Clue Relaxes in 2024
Forum2024 ROOT Challenge
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1clue
This is my ninth year here and I've made no progress whatsoever on my TBR. I'd probably have more on the shelves than I do now if I weren't here though.
The goal for this year is to relax and just enjoy reading. The last few years my goal to reduce my TBR has been 40 and it hasn't helped a whole lot but it's a reasonable number, last year about 60% of what I read.
3clue
JANUARY
1. A Guide to the Birds of East Africa by Nicholas Drayson 4*
The story takes place in Kenya where Mr. Malik, now retired, takes part in a weekly bird-walk. It has caused him to learn alot about Kenya's birds and he always looks forward to the next week's walk. In truth he's had a longtime crush on the leader, Rose Mbikwa.
To shy Mr. Malik's dismay one day the handsome, wealthy and oh- so-sure-of-himself Harry Khan shows up for the walk. Khan was a classmate of Mr. Malik, and was his tormentor. It doesn't take long for both men to reveal they will be asking Rose to the social event of the year held by Mr. Malik's club. Other members get involved and create a bird related contest to reduce the two suitors to one.
2.The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman 3.5*
In the fourth book in A Thursday Murder Club Mystery series it seems Osman may be preparing for the longevity of the series. Elizabeth, the informal leader of the group, is not the planner in solving this crime, instead Joyce comes into her own and uses what she has learned from Elizabeth to be the leader.
The mystery revolves around the murder of an antique dealer and a missing shipment of heroin in an antiquarian box. There are several new characters although most didn't survive the plot, but there is one in particular that may be carried forward as a member of the group. I think the story was a little cluttered but still fun.
3. Person or Person's Unknown by Bruce Alexander 4.0*
This is the 4th book in the Sir John Fielding Mystery series. Sir John Fielding is a magistrate, blind, and the founder of the Bow Sreet Runners, London's first police force. Prostitutes are being killed, bodies sometimes mutilated, sometimes not. Jeremy Proctor, the ward Sir John and his wife took into their home several years before, is given some responsibilities with the investigation for the first time.
I like this series a lot and this title gives us a good mystery, a gritty but belivable 18th century London setting, and a reminder of the hard lives so many women have had to live.
4. Lucky Thirteen by Iris Hattersley 3*
A memoir that covers the authors life from her birth through the age of 78. A large part of her work life was with the U.S. Marshal's service. Unfortunately I didn't find it very interesting.
5. My Name is Barbra by Barbra Streisand 4*
I've been a fan since I was a young teen and didn't know Streisand didn't want to be a singer, even as a child being an actor was her goal. That was a bit of a disappointment to me because I have loved her music so much and so long!
Though it's 966 pages, it was a well organized book and easy to read (though not so great to hold!) She writes about making each of her movies in detail, and devotes entire chapters to some. She also gives a chapter to some of her LPs, her political involvement, her 25-year marriage to James Brolin, and so on. Overall, well done and enjoyable.
6. Murder Most Royal by SJ Bennett 3.5*
1. A Guide to the Birds of East Africa by Nicholas Drayson 4*
The story takes place in Kenya where Mr. Malik, now retired, takes part in a weekly bird-walk. It has caused him to learn alot about Kenya's birds and he always looks forward to the next week's walk. In truth he's had a longtime crush on the leader, Rose Mbikwa.
To shy Mr. Malik's dismay one day the handsome, wealthy and oh- so-sure-of-himself Harry Khan shows up for the walk. Khan was a classmate of Mr. Malik, and was his tormentor. It doesn't take long for both men to reveal they will be asking Rose to the social event of the year held by Mr. Malik's club. Other members get involved and create a bird related contest to reduce the two suitors to one.
2.The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman 3.5*
In the fourth book in A Thursday Murder Club Mystery series it seems Osman may be preparing for the longevity of the series. Elizabeth, the informal leader of the group, is not the planner in solving this crime, instead Joyce comes into her own and uses what she has learned from Elizabeth to be the leader.
The mystery revolves around the murder of an antique dealer and a missing shipment of heroin in an antiquarian box. There are several new characters although most didn't survive the plot, but there is one in particular that may be carried forward as a member of the group. I think the story was a little cluttered but still fun.
3. Person or Person's Unknown by Bruce Alexander 4.0*
This is the 4th book in the Sir John Fielding Mystery series. Sir John Fielding is a magistrate, blind, and the founder of the Bow Sreet Runners, London's first police force. Prostitutes are being killed, bodies sometimes mutilated, sometimes not. Jeremy Proctor, the ward Sir John and his wife took into their home several years before, is given some responsibilities with the investigation for the first time.
I like this series a lot and this title gives us a good mystery, a gritty but belivable 18th century London setting, and a reminder of the hard lives so many women have had to live.
4. Lucky Thirteen by Iris Hattersley 3*
A memoir that covers the authors life from her birth through the age of 78. A large part of her work life was with the U.S. Marshal's service. Unfortunately I didn't find it very interesting.
5. My Name is Barbra by Barbra Streisand 4*
I've been a fan since I was a young teen and didn't know Streisand didn't want to be a singer, even as a child being an actor was her goal. That was a bit of a disappointment to me because I have loved her music so much and so long!
Though it's 966 pages, it was a well organized book and easy to read (though not so great to hold!) She writes about making each of her movies in detail, and devotes entire chapters to some. She also gives a chapter to some of her LPs, her political involvement, her 25-year marriage to James Brolin, and so on. Overall, well done and enjoyable.
6. Murder Most Royal by SJ Bennett 3.5*
4clue
FEBRUARY
A busy month for me and just two ROOTS:
7. The Last Masterpiece by Laura Morelli 4*
The author is an American art historian who has written this book based on women who became involved in saving thousands of priceless masterpieces from destruction during WWII. Most of the book takes place in Florence, Italy where treasured art in the Uffizi Galleries needed removal and relocation. The two primary women characters, a German photographer and an American stenographer, risked their lives recording each piece and where it was taken, sometimes traveling with the treasures.
8. Murder Most Royal by SJ Bennett 3.5*
This is the 3rd book in the enjoyable Her Majesty the Queen Investigates series. In this case the Royal family is beginning to gather at Sandringham for their annual family Christmas celebration. Before Christmas Day arrives however, the finding of a severed hand occurs very near Sandringham. At the Queen's request her assistant shows her a photograph of the hand and the Queen recognizes the signet ring the the hand is wearing.
This was not my favorite in the series, but still fun to read. I'll read the 4th title when it comes out soon.
On to March!
A busy month for me and just two ROOTS:
7. The Last Masterpiece by Laura Morelli 4*
The author is an American art historian who has written this book based on women who became involved in saving thousands of priceless masterpieces from destruction during WWII. Most of the book takes place in Florence, Italy where treasured art in the Uffizi Galleries needed removal and relocation. The two primary women characters, a German photographer and an American stenographer, risked their lives recording each piece and where it was taken, sometimes traveling with the treasures.
8. Murder Most Royal by SJ Bennett 3.5*
This is the 3rd book in the enjoyable Her Majesty the Queen Investigates series. In this case the Royal family is beginning to gather at Sandringham for their annual family Christmas celebration. Before Christmas Day arrives however, the finding of a severed hand occurs very near Sandringham. At the Queen's request her assistant shows her a photograph of the hand and the Queen recognizes the signet ring the the hand is wearing.
This was not my favorite in the series, but still fun to read. I'll read the 4th title when it comes out soon.
On to March!
5clue
MARCH
9. The Leopard is Loose by Stephen Harrigan 3*
Grady McClarty, 70, is asked by the Oklahoma Historical Society for an oral account of the escape of a leopard from the Oklahoma City zoo in the 1950s. Instead McClarty writes a remeniscence, as if he were telling the story as the five year old he was when the escape took place.
Grady, his six year old brother Danny, his mother, and two uncles all lived in seperate apartments adjacent to his grandparents house. The reminiscence is not just about the wild animal's escape and the terror it caused within the city, but also about his family members attempts to put the war years and experiences behind them and learn how to continue the lives they once expected before grief, psycholgical scars, and recognition of racial injustice became part of them.
10. The Women by Kristin Hannah3.5
The author brings much deserved attention to the women who served in the VietNam war in this novel. The plot addresses both Frankie's war experience and her experience after returning to the U.S.
She is a young and inexperienced nurse when she arrives in Nam, but she builds skills quickly in an Evacuation hospital where the wounded are first brought. I thought this part of the book was very well done and was compelled to keep reading once I started.
I wasn't as engaged with the second part. The intention of the author was to show how difficult it was for vets to assimilate back into their own country but in my opinon wasn't written with the depth to cause the reader to feel the pain. As you can see I'm rating a little lower than most because of that.
I'm a few years younger than Frankie and I'm sure many LT readers are around that same age. We don't need the reminder, but I'd like for younger readers to get an accurate understanding of what so many of those vets, female or male, and their families lived through, or tried to.
11. The Coronation by Jennifer Robson 4*
I enjoyed this very much. It begins in January, 1953 and ends in November of the same year. It follows the lives of a small hotel owner in London, her boaders and guests. The hotel hasn't done well since the war began and Edie, who inherited the hotel as a young adult after the war, is struggling to keep it open. When she learns the Queen's coronation procession will pass The Blue Lion, owned by her family since the 17th century, she is estatic, knowing it may be her last chance to save her beloved home.
A good story, with engaging characters, it's one of those books that's especially good when its time to rest, relax and read.
For the month, 11 completed against a yearly goal of 40.
9. The Leopard is Loose by Stephen Harrigan 3*
Grady McClarty, 70, is asked by the Oklahoma Historical Society for an oral account of the escape of a leopard from the Oklahoma City zoo in the 1950s. Instead McClarty writes a remeniscence, as if he were telling the story as the five year old he was when the escape took place.
Grady, his six year old brother Danny, his mother, and two uncles all lived in seperate apartments adjacent to his grandparents house. The reminiscence is not just about the wild animal's escape and the terror it caused within the city, but also about his family members attempts to put the war years and experiences behind them and learn how to continue the lives they once expected before grief, psycholgical scars, and recognition of racial injustice became part of them.
10. The Women by Kristin Hannah3.5
The author brings much deserved attention to the women who served in the VietNam war in this novel. The plot addresses both Frankie's war experience and her experience after returning to the U.S.
She is a young and inexperienced nurse when she arrives in Nam, but she builds skills quickly in an Evacuation hospital where the wounded are first brought. I thought this part of the book was very well done and was compelled to keep reading once I started.
I wasn't as engaged with the second part. The intention of the author was to show how difficult it was for vets to assimilate back into their own country but in my opinon wasn't written with the depth to cause the reader to feel the pain. As you can see I'm rating a little lower than most because of that.
I'm a few years younger than Frankie and I'm sure many LT readers are around that same age. We don't need the reminder, but I'd like for younger readers to get an accurate understanding of what so many of those vets, female or male, and their families lived through, or tried to.
11. The Coronation by Jennifer Robson 4*
I enjoyed this very much. It begins in January, 1953 and ends in November of the same year. It follows the lives of a small hotel owner in London, her boaders and guests. The hotel hasn't done well since the war began and Edie, who inherited the hotel as a young adult after the war, is struggling to keep it open. When she learns the Queen's coronation procession will pass The Blue Lion, owned by her family since the 17th century, she is estatic, knowing it may be her last chance to save her beloved home.
A good story, with engaging characters, it's one of those books that's especially good when its time to rest, relax and read.
For the month, 11 completed against a yearly goal of 40.
6clue
APRIL
12. Maman's Homesick Pie by Donia Bijan 3.5*
This book is a reread from 2017. My personal rule on ROOTS is that I can count a previously read book as a ROOT if it's been 5 years or over since I read it and I still own it. The comments below are the original comments as is the rating.
After reading Bijan's first novel The Last Days of Café Leila, I looked forward to her earlier memoir and have not been disappointed. Bijan's family was on vacation in Spain when they got the call saying it wasn't safe for them to return to Iran. In 1978 they left Spain and came to America, settling in California.
Starting over, particularly when it wasn't expected, was difficult for Bijan's parents especially her father. He was not fluent in English and was never able to pass the exams necessary for an American medical license. Her mother, fluent in English, was able to begin nursing in a hospital quickly. Eventually her father would return to Iran periodically to work. Because her mother had been active in politics it wasn't safe for her to return.
Not surprisingly Bijan's father's dream for her was a career in medicine. She tried but soon found it wasn't her dream. Instead, greatly disappointing her father, she became a Cordon Bleu trained chef, studying under the famed Madame Brassart in Paris. Deciding to remain in France for three apprenticeships, she returned to California eventually opening her own award-winning restaurant.
Bijan writes with great passion causing the reader to care about her and her family. At the end of each chapter she includes Iranian and Iranian/American recipes, some of them her mother's.
13. The Wager by David Grann 4.0*
The Wager, purchased by the Royal Navy in 1740, shipwrecked over 280 years ago during war with Spain. Grann spent six years researching the Wager's history including traveling to the island where the tragedy took place. But as the title tells us, there is far more to the story than a ship going aground. Grann recounts all of the events, those caused by nature and those caused by men step-by-step making the eventful story easy to follow.
According to several internet sources, Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio acquired film rights to the book in 2022.
14. Foxgloves and Hedgehog Days by Daniel Blajan 4.5*
This small book gives a lot of pleasure. The author moved from the city to a small country village and tells of his delight (mostly) beginning a garden and becoming famiiar with the wildlife. He loves all of it, even if whatever is growing or visiting his home is considered a pest by other gardeners. Too, he occassionally writes something that is laugh-out-loud funny. This is one of the best "my life in a garden" books I've read.
12. Maman's Homesick Pie by Donia Bijan 3.5*
This book is a reread from 2017. My personal rule on ROOTS is that I can count a previously read book as a ROOT if it's been 5 years or over since I read it and I still own it. The comments below are the original comments as is the rating.
After reading Bijan's first novel The Last Days of Café Leila, I looked forward to her earlier memoir and have not been disappointed. Bijan's family was on vacation in Spain when they got the call saying it wasn't safe for them to return to Iran. In 1978 they left Spain and came to America, settling in California.
Starting over, particularly when it wasn't expected, was difficult for Bijan's parents especially her father. He was not fluent in English and was never able to pass the exams necessary for an American medical license. Her mother, fluent in English, was able to begin nursing in a hospital quickly. Eventually her father would return to Iran periodically to work. Because her mother had been active in politics it wasn't safe for her to return.
Not surprisingly Bijan's father's dream for her was a career in medicine. She tried but soon found it wasn't her dream. Instead, greatly disappointing her father, she became a Cordon Bleu trained chef, studying under the famed Madame Brassart in Paris. Deciding to remain in France for three apprenticeships, she returned to California eventually opening her own award-winning restaurant.
Bijan writes with great passion causing the reader to care about her and her family. At the end of each chapter she includes Iranian and Iranian/American recipes, some of them her mother's.
13. The Wager by David Grann 4.0*
The Wager, purchased by the Royal Navy in 1740, shipwrecked over 280 years ago during war with Spain. Grann spent six years researching the Wager's history including traveling to the island where the tragedy took place. But as the title tells us, there is far more to the story than a ship going aground. Grann recounts all of the events, those caused by nature and those caused by men step-by-step making the eventful story easy to follow.
According to several internet sources, Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio acquired film rights to the book in 2022.
14. Foxgloves and Hedgehog Days by Daniel Blajan 4.5*
This small book gives a lot of pleasure. The author moved from the city to a small country village and tells of his delight (mostly) beginning a garden and becoming famiiar with the wildlife. He loves all of it, even if whatever is growing or visiting his home is considered a pest by other gardeners. Too, he occassionally writes something that is laugh-out-loud funny. This is one of the best "my life in a garden" books I've read.
18clue
>15 cyderry:, >16 Jackie_K:, >17 connie53:,
Thanks, I'm looking forward to seeing all the reading lists during this year!
Thanks, I'm looking forward to seeing all the reading lists during this year!
19rabbitprincess
Welcome back, clue! Good luck with your goal this year!
20MissWatson
Welcome back and good luck with your ROOTing!
