Talbin's 2009 Reading - Part II

Continued from my first thread.

Tracy's 2009 Reads

1. People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks, 368 pages. 4.5/5. Review. Finished 1/2/2009.
2. Captain Alatriste by Arturo Pérez-Reverte, 253 pages. 3.5/5. Review. Finished 1/10/2009.
3. Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow by Elizabeth Lesser, 300 pages. 3.5/5. Review. Finished 1/13/2009.
4. What Should I Do with My Life by Po Bronson, 365 pages. 3/5. Review. Finished 1/16/2009.
5. The Man Who Cast Two Shadows by Carol O'Connell, 308 pages. 4/5. Review. Finished 1/23/2009.
6. Elizabeth and Her German Garden by Elizabeth von Armin, 205 pages. 4/5. Review. Finished 1/24/2009.
7. The American Woodland Garden: Capturing the Spirit of the Deciduous Forest by Rick Darke, 353 pages. 4.5/5. Review. Finished 2/9/2009.
8. The Cook and the Gardener: A Year of Recipes and Writings from the French Countryside by Amanda Hesser, 605 pages. 4/5. Review. Finished 2/15/2009.
9. Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather, 297 pages. 5/5. Review. Finished 2/19/2009.
10. The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman, 936 pages. 4.5/5. Review. Finished 3/5/2009.
11. The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett, 120 pages. 4/5. Review. Finished 3/6/2009.
12. Shakespeare: The World as Stage by Bill Bryson, 196 pages. 3.5/5. Review. Finished 3/8/2009.
13. The Plot Against America by Philip Roth, 391 pages. 3/5. Review. Finished 3/13/2009.
14. Choke by Chuck Palahniuk, 293 pages. 3/5. Review. Finished 3/19/2009.
15. Protect and Defend by Vince Flynn, 403 pages. 3.5/5. Review. Finished 3/21/2009.
16. Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman, 384 pages. 4/5. Review. Finished 3/23/2009.
17. Mosquito by Roma Tearne, 296 pages. 4.5/5. Review. Finished 3/25/2009.
18. Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin, 381 pages. 4/5. Review. Finished 3/29/2009.
19. Early Spring: An Ecologist and Her Children Wake to a Warming World by Amy Seidl, 172 pages. 3.5/5. Review. Finished 4/4/2009.
20. Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters, 472 pages. 3.5/5. Review. Finished 4/7/2009.
21. Moscow Rules by Daniel Silva, 433 pages. 4/5. Review. Finished 4/11/2009.
22. Shanghai Girls by Lisa See, 315 pages. 3/5. Review. Finished 4/14/2009.
23. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling, 652 pages. 4.5/5. Review. Finished 4/21/2009.
24. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling, 759 pages. 4.5/5. Review. Finished 4/22/2009.
25. The Serpent's Tale by Ariana Franklin, 386 pages. 3.5/5. Review. Finished 4/29/2009.
26. The Social Lives of Dogs by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, 256 pages. 3/5. Review. Finished 5/21/2009.
27. Amazonia by James Rollins, 432 pages. 3.5/5. Review.
28. The Last Oracle by James Rollins, 434 pages. 4/5. Review. Finished 7/6/2009.
29. Sandstorm by James Rollins, 608 pages. 3/5. Review. Finished 7/18/2009.
30. Extreme Measures by Vince Flynn, 430 pages. 1.5/5. Review. Finished 8/22/2009.
31. Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo, 321 pages. 4/5. Review. Finished 8/23/2009.
32. The Book of Lies by Brad Meltzer, 336 pages. 3/5. Review. Finished 8/24/2009.
33. Tender at the Bone by Ruth Reichl, 282 pages. 4/5. Review. Finished 8/27/2009.
34. Crewel World by Monica Ferris, 243 pages. 2/5. Review. Finished 8/30/2009.
35. Death at La Fenice by Donna Leon, 278 pages. 3.5/5. Review. Finished 9/6/2009.
36. Scottsboro by Ellen Feldman, 363 pages. 4/5. Review. Finished 9/13/2009.
37. Killing Critics by Carol O'Connell, 308 pages. 4/5. Review. Finished 9/15/2009.
38. Stone Angel by Carol O'Connell, 341 pages. 4/5. Review. Finished 9/17/2009.
39. Walking In Circles Before Lying Down by Merrill Markoe, 279 pages. 2/5. Review. Finished 9/23/2009.
40. Death in a Strange Country by Donna Leon, 373 pages. 4.5/5. Review. Finished 9/25/2009.
41. Dressed for Death by Donna Leon, 343 pages. 4/5. Review. Finished 9/27/2009.
42. Death and Judgement by Donna Leon, 289 pages. 4/5. Review. Finished 9/29/2009.
43. Acqua Alta by Donna Leon, 387 pages. 4.5/5. Review. Finished 10/1/2009.
44. The Private Papers of Eastern Jewel by Maureen Lindley, 291 pages. 1.5/5. Review. Finished 10/4/2009.
45. Quietly in Their Sleep by Donna Leon, 258 pages. 3/5. Review. Finished 10/6/2009.
46. A Noble Radiance by Donna Leon, 237 pages. 4/5. Review. Finished 10/14/2009.
47. Fatal Remedies by Donna Leon, 303 pages. 4/5. Review. Finished 10/20/2009.
48. The Ambassadors by Henry James, 382 pages. 2.5/5. Review. Finished 10/27/2009.
49. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, 374 pages. 3.5/5. Review. Finished 11/1/2009.
50. Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg & Zoe Francois, 272 pages. 4/5. Review. Finished 11/15/2009.
51. The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, 245 pages. 4/5. Review. Finished 11/15/2009.
52. The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector, 96 pages. 4.5/5. Review. Finished 11/16/2009.
53. The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim, 263 pages. 4.5/5. Review. Finished 11/19/2009.
54. Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn, 208 pages. 2.5/5. Review. Finished 11/21/2009.
55. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, 489 pages. 4.5/5. Review. Finished 11/28/2009.
56. Friends in High Places by Donna Leon, 326 pages. 4/5. Review. Finished 12/29/2009.

25. The Serpent's Tale by Ariana Franklin, 386 pages. 3.5/5. Review. Finished 4/29/2009.

I finished The Serpent's Tale last night. This is the second Adelia Aquilar mystery from Ariana Franklin. Set in 12th century England, the mysteries center around Adelia, a Salerno-trained medical examiner. While a female doctor is unusual in Italy, Adelia finds that it can be deadly in medieval England, where the belief in witchcraft is alive and well. Adelia must hide her profession - and often her intelligence - as she tries to find the killer of Henry II's mistress, Rosamund. Eleanor of Aquitaine also plays an important role - she has been fomenting dissent and if found guilty of the murder, civil war is an almost foregone conclusion. Although not quite as strong as The Mistress of the Art of Death, this was a good book.

Joyce - I'm going to make myself wait until Grave Goods comes out in paperback or until I can find it on double-triple sale somewhere. I would love to read it right now, but the financial situation dictates waiting . . . . :-(

I continue to enjoy how closely our tastes match, Tracy.

I understand, believe me--I've had to do the same thing with book ordering myself.

Hi Tracy - Found you!

Tracy -- I just got The Serpent's Tale in the mail this week and am looking forward to reading it as I so enjoyed Mistress of the Art of Death. I also got a copy of Franklin's City of Shadows sort of by mistake as I thought it was part of Adelia series. Have you read any of her other books?

>4 fannyprice: - Hi, Kris - good to see you here!

>5 janeajones: janeajones - No, I haven't read any other books by Franklin (besides Mistress and A Serpent's Tale) but I have a feeling I will be in the future. I've heard that Grave Goods, the third in the Adelia series, is great, so I'm looking forward to it coming out in paperback.

Have you read City of Shadows yet? If so, what did you think?

Wow, I'm way behind. Life has been getting in the way of reading lately - especially yard and garden work. I can't believe I haven't finished a book in the past 2 weeks! Oh well, that's what tends to happen to me in the summer - the season's so short here in Minnesota that one feels obligated to enjoy it as much as possible when it's here. However, I should be back in the next day or two to report on The Social Life of Dogs.

I'm way behind on my starred threads--I just finished your last thread--thanks for the link to this one so I didn't have to hunt for you.

Loved the discussions on Harry Potter--I'm a huge fan of the books and have read them many times--I also read the entire series each time a new one came out and have them them in both the American and British versions. I read so much British literature that I usually don't notice the difference except I'm still irritated by the title change of the first book--for heaven''s sake, many people in the US are familiar with the Philosopher's Stone and those who aren't would have learned something they should know --why change the title!

I just finished Mistress of the Art of Death this week so it's good to know I can go ahead and get the next one--thanks for the review.

Judging by the date on your last message (my older son's birthday, BTW) I can see that you, too, are having RL interfere with your reading and LT posting. I hope things get calmer for you soon. I look forward to your reviews--I get good ideas from you.

MusicMom - Oh good, at least one person is still reading my thread! RL has really been throwing me some curve balls lately. I have hardly read anything for the past month, and I haven't posted at all. I'm just about to rectify that, though. I'll come by your thread in the next few days as I start to catch up.

26. The Social Lives of Dogs by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, 256 pages. 3/5. Review. Finished 5/21/2009.

3 stars. Not as good as I had hoped.

27. Amazonia by James Rollins, 432 pages. 3.5/5. Review. Finished 5/28/2009.

A pretty good escapist book.

28. The Last Oracle by James Rollins, 434 pages. 4/5. Review. Finished 7/6/2009.

Great beach read, especially for the July 4th weekend.

It looks like I will have to check out James Rollins--he''s a "new for me" author that sounds like I would enjoy. Like I need another series to start! One thing about LT--I have been introduced to more series mysteries that I ever imagined existed. I already had about 8 or 9 series on my own before I joined LT--now I've started at least 3 more from LT suggestions and have a list of several others to check out.

Glad to see you back--hope the next couple of months give you more reading time! I always enjoy your thread and miss it when you "disappear!"

I appreciate your honest review of The Social Lives of Dogs. I'd seen it before, but hadn't picked up a copy yet. I'm glad to have a better idea what someone here thought of it before I decided to do it.

Have you enjoyed any other dog-related reading more? I'm currently helping to care for my mother's two (a male chow/collie and younger female miniature Eskimo) and, having never owned dogs myself, I would love to have a better sense of how their power dynamic might work... especially since the little female runs the older guy ragged. ;)

#12: I'm not finished with The Complete Healthy Dog Handbook by Betsy Brevitz, but scattered in the pages of what is so far the flat-out best book for dog owners I've ever read--and I have quite a few--are remarks about canine relationships, some of which I've already found useful in dealing with our three dogs. I'd never get the book just for that--too little info scattered too broadly--but it's a plus in a very fine book about all aspects of choosing and caring for dogs.

Ooh. Thanks for the advice, Joycepa. :)

>12 Fullmoonblue:, I've not read his book on dogs, Dogs Never Lie About Love : Reflections on the Emotional World of Dogs, but Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson's writing on cats is great. Maybe you would like him better, Tracy.

the tribe of tiger (cats) by Marshall is really good; her later books on dogs didn't really measure up to that initial standard.

>12 Fullmoonblue: FullMoon - I haven't read a whole lot of books about dogs, so I don't have much to recommend. I've read Cesar's Way by Cesar Millan, which has some interesting ideas about why dogs act the way they do, but many "dog people" are not fans of his training methods. (Especially the "alpha roll," which can lead to serious injury for a non-experienced human attempting it, and his method of "flooding" - forcing a dog to experience something it fears in order to desensitize it to the fear object.) How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend by the Monks of New Skete has a lot of good background information about why dogs act the way they do, but it primarily focuses on working with one dog, not multiples.

If you have specific questions, I recommend an internet board run by Sarah Wilson (co-author of several training books, including My Smart Puppy). Go to www.mysmartpuppy.com, click on the Community link, and you should get to the message board. It's interesting - and helpful - reading even if you don't post anything.

I recommend Dog Years by Mark Doty. It is a lovely meditation on love, loss, and dogs. James Thurber also wrote some hysterically funny pieces about different dogs in his life.

I'm still alive. It's hard to understand, but this has been a non-reading summer for me. I'm not sure why, but things like gardening, the lake, piano and cross stitch and the complete Battlestar Gallactica series have been taking up most of my free time. But I had a banner weekend - after a month of no books (just lots of back issues of The New Yorker), I read three in three days. Nothing great, but hey, it was fun.

29. Sandstorm by James Rollins, 608 pages. 3/5. Review. Finished 7/18/2009.

I read this back in July, the third in a row from Rollins. It was okay for what it is, but I think I'll put away Rollins for awhile.

30. Extreme Measures by Vince Flynn, 430 pages. 1.5/5. Review. Finished 8/22/2009.

Yuck. One of his worst. Even though I like to escape into political thrillers every once in awhile, this was just too crappy, even for the beach.

31. Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo, 321 pages. 4/5. Review. Finished 8/23/2009.

I enjoyed this quite a bit. A police procedural that follows a formerly Amish, female police chief in rural Ohio. The serial murders are rather gruesome, but if you can live with that, it's a good story, well told.

32. The Book of Lies by Brad Meltzer, 336 pages. 3/5. Review. Finished 8/24/2009.

Hmmm - okay. Quite a suspension of disbelief is required (Cain, of Cain and Abel fame, meets Superman). It moves quickly and is just what I look for in a beach read.

Some summers are like that -- and it sounds like you had plenty of worthy distractions. :) Thanks so much for the advice on dog books. The Castillo one sounds good too...! I haven't read anything by her yet, but I'll definitely keep an eye out for Silence.

>20 Fullmoonblue: Fullmoon - If you like police mysteries, then I think the Sworn to Silence is a good choice. Thanks for stopping by!

33. Tender at the Bone by Ruth Reichl, 282 pages. 4/5. Review. Finished 8/27/2009.

A fun read. I almost wish I had had Reichl's experiences growing up so that I could be such a wonderful food critic and magazine editor, but then I remember her mother. Reichl obviously used food and humor to distance herself from what must have been a difficult situation, growing up with a manic-depressive mother before medication was available.

34. Crewel World by Monica Ferris, 243 pages. 2/5. Review. Finished 8/30/2009.

Eh, okay. My first "cozy" mystery (amateur sleuth, small town, gossipy neighbors - think "Murder, She Wrote"). I now know I prefer more blood and guts with my murders, which is a very strange thing to admit.

35. Death at La Fenice by Donna Leon, 278 pages. 3.5/5. Review. Finished 9/6/2009.

A somewhat light mystery surrounded by very intriguing characters, especially the city of Venice - a character in and of herself.

36. Scottsboro by Ellen Feldman, 363 pages. 4/5. Review. Finished 9/13/2009.

A fictional retelling of the Scottsboro trials that took place in Alabama in the 1930's. Feldman uses a fictional reporter to tell the fascinating story of the "Scottsboro Boys" - nine black youths that were wrongly accused of raping two white girls. Feldman elegantly weaves racism, antisemitism, sexism, Communism, poverty vs. the bourgeois and North vs. South into a factually accurate account of the trials. Shortlisted for the Orange Prize.

37. Killing Critics by Carol O'Connell, 308 pages. 4/5. Review. Finished 9/15/2009.

Third in O'Connell's series about NYC police detective Kathleen Mallory. Some readers like Mallory, some don't - I'm in the "like" category.

38. Stone Angel by Carol O'Connell, 341 pages. 4/5. Review. Finished 9/17/2009.

Fourth in the Mallory series, and the best so far. Unfortunately, after all the revelations in this book I have a feeling the series might go downhill from here. I hope not.

39. Walking In Circles Before Lying Down by Merrill Markoe, 279 pages. 2/5. Review. Finished 9/23/2009.

An impulse buy - I should've ignored the impulse. Chick lit with talking dogs. What does it say about a book if I thought it would be better with more talking dogs?

40. Death in a Strange Country by Donna Leon, 373 pages. 4.5/5. Review. Finished 9/25/2009.

Excellent. Because my life is weird right now, I'm reading almost all escapist literature - mostly mysteries - which are not always the most well-written books. But this was quite, quite good. I liked the ambiguity at the end.

41. Dressed for Death by Donna Leon, 343 pages. 4/5. Review. Finished 9/27/2009.

Still wallowing in escapism, but I'm trying to choose a better quality of escapism. :-) Another good installment in the Commissario Brunetti series.

42. Death and Judgement by Donna Leon, 289 pages. 4/5. Review. Finished 9/29/2009.

Another from the Commissario Brunetti series. They're addictive. I like the ambiguity - from my review: "Eventually, the motives become clear and the crimes are solved, but the guilty parties do not pay the price for their crimes. The morally ambiguous ending seems right for our times."

Part of the allure of the Leon books is Brunetti--he is world weary and still compassionate (except when it comes to his boss).

I'm also working my way through the Leon books after Joyce recommended them; I finished Acqua Alta a couple weeks ago and another will percolate up to the top of the stack soon. I agree, they are totally addictive.

The futility(?) in the endings of some make them seem more real. However, I'm glad that, as the series progresses, at least some of the bad guys get their just desserts. Otherwise, Brunetti would have to sink into despair. :-)

>31 RidgewayGirl: RidgewayGirl - Yes, I agree - Brunetti has to be one of the best characters in the genre. His way of solving crimes - find out about the criminal's character and personality - makes the books far more character-centered than most mysteries, which I enjoy.

>32 TadAD: TadAD - I'm in the middle of Acqua Alta right now. Once I finish it, I think I'll read a few other things (like my August ER book), but I also have the next in the series - Quietly in Their Sleep - on loan from the library, so I'll have to read it sometime in the next 3 weeks.

I'm getting the feeling that at least in Acqua Alta, the bad guys will get what's coming to them - this one feels a lot more like a traditional police procedural than the last few. But, I still have about 1/3 left, so who knows where it will go before the end? That's what I like about the series - Leon is definitely bending the boundaries of the genre.

43. Acqua Alta by Donna Leon, 387 pages. 4.5/5. Review. Finished 10/1/2009.

Another Brunetti mystery. This one was a real page-turner.

Talbin,

What is going on? I, too, have been wallowing in escapist literature for the last little bit. Perhaps Baron von Kindle and the Evil Dali Iama Mazonie are slipping subliminal messages into our posts. I suspect the worst.

>35 urania1: :-) Now that summer has drawn abruptly to a close here in Minnesota, I hope to move back into some "real" literature. That is, if the subliminal messages have not completely brainwashed me into a mystery-reading zombie. At least I have not yet stooped so low as to pick up a Harlequin romance while at the grocery store. That would probably signal end-times.

The Monthly Author Reads group is doing Henry James this month, so it looks like I'll be moving from fluff to The Ambassadors. My brain may not survive the shock.

>36 Talbin: Talbin,

I wouldn't worry too much. The Ambassadors is one of Henry's fluffier novels, so your brain will probably remain intact.

44. The Private Papers of Eastern Jewel by Maureen Lindley, 291 pages. 1.5/5. Review. Finished 10/4/2009.

Okay, so rather than my brain being blown away by reading something more challenging than my fare of late, I think I've been lobotomized by this Early Reviewer book. Do not read this. The only reason I gave it an extra .5 star was because at least the author could string together words pretty well. Individual sentences were occasionally very good. However, put together, these sentences combined to make dreck.

On the plus side, I just bought Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, which looks like it will live up to all the food blogger hype.

45. Quietly in Their Sleep by Donna Leon, 258 pages. 3/5. Review. Finished 10/6/2009.

Not nearly as exciting as Acqua Alta, but still pretty good.

46. A Noble Radiance by Donna Leon, 237 pages. 4/5. Review. Finished 10/14/2009.

Yet another Brunetti mystery. I think my life is too tumultuous for anything "stronger" right now.

Hope everything is ok, Tracy. I saw you had snow!

Kris - thanks so much for dropping by! Yep, we had snow, and more than one day in a row, too. It's cruel when half the leaves are still green. And I'm doing okay. I'm out of work, looking at completely changing careers, and at a somewhat middle point of my life it's both exciting and anxiety-producing - sometimes at the same moment. ;-) I think my reading reflects that I need total escape from reality, with nothing too sad or heartbreaking. I know you're going through your own brush with escapism (yep, I'm keeping track of you!) but at least you're interspersing some things that are good for your brain.

47. Fatal Remedies by Donna Leon, 303 pages. 4/5. Review. Finished 10/20/2009.

A strong entry in the series - more action than usual (without a drop in the quality of character development), and with a hint that perhaps the bad guy will really get what he deserves.

I think, though, enough Brunetti for now. I had to read this so I can return it to the library, but it's time to turn first to James and then to my TBR stack.

48. The Ambassadors by Henry James, 382 pages. 2.5/5. Review. Finished 10/27/2009.

Ah, but how I loved James when I was in college. I seem to have changed, however. This was rather a drudge. See my review (link above) for more.

49. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, 374 pages. 3.5/5. Review. Finished 11/1/2009.

I think I should have read this for the first time when I was about 14, rather than at 44. It was good, but not rapturously great. At least now I know what all the fuss is about.

#45 Talbin

"I think I should have read this for the first time when I was about 14, rather than at 44."

I don't think it would have made any difference. I read it when I was 15 and again, for a book group, when I was 45. I wasn't crazy about it either time--3 stars would be generous, imo. I would give it that much because I loved her prose--just didn't like most of her characters nor the story particularly.

I forgot to add that I, too, loved James in college and have been planning to try him again soon. However, I've read so many reviews of his works that were luke-warm at best and really off-putting sometime, that I wonder if I should just live with the memory of beig a great Henry James fan. :-) I do own both The Ambassadors and Portrait of a Lady--after reading your comment I guess I'll try Portrait if I read one. (Funny touchstones!)

50. Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg & Zoe Francois, 272 pages. 4/5. Review. Finished 11/15/2009.

If you love bread, and especially freshly baked bread, this book and it's method could be a revelation to you. It certainly was for me. I now make bread about 3-4 times per week, and it really only takes about 5 minutes of "active" time (not including the rise and the baking).

The only problem I had was with the recommended rising time - 20 minutes as recommended did nothing for my bread. Like me, the authors live in Minnesota, but maybe they keep their houses warmer than I do. My review contains my own method for rising the bread, which was admittedly gleaned from reading several ideas on the web.

Otherwise, though - recommended!

P.S. The authors have a new book just out at the end of October: Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day, which focuses on whole grains and vegetables.

51. The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, 245 pages. 4/5. Review. Finished 11/15/2009.

I am in the process of re-exploring my life, and especially the role creativity (specifically writing) may take as I go forward.

Although The Artist's Way is quite new-agey and spiritual, two things I normally shy very far away from, I am also trying to open myself up to new ways of seeing. Part of what that means for me personally is to be more aware what the universe might offer if I let it. I'll tell you, it's hard for me to be open to dreams, intuition and karma, but I'm trying!

52. The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector, 96 pages. 4.5/5. Review. Finished 11/16/2009.

This was pretty amazing, not so much a novel as a philosophy of art and life. I'll be rereading it before returning it to the library next week - so much is packed into such a short novella.

Tracy, some years ago someone gave me The Artist's Way and I had much the same reaction to it that you did, but I fear I was less open-minded about it than you were! You might have inspired me to try again, but I was so annoyed by it I gave it away!

I haven't read The Artist's Way because I also am generally not interested in "new agey" types of things. A book on creativity I can recommend is Fearless Creating by Eric Maisel.

Thanks, Rebecca and arubabookwoman, for the comments. I'm working my way through the new-agey aspects. I'm really trying to be more open, which can be difficult.

I'll definitely look for Fearless Creating. Thanks for the recommendation!

53. The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim, 263 pages. 4.5/5. Review. Finished 11/19/2009.

What a delightful book. I found it to be perfectly crafted - von Arnim is a gifted portraitist.

54. Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn, 208 pages. 2.5/5. Review. Finished 11/21/2009.

Eh, not so much. I found it a bit too precious for my tastes.

Great review of Ella Minnow Pea--I haven't read that one, but the title has always intrigued me. Sounds like one to get from the library, if at all.

Carolyn--try Portrait of a Lady. I read it in spring and loved it and then passed it on to my sister-in-law and she loved it too.

I have attempted to do The Artist's Way twice. The first time I abandoned it because one of my closest friends became very ill, and then died. I tried it again four years later. A month into it my mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer and she died 8 weeks later. Coincidence for sure, but there is no way I'm trying that book again! Also, I am less tolerant of the whole new age thing than I used to be, so I know it isn't for me.

Joyce - I was happy that I only paid $1-2 at a used book store for Ella Minnow Pea. I would definitely give it a try, though, because from looking at the other reviews and ratings, I'm in the minority in not liking it that much. And if I were you, I'd stay away from The Artist's Way, too!

55. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, 489 pages. 4.5/5. Review. Finished 11/28/2009.

Another classic I've never read. Even though Jane Eyre different than I expected, it was great. A very satisfying read, especially over the lazy Thanksgiving weekend.

I second the Portrait of a Lady recommendation. It's my favourite James, and one of my all time fave books.

I'm slogging through Les Miserables. The slow pace is mostly due to being incredibly busy for the past few weeks, with barely enough time to read more than a few pages. Now that Christmas is over, I have a stretch of relatively free time, so I'm still hopeful that I can finish Les Mis before the end of the year.

56. Friends in High Places by Donna Leon, 326 pages. 4/5. Review. Finished 12/29/2009.

Okay, I took a break from Les Mis, which will not be finished by the end of the year. Instead, I just finished this book, the ninth in Donna Leon's Commissario Brunetti series. A good, fast-paced mystery - no meandering narrator here.

Tracy>60 Talbin::

In the last few books of the last part, I found myself skimming the narration quite a lot just to find out WHAT HAPPENS! At the end, the parts I skimmed did not seem important. I am sure that I will read the book again, and then I will read all of the narrator's meanderings. However, not knowing how far along you are, I really think some of the pages and pages of diversion are worthwhile, and should be read.

Lisa

Lisa: I know what you mean about finding out what happens. I'm generally enjoying the meanderings, but at the 600 page mark, I needed some straight-ahead plot. I'll be back to Hugo within the week. :-)

It looks like I'll be ending the year with at most 866 pages left of Les Miserables. I think it's safe to say that no matter how much I read today, I won't be finishing it before the end of the year. :-)

In any case, I wish a personal "good riddance" to 2009, and am very much looking forward to 2010. My reading log will be at Club Read 2010 (http://www.librarything.com/topic/79385).

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year indeed! I have your new thread starred & look forward to following your reading next year.