Dudes22 (Betty's) 2017 Reading Quotes - Pt 2

With moving and everything, my reading has definitely suffered this year. Still I've enjoyed reading others' threads and am taking some BBs for next year.



Here I am all excited to start a new year of reading. My name is Betty and I’ve been a member of LT since Jan, 2008 so the beginning of 2017 will mark my 9th anniversary. I live in Rhode Island and am moving in the spring about ½ hour further south than where we live now. I really want to work on my series books, and my TBR pile (but I say that every year), and all those books I’ve wanted to read and haven’t gotten to, and all those book bullets….so no theme this year. And, despite the fact that the CATs and kits all sound so interesting, I’ve decided to limit myself to the Random Cat and the Bingo Dog, but I’m putting in a place for the Awards CAT just in case.

I seem to find that each book I read has one sentence that really reaches out to me, so I’ll be using quotes as my theme for this year

I set my goal at 100 books each year and I’d like 75 of those to come from my TBR pile.

1.

2. Tickers & Stats

Books Read:




Books from TBR Pile:




Books Added to TBR in:
2017: 15
2016: 9
2015: 7
2014: 1
2013: 4
2012: 1
2011: 5
2010: 4
2009:

JAN-FEB Books:

1. The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer
2. A Robot in the Garden by Deborah Install
3. Playing With Books by Jason Thompson
4. The Camel Club by David Baldacci
5. Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen
6. The Mothers by Brit Bennett
7. My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout
8. The Jasmine Moon Murder by Laura Childs
9. All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders
10. The Throwback Special by Chris Bachelder
11. A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler
12. The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri
13. The Talk Show Murders by Al Roker
14. Die Trying by Lee Child
15. The Bee's Kiss by Barbara Cleverly
16. Something Blue by Ann Hood
17. Make Me by Lee Child
18. Someone Else's Love Story by Joshilyn Jackson
19. Waking Kate by Sarah Addison Allen

MAR-APR Books:

20. Death Without Company by Craig Johnson
21. When Crickets Cry by Charles Martin
22. An Irish Country Courtship by Patrick Taylor
23. Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson
24. The Chili Queen by Sandra Dallas
25. Thereby Hangs a Tail by Spencer Quinn
26. Doc by Mary Doria Russell
27. The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith
28. Illumination in the Flatwoods: A Season with the Wild Turkey by Joe Hutto
29. The Sweet Life in Paris by David Lebovitz
30. The Black Ice by Michael Connelly

MAY-JUN Books:

DNF: Murder in the South of France by Susan Kiernan-Lewis
31. The Bells of Burracombe by Lilian Harry
32. How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny
33. Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult
34. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
35. The Hundred Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais
36. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
37. Kindness Goes Unpunished by Craig Johnson
38. Tripwire by Lee Child
39. The Turner House by Angela Flournoy

JUL-AUG Books:

40. Chamomile Mourning by Laura Childs
41. The Double Comfort Safari Club by Alexander McCall Smith
42. West With the Wind by Beryl Markham
DNF: Icing on the Cake by Laura Castro
43. Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
44. The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
45. The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
46. Katie Up and Down the Hall by Glen Plaskin
47. Matchup edited by Lee Child
48. Blood Orange Brewing by Laura Childs
49. Dragonwell Dead by Laura Childs
50. Band of Sisters by Cathy Gohlke

SEP-OCT Books:

51. The Little Old Lady Who Broke All the Rules by Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg
52. Running Blind by Lee Child
53. Echo Burning by Lee Child
54. Safe House by Nicci French
55. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
56. Night by Elie Wiesel
57. Without Fail by Lee Child
58. Never Let Me Go by Kazou Ishiguro
59. The Secret Lives of Dresses by Erin McKean

NOV-DEC Books:

60. The Cookbook Collector by Allegra Goodman
61. Persuader by Lee Child
62. A Christmas Guest by Anne Perry
63. A Christmas Secret by Anne Perry
64. The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party by Alexander McCall Smith

RANDOM CAT:

Jan: A Robot in the Garden by Deborah Install (Search & Rescue)
Feb: The Bee's Kiss by Barbara Cleverly (Yours, Ours and Mine)
Someone Else's Love Story by Joshilyn Jackson
Mar: An Irish Country Courtship by Patrick Taylor (Luck O' the Irish)
Apr: Doc by Mary Doria Russell (Love in the Stacks)
The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith
Illumination in the Flatwoods: A Season with the Wild Turkey by Joe Hutto
May: (connection to mom)
Jun: The Hundred Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais (into the unknown)
Jul: (Let's Celebrate)
Aug: Katie Up and Down the Hall by Glenn Plaskin (Animal Kingdom)
Sep: Safe House by Nicci French (Catching Up)
Oct: Night by Elie Wiesel (Turn on the Dark)
Nov:
Dec:

BINGO DOG:



Bingo Wiki: http://www.librarything.com/wiki/index.php/2017_BingoDOG

1. A Satire: Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
2. Set in a Country You've Never Been: An Irish Country Courtship by Patrick Taylor
3. Color in Title: A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler
4. Set in a Place You Want to Visit: West With the Wind by Beryl Markham
5. One Word Title: Tripwire by Lee Child
6. Author Uses Initials: The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
7. Appeals to the Senses:
8. Published from 1940's - 1960's
9. Made into a Movie: The Hundred Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais
10. Short Stories: Matchup edited by Lee Child
11. Book About Books: Playing With Books by Jason Thompson
12. Title Refers to Another Literary Work:
13. Read A Cat: The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer
14. Author Shares Your First and Last Initial: Night by Elie Wiesel
15. Owned More Than 5 Years: Katie Up and Down the Hall by Glenn Plaskin
16. Science Related:
17. Author Born in the 1930's:
18. Author Abroad: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
19. Author Born/Published in 1917:
20. Debut Work: The Secret Lives of Dresses by Erin McKean
21. Book or Title About an Animal: The Camel Club by David Baldacci
22. Place Name in Title: The Sweet Life in Paris by David Lebovitz
23. Set in a Beach Community or Resort: Blood Orange Brewing by Laura Childs
24. Set in a Time Before You Were Born: The Chili Queen by Sandra Dallas
25. Next Book in a Series: How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny

AWARDS CAT:

Jan: The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer - Costa 2013 First Novel
Feb: The Throwback Special by Chris Bachelder - TOB 2017 shortlist
Feb: All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jan Anders - TOB 2017 shortlist
Feb: A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler - TOB 2016 shortlist
Mar: Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson - 2007 Newbery Honors
Mar: The Chili Queen by Sandra Dallas - 2003 Spur Award
Apr: The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah - 2017 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award longlist
May: How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny - 2014 Edgar Nominee
Jun: The Turner House by Angela Flournoy - 2015 NBA fiction finalist
Jul: Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple - 2013 Bailey's shortlist
Aug: The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman - Miles Franklin 2013 longlist
Oct: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro - 2017 Nobel Prize for Liturature

So at the halfway mark of the year, I've started to think about next year already. Have a couple of ideas percolating.

Happy new thread, Betty. Glad to know I am not the only one who is already thinking about next year!

Happy new thread, Betty. That kitty picture is awesome. And I have just had a great idea for next year's challenge.

>14 DeltaQueen50: - I've had a couple of ideas in previous years that I didn't use and I just jot them down as I think of them and then see how they might fit into my reading plans when it gets closer to the next year.

>15 MissWatson: - Glad to help!

Well I didn't think I'd be finishing any books before 1 Jul, but a preview of the next book fooled me and I managed to finish one last night. The book I'm reading for the Award Cat isn't keeping my interest, so I'm debating whether to abandon or keep going. I'm about 1/2 way through, so --- we'll see.

Book 38: Tripwire by Lee Child
Bingo Block: Book With One Word Title

Book Quote:
"People live, and then they die, and as long as they do both things properly, there's nothing much to regret."

Another book in the Jack Reacher series. This time he's trying to find out the truth about a man who was killed in Vietnam. I have to say that there were parts in the middle that skeeved me out a bit. Had to put it down and come back to it. I kind of had a general idea where this was headed - no spoilers. I know I've been told that these don't have to be read in order, but there is a bit of a cliff-hanger at the end in his personal life that I hope is resolved - or at least gets mentioned in the next book.

Lovely new thread to go with your lovely new home!

Happy New thread!

>18 RidgewayGirl: - >19 VictoriaPL: - Thanks you guys.

Book 39: The Turner House by Angela Flournoy
Jun Award: National Book Award 2015 fiction finalist

Book Quote:
"Here is the truth about self-discovery: it is never without cost."

This actually came across my radar during last year's Tournament of Books but I didn't get it read last year. So when I saw it on the NBA list, I thought I'd finally get to it.

If you read the flyleaf for this book, the implication is that the Turner family is getting together to decide what to do about the family home. But this is actually hardly about that at all. It's more a story about the family itself. It tells how the parents came to Detroit from Arkansas and raised 13 children. And it tells about the story of a few of the children. I have to admit that I got about halfway through and thought about quitting as it wasn't striking me as anything special. But I persevered and ended up liking it a little bit more. I thought the writing was very good especially for a first novel and I will read more by the author.

Book 40: Chamomile Mourning by Laura Childs

Next up for me in the Tea Shop cozy mystery series. I love the tea and food in these books. The mystery was ok.

>21 dudes22: I might give that one a try. It's available at my library in print, ebook, and audiobook.

Happy new thread, Betty! the picture of the cats in the bookcase (your Random Cats pic) makes me smile everytime I see it.

>23 thornton37814: - hope you enjoy it, Lori.

>24 lkernagh: - I used the same picture a couple of years ago. I thought the different colored kitties were "random" - and a bookcase.

Book 41: The Double Comfort Safari Club by Alexander McCall Smith

Another installment in the No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. When Mma Makutsi's fiancé has a serious accident, she must deal with his difficult aunt. And Mma Ramotswe gets a letter from America with a job for her agency. Another feel-good story.

>26 dudes22: - I am looking forward to reading that on in November. ;-)

Book 42: West With the Wind by Beryl Markham
Bingo Block: Set in a place you want to visit

Book Quote:
"It is really this that makes death so hard - curiosity unsatisfied."

"It is not only a land; it is an entity born of one man's hope and another man's fancy"

I took a BB from VivienneR for this book earlier in the year and I'm so glad I did. The top thing on my bucket list has always been to go on safari in Africa, but I don't think that will ever happen (especially with some of the situations there now.)

I was so impressed with the quality of the writing in this book. I know she was just writing stories of what had happened in her life, but it so made me want to know more. And she lived @ 50 more years after she wrote this and I want to know what her life was like after this book.

ETA: But the Africa of this book is long gone.

I'm so glad you enjoyed Markham's book. I loved it!

I have to add that after reading this, I didn't care for Circling the Sun by Paula McLain.

>29 VivienneR:,>28 dudes22: You may have read Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen, but if not you should. There is some emotion, and I'm having trouble naming it, that I felt knowing I was reading books written by women who were in love with the same man during the time of the story they were telling.

Though I did like Beryl Markham's books, for my penny Dinesen is the better writer.

>29 VivienneR: - I loved it too! I'll probably try Circling the Sun at some point in time, but we'll see.

>30 clue: - I've had that on my shelf for absolutely ages. I really must get to it.

I also have Too Close to the Sun: The Audacious Life and Times of Denys Finch Hatton by Sara Wheeler in my TBR.

I have decide to abandon Icing on the Cake by Laura Castro which was to be my book for the Random this month. I just couldn't enjoy it. Chick lit but not done well in my opinion.

>30 clue: & >31 dudes22: I have read Out of Africa but it was a long time ago, and while reading Markham's book I didn't notice that the same men were in both. On a recommendation here on LT, I have added Straight on till morning : the biography of Beryl Markham by Mary S. Lovell to my wishlist.

Book 43: Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
Jul Award: 2013 Bailey's Shortlist
BINGO block: A satire

I remember a few years ago when this was a book that had a lot of buzz. And now that I've finally gotten to it, I can see why. I enjoyed the different, quirky family and the way the daughter wrote about what happened.

Book 44: The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
Aug Award: Miles Franklin 2013 longlist
BINGO block: Author uses initials

This is the book that the 2016 movie was based on. I haven't seen it so I can't say how they compare. But a lot of the book is internal and I'm not sure how that would translate in a movie. Good book.

>33 VivienneR: Straight On Till Morning is very good too. The "men" is only one man, Denys Finch Hatton. While in a long-term love affair with Blixen (Isak Dinesen) he also entered an affair with Beryl Markham.

Book 45: The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

Jack and Mabel have come to Alaska in 1920 to homestead after many years of unhappiness in Pennsylvania. When the first snowfall arrives, they go outside and build a girl snowman, decorating it with a scarf and mittens and Jack carves a face. The next morning the snow girl is gone. This is the beginning of the story of Jack, Mabel and the young girl they befriend.

I took a BB on this book from Judy (DQ) back in 2015 and I'm sorry it took me so long to get to it. Like her, I too was drawn into the book. The descriptions of life in Alaska were ... ok, I've got no word. Based on a Russian fairy tale, it sort of reads like a fairy tale, but not. Anyway, one of my top reads this year.

>37 dudes22: I loved this too. Take a look at her second book To the Bright Edge of the World. I thought It was just as good but it's very different.

I'm so glad that you fell in love with The Snow Child as well. I am looking forward to getting to her second book, but trying not to have too high an expectation. :)

>38 clue: - >39 DeltaQueen50: - I'll have to try that one as well.

Book 46: Katie Up and Down the Hall: The True Story of How One Dog Turned Five Neighbors into a Family by Glenn Plaskin
Aug Random: Animal Kingdom
BINGO block: Owned more than 5 years

The author's dog Katie is the subject of this book about her life and how she brought the neighbors in his building closer. Something about the writing just didn't draw me in.

>38 clue:, >39 DeltaQueen50:, >40 dudes22: - I just signed up for the book giveaway on Goodreads for both of these books. Doubt I'll win but it's fun to hope.

>42 LittleTaiko: - Hope you get it.

Book 47: Matchup edited by Lee Child

BINGO Block: Short Stories

I decided to read this book because of a book review in the local Sunday paper. In reading the intro, I discovered that there is a group called the "International Thrill Writers" which I've never heard of. Instead of having dues, they publish a book of short stories every few years.

This time they have paired up a female and male author and had them combine their characters into a short story. I enjoyed all of them. My favorite was the story written by Lee Child and Kathy Reichs. Probably because I've read both authors and am familiar with the characters and enjoy them individually. Some others I had read one of them and there were a couple where I had read neither. My least favorite was the "paranormal" one, but I don't read much of that genre anyway, and yet, I still enjoyed it.

Now I need to go back and read some of the other anthologies. There's even an audio one.

Book 48: Blood Orange Brewing by Laura Childs
BINGO Block: Set in a breach community/resort (Charleston)

Another book in the Tea Shop mystery series. Pretty standard format: someone dies, Theodosia gets involved, another person is killed, couple of red herrings.....
The only thing that I found disconcerting was when her dog got kidnapped and it seems like they just closed the tea shop. Didn't say that but everyone was helping to find the dog.

>37 dudes22: - Like you, I also took a BB for that book from Judy, but unlike you, I still haven't gotten around to reading it. Must find the time to rectify that oversight! Great review.

Book 49: Dragonwell Dead by Laura Childs

Always a plethora of suspects although I had an idea of why the person was killed (if not by whom) rather early in the book.

>46 lkernagh: - It was very good, Lori. I was sorry I hadn't gotten to it sooner.

Book 50: Band of Sisters by Cathy Gohlke

This story takes place in the early 1900s. Two sisters, Maureen and Katie Rose leave Ireland and emigrate to the US through Ellis Island. Maureen had been taken advantage of by the Lord of the Castle and when her mother dies, it is decided that both girls will leave for America. Maureen carries with her a letter that her father had gotten many years ago from a man he knew in the Civil War and she is hoping to use it as an introduction and be able to request help in America. When she gets there, she finds out the man has died and the son-in-law destroys the letter and casts her out. She manages to get a job at a local department store and eventually realizes that something disturbing is happening.

Meanwhile the daughter Olivia decides to read her father's journal and discovers that the letter was genuine. She decides to try and find Maureen and help her.

I ended up enjoying the book a lot although there were places where I was extremely annoyed with both sisters. The author explored the way women were treated in the early 1900s and how they were often taken advantage of.

Glad you are still enjoying the Tea Shop series. I love them for the Charleston setting, but I love the characters and reading about the teas.

Making note of the Gohlke book.

>50 thornton37814: - I totally agree!

> 51 - I thought it was good enough to pass along to a friend. If you like historical novels, it's a good one.

Trying to fit in a few notes before the football game starts:



Book 51: The Little Old Lady Who Broke All the Rules by Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg

I took a BB from mysterymax on the second book in this series and thought I should read the first one first. It's a cute story about 5 people who live in an old folks home where the management is trying to cut costs and services to make more money. They decide to commit a crime and get put in jail because the conditions are better in jail according to a documentary they saw on TV. Rather far-fetched, but cute.



Book 52: Running Blind by Lee Child

Another book in the Jack Reacher series. This time he's picked up by the FBI because their profiler thinks he might be a killer of women he came into contact with when he was still in the Army. Once he convinces them it's not him, he goes to work for them to help them find the killer.

I'm kind of in a reading funk right now. I started Possession by A.S. Byatt for the Sept awards Cat and gave up after a little bit. Then I started The Gathering by Anne Enright (also for the awards Cat) and gave that up after about a third also. I decided to pull another Jack Reacher story from my TBR as those always seem to keep my interest and so far it's working. I may just read books from my series for a while.

Hope you are able to overthrow that dreaded funk, Betty.

>53 dudes22: The old lady book sounds like a fun plot even if it is far-fetched.

>55 DeltaQueen50: - I'm sure, Judy, that I'll get out of it eventually. RL also has me a little down too, but I know things will straighten out and be fine.

>56 thornton37814: - It really was, Lori - fun and far-fetched. There's a sequel which I'll read eventually.

Book 53: Echo Burning by Lee Child

Even though I've been told by many people that the Jack Reacher books don't need to be read in order, I'm reading them in publication order - it's the type 'A' in me. And I'm not very far in yet as this is book #5. But this was my least favorite book so far.

After getting in a fight in a bar the night before, Jack has to escape out his motel window when the cops show up and he realizes that the guy was a cop. He gets picked up by a woman who eventually tells him that she wants to hire him to kill her husband who abused her before he went to prison for tax evasion. Now he's about to get out and she assumes he will go back to abusing her. Although Jack refuses to kill the husband, he agrees to help her. I think it just didn't feel very "Jack Reacher" at the beginning, but eventually it came around as Jack begins to figure out what's really going on.

Book 54: Safe House by Nicci French
Sept Random: Catching Up

I must say that I really wanted to like this book better than I did. It seemed to be very slow at the beginning and then I thought the plot twist was somewhat contrived. I couldn't figure out why the ending was 100 pages before the end and I figured out even before then what the real plot twist was going to be. So, overall, not that satisfactory. So in a nutshell:

"The police want Samantha, a doctor specializing in post-traumatic stress disorder, to take in Fiona Mackenzie, a girl whose parents have been savagely murdered. Yet by allowing Fiona in, Sam is exposing herself to risks she couldn't have possibly imagined."?

Book 55: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
BINGO Block: Author Abroad

During WWII, nine-year-old Bruno returns home to find the maid Maria packing his clothes. He and his family are to move from Berlin to "Out-With" where his father has a new, very important job. Bruno doesn't want to go and leave his friends in Berlin, but he has no choice. There's very little to do when they reach "Out-With", but eventually Bruno goes out and decides to walk along the fence which faces his bedroom window. He comes to a place where there is a boy his age on the other side in striped pajamas and they form a friendship of sorts.

This was quite a good book although you could tell you couldn't really believe it would end well even though it is fiction. I really can't imagine how they managed to make a movie from it.

>58 dudes22: Echo Burning was my first experience with Lee Child and I became an instant fan. If you regard it as your least favourite, I'm looking forward to reading more.

>61 VivienneR: - I've only read 5, so that's not a lot to go on. And it wasn't bad - I just didn't like the person he was supposed to be helping all that much.

Book 56: Night By Elie Wiesel
October Random: Turn on the Dark
BINGO Block: Author shares first and last initials

This is a heart-breaking tale of the time Elie Wiesel spent in a concentration camp during WWII.

Book 57: Without Fail by Lee Child

I liked this Jack Reacher better than the last I read. Jack is approached by his brother's old girlfriend, who works for the Secret Service, to help them. She is the head of the Vice President elect's detail and there have been threats made against him. She wants Jack to see if he can find holes in their protection - which of course he does. So he is then hired as a consultant to help them find the threat.

>64 dudes22: I have this on my wishlist, but there are 29 holds on the title at the library so it might be a while before I get to it. Luckily I have other Jack Reachers on the tbr pile to keep me reading while I wait.

>65 VivienneR: - I know people have said that you don't have to read them in order, but I decided I would anyway. Luckily I have most of them in my TBR from when my husband was on a Lee Child kick and I managed to find them at library sales.

So - Fri night I turned my computer off and Sat morning it wouldn’t turn on. Yuck!! So tomorrow I’ll have to see about if it can be fixed or not. What a pain!

I hope you are back on-line soon, Betty.

Me too!

This is going to sound so silly, but when I took my computer in to be fixed all the guy did was push the power button for a count of 5 and it turned on. I swear I tried that. Multiple times. Talk about how to feel embarrassed.

>70 dudes22: In German, we call this the "Vorführeffekt", the presentation effect. Whenever you want to show people how something works, the minute you do it with an audience it will not do what it's supposed to do. The same with malfunctions, as soon as you demonstrate it to the repairman, it works perfectly.

>71 MissWatson: - SO true!

>70 dudes22: I understand that perfectly. I got a new tv, didn't like it, gave it to my son and went back to the old tv. But now it would not play a dvd. I checked everything every day for a couple of weeks, thinking I may have missed something. Nope! No dvd would play. A friend was visiting and I happened to mention this. He stuck a dvd in, and Voila! it played without a hitch.

>73 VivienneR: - It was probably punishing you for trying to replace it. :)

Book 58: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Oct Award: 2017 Nobel prize for Literature

I wasn't sure what I was going to read for this month's award Cat when I heard that Kazuo Ishiguro had won the 2017 Nobel Prize for Literature. And I thought I might have one of his books in my TBR pile. Sure enough, and it has been there since way back when I was entering all my unread books back in 2010. So I may have had it even longer than that. I found the book very interesting and wonder what other gems may be languishing in my TBR pile.

There are tons of reviews for this book here on LT and I don't want to give anything away. The book read just like someone who was telling you a story, sometimes retreating back to explain something or moving to the side to explain something that was going on and why it was important. The story is about 3 individuals who are at a special school and their relationship there and after. Although I sometimes thought I wanted to know more about the reason they were there and why, in the long run, I'm glad it was only referred to and rather obliquely at that. Those of you who have read it, know what I'm talking about. I'm looking forward to reading more by this author.

Book 59: The Secret Lives of Dresses by Erin McKean
Bingo Block: Debut Novel

Dora, who is about to finish college, still has no idea of what she really wants to do. But when her grandmother has a stroke and Dora must go home, she also steps in to run her grandmother's vintage clothing store. Almost all the clothes have secret stories associated with them and this help to make the book a little more interesting than the average chick-lit.

>75 dudes22: I recently read a book that had been living on my tbr shelf for actual decades (plural!) and I loved it. It does provide a push to get to the dustiest corners of the tbr, doesn't it?

>77 RidgewayGirl: I still have a number on my TBR that I entered when I started on LT and who knows how long I had them before that.

The storm here in the Northeast last Sun left us with no internet, cable or phone for the past three days. At least it's finally fixed. But my hubby had put up an antenna when we moved here, so we had a few channels in the bedroom. At least we could watch the news.

Book 60: The Cookbook Collector by Allegra Goodman

The back cover of the book I read said this was "a modern take on Sense and Sensibility" which I also saw in a couple of reviews I read. But ...(an I can already hear those gasps of horror)...since I don't remember ever reading Sense and Sensibility, I mention it only for those of you who enjoy reading modern takes on Jane Austin.

I have conflicting thoughts on this book. At first, I wasn't even sure I was going to finish it because I found it kind of slow and I didn't find the main characters all that interesting or likable. I kept reading because I wanted to see where the book title came into the book. Which was the most interesting part of the book for me. But, as interesting as that part was, it seemed odd to me that that was where the title came from. I felt that there were two (or three) very different stories being told with only a very thin thread between them so that I didn't find the book all that cohesive.

Stopping by to get caught up and taking a BB for the Wiesel book.

Oh no on computer woes and how annoying that it decided to work just fine for the repair technician. That is like my sister's car. She took it in because it was making a loud noise that the service station could not replicate until my sister suggested that they leave the car overnight and then test drive it first thing in the morning when engine was good and cold. They did that and sure enough, it made the noise for the mechanic. Something to do with her manual transmission. ;-)

>80 dudes22: - When I saw the title I thought, that sounds like me. I seem to collect cookbooks and then find all of my recipes online. Good to see the story is something different, even if you had conflicting thoughts about it.

>37 dudes22: I loved The Snow Child too. Very atmospheric.

>75 dudes22: I know what you're talking about. I was not expecting how it turned out.

I'm all caught up with you know. The end of the year is frighteningly near, isn't it?

Book 61: Persuader by Lee Child

Another book in the Jack Reacher series. This time he's helping a DEA agent who has an agent undercover off the books find her and get her back. Seems there's still a guy from Reacher's past who might also be involved and not dead as Reacher thought. There were a couple of particularly gruesome scenes, more than I've found in his books so far.

>81 lkernagh: - Actually, Lori, the part about the collector was the best part of the book.

>82 mamzel: - I am looking forward to reading some more books by Ishiguro. And yes - the end of the year is too near.

Hi Betty, I hope you are enjoying your first Thanksgiving in your new house. Have a lovely holiday!

>85 DeltaQueen50: - Thanks, Judy. It was very quiet - just me and the hubs this year. Then off to my sisters later in the day. Now I'm getting excited about decorating for Christmas.

I've finally got my 2018 thread set up over here:

https://www.librarything.com/topic/276163

Book 62: A Christmas Guest by Anne Perry

Another book in Anne Perry's Christmas Victorian mystery series. I like to read one or two of these each year, until I catch up anyway.

Book 63: A Christmas Secret by Anne Perry

Another Christmas Anne Perry Book. A young minister and his wife are filling in for the vicar in a small village when they find his body in the basement.

I'm still working on /reading my Nov Random book Turn Right at Machu Picchu: Rediscovering the Lost City One Step at a Time and probably will be till the end of the year. In 2011, the author decided to recreate the travels of Hiram Bingham who discovered Machu Picchu in 1911. Even though it's interesting, I'm not having a lot of time to read. There are a couple of maps at the beginning which helps to follow where they are traveling. And because it's non-fiction it seems to read slower than fiction. So when I went to the library the other day, I picked up the next book in the Ladies Detective series for something light to read if I get a chance.

>90 dudes22: Some non-fiction reads faster than others. That one was sluggish for me too when I read it back whenever I did.

>90 dudes22: I have that on my shelf. I started it earlier in the year but couldn't give it the time I though it deserved. I did like it, just couldn't stick with it. Next year hopefully.

>91 thornton37814: - I think it's partly all the unfamiliar place names. Plus I keep flipping between the maps and the pictures to see if it helps me keep track of where they are.

>92 clue: - It is interesting when you get to it.

I bought my last 2 gifts today. All my cookie trays are put together. I should be able to finishing my wrapping tomorrow. So that will leave just a little bit of shopping once I decide what vegetable I want to make for Christmas dinner. The extra week this year because Thanksgiving was early really helped me out. Now I can sit back, enjoy my tree, read, drink eggnog and eat some cookies. This year I made 16 different kinds (including two vegan) for a little over 700 cookies. And there were a couple I never did because I realized I had enough. I always worry there won't be enough and keeping making more. I always have more than enough and will be putting some in the freezer for later.

We're having a little neighborhood get-together tonight just after sunset with a small "bonfire" and some hot cider to celebrate the winter solstice.

Wow, Betty you are so organized! I am almost there. I have to brave the grocery store today and then again on Saturday, and finish up some gift wrapping, also laundry and packing need to be done as I am off to see my Mom on the day after Christmas. We should be done early enough on Sunday that I can still spend a little time lazing by the tree with a book in my hands. :)

Oh damn! I forgot about laundry.

>96 dudes22: :)

The best thing about laundry, is that you can start a load and then go read a book.

700 cookies, wow! I maybe managed 150 or so. Which is already much more than last year. :D

Hi Betty, stopping by to wish you and your loved ones peace, joy and happiness this holiday season and for 2018!

Hope you have a very merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Betty!

In case I don't get to your thread: To all my friends and reading buddies here on LT: for whatever holiday you may be celebrating:

>104 dudes22: Thank you, and Merry Christmas!

Happy Christmas, Betty. The first one in your new home!

>106 RidgewayGirl: - Yes it was. And a good one. My sister always comes for dinner and my step-daughter started coming last year (her children go to their step-sisters) and we invited a couple who lives a few houses away and don't have any family in the area, It was a wonderful dinner. We still have a few family events next weekend, but a quiet week in-between so some time to settle in with a book or to get some quilting done.

Book 64: The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party by Alexander McCall Smith

Another book in Smith's No 1 Ladies Detective Agency. This time there are still problems for Mma Ramotswe to solve as plans continue for Grace Makutsi's wedding.

This will be the last book I finish this year, I'm sure. Christmas in our families tends to spread out and so there are still two more Christmases this weekend.

I fell short of my goal this year, but I'm not surprised with the move taking up a lot of time. On the good side, a little over 70% of them were from my TBR pile. I'm hoping that I'll finish my November Random Cat book early in Jan.

>109 dudes22: I'll finish the Bible and one or two more. I'll be over 140, but not to 150.

And here are my top 5 for this year:

When Crickets Cry by Charles Martin
How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
West With the Night by Beryl Markham
Night by Elie Wiesel

I'm pretty sure the two of those I've read were in my top reads the year I read them.

Oh - and here are my meme answers for this year:

Describe yourself: The Nightingale
Describe how you feel: Never Let Me Go
Describe where you currently live: The Turner House
If you could go anywhere, where would you go: West with the Night
Your favorite form of transportation: A Robot in the Garden
Your best friend is: The Little Old Lady Who Broke All the Rules
You and your friends are: Band of Sisters
What’s the weather like: The Black Ice
You fear: Night
What is the best advice you have to give: Kindness Goes Unpunished
Thought for the day: Turn Right at Machu Picchu
How I would like to die: Playing With Books
My soul’s present condition: Running Blind

I haven't quite finished Turn Right at Machu Picchu, but it was such a good answer, I had to use it.

>114 dudes22: Great answers!

The Snow Child is on reserve at the library for me and I keep meaning to read Night. Looking forward to your 2018 reading!

Ooh, great answers! I like the best friend one and the going anywhere one especially.

>115 thornton37814: - Thanks, Lori. Looking forward to starting 2018.

>116 japaul22: - HI Jennifer - Hope you get The Snow Child soon. It was a good book. I can't believe how long I waited to read Night. I kept meaning to, but then didn't.

>117 rabbitprincess: - Thanks, rp. It's nice when the books fit the meme. I've had years when it was tough.