TUTU IS CRAZY- she's doing 999 x 2!

Well, I have too many categories, and too many books to make them fit, and I keep finding ----thanks to all of you enablers more and more. SO.... I am challenging myself to

1. Finish the original challenge (Thread #2 is here).

2. Complete another whole challenge beginning today.

At first I thought I'd just finish the first one by Sept and then go on and read whatever for the rest of the year, but I'd miss all my friends if I didn't have a place to report. Yeah...I know there's always the blog.

So here I will start the new challenge. Rather than constantly changing the list, for this one, I'm only going to fill in what I finish.

Only question to all is --does this belong here, or should we make it a completely different challenge?

Edited to fix italics!!

Here's the complete Challenge #2 Category List:
numbers completed in bold

I'm done 999 x 2!!!

1. Mysteries 9/9 Category Complete
2. Leftovers from the First 999 Challenge 9/9 Category Complete
3. Maine/New England (authors or settings) 9/9 Category complete
4. Historical Fiction 9/9 Category complete
5. ERs or ARCs 9/9 Category complete
6. LTers recommend 9/9 Category complete
7. Surprise! 9/9 Category complete
8. Only Audio 9/9 Category complete
9. Christmas 9/9 Category complete

And here's a new ticker (I love tickers!)

Category #1: Mysteries Category Complete!!!!

1. Lethal Legacy by Linda Fairstein.
2. The Girl of His Dreams Donna Leon
3. On What Grounds Cleo Coyle.
4. Mint Julep Murder Caroline Hart.
5. Cream Puff Murder Joanne Fluke.
6. chocolate chip murder mystery Joanne Fluke
7. Murder on K street Margaret Truman
8. The New Bedside, Bathtub, Armchair Companion to Agatha Christie by Julian Symons
9. The Terra Cotta Dog Andrea Camilleri

My own two cents: yes, you ARE crazy! :-)

Category #2: Leftovers--Category Complete!!

It's looking like a lot of these are going to be the food category I had as an "extra" on the first challenge. Although there were also extras in several categories that I still want to read.

1. Fatally Flaky by Diane Mott Davidson.
2. In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan.
3. The Private Patient by P.D. James
4. There is a Season Joan Chittister, OSB
5. Chocolate: A Love Story by Max Brenner
6. The Recipe Club by Andrea Israel
7. Roux Morgue (Mary Ryan, Pastry Chef Mysteries) by Claire M. Johnson
8. Alice, let's eat by Calvin Trillin
9. Toast Nigel Slater

Category #3: Maine/New England Category Complete!!!

1. New England Days:Stories (our American Heritage) by Sarah Orne Jewett -- touchstone not working
2. Primal Obsession by Susan Vaughan.
3. The Paperwhite Narcissus by Cynthia Riggs
4. Absolute Certainty by Rose Connors.
5. Deadly Nightshade Cynthia Riggs
6. Shoutin' into the Fog Thomas Hanna.
7. Pink Chimneys: A Novel of Nineteenth Century Maine Ardeana Hamlin Knowles.
8. The Sea Chest by Toni Buzzeo.
9. Last Night at the Lobster Stewart O'Nan.

Category 4: Historical Fiction Category Complete!

1. The Other Queen Philippa Gregory 4/30/09
2. The Lady Elizabeth Alison Weir 4/1/09
3. The Frozen Thames by Helen Humphreys. 5/09
4. Dinner at Mr. Jefferson's by Charles A. Cerami 6/09
5. Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant
6. Saint and the Fasting Girl by Anna Richenda
7. Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
8. The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Elizabeth Howe
9. The Gods of Newport John Jakes.

Category 5: ERs or ARCs Category Complete!!!

1. Wife of the Gods A Novel by Kwei Quartey
2. Obama's Blackberry
3. The Link by Colin Tudge
4. Labor Day by Joyce Maynard
5. Red to Black by Alex Dryden
6. The Rapture by Liz Jensen
7. Brutal Telling Louise Penny
8. South of Broad Pat Conroy
9. True Compass Edward M. Kennedy

Category #6: LT Recommends 9/9 Category Complete!!

1. Rule Number Two Heidi Squier Kraft
2. Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie Alan Bradley
3. The Second Death of Goodluck Tinubu Michael Stanley.
4. Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips
5. A Novena for Murder by Sr. Carol Anne O'Marie
6. The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie.
7. Rizzo's War by Lou Manfredo
8. Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly
9. A Circle of Souls Preetham Gandhi

Category #7: Surprise!! Category Complete!!

1.The Scarecrow and his Servant by Philip Pullman 5/4/09
2.Little Fingers Filip Florian 7/13/09
3.Guardian of Lies Steve Martini.
4.Moth Lew Griffin Mysteries James Sallis
5.Tea Time for the Traditionally Built Alexander McCall Smith
6.Spellbinder by Helen Stringer
7.a Rule Against Murder Louise Penny
8.Manana, Manana Peter Kerr
9.Dead Cat Bounce Sarah Graves

Category #8: Only Audio Category Complete!!

1. Scarecrow Michael Connelly 6/7/09 this may move to mystery if I need to adjust.
2. Cemetery Dance Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child 6/23/09
3. All Other Nights Dara Horn.
4. Executive Privilege Philip Margolin.
5. Knit Two Kate Jacobs
6. Tunnel Vision Sara Paretsky
7. Inventing a Nation Gore Vidal
8. Death is a Cabaret Deborah Morgan
9. Devil's Claw J.A. Jance

Category #9: Christmas Category Complete!!

1. A Christmas Secret by Anne Perry.
2. The Christmas Cookie Club Ann Pearlman
3. Irish Country Christmas Patrick Taylor
4. Angels: A Pop-Up Book by Chuck Fischer
5. Norman Rockwell's Christmas Book
6. Silent Nights Anne Perry
7. Shepherds Abiding Jan Karon
8. The Paper Bag Christmas by Keven Alan Milne
9. Secrets of a Christmas Box by Steven Hornby

Well I am in awe! I think your 2nd challenge is appropriate to the forum and that you should stay here. You inspire the rest of us!

Please stay here, tutu! I enjoy watching your progress and reading your comments!

I am amazed, you've definitely raised the bar for us slower readers. I'll be watching your progress and cheering you on from the sidelines.

Sweet! I'm glad I'm not the only one doing a second round!

What an example to set for your baby sister.
Now I'm going to have to figure out if I can do it too!
Let me clarify.... I take the books that I have put into my bonus category and move them into a new set of categories for 9992X. Can I use some of the same categories as in the first go round?

ETA typos

Cheli- you just set up a second 999 challenge any way you want. It just so happened that I took my "extra" categories and used them as the foundation of 999x2. I was getting too many ERs/ArC and other recommendations to wait until next year, or not 'chat' about them someplace. I frankly don't care about them counting, but since my friends here at 999 are the best book 'chatters' in cyberspace (as are the folks on the 75 on 2009 challenge) I wanted to stay tied to them.

Category #6: 1/9 ERs Wife of the Gods A Novel by Kwei Quartey.

This one ladies and gentlemen is a winner! Thank you thank you LT Early Review program and Random House. You made my May!

I could not put this down--it is well written, well plotted, the characters are delightful, well developed and believable, and I definitely want more. If you like J.A.Jance's J.P. Beaumont, you'll love Darko Dawson.

Here's a piece of my review: Dawson is a wonderful character-- a dope smoking, firey tempered, independent, 'punch- them-out-and-take-names- later' detective...While he fights his own demons, sneers at inept superiors and peers, and constantly annoys everyone, he befriends the helpless, listens to his inner senses, and cleverly solves the crime, with very little help.

Dr. Quartey writes eloquently, in sparse but beautiful prose...I especially enjoyed having a glossary of Ghanian terms available. It made the dialogue (which is masterful) readily accessible to a reader unfamiliar with the area.

I gave it 4 1/2 stars..and heartily recommend you grab it when it hits the stores in July.

Oh, now you have me excited! I am starting this one next.

tutu, you have inspired me both to do a second 999 and to get hold of Wife of the Gods asap.

Good luck, tutu. I will have to give this some thought, as well.

Many of the books I have forthcoming don't fit into my 999 challenge. But 162 books is probably out of my reach.

Category #3: Maine 1/9 New England Days by Sarah Orne Jewett.

This exquisite volume could just as easily have gone in challenge #1 for short stories, but I like it here (or heeyah as they say in Maine) for now.

I ended up listening to this on audio (it could also go in category #8) while i was sewing...I've been trying to acquaint myself with as many Maine authors as possible (we have over 100 in our little town library) and stumbled across this one on the state's audio download list.

There are 8 stand alone stories set mostly in Maine, many of them featuring 'old' (or as we pc people now say 'chronologically advantaged') women and how they dealt with the hardships of either widowhood, or spinsterhood, or how the townspeople helped out.

One story "Flight of Betsy Lane" features 3 woman who are living in the 'poorhouse' ---an actual instutituion that existed here in maine until 1977 (I looked it up!). One of them (Miss Lane) is visited by an old friend who gives her some money. She neglects to tell the town selectmen about her good luck, nor does she share the news with her friends. Instead, one mornin' she ups and walks off -- she wanted to go see the exposition in Phillie. Those left behind begin to believe she may have 'done herself in.' When she returns, with small gifts for each of them, she brings enough chatter of the wonders she saw to keep them all in gossip for at least a lifetime. So well written, and exceptionally well narrated, it just made you ache for the simple life and people who could live with so little and still be happy.

The last story, The Hilton's Holiday, almost made me cry. It is the story of a couple who have a barebones existence on a farm, whose only son, who could have been expected to help out and do the hard work with the father, had died, but who accepted, nurtured and valued their daughters with no 'if only they'd been boys' attitude. In fact, Mr. Hilton decides the girls need a little vacation, so he hitches up the wagon and takes them to town (17 miles away!) for a day of sights, treats, and just enjoying a day with their dad. My dad drove me and 5 of my friends to high school (I went to private school so there was no bus) every day and that time we spent together was precious beyond words. This story brought it all back.

I really want to read this one!

Unfortunately, I don't think this specific one exists in print -- the audio appears to be an anthology of some of her best stories. There are several volumes of Jewett's stories. I'm going to do some research to see which have these particular stories included, and then will touchstone to that one.

Category 7: Surprise! 1/9 The Scarecrow and the Servant by Philip Pullman.

It begins: A tattered scarecrow stands in the middle of a muddy field, taking no notice of the violent thunderstorm around him. But when a bolt of lightning strikes him, fizzing its way through his turnip head and down his broomstick, the Scarecrow blinks with surprise–and comes to life.

Scarecrow soon sees he can't make it on his own and appoints a boy to be his servant. Together they set out on a series of adventures sure to appeal to readers of all ages. Children will laugh, and adults will appreciate the underlying sophistication of the ills that befall our heroes.

The courtroom scene near the end is hilarious.

This is a heart-warming, feel good, happily ever after that will be re-read for generations.

Cathegory 1: Mysteries 1/9 Lethal Legacy by Linda Fairstein .

I love Fairstein's books and the detail she goes into about various facets of life in New York This particular book had an underlying mystery that really appealed to me.

There are the obligatory murders to be solved, and then there is the setting....Somehow the murders appear to be connected with the New York Public Library, its magnificent collection of rare books and maps, its assortment of endowed collections, its not to publicly known underground vaults and tunnels, and several greedy trustees. As they question librarians, curators, custodial staff and trustees, the reader is treated to an incredible lesson in cartography, rare book collecting, and book preservation. As a librarian who does not deal in antiquities, I was fascinated by all the detail she manages to impart so painlessly. (Did you know there are books bound in human skin??) It is a subject that could easily have become boring, but she instead has me running to the train station to buy a ticket to New York!

Category 9: Just B'cuz 1/9 Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O'Nan.

I read this b'cuz this kept popping up as an incorrect touchstone for Elie Wiesel's Night. So glad I did. It was a Los Angeles Times book prize finalist in 2007 and it is obvious why.

This is an exquisitely well-written story, almost a novella, only 146 pages, but packed with excellent characterization, great short humorous vignettes highlighting life behind the scenes in restaurant service, and a bittersweet ending.

Full review is at Tutu's Two Cents

Thanks, tutu. I always enjoy your reviews and will take a look at your blog.

I'd like to start a book/baseball blog of my own. So far, I just contribute to one at work.

OH Linda....I will be quite interested in your baseball book blog--as you will see, I use a baseball theme on mine, and do enjoy following my sox. This weekend (Mother's day) I'm at my mom's in baltimore (cyderry-cheli) will join us tomorrow. We are having a great time switching between Orioles and Sox games--particularly nice since the O's are entertaining the hated (by all) Yankees. Link me up when you get going.

Enjoy your weekend.

I have the Red Sox on right now. For some reason, no Midwestern teams on today so they're showing the Tampa Bay/Boston game. I'm a National League fan but Boston is one of my favorite AL teams, along with the Os.

Hey, when did Rocco Baldelli go to the Sox? I think I missed that.

No O's for me today. MLB Extra Innings doesn't show afternoon games on Sat.

O's beat the Yankees!

Category #1: Mysteries - The Girl of His Dreams Donna Leon.

Another marvelous Commissario Brunetti story. The urbane, well-read Brunetti discovers the body of a young girl floating in a canal. The search to discover how she died and why takes him to a camp of gypsies where he must struggle with the prejudices of his fellow workers, and his own distress at the lack of apparent interest in the girl's death. As usual, Leon provides us with an outstanding plot, incredibly rich characters, and a resolution that is true to real life.

Once you start reading these mysteries, you'll find yourself putting your other challenges on hold, unless you make a Brunetti category! They are hard to beat.

Category #6: LTers recommendations- The Frozen Thames Helen Humphreys

In its long history, the river Thames has frozen solid forty times. Thus begins this stunning collection of short stories which presents 40 short fictional account of events tied to each of those deep freezes.

Humphrey's prose is as crystal clear as the ice she describes. Each vignette addresses how the river is so central to many lives in London, and how the ice floes in a tidal river impact that life. The waterman who normally ferried people across, the shops who depended on goods being delivered by boat, the inability of people such as stone cutters to work properly due to the extreme temperatures, and the difficulties getting animals to walk on ice, are all realistically portrayed. One really touching story tells of families brining birds into their houses and letting them build nests inside to prevent them from freezing to death.

Stories of plague, fire, heriosm, and city life from 1142 to 1895 are exquisitely written and easy to read. The book itself is beautifully done with excellent illustrations to enhance the text.

Thanks to Kiwidoc, whisper and stasia for the recommendation. It was just what I needed.

tutu, The Frozen Thames sounds wonderful. I will have to add it to my list (even though it doesn't fit into any of my categories (on either part 1 or part 2).

linda---I think it wouldn't take much of a stretch to put the Frozen Thames into the disaster category...most of the people affected certainly viewed it that way.

I think I will have to look for that one too.

tutu, I think my remaining disasters are set with two floods and an explosion (sounds like a great title!!) but there's always next year for The Frozen Thames.

Or even this year if I decide that two floods are one too many. It's just that one flood is a Mississippi River flood (also fits my Miss. River category) and the other is a McCullough book and I adore McCullough's writing.

Meant to tell you that I LOVE your blog. I head over from time to time, after I check out my company's legal update blog.

Same post on my other threads, but I feel the need to sharie with friends today...

Today is Memorial Day, and instead of reading, I spent the day at our world class local art museum, the Farnsworth. I was really blown away by the way the museum tied quotes from the classics to much of the art on display. It was awesome. Instead of feeling guilty about not reading, I was able to have a dose of literature along with the art, and they went together like cream of tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. actually, we stopped at the local creamery for a cup of chowdah before heading home.

For the details, and links to the collection see my blog post tonite.

I'll leave you with a quote on the wall next to some exquiste etchings done by Kerr Eby:

Can't (we) do something that will allow them to be more than a memory...in all those ghostly acres of the dead?

Category #5: ERs or ARCs -Obama's Blackberry by Kasper Hauser

I'm almost ashamed to post this, but I got it from Hachette Books as an ARC and feel ethically obliged to post a review.

Let's say up front I'm an Obama fan. This book is not about Obama, nor does it do him justice. According to the publisher " Hauser...has cracked the code with this irreverant and wildly imaginative parody of our 44th president's emails and text messages."

It's NOT that funny. This book is more the puerile tittering of a writer who thinks that just because he can write something that makes a certain segment of society smirk, it's humor. There are about 130 ficititious bb posts in this tiny little book. Less than 10 of them of really funny, about another 10 are bordering on being offensive, and the rest read like a rehash of various SNL skits written in IM text.

I've never found it funny to portray heads of state as boobs.(there are several "posts" from heads of middle eastern, and european politicians that posit an intellect of less than mensa level--including a particularly tasteless one about Queen Elizabeth pouting about toast points!) While I don't mind poking fun at actual gaffes, or strange theories, making up stuff about public figures to discredit them is not my cup of tea.

The repeated posts from A Lincoln regarding the sexual opportunities in the after life are absolutely not funny.

OTOH, there's Arnold's email :

Dear Mr. President,
Listen to me: with a parachute, some RedBulls and a crossbow I could capture Bin Laden in 24 hours....

The ongoing series from the Terminator is actually fairly funny.

Maybe it's my demographic...I'm almost ready for Social security, I was raised to be respectful of others, I don't own a blackberry nor do I have a Twitter account, so the raunchy, off-color, 'fun-poking' isn't funny to me. I even do my IMs in real English with punctuation!

If you can find a free copy, grab it,tuck it into your purse or briefcase to read while you wait for the dentist and then leave it in the 'guest' room. It will take less time to read then it takes to boil a pot of pasta.

Category #5: ERs or ARCs The Link Uncovering our earlist ancestors. by Colin Tudge touchstone not working

This is the hot off the presses book about IDA, the 47million year old,incredibly preserved Eocene era fossil discovered in the Messil pit in Germany in the early 1980s. An amateur paleontologist discovers and lovingly preserves what is today the most complete primate fossil ever found.

Little, Brown, the publishers, a division of Hachete Book Group had quite a coming out party for this book and this fossil on May 19,2009 to great fanfare. I got an ARC last week, and finished it today. I don't pretend to understand everything in it. I'm pretty educated and don't have a lot of trouble with scientific concepts, but this one could be the text for graduate level paleontology. The first two or three chapters were fine, but then things started progressing to the MEGO (My Eyes Glaze Over!) stage. The final two chapters told me everything I really needed to know.

While well written for a scientific audience, this book is going to be way past appealing to the public, except..............the pictures are fantastic. Probably because the fossil (named IDA) is fantastic, and the work the scientific team has done so far is well documented and portrayed in x-rays, CT scans, etc.

This fossil is so well preserved that even the stomach contents of her last meal are still there and able to be analyzed. It's really interesting and I'm glad I read it, but I won't be running back to read it again. I suspect this early research will form the basis of many more papers, books, and theories in the future. So stand by. And for you lucky people in Oslo, where IDA is going to live, be sure to go see her in the museum.

Category #6: LTers recommend: Rule Number Two Lessons I Learned in a Combat Hospital Heidi Squier Kraft

Oh... Wow...a powerful book. I read it in about 3 hours, but will need a while to process to write a review. Talk about heroes....I just wish I could remember who recommended it. Thanks whoever you are.

There are two rules of war. Rule number one is that young men die. Rule number two is that doctors can't change rule number one.

This is a well written story of a young female Navy clinical psychologist who is sent to a field Marine surgical unit (think MASH) in Fallugah Iraq in Feb 2004 during some of the fiercest fighting of the war. She left behind her 15 mo old twins in the care of her parents and her husband (a Marine pilot). It's incredibly an honest, compassionate, compelling, and heartwrenching story of her tour of duty and the heroes she counts herself privileged to serve with. I count her as one of the heroes. Stories of her days in Iraq are interwoven with 'email' from home, making it as gut-wrenching for the reader as it must have been her to serve.

The book is not long, not technical and 'easy' to read on the one hand--the prose is sharp and clear. However, it is difficult to read about a young woman separated from her family, enduring incredible hardships, but able to help those Marines both younger and older than herself not only to endure and function, but survive the carnage with some humanity. With people like Heidi Kraft taking care of us, we will remain a strong country.

Category #1 Mystery: On What Grounds Cleo Coyle

I read this because my sister cheli (cyderry) told me to. She knows I'm a coffee fanatic, and she was right to say I would enjoy it. I thought it would be just another cozy fluffy recipe mystery, but I actually enjoyed the plot, the heroine, and the setting. The story actually centers around a coffeeshop co-owner who finds here asst manager lying unconscious the first morning she arrives to open the shop. Life goes downhill from there. There are a couple delightful alpha males in the story, a Crunella Deville type creature who is threatening to sue, an ex-mother-in-law who is a hoot, and several excellent recipes.

I was delighted to see several of my particular coffee fetishes validated. I'm glad I made this new mysteries category here on the 2nd 999....later this year, if there's room, I hope to read more.

Category 8: Audios The Scarecrow Michael Connelly.

I don't like to do spoilers, so I'm only going to give you some of the jacket blurb : Forced out of the Los Angeles Times amid the latest budget cuts, newspaperman Jack McEvoy decides to go out with a bang, using his final days at the paper to write the definitive murder story of his career.

He focuses on Alonzo Winslow, a 16-year-old drug dealer in jail after confessing to a brutal murder. But as he delves into the story, Jack realizes that Winslow's so-called confession is bogus. The kid might actually be innocent.

He finds himself ..... tracking a killer who knows way too much about computer internet online activities....this part of the book scared me more than any Stephen King. I wanted to cancel my internet subscription, and rip out the line, but then I realized I'd have to give up LT, and THAT"S NO FUN....

A definite page turner....I must read more of his work.

>>#43 I KNEW YOU'D LIKE IT.
I' have the second one in my library, I'll loan it to you.

#44 I placed a hold on The Scarecrow at the library, but when I checked the series info here, I see that it is #2 in a series after The Poet - have you read that one, too? I rushed to request The Poet and will try to finish it before starting The Scarecrow.

Have you read any of Michael Connelly's other books? I've been enjoying the Harry Bosch series, and he recently started another series featuring Mickey Haller The Lincoln Lawyer that I loved. It intertwines with Harry Bosch, so I've got it on hold until I catch up on that other side.

We have the Poet (it's in Hubby's office) and looks like about 12 altogether. Bob loves them, and now that I've read Scarecrow, I think these are definitely going onto the TBR pile (or is that the "To Read" Collection?).

Is TBR now TRC?

Please let's NOT start an acronym war!!! Whatever floats your boat is fine with me. I'm keeping TBR because the cement has already set, but my brain can make the TBR= To Read collection very easily. On to read (and sort collections!)

I read one of his Harry Bosch mysteries about 6 or 7 years back. Are the books you're talking about part of Connelly's Harry Bosch series? I'm not all that familiar with him or his books.

I have The Lincoln Lawyer but never seem to get around to that one.

Looks like I will need to read The Poet as well.

Yes...the ones we have, besides The Poet are part of the Harry Bosch series. I don't have the Lincoln Lawyer, but plan to try to read the Poet, and at least one HB to see if I like them as much as hubbie seems to think I will. He knows my reading habits pretty well, and we often discuss books we've both read, so I'm thinkin' theeser gonna be good.

That last sentence was Maine for I',m thinking these are going to be good.

I understand about the Maine language. We have certain "Chicagoisms" too. I always say "I'm going by my sister's house." That doesn't mean that I'm just driving by and waving--I am actually stopping in.

Category #1: Mysteries Mint Julep Murder Caroline Hart

Another entry from the Mystery Read-a-thon. Too many suspects, and I don't particularly care for amateur detectives who do stupid stunts, but the convoluted plot with just enough hints to hold my interest kept me guessing right up to the end. The fact that there were two murders made it much more interesting. And the Hilton Head setting certainly helped. A good beach read.

Category #8: Just Bcuz Tea Time for the Traditionally Built by Alexander McCall Smith .

Being a 'traditionally built' woman myself, I've always loved Alexander McCall Smith's Mma Precious Ramotswe of 1st Ladies Detective Agency fame. This 10th book in the series is as gentle and delightful a read as the previous ones. In this episode, Mma R's little white van finally bites the dust, and she is in mourning. Her side-kick Grace Makutsi is busy keeping her fiance Mr. Phuti Radiphuti out of the evil clutches of her nemesis from the Botswana Secretarial College, Violet Sephotho. In the meantime, the agency is hired by Mr. Molofololo, the owner of a local football team, to look into why his team has been losing. Is, as he suspects, one of the players sabotaging the games? Neither Precious nor Grace knows a thing about 'football' (soccer) and it takes the help of Mma Ramotswe's foster son Puso to get the answer.

This series is one of my all time favorites. On the surface, it's hard to say why. It certainly is not in the same league of other 'mysteries' or detective stories, but the grace, gentleness, courtesy, and pleasant good writing guarantees that when I pick one up and read it, I will put the book down feeling good about human beings. In addition, McCall Smith's wonderful introduction and explanation of the customs, traditions and culture of Botswana are truly enlightening for someone who has never been there. If you are lucky enough to get it in audio, the cadence of Lisette Lecat's readings adds even more richness. These books were made to be heard, not just read.

Category 5: Early Reviews & ARCs Labor Day Joyce Maynard

One of the best of the year. I am in awe! Could not put it down. Review to follow.

Category 5: Early Reviews & ARCs Labor Day Joyce Maynard.

An ARC I got from Harper Collins. What a powerful story! Pure fiction at its best! Several reviewers have been quoted as saying they could not put it down. I couldn't either. This is a book I can hardly wait to talk about with people who have read it, but don't want to spoil for those who are yet to have the fantastic experience of reading it for the first time.

The main character Henry, 13 years old, lives with his hamster Jim and his mother Adele who is becoming more and more of a recluse. He visits with his father and step mother and their children once a week, but seems to accept his aloneness (and his mother's withdrawal from life)with a sort of "that's life" attitude.

Into this life comes Frank, and once he appears on page 5, you will not be able to put this book down. Your heart will be in your throat, your pulse will race, your breathing will stop. Don't misunderstand, this is not a physic terror story, nor is it bloody or fantasy-like. It is simply a story of three people, each dealing with life issues, and how each reacts to events and circumstances, and interacts with the others over a six day period. Some things they have control over, some they do not. You can see several different possible endings coming, you don't know which one you want, and you don't want it to end badly. I think most people will find the ending acceptable.

This is a story of growing up, a story of teen-age angst, a story of trust, a story of betrayal. But most of all it is a story of possibilities, realities, and dreams--life as we all experience it, but life as we hope we never have to.

I'm sure his book will be on many book club discussion lists. I can't wait to see it in bookstores and libraries in August. It is going to be one of my "best of the year." So put in your reservations, and mark time on your calendar.

Category #1: Mystery Cream Puff Murder by Joanne Fluke.

My sister recommended this. It's the typical amateur sleuth runs circles around the pros. Our heroine Hannah runs a cookie shop (as in she bakes cookies). She spends her life trying to decide between two men who are courting her, running around solving a crime with her two sisters, while her Mother, a budding author and Estelle Gettie (or Granda M. from Janet Evonivitch's story) knockoff, tries to get her married off.

I did enjoy the mystery of where Hannah's cat is hiding all the food she puts out for him everyday. That was more entertaining than the so-called mystery.

On a saving note, the recipes are good....3 stars. If you like cozies, you'll love this one, although you may be getting tired of this series if you've read others.

Category #8 Only Audio: Cemetery Dance by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

This was the first book I'd read by this duo. I'm not usually a fan of books featuring horror, zombies, cults, or voodoo, but this was an audio ARC I received from Hachette, and I went into it with an open mind. It was an enjoyable story. The reading by Rene Auberjonois was fantastic. Each chapter was like a mini-story, each character was interesting, sometimes annoying, but always intriguing. You knew bad things were going to happen, but you were never quite sure what, or who was going to be involved.

I assume from the book jacket that the two main characters, as well as the first victim, have been around for previous volumes in the series. Detective D'Agosta's rough edges were the perfect foil for Special Agent Prendergast's refined manner. I did find myself wondering how these two got together and what the history was, so I would not recommend this book without reading others in the series first. I especially liked Prendergast's language : his sentences and vocabulary were luxurious without being pompous.

Warning: SOME SPOILERS.

The story concerns a murder with eye-witnesses who swore the killer was someone who was already dead and buried. Later the first victim is seen to be the murderer of another woman who was a colleague…again committed in front of a room full of witnesses.

There's a cult of celibates living on an abandoned estate in the middle of a park in New York City, who practice animal sacrifice. There's an obnoxious art collector/business man who uses his money and his lawyers to thumb his nose at authority.

There's the bumbling police commissioner (why do all these detective books these days show the top guy as less than competent?), and some people who obviously played some important part in Prendergast's past but we don't get a good picture of who or what they did.

I found the women rather underwritten. On the one hand, there's Laura Hayward, a police Captain who doesn't seem to have anything to do but play the love interest for D'Agosta, and then do a 'wonder-woman' to try to rescue him. Then there's Nora Kelley, wife of the first victim in the story, who tries to stay out of the way, but who manages to become entangled. It did stretch my imagination that an archaeological expert who works with pottery shards knew how to set up and run a DNA analyzer.

In spite of my questions about the characters, the plot kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the whole book.

Category 4: Historical Fiction 4/9: Dinner at Mr. Jefferson's: Three Men, Five Wines, and the Evening that changed America by Charles A. Cerami.

This was a real disappointment...I should never have read the book's blurb...out of 288 pages, les than 25 had to do with the dinner. My full review is posted in the book, and will be on on Tutu's Two Cents later this week.

Tutu, I still enjoyed Dinner at Mr Jefferson's though, like you, I was disappointed that very little time was spent on the dinner itself.

I'm halfway through Cerami's book about the Louisiana Purchase and I don't like it nearly as much.

I will be glad to finally be finished with Jefferson and moving on to Madison. I'm getting tired of Jefferson.

Category 5: ERs or ARCs - Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant.

A well-researched piece of historical fiction. Unless you are cold stone hearted, this work will definitely have an emotional impact. I’m not sure how men will receive it, but most 21st century women will finish the book, take a deep breath, exhale slowly, and send prayers or thoughts to whatever supreme deity is in their lives with thanks that they did not have to live through anything like this.

The story line is fairly straightforward: In 16th century Italy, the bride price (or dowry) for women had gotten so high that families could only afford to marry off one daughter. The rest were consigned to convents –along with whatever endowment the family could give to the abbess to take care of the unfortunate girl for the rest of her life.

Some women welcomed this life—especially if the alternative was to marry some man not to her liking—others were literally dragged (drugged?) into the convents totally against their wills. Sacred Hearts is the story of Isabetta, a young girl who wanted to marry her music teacher, but who was instead dispatched to the convent of Santa Catarina. The Abbess is keen to have her since she reputedly has an angelic voice, and the convent choir’s performances for the towns people and the surrounding countryside bring much needed patronage and money for the Abbey.

Once inside, we meet the stern, uber rule enforcing novice mistress, Umiliana; the wise, crafty, and holy abbess Madonna Chiara; the dispensary mistress Zuana, and several anorexic (in those days they were called holy mystics) ancient dying sisters fasting and waiting to meet Christ.

Isabetta, renamed Serafina, immediately sets the convent on end by such loud screaming her first
night that Chiara sends Zuana to calm her down. Zuana herself had come to the convent reluctantly 16 years prior. The daughter of a prominent widowed doctor, who taught her everything he know about medicine and herbs, she was not considered marriage material (no man would want a woman so smart!) and with no large dowry or estate, she was sent to the abbey to live.

Seeing much of herself in the young novice, Zuana befriends Serafina, (having to drug her first to calm her down) and convinces the abbess to assign Serafina to work in the herb garden and dispensary with her.

At this point, the plot twists begin. The book is to be published next week, and I urge you to get a copy. This is a superbly written story of young love, betrayal, mistreatment of women, women bonding with other women, and the horrible, horrible treatment of women by the Italian society of the day. While it is the story of the helplessness of women on the one hand, I must point out (with as little spoiler as possible) that it is also the story of the courageousness, talent, and cunning of women who solve problems themselves.

It would make a wonderful book discussion group read.

Category 8: Only Audio All Other Nights by Dara Horn.

I originally picked this one up for the Historical fiction category and I may yet move it there, but for now I'm putting it here since I listened to it while doing my workouts this week.

Dara Horn has taken the Civil War setting and viewed it fictionally from the perspective of a New York Jew, Jacob Rappaport, who runs away from his family to avoid an arranged marriage and joins the Union army. His Jewish background and language skills land him in the role of a secret agent smuggled into New Orleans to kill his uncle who is involved in a plot to kidnap and/or kill Lincoln. He is so successful at that undertaking (killing the uncle), that he is next assigned to go to Danville Virginia to marry a young lady who is suspected of being the member of another Confederate spy ring.

The story has many plot twists, making it often necessary to go back and see who's working for whom. Several times, there are awfully convenient occurences that seem to pull the fat from the fire just in time. And the reader is constantly questioning Rappaport's motivation since he is constantly questioning it himself. The supporting characters are well drawn, and each has a very specific role in the unfolding of the story.

I can't even say I won't do spoilers. I just finished this, and really will have to go back and re-read a bit because I'm not sure what happened, or how the story ends. There are certainly questions in my mind about the ending, not so much that I didn't like what happened (I'm not sure I did) but that I'm not sure whether the story really ended, or the reader is left hanging. If so, why?

All in all, if you are a civil war fan, you may enjoy this account of the involvement and role of Jewish soldiers and families on both sides of the conflagration. If you're looking for Gone With the Wind, this isn't it, but it's still worth a read.

Far to many books added to the TBR mountain. Thanks I think.

Category 8 Only Audio: Executive Privilege by Philip Margolin.

A light weight suspense thriller I listened to on audio while I was driving...even kept my attention while gardening the other day.

It's the standard story: hard working lawyer in Oregon gets lucky, is handed a career building (or busting) case he doesn't want; on the other coast, a female PI (police drop out due to horrible experiences while undercover) discovers evidence that can be matched up with Oregon boy that may in fact lead to the President of US as a serial killer????? OK...at that point I had to suspend belief, but the story was well plotted enough to keep my interest til the somewhat surprising end.

Good airport/beach/doctor's waiting room read, but unless you're really into outlandish plots, I wouldn't worry about toppling the TBR pile.

Category 7 Surprise!!! Little Fingers Filip Florian

Review also posted on my blog.

This is one of the most confusing books I've ever read. It is also one of the best. My head is still spinning from the extraordinarily long paragraphs (some as long as 10 pages) and I think I understand "what happened' in the end. The story is about a town in Rumania where a mass grave of bodies is discovered. Various personalities have theories about the who, when, and why of all these bodies, but it isn't until a team of Argentinian soccer players who happen to be forensic archaeologists shows up (and they are an entire sub-story) that the story seems to resolve itself.

The characters--their stories and conversations--are the strength of the book. I felt at times that Robin Williams had invaded James Joyce's brain...the stream of conscious, free wheeling, long, long sentences with lots of paragraphs, left me breathless.

There is the young anthropologist Petrus, his slightly nutty Auntie Paulina, her daughter Jo-Jo (she whose anatomy always brought to his mind various ripe fruits); there's the Orthodox monk with the hair that had to be trimmed every 8 hours and the visions of the Holy Mother telling him what to do, who transcribes the Bible on birch bark, and hears confession via hidden letters left in a rose bush; there's the police chief with the missing little finger,and the photographer with his camel Alladin; the list goes on.

There is no way to describe the plot. The book is a free fall of ideas about the mystery of the mass grave. It's an easy read if you sit down and stay with it, but it is also a hard read. One well worth undertaking.

Last note: The translator Alistair Ian Blyth did a masterful job. The book was named the Best Debut Novel of the Romanian Writers Union, 2006, the Best First Novel of Romania literara, 2005, and won the Best Debut Novel Award of the National Union of the Romanian Employers, 2005.

Category 8 Just Audio: Deadly Nightshade Cynthia Riggs

Review posted on my blog:

A great little mystery with wonderfully motivated and developed characters. Set on Martha's vineyard, the harbor master's assistant's grandma hears someone being murdered. Thus begins a good who-dunnit set against a faint backdrop of visiting POTUS and a island swarming with FEDS; there's an assortment of surly teenagers, a platoon of caricatures of New England fishermen, a retired NYPD cop, a mysterious computer expert, some hard-working stereotypical assertive females, a second murder and whoa - a third??? The grandma, Victoria, the amateur sleuth is old and wise enough to know when to butt in and when to back off. Unlike some of the other amateurs featured in some current mystery series, she's not about to do anything stupid, and still manages to help.

NO SPOILERS....the plot and characters were well enough developed that the audio got me through several hours of rigorous gardening. HOWEVER, as an audio, it has a serious flaw. The book is set in New England - not OLD ENGLAND. With Davina Porter as the narrator, you must disassociate from Martha's Vineyard because her very high class English accent really gets in the way. I really like her narrations...and listen to them whenever I see them, but her voice doesn't work for this setting. It's even worse when she uses various English accents for the dock workers. I doubt seriously if they came from Scotland, or Cornwall, etc. Truly disappointing in an otherwise acceptable book. If you like cozies with a little zip, you'll like this one.

Category #2 Leftovers from the First 999: Fatally Flaky by Diane Mott Davidson

Fits nicely in the old food category. My driving to the pool audio book last week. I love these stories for their food, and their fun, and their narrator, Barbara Rosenblatt. This was another wonderfully fun Goldy Schulz food filled mystery.

This time the story centers around the wedding of Bridezilla Billie, who keeps changing wedding plans, and thinks that the world does not revolve around the sun, rather she is the center of the planetary system. Doesn't everyone add 50 people to the guest list less than 48 hours before the wedding, necessitating not only more food, but an entire change of venue?

Goldy's godfather Jack, her trusty sidekick Julian, her effervescent endlessly rich friend Marla, her previous nemesis/rival Victor and the town's retired Dr (old Doc Finn) all play starring roles. There are hot tubs, smoothie shacks, country clubs and hospitals. Lots of espresso, and a spa in need of a nutrional upgrade.

As usual Davidson treats us to a good plot, quirky characters, delightful settings, interesting dialogue and scrumptious recipes. The only problem with listening to them on audio, is that I end up going to the library to copy the recipes!

Category 6: LTers recommend Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips.

I have not enjoyed a book this much in years. It is pure laugh out loud fun. I'm sure there are people who will try to analyse it in terms of relations to present day religions, but I didn't try to make a theologic or anthropologic exercise out of it. If you ever studied Greek Mythology, you have enough under-pinnings to just plain love the hilarious antics.

This was my weekly audio book, and the narrator was British. I had a great deal of fun with the human herione named Alice--I kept picturing her as Alice, the ditzy side-kick to Dawn French in the old BBC series "Vicar of Dibley". Neil, her he doesn't realize he is boyfriend, is such a mouse that you have to love his naivete, especially when he has to interact with gods he's never heard of!

Apollo is portrayed as a promiscuous pompous ass, and the rivalry between Artemis and Aphrodite is played perfectly. The juxtaposition of the high intelligence of the one, and the extraordinary sex drive of the other is set against the futziness and foilbes of a bunch of run-down deities trying to live together in a flat in London. It's a hoot!

Put this one on the list of "I need a perk me up" -it won't let you down.

Category 5: ERs and ARCs Red to Black by Alex Dryden.

An ARC I received from Harper Collins. Great suspense, very well researched (although I'd never know whether the stuff about M-16 and the KGB is fact or fiction), excellent well developed, believable characters. The story --plot-- was a little slow at the beginning, but suddenly I found myself hooked and unable to put it down. My full review is attached to the book and on Tutu's Two Cents.

Tina, it's always good to have a "I need a perk me up" book standing by - I've added Gods Behaving Badly to the wishlist. Thanks for the recommendation.

Category 6, LTers Recommend The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

Several posters have indicated that this was a fun YA book. Since, as grandma (that's what Tutu means afterall) I'm now on the lookout for good reads for my blossoming g-daughter, I nabbed this when it became available on our library's audio download.

It's a wonderful cozy mystery featuring an exceptionally precocious 11yr old chemistry whiz , Flavia de Luce, who helps solve a current murder, an old murder originally thought to be a suicide, and the theft of an extremely valuable stamp belonging to King George VI.

A book that will be devoured by all pre-teen girls in the same way we once devoured Nancy Drew, and Trixie Belden. At the same time, if adults can suspend belief in such a level of forensic aptitude in an 11 year old, it is an excellent read for all mystery lovers. It is well plotted, suspenseful, and the characters are well drawn. I'm not sure I could handle any more of Miss da Luce, but I know in a few years my granddaughter will.

Category, 6, LTers Recommend The Second Death of Goodluck Tinubu by Michael Stanley.

Cathyskye recommended this and I will now second her recommendation. It was a great read. I really enjoy a good mystery and this one is.

Set in Botswana, a setting many of us are now familiar with thanks to Alexander McCall Smith's No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, author(s) Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip co-authored this under the Michael Stanley name. This is the second book in the series, and I'm off to find the first quickly.

Inspector David "Kubu" Benbu is sent to investigate the murders of two people at a bush camp. There are a variety of campers (suspects) and staff, including a cook with a live bird attached to his shoulder. There are survivors of rebellions years past, British bird watchers, a pair of sister claiming to be British journalists, cops who are scared to death of crocodiles, bad guys galore, lots of hippos (in fact "kubu" means hippopatamous--the nickname was given to the detective due to his size). Family members help to humanize Kubu and give us an eye into his motivations. I don't like to do spoilers in reviewing mysteries, so no plot review here, but the characters are delightful, the setting is beautifully portrayed, and the plot is definitely one with twists, turns, and clues. When Goodluck is murdered and his fingerprints indicate he has been officially dead for over 30 years........well as you can see, the plot thickens quickly.

The book also contains a glossary of African terms, a map and a drawing of the layout of the camp. I found myself referring to them occasionally, and while I found them helpful, this isn't a book where you're going to have to constantly keep referring to them.

In addition to the mystery, we are treated to a mini-history/politics lesson about Botswana, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. The culture, customs, and geography of the area are lovingly portrayed. It's a marvelous read...grab it and sink in.

This one sounds really good. I will have to look for it at the library.

Category 1 Mysteries: The Terra Cotta Dog an Inspector Maltalban mystery by Andrea Camilleri.

This was my latest drive around town audio book. I helped that it was set in Sicily, one of the places we'll be visiting on our cruise in a few weeks. I enjoy Inspector Salvo Maltaban, and his go-it-alone tough guy attitude. He has a lover in Northern Italy, a housekeeper who tries to keep him fed, and his laundry done, a boss who respects him, an assistant who can best be described as a twidget, a gorgeous blonde mechanic as a supporting cast.

In this particular episode, Salvo listens to a deathbed disclosure from a local mafioso telling him where to find a cache of illegal weapons. The capture of this stash, and the subsequent investigation of who else was involved in the chain, runs as a sort of red herring. The true mystery is revealed in a cave within the cave where the weapons were. There Salvo discovers the bodies of 2 young people, naked, lying beside the statue of a Terra Cotta dog, a bowl of coins, and a jug of water. When the pathologist says the bodies have been there at least 50 years, the quest for answers becomes very interesting.

These stories are always enjoying, altho they are not nearly as much fun as Donna Leon's Commissario Brunetti series. A good quick who-dunit.

Category 5 ER or ARCs: The Rapture by Liz Jensen.

Whew! As many of you know, I don't handle horror stories very well, so I almost turned down the chance offered by Doubleday to review this. I got my Advanced Review Galley last month, and kept putting it off. The Book went on sale this week, and if I had to write a one-line review, I'd say You must buy and read this book

I don't believe in the Christian concept of the Rapture, I do believe in the reality of global warming. Liz Jensen has written an incredibly well plotted story about a physotherapist, Gabrielle Fox, and her patient Brittany Krall. Brittany, 16 yrs old, has been confined to a mental institution because she brutally murdered her mother. Her father, a preacher who believes in the Rapture, refuses to have anything to do with his daughter, saying she is possessed by the devil.

Gabrielle, who is still suffering physically and psychologically from a terrible car accident in which she was left a paraplegic and her lover was killed, takes on Brittany as a patient against the advise of her previous boss, and her own medical team who do not think she is ready to return to work.

Brittany's 'visions' of terror to come have a surrealistic habit of proving true. She predicts earthquakes, hurricanes, storms, etc, with incredible and scary accuracy.

Enter Frazer Melville, a Scottish physicist who is not only interested in Gabrielle, but in Brittany's 'talents.' As Brittany's predictions increase, and the horror what she is suggesting sinks in, Frazer and Gabrielle must decide if they believe her, if they have any obligation to warn the world, and how to handle the increasingly violent and disruptive teenager.

Enough plot. I don't want to spoil the ending. I won't discuss whether the Rapture happens or total disaster strikes the earth. You will have to read to find out. But you must read it.

The story keeps you on the edge of your seat. The characters are quite believable and often poignant. But it is THE PROSE, THE WRITING, that will have you breathless.

I am reluctant to quote because I only have a galley, and final changes may have occurred. I hope the editors don't change one word. Liz Jensen has written some of the most incredible imagery, dialogue and story lines I've read this year (and I've read over 100 books). Her ability to paint pictures with words is incredible. There were times I was left gasping. Here is one small example describing the aftermath of a giant earthquake:

Morning glory, cyclamen, and all shades of bougainvillea will writhe their way through the remains of tower blocks and climb up the rusted steel reinforcements of hospitals to bloom in bright carpets; poppies and bindweed and rosemary and lemongrass will deck splintered wood and smashed concrete with verdure; acacia trees and chinaberries will colonize the cracks, splitting tarmac to conjure the worst kind of beauty: the kind that celebrates human collapse.

Every word is that precisely written. Whether you believe any of the horror, or sympathize with the characters, you will not be able to forget this one. 5 stars.

Edited to fix touchstone....

Category #2: Leftovers from challenge #1: In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan.

I had a food category in the first 999, and had originally intended to read Pollan's 1st book The Omnivore's Dilemma (still on my TBR shelf, but I also needed an audio book to listen to this week and grabbed at this one. I'm glad I did.

I love to eat, and have the shape to prove it. I grew up with an Italian grandma (dad's side of the family) who had to feed 8 sons on a very limited budget, and an Irish mother who couldn't cook anything very exciting (she never learned how). When I was 8, my father parked me in a Brownie troop with instructions to the leader that I was to earn the cook badge as early as possible. From age 10, I did most of the family cooking. Next to reading, food is still one of my top three hobbies.

So I am often very tentative about anybody telling me what I should or should not eat, and how to grow, purchase, and prepare food. I love to watch cooking shows, I own, and peruse often, 100's of cook books. This book held my attention, made a lot of sense in several areas, and really got me thinking.

It offers an excellent explanation of how the field of 'nutritionism' and marketing forces in the US have changed the diet (and-- the author posits--the health) of the western world, specifically the US.

"Nutritionists pay far more attention to the chemistry of food than to the sociology or ecology of eating."
and....
"Gas stations have become processed corn stations: ethanol outside for your car and high fructose corn syrup inside for you."

Pollan gives easy to understand explanations, somewhat supported by experts, although I'm not quite ready to totally buy something because "scientists commonly report", or 'are heavily leaning toward', etc. The author does point out that all of these theories about what is healthy or not is cyclical, and heavily dependent on the science of the moment.

He makes a cogent agument for returning to the days of grandma, before we started tinkering with foods and making claims for health by eating this or that. He is especially believable in the campaign against engineered foods (or food products as he is quick to emphasize.)

The book features several "food statements" AKA rules that make quite a bit of sense drawn up to help people return to eating the diet he claims human beings are biologically designed to eat. Among them:

Eat well grown food from well-known sources.
Have a glass of wine with dinner.
Do all your eating at a table.
Try not to eat alone.
Cook your own food and plant a garden.

Finally he admits that while he doesn't pray before meals, the practice of saying a blessing helps insure that we don't eat thoughtlessly. He finds a statement offered by Wendall Barry to be a perfect meal starter:

"Eating with the fullest pleasure--pleasure that is--that does not depend on ignorance is perhaps the profoundest enactment of our connection with the world. In this pleasure we experience and celebrate our dependence and our gratitude for we are living from mystery, from creatures we did not make and powers we can not comprehend."

I learned a lot reading this and would recommend it to anyone interested in sorting through the current maze of food/eating gospels.

Great review, Tina. I've seen this book but never read it. Not sure why that is, since nutrition and healthy food is one of my favorite nonfiction topics. I like the rules listed here, but won't even pretend that I follow them - at least not all of them. Relative to the first rule though, I tried to teach my kids that, for healthy eating, they should choose food as close to the way God made it as possible. So, even in the no-fat craze of the 1980's, I bought dairy butter instead of margarine or some hybrid "spread" - and still do. I need to find this book again and actually read it - thanks for the recommendation.

Category #9 -Just Bcuz -Manana, Manana Peter Kerr.

I listened to the audio of this book while packing for our upcoming trip (packing takes two hands) and was instantly transported to the land of manana. (wish I could figure out how to get the tilde over that n!). Any way...we are making a stop there on our cruise. Hubbie has been there (he brought back some beautiful pearls over 40 years ago!), but I haven't. We are both looking forward to this being one of the more leisurely stops on our trip.

In addition to enjoying the travel reading, I found the story a fascinating follow-on to my reading last week of Pollan's In Defense of Food, where Pollan advocates as much as possible going back to old ways of growing, farming, etc. Peter Kerr's story of a couple from Scotland who purchase a rundown orange orchard on Mallorca, and uproot themselves and two teenage sons is amusing, and at the same time, rather inspiring.

I admire someone who has the courage in mid-life to decide to give up a big riding deisel tractor, and revert to plowing behind a push-tractor. The advise from the local tree pruners, and donkey dung collectors, while probably excellent horticulturally, is related in Kerr's normal hilarious, tongue-in-cheek style.

There are the usual stories that one finds in any book about ex-pats living in a foreign land- the language gaffes, the strange foods, the different customs, dealings with police etc. I got a good flavor of the Mediterranean.

Now I'm off to sample the real thing.

Category #3 Maine: Primal Obsession by Susan Vaughan.

This is a good stay up all night to finish it book. Up front I must admit that I have met Susan Vaughan....she is a local author who taught at the same school where my husband taught. Then I must also say that I'd never read any of her other books. When she found out I reviewed blogs, she offered a copy of this for our library and I offered a review. I don't read a lot of romance, and I'm just starting to be able to read 'thrillers', so I'm not quite in my element.

Primal Obsession is a well-done combination of both those genres. There is a delightfully spunky, intelligent herione, Annie; there is the 'hero' Sam: a has-been Boston Red Sox player, no longer able to play due to injuries and who is now a Maine wilderness guide; there is "The Hunter"- a bad bad dude if there ever was one, and there is a beautiful setting - the Maine wilderness, which can make any book a delight to read. Ms. Vaughan writes as if she has definitely been there and makes the reader feel and hear and smell every tree limb, lake shore, campground and pine tree Sam and Annie see.

Vaughan manages to artfully weave several stories at once:

* There's Annie's tale: she's a newspaper reporter who first made the connections between the killer's various victims, who is now receiving threats from him; at the same time, she is mourning a friend who was a victim of the serial killer and has actually gone on this wilderness expedition to fulfill a promise to her dead friend to spread her ashes in the woods.
* The pshycho thriller story-- a very nasty serial killer stalking his prey (Annie) and the law enforcement types trying to find him before he kills again; one of the lawmen is Annie's brother who thinks that 'parking' her on a Maine wilderness adventure will keep her safely out of the Hunter's reach.
* Sam's attempt to stop drinking to drown his sorrows at not playing baseball anymore and prove to himself and his family that he can be a successful wilderness guide; as things start to happen on the adventure, he finds himself tested - can he truly live up to his and everyone else's expectations?
* Sam and Annie's almost stereotypical romance: Girl meets Boy, boy meets and immediately likes girl, girl rebuffs boy and refuses to acknowledge the attraction; boy and girl suddenly are faced with the physical threat to girl from the killer and boy must save girl.

The writing grips the reader from the beginning, and the book becomes a good old-fashioned page-turner. Ms. Vaughan has done an excellent job of taking what could have been a garden variety romance or a standard ho-hum thriller and combined the two into an exciting, vibrant, well-plotted story with well-drawn (if unsurprising) main characters, and enough plot twists and other characters to hold the reader's interest to the end. Even while changing point of view often (something I normally find distracting in a book) she manages to hold our attention and keep the story moving forward. I only wish the romance had been less cliched. I could already figure out exactly what was going to happen, and when this kiss would lead to that, or what Sam was going to run through his mind while watching her in a wet tee-shirt, etc. Probably the reason I don't read too many straight romances. The suspense action saves the book. It's real, it's thrilling, and it goes right to the end.

I'd strongly recommend you try this one if romance and/or thrillers are for you, and especially if you love the Maine woods. You won't be disappointed.

Category 1: Mysteries- Murder on K Street by Margaret Truman.

Another good solid mystery by one of my favorite mystery writers. Having lived in the DC area for over 15 years, I enjoy these stories. While the premise may be a tad farfetched, I listened to pompous politicians on the evening news for enough years to know that it's not out of the realm of possibility.

Senator Lyle Simmon's wife is found murdered inside their Georgetown home. The senator, who is about to run for president, seems more concerned with his image than in finding the killer. His two children, a wimpy son who is president of a lobbying firm, and his politically active (on the opposite side of her father) daughter, are devastated.

Add a best friend who was in the love with the wife, some questionably legal doings by the lobbying firm, throw in another murder, and it makes for a good who-dunnit. Nothing extravagant, but it was a good easy read while I was on cruise.

Category 5: ERs and ARCs - The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny.

Louise Penny has done it again. This latest story of a murder investigation set in the village of Three Pines outside of Quebec continues our acquaintance with the inhabitants of these small town, and with the crack homicide investigating team of the Surete Quebec, led by the urbane Chief Inspector Gamache. New characters are added, and old ones we've met in previous books in this series come under suspicion when an old man is found dead in the village bistro. No one will admit to knowing who he was or how he came to be there.

Penny's stories are not the run of the mill mysteries. They include elements of fantasy, psychology, history, art, poetry, and politics. Like previous ones in this series, this one is incredibly plotted, with several suspects, and a richly developed cast of characters (including the resident lunatic poet who dresses her pet duck in different outfits everyday). Gamache and his team must not only identify the deceased, but determine the motivation that led to his murder. The quest takes him from Quebec all the way to the northernmost islands off British Columbia. Thru that trek, we are treated to the history of early inhabitants of the island.

This is one of her best, and there's no way to explain the plot without doing spoilers. If you enjoyed her earlier Gamache mysteries, you won't be disappointed in this one. If you've not read Penny before, starting here is as good as it gets.

Category #8: Only Audio - Knit Two by Kate Jacobs.

This work continues the story of the women involved in Jacob's first novel :The Friday Night Knitting Club. I was prepared to be disappointed, but was not. Many sequels fall flat, but this one, while perhaps spending a bit too long reviewing who all the characters were and what happened to them in FNBC, carries forward with their lives and presents us with a growing up Dakota, a more mature Darci, and definitely fleshes out the personalities of Katherine, and Anita, who had been strong, but not center stage before.

If you haven't read the first one, this will still stand on its own, but reading them in order gives a much richer experience.

category #2 - Leftovers from the first challenge: The Private Patient by P.D. James

I originally had this one in my first challenge for the mysteries category but that got filled up fast. I had it on my MP3 as an audio, but that category filled up too.

So now I finally have listened to it this week...it's a wonderful audio narrated by Rosalyn Landor, but all James' books make great reading and great audios.

I wish P.D. James could live forever and continue her marvelously detailed character studies cum mysteries. They are superb, this latest one is every bit as good as her earlier ones (I've only read 12 of her 59). The hints are sprinkled throughtout this latest one however, that this may be the last of the Adam Dalgliesh series. While sad, one of the best things I can say about James' books is that they are even better the second and third times you read them.

Category #5 ERs and ARCs: South of Broad by Pat Conroy.

This deserves a huge review, and I'll edit this post when I get mine done to at least link to the review. That said, this is a 5 star book, and will certainly be on my list of the Best Fiction Reads of 2009.

Pat Conroy has not published a novel in 14 years, but South of Broad was absolutely worth the wait. I finished it at 2 AM this morning and was so blown away, that I had to sit completely still for almost 1/2 hour before I could get out of my chair and go to bed. If you've never read Conroy, you're in for a treat. If you've read his others, you'll find this one every bit as well written, brilliantly charactered, and gripping as his others.

I'm glad to hear that South of Broad is excellent, Tina. I've got that one down for sometime within the next month or so. I'm looking forward to it.

The review for South of Broad is posted now in the book, and at Tutu's Two Cents

Put it on your Christmas list...

Great review, Tina. I've never read Conroy - do you recommend any particular book to start with?

I think Prince of Tides or Beach Music are good ones, but any of them are wonderful. also, if you've ever had anything to do with the Marines, The Great Santini is marvelous.

Category 3: Maine/New England The Paperwhite Narcissus by Cynthia Riggs
Another in the charming Martha's Vineyard Mystery series, starring one of my favorite amateur sleuths: 92 year old Victoria Trumbull of Martha's Vineyard. She has the chief of police driving her around after they took her driver's license away, she still mounts steps like a 10 year old, climbs ladder, catches fish, and has that imperious school marm voice that can bring 60 year old men to their knees.

When she is fired from her long term job writing a news (gossip?) column for the Island Observer, she threatens to sue the editor Colley Jamison for age discrimination. A series of ugly murders gets in the way of her legal action however, and she ends up boosting the circulation of the competing island newsletter in the process of tracking down clues and solving all the murders the local and state police can't.

A perfectly delightful cozy with a strong flavor of New england and the Vineyard. The author gives us a good picture of the diverse sections of the island and the people who live there year round.

I listened to this one on audio, and my only complaint is having a British voice do the narrating. It seems very out of place. Davina Porter is one of my favorite narrators for audio books, but the voice just isn't right for Martha's Vineyard.

Category #6 LTers recommend: A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny.

While this is an Inspector Armand Gamache mystery, it is not set in Three Pines. It is however, every bit as tightly plotted, exquisitely written, and spell-binding as her others.

Gamache takes his beautiful wife Reine Marie to the idyllic rustic Manoir Bellechasse to celebrate their wedding anniversary (it is where they spent the first night of their honeymoon). While he's there another family has taken over the rest of the lodge, and it soon becomes apparent that these people do not like each other very much. They are there to commemorate their deceased father by unveiling and dedicating a statue to him.

As one would expect, there is a murder on site, and Gamache (along with his second in command, Jean-Guy Beaumont) goes about the ugly task of interviewing this most unhappy group of visitors and staff to solve the mystery. They are an intriguing group: the chef who looks familiar to Jean Guy, and Reine Marie, the aloof maitre d', the surly summer hire, the shy and nervous gardener, the sons of the deceased (one a total snob, the other --well---), the widow of the deceased (who has re-married) and her husband, the daughter of the deceased and her child (we must question whether a child named "Bean" is male or female--I won't tell) and the proprietess who owns and runs the shop.

Add in the ex-son-in-law (sitting in a Vancouver jail for investment fraud) and Gamache's struggles with his memories of his deceased father and this book becomes one with layer upon layer of complexity. It is frankly magnificent.

Although this is not set in Three Pines, Penny manages to involve the villagers (Peter is the son of the deceased pater who is being memorialized) and she evokes the quiet, beautiful wilderness that is the hallmark of the other books in the series.

I think Louise Penny is going to be this generation's Agatha Christie. She is that good. I love her characters, I love her settings, and she is masterful at developing plot lines. If you haven't read any of her books, take it from TUTU...you must.

Category #1: Mysteries - The New Bedside, Bathtub, and Armchair Companion to Agatha Christie by Julian Symons.

Ok., ok., it's not strictly a mystery, but it is ABOUT everything mystery ABOUT Agatha Christie.

So now I will confess: I've never read an Agatha Christie mystery!

We inherited this book, and when I discovered it on a shelf several weeks ago, I was delighted because I thought it was an anthology of her works, or at least a sampling, and would be a great introduction to this famous writer.

WRONG! Julian Symonds has edited this mishmash of items about Agatha Christie, including everything from reviews to articles, to publicity shots; it does not however contain any of her writings. The small (think about 8) font makes it difficult to read at night, and its large and heavy size makes it (in spite of what the title proclaims ) a "not for bathtubs" book. As an armchair companion it works, but it's much more a reference, browsing book than one to read cover-to-cover. And again, I confess, I did not, could not, can not, and will not, am I sounding like a Dr. Seuss book? read it all. I slogged through quite a bit of it, enough to realize that she is a highly regarded writer, and obviously worthy of the accolades compiled here.

If you're a Christie fan, you might like it. If like me, you've still got to cut your teeth, I suspect this is not the place to start. It did induce me to read one of her stories to find out what all the excitement is really about. I'm leaving the last slot in the mysteries category for one of hers. I'm thinking it would make a wonderful way to close out the year.

I have a book of 5 of Miss Marple stories - if you'd like to borrow it.

I have lots of them, just need to read them

Category #4: Historical Fiction:The Saint and the Fasting Girl by Anna Richenda.

Anna Richenda sent me this richly worded story of a group of women living in England during the time of the early Reformation. She asked if I would be interested in reviewing it, and I agreed to read. I had recently finished Ken Follett’s Pillars of the Earth so I was familiar with the period and thought it sounded really fascinating.

This book has great descriptive text. Through her writing, we are transported to a time and setting of awful stenches, steaming piles of mud and manure, bone-numbing cold, gruesome starvation, teeth-chattering rains, blood and sweat and urine soaked straw mattresses, fleas, spiders and other bugs, and every other physical hardship that can be dreamt of.
As the story progresses, there are action scenes worthy of Mel Gibson’s Braveheart – lots of blood, gore, pounding hooves, waving swords and pikes and bishop’s staffs; children, horses, pigs, oxen and pregnant women being beaten, whipped, dragged away, burned and hanged; and lots of trauma (as in chopping off) of various body parts.

The chapters are well defined and divided into easy-to-read-in-one session pieces, but with chapter titles that seem, with a few exceptions, to have nothing to do with the text that follows.

I have done other reading (albeit fiction) set in this period, and have spent time literally traipsing through the area of England she talks about, so I from my limited perspective, I’d say that her historical settings are accurate portrayals of the times and places.

All that said, I need to preface the rest of this review with the caveat that I don’t like fantasy, or paranormal activity in my reading, so I really had a hard time with a lot of this. While I regret to say that I couldn’t figure out the point of this book, that doesn't mean that others won't. It's not my bag, but it should be looked at and available to others who will read and enjoy it. Here are some of my issues:

* First of all, the main character Georgia? Jane? has (had?) many lives (incarnations?) with different names, and has (had?) been killed many times but keeps coming back to be the bearer of the relic of St. Iselda. This rebirth issue made it difficult for me to get an accurate picture in my mind of what this woman looked like…something I find necessary if I’m to read a story about a main character.
* The next character "Lo" is said to be the "Chooser" but I never figured out what she was to choose.
* I never figured out what St Iselda is supposed to do (other than restore these women to power? – power over what? Men?)or when she's supposed to do it or why these women are following (worshipping?) her. Shades of Christ coming to save the world, but then again not.
* The ‘followers’ of the saint (they keep emphasizing “we’re not nuns”) go through quite a bit of persecution on the part of both the Roman and Protestant Catholics, who see any woman as a threat, nuns as whores, and treat women as chattel but why this is any different than treatment of any other group of religious at the time is not really clear.
* I know that during medieval times there was quite an emphasis on appealing to saints for protection, and relics were big big big, but never once in this book did I hear a prayer being sent heavenward to any deity…only female saints.(Right there....that'll get it on the Banned Book list! )
* Every chapter builds to a new battle with some MAN or other, and often involved some struggle to find the relic (which kept getting stolen but without the men realizing what they had?).For the first 150 pages or so, this constant distress and see-sawing held my interest; after that, I began to find myself saying ‘Oh no, not again….when is this ever going to end?’ It went on for a full 300+ pages. And maybe that’s the point? Was her point that for women, this never ended?

For me, all the aforementioned descriptive text provided way TOO MUCH descriptive INFORMATION with too little real plot or denouement. Ok …it smelled bad…it was cold…nobody took a bath…ok…I get it, but I didn’t like having to get it over and over again. And I didn't like wondering where it was going and never finding out.

If her point was to demonstrate that woman were treated poorly in Merry Olde England, she’s done that in spades. In fact, seven no trump.

If the point was to portray the customs and lifestyle of this particular cult of woman, she did that too…sorta…but I found I had to stop in the middle of the book, go to the web page listed in the acknowledgments and read about Anchorites and their practices for any of this to make sense. And this pointer was buried at the end of the book in acknowledgments---not in the front, where the reader could have used it.

Then there’s this whole issue of being reborn. I saw resonances with the tribal memories we saw in “Clan of the Cave Bear” but this was quite different…this was a reincarnation theme that had the main character coming back ….and back…and back…and bringing memories with her and dragging, and I mean drrrrrr….aaaa…..ggg…….ing this Saint into everything. Often, these revived memories appeared to have been drug induced or the result of sleep deprivation, so I found myself not accepting their validity.

As I said, I never could figure out who the Saint was (other than the owner of the blood in the relic) or what she had done to merit such devotion, or what on earth power she had that was going to turn the whole world into one dominated by women where men weren’t needed.
And I never did figure out which of these ladies was ‘the fasting girl’ – I think there was more than one, but….?

Did I mention that I don’t normally read in the paranormal genre, nor do I read or enjoy fantasy. This book, though billed as historical fiction, reads much more like fantasy. There were times when I half expected Wonder Woman to rise from the bubbling stream of muck! Or a unicorn to come bounding out of the woods to rescue the princess or girl or nun or whatever she was! I probably wasn’t the right person to review this. I think this book would have been helped immensely by putting some background material at the beginning. If I hadn’t gone and delved into her reference on the Internet, I’d never have finished it.

So....If you’ve never heard of Anchorites (and that term was NEVER mentioned in the book itself—I had to discover it on the internet), if you’ve no experience of religious women living in community (I was educated by nuns from 1st grade through college and I still have trouble understanding it), and if you’ve never read anything else about this period, this is probably not the book to start with.

On the other hand.... If you’re well versed in Reformation England history and its religious battles, and enjoy adding to your knowledge of the period, if you like some fantasy mixed in your fiction, you may find this to be a welcome addition to your library. It would in fact, make a great Reading Group discussion book for those who like this genre.

edited 10/12/09 to move to Historical Fiction category.

#95 Great review, Tina. I don't have any desire to read the book, but now I feel comfortable that I'm not missing anything I might be loving.

Agreed.

Category 8 Only Audio: Tunnel Vision by Sara Paretsky

I'd never read anything by Paretsky before but had seen this on several lists of mystery readers (and Linda may have mentioned it in connection with Chicago?). When I saw it available in an audio download, I jumped at the chance, since I needed something to fill a long drive to the periodontist (a 4.5 RT drive).

It was pleasant enough but very predictable: Reminiscent of Kinsey Milhone in Sue Grafton's alphabet series, V.I (Vic) Warshawski, private detective let's her enthusiasm for a cause get her into hot water. This is the first of these books I have read, but I suspect it follows the previous pattern. It's a good read, not a great one, but does give the reader a sense of adventure on the one hand, and frustration on the other, as Vic continually ignores advice from her boyfriend (a cop), licensed social workers, attorneys and journalists to do her own thing.

In the end, the missing are rescued, the bad guys end up in jail, and the murders get solved....those aren't spoilers, they're the general theme of all such cookie cutter mysteries with "wonder woman" leading ladies.

Category 7 Surprise! Guardian of Lies by Steve Martini

This is a "clear your calendar and prepare to stay up all night" thriller. Although Martini plants numerous clues, and the reader thinks he knows what's happening, the plot twists are numerous, and aggregate into an incredible story featuring the Cuban missile crisis, the cold war, Homeland Security, the Columbian and Mexican drug cartels, a beautiful model from Costa Rica, Guantanamo bay detainees, missing nuclear weapons, and a bunch of lawyers in San Diego California trying to prosecute or defend the beautiful model when she is accused of killing a local coin dealer (who turns out to be a retired CIA operative).

Anyone else trying to tie all that together would have left us in a sinking morass of confusion. Martini pulls it into a breath-taking fast-paced, very scary (because it's so believable) story with an acceptable resolution.

I've read several others in the Paul Madriani series. I think this is definitely the best. I'll certainly be looking for the rest.

This was an Early Review book from July.

Category 7 Surprise! Moth ( Lew Griffin Mysteries) by James Sallis

This was another pleasant surprise. I was looking for new to me authors and detective series in the audio book download list from the library. This is book #2, and it was available so I gave it a try.

I like this character, and enjoyed this book. There's not much plot though, Lew Griffin, big tough teddybear ex detective turned college English lit prof, takes the reader along on the ride as he looks for the daughter of his ex-wife, and several other missing persons. All unofficial of course.

The man has a tendency to "land in mud", followed by hospitals,and is nursed back to health by a series of motherly nurses and ex girlfriends.

The best thing about this one was the audio. I enjoyed the excellent reading which took me back to time spent in New Orleans. The accents are authentic and rich.

A great rainy afternoon listen. Not great literature, but good characters and soothing story telling to portray an essentially human and humane character. I'm going to look for some others in the series.

Category 3: Maine/New England Absolute Certainty by Rose Connors .

A weekly audio, I listened to this last night when I had a hard time sleeping (seasonal allergies) and while I was up in the attic cataloging some more books --got another box done.

This was a knockout. The main character, Marty Nickerson is an assistant DA in Barnstable Cty, Massachusetts-- Cape Cod. A series of particularly heinous murders of young males has her doubting the validity of the first conviction, since the murders continue while the first 'murderer' sits in jail. Did they convict the wrong person? Is the 2nd person arrested the real criminal? Something is fishy, and when she voices her doubts, she is promptly put down by her bosses.

Her relationships with her bosses-particularly chain-smoking Geraldine Shilling who aspires to become the first female DA in the county; with the "kid" - the young new attorney in the DA's office; and with the public defender Harry Madigan, who works with her to discover whether they've got the right guy, are well drawn.

The plot develops steadily, with each chapter racheting up the suspense as more evidence (is it admissable?) piles up. When Marty continues to question her superiors, the action really picks up. The story is so tightly written, that I did not guess the identity of the murderer until Connors tells us.

As an audio, it was as easy to follow as text. There are now four more Marty Nickerson mysteries in this well-written series, and you can bet I'll be looking for them either in print or in audio.

be sure to check out my new ticker on msg 2.

Category 8: Only Audio Inventing a Nation Gore Vidal

If you've read any biographies of the 1st three presidents, this book will actually be boring, unless you are a great fan of Gore Vidal's snarky 'insights.' I didn't learn anything new, and found myself constantly asking "What's the point?"

A quick read for those who want only an overview of these three founders, and who don't mind editorial comments mixed in with their 'history.'

Category 9: Just Bcuz...A Christmas Secret by Anne Perry

Just bcuz I needed something lite and fluffy. This is an endearing cozy set in Victorian England- Anne Perry's forte. Unlike her William Monk or Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series, this stand alone features an amateur sleuth, a country vicar and his wife, who think they are simply spending Christmas at a rural parish while the current vicar goes on vacation. Instead they find themselves solving a mystery. A lovely little story, easy to read, and easy to listen to as an audio. I've done both. THey're equally lovely.

Category 9: Just Bcuz...Rizzo's War by Lou Mandreda

Just bcuz I ran out of room in the ER/ARC category.

This one is great...very different from you average police procedural. Taunt, well written with really good character development. I've done a full review in the book page, and on Tutu's Two Cents.

Grab this one....it's good!!!!

Category 9: Just Bcuz...Devil's Claw by J.A. Jance

Just bcuz I couldn't resist a story by J.A. Jance, and needed a good audio to listen to while I worked on a needllepoint project.

In this one we see Joanna eagerly anticipating her wedding in a few weeks, although not eager about meeting her fiance's parents. In the meantime, she's trying to solve a murder, locate a missing teenage who happens to be the daughter of the murder victim, deal with the unexpected death of her beloved next-door neighbor, and keep her feet on the ground, and her mother off her back.

I was a bit confused about the ending at first, I really had to sit down and almost draw myself a diagram to see how the pieces fit so nicely together. Jance's explanation may have wrapped it all up a bit too neatly, and left me saying 'Huh?' When I finally understood what had happened and why, it made sense, but I think the resolution of the main crime (the murder) case could have been a bit more carefully explained as far as who all the players were and how they were involved.

Category 4: Historical Fiction Shanghai Girls by Lisa See

A really powerful book - a subject I knew little or nothing about - deserves a big review which I'll post when it's done. Meantime, be sure at least to take a look!

#107 Hi, Tina! I remember that you said you were staying up last night to read this book. The reviews here are mixed - did you like it? I have to admit, from the comments I saw so far, I'm not tempted. But then, I tend to be put off by Asian settings and characters. Not sure why...

Sandy - I Loved it! It was fascinating, sad, powerful, enobling, and enlightening. I want to finish two other books I have going today, and then I'll work on reviews...

Category #3 Maine/New England: The Sea Chest by Toni Buzzeo.

I don't usually count children's books for my challenges, but this one is super special. Toni Buzzeo, the author, is a fellow Maine librarian, author of many gorgeous children's books, and when this one came into our town library last week, I could not resist buying one to give to our grand-daughter for her upcoming birthday.

The illustrations by Mary GrandPre (she of Harry Potter cover fame) are done in oils and are breathtaking.

The rich illustrations portray the quiet beauty and intense love to bring to life the legend of a small girl who lived alone with her parents on an island off the shore of Maine where the lighthouse helped to protect ships at sea. A violent storm washes ashore a seachest with a special treasure inside. This gorgeous book is spellbinding for the 4-8 age group, and inspiring for adults. The illustrations are absolutely spectacular.

If you are looking for a special gift for a special child, this is it. If you don't have a special child in your life, then treat the child in yourself and wallow in this book for awhile. It's a stunner.

I

Shanghai Girls by Lisa See

Here's the review...It's one of those books that just jumbles your emotions, but I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who values good writing and deep characters --you don't have to like them, or like what happens, but what a story!

Having never read any of Lisa See's books, I wasn't sure what to expect. I finished this one earlier this week, but had to let it settle before I could decide how I felt about it.

Normally I try to describe the characters, the setting, enough of the plot to interest to spark an interest and then comment on how I liked (or didnt like the book).

The characters: May and Pearl are sisters born in Shanghai and raised by parents who are much more liberal and open-minded about the role of women than their ancestors. Although their mother suffers from having had her feet bound as an infant, the girls did not, and are able to wear high heels, work as models, go to nightclubs and generally enjoy the good life. However, their father turns out to have gambled the family's money away, and to pay off his debts to the Chinese mafia, he arranges marriages for his daughters, something their mother had promised would never happen.

The setting: We are treated to a very realistic description of Shanghai (I've seen it described as the Paris of the Orient) in the 1930's. Then once the Japanese invade China, we see the Chinese countryside, the brutal treatment of the Chinese by the Japanses, and then are transported to Angel's Island off the coast of California, where the sisters are incarcerated for almost a year waiting to be believed that they are in fact married to Chinese who are American citizens. The Angel's Island scenes are reminscent to me of Ellis Island, and while they can be depressing, they are enobling in the scenes of women taking care of each other.

After their release from Angel's Island, the sisters settle with their husbands' family (they married brothers) in the Chinatown section of Los Angeles.

From here the book is devoted to a description of the Chinese immigrants who live in America and who are divided into the group who longs to return to 'the old country' and those who want to assimilate into American life and wants their children to have a better life (AKA The american Dream). As the anti=communist campaign in American heats up in the 1950's we see the results of secrets kept, lies told, papers lost, and dreams shattered. The constant conflict between the old and the new, the wish to honor one's past and one's ancestors and still belong to the present makes this a compelling story.

I really enjoyed this book, I learned a lot about many subjects where I knew very little, and I developed an appreciation for the trials of all immigrants- legal and illegal. I wish the ending had been different, (can't say anymore without a spoiler) but I was left with the thought that there may be room for a sequel. That way one could see the ending as the precursor to a new beginning and that's what immigration and settlement in a new country is all about.

>110 tututhefirst: The Sea Chest

Thanks for the review, Tutu! I'll be giving it to my 5-year-old granddaughter for Christmas, if not before.

Category # 6: Lter recommends A Novena for Murder by Sr. Carol Anne O'Marie. my sister Cheli (cyderry) recommended.

A sweet and sassy cozy written by a nun featuring a 70 year old nun as the amateur sleuth. Sent against her wishes to her alma mater to "retire,' Sr. Mary Helen finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation, helping a former student who is now a San Francisco police detective find out the who and why.

I went to a school exactly like Mt. St Francis (mine was Mt St Agnes) and our dear Auntie whom you've heard me speak of so fondly lived right where this is set, so I could really relate to this. Besides, some of the main suspects (and the victim) were Portuguese, so this was a no-brainer for me to pick up and read. It's not Nobel Prize lit, but it's fun. A nice afternoon's read--perfect for the fog and rain of the San Francisco setting.

#113 I read this book a few years ago (before LT) and enjoyed it quite a lot. I never went to Catholic school and have never been to San Francisco, but I could totally "feel" the atmosphere in the book - and the fog!

Category ERs and ARCs: True Compass by Edward M. Kennedy

I have always been a fan of the entire Kennedy clan, so it is hard for me to be objective when 'reviewing' this book. It is well written with typical Kennedy lyric prose; it is well-organized into sections that are somewhat different from a typical lineal time-line autobiography; it contains dozens of photographs that are not the standards we're used to seeing; and most important, it gives us an insight into a man who may be the least known of the famous family.

When I say least known, I don't mean not famous or well-known, but more private in terms of sharing his thoughts and inner motivations. The influence of his father, and his older brothers is beautifully explained, as well as his love of sailing and the sea (hence the title.)

We are treated to stories about his relations with his parents, all his siblings and their spouses, his children and grandchildren, both his wives, his dozens of nieces and nephews, and his close friends. In these, his introspection shines, as he opens the door to his feelings and emotions which have often been tucked away from private view.

His respect for the Senate, and his pride in having served there for so long and so well are quite evident, and provide us with some of the most eloquent prose in the book, although here the book could have done with a bit of editing down...there was lots of detailed information about meetings, and phone calls and bargains struck that probably could have been pared a bit.

His love for his family is especially evident, in the chapter where he speaks of being buffeted by the deaths of his mother at age 104, his nephew Michael in a skiing accident, Jackie Onnasis, and his nephew John Kennedy Jr in a plane crash -- all within five years. As the surviving patriarch, he is called upon to eulogize all of them, a feat that requires him to keep his own grief somewhat tucked in.

In the end of this he quotes his father in a letter Joe Kennedy Sr wrote to a grieving friend on the loss of his son:

"There are no words to dispel your feelings at this time, and there is no time that will ever dispel them...I cannot share your grief, because no one could share mine. When one of your children goes out of your life, you think of what he might have done with a few more years, and you wonder what you are going to do with the rest of yours. Then one day, because there is a world to be lived in, you find yourself a part of it again, trying to accomplish something--something that he did not have time enough to do. And, perhaps, that is the reason for it all. I hope so."

Ted Kennedy continues: "I wish that life were simpler. I wish that loved ones didn't have to die too young. I wish that tragedy never haunted a single soul. But to wish all that is to ask for an end to our humanity. God, family, and country sustain us all."

His indomitable spirit, inherited from parents, and nourished by his experiences in this incredible family, have left us all enriched. His memoir provides us with the inspiration to continue his work.

Category 6 LTers recommend: The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie.

This is my very first Agatha Christie. I've seen several Hercule Poirot mysteries on TV, and Agatha Christie has received millions of words of praise for her writing abilities, so I'm not doing a formal review.

The Mysterious Affair at Styles is the first Poirot story in which not only Poirot, but also Hastings, his sidekick are introduced. Poirot's sartorial fastidiousness, his tendency to assume Hastings is making the same assumptions he does--only to discover that Hastings is often in the dark--and his meticulous methodology are well established even in this first story.

I found reading this (even with my ears) a delightful experience and look forward to many more Christies. I think that I had been afraid that perhaps the writing would have had an old-fashioned stiltedness that I would find boring. I assure you it wasn't the case. This was every bit as fun as the TV series--in fact I suspect I will find the rest even more so. For you audio buffs, Nadia May (aka Davina Porter) did her usual bang-up job.

Category #2 Leftovers from the 1st 999 Challenge Chocolate: A Love story: 65 Chocolate dessert recipes from Max Brenner's Private collection

As many of you remember, I really wanted a food category in the first 999 challenge, and just couldn't seem to fit it in. It's working out pretty well here...these 'leftovers' are turning out to be almost all foodie books.

I got this as an ARC. I don't dislike chocolate, but I confess that I am by no means a chocoholic, so I thought this might spur me to dive more into this delicious (and good for you) ingredient.

This is a cookbook....there is very little text except for the recipes themselves. It comes appropriately blurbed on the back cover by Paula Dean and John Travolta and Kelly Preston. There are some interesting but pretty normal recipes...

For instance, my husband always had chocolate cake with chocolate frosting for his birthday, a habit we've kinda gotten out of these past years. Now I have the recipe for "my lost childhood chocolate birthday cake sprinkled with shiny colorful candy tears" (lower case is from the author!), and it looks like something I might be able to concoct although I've never tried to make chocolate ganache....

Then there are the more esoteric concoctions--I myself could go for the 'therapeutic chocolate pot pie with a rich filling of soul-refreshing strawberries'.......at least it comes with a picture to tempt me.

And herein lies my big problem with this book: While the recipes have lots of yummy ingredients, clearly written and come with 3-4 lines of 'teaser text', the pictures are IMHO AWFUL. I am not an art deco person, and when I pick up a cookbook, I want to see a picture of what this is supposed to look like when I'm finished mixing all these ingredients together. I don't want to see something that looks like a 1st grader made from torn construction paper. The illustrations are done by Yonotan Factor, and they are not pushing any buttons for me.

But there's chocolate rice pudding, meaningless sweet spaghetti, and bad-boy chocolate pizza. And then there's 'military porridge' with the following introduction:

"My love, three years have passed since I last saw you. So many things are changing around me and the war seems endless. Only this late afternoon ritual, standing in the long line of soldiers in front of the huge aluminum saucepans covered with steam leaves me with the feeling that after all there are some things that never change in life. Still waiting for your letter."

This is on a page opposite a very tacky art deco sillouette of helmets atop rifles, with a tank and a missile in the background. Ok...what pray tell does that have to do with food? The recipe appears to be a semolina bowl of grits/polenta type gruel, topped with sugar, water, heavy cream, cooked together to make a toffee sauce, and sprinkled with milk choc chips...I guess we have to be there.

In spite of its avant garde-ness, it's a fun book. If you don't mind the illustrations, and you love chocolate, this is the book for you.

Category #7: Surprise!, Death is a Cabaret (antique lover's mysteries) By Deborah Morgan

This was quite a nice little surprise. I chose this as my audio read to balance the heavier pschycological and fantasy reads I am doing: A Circle of Souls, Spellbinder, and even The Christmas Cookie Club are all pretty meaty for me.

Anyway this delightful little cozy tells the story of an auction of the Empress Josephine's tea cabaret. I had no idea until I read this that a 'cabaret' is a tea set...and what a specimen this one was.

Our antique dealer Jeff Talbott, a 'retired' FBI agent, finds himself on Mackinaw Island in Michigan at a weekend auction when his rival 'picker' and then the auctioneer are found dead.

The supporting cast includes a rich couple who love to dress up, a trio of loony ladies from the South, a stuffy hotel staff, and the local police department who are all too happy to have a 'fed' solve the murders for them.....they haven't had one in almost 50 years!

It was a fun audio, well plotted, and a little deeper than I expected. I'm going to look for more in the series.

Thanks for the chocolate review. I am an absolute chocoholic, diet or not, so this sounds like one I would drool over. But I really hate badly written cookbooks! It seems like every other one I pick up is either gushing or tedious! I think on the whole I will give this one a pass.

OOps,,,don't get me wrong, it's not badly written, it's just UGLY. The recipes all look like a chocoholicss dream come true.

category #7: Spellbinder by Helen Stringer

Move over Harry Potter!! Belladonna Johnson is here! This delightful book (an ARC) arrived yesterday, and it looked so fascinating that I moved it to the top of the queue, and bumped a couple others I'm reading to the side. I finished this in a day. It's billed for 9-12 yr olds, YA LIT, but this is going to be enjoyed by all ages from about 9 up (I'd be more inclined to say 10 or 11 but....)

Belladonna sees ghosts...she sees her parents, who died in an accident 2 years ago, but who still live at home with her and take care of her, although officially, she lives with her grandma who is still alive and who also sees ghosts.

Things are going just fine, until her parents disappear to the Land of the Dead (THE OTHER SIDE) and she sets out to find them, and to prevent other dire and drastic occurences from happening. She is accompanied in this adventure by another ghost Elsie, who 'died' tripping over a tennis net 100 years ago when she won her match, and by Steve--the school's bad boy who turns out to be very handy at breaking and entering and slaying hounds, and all those other things a spare manchild can be useful for.

This is a delightful book. I don't read a lot of fantasy, but this one had me turning the pages as fast as I could gallop along to find out what happened next. There are beasties, and baddies, and wicked Queens, and spells, and elixirs, and magic rulers. Everything one needs for a good old fashioned ghostie fantasy. It it due to be published this month, and I suspect it will become a runaway big seller.

Finally, I noticed,happily, that the ending left plenty of room for further adventures. I hope so. Belladonna is a real winner.

Okay, I want that one! Bring it with you!

I'm going to have to look for the Deborah Morgan one also.

>110 tututhefirst: The Sea Chest

I got the book, and you're right -- it's beautiful and charming! I don't think I'll be able to wait until Christmas to give it to my granddaughter -- Halloween maybe?

Category #7: Surprise: A Circle of Souls by Preetham Grandhi

All I can say is Wow! Anyone who knows me can tell you that I don't normally read scary stories, stories about child murders, and I normally shun anything that is about the "paranormal." So why am I reading so many of them lately? A Circle of Souls was sent to my by the author Dr. Preetham Grandhi back in July and I'm ashamed that I haven't gotten to it sooner. It's a winner!

I've finished it, and I'm not quaking in my boots, and I don't think I'm going to have nightmares. While the subject matter is unpleasant, the writing is so crisp, clear and centered on the good guys that it quickly becomes a real page turner.

This debut book is extremely well-written, has a tightly woven plot, and well-developed characters. Beginning with seemingly separate stories: a brutally murdered young girl and another young girl with hellacious nightmares, the author moves us inexhorably toward the meeting of these two separate stories and blends them believably into one. In the beginning, there are no clues to the murder, and no reason (either physical or mental) for the nightmares, but they are related, and the pychiatrist treating the young nightmare victim intuits their relationship from drawings made by his patient. As he searches for the meaning of her drawings, and recognizes the locale in the pictures, he anguishes over how to help his patient and whether he should share his intuitions with the special FBI agent who has been called in to help local police investigate the case.

This is not a normal murder mystery suspense thriller. The characters are the strong point in this story: even the bad guys are well developed, with sound background and motivation presented to pull the reader in. There is a large dose of the paranormal entwined with Indian cultural traditions, and Jamaican/West African folklore. There are several side issues and players building enough doubt in the reader's mind to make it interesting and challenging to figure out 'whodunit.'

It was written in short chapters that encouraged the reader to read 'just one more' before putting the book down, and in the end, to just continue reading to the climax. Let's hope that Preetham Grandhi has more such well-written tales up his sleeve.

Just a note: I find it fascinating that two of the best books I've read this year are debut crime stories written by doctors...the other was "Wife of the Gods" by Dr. Kwei Quartey. We may not be able to read their prescriptions, but their books are great.

Just found out this book A Circle of Souls won the prize for best General Fiction in the USA Book News "National Best Books 2009" Awards. Here's the link.

Brass Verdict by Michael connelly

I'm in the process of realigning my categories to allow for a Christmas category. So I'm taking my "Just bcuz, surprise, just audio, and recommended by Lters and making those four into three categories. So I'm not sure exactly where this great courtroom drama from Connelly will end up. It was an audio ARC featuring Harry Bosch, --a series recommended by several LTers that I read just because I wanted to and which surprised me with its terrific ending. SO>............................

The Christmas Cookie Club by Anne Pearlman.

This goes into the new category "Christmas" which I'll get aligned here before the end of the challenge---I promise.

Anyway, this one has good recipes, great little non-fiction essays on the history of various ingredients, like flour, butter, almonds, chocolate, vanilla, etc, loosely tied together by the stories of the 12 women who form the Christmas cookie club. They meet the first Monday of December to exchange cookies and catch up for the year. Their stories are wooden, formulaic, and re-hash many of today's "women's" issues (sex, divorce, pregnancy, widowhood, money, sullen teenagers, aging parents, etc etc) with nothing much new to say about them. The author could have done a much better job of building some character into these women. They all seem like wax figures from a museum who spit out their stories when someone winds them up and it's their turn.

I enjoyed the food parts, but could have easily skipped the soap opera.

Category : Leftovers from the 1st 999 (mostly Food) The Recipe Club by Andrea Israel

This was quite an interesting read following on the heels of The Christmas Cookie Club. The Recipe Club is a Mercedes compared to Pearlman's book as a Chevy. Recipe Club is a fabulous read. It's a novel about friendship, a cookbook, and a history of the relationship of two women from the time they are in their pre-teens through their mid-twenties; then again after a 20+ year hiatus following "a disagreement", and to the present when they reunite.

The recipes are numerous and diverse, cleverly woven into the story of Lilly and Val, and their parents. The girls form a Recipe Club, correspond via mail, and help each other throughout their lives, up to the time when Val graduates from college. They are as different as night and day. Neither set of parents would ever be nominated for parents of the year, and the girls help each other relate to parents by seeing them through the other's eyes.

The book is written not just in the letters, but also as emails (when the relationship takes up again in 2000) and also has a section written in normal fiction format.

It is an elegant, thoughtful, delicious book. You have to love the two characters, although you also want to smack them. You have to wonder how two people who are so different in so many ways, can stay such good friends. And then you wonder as you work your way through the book, what caused the estrangement.

The ending of the book was quite surprising to me, but I think I should have seen it coming. It's a well-written, well=planned book that will be enjoyed by women of all ages.

The characters have so much more depth than Pearlman's women, while dealing with many of the same real life issues. It's amazing to read them back to back and compare. There truly is no comparison. If you have to read only one, pick The Recipe Club. You won't be disappointed.

Category #4 Historical Fiction : The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe.

Normally, I don't have a great interest in witches, witchcraft, or even the Salem history about them. But this book is so well written that it really has whetted my interest to find out more. While not exclusively historical fiction, it is fictional and does have as its central theme witchcraft and the question of whether it was responsible for the events that occurred in Salem Massachusetts in the late 1600's.

Connie Goodwin, a PhD candidate at Harvard, is trying to define the topic she will develop for her dissertation. As summer opens, her mother, living in the Southwest, phones to ask Connie to please spend the summer cleaning out her dead grandmother's vacant but furnished house in Marblehead. While there, Connie discovers that the house has no electricity, no phone, a mountain of grime encrusted furniture, a collection of filthy bottles, and a jungle-like yard, completely hiding the house from the road. Urged on by an academic advisor whose motives become more suspect as the story unfolds, she begins her dissertation research at the same time she moves to the house.

The principle discovery on her grandmother's shelves is a Bible and key. Inside the key, there is a tiny curled piece of paper with the name Deliverance Dane. Connie's search for information about "Livvy" Dane leads her to various libraries, archives, auction houses, as she becomes more and more anxious to find Dane's missing 'receipt' book. In the process, she meets Sam the steeple climber who is an old house restoration expert.

Howe skillfully weaves the story of Deliverance and her decendants -- and the story of her book-- with the present day story of Connie and her immediate antecedants -- and the story of her search for the book. We are lead inexorably to a climax where evil, romance, reconciliation, and historical conformation all meet. It was powerful, emminently readable, and exciting.

Howe gives us a short but interesting list of sources to get us started on our own quest to find out more.

#130 I'm glad to see you liked this book - I recently added it to my wishlist after seeing it at the library.

Ok, I've been jockeying categories, (see msg 2) and I've got only 9 left to complete my 2nd 999.

I have to do one more Historical fiction (I'm reading Gods of Newport to fit in there).

I have to do 3 more "leftovers" - hopefully mostly food related books since that was the category I abandoned from the 1st challenge. I'm 1/2way thru Kitchen by banana Yoshimoto, and plan to read school of essential ingredients and Alice, let's eat but those last two are up for sliding in something else left from last time.

Finally I have 5 christmas books to do....but I have about 20 to choose from, so they won't be hard.

Category 9: Christmas angels: A Pop-Up Book by Chuck Fischer . (touchstone is not working)

I've posted a blurb already completed with picture, correct touchstone, and lots of thought on my 2nd 75 in 2009 challenge, and I can't do that picture thing again. I hate to give you a link, but I promise I won't do it again. my comments about this fantastic book are in the review, on my blog and on the other thread: http://www.librarything.com/topic/67809#1609294.

Category # 4 Historical Fiction: The Gods of Newport by John Jakes

John Jakes is a touted master of American historical fiction. He presents stories of various communities and cultures in North America, mixing real and fictitious persons and relying on well done research to set scenes of authentic lifestyles, but this one fell flat

Jakes tells the story of a self-made wealthy man, Sam Driver, and his daughter Jenny as they try to break into the very structured and snobby summer society of Newport Rhode Island. The summer set is 'ruled' by grande dames such as the famous Mrs. Astor, Mrs. Vanderbuilt, and others who kowtow to Mrs. A's rules about what is proper, what is forbidden, who is acceptable and who is not. I could'nt tell if the characters were so off-putting because they weren't well written, or because they were genuinely obnoxious.

By introducing a love interest from the wrong class, Prince Molloy, an Irishman who works at the tennis Casino, and who falls for Jenny, we are exposed to life at all levels of society.

As Jenny and Sam try to ingratiate themselves with this group, Prince tries to win Jenny (I found this part of the story the least well written). There are many scenes of violence, back-stabbing, cheating, bribing, whoring, sailing, horse racing, and other instances of life in the late 1800's that paint a clear picture of what Newport was like both for the very rich, and those whose life was to serve the very rich.

NO spoilers, but there is a rather corny ending that will disappoint some, and be OK for others. All in all it was a pleasant read only because having lived several years in Newport, (my first apartment was actually on Bellevue Ave!) I found the descriptions of the town and the opulent 'cottages' a wonderful stroll down memory lane.

Wow, John Jakes, that's a blast from the past. At one point, I used to read quite a few of his historical novels.

Actually, I've had my eye on Edward Rutherfurd's grand historical epic, New York: The Novel.

Linda I too have my eye on Rutherford's book...I'm hoping Santa gets the hint.

Tina, I enjoyed your blog post about the Norman Rockwell Christmas book. (Can't remember whether you counted it for 999)

My art/architecture category for 999 x 2 is the one that is fading fast for me, in terms of my interest, and so I'm hoping to find some art-related Christmas books to read and use to finish out that category. I need two more.

(Actually, now that I look, I see that there's a newly released/newly revised version out of that Rockwell Christmas book.)

Category 9: Christmas Shepherds Abiding by Jan Karon
and Silents Nights, Two Victorian Christmas Mysteries by Anne Perry

Shepherds Abiding is a re-read for me. I love the whole Jan Karon Mitford series, and decided I needed a good dose of cynthia and Fr. tim to get me through my annual pre-christmas funk.

The Anne Perry edition actually consisted of two separate 'novellas' each featuring one of Perry's secondary characters from her William Monk and Charlotte Pitt series.

The first, A Christmas Beginning, features Superintendant Runcorn from Perry's William Monk series. We see Runcorn arriving on a bleak island off the coast of Wales to spend his Christmas holiday. There he discovers the secret love of his life whom he met working a case in London, and further discovers a dead body in the Church yard shortly after his arrival. In very UN-Runcorn fashion, he treads delicately with the local constable as he helps solve the murder. There was a completely unexpected ending (in the very last sentence of the story) that really blew me away. I enjoyed getting to know Runcorn better--I've been a fan of the Monk series for years, and feel I know him better now that this case is finished. It will be interesting to see if Perry takes these personality developments further in future books in the Monk series.

The second story, A Christmas Grace was a real stretch. It has Emily Radley (sister of Charlotte Pitt- another of Anne Perry's series) spending her Christmas in very rural Ireland, nursing her dying aunt from whom the entire family has been estranged for years. I found this story awkward, with the characters very cardboard, and the plot really contrived. I had to force myself to finish it because frankly, it just wasn't very interesting...

I like Anne Perry's works, but the Christmas stories (I've read 3 now) seem to be quickies thrown together without a lot of thought. I'll try one more next year, but after that, we'll see............

In honor of completing my 2nd 75 challenge, and since I have only 5 more books (2 of them already more than 1/2 done) to finish my 2nd 999 challenge, well, I'm unplugging from blogging and reviewing for about a week...(at least the weekend) and I'm settling down to a thankfully reading weekend. I'll be finishing up the food and Christmas categories....sounds perfect for a T-day weekend.

We all have so much to be greatful for...especially living in a country where we can read whatever we want and say what we want about it, without fear. Hope everyone has a great turkey day.

Category 2: Leftovers Roux Morgue (Mary Ryan, Pastry Chef Mysteries) by Claire m. Johnson.

A thoroughly forgettable cardboard formula story. The 'mystery' was stupid, the main character needs a slap, and the food part was not worth wading through mediocrity.

Other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?
Certainly not worth buying (i got mine from the library, and it's going right back) and not worth reviewing.

#139, I've never read any Jan Karon but this might be the year to try.

Enjoy your reading and Happy Thanksgiving, Tina!!

(For me, this is a Broadway show weekend--I am seeing the new Addams Family with Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth on its pre-Broadway run in Chicago on Fri and then, on Sat, a revival of South Pacific.)

I've never read an Anne Perry Christmas book, but maybe I will give one a try.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Category 2: Leftovers Alice, let's eat by Calvin Trillin

New Yorker staff writer Calvin trillin gives us a fun little book about the eating adventures of a true gastronome, and his wife Alice who believes life should be strictly limited to three meals a day. Trillin takes us on a series of trips to France, Montreal, Omaha, Kansas City (his hometown), among others. His attempts to gather food for a dinner in his New York home has him flying in tamales from New Mexico, barbeque from Kansas City, etouffee from New Orleans, crabs from Baltimore and other such delectables.

Reading this the day after the Thanksgiving Day feast was perfect. I could read it and not feel that I HAD to track down some of these feasts. Otherwise, I'd have been on google looking up home delivery!

For all who enjoy food, and humorous writing, this is a treat. Bon Appetit!

Category #9: Christmas The Paper Bag Christmas by Kevin Alan Milne

I picked this up last year, but never got around to reading it. Several LTers have indicated it was a good read, and I second the motion. It is a gentle, loving, easy to read, tear-jerker. A wonderful story to read with youngsters, and remind us all what Christmas is really about. A great way to kick off the Christmas season on a gentle reading weekend.

Category 2: Leftovers- Toast by Nigel Slater

Subtitled The story of a boy's hunger, this is the story of a young boy whose mother was (to put it gently) not the greatest cook in the world. As he describes the horrors of the food she made, he manages to highlight the relationship of food to love in our lives.

While he has always been interested in food and cooking, his father did not allow him in the kitchen, so when his mother dies and father must take over the provision of meals, life becomes even more dire. After dad hires (and later marries) a cook/housekeeper, the food gets better, but life somehow does not. In fact, the family is uprooted and moved halfway across England to establish a more uppity lifestyle to please the 'new mum.'

Later when he gets old enough to get a job at a pub, and then a posh hotel, he realizes his calling in food prep. His father's death brings everything to a boil, severs the link with bridezilla, and provides Nigel with the impetus to go to cooking school and take up his true vocation.

I 'read' this one as an audio while preparing our Thanksgiving meal. I loved hearing the British terms for foods --had to go look up a few--and laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes in a few places. It really brings out the role food (and in Britain the role of TOAST) in our lives, and how our relationships with food providers are formed so early in life. An enjoyable read--it's as much a coming of age bio as a food event-- even if you're not a foodie.

category 9: Christmas Secrets of a Christmas Box by Steven Hornby

A soupy sweet story focusing on talking Christmas ornaments. A bit over the top for adults, but it's designed to be read one chapter a night, starting on Dec 1st through Christmas Eve. I personally think there are far better Christmas tales to share with children. I just couldn't help thinking that it would make a great 1/2 hr cartoon TV special for the holiday season.

Whoop Whoop Whoop dee doo......I'm Done!!!

This finishes my 2nd 999 of the year. I'm going to do a recap of my picks for best/worst next week....It's been fun, but I don't think I'm going to do a whole bunch of categories next year....I'm going to concentrate on clearing out my TBR pile.

Congrats on finishing the second one, Tina.

Very nice, Tutu! I'm looking forward to the recap.

#146 This book looks wonderful - on to the wishlist it goes. My son is in culinary school. Hopefully, if he ever writes them, his memoirs will be a totally different story than this one.

Congratulations on finishing the 2nd 999 challenge! An amazing accomplishment.

Bonus book for category2 - leftovers Milk, eggs, Vodka by Bill Keaggy.

A fun read I had on my list for my food category Keaggy has collected used grocery lists, and assembled them, along with funny, snarky, and insightful comments on who might have had such lists. The book actually shows the lists, with the bad penmanship, the eclectic assortment of paper (or wood chips) used to write them, and the abominable spelling. It was a quick and fun read...definitely not worth buying, but if you see at the library grab it for an enjoyable hour.

End of the year wrap up....I read a couple stinkers and a whole lot of great books, many thanks to all of you who participated in this challenge. I've done a 'best of the year' post on my blog, and rather than try to get all those link set up again, I'll just give you the link to that one : http://tutus2cents.blogspot.com/2009/12/envelope-please.html.

I look forward to seeing you all on the 1010 Categories challenge thread next year.