Laurel’s Comments (group member since Dec 30, 2013)

Laurel’s comments from the All About Books group.

#12 Murder in A-Major
4 Blue stars - Schumann, Brahms, Liszt, madness, and murder. Will definitely read more.

#13 The Spies of Shilling Lane
4 Blue stars - Very, very improbable, but jolly good fun. This ought to be a TV series.

13 books, 3765 pages

#11 The Fault in Our Stars
4 Red stars - Not really my "thing" but I can see the merit in it.

11 titles, 3149 pages (no page count for Alone with the Stars)

#10 Alone with the Stars
3 Green stars - An Audible Original and freebie. I picked it up because it fit my STARS theme. A short, 2-hour listen which turned out to be just right, because my eaudiobook of The Spies of Shilling Lane expired, and it took a couple days to get it back again...

Reading it now, Christine. Book club is Friday so I hope to get it done in time!

There There - Daytimer's book club

Reading the Alphabet (another book club I'm in)
letter is N - North and Night and I also read a title that starts with N. I won't read all of these, but some choices from my TBR are:
The King in the North: The Life and Times of Oswald of Northumbria
The Long Walk Home, by Will North
Never Buried
Night Birds' Reign
Nelly Dean: A Return to Wuthering Heights

Continuing the Russia theme (I've picked four quarterly themes over the year):
A Bend in the Stars
The Winter of the Witch
The Bronze Horseman

and Continuing (books that I'm reading over several months)....
War and Peace
Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia
Outlander - reread

Looking ahead at March...

READ There There - Daytimer's book

Reading the Alphabet letter is N - North and Night
READ The King in the North: The Life and Times of Oswald of Northumbria
The Long Walk Home, by Will North
READ Never Buried
Night Birds' Reign
Nelly Dean: A Return to Wuthering Heights

Continuing the Russia theme:
READ A Bend in the Stars
READ The Winter of the Witch
The Bronze Horseman

and Continuing....
READ War and Peace
READ Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia
Outlander - reread

#9 Murder on the Ballarat Train

3.5 Red stars - Short and fun escapist reading.

9 books, 2836 pages

#8 The Girl in the Tower

5 Gold stars - every bit as good as the first book in the trilogy. Characters continue to develop and grow.

8 books, 2685 pages

#7 The Cold Light of Mourning

3.5 Pink stars - maybe more, but it's the first of a cozy series set in Wales. Started slow, but grew on me.

Total: 7 books, 2322 pages

Plans for February:

To finish:
READ The Cold Light of Mourning

To continue:
READ War and Peace
READ Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia
Outlander

I have fallen behind on all of these, but my end date is somewhat flexible. I may rethink attempting to read all of Dance to the Music of Time... We'll see.

New:
READ The Girl in the Tower
READ The Fault in Our Stars - Daytimers
READ Murder in A-Major
READ The Spies of Shilling Lane

Maybe:
READ Murder on the Ballarat Train

#6 Wuthering Heights

5 Purple stars - 4 Blue stars for the accompanying material in the Norton Critical Edition. The annotations on the dialect was helpful. And I expecially was interested in the essay on the film versions, though it didn't include any recent ones. But now I'm going to binge watch all the film versions I can find.

#5 The Library at the Edge of the World

3.5 Red stars rounded up - I want to read the next in the series.

Totals: 5 books, 1581 pages.

#4 If The Creek Don't Rise

3 Pink stars - good writing and great characters, but hard to read about such abuse and poverty.

Total: 4 books, 1242 pages

#3 The Bear and the Nightingale
5 Gold stars - a wonderful mishmash of various Russian folk-tales and mythological creatures. 1st of a trilogy.

Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Updates (probably of interest by no one - just for my own reference...)

Added Written in their Stars to the STARS theme, but since it is the 3rd of a series, I have to read the first two books first...
The Lady of the Tower (audible purchase) and
By Love Divided

Added Russka (audible purchase) to the RUSSIA theme.

I am so far keeping up with War and Peace, but it's a bit much daily, especially since I am reading two different translations simultaneously, plus Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia is a big chunky, and I want to reread Russka now. I am extending the first "quarter" through April, since I have no big chunky reads for the ARTHURIAN theme which will be shortened to May and June. And the Outlander series reread may be extended over two years instead of one. I need to cut back my daily reading schedule - Haven't been keeping up with Wuthering Heights at all....so I have some catching up to do!

AND, I am already thinking ahead to 2021, and I have picked WINTER as the first quarter theme, which may include a reread of Rebecca and reading some Rebecca spin-offs, like The Winters, and Mrs. De Winter. I've also been wanting to read Midwinter of the Spirit which is a "next in series" to read, and one of my earliest Audible purchases... I doubt I will get to it THIS winter, with all the chunky Russia books I'm trying to read!

#2 Christmas Bells
3.5 Red stars (rounded up)
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Meant to finish this before the New Year. Now to finish reading Wuthering Heights in this critical edition.

I'm currently reading Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia, so I'll nominate that.

Oh help me! Help me! I think I need an intervention!

Dovegreyreader just post on her blog a year long read of Anthony Powell's A Dance to the Music of Time, a series of 12 books which lends itself nicely to one book a month. I associate him with Wales, although he was actually born in London. And I have Powell ancestors. So this has been on my TBR forever.

Fortunately, the books are relatively short, so I'm going to give it a go. Adding this author to Goal #4 (message 6) above, along with Diana Gabaldon as I also want to do a reread of the entire Outlander series...

Currently reading:
READ War and Peace - over 3 months
READ Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia - over 3 months
READ The Bear and the Nightingale - audiobook
Outlander - about 25 pages/day
READ Wuthering Heights - over January
A Question of Upbringing - over January
READ Christmas Bells - will finish this weekend, then will start
READ The Cold Light of Mourning

I have added some quarterly themes to post #1 above. I am not adding more books... Just adding more incentives for reading by grouping according to some broader themes. The overall goal is still 52 books!

#1 A Swiftly Tilting Planet
5 Purple stars - my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Meant to finish this in 2019, but it's not a bad way to start the year...