Betty's (dudes22) 2016 Garden of Bookly Delights - Part 2

So far I'm having a good reading year. And Spring is finally just around the corner.

I'm picking a garden of bookly delights for my reading this year. The language of flowers has been around for thousands of years. Sending roses to express love is something very familiar to most people. And many flowers, trees, and herbs have a meaning or symbolism of romance or love. But there are also many other meanings which have been attached to various plants. The interest in flowers and their meanings/symbolism soared during Victorian England when flowers were sent as a type of coded message. Many flowers/herbs have multiple meanings and they sometimes change depending on where you look. And they may have different meanings depending on the culture. And sometimes different flowers have the same or similar meanings. I’ve picked a bouquet of some to anchor my reading this year. I’ve hand-picked the meaning that works for me from various sites I’ve visited.

I’ve decided on only 10 categories with 10 books each and will incorporate my CAT challenges within these 10.

Tickers and Stats

Total Books Read 2106:




Books from my TBR pile:




Added to TBR in:
2016 - 10
2015 - 9
2014 - 12
2013 - 8
2012 - 5
2011 - 8
2010 - 19
2009 - 2

Category Summaries:
1. Mayflower 1st novels– 10 of 10 - COMPLETED
2. Blue Periwinkle 1st of series – 10 of 10 - COMPLETED
3. Heliotrope continuing series– 10 of 10 - COMPLETED
4. Angelica book bullets – 9 of 10
5. Hemlock murder mysteries – 8 of 10
6. Water Lily mysteries – 7 of 10
7. Dogwood hard covers – 8 of 10
8. Wisteria young adult – 10 of 10 - COMPLETED
9. Columbine LT Folly – 9 of 10
10. Aster miscellaneous – 9 of 10

Category 1: Mayflower (trailing arbutus) - 1st novels



The mayflower symbolizes “the beginning”. I’ll be using this category to concentrate on first books by an author. I have quite a few of these in my TBR that I’ve wanted to get to and this should get me going.

1. Tell it to the Lambs by Susan Bristol Brewster
2. Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson
3. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson
4. Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres
5. Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
6. The Kitchen Daughter by Jael McHenry
7. The Pleasing Hour by Lily King
8. Baking Cakes in Kigali by Gaile Parkin
9. The Solitude of Prime Numbers by Paolo Giordano
10. Loving Frank by Nancy Horan

Category 2: Blue Periwinkle - 1st in a series



The blue periwinkle has a meaning of “early friendship”. I’m going to use this flower category for the first book of a series that I’ve been meaning to start.

1. Knit One, Kill Two by Maggie Sefton
2. Knots and Crosses by Ian Rankin
3. When the Lion Feeds by Wilbur Smith
4. Twelve Drummers Drumming by C.C. Benison
5. Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd
6. Plainsong by Kent Haruf
7. The Sleeping Doll by Jeffrey Deaver
8. Eva’s Eye by Karin Fossum
9. Killing Floor by Lee Child
10. A Share in Death by Deborah Crombie

Category 3: Heliotrope - continuing series



The heliotrope means “faithfulness”. I’ve got many series that need to move along. Here’s one place they can go.

1. The Sugar Camp Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini
2. Hail to the Chef by Julie Hyzy
3. A Monstrous Regiment of Women by Laurie R King
4. The Miracle at Speedy Motors by Alexander McCall Smith
5. Princess Elizabeth's Spy by Susan Elia Macneal
6. Curse of the Pogo Stick by Colin Cotterill
7. Lavender Lies by Susan Wittig Albert
8. Tea Time for the Traditionally Built by Alexander McCall Smith
9. Lemon Meringue Pie Murder by Joanne Fluke
10. The Christmas Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini

Category 4: Angelica - book bullets



The angelica flower symbolizes “inspiration”. I’m inspired this year to tackle some of the book bullets which were received from my friends here on LT. I’m determined to get to some of them this year and what better way than putting them in their own category.

1. The Gauguin Connection by Estelle Ryan (tymfos 2013)
2. Trapeze by Simon Mawer (Pauline 2016 - Lafitte)
3. The Cold Dish by Craig Johnson (sjmccreary 2103)
4. Celebrations at Thrush Green by Miss Read (Random Cat)
5. The Boys in the Trees by Mary Swan ( RidgewayGirl -2010)
6. The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin (DeltaQueen50 - 2014)
7. The Seasons on Henry’s Farm by Terra Brockman (thornton37814 -2013)
8. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (RidgewayGirl - 2016)
9. Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks (Kerri - 2016)

Possibilities:

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey (recommended by DeltaQueen50)

Category 5: Hemlock - murder mysteries



The hemlock means “you will be my death/you kill me”. Besides being a tree, there are also a group of poisonous plants in the hemlock family. I’ll be using this for some of my murder mystery series.

1. The Black Echo by Michael Connelly
2. To Darkness and to Death by Julia Spencer-Fleming
3. 11th Hour by James Patterson
4. A Burial at Sea by Charles Finch
5. The English Breakfast Murder by Laura Childs
6. The Mephisto Club by Tess Gerritsen
7. The Two Minute Rule by Robert Crais
8. Crunch Time by Diane Mott Davidson

Category 6: Water Lily/Lotus - more mysteries



The water lily/lotus has a meaning of “mystery”. So more mysteries in here.

1. The Palace Tiger by Barbara Cleverly
2. An East End Murder by Charles Finch
3. The Hangman by Louise Penny
4. A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny
5. Concourse by S.J. Rozan
6. Free Fall by Robert Crais
7. The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo

Category 7: Dogwood - hardcovers



The dogwood has a meaning of “durablility”. I have many hardcover books in my TBR which take up a lot of space. I’m going to try and get rid of a few so I can fit in extra paperbacks.

1. Top Secret Twenty-One by Janet Evanovich
2. The Whites by Richard Price
3. Ordinary Life: Stories by Elizabeth Berg
4. When I Lay My Isaac Down by Carol Kent
5. Glass, Paper, Beans: Revelations on the Nature and Value of Ordinary Things by Leah Hager Cohen
6. The Island of Lost Maps: A True Story of Cartographic Crime by Miles Harvey
7. The Wedding Officer by Anthony Capella
8. Burnt Mountain by Anne Rivers Siddons

Possibilites:

Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo

Category 8: Wisteria - YA books



– The wisteria has a meaning of “youthfulness”. So I’ll be putting any YA books that I read here.

1. The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma by Trenton Lee Stewart
2. I Am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley
3. If You're Reading This, It's Too Late by Pseudonymous Bosch
4. Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics by Chris Grabenstein
5. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
6. Matilda by Roald Dahl
7. The Time It Takes to Fall by Margaret Lazarus Dean
8. Island's End by Padma Venkatraman
9. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
10. Bog Child by Siobhan Dowd

Category 9: Columbine - LT Folly



The columbine carries a meaning of “folly”. I’ve wanted to use the folly section of LT for a while now to randomly pick the books that I will read. With 16 ways to randomly select a book, I’ll be picking a few to select books for here. I couldn’t remember who I saw do this a couple of years ago, but I saw over on Judy’s (DeltaQueen50) thread that she is giving KatieKrug the credit for the inspiration so I will too.

June: ETA: I've decide to change this. I'm going to choose random people from the group and choose a book from those we have in common.

1. Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons (Book of Yours)
2. Tell Me Where It Hurts by Nick Trout (Member)
3. Black Fly Season by Giles Blunt (Award)
4. The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling (tag: did not finish)
5. A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson (Jean - majika)
6. Death in the Small Hours by Charles Finch (Stacy - LittleTaiko)
7. The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny (rabbitprincess)
8. Dangerous Undertaking by Mark de Castrique (Terri - tymfos)
9. The Lost Garden by Helen Humphreys (Kelly -VioletBramble)

Category 10: Aster - Miscellaneous



The aster has a meaning of “variety”. I’ll be putting books in here that don’t fit anywhere else; i.e. miscellaneous. I think it will mostly be used for books from the CATS/BINGO that don’t fit into any of my other categories.

1. Beg, Borrow, Steal by Michael Greenberg
2. Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf
3. Gift From the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
4. Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen by Mary Norris
5. When Elephants Weep by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson
6. Downsizing the Family Home by Marni Jameson
7. The Error World by Simon Garfield
8. Tales of a Female Nomad by Rita Golden Gelman
9. Last Train to Paradise by Les Standiford

DEWEY CAT: Parsley



The herb parsley means “useful knowledge” so it seems appropriate to use it for my Dewey challenge.

Jan – 000s: (070.92) - Beg, Borrow, Steal by Michael Greenberg
Feb – 100s: (170.8) - Gift From the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Mar – 200s: (248.86) - When I Lay My Isaac Down by Carol J. Kent
Apr – 300-354: (306.3) - Glass, Paper, Beans: Revelations on the Nature and Value of Ordinary Things by Leah Hager Cohen
May – 355-399: (364.162) - The Island of Lost Maps: A True Story of Cartographic Crime by Miles Harvey
Jun – 400s: (428.2) - Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen by Mary Norris
Jul – 500s: (591.51) - When Elephants Weep by Jeffrey Moussaeiff Masson
Aug – 600s: (635...) - The Seasons on Henry's Farm by Terra Brockman
Sep – 700s: (769.560920 - The Error World by Simon Garfield
Oct – 800s: (853.92) - The Solitude of Prime Numbers by Paolo Giordano
Nov – 900-939: (910.4) - Tales of a Female Nomad by Rita Golden Gelman
Dec – 940-999: (973) - Last Train to Paradise by Les Standiford

RANDOM CAT: Clematis



The clematis means “ingenuity” and the people who choose to host a month for the Random CAT certainly show ingenuity in picking out their themes.

Jan – (Unique Book) - Tell it to the Lambs by Susan Bristol Brewster
Feb – (It Takes Two) - A Monstrous Regiment of Women by Laurie R King
Mar – (Celebrate) - Celebrations at Thrush Green by Miss Read
Apr – (Environment) - Glass, Paper, Beans: Revelations on the Nature and Value of Ordinary Things by Leah Hager Cohen
May – (Color) - Lavender Lies by Susan Wittig Albert
Jun – (I Do, I Do) - The Wedding Officer by Anthony Capella
Jul – (Good Times) - The Two Minute Rule by Robert Crais
Death in the Small Hours by Charles Finch
Tea Time for the Traditionally Built by Alexander McCall Smith
The Pleasing Hour by Lily King
The Time It Takes to Fall by Margaret Lazarus Dean
Aug – (Camping) - Burnt Mountain by Anne Rivers Siddons
Sep – (Translations) - Eva's Eye by Karin Fossum
Oct – (Scary) - Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Nov – (1st novel) - Loving Frank by Nancy Horan
Dec - (best gift) - The Christmas Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini

BINGO Dog: Hyacinth



The hyacinth flower symbolizes games or play. The Bingo Dog seems like a perfect fit here. And besides – they’re my favorite flower.



2016 BINGODOG CHALLENGE

1. Debut Book: Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson
2. Comics, Graphic Novel: The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
3. Less Than 200 Pages: Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf
4. About a Writer: Beg, Borrow Steal by Michael Greenberg
5. Title Has a Musical Reference: Twelve Drummers Drumming by C.C. Benison
6. Title Uses Word Play: Hail to the Chef by Julie Hyzy
7. Protagonist Has Job/Hobby I Want: The English Breakfast Murder by Laura Childs
8. Body of Water In Title: Burial at Sea by Charles Finch
9. Food Is Important: The Kitchen Daughter by Jael McHenry
10. Self Published: Tell it to the Lambs by Susan Bristol Brewster
11. About or by an Indigenous Person: Island's End by Padma Venkatraman
12. In Translation: Eva's Eye by Karin Fossum
13. Read A Cat: A Monstrous Regiment of Women by Laurie R King (Feb Random)
14. Author Born in 1916: Matilda by Roald Dahl
15. Features A Theatre:
16. One Word Title: Trapeze by Simon Mawer
17. About An Airplane Flight: A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson
18. Focus on Art: The Gauguin Connection by Estelle Ryan
19. About the Environment: The Season's on Henry's Farm by Terra Brockman
20. Senior Citizen as Protagonist: Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson
21. Autobiography or Memoir: Tales of a Female Nomad by Rita Golden Gelman
22. Adventure: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
23. Coming of Age Story: The Time It Takes to Fall by Margaret Lazarus Dean
24. Published Before I Was Born: Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
25. Survival Story: Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

2016 WOMAN BINGOPUP CHALLENGE



1. Female Ruler:
2. Woman in Science:
3. Less than 10 Year Old: Top Secret Twenty-One by Janet Evanovich
4. Short Story Collection: Ordinary Life: Stories by Elizabeth Berg
5. Women in Non-traditional Role: To Darkness and to Death by Julia Spencer-Fleming
6. Published Before 2000: Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson
7. Afro-American Author:
8. About A Spy: Princess Elizabeth's Spy by Susan Elia Macneal
9. Different Genre by Same Author:
10. Award Winner: A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny
11. Autobiography, Memoir, Correspondence: Tales of a Female Nomad by Rita Golden Gelman
12. Women in Combat: Trapeze by Simon Mawer
13. By or About a Woman: Loving Frank by Nancy Horan
14. A New-To-You Author: Boys in the Trees by Mary Swan
15. Set in Latin America or Asia: Palace Tiger by Barbara Cleverly
16. African Author: Baking Cakes in Kigali by Gaile Parkin
17. Made Into A Movie:
18. Set in Europe, Australia or New Zealand: Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
19. About a Female Critter:
20. Author Over 60 years of Age: A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson
21. 1920's - 30's Detective Fiction:
22. Author From the Middle East:
23. From Your TBR Pile: Tell it to the Lambs by Susan Bristol Brewster
24. Poetry or Plays:
25. Male Pseudonym:

Reading plans - Besides keeping up with the Cats, I'm going to try and get some more books read for the Bingo Dog and Pup. Also continuing to catch up with series reading. But for now - I kind of promised Mr. Dude that I'd go out and help in the garden today. So I suppose I should get some lunch and get out there.

Get those flowers in and then you can sit outside and read. Enjoy the garden and your books all at once!

>18 mamzel: - It's still too chilly here to actually plant flowers although spring bulbs are up. There might even be a snow shower or two this weekend. But I had promised I'd clean leaves out of all the gardens and from inbetween stalks of things like hydrangeas. But it was too windy, so I got a reprieve. And it's supposed to rain/snow for the next week or so (mostly rain), so I can put it off even longer.

Happy new thread! I enjoyed seeing all the flower photos again. It's been raining all day today, so I hope we'll have some equally lovely flowers here soon.

Happy new thread, Betty. I enjoyed scrolling through all the flowers again.

Happy new thread Betty! I love seeing all those flowers again and revisiting your reading.

Happy new thread!

Thanks all.

Book 40: Concourse by S.J. Rozan
Category: Hemlock - murder mysteries

Next book in the private eye series featuring Bill Smith and Lydia Chin. Set in NY city, Bill is hired by an old friend and cop to go undercover to figure out who killed one of the security guards his firm provided to an old age home. Except for a couple of "maybe if I'd waited...", "if only I'd known...", or "later I would wonder...", I enjoy this series. There are enough convoluted pieces which all come together in the end.

Happy new thread!!

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread! Lovely to see those colourful flowers again. :)

Happy New Thread! I see on your previous thread that you loved Plainsong. I've ordered it in from the county library. Sounds like what I want to read right now.

Thanks all! Most of my flowers got covered with snow yesterday. Not sure my hyacinths will recover.

>29 tymfos: - I have the next two in my TBR also. I might read the next later this year.

I finally made some purchases for my Thingaversary that was back in Jan. My girlfriend and I went to the Book Barn in Ct, a used book store/s with multiple buildings and lots and lots of books. I came home with 17 (almost twice my Thingaversary allotment). Mostly books that fill in holes in my series reading. And 2 books I have on ebook that I thought I'd rather read in paper form. Here's what I picked up:

A Thread of Truth by Marie Bostwick
The Bee’s Kiss by Barbara Cleverly
82 Desire by Julie Smith
Eleven Pipers Piping by C.C. Benison
A Death in Small Hours by Charles Finch
An Old Betrayal by Charles Finch
Roadside Crosses by Jeffery Deaver
The Sleeping Doll by Jefferey Deaver
Thereby Hangs a Tail by Spencer Quinn
Shadows on the Coast of Maine by Lea Wait
A Share in Death by Deborah Crombie
The Widower’s Tale by Julia Glass
Death by Chocolate by G.A. McKevett
Death in Vineyard Waters by Philip R. Craig
Vineyard Deceit by Philip R. Craig
Voodoo River by Robert Crais
Free Fall by Robert Crais

Now I really want to start reading.

That's a great haul, Betty. Looks like you have a lot of great reading ahead of you!

Woo hoo! Excellent haul! Glad you had a good trip :)

I would get lost in a place like that! What fun!

It was lots of fun. Although my TBR pile is now back over 1,000.

34 - you can't get lost. It's lots of smaller buildings. Like shed size. There were a few buildings I never even went into today because I wasn't looking for those categories.

Yea for a new thread and for spring coming your way. It's been here for over a month now and things are blooming all over. I keep inspecting my garden waiting for the next new thing to bloom.

>36 LittleTaiko: - Most of my flowers recovered after the snow, but my hyacinths took a beating. It is supposed to get very nice this weekend.

>31 dudes22:
The Book Barn sounds like a great and dangerous place!

Book 41: The Sleeping Doll by Jeffrey Doll
Category: Blue Periwinkle - 1st in a series

A widow with two children, Kathryn Dance is a kinesics and interrogation expert who works for the California Bureau of Investigation. A killer who has been serving a life sentence in maximum security for a murder similar to the Charles Manson killings has been implicated in another unsolved murder. While going through interrogation with Ms Dance at the CBI headquarters, he escapes. The rest of the book is the effort to recapture him. I really enjoyed this first book in the Kathryn Dance series. There were plenty of twist and turns and unexpected events happening along the way. It really kept my interest through the 580 pages. I look forward to continuing with this series.

Not sure why, but this is only the second book I've finished this month. Need to get going and read.

Book 42: If You're Reading This, It's Too Late by Pseudonymous Bosch
Category: Wisteria - Young Adult

Second book in the YA Secret series. Another tale of Cass and Max-Ernest having an adventure and trying to find a 500-year-old who was made in a bottle. Very similar to the Trenton Stewart Mysterious Benedict Society series.

>39 dudes22: Oh, I've got to get to that Deaver book -- I've had it on the list for ages.

>31 dudes22: Great Thingaversary haul!

Book 43: Glass, Paper, Beans: Revelations on the Nature and Value of Ordinary Things by Leah Hager Cohen
Category: Dogwood - hard covers
Random Cat
Dewey Cat (306.3)

I started to post this review the other night and hit something on my computer and it all disappeared, so this is a little shorter than what I might have said.

One Sunday, the author is sitting in a café having her coffee and reading the paper, when she begins to think about how removed we are from where things come from these days. So she traces the origins of the three items in front of her - the paper, the coffee, and the glass it is served in. The book was interesting in some places, but got bogged down when she brought in subjects that were only peripheral. And when she lists things, she lists and lists and lists to the point that I was saying, "Alright, already, I get it."

This was my Dewey book for Apr, and I also decided to count it as my random book for this month because the parts that talked about growing coffee and logging trees deal with the environment.

I can't believe what slow month I've had reading-wise this month. Only 4 this month. Luckily I'm somewhat ahead of my goals overall.

ETA: And no Dogs or Pups this month either.

Slow reading months happen to us all. And it's all made up for with your lovely Thingaversary haul.

I had a slow reading April too, Betty. Only five books finished -- one of which had been dragging on from early March, and two of the others were audios.

Book 44: Lavender Lies by Susan Wittig Albert
Catgeory: Heliotrope - continuing series
May Random

Another book in the China Bayles series about an herb shop owner who also solves mysteries. This time China is getting ready for her wedding when a local business man is murdered. With her fiancé filling in while the City Council searches for another chief of police, China feels she needs to help or her wedding might be postponed. There was a little bit at the end that I didn't feel was resolved as completely as it might have been, but I still enjoy this series.

The weather here in RI has been crappy for a few weeks now - dreary and misty and rainy and cold....(whine, whine..) Anyway, today was the plant sale at the farmer's market and it was miserable. The girl who sells coffee and I were joking that I had told her a few weeks ago that my purple winter jacket (she loves the color) was being put away til next year and here it was back again. But it was very crowded, so I only bought a few herbs to go in a pot on the deck for now. Some parsley, thyme (my favorite herb) and some lime basil. I'm thinking I might try that in some cookies and maybe some ice cream. And the guy was there with the new batch of maple syrup, so pancakes for breakfast tomorrow.

I usually go to my favorite greenhouse the Thurs or Fri before Mother's Day, but it's been so cold here, I decided to wait till the end of this week or next and take my chances they'll still have what I usually get.

Book 45: The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowing
Category: LT Folly

While deciding on my next book for my LT Folly category, I decided to let LT Folly choose a random tag from which to choose my book. The random tag I got was "did not finish". While reading the book, I can understand why some people might not have finished it. It's possible they were expecting a lighter read, aka Harry Potter. But in Rowling's first novel after the popular series, she chose instead to look at life in a small English town and what happens when one of the members of the Parish Council dies which creates a "casual vacancy" and precipitates an election to fill the position.

There are many characters in this book and Rowling delves deeply into their lives, thoughts, and interactions. So deeply that it becomes somewhat repetitious in spots. I might have given up because the characters were so unlikable, but I wanted to see how she would wrap things up.

>48 dudes22: Oh no! The best part about spring fever is that you can buy plants! I hope the weather brightens up soon.

Book46: The Island of Lost Maps: A True Story of Cartographic Crime by Miles Harvey
Category: Dogwood - hard covers
May Dewey: 364.162

In Dec 1995, Gilbert Bland Jr was caught stealing maps from books at the Peabody Library in Baltimore, Md. The author, who was a literary critic for Outsider magazine, pitched the idea to his bosses for a lengthy article which he expected to take about 6 weeks. Instead he spent years researching this story to produce this book.

It's the story not only of the thefts by Blanding, but also a huge part is about the history of maps and map-making, people who have influenced cartography, library security, and the people who collect and sell maps.

There was a part near the end where I thought he put a little too much of himself into the story, but overall it was very interesting.

>51 dudes22: I like the sound of that one! Could it be another BB?....

>51 dudes22: That does sound very interesting!

Stopping by to get caught up and to wish you a lovely weekend, Betty!

>54 lkernagh: - Thanks so much. I find I'm falling behind reading threads, too. Now that the weather is a little better, there's a lot to do outside.

Book 47: The English Breakfast Murder by Laura Childs
Category: Hemlock - murder mysteries
Bingo Dog: Job I Want

I really enjoy this series about a tea shop owner in Charleston, SC who happens to end up involved in murders. I love drinking tea and the descriptions of the various kinds of teas and what they taste like are interesting too. And there are even a few recipes at the end.

In this book, while helping to shepherd newly-hatched sea turtles into the ocean, Theodosia sees something out in the ocean and, when she swims out, she finds a dead body. The man turns out to be a friend of her tea blender Drayton. As he was an art dealer and interested in ship wrecks and treasure, Theo wonders if that has anything to do with his death. So she starts asking questions, meeting people and generally snooping to solve the murder.

There were a couple of things that I didn't think were wrapped up very well (kind of sub-stories) but it was still a good story.

>56 dudes22: I like this series a lot too. As with a lot of cozies, it's as much about the characters as it is the mystery. I always look forward to seeing what they are up to.

Book 48: Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres
Category: Mayflower - 1st novels

There are a couple of things you should know before I write my thoughts on this book.
First - I knew very little (ok - nothing) about Greece during WWII.
Second - I almost gave up about 100 pages in. The long monologues in those pages and the stream-of-conscience writing in one chapter had me feeling like I would never get through it.

But - the writing was excellent and I decided to keep going even if I had to force myself. Then somewhere along the way (soon after those first 100 pages), I really fell in love with the book.

The book is about the island of Cephallonia during WWII and it's occupation by both the German and Italian Armies. (and there are Communists, too) It's also about the people who lived on the island and how they react to the occupation; some with resignation and some turning into guerrillas. The main characters are the island doctor Iannes and his daughter Pelagia. Around these two, all the other characters revolve.

I marveled at how the author included so much information about what was going on in Greece during this time by using the thoughts and speeches of people without it feeling forced or like I was sitting in a history class. All the different factions were woven together artfully. And although some people think the love story isn't needed in this story, I thought it gave your mind a place to rest for a few minutes. I wasn't overly thrilled by the last part of the book, but I can be ok with it.

Did she really not know where the postcards were from?

The other thing that really impressed me was that this was a first novel. The author did such a good job of condensing what happened during those years and what everyone was doing and thinking and what happened. And each character had a unique voice that made the characters believable.

>58 dudes22: One of my all time favourite novels! I have never watched the film, as Nicolas Cage is so spectacularly not like the Corelli in my head I knew I would just find it upsetting!

>59 Jackie_K: - I've never seen the movie either although I think it's probably why I picked up the book. And you're right about Nicholas Cage. I can't see him playing Corelli either.

David Morrissey has a role in the movie as well, but I haven't been able to get past the Nicolas Cage aspect and haven't watched it.

>58 dudes22: Corelli's Mandolin is one that I gave up on. I could not get through it.

>62 VictoriaPL: - It took me a while, I'll admit. Sometimes when I think of giving up on a book, I go look at the reviews and see what they say. This time I decided to keep going.

Book 49: The Wedding Officer by Anthony Capella
Category: Dogwood - hard covers
Jun Random

A story of the British and Allied occupation of Naples during WWII. James Gould is assigned as the wedding officer when he arrives in Naples. One of his jobs is to investigate the requests of Italian girls who want to marry British and Allied soldiers. When soldiers come to her town and ransack her home and restaurant in a town near Mount Vesuvio, Livia goes to Naples to try and find work. She eventually gets a job cooking for the Allied mess. The food makes it worth the read.

>64 dudes22: I'm hit! Sounds right up my alley. Thanks for the review.

>65 VictoriaPL: - hope you like it.

I'm finding that I'm less than thrilled with my "folly" category this year. The idea was to use it to get random books off my TBR pile, but I was finding that I usually didn't have a book there that fit whatever folly I was doing. So I'm going to change it a little, but still make it sort of random. I'm going to choose different people from this group and look at what books we have in common and choose one to read. The first person I've picked is Jean (majkia). We have 203 books in common, so it should be easy to pick something.

>67 dudes22: - What a clever idea! Hope you find something enjoyable.

>67 dudes22: Great idea!

>67 dudes22: Cool idea giving lots of options!

>67 dudes22: Sounds like a fun way to pick your reads!

Thanks all. I think this will work out a little easier than the way I was doing it. I already have at least one or more books in my BB category from Judy (DQ), but I might check out the lists of the rest of you for a book.

ETA: I'm trying to put one book a month in this category so it might not be soon.

>56 dudes22: I just wish the tea shop were in Charleston in real life. I really want to try some of Haley's dishes and have Drayton blend me a special cup of tea.

No kidding! Me too. Just a chance to try all the teas.

Hi, Betty! For what it's worth, LT says we share 211 books, though I'm sure many of them are ones I haven't read or even owned yet.

Book 50: A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson
Category: Columbine - LT Folly -Jean's (majika) common book
Bingo Dog: about an airplane flight
Bingo Pup: Author over 60 years of age when book published

This book, which is a companion story to Life After Life tells the story of Ursula's brother Teddy. This book also moves through time, although differently than LAL. Quite a lot is set during WW II when Teddy is a bomber pilot, but also when he was younger and older. Although I really enjoyed the writing, I did find the characters rather sad and depressing. But she does know how to tell a story.

>49 dudes22:
I really thought that was a good read, but there are a huge amount of characters, for sure! :)

Book 51: Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics by Chris Grabenstein
Category: Wisteria - Young Adult

The sequel to Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library, this book also emphasizes how great the library can be. I can see kids really enjoying these books.

Book 52: Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen by Mary Norris
Category: Aster - Miscellaneous
June Dewey - 428.2

Mary Norris worked in the copy department of The New Yorker for over 30 years and this book is as much about her time there as it is about grammar. She tells stories of how things are done at the magazine, things she did right and wrong, and throws in interesting information about the English language also.

Such as this tidbit about apostrophes being legislated out in place names:

In 1906, Teddy Roosevelt instructed a government body called the U.S. Board on Gepographic Names, started by Benjamin Harrison in 1890, to begin standardizing place-names, and the board determined that "the word or words that form a geographic name" undergo a change, losing the original meaning and becoming "fixed labels used to refer to geographic entities." By official government policy, "the need to imply possession or association no longer exists."

Yes - I know - there are still some. She talks about that too.

Anyway - good book.

>79 dudes22: Sounds interesting - thanks for the review! I just love the title.

>80 VictoriaPL: - I'm glad I picked this one. I think I liked it better that Eats, Shoots, and Leaves which I read last year.

>81 dudes22: That's good to know. Eats, Shoots, and Leaves was okay but I didn't love it.

Book 53: The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
Category: Wisteria - YA
Bingo Dog Block: Comic, Graphic Novel

Hugo lives in hiding in the Paris train station, keeping the clocks wound when his uncle (the Timekeeper) disappears. Then he finds an automaton and decides to fix it and hopes to find a message from his father. Lots of graphics which support and partially tell the story.

I'm not a graphic novel reader, but this was a good introduction. YA is just my speed for this.

Went off late this afternoon to pick strawberries and my car thermometer said it was 90 F outside as I was driving over there. I only picked about 10 pounds and just finished putting 10 containers in the freezer. Next time I'm going first thing in the morning.

I went to the library to drop off a couple of books that were due, and decided to peruse the FOL book sale section, and came home with 4 more books, So my TBR pile is now exactly where it was at the beginning of the year. OH well!

You stayed even! That takes willpower! Just don't congratulate yourself with a trip to the bookstore.

>85 dudes22:, >86 RidgewayGirl: Ha!

You know there's something to be said for staying even, I wish I could!

And besides - there are still 6 months til the end of the year. Hope springs eternal!

Book 54: Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
Category: Mayflower - 1st Novels
Bingo Dog Block: Survival Story
Bingo Pup Block: Set in Europe, Australia, or New Zealand

This book is two stories: one of Sarah, a young Jewish girl in Paris who is taken with her parents in July, 1942, during the Nazi round-up. The other is the story of Julia, an American journalist who has lived in Paris over 25 years and is married to a Parisian. The publication she works for has asked her to write a piece about the days at Vel' d'Hiv' and she becomes caught-up in Sarah's story.

Told in alternating chapters, this is one of those stories that had me wanting to read without eating or sleeping. I'm looking forward to reading more by this author.

ETA: I gave this 5 stars even though I thought the ending was a little weak and predictable. It was just such a good story overall. Especially for a 1st novel.

>84 dudes22:
It's in the 90s over here today and I'm not even contemplating going outside! Well done, you! :)

>91 -Eva-: - Thanks. I went again Sat, but first thing when they opened so the temps were ok.

Making note of your wonderful review of Corelli's Mandolin.

>64 dudes22: - Capella does bring food to his writing. I rather enjoyed my read of The Various Flavours of Coffee, another historical fiction piece by the author.

>67 dudes22: - Love the idea! I may just have to snag it for next year's challenge. ;-)

Lori - I have that book in my TBR pile. Maybe I'll read it next year.

Book 55: The Boys in Trees by Mary Swan
Category: Angelica - Book Bullets
Women's PUP block: New-to-you Author

This book was a bullet I took from Kay (RidgewayGirl) back in 2010. I picked it up at a library sale last year in anticipation of reading it this year, knowing I was going to have a BB category.

It's a quiet book, somewhat melancholy. At the center of the story is a man named William Heath and a crime he commits. But the story radiates out to how what happens affects other people in the town. And it even goes backward and forward in time to show the effects. I was somewhat dismayed that the author never really gets inside Heath's head and lets the reader know what he is thinking, but I read in the author interview at the end that that was her intent.

>90 dudes22: That was such a good book!

Yes, Lori, it was. I'm going to pass it along to my sister-in-law as (except for mysteries) we have similar tastes in books.

Book 56: Matilda by Roald Dahl
Category: Wisteria - young adult/children
Bingo Block: Author born in 1916

Story of a young, but extremely smart little girl. Also a movie.

>98 dudes22: And a musical! Saw it in the West End of London and am going to see the Toronto production in September :)

I love the book and am overdue for a reread. Will have to dig out my copy from my parents' house.

>99 rabbitprincess: - oh - I didn't realize it was also a musical, rp.

>100 dudes22: Yeah, it was developed maybe four or five years ago? I was skeptical of it but it works surprisingly well. :)

Since it's a musical, I probably couldn't get my husband to go see it anyway.

Book 57: The Mephisto Club by Tess Gerritsen
Category: Hemlock - murder mysteries

Another book in the Rizzoli and Isles detective series. A murder leads them to the Mephisto Club which believes that there are evil entities in the world.

Since the TV series, I have trouble imagining the people as any different than the actors that portray them. Which is usually why I prefer to read a book before seeing the movie.

Book 58: The Kitchen Daughter by Jael McHenry
Category: Mayflower - 1st novels
Bingo Block: Food is Important

The book opens right after the funeral of Ginny's parents. Ginny, who has Asperger's syndrome, finds all the people in the house almost too much. So she escapes into the kitchen and pulls one of her grandmother's handwritten recipes out to make because cooking is one thing she can do well and which she finds comforts her. When the recipe is done, her grandmother's ghost appears, sitting on a kitchen stool and able to communicate with Ginny. Ginny wonders if making recipes can also bring back the ghosts of her parents and give her some answers. She's also having trouble with her sister wanting to take over and must find a way to make her sister understand how she feels.

I thought it was a good book for a 1st novel. A little bit of mystical realism, ala Sarah Addison Allen, and lots of food descriptions.

>104 dudes22: Well, if it's similar to SAA, I might have to check it out! Thanks for the review.

>104 dudes22: I've had this on my TBR for a couple of years, I need to add it to my list of books to read this year!

>105 VictoriaPL: - You're welcome.

>106 clue: - It's a pretty quick read.

Mid-Year Review:

I’ve had a good reading year so far; lots of progress on my TBR pile and not too many duds. It might be hard at the end of the year to pick my favorites. My Bingo cards are filling more slowly than I’d like, but this year I’m not “reading to fill the square”. More of a “if it fits”. But I’m half-way on the Dog and half-way on the Pup, even though I know there are some squares I won’t be filling.

Total books read: 58 (TBR-48, library-10)
Books added: 44 (physical-41, ebook-3)
Bingo blocks: total -18;
Women’s Pup: total – 12;

Category Count:
1. Mayflower 1st novels– 6 of 10
2. Blue Periwinkle 1st of series – 7 of 10
3. Heliotrope continuing series– 7 of 10
4. Angelica book bullets – 5 of 10
5. Hemlock murder mysteries – 6 of 10
6. Water Lily mysteries – 5 of 10
7. Dogwood hard covers – 7 of 10
8. Wisteria young adult – 6 of 10
9. Columbine LT Folly – 5 of 10
10. Aster miscellaneous – 4 of 10

Best books so far:
Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosney
A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny
Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres

Worst books so far:
Celebrations at Thrush Green by Miss Rea
Tell It To the Lambs by Susan Brewster
Beg, Borrow, Steal: A Writer’s Life by Michael Greenberg

Book 59: The Two Minute Rule by Robert Crais
Category: Hemlock - murder mysteries
Jul Random: Good Times

On the day that Max Holman is due to be released from prison after 10 years for bank robbery, he learns that his son, who was an LA policeman, has been murdered along with 3 other officers. Max wants to know what happened and is not satisfied with any of the answers he gets. Eventually he teams up with the FBI agent who captured him to try and discover the real reason his son was killed.

I'm not much of a fan of the "bad-guy-is-the-good-guy" books, so this didn't start off well for me. But I like the way Crais writes and eventually wasn't quite as annoyed with Max as I was at the beginning.

Book 60: Death in the Small Hours by Charles Finch
Category: Columbine - Folly Books - Stacy's (LittleTaiko) library
July Random: Good Times

Another book in the series about Charles Lenox, Victorian gentleman, member of Parliament, and part-time detective. This time Charles has been chosen to give the opening address to Parliament and goes to visit his uncle in Plumbley to get some quiet time for writing. He has also agreed to look into some vandalism in the village while there and see if he can figure out what's going on.

I found this shared book in Stacy's library and it also fit the Random this month.

ETA: I love the cover art on this series.

Yea for shared books! Agree that the cover art is wonderful for this series!

>110 dudes22: I think the cover art is what drew me to the first Lennox. I love that they have continued the style from book to book!

Book 61: Tea Time for the Traditionally Built by Alexander McCall Smith
Category: Heliotrope - faithfulness - continuing series
July Random: Good Times

This was next up for me in the Ladies Detective Series and fit into the Random Cat for this month.

Book 62: The Pleasing Hour by Lily King.
Category: Mayflower - 1st novels
July Random: Good Times

After a decision which Rosie regrets, she decides to leave America and takes a job as an au pair in Paris. Working for a family with three children and living on a houseboat, she is liked by the family except for Nicole, the mother. Before her year with them is over, she decides to go to the south of France to care for Nicole's elderly friend from her childhood.

I found myself somewhat annoyed for about the first third of the book. Much like Rosie's problems with some of the French spoken by the family, I know no French and so some of the phrases were unknowable. Not even the context helped. The book also is three stories and I sometimes had to reset my mind about where I was in the story. So overall, just a so-so book.

Book 63: Free Fall by Robert Crais
Category - Water Lilies/Lotus - more mysteries

Another in the Elvis Cole, private investigator, series. I like this series for a quick entertaining read without too much gore and gruesomeness. The repartee between Cole and his friend Pike is always entertaining.

Book 64: The Time It Takes to Fall by Margaret Lazarus Dean
Category: Wisteria - youthfulness - YA books
BingoDog block: coming of age

Delores is a some-what obsessed with the Space program. The story takes place during the years 1984-1986 when Delores is 11-13 years old. Her father works at NASA in Florida and she dreams of becoming an astronaut. She follows each space flight, writing in a notebook the pertinent facts about each flight and delay. She's also smart and is moved into the gifted program and skips ahead to high school and physics. Her parents start to have problems and her mother moves out for a while. All the things to provoke angst in a preteen. All building up to the Challenger explosion. A book I really enjoyed.

> A BB for me. What a great title!

>117 clue: - and interesting how it fits into the book. Hope you enjoy it.

Book 65: Island's End by Padma Venkatraman
Category: Wisteria - Young Adult
Bingo Block: By or about an indigenous person

Padma Venkatraman is a local author and I heard her speak last year at a local library about her newest book. But she also talked a little about this book which is her first one and I'm just getting around to reading it. Having read her other books, I could tell that this was her first book, but it was still an interesting story. Using the experience from when she traveled to the Anadaman Islands (which are off the coast of India), she has written a story of an indigenous people whose way of life is threatened when strangers come to their island. A young girl who has been chosen to take over for the spiritual leader of the tribe must try to keep their customs and ways and prevent people from wanting to leave.

>116 dudes22: Ah, You got around to it! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. I need to read another Space book soon.

>120 VictoriaPL: - It's been on my shelf a long time. I'm glad you gave me the push I needed.

Book 66: The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny
Category: Columbine - LT Folly

Decided to pick this book from the ones I have in common with rabbitprincess, although I seemed to like it more than she did.

This is one of only a couple of books in this series so far that doesn't take place in Three Pines. This time Inspec. Gamache is called out to a remote abbey to investigate the death of one of the monks. Since there are only 24 monks living there, it must be one of them. There is also a rift in the abbey about whether or not they will record another CD of the Gregorian chants. Their first one made a lot of money and some want to make another one. But many of them want to keep the abbey just as it is. Partway through, I still couldn't see how this would work out. I will say I wasn't thrilled by things that happened at the end.

>122 dudes22: I'm glad you liked it more than I did! My mum also liked it, possibly because she grew up in the Eastern Townships and could picture the abbey that inspired the one in the book: http://gamacheseries.com/the-beautiful-mystery-real-place/

>123 rabbitprincess: - Thanks for that info. The abbey looks very interesting. And I do like Gregorian chants. Not sure I can convince my husband of that though.

Book 67: When Elephants Weep by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson

Category: Aster - Miscellaneous
July Dewey - 591.51

This was an interesting if somewhat dated look at whether or not animals have emotions. The author considers a vast array of emotions - love, hate, jealousy, compassion, altruism... The book was published 25 years ago so there have been many further studies done by now, I'm thinking. It took me all month to get through it because the author wrties like he's giving a lefcture so I could only read small pieces at a time. He also likes the word "anthropomorphism" a lot, which I found somewhat annoying.

>124 dudes22: - My dad read the book and decided he really wanted a CD of Gregorian chants so that was his Father's Day gift from me. My mom was not pleased. :)

>122 dudes22: This is my favorite so far. I'm just starting the next one and there is one more after that although soon another will be released. I have tickets to see Penny in Kansas City September 1 and I really look forward to hearing her.

>126 LittleTaiko: - Stacy - As in - "he'll play it as loud as he possibly can" or "it doesn''t matter how soft it is, I don't like it" kind of way?

>127 clue: - Luanne - I think there are 4 more (counting the one that will be released this year) after this one. I hesitate to read them too fast and run up against having to wait for the next one or indulging myself and getting caught up with the series.

>128 dudes22: - Pretty much both! My mom doesn't think she'd like the music very much so that was one problem. The main one is the fact that my dad cranks up his music very loud which also drives her nuts. She claims that she can hear him coming a half mile down the road. :) It amuses me to picture him cruising through the country playing Gregorian chants as loudly as possible.

>129 LittleTaiko: I'm a lifelong insomniac. I used to lull myself into unconsciousness with Gregorian chant. I still find it very soothing. My blood pressure drops immediately when I hear it.

Hubby and I went out to breakfast and then to look at a new condo development this morning about a half hour away from where we are now. It's only in the first parade of development, and the only ones built so far are two models and a contractor's building. We ended up signing a reservation so we could get a lot that we liked. We'll be able to make a lot of choices in decorating this way. The reason I mention it is that I'm already stressing about packing up all my books. And where they'll go in the new place. Probably other things I should think about more.

Moving the books is the most important part of moving. I don't think anyone can dispute that obvious fact. And you can start packing them up well ahead of time and do it to suit you. Congrats on finding a place that will suit you.

Except that they are very heavy to move, Kay. And we'll probably not hire a mover so I'll be asking friends to lug my books. I'm thinking I may have to decide on my challenge for next year early, so I can pack them so I can find them. I have most of the rest of this year (except for the Random Cat) already on my nightstand so I could start packing them now. I'll need to think of a good way to pack them up.

My advice (having done this more than a few times) is to find smaller boxes. U-Haul's smallest boxes are a good size and sturdy, but liquor stores will often have the boxes that their product comes in free for the asking. They are small enough to still be fairly light when fully packed. Bookstores may also be willing to give you boxes, although those are a bit bigger. I would fill a box until it was still light enough to not be a huge task to lift (I could lift and carry them) and fill the top with pillows, sweaters and other light items. This will result in more boxes, but people will not hate you afterwards.

Stack the books in piles in the box, padding around with packing paper. Do not lay them along the bottom so that the spines are showing. When this is done (movers did this and it's why I pack my own books now) they end up permanently bent and the hardcovers will have broken spines.

Because some of my books were going into storage, I labelled each box with a number and put that number into the comments section of my LT catalog. Theoretically, had any boxes been lost or damaged, that would let me know which books were in a given box. I didn't need this at all, but it did make me feel more in control of the books. I also put them in boxes the way I have them on my shelves (by author's last name, etc...) so that unpacking was easier.

And I know it feels like a huge task now, but rearranging the books, and putting them in boxes is more fun than the rest of the packing! And as I now pull them out of their boxes, it feels like I'm seeing old friends again.

How exciting, a brand new place! I do sympathize with you over the packing, I know how daunting that can be. We are slowing going through our things and getting rid of a lot of stuff. We are getting ready so we can move quickly when the times comes.

>134 RidgewayGirl: Last year when I moved everything out to remodel I bought boxes at WalMart that were 12" by 14" with larger boxes for paperbacks. I was lucky, my neighbor bought them from me for half what I had paid for them after I used them. I don't even remember how much they were but something around $2 each. That meant more boxes to pick up and move but it was easy to do and I moved most of them to storage myself.

>134 RidgewayGirl: - I was hoping, Kay, that you'd give me some advice since you just had a couple of moves. That idea about adding a box number in LT is a good one. I currently have a location in there so I could take that out at the same time. I also have a ton of fabric to pack so that could be my "light items."

>135 DeltaQueen50: - I know you've been talking about moving, Judy, so it's a good idea to go through things now. I hadn't been doing that because I thought we had kind of given up on finding anything.

>136 clue: - Luanne - I'll have to check on that if I need some. I have a bunch of totes I bought a couple of years ago when we went away for a month and my sister just moved so I think I can get some boxes from her.

I second the recommendation for the smaller U-Haul boxes. When we moved out due to a remodel those boxes were the best for storing books. Granted, if you're like me you'll need a lot of them but it does make it easier to move.

When I was still working, I used to bring home the boxes that paper came in. They don't get too heavy either.

Book 68: The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin
Category: Angelica - inspiration - book bullets

I took this book bullet from Judy (DeltaQueen50) back in 2014. I always like to go back and see what the person said about the book after I read it and see how my impressions of the book compares to theirs.

William Talmadge, a rather taciturn man, is an orchardist who lives in the late 1900's in the state of Washington, growing apricots and apples. One day two teenage girls show up at the orchard, Clearly afraid of him, they steal some of his fruit. He gradually draws them closer by basically ignoring them. Turns out they are both pregnant. They end up staying on his land and he helps them as much as he can. The story takes place over about 25 years, telling what happens to these people.

There's not a lot of action in this story. A lot takes place internally to(in?) the characters. But there is a lot of excellent description in this novel. I do agree with Judy that the last half of the book moves rather slowly and there's some repetition. As a first novel, it was wonderful, I thought. Or at least one type of book I enjoy - not a lot of action, but a story that can draw you in in spite of that. Could be one of my "best of" this year.

Book 69: Baking Cakes in Kigali by Gaile Parkin
Category: Mayflower (trailing arbutus) - Meaning "the beginning" - 1st novels
Women's Bingo Pup: African Author block

This book reads in tone and style a lot like the #1 Ladies Detective Agency series. Angel Tungaraza runs a bakery making cakes from her home in Kigali. She and her husband are taking care of their 5 grandchildren and she makes cakes to supplement their income. With each cake there are the stories that the people want to tell her. If you're a fan of the Detective series then you'll probably like this; if not, then you probably won't.

You appear to have enjoyed The Orchardist more that I did, but I do remember being quite taken with her writing. I just checked and don't see where she has written any more books but I sure hope she does at some point.

>142 DeltaQueen50: - I checked that out too, Judy.

I need to get going on my Dewey and Random books for this month. I've been sidetracked by a couple of library books and I picked up a book about downsizing that I'd like to finish to see if there are any good ideas.

Book 70: Downsizing the Family Home by Marni Jameson

Category: Aster - Miscellaneous

I decided to pick this up from the library to see if there were any tips I could use for going through our stuff before we move. The author wrote this book as a result of having to downsize her parent's home after moving them to an assisted-living facility. It's written in a very readable form; not a list of things to do, but rather a story of what she did and why and advice she got along the way. I was somewhat annoyed at the beginning of the book because, as a journalist, she had access to advice from people she knew that I felt the average person would not have. However, I did get a few nuggets of information that I think I can use as I decide what to do with stuff. She did also provide some websites at the back for some of the people she got advice from.

Book 71: The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo

Category: Water Lily/Lotus - more mysteries

I like the series about Harry Hole but always end up confused. I think it might be all the Norwegian names that I can't seem to keep straight. Or the multiple storylines that he weaves together. Still I enjoy the stories overall and will keep reading the series. This time the mystery has it's origins during WWII when Norwegians fought with the Germans against the Russians.

This time there was one story line that didn't get resolved before the end of the book. I'm hoping the next book will have Harry finding out what happened. No spoilers here.

Book 72: Burnt Mountain by Anne Rivers Siddons

Category: Dogwood - durability - hard covers
Random Cat: August - Camping

Ms Siddons writes books with a Southern flair and I usually like her books. This one not so much. The story of Thayer Wentworth, her manipulating mother, and her grandmother, it seemed to take a long time to develop and a long time to end. Although the ending was rather abrupt when it arrived.

>146 dudes22:
Just wanted to let you know that The Redbreast, Nemesis, and The Devil's Star form a mini-trilogy within the series, so some things won't be resolved until the end of Devil's Star.

>148 -Eva-: - Good to know, Eva. I think I just packed Nemesis in a box for moving, so I probably won't get to it until sometime next year.

I've decided that I might as well use the moving as a chance to purge some books from my TBR pile so there is less to move. So far I'm taking out series books that are far down the list from where I am now with books in-between missing, a few non-fiction that I've lost interest in, and a few stand-alone books. I can probably find them later at a library sale or take them from the library when I'm ready. That still leaves plenty to pack, but the library will get a bunch for the sale corner.

Having just moved and having to fit all the books that were in storage back on the shelves, I'm purging as much as I can. I've got a bit more than a box's worth so far. I should really try and pull a few more books to get rid of.

Book 73: Lemon Meringue Pie Murder by Joanne Fluke

Category:Heliotrope - faithfulness - continuing series

Another in the series about a cookie store owner who also solves murders.

If you own a cookie store, being able to solve murders is essential! Sounds like fun!

Book 74: The Seasons on Henry's Farm: A Year of Food and Life on a Sustainable Farm by Terra Brockman
Category:Angelica - inspiration - book bullets
August Dewey
Bingo Block: About the environment

I was a little late in finishing my book for the August Dewey, but that's because I didn't want the book to end. I took this book as a Book Bullet from Lori (thornton37814) back in 2013. No library in the state had it and I finally decided to break down and buy it for my Thingaversary this year. Twice (!) (more on this in a minute)

The book starts in Nov and gives a week-by-week telling of what happens on Terra Brockman's brother's farm in a year. I'm in awe of the number of varieties of each vegetable he grows. It seems like all the farmer's markets around here grow the same varieties of vegetables. Although I realize that the Midwest is not as crowded as the East Coast, I was surprised that they traveled 150 miles each week to sell at a farmer's market. The author does talk about how farmers switched to corn and soybeans and chemical fertilizers and how that has affected the soil out there versus the organic sustainable methods her brother uses on his farm.

Now - about that second purchase: I was somewhat dismayed when I received 2 books and realized what I had done. But my brother bought a small farm a few years ago and I think he'll enjoy reading this, so it turns out it will be a birthday present in a few weeks.

Thank you, Lori - great BB!

>154 dudes22: Glad you enjoyed it. I remember reading that one!

>153 VivienneR:
Wow, I read that really fast and thought it said "I own a cookie store." I was about to ask you for address and a discount! :)

>156 -Eva-: Hahaha! Someone with a cookie store would be most handy to know (and could cater our LT meetups...) :D

>154 dudes22: I've taken a BB for that. I no longer have an allotment, so can't grow very much in the way of vegetables, but I do find it a fascinating subject, and if we move somewhere more rural (eventually - it's a dream) then it's something I'd like to do more of again.

>156 -Eva-: - >157 rabbitprincess: - Even though I do bake a lot of cookies, I can't imagine owning a cookie store.

>158 Jackie_K: - My husband and I are moving in about 6 months to a condo and I think the only garden we will have are a couple of pots on the deck. Still - maybe I'll rent a small plot of land from my brother. I had previously read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver which is somewhat like this about living off only what they could grow or was grown within 100 miles of where they lived. Her husband writes little side columns (sort-of footnotes) about the food industry which were very informative also.

I'm finding that the more books I pack, the more selective I am in what to pack. I figure I can use the library to get what I don't pack if I really need the book. (Especially those in a series).

Took a trip to Amherst, Ma today to see our granddaughter play college field hockey. She plays for Saint Louis University. This is the first time we've had a chance to see her play in college. Last year UMass went to St Louis so this year St Louis comes to Mass and that's the closest they get to RI. (we were going to go to Philadelphia last year, but it was the weekend the Pope was visiting)They lost - it was awful 12-0. Sunday she plays in UMass at Lowell another 2 hour trip. I didn't understand field hockey when she played in high school and I still don't know much more, but it's nice to see her and she seemed really happy. I was thinking of not going on Sun because it's supposed to rain, but she said "I'll see you Sun?" as she was leaving to get on the bus, so my heart melted and I decide we'd go - and sit in the rain if we have to.

I had taken a BB from Kay (RidgewayGirl) for The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead and was 250+ on the hold list at the library. So I was super excited when I stopped at the library to drop some books off for the FOL to find a copy on the 7-day Express shelf. Did I ever luck out.

Book 75: The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
Category: Angelica - inspiration - book bullets

The story of Cora, a slave on a plantation in Georgia who tries to escape with a fellow slave, this book depicts many of the facets of slavery in the South prior to the Civil War. The brutality of the masters and the overseers, the persistence of the slave catchers, the kindness of people who didn't believe in slavery and are the underground railroad, all work together to make this a story that is wonderful and horrible all at the same time. Despite current events of clashes between police and African Americans or the fighting in Syria, it's hard and discouraging to me that people felt this way about other human beings. This is a powerful novel without being preachy.

I took this book bullet from Kay (RidgewayGirl) a couple of weeks ago and was fortunate to find it on the express shelf at the library. Great book bullet.

Updates - Both field hickey games were lost but our granddaughter did have an assist on a goal in Sun's game and she was glad we were there. Plus her field hockey coach from high school and her daughters (both gooood FH players) came to watch on Sun and I think she was happy about that.

On the way home, we stopped at my husband's cousin's house and picked a couple of bags of grapes, so Mon and Tues were grape jelly making days.

More new house stuff this week and we signed our purchase and sales yesterday. Tentative date for delivery of the house will be the week of Christmas and a tentative closing date in Mar. Now for some serious packing and purging.

All this as excuses to the fact that I haven't started my Dewey book for this month and I'm still reading my Random book. I had chosen The Error World by Simon Garfield about stamps and since it isn't a very big book, I still have hopes of finishing it before the end of the month. I had thought that I might finish my challenge early, but that looks more and more like it might not happen. I might be squeaking in at the last minute.

Book 76: Eva's Eye by Karin Fossum translated by James Anderson
Category: Blue Periwinkle - early friendship - 1st in a series
Bingo Dog: In translation

I've heard a lot here on LT about this series featuring Inspector Sejer and picked this up back in 2014 to get started in the series.

Eva and her daughter are walking by the river one day when they find the body of a dead man. The man had been missing for months and Insp. Sejer is assigned to find his killer.

I'm not sure how I feel about this book. I was not that fond of the main character and found myself getting more and more annoyed with her. The book seemed to concentrate more on her and not that much on Insp. Sejer. Still I'm going to give the series another chance and read book 2 before I decide.

>165 dudes22: I need to get back to that series. I have several more on my Kindle.

I'm glad that you were able to snag a copy of The Underground Railroad and that you liked it.

And your granddaughter will always remember that you came to her games.

Hi Betty, I think I have several Insp. Sejer saved on my Nook, I think I will add this series to the others that have taken a back seat .

Book 77: The Error World: An Affair With Stamps by Simon Garfield
Category: Aster - variety - Miscellaneous
Sep Dewey: 769.560092

After reading almost half the book, I've decided to abandon my Sep Dewey book. I had thought learning about the errors on stamps (missing colors, etc) and how stamps are valued because of that would be interesting. Alas - not. Maybe if there had been at least a few pictures of examples it might have been better.

>169 dudes22: Pictures would be indispensable for a book on that subject! Especially pictures showing the difference between an erroneous stamp and a correctly printed one.

>170 rabbitprincess: No kidding. That sounds as easy to read as a travel book without maps or a cookbook without lists of ingredients.

I've decided what I was expecting was a story of how he hunted for particular stamps and that those stories would be interesting. Plus, because they were British stamps, I wasn't at all familiar with the costs he mentioned so I couldn't compare what he was talking about.

>172 dudes22: That was a very courageous attempt. The cover looks quite inviting too. Check off the category as "done" and award yourself a gold star!

Thanks - I find I'm getting better about letting a book go if it's not working for me than I use to be.

My brother and I inherited stamp collections from both our grandfathers. He worked on the U.S. stamps and I had the rest of the world (it was more even than you'd imagine). I learned so much about geography and currency. I might have been interested in this book if it had pictures. So much about stamps is the art.

Book 78: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Category: Wisteria - youthfulness - young adult
Bingo Dog Block; Adventure
October Random: Scary Books

Interesting story about a group of children who each have some type of super-natural power. Lots has been written about it and now there is a movie coming out. I'm not sure if it was the movie hype, but I was sort-of expecting something more than I got. And I didn't like the end. There was no end really. It obviously just continues to another book

Book 79: The Solitude of Prime Numbers by Paolo Giordano
Category: Mayflower - the beginning - 1st novels
October Dewey: 853.92

I thought the writing in this book was hauntingly beautiful. It's a quiet book with not a lot of action. Alice and Mattia are both misfits, each struggling with a personal issue that prevents them from connecting to others. The story spans a number of years, dipping into each of their lives to show how they deal (or not) with their issues. I found it almost painful at times to read.

The cover says that the author was the youngest person to win the prestigious Italian Premio Strega award for this book.

Book 80: Killing Floor by Lee Child
Category: Blue Periwinkle - early friendship - 1st in a series

My husband has been gradually reading the Jack Reacher series over the last few years as I find them at library sales and bring them home for him. I put them aside in a bag and finally decided I should at least read the first one to see if I liked it well enough to continue to save the books.

Jack Reacher is an ex-military policeman who is now a drifter. On a whim, he gets off a bus and walks into Margave, Georgia is see the place where Bind Blake, a guitar player was from. HE stops at a diner for some coffee and soon there are a couple of policemen there and he is arrested for murder. He soon becomes involved in trying to solve the murder he is accused of committing. There were some rather violence, gruesome parts which may put some people off, but I didn't mind so much. I do like a slightly flawed hero. And I will be continuing with the series.

I recently read a Jack Reacher novel and enjoyed it a lot. Now I'm waiting for my library hold for Killing Floor to surface at the library. It seems I am not the only person to want to start the series at the beginning. The library just added this title to the collection, obviously a popular choice.

>179 VivienneR: Vivienne, you don't have to start at the beginning. And the books themselves jump back and forth in time, so if you want to follow Reacher's life in chronological order you'd need to start with a more recent book than Killing Floor.

>180 RidgewayGirl: - Are you kidding me? I didn't know they don't go in order. Oh well -----

Looking for a little help. I'm reading a book and trying to determine the age of the main character. The book mentions that he's studying for his A levels and also that he's learning to drive. Would that make him around 16-18 years old? I'm going by the fact that here in the US we learn to drive around 16 and graduate from high school either 17 or 18. I thought at the beginning he was younger than that, so I thought I'd ask here.

>183 dudes22: In the UK (specifically England and Wales - Scotland has a different system for education/exams) A' levels are studied at school between 16-18. If he's learning to drive he will be no younger than 17, as that is the earliest we are allowed to get a provisional licence. Hope that helps!

>184 Jackie_K: - yes, thanks. This takes place in Ireland, so that would be right.

I haven't quite finished the book yet, but in the last little bit the character mentions that he's 18.

My reading has been suffering lately. Only 3 books in Oct and I definitely won't reach my goal for this year. Seems to be so much to do even though we won't be moving until spring. Also not too much enthusiasm for designing a thread for next year. Oh well - it is what it is.

Betty, take time away from reading and maintaining a thread. This will all still be here for you when you want to get back to it, but maintaining a thread out of a sense of obligation sounds like no fun at all.

You can always just go do the stuff you need to do and return when you really, really want to. And we'll find out about how your move went then. Nothing says you have to start a thread at the beginning of the year -- hold off until you want to do it.

>187 RidgewayGirl: - Thanks Kay - But - "take time away from reading" - perish the thought. I do like reading about the books others are reading and I do like to track my own, but I may have to lower my expectations next year. I might be a little too type 'A' about it though. I'm pretty sure I'll have some type of thread. Might be rather minimalist. Maybe I'm a little whiney because I'm not getting enough reading time.

re: moving - I think the main reason I'm stressed is because my husband is somewhat of a hoarder. (Don't tell him I said that) So even though I'm working on sorting and packing what I can, I can't do too much with his stuff. Hopefully once the cold weather sets in, he'll spend some time making decisions about what to take.

OK - Now for a finished book:

Book 81: Bog Child by Siobhan Dowd
Category: Wisteria - youthfulness - YA books

"Set in Ireland in the 1980s, Bog Child is a powerful novel that explores the sacrifices made in the name of peace, and the unflinching strength of the human spirit."

I'm pretty sure I heard about this book here on LT although I didn't make a note of from whom. The story takes place in Ireland during "the Troubles". It's the story of Fergus who is 18 and the summer when he finds Mel, a bog child, who appears to have been murdered. His brother is in prison on a hunger strike, he has just taken his "A" levels and is hoping they will be good enough for him to leave Drumleash and become a doctor. There is a bit of magical realism in the book as he dreams about Mel, the bog child, and what happens to her.

This book was actually published after the author's death from cancer at age 47. I'm planning to go back and read some of her other books since I liked this one so much.

>189 dudes22: I have enjoyed Dowd's books. I did not know she had died (or if I did hear, I had forgotten). So young!

>180 RidgewayGirl: Thanks for the information. Now I can choose to read whatever shows up on the shelf.

ETA I'll still begin with Killing Floor as I am next on the holds list.

I'm completely uninspired for a theme for my challenge next year too. I can come up with categories, but I can't settle on a theme I like that I haven't done already.

>188 dudes22: Ha! My husband is a hoarder, too. It's something I can generally ignore, having ceded the garage to him and most of our shared walk-in closet (and the storage area under the house and the attic and the closet in the study). But when we moved to Germany, he was unable to help me get the house ready as he was too busy getting his stuff organized. And then he left for Germany before the movers came and I discovered that "the garage is ready to be packed up" was not remotely true.

So on our return, I told him that his area (a large room in the basement and a small room upstairs) were up to him to prepare and he had to be home when the movers were packing things up (he'd begun to make noises about leaving before the moves came again). So there were a few weekends of crankiness on his part, but I didn't have to deal with the stuff and he has been getting rid of stuff since. Having to move an excess of stuff is an excellent corrective.

But good luck. Moving is a pain. And I know what you mean about not having enough reading time, just at a point when reading more would be very relaxing.

>193 RidgewayGirl: - I was working in the garage some more this weekend since the weather was pleasant. and mentioned that a lot of the bottles of stuff like rose fertilizer and the car maintenance stuff could be disposed of if it hadn't been used lately (i.e. expired?) and just buy new when we need it and you would have thought I had suggested cutting off a foot. At some point I'll probably have to almost stand over him, but I'm letting that slide for now while the weather is good and he's doing stuff outside. And it doesn't help that square footage wise we're actually going up although laid out differently, so theoretically he could take everything. I'm trying to envision how I'd like to live in the new place and get rid of stuff appropriately.

Book 82: Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks
Category: Angelica - inspiration - book bullets

I've been sort of a reading funk lately. Not that the books aren't good, just that there's not enough time to read and I feel guilty that I should be doing other things. So when my nail tech mentioned this book and said she thought I would really like it, I was tempted to say "no thanks". I'm so glad I didn't; I absolutely zipped through this book.

It's written in the first person by Budo who is the imaginary friend of Max, an 8 year old who is probably somewhere on "the spectrum" although that's rather loosely defined here. For an imaginary friend, Budo is rather highly developed and helps Max deal with the issues he faces every day at school and at home. When something bad happens ( which you can guess at by reading the back of the book), Budo has to ask other imaginary friends to help him so he can save Max. This book was very inventive and one of the best books I've read this year.

I hear you about the hoarding, but (don't tell my husband I said this) I have to confess it is me who is the hoarder in our relationship. One of my goals for 2017 is to start being more ruthless with stuff and finally get rid of stuff that even I wonder why I have held on to them for so long. (I'm not sure if that last sentence is grammatically OK or not. But I know what I mean!)

I'm going to start with some books. I make a regular(ish) trip to a place called Barter Books, and I've decided I'm going to take some books I'm not going to read again with me next time for them to sell. They value them and then give you credit to spend in the shop - I know I'll come away with a few books, but I would have gone there and got books anyway, and at least they will be ones I know I'll actually read.

>196 Jackie_K: - I'm not saying I'm not partly at fault but I need to get him to make some decisions about what to take and what to let go.

Book 83: Dangerous Undertaking by Mark de Castrique
Category: Columbine - Folly

I took this series as a BB from Terri (tymfos) way back in 2014, but I'm using it in my Folly category since we share the books in our collections.

First book in a cozy series about an undertaker in a small town in North Carolina. Barry never intended to take over his father's undertaking business, but after his father begins to fail more from Alzheimer's disease, he gives up his life in Gainsboro to come home and help his mother run the funeral parlor. At the funeral of Martha Willard, only two of her three children are there. But at the graveside, Dallas shows up and kills his two siblings and wounds Barry in the shoulder. Barry teams up with the sheriff to help find Dallas. There are more murders and this looks like it will be one of those towns where it wouldn't be safe to live. :p

Book 84: Loving Frank by Nancy Horan

Category: Mayflower (trailing arbutus) - beginning - 1st novels
Nov Random: Debut novels
Bingo Pup: for or about a woman

This book is the story of Mamah Borthwick Cheney who left her husband and children to live with the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright in the early 1900s when such a thing caused a big scandal.

In 1903, Frank Lloyd Wright was commissioned to build a house for Edwin Cheney and his wife Mamah. His style of minimalism and openness (called the prairie style) appealed to them and Mamah was impressed with the vision of FLW. An attraction grew between them and in 1907, she left her husband and children to live with him which caused a scandal in those days.

I don't really think I'm very good at analyzing how a writer writes. But I thought the characters were well developed. The story was interesting and moved along at a good pace. Even if you aren't interested in architecture and the thought process of FLW, the love story is still interesting.

>199 dudes22: I've had this on my TBR for a long time, maybe next year!

Luanne - I had it on my TBR for over 5 years. Every time I would pick it up, I'd glance at the print size and decide I needed a quicker read. If only I'd known how much I would enjoy it, I would have read it sooner. I wonder how many others there are in my TBR like that?

I have been guilty of setting some of my thicker books aside for quicker reads but then when I finally got around to them, they were excellent. The Orenda and Someone Knows My Name were set aside time and time again but when I finally read them this year, they were both 5 star reads for me. I suspect our TBR's are littered with gems like this!

>198 dudes22: I'm glad you decided to dig up the Burryin' Barry book! :)

Glad that you liked it!

Book 85: Tales of a Female Nomad by Rita Golden Gelman

Category: Aster - variety - Miscellaneous
Nov Dewey: 910.4
Bingo Block: Autobiography/Memoir
Bingo Pup: Autobiography/Memoir/Coorspondance

At the age of 48, Rita Gelman's husband decides he wants a divorce. So she decided to sell all her possessions and travel the world, connecting with the local people. Since I can't imagine ever doing anything like that, I must live vicariously through her adventures.

Book 86: The Lost Garden by Helen Humphreys

Category: Columbine - Folly

I found this book for my Folly category in the library of Kelly (VioletBramble) and since there have been a couple of people who have read and mentioned it this year, I thought it would be a good time to pull it off the TBR where it's been languishing for a while.

The story takes place during WW II when Gwen, a horticulturalist, volunteers to go with the Women's Land Army to an estate in rural England and manage a group of girls planting potatoes for the war effort. While there she finds a secret garden and wonders as she restores it who grew it and why.

Although I won't be reaching my goal for this year, I have a few categories that are almost done and I think I'll try and fill in a few in Dec.

I also need to get going and post my 2017 thread. Maybe later tonight.

Book 87: A Share in Death by Deborah Crombie

Category: Blue Periwinkle - 1st in series

I liked this first book in the series featuring Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and Sergeant Gemma James. This first story is one of the "group of people all stuck together and one's a murder" mysteries. Superintendent Kincaid borrows his cousin's time share for a little holiday hoping for a little relaxation. Unfortunately he finds a dead body the first morning he is there. The local police officer doesn't like him but he asks questions anyway to try and decide who committed the murder.

The only thing I didn't like much was that the local police just seemed to fade away at the end of the book when things were wrapped up

I'm just finishing the 10th in this series by Crombie. I think the series gets better as it - and the Kincaid/James relationship - progresses. It's one of my favourite mystery series.

I agree with Vivienne, the series gets better as it goes along, also the reader gets involved in the relationship between the two main characters.

Well - I'm hoping to fit in a couple more next year when I concentrate on my series. Seems like I've heard before here that the series continues to be good.

Book 88: The Christmas Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini
Category: Heliotrope - faithfulness - continuing series
Dec Random: Best Gift

The was the next one in the series that I needed to read so the Random this month gave me an excuse to get it from the library. Much of the story about past Christmases when Sylvia was little was a repeat of parts of the story I had read in other books.

I've put my Christmas quilt on the bed that I made back in 2014 when quilting was my theme for the year and it looks great. I still haven't made any pillow shams to go with it - another UFO for another year.

>210 dudes22: - I'm another one who thinks the series just keeps getting better and better. Hope you're able to continue with it.

With all these endorsements, how could I not.

I'm in that "one week to Christmas and there's still so much to do" panic. We had a some snow last night (probably @ 1-2 inches) and, although it's supposed to change to rain later this am, it will be messy for getting out to do errands. The farmer's market is the only one that has to be done today as I need a few gifts and things that I can get there. And I figure if they can make the effort to be there in this kind of weather so can I. Plus I can't remember if they are doing another one at the end of the week before Christmas or if there's none next week.

I had originally planned to not do much decorating since we'll be moving, but I got "volunteered" to host Christmas Eve for my husband's family, so I felt I needed to put in a little more effort than I had planned. So besides decorating, I'm behind in wrapping, cookie making (I give a number of trays as gifts), some gift purchases----deep breath --- no need to panic. Luckily, my siblings and extended families aren't getting together til New Years so I can postpone a lot of that stuff til the week between.

My point is - I would have sworn once I retired that I wouldn't be like this since I would have SO much more time. Wrong!

Ack! The Christmas panic is setting in a bit here as well. I have a couple more things to get for my parents but at this point I think I'll just get them when I go home, because I'm leaving on Wednesday. My brother and I have to do a stocking-stuffer run anyway before Christmas so we will just have to add that to the itinerary. And today I have to get warm socks for my BF's sister (apparently I'd promised to help with that, but I've been out a lot this week) and items for a gift I'm giving on Monday. It is also snowing briskly, so I am going to the walking-distance mall instead of the busing mall.

I hope you'll be able to get everything you want to done with a minimum of panic!

Weather update - by the time I left for the farmer's market, we had 4 inches of snow which was turning to ice and is now pouring rain. Tomorrow is supposed to be 60 F and Monday it's a more seasonal 20 F. That's why here in RI we say -

"If you don't like the weather, wait a few minutes."

>215 rabbitprincess: - RP - I know I'm not the only one in a panic. Surprisingly, having gotten to the FM and picking up a few gifts, having a coffee and visiting with the vendors has me in a much more optimistic frame of mind. (Plus I got my china cupboard decorated)

Hope you have a good trip home.

>216 dudes22: Icy roadways were a problem in the Raleigh-Durham area this morning. It warmed up to 40 now with highs predicted in the 50s, but tomorrow it is supposed to be in the 70s. I guess that weather statement is true everywhere.

>217 dudes22: Hurray! Glad to hear that coffee and chatting with the vendors helped. Stay safe if you're going out on icy roads!

>216 dudes22: We say that here too but we've been waiting and waiting but the temperature refuses to rise to anywhere near normal. Santa better wear his long underwear.

Taking the morning afternoon playing catch-up on all the threads in the group and have enjoyed getting caught up with all of your reading, and belated congratulations on moving into your new place!

Very happy to see you enjoyed The Solitude of Prime Numbers. What a wonderful story!

Good luck with the move and helping your husband consider things for purging at the same time. Sorry to see that the Christmas stress has arrived for you. Here is hoping that everything will be manageable, especially since family should not expect a lot of decorating since you will be moving soon.

>214 dudes22:
"once I retired that I wouldn't be like this since I would have SO much more time"
Haha - that's what my mum says too! She's always wondering how on earth she ever had time to go to work! :)

>222 -Eva-: - I had a friend who retired before I did and used to say something similar which I couldn't understand until I did.

Despite my panic of a week ago, things seem to working out. I'm going to put together my cookie tray gifts this afternoon and then I just have a little last minute grocery shopping and cleaning the house. I'm waiting for pumpkin breads to come out of the oven (which I left an ingredient out which makes me think they might be kind of dense) and I've made a hot drink and may read a little bit.

I think a hot drink, a cookie and a book are the perfect reward for pushing through Christmas chores. I have some family coming tonight and all I have to do is iron the tablecloth and make deviled eggs. I hadn't planned on making the eggs but received a special request from my 16 year old great nephew so on the list they went. I think a little relaxing time is on the horizon!

Have a wonderful Christmas, Betty!

To all my fellow readers here in the Challenge Group:



May we all have great reads next year.

Book 89: Crunch Time by Diane Mott Davidson
Category: Hemlock - murder mysteries

Another book in the series about Goldy Schultz, a caterer in Aspen Meadows, Colorado who regularly comes across a murder and needs to help solve it although her husband, the local sheriff, would prefer that she not.

Book 90: Last Train to Paradise by Les Standiford
Category: Aster - variety - Miscellaneous
December Dewey: 973

This book is about Henry Flagler and his efforts to build a railroad from Miami to Key West and the obstacles he had to overcome. It took him over 22 years back in the late 1890s and early 1900s. Very interesting and readable.

I won't be finishing any more books this year, so I thought I'd post my summary for this year and move along to 2017.

I had a good reading year. Only 8 books below 3.5 stars. So here’s my year-end round-up:

Books read – 90 (out of goal of 100 – not too bad)
Books from TBR pile (including e-books) – 74 (82% - that works)
Library/overdrive books – 16

Books added: 49 physical, 8 e-books

Best books of 2016:

Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
The Underground Railroad by Colin Whitehead
Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks
The Seasons on Henry’s Farm by Terra Brockman
Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres

Worst Books of 2016:

Tell It To the Lambs by Susan Bristol Brewster
Beg, Borrow, Steal: A Writer’s Life by Michael Greenberg

And here's a meme from the last 2 or 3 (or 4?) years. I saw a somewhat different variation on someone's thread, but I already had this done. So - from the books I read in 2016:

Describe yourself: The Sleeping Doll

Describe how you feel: I am Half Sick of Shadows

Describe where you currently live: The Lost Garden

If you could go anywhere, where would you go: The Island of Lost Maps

Your favorite form of transportation: The Palace Tiger

Your best friend is: Princess Elizabeth’s Spy

You and your friends are: A Monstrous Regiment of Women

What’s the weather like: Blackfly Season

You fear: The Hangman

What is the best advice you have to give: Between You and Me

Thought for the day: If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late

How I would like to die: Baking Cakes in Kigali

My soul’s present condition: The Beautiful Mystery

Now on to 2017 - so many threads to catch up on and star.

>231 dudes22: Great answers! I've read some of those, and some are on my list to read.

I'm glad you liked Lost Garden. I have it listed for my 2017 challenge.
Happy New Year!