Nittnut - Reading around New Zealand - Four

Welcome to thread FIVE in which I forgot to change the title even though I was prompted several times.

Beautiful Northland


Cape Reinga, where you can see the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea meet. The day we were there, there was a storm coming and a stronger swell on the Pacific side, so it wasn't all that dramatic.


The lighthouse, and us heading back to the car because we could see the rain coming.


90-Mile Beach. It's a beach, it's a road.


A beautiful Kauri tree, almost 15 meters tall and about 600 years old.

I'm Jennifer. I read in bed. Also at the pool, in restaurants, at the beach, but not in the car. I have been married 23 years to my best friend. He puts up with my reading addictions, mostly, although I am not allowed to read while watching sport. We have three children ages 18, 12 and 10 and I often find them reading in bed after lights out. Success!

We have lived in California, Oregon, Colorado, New Zealand, and now we live in North Carolina. If you've been around my thread the last few months, you will know we have just moved. We are still getting settled, but we can tell we are going to like it here.

My thread toppers will be photos of "bucket list" locations in NZ.

Reading goals (flexible, of course):

Wheel of Time series - This will be a long term effort. :)
American Author Challenge - LOVE this
ANZAC Challenge
2016 Challenge

2016 Challenge

1. Rollover Beethoven - Books I didn't get to last year
2. Fly Me Away - Books flying off the shelf/Kindle
3. Aotearoa - Books by New Zealand Authors
4. Pumped Up Kicks - I can run, but I can't hide from Book Bullets
5. American Author Challenge
6. We Didn't Start the Fire - History
7. The Way We Were - Memoir
8. The Dewey Decimal System - DeweyCAT

AAC

January- Anne Tyler - The Clock Winder
February- Richard Russo - Straight Man
March- Jane Smiley - Some Luck
April- Poetry Month - Dream Work by Mary Oliver
May- Ivan Doig - This House of Sky
June- Annie Proulx - Close Range
July- John Steinbeck - Cannery Row
August- Joyce Carol Oates - PASS
September- John Irving - PASS
October- Michael Chabon - The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
November- Annie Dillard
December- Don DeLillo

Nonfiction Challenge

January: Biography/Memoir/Autobiography - H is for Hawk
February: History - A Patriot's History of the United States
March: Travel - An Island To Oneself
April: Religion & Spirituality (Easter/Passover) - The Screwtape Letters
May: The Arts - Brunelleschi's Dome
June: Natural History/Environment/Health - Monkeys Are Made of Chocolate
July: Current Affairs - Syria Burning
August: Science and Technology - The Gene: An Intimate History
September: Philosophy/History of Ideas
October: Politics/Economics & Business/Commentary - Basic Economics
November: Essays - The Miss Tutti Frutti Contest
December: Quirky/Who Knew?

ANZAC

New Zealand

January/February - The Denniston Rose by Jenny Pattrick
March/April - Wulf by Hamish Clayton
May/June - Wolfskin by Juliet Marillier, Foxmask by Juliet Marillier
July/August - Tenderness: Stories by Sarah Quigley
September/October - The Miss Tutti Frutti Contest

Australia

January/February - The Daughters of Mars by Thomas Keneally
March/April - Foreign Correspondence by Geraldine Brooks
May/June - I For Isobel by Amy Witting, Kickback by Gary Disher
July/August - Remembering Babylon by David Malouf
September/October -

January/February Favorites



January

1. The Colour
2. Q's Legacy
3. The Madonnas of Leningrad
4. Amulet: The Stonekeeper
5. The Turner House
6. Amulet: The Stonekeeper's Curse
7. H is for Hawk
8. The Clock Winder
9. How to Read a Book
10. The Denniston Rose
11. The Daughters of Mars
12. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase
13. Catalyst
14. If I Stay
15. Precious Time
16. Ross Poldark: A Novel of Cornwall

February

17. A Journal of the Plague Year
18. The Cloud Searchers
19. The Last Council
20. The Prince of the Elves
21. Escape from Lucien
22. The Best Man
23. The Perfect Match
24. Among the Hidden
25. Among the Imposters
26. Among the Betrayed
27. Assassin's Apprentice
28. A Patriot's History of the United States
29. King Leopold's Ghost
30. Royal Assasin
31. Assassin's Quest

March/April Favorites



March

32. The Queen of Attolia
33. The King of Attolia
34. A Conspiracy of Kings
35. An Island to Oneself
36. Wulf
37. Steelheart
38. Foreign Correspondence
39. Some Luck
40. Firefight

April

41. The Screwtape Letters
42. The Fellowship of the Ring
43. Straight Man
44. Book Scavenger
45. Demelza
46. The Revenant
47. Amulet: Firelight
48. Underground Girls of Kabul
49. Climbing the Mango Trees
50. The Dragonbone Chair
51. Dream Work
52. The Soul of an Octopus
53. Catwings

May

54. The Raven Boys
55. The Dream Thieves
56. Blue Lily, Lily Blue
57. The Raven King
58. Wolfskin
59. Kickback
60. Brunelleschi's Dome
61. I for Isobel
62. A Respectable Girl
63. Defiant Birth
64. Deep Blue
65. Rogue Wave
66. The Inimitable Jeeves
67. The Nonesuch
68. Brainstorm: The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain
69. This House of Sky

June

70. The Sword of Summer
71. Under A Painted Sky
72. Victory
73. Ghost Hawk
74. Where Rainbows End
75. The Two Towers
76. Time's Divide
77. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
78. Close Range
79. Becoming Odyssa
80. The Siren
81. Monkeys are Made of Chocolate abandoned
82. Foxmask
83. Idiomantics



July

84. The Genius of Birds
85. Shiloh
86. Genesis
87. Sunny Side Up
88. Remembering Babylon
89. Skellig
90. Deep: Freediving, Renegade Science, and What the Ocean Tells Us About Ourselves
91. The God Boy
92. Cannery Row
93. The Little White Horse
94. Part of the Pride
95. Return of the King
96. Daughter of the Forest
97. Syria Burning

August

98. Moon Over Manifest
99. Tenderness: Stories
100. Harlequin Rex
101. Marathon
102. The Crown
103. Monuments Men
104. Dragonhaven

September Reading

105. Under Different Stars
106. Sea of Stars
107. The Girl in Times Square
108. The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
109. Jeremy Poldark
110. Me Before You
111. The Quiet Gentleman
112. A Thousand Nights

The most delightful bookshop in Whangarei

Currently Reading

Pages 48532

Currently Reading: City of Djinns

Newbery Award: Maniac Magee

Currently Listening: Middlemarch

AAC

Michael Chabon - The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay - completed
Annie Dillard - An American Childhood - completed
Don DeLillo - The Body Artist - completed (mostly)

DeweyCAT -

800's (Literature) - Middlemarch - currently listening

Non-Fiction Challenge

Politics/Economics/Business - Basic Economics - completed

ANZAC

Australia:
Christopher Koch -
Thea Astley -

New Zealand:

Fiona Farrell - The Quake Year - roll over?
Graham Lay - The Miss Tutti Frutti Contest - completed
Kirsty Gunn - Rain (possibly)

October Reading

113. After You
114. The Girl With the Dogs
115. False Colours
116. The Dream Keeper
117. Devil's Cub
118. The Gene - An Intimate History
119. Out of Sorts
120. The Midnight Queen

November Reading

121. The Miss Tutti Frutti Contest
122. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
123. Knit the Season
124. Den of Wolves
125. The Penguin History of the World
126. Everything We Keep
127. The Smartest Kids in the World

December Reading

128. Doctor Thorne
129. MC Higgins the Great
130. The Body Artist
131. A Great Reckoning
132. An American Childhood
133. The Penderwicks at Point Mouette
134. Basic Economics
135. A Turn in the Road
136. Last One Home
137. A Christmas Carol
138. Spindle
139. Starting Now
140. Cinder
141. Scarlet
142. The Queen of Water
143. Garden Spells

This thread is open for business. As a nod to our new location, I thought this would be an appropriate welcome:

#113 After You

The sequel to Me Before You is partly what I expected, and partly not. I love that we get to see Lousia's whole family interact again, they are delightful. Naturally the book deals with the aftermath of what happens at the end of the previous book, but there is a bit more to it than that. The grieving and healing process is explored and it's done pretty well for a beachy novel. Not a bad read.

#114 The Girl With the Dogs

This brief novella explores the might-have-beens that humans often wonder about, and that social media has made ever so much more explore-able. I liked it.

#115 False Colours

I always enjoy a re-read of this riotously funny story. I particularly love the supporting cast. The mini love story of Lady Denville and Bonamy Ripple is priceless.

Oh, my, I think I might be first! Delighted to hear you are in Greensboro now, Jenn, and that you have a car. These are good things, LOL! A house will be even better, though I agree with you wholeheartedly about shopping. Groan.

Welcome back to the States, Jen. I hope the move is going smoothly.

Happy New Thread, Jenn.

>10 lit_chick: Hi Nancy! You are first! You get dibs on the extra porch rocker.

>11 BLBera: Hi Beth! It's going as smoothly as one can expect. The occasional bump in the road, but mostly just fine. :)

>12 ronincats: Thanks Roni!

Happy new thread Jenn. I want to go to New Zealand. The lighthouse, the beach (a bookshop called 'The Piggery' - Genius). Hope things are easier with the new car.

Hi Jenn!

Devil's Cub is one of my favorite Heyer Regencies. I've re-read it countless times over the years. I also love These Old Shades about Vidal's parents, in addition to many, many others, including most of those you've listed above.

I have yet to start Jeremy Poldark, having just done a marathon re-read of the Outlander series this summer. I'm off historical fiction for a bit.

Looks like our reading tastes are somewhat similar, although I've never read any NZ fiction. If you could pick one book to start me off, what would it be? I'm looking to make my list of Thingaversary books (I get 10!) and would love to expand my horizons a bit.

And welcome to Greensboro, neighbor!

Happy new one, Jenn!

I should be going through Greensboro en route to Raleigh next weekend. I'm not certain if I'm heading that way on Friday or Saturday. It kind of depends on which other staff members are available to work that afternoon. Our administrative assistant is taking his "birthday" holiday. Our director is planning to take at least part of next week off although I don't know which days. He's worked tons of extra hours due to the gallery opening this week in the library. I should be able to leave early regardless because I have more overtime than anyone else; however, some of our staff members don't seem to honor working their full 37.5 hours/week so I can't be certain I can leave, especially with fall break coming up. Most students will leave campus as soon as classes are over so the library won't be busy.

>15 charl08: I think everyone should go to New Zealand, perhaps there is a little bias there, but really, everyone should go. :)

>16 karenmarie: Hi Karen, I only read the first two Outlanders - and that was enough for me Lol - but I have enjoyed the Poldark books so far. I LOVE the mini series.
As far as NZ authors, it depends on what you like to read. I really enjoy Juliet Marillier. She does fantasy with a sort of fairy tale twist. I would start with Daughter of the Forest if you want to read her. I love Patricia Grace and can highly recommend Chappy, which was a finalist in the Ockham NZ Book Awards. I also really like Witi Ihimaera. The Whale Rider is short and will give you a look at Maori culture mixed with magical realism. For non-fiction A Fence Around the Cuckoo is fantastic. It's biographical and set during the depression. For a really exhaustive list of possibilities, check out the ANZAC challenge thread. Kerry does a fabulous job curating it and has beautiful long lists of books. :)

>17 katiekrug: Thanks Katie!

>18 thornton37814: Hi Lori. I hope you get to leave early. I'll PM you - but if you have time for a quick bite or something here in Greensboro, I'm happy to meet you.

Hi Jenn, I seem to be belated in saying welcome back! I'm not sure where September went and I certainly don't have the excuse of a major move. I hope you all get settled in quickly and easily so you can enjoy life's new adventure!

I'm also enjoying the Poldark series - both the books and the Masterpiece series.

And I noticed you recently read The Ghost and Mrs Muir. Wasn't it a gem?! I'd seen the movie years ago and as a kid, I watched the tv series (I loved their little dog). I'm not sure I could stomach it now though. The movie was pretty good, but the book (of course) was the best!

>1 nittnut: wow, go NZ, making the next thread too :)
Maybe that Kauri tree is a tad more than 15 meters tall though? ;)

>2 nittnut: ha! Great meme.

>13 nittnut: nice rocker! I'll need to be earlier next time ;)

Happy new thread, Jenn! And happy house-hunting!

#116 The Dream Keeper and Other Poems - AAC

I really enjoyed it. My mother read many of them to my brothers and I when we were little, so there is some nostalgia involved. My favorite this time through was Aunt Sue's Stories. It's poignant and sweet, and reminds the reader of the value of learning from those real-life experiences. I know when my mom and dad or grandparents told us stories from their own lives, we were entranced.

Aunt Sue's Stories

And the dark-faced child, listening,
Knows that Aunt Sue's stories are real stories,
He knows that Aunt Sue
Never got her stories out of any book at all,
But that they came
Right out of her own life.

And the dark-faced child is quiet
Of a summer night
Listening to Aunt Sue's stories.

#117 Devil's Cub

Abduction, duels, romance, witty conversation. What else could one wish for?

>20 Copperskye: Hi Joanne! I know where September went, LOL. Thanks for the welcome back. I have watched most of the first season of Poldark with my sister, and it's great. We are having a rainy day, courtesy of hurricane Matthew, but we are very grateful that it's just a rainy day.

>21 LovingLit: Hi Megan. That Kauri tree might be taller than 15 m, but that's what the sign said. Unless I got the wrong tree, Lol

>22 scaifea: Hi Amber! I will try to be happy house hunting. Ha! There's a new listing today that we really like, so fingers crossed.

Happy New Thread, Jenn. Well, you have wheels now so that's a good thing. I hope you find the perfect house so you don't have to make another move too soon. I'm glad it's just rain you are getting from Hurricane Matthew. What a welcome!

I'm impressed that you are able to read and start a new thread with all the other stuff you must have going on now.

While I love Mary and Dominic as characters, a lot of the love for me for Devil's Cub comes from the reprise of Leonie and Rupert's dash through England and France some 20 years ago in These Old Shades.

Happy relatively new thread, Jenn.

Happy new thread Jenn!

>25 Donna828: Hi Donna! It was strangely relaxing to sit and set up my new thread. We made an offer on a house yesterday. Sellers are showing signs of stubbornness, dickering over 2% with a house that needs work and has been on the market nearly 3 months. Makes you wonder if you want to deal with them at all...

>26 ronincats: I totally agree Roni. Devil's Cub works so well because of the back story. It's not at all the same if you don't know Rupert and Leonie.

>27 PaulCranswick: Thanks Paul.

>28 The_Hibernator: Hiya Rachel :)

>29 DianaNL: LOL Diana. Thanks.

Hope the house owners decide to cooperate. Our neighbours are trying to sell after a split and apparently disagreeing on offers- hopefully at some point someone will please them both!

Hey Jenn! I just finished Fifth Child by Doris Lessing and thought I'd do a non-fiction pairing with The Price of Silence. You're the one who suggested it a while back, so I thought I'd let you know I'm going to pick it up. :)

>31 charl08: They are still being a real pain. We've let them stew all day and we will be countering with our same offer in the morning.

>32 The_Hibernator: Hi Rachel. I don't think I could read Fifth Child *shiver* But, I will be interested to hear what you think about The Price of Silence.

>24 nittnut: huh, 15m doesn't sound that tall to me. Maybe I am suffering delusions of grandeur (on behalf of the tree!!)

I am off to Wellington this weekend! Me and my sister and brother have shouted my mum a night away up there for her birthday. The big 70! It is going to be fun! I'll say hello to it (Wellington) for you ;)

>34 LovingLit: LOL Megan. Someone has to speak for the trees...
Do say hello to Wellington for me. I'm missing it.

Just checking in and catching up with you, Jenn. Hoping you got the house.

Me too (or a better one).

Hi Jenn! Happy new thread! I hope you and your family are settling in nicely!

>36 Crazymamie: and >37 charl08: We got the house, now due diligence. Also, now the husband goes through buyers remorse and he's now looking at all the other houses. Sigh. We are in an apartment, temporarily, and today I vacuumed up about 3 pounds of cat hair from the supposedly clean floor. Not only do I have puffy eyes and a stuffed up head, but I am having a minor OCD fit about the state of things here. Also, the washing machine in the laundry room got stuck on a permanent spin cycle, and held my clothes hostage until I got permission to unplug the machine. Funny, not funny. I feel like I'm back to my 20's and square one, housing-wise.

>38 porch_reader: Hi Amy! We are sort of settling in. Our daughter starts middle school tomorrow. Our youngest is not starting school immediately. There is some question as to where to start him. I suppose we will sort that eventually. I am soooo ready for them to be at school. They need something to do. In the meantime, many books are being read by all. The new job is going great for my husband, which is good.

#118 The Gene: An Intimate History

Siddhartha Mukherjee has the uncommon ability to take a very complex subject and render it into a readable story, even considering the highly technical information that needs to be conveyed. The book is divided into sections covering history, practice and ethics. I really enjoyed the review of the history of genetics, the dramas of discovery and setbacks that had to be overcome. Current practice and ethics is always an interesting and complex subject, and while I found that section somewhat more work to read, it was totally worthwhile. Particularly the discussion of unintended consequences. It is possible to insert genetic information and alleviate some terrible conditions, but what else will change at the same time?

An interesting side note - while on the plane from Auckland to San Francisco, I sat next to a gentleman who was on his way to a meeting in Virginia regarding the Human Genome Project. His job is to program the computers which are rapidly running the genomes, looking for similarities and differences that allow the geneticists to identify locations of genes and what their role might be. It was interesting to talk to him about his work in light of what I was reading.

No sane biologist believes that we are entirely the product of our genes, but once you bring genes into the picture, then our perception of ourselves can no longer be the same.

Show me that you can divide the notes of a song;
but first, show me that you can discern
Between what can be divided
And what cannot

Good luck with the housing and start to school, Jenn.

Still reading PHOTW, need to listen to Middlemarch and I am working away at Basic Economics. I also started a novel called Out of Sorts, which is very French.

Star on my forehead - I voted! What an election this has been. Blech. I think we will all be glad when it's over.

Hi Beth!

Exciting about the house and start of school! We are in the midst of getting the contents of the house ready to be packed nad moved and of getting the house itself ready to be sold. Kind of stressful trying to do both at once :)

I'll keep my fingers crossed that everything turns out well with the house inspection and what have you!

Jenn, thinking of you and hoping the house works out beautifully, as do the children's schools. You must have the patience of a saint, all this upheaval and you only had one OCD moment!

So cool you met the programmer on the plane. Did you get talking because of the book?

Glad you got the house. The cat hair - oh dear. Hope it's coming round to liveable in the flat.

>44 katiekrug: Very true - packing and prepping for sale is stressful. Does your agent offer staging services? If so, it could be worth the money. That way, you can pack your stuff and head out, and they can stage the house for selling. Works if you don't have to live there, anyway.

>45 lit_chick: I wish I had the patience of a saint. If I did, I wouldn't have had that meltdown that involved such rational thoughts as: "I hate cats, I hate people who have cats, I want to shave all the cats in the world, litter boxes should be kept in a vacuum sealed compartment..." I probably don't believe all of that, except I'm living with the results of, well, people with cats who are not remotely OCD about cleaning. And we already switched apartments once because of the unbearable dog smell in the other one... The apartment managers are going to hate us...

>46 charl08: No, we got talking, as you do, about where we were going and where he was going. Where he was going led to a conversation about the book. :) I will make this flat livable eventually. Googling how to clean the litter box area now. *Gack*

>47 nittnut: - The packers come on Monday and the movers on Tuesday. After that, the house will be mostly empty, except for a few things we have decided not to move with us, including the guest room bed, which I will be sleeping on in the nearly empty house for who knows how long... I give myself about a week before it drives me bonkers, and I take friends and family up on their various offers of places to stay :) The realtor will stage the house if she feels it necessary - she wants to see it empty first.

>35 nittnut: we had a GREAT time in Welly. My mum bought $150 worth of books and put them on my Unity card, so all of a sudden I was eligible for a $29 discount on my purchase. (*yes!!*)
Plus, we had a hotel, my brother and sister and mum and me, and cafes, restaurant, and the orchestra.....sigh. Back to reality now!

I hope your newest middle school girl is loving her first week!

>48 katiekrug: Sigh. Moving. Well, I am sending many positive thoughts for a quick sale at the price you want. :) good luck!

>49 LovingLit: Hooray! It sounds marvelous. What did you buy? Probably if I go visit your thread I can find out... Miss M had an OK first day. It was early release, 2 hours. The girl they assigned to help her find her classes was useless and left her stranded somewhere after about 3 classes, but M is a resilient young miss and found someone else who was happy to help. She gets the day off tomorrow as the whole 7th grade is off on a field trip that required pre-purchased tickets. Not a bad first week, lol, but hoping Friday is a good day. She got Art and Home Ec. (cooking) for her elective choices, which she is happy with. Then they stuck her in chorus, which should be, um, interesting. She doesn't exactly carry a tune. But she could learn? She wore her HUHA (Helping You Help Animals) volunteer shirt for the first day.

We are going adventuring tomorrow. Not sure if we will go hiking to hanging rock or visit Duke campus, I expect it depends on the weather. It is so hot! And people are dressing like it's fall. I took the kids to the apartment pool yesterday and the manager was shocked. She said she was ready to close it for the winter because it was cold. The water is about 68 F. I said it was fine because it was so hot outside in the sun, and she said, "Are y'all from up north?" and I said, "No. We are from way, way down south." Ha!

From Unity I bought The Vegetarian and A Manual for Cleaning Women, from Te Papa I bought The Red Badge of Courage ($6!).
And then there were the birthday voucher purchases....which you'll have to do a thread visit for as I already forget!! (I'm 40+ now, it is happening more and more) ;)

Morning, Jenn! Boo to the loser who left your daughter stranded, but hooray for your daughter's moxie. Hoping that Friday is kind to her.

Your pool story made me laugh - we still have our pool up and running because it still feels like summer. The cashier at the grocery store made me laugh because she was telling me that we are getting a cold spell this weekend - Saturday the high will be 75F. Better dig out my mittens.

"Are y'all from up north?" and I said, "No. We are from way, way down south." LOL, Jenn!

Hey, Jenn, we moved from Germany to Colorado Springs in the summer of 2015, and then from Colorado Springs to Denver this past summer, so I feel your pain! Moving--UGHHH! I grew up in Fayetteville, NC (big Army town), attended UNC-Chapel Hill for undergrad, and also lived for 4 years in Savannah, GA. I hesitate to suggest any life science books to you, since it might be things you already studied, but I really enjoyed Looking for Longleaf, published by UNC Press, which looks at the remains of the longleaf pine forest ecosystem that begins in the sandhills south of Raleigh. I also enjoyed Ecology of a Cracker Childhood, which is half memoir, half ecology, set in Georgia.

Hi Jenn - Cat hair, yuck. Good luck with the cleaning. I hope you get into a house soon. I love the differences in attitude toward temps. I remember being on a lake in northern Minnesota one August. My husband, from the tropics, had on a parka and the rest of us were in swimsuits. Funny.

Oh, yuck re: the cat hair. In California, the landlord would be responsible for having the place clean when you moved in, or else! I guess NC landlord law is much more relaxed. I mean, I have cats, but (as a landlord) if my tenant had left the place uncleaned, they would have had the cleaning costs subtracted from their deposit, and then that money would have been used to CLEAN it!! And the walk-through I would have with the next tenant would have documented that it was clean. Sorry you had to deal with it.

68 is too cold for me! I don't get into the ocean here unless it is at least 70, and much prefer the Y's swimming pool in the 80s. On the other hand, with air temps, I'm quite comfy when my Kansas relatives are chilled out. Of course, I may not handle the frigid temps as well as they do.

>51 LovingLit: Not a bad haul Megan. I'm off to your thread to discover what else. $6 Red Badge of Courage!

>52 Crazymamie: Hi Mamie! I am always impressed by my daughter's moxie. She has way more self-confidence than I did at her age. We are definitely having a cold spell LOL. I got out a sweater yesterday, but then I was way too hot...

>53 lit_chick: Hi Nancy :)

>54 karspeak: Hi Karen. These overseas moves feel like forever, don't they? I hope you like Denver. We liked the mountain views and all the outdoor things to do. The crazy weather was always entertaining too.
Don't ever apologize over here for recommending books! That's what we do - if I've read it, we can talk about it. If I haven't, then I might want to. I think Ecology of a Cracker Childhood definitely needs to go on my TBR pile, and Looking for Longleaf looks good too. I don't read a lot of ecology books. I tend to lean toward the zoology stuff, so thanks for the recommendations!

>55 BLBera: So funny how where we grew up continues to affect our response to temperatures. People we knew in NZ who were from the islands (Tonga, Samoa) were always going around in puffer jackets, even in summer.

>56 ronincats: Yes, yuck. The thing is, they had cleaned the carpets and they had repainted. There is cat hair painted into the trim. I am sure someday I will find it funny...
We are filling out the move-in form now, so we will see what they do.

#119 Out of Sorts

Ferdinand is a super grumpy old man. He's always been grumpy. Now he's all alone, except for his dog. He spends all day either worrying about imagined ills or working out ways to irritate and put off his neighbors. In particular, Mrs. Suarez, the concierge of his apartment building, with whom he has an ongoing feud. Just when things are nearly as bad as they can be, a young neighbor inserts herself into his life and refuses to be put off. Transformation occurs gradually, but by the end of the story, Ferdinand is not the same man as he was. It's a Charming story, in spite of some rather improbable events and rough bits that might be explained by translation difficulties.

Sounds a bit like A Man Named Ove. I wonder if that's just coincidence or if publishers are trying to put out more books about grumpy older people.

>59 charl08: Ha! That's just what the world needs. More books about grumpy old people. I have A man Named Ove on my shelf and another one by the same author called My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She's Sorry. Sounds like a theme lol.

Hi Jenn!

I was out of town on a family situation and just got back home.

I'm just going to draw a line in the sand and continue on from here - I hope you're doing well and I'm looking forward to checking in more regularly!

>58 nittnut: Yes, it does sound a bit like A Man Called Ove. Thoroughly enjoyed that one if you haven't read it, Jenn.

>61 karenmarie: Hi Karen. I hope all is well with your family. I'm hoping to check in more regularly too. I am behind on everyone's threads.

>62 lit_chick: Hi Nancy. It's on my bookshelf. I'd like to read it soon. I've got a couple non-fiction reads I am behind on but I have not really had much reading time lately. Hoping tomorrow is a reading day. Hopefully hoping.

#120 The Midnight Queen

I cannot remember who recommended this, but it was a fun read. A light magical fairy tale with some fun twists and quirky characters. It's the first of three, so I will most likely get the next two at some point. As a bonus, the series is complete, so no waiting around for the next book. Ha!

I am reading away at PHofTW and Basic Economics. I have also started The Miss Tutti Frutti Contest. I've been reading PHofTW on the treadmill, Basic Economics over lunch and for 10 minutes before bed, and then I have my light reading for waiting in the car, etc. I have been in the car so much lately though, that I am considering putting Basic Economics in the car instead. As of today, both kids are (Finally) in school so my schedule should start to settle down.

House update: House hunting is the worst.

The house we had an offer on did not pass inspection. It had water issues that were going to be very costly to fix. The sellers were not all that amenable in the first place, and I don't think they were doing more than breaking even on selling, so who knows. We just decided it wasn't worth it. We have found another house, similar size, a little less work (think no remodeling, but paint, floors and some places where their dog tried to eat the door) and a much prettier yard. Also it has the screened pack porch which I have determined to be a necessity in these parts. We offered on it tonight. We will see. Of course we have to get through inspection and so forth. I have looked at way too many houses.

It was probably me recommending The Midnight Queen by Sylvia Izzo Hunter. But I'm still waiting for the third book to come out this December!

Too bad about the first house, but it looks like it might work out for the best.

>64 ronincats: It was you Roni! Thanks. *grin* True - one more month until the third book comes out. I guess since I haven't read the second, I was thinking it wasn't a bad wait. Lol. I am waiting very impatiently for the next in the Blackthorn and Grim series. I hate it when I start books and the series is not finished, but sometimes I just can't wait.

Jenn, I'm glad that you're settled in G'boro and sorry about the cat hair and the non-guide at school. Hope things are smoothing out and that the sunny South turns out to be a good experience for all of you. I'm still counting on a meet-up sometime in the new year.

>66 LizzieD: Hi Peggy! I just dropped by yours. :) We are having a good time, and the woes of moving and starting new schools are not too awful, more funny than awful, really, and such as we would experience anywhere, Lol. I am loving the weather currently, and we are hoping to make it up to the mountains this weekend. Unless my husband goes on a work party to one of the towns needing clean up help. I will Love meeting up with you! We will have to plan it after the new year for sure.

Oh, a screened porch! I want one.

Hi Jenn. A screened back porch is not a bad idea at all, although we've lived in this house here in Pittsboro for 18 years without one. It's now officially my favorite time of year and I'm loving the cool days and nights. There are still too many bugs, of course, but I'm hoping for a bug killing frost soon, bloodthirsty as that sounds.

>67 nittnut: me too! me too! I'd love to join the meetup. I'm sort of between you two.

>68 scaifea: Yes, you do. I think we all do. Lol

>69 karenmarie: I am totally with you on that bug killing frost. It's not you who is bloodthirsty. It's the mosquitoes. You are definitely in on the meetup! Seems like I should be able to swing by and pick you up on the way...

OK - I have had a productive morning involving returning clothes that my daughter didn't like and buying basic tools for the husband and getting kids organized. Now I need to quit lollygagging and do a LOT of laundry and get on the treadmill (PHofTW is waiting). Then I will make cilantro lime chicken enchiladas for dinner, I think, and by then the kids will be getting home. The days sure fly by.

I just found this very concise review of The Penguin History of the World on Amazon:

No penguins!
ByJoe M. Vanceon November 21, 2015
Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase
There was absolutely nothing about the history of penguins in this entire book. Ripoff!!

HAHAHA!

LOVE.

>71 nittnut: :-)

Those enchiladas sound wonderful.

>71 nittnut: Love it! Jenn, you sound busy with the moving (and the vacuuming - yuck!). I hope your second house offer works out.

Fingers crossed for finding a house!

>71 nittnut: That is too funny…no penquins! Dang, I am sorry about your first house offer not working out, but who needs water problems, right? It sounds like your husband's buyer remorse was justified. Good for Margo being so self-reliant. I moved a lot as a kid (army brat) and learned to fend for myself in a lot of situations. It's good life training.

I can't believe the cat hair situation. That is just yucky. I hope you find the perfect house for your family soon. Renting is no fun.

>72 katiekrug: *grin*

>73 charl08: They are really good. :)

>74 susanj67: Hi Susan. We are keeping busy, but it's all good. See update on second house below...

>75 porch_reader: thanks Amy! Maybe cross your toes too?

>76 Donna828: Hi Donna. We don't want water problems for sure. I am going to look on the bright side, tidying up around this apartment takes no time at all. More time for reading my book that is Not about Penguins. Lol

House number 2 - There was an engineering report mentioned in the documents. My husband, being an engineer, balked at this and demanded to see the report before we moved further. Turns out half the kitchen and garage fell in a hole when the foundation of the house failed. It's been thoroughly and properly repaired, but my husband definitely doesn't feel too comfortable with the possibilities of future failure. So, onward. Hoping the third house is the charm, but I'm taking a break from looking for a week or so. In fact, I am not sure there will be anything now until after Christmas. We will see.

We hiked around Chimney Rock state park yesterday. The leaves are changing, but not at their peak yet. We are told this won't be the best year because it's been so warm. It was still absolutely beautiful. Tonight we are baking cookies. My husband's office has a Halloween Cookie contest with prizes in the tastiest and richest category. We are hoping for a win with caramel apple cookies. I will keep you posted. :)

I forgot to tell you - a friend of mine who lives in Wellington has just had a story published in a collection of writings. If you're interested, http://www.huia.co.nz/huia-bookshop/bookshop/stories-on-the-four-winds-nga-hau-e.... His story is "May Board". He says his first novel should be available early next year, so I will keep you posted.

I've really been wanting to read The Gene but it's too long to pick up right now.

Hi Jenn! I'm sorry about your continuing house woes, but being cautious is better than getting into a hole, so to speak!

Autumn in NC, even if a bit less bold than some years, is something to see. Our trees are turning rapidly now with the cool nights, and the leaves are falling in a lazy manner. My absolute favorite season.

Well, thank goodness for your husband the engineer, Jenn. It's tough business, and exhausting, looking for a house. Thinking of you.

>79 The_Hibernator: I am sure you'll enjoy it whenever you get to it Rachel. :)

>80 karenmarie: Lol, yes. Better than getting into a hole. I am thinking the leaves were more impressive at the lower elevations than they were up at Asheville, but maybe that's just me. It was still absolutely beautiful.

>81 lit_chick: True, Nancy. It's unlikely we will ever have a house on a landslide or an earthquake fault, or with foundation issues. :)

Some photos coming - some of our October adventures in North Carolina, and Halloween costumes.

Hi Jenn! Sorry to see your house hunting isn't working out. Hopefully the next one is the charm!

The Old Mill - in operation since 1767




Chimney Rock

>83 ChelleBearss: Thanks! We're hoping so too.

Fingers crossed. Do you have a timeline, or will you rent until you find exactly what you want?

>86 BLBera: We don't really have a timeline Beth, but we aren't loving the cat apartment, Lol. We will probably look for a house to rent in January unless we find something to buy before then.

#121 The Miss Tutti Frutti Contest - ANZAC and Non-fiction challenge

This is a collection of travel essays about the islands of the South Pacific. Some are light and funny stories, others have a more historical or political tone, all of them paint a pretty realistic picture of the islands that isn't always pretty. A great read.

I broke the 70% mark in PHofTW today and I broke the 50% mark in Basic Economics. I have started The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay for last month's AAC. I am trying to ignore that the next installment in Blackthorn and Grim arrived on my kindle last night. My husband is traveling for a few days though, which usually means more uninterrupted reading time. But there is game 7 tonight... choices, choices.

>71 nittnut: lol. That is fantastic :)

>77 nittnut: so many homes here now have engineering reports, and I'm sure any house buyer would be a fool not to look at it closely! Maybe it was best not to have the sink-hole house! Good luck with house 3?!?

Also, good luck with Kavalier and Clay, a good friend tells me it's her all time fave book, but I have not had luck with Chabon, in spite of trying.

>89 LovingLit: Hey Megan. It would be particularly foolish for a geotechnical engineer to have a sink-hole house, lol.

So, Chabon. This is my second attempt. I tried the Yiddish Policeman's Union and couldn't get through the first chapter. I fell asleep in the first chapter of Kavalier and Clay last night, so we will see how it goes tonight. But I'm not reading at the moment, I am watching baseball. *grin*

>90 nittnut: I think the appropriate response to that would be "go cubbies"!!?

>91 LovingLit: Well, yes and no. It would certainly be historic in baseball if they won, but I'm not a particular fan of either team. At the moment, going in to extra innings at midnight eastern, I'd pretty much like someone to just win. But I can't look away!

ETA: Now it's raining. I'm not sure I can go to bed. Might jinx something (LOL) but I can't stay up all night. I'll be useless tomorrow and I've got no backup.

Hi Jenn. I'm here!! Loved the photos, and I too hope that house #3 is better. Lovely photos especially the one of M with the leaves.

I haven't read the Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, either. Will be curious to see how you like it.

And now to go back a couple of threads and catch up...
Hope you are asleep not watching baseball!!

I love Chabon, but I get why others don't. His writing is, I think, gorgeous, but it's slow and quiet, and his stories aren't usually, um, happy ones.

Stayed up way too late. #worthit
I almost went to bed, so glad I didn't.

>93 cushlareads: Hi Cusha! Nice to see you around. Lol I made it through a couple of chapters last night, and I am liking it so far.

>94 scaifea: I am going better with Kavalier and Clay so far than I did with the Yiddish policemen. :) I like the writing.

Morning, Jenn!

>71 nittnut: You made me snort my coffee! Of course, now the ending is ruined for me since I know there won't be any penguins.

Good idea to give yourself a break from house hunting. I know that the right house is out there waiting patiently for you and yours. It will be worth the wait.

>84 nittnut: So beautiful - thanks for sharing!

>88 nittnut: Adding that one to the list.

Happy Thursday - hoping it's a good one!

>96 Crazymamie: Mamie! Why is it so hot? I'm having a heat stroke and it's November!

I am sick of the hot, Jenn. Usually it's at least ten degrees cooler right now. This is a crazy Fall.

I have a theory. This election is hell, ergo, the weather...

Good morning, Jenn! I read Kavalier and Clay many years ago and loved it. I listened to The Yiddish Policeman's Union and loved it too. Everything of his since then that I've tried I've put down..... ah well. Too many books, too little time, and I've decided that guilt is overrated.

Yup. It's raining here, just south of you too. I'm extremely glad our house painting was completed Tuesday. We had perfect weather, and now it's okay for it to rain.

We early voted last Saturday. I will be a greeter for my party at our polling place next Tuesday for 4 hours. In the meantime, I am trying to avoid the election. For a while I was a news junkie about it, but now it's just too painful and stressful.

>99 nittnut: Ha! That's probably it, Jenn!

>100 karenmarie: Rain is good Karen - unless,of course one has recently had a surfeit. I hope we get some soon. I voted early as well and am pretty much ignoring the news. Although, I am rather fascinated by what's going on in Utah. It adds some intellectual interest to a really dreary election.

>101 Crazymamie: interestingly, it is supposed to cool down a lot after Tuesday- in Greensboro - at least.

Sorry about any errors. I am on my phone. We are in Cincinnati for the weekend. We went to a BYU vs. Cincinnati football game, ate Cincinnati Chili, and best of all, visited the Cincinnati public library. Where I bought a book, of course. What a cool library! Photos will be posted next week.

>94 scaifea: see!? I should love Michale Chabon by that description! ;)

Happy weekend Jenn!

>103 LovingLit: Hi Megan. You should love Chabon, but who can account for the fickle nature of our affections? I have been working on Kavalier and Clay for a week and it's not awful, but I keep putting it down...

>104 The_Hibernator: Hi Rachel! Thanks :) It was a happy weekend. Now it's almost the next one. This week has really flown by. Thank goodness.

I am in some kind of a reading rut. Everything I am reading is just OK. I am super annoyed by the PHofTW author. His British is showing and his sentences are too involved. Basic Economics is just frustrating because it's so true and nobody seems to know it. Kavalier and Clay? Sigh. I don't know. I just keep putting it down. My kids are reading the Wings of Fire series out loud to each other, and I'm more interested in listening to that than reading my own book (Also note that I have big heart-eyes emoji that my kids are reading aloud to each other).

His British is showing? Lol. Thanks for that one. Feel free to share any ridiculously overlong sentences.
I just want to read something undemanding: must track down some rereads I think.

>106 charl08: Some examples of highly involved sentences, just for you Charlotte:

It was a civilization whose core, whether or not this was often articulated, lay in the belief in the promise of what can be done by manipulating nature: in principle, it believed that there is no problem which need be regarded as insoluble, given sufficient resources of intellect and money; it had room for the obscure, but not for the essentially mysterious.

and one more:

This showed most obviously in the problems posed to traditional religion, without doubt, but it also operated in a more subtle way; in determinisms such as those many men drew from thinking about Darwin, or through a relativism suggested by anthropology or the study of the human mind, science itself sapped the confidence in the values of objectivity and rationality which had been so important to it since the eighteenth century.

#122 The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay - AAC

Joe Kavalier escaped from Prague in a coffin and made his way to New York. There he partners with his cousin Sam to create comic books and fight the Nazi's through their hero and villain stories.

I really struggled with this book. The writing is good, possibly even great. The story is not bad. I just kept putting it down. Until this morning when I woke up feeling lousy with a head cold and decided to just finish it. It was just work. It's probably a factor of many things and not totally the author's fault. However, I don't think I'm going to be a Chabon fan.

Now I am going to go read something totally frivolous and try to get out of this rut. I can't believe I've only finished two books so far this month.

Sorry you're under the weather, Jenn. Frivolous is good for a cold. Feel better soon.

Those sentences remind me of some early essays of mine I found a few years ago when clearing out. Except those above are easier to read!

Hope you find something fun to read.

Feel better soon, Jenn. I love Chabon, but there were sections of K&C that I thought dragged. I learned WAY too much about the comic book business.

Just a quick Sunday stop by, I hope things are okay.

>110 karenmarie: Thanks Karen. :) I am feeling much better - 10 days later Lol.

>111 charl08: Ha Charlotte! I bet you are being nice. I thought I had saved some of the other examples, things I had to read three times to make sure I understood. Too many words! It's a little annoying because I begin to suspect they write like that in order to sound smart. Sigh.

>112 BLBera: Feeling better Beth, thank you. K&C did drag in spots, and sometimes I felt sympathetic to the characters and sometimes I was bored with them. And yes, I learned WAY too much about the comic book business.

>113 karenmarie: Hi again Karen. :) Things are fine. This was just an incredibly busy week. I've been on the go all day, every day. Kids to doctors to get well child checkups and update vaccinations, house hunting, volunteering at school and an op shop for battered women, all good stuff, but busy. It's good to be getting involved and have things to do though.

My youngest had his first basketball game this weekend. It was so fun. They had a pep rally Friday night (for the elementary school?!?) and the boys and girl on the team got to run out through a line of mini cheerleaders and everyone cheered. He LOVED it. They won their game too, which was happiness. Also, I finished a whole book. Wow. Short week coming up. Monday and Tuesday as usual and then off to Utah where everyone is gathering for a big family Thanksgiving. It will be so nice to see my parents. It's been almost 2 years since they visited us in NZ, and I haven't seen them since.

In case I don't drop by again for a few days (or more) have a lovely week. Happy Thanksgiving to my US friends!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours, Jenn. Good to hear you are being busy in a productive way.

#123 Knit the Season

This is another in a series about a knitting group. The first was really great, and the next was good too, but this one felt like one of those 2.5 novels in a series. Seasonal, filler, whatever. It was great for lying in bed with a head cold though.

#124 Den of Wolves

Third in the Blackthorn and Grim series, and hopefully not the last one. I really enjoy the adventures of the prickly wise woman, Blackthorn, and her very large and kind friend Grim.

I am 85% through PHofTW, and determined to finish it on the airplane. I am 50% through Basic Economics, and considering taking it too, but it's large and heavy, so...
Next on the fiction pile is either Everything We Keep or A Man Called Ove. Also, we are nearly done with MC Higgins the Great and I think the kids are enjoying it. It's definitely a slower read than some of the other Newbery books we've read, but it's good.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours, Jenn. Safe travels.

Have a great trip to Utah, Jenn, and happy Thanksgiving! I hope you have a lovely time seeing your parents.

Safe trip to Utah, Jenn, and have a lovely Thanksgiving with your family.

>114 nittnut: Now reading Middlemarch - crazy long sentences that make me wonder what I'm reading...

Safe travels, Jenn!

>105 nittnut: your kids are reading aloud to each other!?! *swoon*
Are you sure they aren't my long lost kids, born accidentally to another family? Maybe I accidentally have your long lost kids. Are you missing a couple of boys, perchance, whose only mission in life seems to be to physically hurt each other?!
*thinking through the international custody dramas*
Maybe we'll just work with what we have ;)

>114 nittnut: and a pep rally, although I have heard of one, is....what again?

>115 ronincats: Hi Roni - yes, I saw you there. :)

>117 BLBera:, >118 cushlareads:, >119 karenmarie: Thanks everyone. We are off at O'dark O'clock in the morning.

>120 charl08: I've been listening to it and I had to take a break because I found that I was not listening, A lot. Good luck. Lol

>121 katiekrug: Thanks Katie. What are you doing for the Thanksgiving?

>122 LovingLit: LOLOL. I don't know. Are you missing, perchance, a boy and a girl who read to each other, but eventually, someone is crying? Most days I am happy to work with what I have. Most days. ;)

A pep rally is when all the teams and the cheerleaders go to the gym and the families sit on the bleachers and the cheerleaders do cheers as the teams are introduced. Gets everyone revved up for the games later in the day or the next day. I've been to high school ones, but never ones for primary school. Possibly it's a bigger deal here in the South.

>123 nittnut: ooooh, that is what a pep rally is. Literally a pep. ;)
Makes sense, but a very foreign concept for me.

Tears seem to be the inevitable result from kids playing! It becomes more about how long you can make the bit before the tears last!

Since you're in Utah.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours, Jenn.

Hoping you are having fun with family. : )

>124 LovingLit: Exactly. Every extra no-tears minute is a gem.

>125 The_Hibernator: Love the goofy turkey Rachel, thanks!

>126 PaulCranswick: Thanks Paul. :)

>127 Berly: It's been a wonderful time Kimberly, thank you. :) I need to drop by your thread. It's been awhile. Hope your Thanksgiving was a good one.

#125 The Penguin History of the World by J.M. Roberts RAL with Mamie and Katie

Touchstones are being weird.

This is a broad-brush telling of world history, spanning pre-history to modern day events.
What I liked: the emphasis was more on events and connections than on dates and names. Occasionally a few more details would have been nice, but overall it was a good thing. I also liked the discussion of different parts of the world in the context of the same time period.
What I didn't like: The writing was often ponderous and the sentences were too long. The author sometimes got so involved in his vocabulary that he forgot to write a readable sentence. Also, the history was very Euro-centric. This is not necessarily a problem, if the point was to describe the effect of European culture on the rest of the world. However, occasionally, he came across as very patronizing (American Revloution, religion) which was annoying. There were also several chapters where the author was soliloquizing, delivering his interpretation of history or possible future that I didn't love.

Overall, it was a worthwhile read, especially for the broad overview and connections. It's a big job to write the whole history of the world.

#126 Everything We Keep - Abandoned

Not the book I thought it was - highly dramatic and overblown - abandoned for Doctor Thorne, which feels like a great choice.

We went to see Moana with the kiddos yesterday. It was fabulous. I can't put enough "heart-eyes" emoticons to describe how much I loved it. I am sure there will be those who find things to not like, but for me, Moana may edge Belle out of the favorite spot.

I thought I was further along in Basic Economics, but it turns out that I am reading the 4th edition, which adds about 200 pages. So, back down to 43%. I also started Doctor Thorne which is delightful so far.

Jenn, I would have sworn up and down that I dropped one of these here on Thanksgiving, but since it isn't up there, here you go--just a little belated.

>129 nittnut: - Congrats on finishing PHW! I have 100 pages left, so am on track to finish by the end of the year.

Everything We Keep was a book club pick a couple of months ago, and I couldn't finish it. From the spoiler-laden conversation at our meeting, I don't think I missed much!

Oh, good to hear that Moana is excellent! We're thinking of going with Charlie to see that one just after Christmas, when we're in Columbus and have access to a ginormous(ly fancy) theater...

>129 nittnut: More congrats from me on reading this all the way through. I'm terrible at reading all of these surveys - tend to cherry pick.

I hadn't heard of Moana. I like kids' films at the cinema, will have a look for this one.

The Penguin History of the World sounds intense. Touchstones are being weird. Great Expectations? Really?

>131 ronincats: LOL - Love it Roni :)

>132 katiekrug: I shall have to read your thread more closely - I remember that, now that you mention it. Oh well, it didn't take me long to realize it wasn't the book for me.

>133 scaifea: Loved it!

>134 charl08: I prefer to cherry pick as well, but sometimes it's good for me to muddle through a history from a different perspective. It sure was long though. Do go see Moana if you like Disney films. It's way better than Frozen, IMHO. *grin* A very strong female and no love interest!

>135 The_Hibernator: I know, right?

#127 The Smartest Kids in the World

I picked this up last night after a great conversation with my sister-in-law about the US education system.

Amanda Ripley became involved in writing about education reluctantly. Once she began, however, she found that there were important stories to tell and a compelling need to discover what caused the differences in educational results from school to school, state to state, and country to country. She followed three US exchange students to schools in three of the top ranking countries for education in the world and compared their experiences to each other, as well as to their US education experience. It is a quick and fascinating read, and while she doesn't pretend to have a lot of answers in the end, she does present some very good points. It's a great book to start an important and needed discussion about the future of education in the United States.

Hi Jenn - It sounds like you had a great Thanksgiving.

>137 nittnut: Yes, we do need to talk about education, especially with the upcoming administration. Vouchers, baby!

>138 BLBera: I'm a huge fan of vouchers. I also like the idea of making the requirements for entering a teacher education program more rigorous. And don't get me started on how much time kids spend SITTING at school with not enough outside time. Having my kids in New Zealand schools for three years was eye-opening. Oh boy do we all need to talk and find some good solutions. Leaving the politics out of it would be nice too, were it possible.

We had this for dinner, and it was soooo good.

http://www.thecomfortofcooking.com/?s=no+knead+crusty+artisan+bread

>137 nittnut: I read that last year or the year before and thought it was excellent. I think the point about rigorous criteria for entering training was the most important thing I took away from it. I am not a big fan of vouchers--after over 30 years in the elementary school system of one of the poorest cities in the country, and one that was committed to educating them at a high level, I think a voucher system will result in two-tier populace. Parents with money, drive, and time will go to private schools; parents working three jobs, unfamiliar with the system, or whacked out physically or emotionally will be unable to take advantage of the system, and kids that are difficult to educate will be bounced back to the public schools (saw it many times). And many of the charter schools around here are no more or even less effective at educating kids--they just don't have the same restrictions or accountability.

ETA and I forgot to mention the lack of choices in rural settings.

>141 ronincats: It's definitely not the only solution, but I like how it was working in Washington DC before they stopped it. We already have a two tier populace anyway, which has been made very clear to me since we moved and we've been house hunting. There is an very clear connection between cost of home and rating of school. It's sad, and there needs to be a very open discussion with no sacred cows and all ideas welcome, or it's not going to change, IMO.

I definitely agree with you there, Jenn.

The link between affluence and school quality makes me so mad. And I do wish the UK could somehow incorporate more running around into the school day like NZ.

I have heard of some great schemes though - a friend who taught at a rural school told me the teachers took the small children for short walks in the local countryside. Rather wonderful.

>129 nittnut: writing a history of the world would be a life project, I think! Pity this one was a bit off.

I would way that my kids run around at school than sit and "learn". Especially when they are in primary school (under the age of twelve).

>143 ronincats:, >144 charl08: Our hope was for our kids to have a more diverse group to attend school with. They are used to a pretty diverse crowd. Unfortunately, many "nice" areas with "good schools" in the US are very well to do and quite homogeneous. Not necessarily racially, but income-wise. I find it difficult to live in places where everyone has lots of money. Talk about living in a bubble. *eyeroll*

>145 LovingLit: Oh how we miss running around at school. I was talking to E's new pediatrician and he was in complete agreement. In fact, he sends his kids to a school that is half day of learning and half day of play. I wish we lived nearer that school. Things get serious plenty soon.

I watched Love and Friendship on the plane ride home last night. It was lots of fun. I also watched a little of The BFG, which was nice, but the book was magical and the film didn't quite do it for me.
We got in about 2 am this morning and I got about 4 hours of sleep and I've been going non-stop all day. Tomorrow I have a book haul to report.

I read a fab book by Peter Gray called.....I'm not sure what. Oh! It's called Free to Learn. It will make you want to move to Connecticut, which is where I think the school is that his child went to. A free play school. The graduates have had much life success, it seems.

>146 nittnut: I liked the BFG movie okay: the girl sort of irritated me, but the man who plays the giant is indeed magical, to my way of thinking. So it was half a hit and half a miss for me.

Love and Friendship was a lot of fun. Not sure how well it follows the novella, though.

>148 LovingLit: Play as a basis for future success. I like it! :)

>149 scaifea: I agree, the BFG guy was magical.

>150 The_Hibernator: I think it follows pretty well, but it's been 5 years or so since I read it. I thought they did a nice job translating all the letters into dialogue but staying true to the language.

Book Haul! This is a mixture of books I have ordered and a stop at a local used book shop over the last month.

Barnes and Noble


Book Depository, Amazon and Second hand shop - oh and the one on the top is from the Friendly Library shop at the Cincinnati Public Library.

Great haul! Loved the Backman books, especially Ove.

Oooooh pretty book piles!!

>152 charl08: The most books I've bought in several years. I am making up for lost time. Or something.

>153 LovingLit: Yes they are *grin*

I was going to visit around threads tonight but I'm shattered. We had a big Christmas party at church tonight, which I was in charge of. Let me tell you, it is no joke to try and put together a big shindig when you don't know anyone. But my committee was awesome and it all came together. We had about 150 people and several families did rooms with Christmas traditions from around the world.
We had Sweden, Latin America, Scotland, and best of all, Montegnard. There is a big group of Montegnard refugees in our area that our congregation sponsors and they came and did a display of their traditions and made food and showed their weaving and woodworking and things. So cool. Then we had Mexican food for dinner. People liked it. Only a few missed their traditional ham and potatoes. :)

I'm off to read Doctor Thorne until I fall asleep.

I agree with >153 LovingLit: - pretty book piles. Always a joy to look at.

My, my. You are certainly a very busy lady! It sounds like the Christmas Party at your church was fabulous.

Wait, didn't you just move there?! And you're already in charge of stuff?! Impressive, lady!

Woot! Sounds like a wonderful shindig at church, Jenn. Well done, you!

>155 karenmarie:, >156 scaifea:, >157 lit_chick: The party was good, I think it was a matter of put the new girl in charge and people can fuss at her if they don't like it, and I had good help. :) I should put it on my CV - knows how to feed a lot of people on a budget. What kind of job does that get me? I don't know. Lol

Almost done with Doctor Thorne, which is a wonderful book, and I have three books from the library whispering my name from the shelves. Nothing particular to do today, so I think it will be laundry, reading and a little baking. I might also do a little SantaThing shopping. The husband is off at Virginia Beach (poor guy) for corporate meetings all week, and while I do miss him, it means I can be lazy about cooking dinner (salad for me and pasta for the kids - every night lol) and I can leave my messy projects out. *grin*

Wow! Super-impressed at how you pulled off the church shindig!

>158 nittnut: I should put it on my CV - knows how to feed a lot of people on a budget. What kind of job does that get me?

Catering? School cafeteria manager?

Delighted to hear you are enjoying Doctor Thorne, Jenn. I love Trollope!

>159 ronincats: Ha! Thanks. Not without help though.

>160 thornton37814: Hmmm.

>161 lit_chick: I finished. I am loving it so much, I've sent the first three in the Barsetshire Chronicles to my mother for Christmas. I can't believe she hasn't read them. :)

#128 Doctor Thorne - DeweyCat 823

I thoroughly enjoyed this lovely little story. I particularly liked that the hero of the story was Doctor Thorne. He had a tough job, but he managed it well. There was a fun mix of social commentary and humor along with the sweetness of the love story, and it kept the story from becoming too sweet. Highly recommended.

I am a little over 60% through Basic Economics. At 11 pages a day, I am on track to finish by the end of the year. Hooray!
I am also starting The Body Artist tonight.

Just saying hi. I need to read some Trollope next year.

Good luck with the economics book, I have a few nonfiction that I intend to re-pickup and finish by year's end.

Wow. Way to go organizing such a bigparty.

>164 avatiakh: Hi Kerry - I hope you get time for Trollope. I have so enjoyed this series so far.

>165 The_Hibernator: Thanks Rachel. I hope you're having a great weekend!

#129 M.C. Higgins the Great - Newbery Winners

E - I liked MC Higgins. I liked the story. I liked how MC is the big strong kid of the family and takes care of his brothers and sister and plays rough with his dad. Every time it's his part of the story, he's doing something different.

M - MC Higgins the Great was kind of a weird book. I don't really know what it was about. The way MC would be thinking didn't make sense to me and I don't know what the point was. It did have some funny bits.

nittnut - I loved the language of this book. There was a sense of being plopped down into the story of this family at point C and being carried along to point Q, and then pulled out of the story. At first, it seems the story is about MC's mother, Banina. The relationship of the entire family to the mother is magical, and though she is not often in the story, she is hugely important. Really though, the story is about MC and how he is growing up and getting outside himself and life as he has known it. Early on, MC identifies a problem, and eventually, we know a solution was found, but only after a time of pondering - that the reader is not aware of. The story ends as MC and his family are implementing the solution, but we will never know how things turned out.

A couple of notes: I loved how both of my kids had totally different responses to the story. I also thought it was very interesting when about mid-story, I asked the kids to tell me what they knew about MC. They talked about him being strong and watching over his little brothers and sister, and helping his parents. They talked about his relationship with his father. Neither of them mentioned that MC was black.

#130 The Body Artist - AAC

Wow this was a weird book. I abandoned it about 75% of the way through, so I'm counting it, but I didn't like it at all. Maybe in another time or place I'd find something to it. Some of the interjections about birds were neat.

On to An American Childhood.

Jenn, I'm another Trollope fan :-) I've read the two main series and now I'm trying to read some of the standalone ones. I might have more success in 2017 if I can ignore the library...The Way We Live Now is excellent.

>169 susanj67: Hi Susan! I have seen the film (was it BBC?) of The Way We Live Now, and it was excellent.

I am almost at 75% through Basic Economics - Hooray!!
I am still listening to Middlemarch, but I think I like Barsetshire much better...
I am reading An American Childhood and liking it OK. It's a little philosophical or something, not the easiest read, but it's got flashes of wonderful.
Oops, and I started A Great Reckoning and that's pretty much the only thing I want to read now...

So, have winter coats been acquired from storage?!?!

>171 katiekrug: Yes ma'am. And only just in time. It was a lovely 50F today, but it's going to be 35F for a high tomorrow and the next day. I also found my gum boots and my sewing machines. Early Christmas!

Yay, and I loved the story of your gaining access to storage!

#131 A Great Reckoning

I loved A Great Reckoning. I have felt like something was missing in the last couple of books in the series. Good stories, but not great. A Great Reckoning seems to have all the elements I was missing. A moral question, some mystery about Gamache, and a side story involving the Three Pines folks, but not overwhelming the main story. The little bits about Jean-Guy and Annie are lovely too.
One of the poetic devices used multiple times in the telling of this tale was a crowd of faults. This epitomized to me the story of human nature that Louise Penny is always trying to tell. A room full of people is a crowd of faults. Gamache is required to look in on himself at what he is capable of and what he is willing or not willing to do, even in moments of great temptation or need. Forgiveness is always a main theme, and Gamache is able to lay down a load he has been carrying for many years.
A great read, and it seems to be implied that there will be more. Hooray!

>173 ronincats: Hi Roni. :)

Glad you loved A Great Reckoning. I don't know what I would do without a Louise Penny book every August!

^So true Amy - It's a nice treat to look forward to. I don't know how long she can keep them coming, but hopefully a few more years. This one had a lovely and poignant bit about her husband and Alzheimers at the back, did you read that?

Hi Jenn - Congrats on getting coats, boots, sewing machine.

Great comments on A Great Reckoning - I'm another Penny fan.

Have a great weekend. Stay warm.

Hi Beth. :) I think we will have better luck staying warm this weekend than the last two days. I know it's way colder up north, but my goodness it was cold the last two days. Perspective is everything. When we lived in Denver we would not have been bothered much by 17 degrees, but after 3 years in NZ, we are freezing. Thank goodness we got our coats. Lol

>177 nittnut:- Jenn - Yes, I read the note at the end of A Great Reckoning and was even more impressed by Penny's ability to write during such a difficult time. I follow her on Facebook and was so sad to see that her husband passed away shortly after the book was published.

Jenn, you know you're settled in when you get your first volunteer job. What a big undertaking, though. I'm glad it turned out well. I agree that A Great Reckoning was well, ummm, great!

>180 porch_reader: I also follow her on Facebook. It has been really sweet to see her care for her husband through his last year. Maybe the books give her something to focus on. She seems like a good person, which is a happy thing.

>181 Donna828: Lol Donna. At our church, it doesn't take long to get volunteered for something. It's a good way to meet people though.
A Great Reckoning was well, ummm, great! LOLOL

I read Auggie Wren's Christmas to my 10 year old tonight for a bedtime story. I wasn't sure what he would make of it, but he has a well developed sense of humor. He enjoyed it. He wanted more. I might do The Gift of the Magi tomorrow. This is also the first year we are going to watch It's a Wonderful Life with the kids.

Christmas is almost here! Jonah flies in tomorrow, and we have lots of fun planned for the next week. We are hanging around Greensboro until Friday, then we spend Friday and part of Saturday at the beach. It's one of my Christmas presents, so I do not know where we are going yet. Then we come home Saturday and open presents. Santa will still come Christmas morning, but Jonah has to fly back to Denver in the afternoon, so we wanted to do presents on Christmas Eve and ring up all our friends in NZ.

I have 100 pages left in Basic Economics. Hooray! I may try to finish it in the next couple of days, or not. We shall see.

I didn't know you could follow Ms. Penny on Facebook so thanks for sharing that info. She does seem like a lovely lady.

Your plans sound fun, Jenn! Hoping that your holidays are full of fabulous!

>182 nittnut: Someone else mentioned Auggie Wren's Christmas Story and provided a link to the audio version narrated by Auster himself. I just finished listening to it.

>151 nittnut: What a wonderful book haul!

>184 Crazymamie: Hi Reba :) I don't follow hardly anyone like that, but I found her openness about her husband's condition very refreshing.

>185 thornton37814: I listened to that last year Lori, isn't it fun?

>186 Whisper1: Hi Linda! I hope you are doing well. I am looking forward to photographing the Christmas book haul, all of ours, not just mine. :)

#132 An American Childhood - AAC

Annie Dillard grew up in Pittsburgh. This is a fun collection of memories written in essay form. Some are sweet, some are sad, and some are absolutely brilliant (Carnegie). I really enjoyed it.

#133 The Penderwicks at Point Mouette

I always love a good Penderwick tale, and this one did not disappoint. Jeanne Birdsall has a real knack for dealing with real human issues in a kind and compassionate way, and this tale is no exception. Loved it.

and (drum roll please)

#134 Basic Economics

I feel very satisfied to have completed this chunkster that has been on my list for several years.
Basic Economics is pretty much a textbook, and I wish it was the one I had been taught from in high school. Thomas Sowell is definitely smart and I imagine he's an excellent economist. He's an even better teacher. He also has the ability to write a difficult subject so that it is quite readable and understandable. He argues that economics is something we should all understand better, that thinking carefully about both the goals of economic policies and the incentives they create is vital to really knowing if something is going to be a good policy or not. I understand economics much better now, but I will be keeping this book handy.

>154 nittnut: well done on organising the church event! Seriously, being so new....they must have had faith in you!!
Reminds me....I was thinking about you today. My mum has started The Rehearsal by Eleanor Catton. I am going to start my copy soon so we can read along together.Thanks for the gift!

Economics....something we could all learn more about. I'd feel better armed in any political discussion with a better understanding!

Got library fines? Beware...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p96O7segLUw&t=7s

Happy holidays, Jenn.

>189 LovingLit: Hi Megan! Sounds fun to read a book with your mum. I never have. I should see if mine would be interested.

>191 BLBera: Thanks Beth!

Hi Jenn. I'm so sorry I haven't visited your thread sooner! I love the quote in >2 nittnut:.

And leaving this wish for the season....

>193 EBT1002: Hi Ellen! Lovely to see you here. What a gorgeous photo. I need to visit your thread too - I fear most of my visiting will be in January now, but I'm hoping to get around with Christmas wishes tonight. :)

Here is my Christmas wish to all of my friends here. Thank you for your time, your kind words and the books we enjoy together. However you celebrate, I wish for it to be full of joy.

Wouldn't it be nice if 2017 was a year of peace and goodwill.
A year where people set aside their religious and racial differences.
A year where intolerance is given short shrift.
A year where hatred is replaced by, at the very least, respect.
A year where those in need are not looked upon as a burden but as a blessing.
A year where the commonality of man and woman rises up against those who would seek to subvert and divide.
A year without bombs, or shootings, or beheadings, or rape, or abuse, or spite.

2017.

Festive Greetings and a few wishes from Malaysia!

Merry Christmas, Jenn, to you and yours ...

Happy Holidays to you and your family, Jenn.

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas Jenn! Have a great New Year!

Thank you for all the lovely Christmas wishes! We've had a very nice Christmas Eve.

Our son was meant to fly in on Tuesday, but his flight was cancelled and there was absolutely nothing offered by Frontier Airlines. So, we had to put him up in a hotel near the airport overnight, then buy a new ticket with a different airline. The cost of those shenanigans meant that we had to cancel our trip to the beach. But the important thing is, we did get our son home (late Wednesday) for Christmas. He has to leave tomorrow afternoon to get back for work, so a short visit, and presents on Christmas Eve.

After finishing Basic Economics I have felt the need for frivolity.

#135 A Turn in the Road
#136 Last One Home

I have also started City of Djinns.

Merry Christmas, Jenn!

This is the Christmas tree at the end of the Pacific Beach Pier here in San Diego, a Christmas tradition.

To all my friends here at Library Thing, I want you to know how much I value you and how much I wish you a very happy holiday, whatever one you celebrate, and the very best of New Years!

Merry Christmas Roni and Mamie!

Hi Jenn! A Belated Merry Christmas to you. I'm venturing out into the LT world again today, baby steps at first, and am going to draw another line in the sand and go forward on all the threads and friends I haven't had the heart to engage in and with lately. Appropriate oohs and aahs, and congratulations and so sorrys,..... but here's an Early Happy New Year to you and best wishes for all good things in 2017.

Belated Merry Wishes and early Happy Ones!

>205 karenmarie: I know how you feel Karen. At some point in this busy season, we have to just accept that catching up in the New Year is just fine. I hope your Christmas was peaceful and I'm looking forward to meeting up soon!

>206 Berly: Thank you Kimberly :)

A couple more books to report:

#137 A Christmas Carol

A favorite read at Christmas time, this time with the kiddos. Love it.

#138 Spindle

A clever retelling of Sleeping Beauty with a Middle Eastern flavor.

Still reading City of Djinns and we've started Maniac Magee for our Newbery book. I'm also reading another fluffy one by Debbie MacComber. I probably won't get my second 75, but I'm close enough. Lol

Happy New Year -

>207 nittnut: Ooh I have Spindle home from the library, I hadn't realised it was the sequel of sorts, I've read the first book.

I set up the ANZAC reading challenge for next year: http://www.librarything.com/topic/244630

>208 avatiakh: Hi Kerry, I read A Thousand Nights back in September, and then pre-ordered Spindle for my Kindle (I made a rhyme! lol) I always fall for the fairy-tale retelling. Usually they are pretty good. I've just started a new series about a cyborg Cinderella and so on, not totally my taste, but intriguing. They are YA and I like to keep up with options that my kids are likely to read.

#139 Starting Now

OK beach book - I realized about half way through that I'd probably read it before. Clearly it didn't make a big impression.

#140 Cinder

A different take on the fairy tale retelling. Cinder is a cyborg living in New Beijing after WW 4. She is about to find out her true identity and possibly start a new war. But will she dance with the prince at the ball?

#141 Scarlet

Introducing the Little Red Riding Hood who falls for the Wolf... thank goodness Cinder's adventures also continue, or we'd be in danger of cliche *she says sarcastically*.

#142 The Queen of Water

Laura Resau co-wrote this autobiographical tale with native Ecuadorian Maria Virginia Farinango. Virginia grew up poor in the Andes of Ecuador. She was sent to live with a well-to-do family as a maid. The people she worked for were abusive to her and she dreamed of a better life. She eventually was able to leave that family. She tells of how she managed to learn to read and gain her education, overcoming all the obstacles in her way.

I am reading Maniac Magee with the kids, City of Djinns on the treadmill, and listening to Middlemarch.

I got my Santa Thing books!! Super excited about them. :)

Woohoo, I'm listening to Circling the Sun right now! It's superb!

Ooh, nice haul - and happy new year.

Great lot of Santa books. I've read the Cinder series and love the 'Rapunzel' character in the third book.

Hi Jenn. I, too, read A Christmas Carol -- aloud! -- pretty much every year. It's a wonderful, comforting tradition.

Looking forward to your continued company in 2017.
Happy New Year, Jenn

Hi Jenn!

Reading Sarah Vowell is such a good way to get a great perspective on history in addition to giggling quite a bit too.

Happy New Year to you and your family!

>211 lit_chick: Hi Nancy, It's a great book, isn't it? I have read it before, but I didn't own a copy. Now I can grab it off the shelf sometime. Anytime. :)

>212 charl08: Happy New Year to you too Charlotte!

>213 avatiakh: Hi Kerry. They didn't have the third book at the library, but I'm hoping to get it on Tuesday when the library is open again.

>214 EBT1002: Hi Ellen. I'm a big fan of traditions. My family would rather watch the movie, they say, but they get caught up in the story quickly enough. :)

>215 PaulCranswick: Happy New Year Paul.

I'm off to work on setting up the new thread for 2017. Can't quite get my head around it...

>216 karenmarie: Hi there Karen! Happy New Year!

Oh yeah, One last book for the year:

#143 Garden Spells - re-read

Love the magical realism in this story. Fun read.

Nice book haul!! And...