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

Laurel’s comments from the All About Books group.

I've already abandoned the rest of my January plans. Currently listening to Winter Solstice on audio, and postponed the rest of the Nosey Parker series in favor of knocking some A titles out of the way for my Alphabet Challenge. So I've started Awayland, which I have had checked out from the library for an embarassingly long time, and Ahab's Wife, or The Star-Gazer, which I read half of a long time ago (2015?) when I was doing my Moby Dick theme. Now I'm debating whether I want to reread Moby Dick along side it. I listened to it on audio, and I'm pretty sure my brain let large portions of it sort of slide on by without too much attention. We'll see. Could be interesting to do that. Moby Dick has 135 chapters, and Ahab's Wife has 157 or something like that...

#3 The Philosophical Baby: What Children's Minds Tell Us About Truth, Love, and the Meaning of Life
2.5 yellow stars
Book club: Perspectives

I would call this more philosophy than psychology. There wasn't very much presented in the way of scientific evidence for the ideas presented here. I did find things that were very interesting and thought-provoking, but it felt like a slog getting there. I wasn't entirely sure who this was written for either - students? lay people? parents? There's plenty of scientific jargon here. And lots of lots of either repetition or meandering thoughts. I think the general ideas could have been coalesced into an essay or a 30-minute TED talk. The first chapter or two was quite interesting, presenting how children learn to imagine possibilities, and to see how the world could be different, which gives humanity the unique ability to change ourselves and to change the world. The ideas here have applications for psychology in general. It's not just about children, although that is the reference point.

Cumulative pages: 870

#2 Anxious People
5 purple stars - I loved it!
Book clubs: Daytimers

“This is a story about a bridge, and idiots, and a hostage drama, and an apartment viewing. But it’s also a love story.” And I would say it is a story about life, about how we all make mistakes, but we do the best we can. These people are absurd, but oh, so relatable. I was rooting for every one of them, but especially the "bank robber." There might also be some serious messages here - about failure, about loneliness, about fitting in, about suicide, about parenting, and more. I'll say it again - it's a story about life. And fireworks.

Cumulative pages: 582

Top reads for 2021:
(not counting rereads of James Herriot and Donna Andrews...)

A rare 5 gold stars to
Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia by Orlando Figes.

5 purple stars to
The Book of Boy by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
Troubled Blood (Cormoran Strike #5) by Robert Galbraith
Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Glendy Vanderah
The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes

5 blue stars to
War and Peace (Oxford World's Classics edition) by Leo Tolstoy
The Winter Hare and Peregrine by Joan Elizabeth Goodman
The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd
The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate

4 blue stars to
Under the Wide and Starry Sky by Nancy Horan
The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis

#1 Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times
4.5 blue stars
Themes: Winter

There is some really good writing here. My rating reflects the fact that I could see myself rereading this book, and underlining passages that resonate with me. What it is NOT, is a self-help book. What it IS, is a memoir - to quote from the inside book flap: "A moving personal narrative shot through with lessons from literature, mythology, and the natural world... Illumination emerges from many sources: solstice celebrations and dormice hibernation, C.S. Lewis and Sylvia Plath, swimming in icy waters and sailing arctic seas."

Critics will say here is an entitled rich, white woman with the luxury to quit her job and take expensive trips hunting the aurora borealis, and having the leisure time to pursue things like baking and crafts, and taking voice lessons. And this is true. I was hard-pressed, myself, to understand her circumstances compared to my own chronic health issues and job losses (definitely NOT voluntary), but I certainly understand that life has tough moments for all of us, and that we sometimes need to give ourselves permission to retreat, to find activities that distract us, and to learn how to sing again.

I hope to take an aurora hunting trip "some day" so I enjoyed hearing her experience. I loved learning more trivia about dormice, and bees, and wolves, and European robins which have become a spiritually significant "totem" for me lately. And as the "Welsh Bookworm" I delighted in her tale of retraining her voice using Dylan Thomas's "Under Milkwood." Other literary inspiration included Philip Pullman's Golden Compass series, C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, and even "The Game of Thrones." And I must look for Alan Watts - the name is familiar and I think I have read something of his, but I don't remember what...

Cathie wrote: "Tea of the Month: Earl Grey
Read:

• Black tea: The traditional base for Early Grey, black teas can have a variety of flavor profiles, ranging from sweet and floral to rich and malty and everythin..."

As it happens, my tea this morning is Earl Grey Creme.

Happy Reading!

Happy New Year! I just finished my 2021 goals with 20 minutes to spare. Time to think about my January reading plans!

READ 1. Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times - overdue and has a hold waiting. I need to read this in the next two days, or return it and re-request it to read later...

READ 2. Winter's Bite - I finished 2021 by seeing what short stories I had on my Kindle. Didn't get to this one, but I can knock it off my TBR in a day, and it fits my "Winter" theme.

READ 3. Anxious People - started this today (well yesterday now) on a run to the grocery store (audiobook). It's our Daytimers book club read for January. Loving it already!

READ 4. The Philosophical Baby: What Children's Minds Tell Us About Truth, Love, and the Meaning of Life - My other book club book for January.

READ 5. Anglesey Blue - still reading and need to get back to this. And I'm still working on A titles for my yearly challenge...

6. Queen By Right - paused and need to get back to this.

7. Wolf Hall - paused, long term read, will get back to this

READ 8. Every Living Thing - audiobook - after I finish Anxious People - this will finish my reread of James Herriot's books

READ 9. A Brush With Death #2 in the Nosey Parker series, and another C book (Cornwall) for a Good Yarn.

10. A Sprinkle of Sabotage #3 in the Nosey Parker series

11. A Cornish Christmas Murder #4 in the Nosey Parker series, and another "Christmas" bonus if I actually finish them all, which is doubtful.... More likely I will relist it when I get to C in my annual alphabet challenge.

12. Outlander - long paused, but I'm still planning to do a long term reread of this entire series....

#48 Mayhem Mansion
3 green stars
More of a novella than a novel at 100 pages. I enjoyed this fun Christmas ghost story (no murders here) and the collection of eccentric relatives that have gathered.

Reached my book goal with 20 minutes to go!
Cumulative pages: 16,861 - second only to last year!

#47 A Cornish Christmas Carol
4 red stars
What's not to like? A retelling of Dickens' classic tale set in Cornwall with modern characters. This follows the plot of Dickens quite closely, with a nice (but quite unbelievable) romantic twist at the end. Apparently Scorrier House is a real place (https://www.scorrierhouse.co.uk/). And it was interesting to learn a bit about the resurgence of the old Cornish Christmas carol tradition. I am familiar with the Welsh Plygain carols, but this was new to me. Both traditions arose out of the 19th century mining communities. Dickens even commented on this in the original Christmas Carol:

“What place is this?” asked Scrooge.

“A place where Miners live, who labour in the bowels of the earth,” returned the Spirit. “But they know me. See.”

A light shone from the window of a hut, and swiftly they advanced towards it. Passing through the wall of mud and stone, they found a cheerful company assembled round a glowing fire. An old, old man and woman, with their children and their children’s children, and another generation beyond that, all decked out gaily in their holiday attire. The old man, in a voice that seldom rose above the howling of the wind upon the barren waste, was singing them a Christmas song — it had been a very old song when he was a boy — and from time to time they all joined in the chorus. So surely as they raised their voices, the old man got quite blithe and loud; and so surely as they stopped, his vigour sank again.

Cumulative pages: 16,760

#46 A Mind of Her Own
3.5 pink stars
An Audible Original short story. A pleasant enough way to spend an hour, but it really should be developed into a full novel. Told from a first person point of view about how Marie got to Paris to study science, and where she met Pierre Curie, her future husband. There are a few weird passages from "beyond the grave" where Marie says things like "It would be another one hundred years before we knew" such and such, or talks about how she died of radium poisoning(!) But on the whole, I enjoyed this little glimpse into the life of Marie Curie.

Cumulative pages: 16,669

#45 Along the Tapajós
4.5 blue stars rounded up.

A children's picture book, free (on World Book Day) from Amazon Crossing. This is a delightful look at life along a river in the Amazon rainforest. I would give a gold star for the illustrations - bright and colorful and full of amazing detail. The story is all too short, and it ends rather abruptly. Still there is a surprising amount of info to be gleaned about another culture in this simple tale.

Description: Cauã and Inaê are a brother and sister who live in a small community along the Tapajós River in Brazil. Here, the homes are on stilts and everyone travels around by boat―even to school! When the rainy season comes, they must leave their village and relocate to higher ground for a while. But after moving this year, Cauã and Inaê realize they’ve left behind something important: their pet tortoise, Titi! Unlike turtles, tortoises can’t swim, and Cauã and Inaê are really worried. So the pair sneaks back at night on a journey along the river to rescue him. Will they be able to save Titi? This picture book, first published in Brazil, offers kids a unique look into the lives of children who live along Brazil’s beautiful Tapajós River.

Cumulative pages: 16,560

#44 The Amersham Rubies
3 orange stars

A very short story, and somewhat underwhelming. Half the page count is taken up by a teaser of a later book in the series (which I didn't read). There really wasn't any mystery here, since Molly had already solved it as it happened. I would not judge the series based on this little "introduction" so three stars. I love the Evan Evans series, and I look forward to getting to know Molly.

Cumulative pages: 16,520

I'm not feeling realistic this year, so I'm going to say 60. But I may be reading a dozen children's books come December!

#43 Questing Beast
3 green stars.
Short, humorous sci fi story. Read this because of the Arthurian reference. Basically, a genetically engineered bio-unit called Nannybot has been compromised by some kind of computer virus, and thinks it is Sir Pellinore hunting the Questing Beast. It disappears into the woods riding a dwarf cow and waving a broom stick. Unfortunately, it also contains the report of two years of work studying this planet. The evaluation committee is arriving in a few days, and the young researchers' careers will be over if they don't produce the report. What can they do, but illegally bioengineer a Questing Beast for Nannybot to hunt... Of course, in the end, "nature" will have the last laugh.

This was sort of cute, and besides the Arthurian reference, I think there was a bit of a nod to Don Quixote.

This story is readily available free online.

Cumulative pages: 16,482

#42 One Day in December
3.5 pink stars. Mostly light-hearted, but not exactly a rom-com. This is another book that I think will appeal more to younger readers than older ones. I don't think it's a plot spoiler to say the book has a happy ending, and getting there is fairly predictable. I was a little surprised how long it took - the book covers 10 years - but the characters don't age 10 years. In fact, they seem to have changed very little by the end. I got quite peeved especially with Jack a few times. Unfortunately, I think he was still pretty immature by the end of the book. I liked Laurie and Sarah quite a lot. Glad that Sarah got her happy ending too. Yeah, the ending of the book might have been over the top, but by that point you're so glad the characters FINALLY got there, that you don't care. So I liked it, even though I'm generally not a fan of romances.

Cumulatiove pages: 16,452

I've picked both of these for my in-person book club for 2022. I like to pair a classic with something recent...

CHALLENGES
A Good Yarn:
Reading the alphabet geographically. Every two months is a new letter, with the choice of reading a specific location, or a generic place, or both...
December 2021/January 2022: C (bonus: C + Christmas)
The Cornish Coast Murder (Cornwall AND a coast)
READ 2021 Murder on the Menu (Cornwall)
READ 2021 A Cornish Christmas Carol (Cornwall + bonus Christmas)

February/March: D
READ The Book of Unknown Americans (Delaware)
A Gathering of Ghosts (Devon, Dartmoor)
Women of the Dunes
READ The Hound of the Baskervilles (Devon, Dartmoor)

April/May: E
READ Bertie's Guide to Life and Mothers (Edinburgh)
READ Bertie's Christmas short story. (Edinburgh)
READ Bertie's Christmas Journey short story. (Edinburgh)
Her Royal Spyness (England)
READ Crocodile on the Sandbank (Egypt)

June/July: F
The Summer Queen (France)
READ The Forest of Vanishing Stars (a forest)

August/Sept: G
The Evening Chorus (Germany)
The Wild Inside (Glacier National Park)

Oct/Nov: H
Murder at Honeychurch Hall


Dec/Jan: I
A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice (iceberg)


Alphabet (A-Z titles) challenge.
Sort of contemporaneous with A Good Yarn...but I'm still working on some A titles and A Good Yarn is up to C. The only rule here, is that I have to read the alphabet in order. And no rule on how long to spend on each letter. As long as there are still A titles I want to read, I'll stick with it...

Ahab's Wife, or The Star-Gazer
READ 2021 The Alehouse Murders

READ 2021 All Things Wise and Wonderful
READ Anglesey Blue
READ Anxious People
READ Aunt Bessie Assumes
The Apothecary Rose (reread)
...And Ladies of the Club
READ Awayland
READ All Adults Here
------------------------------
READ The Book of Unknown Americans
READ Bertie's Guide to Life and Mothers
READ Bertie's Christmas - short story
READ Bertie's Christmas Journey - short story
READ Behind the Scenes with Burt: A Breaking Cat News Adventure
READ Behold the Dreamers
The Book of Joby
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek - reread
The Book Woman's Daughter - Netgalley
READ A Brush With Death
-------------------------------
Corrag
Cup of Blood
City of Masks
A Conspiracy of Friends
The Chocolatier's Ghost


Rebecca's List:
This is a group challenge on LibraryThing's Club Read 2022 to collectively read all the books on a late member's reading list. This is not a promise to read all of these, but potentially to read...These are some that are of interest to me, that no one else has read yet. Not counting The Philosophical Baby: What Children's Minds Tell Us About Truth, Love, and the Meaning of Life on her list, since I am currently reading it.
1. The World of Odysseus - a likely candidate because of my Odyssey theme this year!
2. The Bear: History of a Fallen King
3. The Reindeer People: Living with Animals and Spirits in Siberia - someone else has read this one...
4. Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World
5. The Power of Music
6. Genes, Peoples, and Languages
7. Through the Language Glass: Why the World Looks Different in Other Languages
8. The Singing Life of Birds: The Art and Science of Listening to Birdsong
9. The Fairies Return, or New Tales for Old
10. Stars of the Long Night
11. The Romance of Tristan
12. The Romance of the Rose


Laurel's One From Each List Challenge (On the Same Page 1st Annual Reading Challenge - 12 + 4):
Since I have roughly 16 lists going, I thought I would pick one book from each list. I think there's a few more than 16, but there are some titles that are on more than one list, so this works. I'm hoping to make at least a Baker's Dozen here, 12 + 1.

1. The Book of Joby - this one is on at least 3 of my lists...
READ 2. Winter Solstice
3. The World of Odysseus
4. Ahab's Wife, or The Star-Gazer
5. Queen By Right
6. The Evening Chorus
7. Homer's Odyssey
READ 8. The Prague Sonata
READ 9. Bertie's Guide to Life and Mothers
READ 10. Anglesey Blue
READ 11. Aunt Bessie Assumes
READ 12. Every Living Thing
-------------------------------------------------------
13. A Sacred Storm
14. Wolf Hall
15. Ygerna: A Pendragon Chronicles Prequel Novel
16. The Fall of Atlantis


On the Same Page cover color challenge:
READ January - White or Dark Gray
READ February - Rust or Pink
READ March - Spring Green or Lemon
READ April - Tangerine or Lavender
READ May - Blue or Brown , , READ and
June - Green or Silver and maybe
READ July - Yellow or Fuschia
August - Red or Black
READ September - Lime or Purple
October - Orange or White or Black
November - Teal or Gold
December - Sky Blue or Khaki

LEFTOVERS and LIBRARY BOOKS
A combination of old and new. Sort of a catch-all for anything that doesn't fit above. I have leftovers from 2021, mostly from A Good Yarn, and finishing up my previous alphabet challenge. Books that are the oldest in my TBR ocean. Books that have been started but abandoned, and then of course there is new stuff that catches my eye and gets checked out from the library....

2021 Leftovers not finished:
READ 1. Anglesey Blue
2. One for Sorrow
3. Wolf Hall #1 of 3
4. The Valley #1 of 3
5. The Chocolatier's Ghost
6. Neverhome
7. Queen By Right
8. From Hand to Hand: the Welsh novel O Law I Law
READ 9. Every Living Thing - to finish series
READ 10. We Gather Together: A Nation Divided, a President in Turmoil, and a Historic Campaign to Embrace Gratitude and Grace
11. Outlander - reread
12. Yseult: A Tale of Love in the Age of King Arthur - title beginning with Y

2021 Leftovers not started:
1. Daniel Boone: The Life and Legend of an American Pioneer
2. Untimely Death - A Good Yarn, U is for Un-
READ 3. Aunt Bessie Assumes - A Good Yarn, X
4. Treasure Island
5. The Xenophobe's Guide to the Welsh - Title beginning with X
6. The Tower, The Zoo, and The Tortoise - A Good Yarn, Z
7. Zorrie - title beginning with Z
8. The Plum Tree - A Good Yarn, T is for Tree
9. The Crystal Cave (reread) - The Reading Loft group read
10. Independent People - A Good Yarn, I is for Ice
11. The Heart Of A Samurai - A Good Yarn, J is for Japan
12. Into the Jungle - A Good Yarn, J is for Jungle

The 12 Oldest in My TBR Ocean:
1. The Long Walk Home (owned)
2. Within the Fetterlock
3. Thirteenth Night
4. Kilt Dead (owned)
5. The Tale of Hill Top Farm
6. Her Royal Spyness (owned)
7. The Last Troubadour
8. The Book of Joby (owned)
9. The Fall of Atlantis (owned)
10. Mozart's Sister
11. Vivaldi's Virgins
12. The Expected One (owned)

Shiny New Things:
1. The Mozart Code - Location: Vienna AND Prague - pub. date March 2022
2. The Book of Cold Cases - Themes: "Book of" titles
3. Daughter of Smoke & Bone - Location: Prague
4. The Lost Wife - portions set in Prague and Terezin.
READ 5. Behind the Scenes with Burt: A Breaking Cat News Adventure - just published
DNF 6. Here We Go Again: My Life in Television - because I am really enjoying watching The Golden Girls
7. A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice - Stars theme, A Good Yarn I location (iceberg), Audible daily deal
READ 8. The Ink Black Heart - next in Cormoran Strike series, just released and purchased on Audible

SERIES and AUTHORS
Series has taken on a life of its own this past year, so I am putting my "Random Reads" series picks here, as well as a lot of leftovers trying to complete or focus on a few specific series. Sometimes I also pick an author or two to focus on.

Next-in-Series: - starred titles are within 1 or 2 of finishing the series
1. 44 Scotland Street - Alexander McCall Smith
READ Bertie's Christmas #6.5
READ Bertie's Christmas Journey #7.5
READ Bertie's Guide to Life and Mothers #9 of 15
The Revolving Door of Life #10 of 15

2. Corduroy Mansions - Alexander McCall Smith
*A Conspiracy of Friends #3 of 3

3. Mrs. Murphy - Rita Mae Brown (rereading, #18 will be new)
Cat's Eyewitness #13 of 31

4. Flavia de Luce - Alan Bradley (rereading - #5 will be new)
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie #1 of 10

5. Meg Langslow - Donna Andrews
Owls Well That Ends Well #6 of 30

6. Finfarran - Felicity Hayes-McCoy
*The Month of Borrowed Dreams #4 UK, #5 US of 5 (so far)

7. Hermann Preiss - Morley Torgov
Key Witness #2 of 6 (chronologically)

8. Anne Easter Smith
A Rose for the Crown (not really a series, but the next book chronologically...Wars of the Roses)

9. Slough House - Mick Herron
Real Tigers #3 of 8

10. The Morland Dynasty
The Dark Rose #2 of 35

11. Lucy Morgan - Victoria Lamb
*His Dark Lady #2 of 3

12. Somershill Manor - S.D. Sykes
*City of Masks #3 of 5


New Series:

1. A Song of Ice and Fire - George R.R, Martin
A Game of Thrones #1 of 7

2. Millennium - Steig Larsson
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo #1 of 6

3. Vorkosigan Saga - Lois Bujold
Shards of Honor #1 of 16

4. Nosey Parker - Fiona Leitch
READ A Brush With Death #2 of 6
A Sprinkle of Sabotage

5. DI Tudor Manx - Dylan H. Jones
READ*Anglesey Blue #1 of 3
*Doll Face #2 of 3

6. Thomas Cromwell - Hilary Mantel
*Wolf Hall #1 of 3

7. Thursday Murder Club - Richard Osman
*The Thursday Murder Club #1 of 3 (so far)

8. The Valley Trilogy - Helen Bryan
*The Valley #1 of 3

9. Crispin Guest - Jeri Westerson
Cup of Blood #7 (but comes before #1) of 15

10. Isle of Man - Diana Xarissa
Aunt Bessie Believes #2 of 25

11.

12.