Jemidar is huffing and puffing her way to the top...

[Jemidar]

I got sidetracked for a couple of months by shiny new books but have now finally read #14, Nine Coaches Waiting by Mary Stewart. Hopefully I can stay on track for a while because I need to do some catching up.

[C. (Comment, never msg).]

Hi Jemidar. Did you like it? I own it and look forward to this gothic classic, probably sometime this year. :) Carolyn.

[Jemidar]

Yes, it was a four star read for me.

[Karen·]

woohoo!

We're even stevens, both at 13.

[Karen·]

Oh no, I just saw you're at 14, so one ahead of me, well done! Just one more this month and you're right on track.

[Jemidar]

Hey Karen, thanks so much for doing the maths for me as I thought I was further behind than that.

So you're saying that if I add one more this month I'm on schedule? In that case I'm so glad I finally finished an oldie NF I've been reading for ages this afternoon!

[Jemidar]

#15 done, All the King's Women: Love, sex and politics in the life of Charles II by Derek Wilson. This one has been sitting on my shelves for at least a couple of years. Was a bit of a slog and took me over 2 months to finish.

And according to Karen, this means I'm right on schedule even after taking a few detours. Yay!!

[Jemidar]

Managed to squeeze another one into May. #16 The Night Watch by Sarah Waters.

[Karen·]

Yay! May is the 5th month of the year, is it not? Three books per month would take us to 36.

I can do simple 'rithmetic, just don't ask me about algebra or calculus.

[Jemidar]

Thanks! I was just being lazy. I try to avoid even simple Maths if I can :-p.

[Jemidar]

First one for June--#17 Excellent Women by Barbara Pym.

[Jemidar]

Another one bites the dust, #18 Wild Strawberries by Angela Thirkell.

[Jemidar]

#19, Girl in Hyacinth Blue by Susan Vreeland. I think I'm officially ahead of schedule :-).

[Jemidar]

#20, Above Suspicion by Helen MacInnes.

[C. (Comment, never msg).]

Wow! I'm not the only decently young person who knows the Scottish legend! As we list titles, most don't indicate how much they liked each one. I hope you enjoyed the ride.

[Jemidar]

Yes, I enjoyed it very much and am wondering why it took me so long to discover, then read her. Four stars from me and I've ordered her next book :-).

[C. (Comment, never msg).]

I read some so long ago, it's a pleasure to at last to share the delight! A few are too spy-oriented (especially nazi themes of the time), than mystery/gothics I sought when I discovered her. Engaging adventures regardless. Delphi is one of the best and others. I kept them and will check the backs for a refresher.

[Jemidar]

I love spy novels so didn't mind the big bad Nazi's in the least--although I do prefer the big bad Russions as a rule. LOL. I also love mystery/gothics so it doesn't look like I can go wrong with this author.

[C. (Comment, never msg).]

Perhaps you'd enjoy my reviews of oldies. On a current note, I own a few Susan Vreelands. How are they?

[Jemidar]

I've only read the one Vreeland but I really liked it.

[Jemidar]

More Tales of the City was #21. There's nothing like 1970s San Francisco to cheer you up :-).

[C. (Comment, never msg).]

Ah, the decade of my existence. :) These 3 years, suddenly a lot of my fiction occurred there. Prior, all that came to mind was an American city famous for gays and streetcars. I've learned so much, thanks to Phyllis A Whitney & Rebecca Hale to a huge degree. Also Juliet Blackwell, Kate Carlisle.... It has some of the most unusual facts I ever heard of.

[Jemidar]

Well, the Tales series of books focus on the gay culture and other counter-cultures of the times. The books are filled with the warm, wonderful and downright weird. They're as addictive as a soap opera and I eat them up with a spoon.

[Jemidar]

#22 was a nice surprise. Water for Elephants was much better than expected.

[Karen·]

My you're bounding ahead. I'm foundering. Now two behind, so I need to read FIVE in July to get back to speed.

[Jemidar]

I'm only ahead because I had a couple of weeks of bad insomnia. It helped tremendously but probably isn't the solution for everyone :-).

[Jemidar]

Another one that I should've read way sooner, #23 The Courtiers by Lucy Worsley. I've discovered a few treasures lurking in Mt TBR recently :-).

[Jemidar]

Thankfully still on track, #24 Riders by Jilly Cooper. It was another one I thought was a reread but turned out not to be.

[Karen·]

Jemidar wrote: "Thankfully still on track, #24 Riders by Jilly Cooper. It was another one I thought was a reread but turned out not to be."

It's the opposite with me: ones I thought were first read turned out not to be.

[Jemidar]

I've had one or two of them as well. LOL.

[C. (Comment, never msg).]

If you devoured multiple stories by the same author/actress, or if it was long ago; recall can be tricky. Now that I am over 20 and additionally review all of my reads, I expect to retain more sharply. An interesting enigma is a film or novel, of a genre that you aren't into at that time.

I was a very (VERY!) small child when the three "Star Wars" came out. It was techno babble to me. Same, reading "The Hobbit" in grade 9. I couldn't tell you what either was about - which can't really be called 'a re-read'. Now that I'm a big fan of fantasy and sci-fi (film/TV only on this genre); I can watch once and tell you details about dialogue lines, concepts in the plot, costumes, foreshadowing, how things relate to what characters tell of their pasts....

[Jemidar]

Well, I'm over twenty too but I suspect by a good bit more than you are. LOL. I think in my case I can only blame my aging brain cells. The good thing about getting older though is that soon I'll be able to reread all my whodunits and not know who the murderer was ;-D.

[C. (Comment, never msg).]

You are most kind. Like my smooth-skinned Mother, I *could* warn people not to be fooled by my photos. I am also over 30. And by that, I mean ALL of them. :-)

[Jemidar]

I'm *ahem* over thirty too!

[C. (Comment, never msg).]

You can tell I recently turned! hahaha It shouldn't take long for one to be glad they are in THIS decade. The next F-word must be frightening, until one is used to that too. We are all glad to keep living, teaching, and exploring of course! * (I initiated an add request, with pleasure).

[Jemidar]

The following S-word is the one that terrifies me. My partner had his 60th birthday a few weeks ago and is still grumpy about it. LOL.

[Jemidar]

On a roll, #25 If Walls Could Talk by Lucy Worsley. Non-fiction.

[Jemidar]

#26, The Angel's Game was unfortunately a little disappointing :-(.

[Jemidar]

Another 900+ page chunkster down. Wheel of Fortune by Susan Howatch. Loved it!

[Jemidar]

With this, #28 Moonraker, I reach the all up total of books I read off Mt TBR last year so I'm feeling pretty pleased with myself :-).

[Karen·]

Hey, congratulations! Woo woo Jemidar!

[Jemidar]

Thanks!

[Jemidar]

Okay, I know this is going to look like creative accounting but it's not, honestly. Let me explain...

I've had this copy of The Forsyte Saga sitting on my shelf for about a decade avoiding it mostly because of the tiny, tiny font so when I came to reading it I decided to get it on Kindle instead to save my eyes. The Kindle freebies I downloaded were broken up into their three separate volumes (Man of Property, In Chancery & To Let) as The Forsyte Saga was originally published and as I read them as three separate books with other books read in between, I'm going to count them as three books towards this challenge.

So that means 29, 30 & 31 are done and dusted :-).

[Bev]

Jemidar wrote: "Okay, I know this is going to look like creative accounting but it's not, honestly. Let me explain...

I've had this copy of The Forsyte Saga sitting on my shelf for about a decade avoiding it mos..."

Three cheers for creative accounting! [I'm feeling all kinds of generous lately. ;-) ]

[Jemidar]

Thanks Bev!

[Karen·]

Well, I'm counting all the seven volumes of Proust as seven separate works, although they are often published in different ways, and sometimes paginated through as one single piece.

[Bev]

·Karen· wrote: "Well, I'm counting all the seven volumes of Proust as seven separate works, although they are often published in different ways, and sometimes paginated through as one single piece."

Anyone tackling all seven volumes of Proust deserves to count them all separately!

[Jemidar]

·Karen· wrote: "Well, I'm counting all the seven volumes of Proust as seven separate works, although they are often published in different ways, and sometimes paginated through as one single piece."

Glad I'm not the only one. LOL.

I would feel guiltier about it if I hadn't already read a few real chunkers for this challenge. Besides, each separate volume was over 300 pages so in my view that's definitely equivalent to a book.

[Jemidar]

Number 32, Started Early, Took My Dog finished. Another wonderful book by Atkinson and I'm not sure why I left it languishing on the shelf for so long.

[Jemidar]

There was a reason #33, Isabeau by N. Gmini Sasson was left languishing in Mt TBR for so long. And it was as bad as I expected. LOL. Next!