaaaay too highly of themselves, their literary knowledge and their writing prowess!

Good news, there is only one more volume to go. The end is in sight!

I think you have reached your goal!

Woo hoo!

Congratulations, Lori!

>152 lkernagh: I've added to my wishlist.

>153 lkernagh: I have it on my shelves, and wish I could trade it for Tulipomania. Sigh.

I do have Ghosh's Ibis Trilogy and have read the first one, Sea of Poppies. I loved it. Have you read it?

>151 lkernagh: awesome - we appreciate it :) (you helping w/ the group goal ;))

AND Congrats on reaching your goal!

Thank you >158 connie53:, >159 rabbitprincess:, >160 karenmarie: and >161 avanders: for the congrats! It feels good to know that I am making headway with clearing my shelves of some ROOTs!

>153 lkernagh: - The Glass Palace is my first Ghosh read. do want to read Sea of Poppies as I own a copy of River of Smoke and I do try to read books from a trilogy or series in proper order. :-)

ROOT #42 - Annabel by Kathleen Winter
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: Books with One Word Titles
CAT(s): N/A
BingoDOG: N/A
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: Trade Paperback
Original publication date: 2010
Acquisition date: May 5, 2013
Page count: 480 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.20 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.com book listing webpage:

In 1968, into the devastating, spare atmosphere of the remote coastal town of Labrador, Canada, a child is born: a baby who appears to be neither fully boy nor fully girl, but both at once. Only three people are privy to the secret—the baby’s parents, Jacinta and Treadway, and a trusted neighbor and midwife, Thomasina. Though Treadway makes the difficult decision to raise the child as a boy named Wayne, the women continue to quietly nurture the boy’s female side. And as Wayne grows into adulthood within the hyper-masculine hunting society of his father, his shadow-self, a girl he thinks of as “Annabel,” is never entirely extinguished.

Review:
This review is going to be more of a compare-contrast of Annabel and Jeffrey Eugenides's Middlesex, a book I read earlier this year. Both tackle the rather sensitive topic of intersexuality, which has also been called hermaphroditism. The two books couldn't be further apart, IMO, in their delivery of the topic. Eugenides tackles the topic by anchoring it in a sweeping family saga, with a dark humour perspective and a fair bit of detailed scientific facts thrown into the mix. Winter takes a very different approach. She softens the topic, tackling it from a more intimate point of view while bringing in the landscape of a small, hunting and trapping community in Labrador to help convey the sense of isolation Wayne/Annabel experiences as he embarks on a journey of self determination. I want to call the Eugenides and Winter books the epitome of American and Canadian story-telling. Eugenides sweeping immigrant family saga is a testament to what has created America. Winter takes a truly Canadian approach by presenting a more sedate, focused story, making both the intersexuality and the Canadian culture/geography simultaneous focuses of the story. Even the violence that occurs in the story is muted... providing glimpses, but not all the graphic details of the violence. I liked that approach. It provided for a consistent overall feel of the story. Some readers may not agree, but I think the larger theme in Annabel is how Winter displays the slowly developing awareness of Wayne - and the reactions of his family and close friends - as he embarks on this journey of self discovery. This was captured really well. I think it also speaks to why it is wrong for adults, both parents and medical professionals, to make decisions - even when they think they are doing so in the best interests of the child - without fully understanding how their decisions can have an impact on the child as they develop.

Overall, a beautifully written story. Some aspects of the story may be a little hard to accept from a realism perspective but for a debut novel, I feel that its strengths outweigh any deficits/deficiencies detected.

ROOT #43 - Ilustrado by Miguel Syjuco
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: Books with One Word Titles
CAT(s): N/A
BingoDOG: N/A
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: Trade Paperback
Original publication date: 2010
Acquisition date: May 15, 2011
Page count: 256 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 2.10 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

It begins with a body. On a clear day in winter, the battered corpse of Crispin Salvador is pulled from the Hudson River. Gone, too, is the only manuscript of his final book, a work meant to rescue him from obscurity by exposing the crimes of the Filipino ruling families. Miguel, his student and only remaining friend, sets out for Manila to investigate.

Review:
I really struggled with this one. Probably because the story structure doesn’t lend itself to an audio read (the format I chose to try and get my trade paperback copy read and off my TBR pile). The narrative mechanisms used include everything from excerpted sections of fictionalized published works, transcribes of interviews, to reproducing emails and blog postings to communicate the story. Quite the jumbled mess that made listening to the story a bit of a challenge, kind of like listening to someone reading aloud a journal article and making a point of reading aloud each footnote in turn, disrupting the flow. This probably would have worked okay as a physical read, especially with the visual cues of section breaks and changes in font style to indicate the shifts in narration, but that wasn’t enough for Syjuco. He had to go and further complicate matters by free flowing the story backwards and forwards through time and place. One moment, we are in modern day New York, the next minute in the Philippines during the Japanese Occupation, and then suddenly in Canada in the 1960’s/1970’s. The premise itself is the reason I picked up a copy of this book and I really like Syjuco’s use of “Ilustrados” – the well-to-do Filipino intelligentsia, who have received European and Westernized educations – to be his "voice" but I should point out that this really isn’t much of a mystery as it has been billed to be. It is really more of a pseudo-autobiographical and sensationalized literary mouthpiece for what one reviewer has called “oblique manifestos” in the same highbrow, expansive style utilized by writers such as Roberto Bolano, with a similar noir undertone. This book does a wonderful job outlining 150 years of Philippine history, and communicating the country’s search for its identity, but I came away from this one with the same feeling I had after having read Bolano’s 2666: an overarching feeling that the story is an information dump of deeper messages layered one over top of the other, piled so high that I fail to work my way through to the core meaning.

Overall, one of the most ambitious debut novels I have ever read. I just wish I had the patience to try and understand the deeper meaning I am sure it contains.

ROOT #44 - Home by Marilynne Robinson
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: Books with One Word Titles
CAT(s): N/A
BingoDOG: N/A
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: Trade Paperback
Original publication date: 2009
Acquisition date: May 12, 2012
Page count: 336 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.90 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.com book listing webpage:

The Reverend Boughton's hell-raising son, Jack, has come home after twenty years away. Artful and devious in his youth, now an alcoholic carrying two decades worth of secrets, he is perpetually at odds with his traditionalist father, though he remains his most beloved child. As Jack tries to make peace with his father, he begins to forge an intense bond with his sister Glory, herself returning home with a broken heart and turbulent past.

Review:
Having loved Gilead when I read it back in 2011, it will probably come as no surprise to Marilynne Robinson fans out there that Home was a perfect read for me, although you might be wondering why the heck it took me so long to get around to reading Robinson’s second book in her the loosely connected Gilead series – if it can be called a series, that is, given that the common thread is the setting (Gilead). Trust me, I am wondering the same thing! Like Gilead, Home is a rather sedate/reflective piece of work, written in a calming, contemplative tone, that seems perfectly fitting for the time period . The themes of judgement, salvation, redemption, grace as well as whether or not people can change, ripple through the pages. What I find fascinating is that both books – Gilead and Home – are set in the same place and time: small town Gilead, Iowa, in 1956, and yet I seem to recall a very different vibe/perspective when I read Gilead. I found Home to be a better read, for a number of reasons: the overall flow of the story, the omniscient narration, the strong sense of family and the evocative presentation of small town life so remotely removed (both mentally and figuratively) from big events like the civil rights movement. Having personally experienced the return of a wayward family member - wayward in the sense of distancing themselves from the family for a number of years - I found the conversations between Jack and Glory, and Jack and his father, was a poignantly moving experience for me. While there is a lot of sadness in Home, a lot of kindness and gentleness also shines through.

On the whole, I found Home to be an emotionally demanding and deeply satisfying read. Definitely one I know I will re-read at some point in the future.

>163 lkernagh: >165 lkernagh: they're both BBs for me! Annabel sounds extraordinary.

I've had Wintour in my sights for a long time, and Robinson's trilogy is an all-time favourite. I also read the 3 over a number of years. So wonderful.

>166 Jackie_K: - I hope you enjoy both reads as much as I did!

>167 ipsoivan: - I still need to read the other two books in the Robinson trilogy. The Canadian in me tends to struggle a bit with Can Lit. I think it has to do with having it crammed down my throat during my school days by teachers who were unable to make the experience interesting for hyper active teenagers to appreciate. ;-) Thankfully, the adult I have grown into does now appreciate Can Lit for the quality of writing it provides.

ROOT #45 - U Is For Undertow by Sue Grafton - audiobook read by Judy Kaye
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: Challenges, Challenges
CAT(s): N/A
BingoDOG: N/A
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: Audiobook
Original publication date: 2009
Acquisition date: July 14, 2013
Page count: 14 hours listening time / 408 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.60 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

Eyewitness testimony is notoriously unreliable. Even more so when Kinsey Millhone's only lead is a grown man dredging up a repressed childhood memory-of something that may never have happened...

Review:
Not Grafton's best read, IMO, but still a decent bit of escapism. I like the idea of Michael Sutton - Kinsey's client - having a checkered past when it comes to reliability of information. This provides a nice level of complexity to the story. Grafton is now very comfortable with shifting timelines and narrators and while the "whodunit" crops up rather early in the story, it is the details like the "why" that are slowly revealed to the reader. I like how Rosie continues to provide a bit of comic relief to the stories and Kinsey's landlord Henry continues to be a reliable sounding board for the times when Kinsey finds the clues are just not adding up.

ROOT #46 - City of Thieves by David Benioff
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: Blind Date
CAT(s): N/A
BingoDOG: N/A
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: Trade paperback
Original publication date: 2008
Acquisition date: February 19, 2011
Page count: 258 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.35 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

During the Nazis’ brutal siege of Leningrad, Lev Beniov is arrested for looting and thrown into the same cell as a handsome deserter named Kolya. Instead of being executed, Lev and Kolya are given a shot at saving their own lives by complying with an outrageous directive: secure a dozen eggs for a powerful Soviet colonel to use in his daughter’s wedding cake. In a city cut off from all supplies and suffering unbelievable deprivation, Lev and Kolya embark on a hunt through the dire lawlessness of Leningrad and behind enemy lines to find the impossible.

Review:
One doesn't usually expect to encounter wry humour in a book with such a bleak setting like the Siege of Leningrad during WWII, but there is some humour to be found within the pages of this excellent story. I guess one needs to see the humour in being assigned such an unusual task - secure a dozen eggs in a city and countryside where people will loot and kill for even a shriveled, moldy potato. A wonderful and horrifying coming of age story where 17 year-old Lev, surrounded by the dark and brutal side of humanity, learns the true strength of friendship, and the bonds that bring people together in times of struggle.

A worthy and quick read.

I'm a bit late but congratulations on reaching your goal!

>168 lkernagh: I'm not born-Canadian, but moved here for university and stayed. Yes, Canadian lit jammed down my throat, and I too am somewhat resistant. Many decades later, I can enjoy some of it...

>171 LittleTaiko: - Thanks Stacey!

>172 ipsoivan: - Many decades later, I can enjoy some of it.... I hear you! We need to fix the education system so that it doesn't dissuade potential readers!

.
ROOT #47 - Where Angels Fear to Tread by E. M. Forster
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: Challenges, Challenges
CAT(s): N/A
BingoDOG: N/A
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: Trade paperback
Original publication date: 1905
Acquisition date: May 15, 2011
Page count: 208 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.60 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.com book listing webpage:

A young Englishman journeys to Tuscany to rescue his late brother's wife from what appears to be an unsuitable romance with an Italian of little fortune. In the events surrounding that match and its fateful consequences, Forster weaves an exciting and eventful tale that intriguingly contrasts English and Italian lives and sensibilities.

Review:
I know I don't usually post up two cover images with my book reviews. I did this time because I absolutely love the cover on the right (the cover of the audio book I listened to) while the cover on the left is the rather 'blah" cover of the copy in my personal library.

I should start off this review by mentioning, for those who don’t know, that Where Angels Fear to Tread is E. M. Forster’s first novel. When it was published, Forster was only 26 years old. I find that to be an accomplishment in itself. What is more difficult for me to communicate are my thoughts regarding this one. I tend to be a fan of books that tackle meaty topics of divisions caused by class structure, societal norms and mannerisms under the guise of troublesome family scenarios. While I appreciate that Forster takes a lighter hand here – he does not over burden the story with deep philosophical ramblings – I found the lightness of touch gave the story a rather flippant feel, one that overshadows Forester’s attack at the narrow-minded snobbery and cultural insensitivity of the English middle class the story is to portray. I struggled a bit with some of the characters – in particular, Philip, Harriet and Mrs. Herriton. I found Philip’s attraction to Caroline Abbott to be lacking in substance, more like the youthful infatuation of a young collegiate man for an older, more worldly woman. This struck me as a bit odd as I got the impression that Caroline was the younger of the two. Harriet comes across as a little unhinged, even before the tragic events unfold and as for Mrs. Harriton, well, that woman has control issues. Lilia comes across as I would expect for one who faces life with an exuberance that defies being contained. As for the writing, while good, I felt that Forster was still coming into his own as a writer. Not surprising given his youth at the time of writing.

Overall, an decent read and I am now curious to watch the movie adaptation with Helen Mirren as Lilia Harriton.

ROOT #48 - The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: Challenges, Challenges
CAT(s): N/A
BingoDOG: N/A
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: Trade Paperback
Original publication date: 2008
Acquisition date: October 23, 2010
Page count: 384 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 5.00 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

Taking us back to a time that is half history, half myth and wholly magical, The Palace of Illusions gives new voice to Panchaali, the fire-born heroine of the Mahabharat, as she weaves a vibrant interpretation of an ancient tale. Married to five royal husbands who have been cheated out of their father's kingdom, Panchaali aids their quest to reclaim their birthright, remaining at their side through years of exile and a terrible civil war. But she cannot deny her complicated friendship with the enigmatic Krishna—or her secret attraction to the mysterious man who is her husbands' most dangerous enemy—as she is caught up in the ever-manipulating hands of fate.

Review:
Spin me a story that pulls its foundation from an ancient epic tale and I will either be completely enraptured or bored out of my mind. The good news is that Divakaruni’s recasting of the Mahabharata – the epic Indian Sanskrit story – caught my attention right from the start and never let go. This mystical tale is a rich tapestry of all things that make a story spellbinding: emotions of unrequited love, deception, greed and envy; peopled with sages and other semi-divine beings, wise kings and righteous warriors; a prophesy that foretells a major change, heroic deeds and magical weapons, all told in true epic proportions. I have never read the Mahabharata so this review does not provide any kind of “compare/contrast” but I have to say that Divakaruni’s has a wonderful way of taking fantasy characters and making them appear as real, flesh and blood individuals. The setting is beautifully depicted, making it possible for me to glimpse the “Palace of Illusions” in all its wonder. Of course, I am also a fan of epic tales where the lead is a strong female. Draupadi is a dynamic character, even if she does have her moments of self-serving pride and arrogance. The story never lets up, racing the reader along at a steady clip as Draupadi journeys towards her destiny.

A truly epic tale and a very worthy read!

>174 lkernagh: while the cover on the left is the rather 'blah" cover of the copy in my personal library.

That's interesting. I have that edition, and it's part of a set of Forster novels. I finally tracked down the Passage to India edition after almost a decade of looking. I think they are quite beautiful.

As for the book itself, I enjoyed it but didn't put much thought into it. I remember thinking something along the lines of "silly, silly Edwardians meet those life-changing Italians!"

>163 lkernagh: Ohh, I loved that book too!

>163 lkernagh: Annabel sounds very interesting! And intense!

>165 lkernagh: that is quite the review of Home... perhaps I will finally read a Marilynne Robinson book? Any recommendations on which I should start with?

>170 lkernagh: I can't remember if I want that or have that, but City of Thieves still sounds right up my alley!

>175 lkernagh: and a straight 5 of 5! I've only read one other book by Divakaruni, and I'm glad to hear this one was so good! BB!

>176 Nickelini: - "silly, silly Edwardians meet those life-changing Italians!" Now, that is an apt way top describe Where Angels Fear to Tread!

>177 connie53: - :)

>178 avanders: - You can read the Marilynne Robinson books in any order you choose. Now that I have read all three books, I would recommend starting with Home. I found that story had a good flow to it and wasn't quite as introspective as Gilead.

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

I am a little behind with posting my October reading. I finished two more ROOTs in October. Reviews to follow.

ROOT #49 - The Many Deaths of The FireFly Brothers by Thomas Mullen
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: Challenges, Challenges
CAT(s): N/A
BingoDOG: N/A
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: Hard Cover
Original publication date: 2010
Acquisition date: December 25, 2011
Page count: 416 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.80 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: adapted from multiple sources:

Late one night in August 1934, following a yearlong spree of bank robberies across the Midwest, Jason and Whit Fireson - bank robbers known as the Firefly Brothers by an adoring public that worships their acts as heroic counterpunches thrown at a broken system - are forced into a police shoothout and die in a hail of bullets. Or do they? Jason and Whit’s girlfriends—Darcy, a smart-talking socialite, and Veronica, a hardened survivor—struggle between grief and an unyielding belief that the Firesons have survived. While they and the Firesons's stunned mother and straight-arrow third son wade through conflicting police reports and press accounts, wild rumors spread that the bandits are still at large.

Review:
When the colder, darker weather of autumn comes along, I seem to gravitate towards stories with a slightly darker feel to them, be it Gothic, noir or something a bit on the gritty side. Mullen’s Depression-era story is the perfect read to go along with rainy, wind-swept days. The title is an apt one, and provides the reader with a bit of insight into the story considering the story starts out with the Fireson brothers resurrection. One may throw their hands up in frustration at this but Mullen uses this “spoiler” of his own disclosure to build a wonderful story around the fact that the Fireson brothers have no memories of the events that lead to them “waking up” in the police morgue with their bodies altered by what looks like bullet holes. The story takes the reader on a Depression-era crime adventure in keeping with the myth, legend and lore of outlaw celebrities the likes of the Dillinger Gang and Bonny and Clyde. The story has everything – bank heists, bumbling cops, fedora-wearing Tommy-gun toting men, shoot-outs, a car chase, an intrepid young Bureau of Investigation agent, crooked business men and even a “damsel in distress”. While reading this one, I was able to see the story play out, like watching a flickering old black and white gangster movie.

The story has a decidedly noir feel to it, in part due to the gloomy Depression setting. Even with that gloom, the story provides glimpses of Robin Hood style flair as the Firefly Brothers become folk heroes of the destitute populous. There is a noticeable divide between the hard-core villains and the “charming gentlemen” criminals (hence that Robin Hood angle I mentioned earlier). Yes, the story has a phantasmagorical aspect to it in the resurrection of the Firefly Brothers and some of the story comes across as a bit of a cliché but, the heart of the story is really about a family (the Firesons) and the lies that people tell themselves and the people they love. The deep dive Mullen does into the past lives of his characters makes it stand out, for me anyways, from other bank heist-styled stories I have read to date. Outside of that core family piece, The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers is a wonderful escapism read where even the criminals are not “cut and dry” characters. As one reviewer has mentioned, “the story wonderfully illuminates why 1930’s America spawned so many dark heroes”. Everyone needs an idea or an individual to look up to, even if the attention is focused on an antihero. Under Mullen’s pen, one can easily see why antiheros can be so popular.

ROOT #50 - The Manual of Detection by Jedediah Berry
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category
Category: Challenges, Challenges
CAT(s): N/A
BingoDOG: N/A
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: Trade Paperback
Original publication date: 2010
Acquisition date: May 12, 2012
Page count: 288 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.20 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca book listing webpage:

Charles Unwin toils as a clerk at a huge, imperious detective agency located in an unnamed city always slick with rain. When Travis Sivart, the agency's most illustrious detective, is murdered, Unwin is suddenly promoted and must embark on an utterly bizarre quest for the missing investigator that leads him into the darkest corners of his soaking, somnolent city.

Review:
If you enjoyed reading detective fantasy stories like China Mieville's The City and The City, then I think you will really like Berry's The Manual of Detection. There is a wonderful noir feel to this story, and I really enjoy how atmospheric the story is, given that nighttime, dreams and perpetual rain run through this wonderful fantasy fiction read. The subtle nuances of the story are captured in fine detail, what with the dream detection, the historic case of the theft of November 12th, shady characters, and various aptly named locals like the Forty Winks (the bar and gaming hall below the morgue), the Travels-No-More Carnival that has remained in town and my personal favorite, the casino nightclub aptly named, the "Cat & Tonic" as a play on words for the catatonic nature of its clientele. As with other stories in the noir genre, Berry has created balanced characters and leaves the reader in suspense as he unfolds earlier unknown information in a "dream detection" sequence. I did love the way he handled that!

Overall, a very smartly presented fantasy noir detective story that has me hoping this is the start of a possible series.

Finally finished my year-long read of Clarissa! Volume 9 summary and overall book summary below:

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


ROOT #51 - Clarissa Harlowe or the history of a young lady - Volume 9 (of 9) by Samuel Richardson
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: My 2016 Clarissa Read
CAT(s): N/A
BingoDOG: N/A
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: eBook
Original publication date: 1748
Acquisition date: October 27, 2015
Page count: 233 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.80 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the LT book summary:

Based on the 18th century novel by Samuel Richardson, this is the original tale of fatal attraction and dangerous liaisons. A wealthy young heiress, famed for her virtue, is sought by a man wishing to seduce her and destroy her reputation. For the first time in his life he becomes genuinely infatuated with his prey, and sows the seeds of his own fate.

Review:
Volume 9 Summary: Love how Richardson wraps up this overly long story of his by recapping the various characters and their just rewards and providing the reader with a more fulsome explanation of a couple of the ladies of ill repute employed by Lovelace to corrupt Clarissa. Very happy to see some of the characters experiencing first hand what karma is all about.

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


Clarissa Harlowe or the history of a young lady - by Samuel Richarson
Average Decimal/ Star Rating: 3.49 out of 5 /
Overall Decimal/ Star Rating: 4.10 out of 5 / .
Overall Summary: I have to say that the story has its ups and downs when it comes to capturing my attention. Some sections dragged - especially when Clarissa was in London trying to find a way out of her situation - while other sections - when Clarissa befriends Belford and the arrival of Colonel Morden - brought some wonderful clarity and a bit of excitement to the story. On one level, this story is a fascinating exploration of 18th century morals and values as it relates to sexual dominance, manipulation and control. Richardson has created an amazingly strong personality in Clarissa, which strikes me as being at odds with that particular society's expectations of how one like Clarissa is to act and behave. I have to admit that as long as this book is, I would actually read it again. Richardson's characters are such independent personalities. The epistolary format allows each character to bring forth their own personalities, opinions and beliefs to the forefront without impacting the overall flow of the story. If Clarissa were a play, each character would, in turn, take center stage and monologue to the audience, pressing their case. A wonderful way to tell a story! This truly is a novel about characters and the study of morals, manners, motives and sentiments.

So why the two different ratings? Because it is only as the story winds up that I really came to appreciate the skill with which Richardson presents the story. The some of the volumes did get rather lower ratings, dragging down the average rating.

Now, for those of you who don't feel quite up to the task of reading this ginormous tome of a book, here is a spoiler-filled fantastic summary of Clarissa, written with a teenaged reader in mind.

ROOT #52 - Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: Blind Date
CAT(s): N/A
BingoDOG: N/A
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: Trade Paperback
Original publication date: 1927
Acquisition date: May 10, 2014
Page count: 303 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.40 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca website book listing:

In 1851 Father Jean Marie Latour comes to serve as the Apostolic Vicar to New Mexico. What he finds is a vast territory of red hills and tortuous arroyos, American by law but Mexican and Indian in custom and belief. In the almost forty years that follow, Latour spreads his faith in the only way he knows--gently, all the while contending with an unforgiving landscape, derelict and sometimes openly rebellious priests, and his own loneliness.

Review:
Definitely one of those "right book, right time" kind of reads. Cather brings to life a time and place that I feel is irrevocably lost to us. It is a deeply spiritual read, and not just because the focus of the story is on two French missionaries that have come to bring the word to the Southwestern United States. Cather presents the plains of New Mexico and Arizona as stunning vistas peopled by nations Navajo and Hopi nations, influencing how the missionaries approach their seemingly impossible task to tame renegade priests and bring both the new Americans and the older aboriginal nations to embrace the Catholic faith. Cather has a wonderful way with prose and presentation: The story is soft, muted, and reflective in tone while still conveying the strong vibrance of life and communicating that each individual has their own way of embracing religion and a calling. Favorite quote from the book:

"He did not know just when it had become so necessary to him, but he had come back to die in exile for the sake of it. Something soft and wild and free, something that whispered to the ear on the pillow, lightened the heart, softly, softly picked the lock, slid the bolts, and released the prisoned spirit of man into the wind, into the blue and the gold, into the morning, into the morning!"

An absolutely beautiful read.

Congratulations on finishing Clarissa!

>179 lkernagh: oh nice! I always like being able to read whichever ;) But good to know that Home is a good starting piece :)

>180 lkernagh: oh that's been on my radar for a while - glad you enjoyed it so much!
>181 lkernagh: and also glad you liked that -- I stumbled upon it a handful of years ago and was very pleasantly surprised! Interesting that you compared it with The City and the City... I quite enjoyed both books, but I never really thought about them together... :)

>180 lkernagh: Hi Lori! I absolutely adored that book. Good review!

And congratulations on finishing Clarissa Harlowe. What a wonderful accomplishment.

>184 MissWatson: - Thanks! Always feels good to get a really BIG book finished. ;-)

>185 avanders: - I have to admit I have been rather lucky with my ROOT reading. Not too many duds this year.

>186 karenmarie: - Thanks on both counts!

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

I have had a very slow reading month in November but I did manage to complete one more ROOT read.

ROOT #53 - The Hanover Square Affair by Ashley Gardner
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: Blind Date
CAT(s): N/A
BingoDOG: N/A
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: eBook
Original publication date: 2011
Acquisition date: February 28, 2015
Page count: 319 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 4.10 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.com website book listing:

London, 1816 Cavalry captain Gabriel Lacey returns to Regency London from the Napoleonic Wars, burned out, fighting melancholia, his career ended. His interest is piqued when he learns of a missing girl, possibly kidnapped by a prominent member of Parliament. Lacey's search for the girl leads to the discovery of murder, corruption, and dealings with a leader of the underworld. At the same time, he faces his own disorientation transitioning from a soldier's life to the civilian world, redefining his role with his former commanding officer, and making new friends--from the top of society to the street girls of Covent Garden.

Review:
Gabriel Lacey is such a wonderful character. I love the time period and having as a lead character someone who sticks out in London society like a sore thumb and makes no bones about alienating certain members of society is a refreshing change from the usual "hero". Even though Lacey is a gentleman, he really is more a man of the people, more down to earth and holds to his strong convictions about morality and integrity, even when it is at odds with high ranking members of the military and society. Regency England is wonderfully presented as the cut-throat environment it was to live in where "who" you know is more important than what you "own" (although having assets is still considered a good thing). The mystery is well written and even I was surprised when the "who done it" for one of the crimes was revealed. I found Lacey's friend Grenville to be an excellent choice as Grenville's status and popularity in London society is a kin to Brummell's as an authority all society would bow to, providing a wonderful contrast to Lacey's poorer, post-military lifestyle. With past and potential future love interests for Lacey as secondary characters, the story has everything I want in a mystery/romance/historical fiction read.

Great first book in a series that I intend to continue reading.

>188 lkernagh: Hi Lori! I absolutely adore Amazon! I got a used copy of The Hanover Square Affair for US$4. I sure I hope I like it as much as you do since there are 12 in the series!

I love Regencies with the war-torn hero returning to England and trying to adjust. My absolute favorite of this genre is Miss Dornton's Hero by Elisabeth Fairchild. I read it again in September and it was as good as I remembered.

>189 karenmarie: - Thanks for the info about the Elisabeth Fairchild book! Adding it to my shopping/library lists.

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

On the reading front I am hoping to finish two more books before December 31st chimes in, bringing my ROOT reading total to 55 books, my best ROOT reading year to date.

>183 lkernagh: I've enjoyed two by Willa Cather and have her WWI novel, One of Ours on my kindle. But Death Comes for the Archbishop seems most powerful for readers, I think I'll add it.

>191 detailmuse: - I hope you enjoy your Willa Cather reading, detailmuse!

ROOT #54 - Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: Big Tomes
CAT(s): N/A
BingoDOG: N/A
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: Trade paperback
Original publication date: 2003
Acquisition date: May 12, 2012
Page count: 944 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.70 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca website book listing:

Shantaram is narrated by Lin, an escaped convict with a false passport who flees maximum security prison in Australia for the teeming streets of a city where he can disappear. Accompanied by his guide and faithful friend, Prabaker, the two enter Bombay's hidden society of beggars and gangsters, prostitutes and holy men, soldiers and actors, and Indians and exiles from other countries, who seek in this remarkable place what they cannot find elsewhere. As a hunted man without a home, family, or identity, Lin searches for love and meaning while running a clinic in one of the city's poorest slums, and serving his apprenticeship in the dark arts of the Bombay mafia. The search leads him to war, prison torture, murder, and a series of enigmatic and bloody betrayals. The keys to unlock the mysteries and intrigues that bind Lin are held by two people. The first is Khader Khan: mafia godfather, criminal-philosopher-saint, and mentor to Lin in the underworld of the Golden City. The second is Karla: elusive, dangerous, and beautiful, whose passions are driven by secrets that torment her and yet give her a terrible power.

Review:
As some other reviewers have already commented, this story is as much about a love for the city and the people of Bombay (now Mumbai) as it is about Lin, our Australian "on the lam" and the colourful individuals that come to comprise his inner circle of new friends. The story hits all the right notes from a semi-autobiographical perspective, but that is also part of the story's undoing. There is almost too much detail, and a little too much ego and self-importance our author attaches to Lin. I really enjoyed the sections of the story that delves into debates about philosophy, theology, literature, politics and a rather unique perspective of good versus evil in relation to the "Big Bang Theory" of evolution, but Lin as a character really started to grate on me. As for Karla... well... I finally just gave up on her as a character of any worth. Thank goodness the stories has characters like Prabaker, Didier and Vikram to drag us out of Lin's moralizing, remonstrating and self-victimizing (when he isn't pat himself on the back as the hero of Bombay, that is).

Overall, a good story with a solid 1980's perspective of Bombay and key events like the assassination of Indira Gandhi, but the story falters in that Roberts seemed to feel that all pieces of information were equally important, making for a story that could have been captured in a more condensed and precise manner.

>193 lkernagh: Hi Lori! My opinion of Shantaram is the same as yours, although I listened to it on thirty-seven CDs over the course of about 3 months, renewing like crazy from my library when it was due to be turned in. So much ego encompassed in such a sprawling, ultimately frustrating book. The next year it was one of my RL book club reads and I was so glad to have it out of the way.

I wish you a Happy New Year and all good things for 2017.

>194 Tess_W: and >195 karenmarie: - Thank you both for the holiday wishes!

>195 karenmarie: - I can totally see how listening to Shantaram over three months would involve some interesting renewals at the library!

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I am closing out 2016 with my final ROOT read, finished earlier this afternoon.

ROOT #55 - Plainsong by Kent Haruf
Challenge(s): 75 Group, 2016 Category, ROOT
Category: Blind Date
CAT(s): N/A
BingoDOG: N/A
WomanBingoKIT: N/A
Source: TBR
Format: Trade paperback
Original publication date: 2000
Acquisition date: May 5, 2013
Page count: 301 pages
Decimal/ Star rating: 3.90 out of 5 /
Book description/summary: from the amazon.ca website book listing:

In the small town of Holt, Colorado, a high school teacher is confronted with raising his two boys alone after their mother retreats first to the bedroom, then altogether. A teenage girl—her father long since disappeared, her mother unwilling to have her in the house—is pregnant, alone herself, with nowhere to go. And out in the country, two brothers, elderly bachelors, work the family homestead, the only world they've ever known. From these unsettled lives emerges a vision of life, and of the town and landscape that bind them together—their fates somehow overcoming the powerful circumstances of place and station, their confusion, curiosity, dignity and humor intact and resonant.

Review:
A powerfully quiet story. One of those stories filled with purpose and meaning, tribulation and tenacity, hope and redemption. The small town of Holt, Colorado and its timeless quality is the perfect backdrop for the diverse characters that populate the pages of this book. Haruf conveys his story with spare, carefully chosen words, leaving spaces for the reader to fill in for themselves. What made this one such a wonderful read for me is the string sense of community and how Haruf's characters come together creating their own sense of family. The McPheron brothers, Raymond and Harold, are perfectly drawn as the crusty bachelor farmers while my heart just goes out to Ike and Bobby, the two boys trying to make sense of their world.

A wonderfully quiet story and I am looking forward to reading more books by Haruf.

Wishing everyone a safe time tonight and best wishes for 2017!

Happy New Year! See you in the new 2017 group... :)