Leslie Rocks in 2017

[Leslie]

Myst wrote: "Did you watch the Saving Mr Banks movie? Apparently P.L. Travers hated what Disney did in his adaptation, but if the P.L. Travers character is anything like the real P.L. Travers, I could see how Mary Poppins turned out so unlikable. ..."

I have seen that movie, which I enjoyed. I agree that Travers came across as a grouch. My understanding from that film was that Mary Poppins was based upon her aunt - I guess that she was unlikable but effective.

[Leslie]

Books finished 22 - 28 October:

227.   Ashenden or the British Agent by W. Somerset Maugham
format/source = Kindle/Project Gutenberg Canada; 224 pages; date finished = 10/24; 4★
Categories: Watching the Detectives
Country: various (Switzerland, Russia, England, Italy)

Publisher's blurb says: "A celebrated writer by the time the war broke out in 1914, Maugham had the perfect cover for living in Switzerland. Multilingual and knowledgeable about many European countries, he was dispatched by the Secret Service to Lucerne - under the guise of completing a play. An assignment whose danger and drama appealed both to his sense of romance and of the ridiculous.
A collection of stories rooted in Maugham's own experiences as an agent, reflecting the ruthlessness and brutality of espionage, its intrigue and treachery, as well as its absurdity."

My thoughts: Because this is a WW1 spy story, I have shelved it under thriller-suspense but it is not actually either thrilling nor suspenseful. Ashenden, like Maugham himself, is a writer drafted into the Secret Service but his job is more one of observation than of danger or action. As Ashenden says:

"Being no more than a tiny rivet in a vast and complicated machine, he never had the advantage of seeing a completed action. He was concerned with the beginning or the end of it, perhaps, or with some incident in the middle, but what his own doings led to he had seldom a chance of discovering."

Thus the book is more a series of connected short stories than a single novel. Maugham's wonderful prose is a joy to read as usual.

228.     *The Rainbow by D.H. Lawrence
format/source = Kindle/Amazon & audiobook/Hoopla, narrated by Paul Slack; 483 pages; date finished = 10/25; 2★
Categories: These Things Take Time; Numbered Days
Country: England

Publisher's blurb says: "D.H. Lawrence's controversial classic, The Rainbow, follows the lives and loves of three generations of the Brangwen family, between 1840 and 1905. Their tempestuous relationships are played out against a backdrop of change as they witness the arrival of industrialization - the only constant being their unending attempts to grasp a higher form of existence, symbolized by the persistent, unifying motif of the 'rainbow'. Lawrence's fourth novel, and prequel to Women in Love, is an invigorating, absorbing tale about the undying determination of the human soul."

My thoughts: 2½ stars for the audiobook edition narrated by Paul Slack.

I didn't care for this book but if you like D.H. Lawrence, you probably would like this. His writing style & main themes irritate me so my main feeling on finishing this is relief that I am done. The characters don't seem like any people I have ever met & Lawrence has some strange ideas about sex & women...

For me, the most interesting parts were when Ursula Brangwen is working as a school teacher (without any kind of training!). Having taught myself, I was amused that some things apparently never change, such as the principal/headmaster's fear of pushy &/or complaining parents. Other aspects have clearly changed for the better - no more canings!

229.     *Adam Bede by George Eliot
format/source = Kindle/Amazon & audiobook/BPL, narrated by Wanda McCaddon; 485 pages; date finished = 10/25; 3½★
Categories: These Things Take Time; Numbered Days
Country: England

Publisher's blurb says: (WARNING - CONTAINS SPOILERS)
"George Eliot's first full-length novel is the moving, realistic portrait of three people troubled by unwise love.

Adam Bede is a hardy young carpenter who cares for his aging mother. His one weakness is the woman he loves blindly: the trifling town beauty, Hetty Sorrel, who delights only in her baubles—and the delusion that the careless Captain Donnithorne may ask for her hand.

Betrayed by their innocence, both Adam and Hetty allow their foolish hearts to trap them in a triangle of seduction, murder, and retribution. Only in the lovely Dinah Morris, a preacher, does Adam find his redemption."

My thoughts: 3.5* for the book; 4* for the Wanda McCadden narration of the audiobook edition

This is the third book I have read by Eliot & the one I have enjoyed the most. I liked the historical setting (~1799-1800) and felt that the characters were believable & not too preachy (even Dinah, the Methodist preacher, wasn't overly preachy). I think that Eliot's style is growing on me; some day I will have to go back & reread Middlemarch.

230.     Artists in Crime by Ngaio Marsh {reread}
format/source = paperback/MOB & audiobook/library, narrated by Nadia May; 294 pages; date finished = 10/26; 4★
Categories: Watching the Detectives
Country: England

Publisher's blurb says: "It was a bizarre pose for beautiful model Sonia Gluck-and her last. For in the draperies of her couch lay a fatal dagger, and behind her murder lies all the intrigue and acid-etched temperament of an artist's colony. Called in to investigate, Scotland Yard's Inspector Roderick Alleyn finds his own passions unexpectedly stirred by the feisty painter Agatha Troy-brilliant artist and suspected murderess."

My thoughts: Nadia May does a marvelous narration of this entry in the Alleyn series. I have a fondness for this one, in which Alleyn first meets Agatha Troy.

231.     *A Voyage to Arcturus by David Lindsay
format/source = Kindle/Project Gutenberg & audiobook/LibriVox, narrated by Mark Nelson; 276 pages; date finished = 10/27; 3★
Categories: These Things Take Time; Numbered Days; Scary Monsters & Supercreeps
Country: England & Tormance

Publisher's blurb says: "A stunning achievement in speculative fiction, A Voyage to Arcturus has inspired, enchanted, and unsettled readers for decades. It is simultaneously an epic quest across one of the most unusual and brilliantly depicted alien worlds ever conceived, a profoundly moving journey of discovery into the metaphysical heart of the universe, and a shockingly intimate excursion into what makes us human and unique. After a strange interstellar journey, Maskull, a man from Earth, awakens alone in a desert on the planet Tormance, seared by the suns of the binary star Arcturus. As he journeys northward, guided by a drumbeat, he encounters a world and its inhabitants like no other, where gender is a victory won at dear cost; where landscape and emotion are drawn into an accursed dance; where heroes are killed, reborn, and renamed; and where the cosmological lures of Shaping, who may be God, torment Maskull in his astonishing pilgrimage. At the end of his arduous and increasingly mystical quest waits a dark secret and an unforgettable revelation.

A Voyage to Arcturus was the first novel by writer David Lindsay (1878–1945), and it remains one of the most revered classics of science fiction. "

My thoughts: Mark Nelson did a pretty good job narrating this classic science fiction novel.

I am not sure what to make of this classic science fiction novel - it was more a philosophical metaphor than the space travel adventure story that I had hoped for. I don't think that I understood what Lindsay was trying to say.

The final two chapters in particular confused me with (view spoiler)[Nightspore apparently being Maskull (a Maskull who survived the death of the main character but also existed before his death) & Krag being Surtur which was pain on Earth. (hide spoiler)]

232.   Feed by M.T. Anderson
format/source = audiobook/SYNC, narrated by David Aaron Baker; 308 pages; date finished = 10/28; 4★
Categories: Scary Monsters & Supercreeps
Country: U.S.A. & the Moon

Publisher's blurb says: "Identity crises, consumerism, and star-crossed teenage love in a futuristic society where people connect to the Internet via feeds implanted in their brains.

For Titus and his friends, it started out like any ordinary trip to the moon - a chance to party during spring break and play with some stupid low-grav at the Ricochet Lounge. But that was before the crazy hacker caused all their feeds to malfunction, sending them to the hospital to lie around with nothing inside their heads for days. And it was before Titus met Violet, a beautiful, brainy teenage girl who has decided to fight the feed and its omnipresent ability to categorize human thoughts and desires. Following in the footsteps of George Orwell, Anthony Burgess, and Kurt Vonnegut Jr., M. T. Anderson has created a not-so-brave new world — and a smart, savage satire that has captivated readers with its view of an imagined future that veers unnervingly close to the here and now."

My thoughts: I found this sci-fi YA dystopian novel all the more frightening because it was so plausible. On the surface, it is the story of a romance between two teens of different backgrounds but the underlying story is in the setting. The disfunction of American society is highlighted by the fact that the main character is oblivious of it, even after circumstance forces it into his (and the readers') attention.

[Leslie]

Books finished 29 October - 4 November:

233.   *Atonement by Ian McEwan
format/source = paperback/MOB; 480 pages; date finished = 10/29; 4★
Categories: Numbered Days
Country: England

Publisher's blurb says: "Ian McEwan’s symphonic novel of love and war, childhood and class, guilt and forgiveness provides all the satisfaction of a brilliant narrative and the provocation we have come to expect from this master of English prose.

On a hot summer day in 1934, thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis witnesses a moment’s flirtation between her older sister, Cecilia, and Robbie Turner, the son of a servant and Cecilia’s childhood friend. But Briony’s incomplete grasp of adult motives—together with her precocious literary gifts—brings about a crime that will change all their lives. As it follows that crime’s repercussions through the chaos and carnage of World War II and into the close of the twentieth century, Atonement engages the reader on every conceivable level, with an ease and authority that mark it as a genuine masterpiece."

My thoughts: Friends told me I would like this book but I kept putting it off because I didn't much care for the only other McEwan I had read, The Child in Time. Now I wish I had trusted my friends more as I thought this one was amazing!

234.     Arabella by Georgette Heyer {reread}
format/source = paperback/MOB & audiobook/Hoopla, narrated by Phyllida Nash; 312 pages; date finished = 10/30; 4★
Categories: none
Country: England

Publisher's blurb says: "To Arabella Tallant, daughter of a provincial minister, the invitation to stay with her London godmother was like the key to heaven. In addition to living in the glamourous city, Arabella might even find a suitable husband! Under her godmother's watchful eye, Arabella met all the eligible young men. But only one caught her fancy: Mr. Beaumaris, the most handsome--and most dedicated--bachelor in London, accustomed to being courted for his wealth. Arabella was so put out by his disdain for her that on the spur of the moment, she claimed to be an heiress with no need to marry for money. Trapped in her lie, and becoming daily more interested in Beaumaris, Arabella began to believe she would never attain her heart's desire. "

My thoughts: I have loved Heyer's books since my teens and have read & reread them over the years. Only recently have I started listening to audiobook editions with some mixed results. Phyllida Nash is very good as narrator but not quite perfect, somehow not quite as good as she was in The Talisman Ring... However, I didn't intend to listen to this audiobook in one big gulp but the humor and charm of this Heyer romance swept me up and I did end up finishing the same day as I started!

And, for those other Heyer fans out there, I have shown my current paperback above (which I got when my Mom was getting rid of her paperbacks & converting to Kindle editions). But my previous paperback, bought in a second hand store years ago when I was building my own collection of Heyer titles, was this 1949 Ace edition:


235.   *Blood Shot by Sara Paretsky {reread}
format/source = paperback/MOB; 376 pages; date finished = 11/1; 4★
Categories: Watching the Detectives
Country: U.S.A. {IL}

Publisher's blurb says: "V.I. Warshawski isn't crazy about going back to her old south Chicago neighborhood, but a promise is something she always keeps. Caroline, a childhood friend, has a dying mother and a problem -- after twenty-five years she wants V.I. to find the father she never knew. But when V.I. starts probing into the past, she not only finds out where all the bodies are buried -- she stumbles onto a very new corpse. Now she's stirring up a deadly mix of big business and chemical corruption that may become a toxic shock to a snooper who knows too much."

My thoughts on this 2017 reread: While some aspects of this 5th entry of the Warshawski series are slightly dated, overall it remains an exciting PI story. Paretsky creates a great sense of place with her descriptions of various parts of Chicago, especially the economically struggling South Side.

I found that even though I recalled some aspects of the story from my previous reading (20 or so years ago), much of the story took me by surprise, making this a more exciting read than I had expected.

236.     *Dracula by Bram Stoker {reread}
format/source = paperback/MOB & audiobook/Hoopla, narrated by David Horovitch, Jamie Parker, Joseph Kloska, Alison Pettitt, Clare Corbett, John Foley, David Thorpe; 312 pages; date finished = 11/1; 4★
Categories: none
Country: England (mostly)

Publisher's blurb says: "For a century Bram Stoker’s Dracula has reigned supreme as the undisputed masterpiece of horror writing. We have all grown up beneath the shadow of the elegant Count, at once an attractive, brutal and erotic creature of the night. In 1897 Bram Stoker wrote a story expressing the most persistent nightmare of the human condition. Take this opportunity to dream again..."

My thoughts: This audiobook edition was very good; perhaps not quite as good as the Tim Curry Audible edition but very close.

One detail about the story I noticed in this, my third, reread was in the section when (view spoiler)[Lucy is ill. Dr. Van Helsing gives her several blood transfusions from different donors. This time, while listening, I couldn't help thinking about the fact that medical science in 1897 didn't know about blood types & it was surprising that one of those transfusions didn't kill her because the donor was the wrong type! (hide spoiler)]

Overall, my impression of the book remains that it is a much better story than one would imagine from all the movie adaptations.

237.   The Smiler With the Knife by Nicholas Blake
format/source = Kindle/Amazon Prime lending library; 288 pages; date finished = 11/2; 3½★
Categories: Watching the Detectives
Country: England

Publisher's blurb says: "Seldom does a little bit of gardening change the course of history. Trimming the hedgerow one sunny morning, those incomparable partners in crime, Nigel and Georgia Strangeways, discover a tarnished locket. Hidden inside are dark secrets which threaten the nation’s democracy.
Leaving Nigel disconsolate at home, Georgia sets off on an hilarious romp across the country, pursuing a clique of Little Englanders inspired by Fascist Germany.
In her battle for Britain she encounters reckless gamblers and a quiet village vicar, England’s top batsman and the Radiance Girls in flowing orange chiffon, and, most suspicious of all, a peer of the realm with more on his mind than a coronet. Who is friend? Who is foe? Who would destroy the sanctity of England’s green and pleasant land?"

My thoughts: Nigel Strangeways barely appears in this entry in the series. Instead his wife has the feature role in this suspense novel (it isn't really a mystery). My biggest complaint is the frequent use of phrases such as "looking back a year later" which takes some of the suspense out of the story by assuring the reader that the main characters will survive, no matter how black things might look.

238.     A Pocket Full of Rye by Agatha Christie {reread}
format/source = paperback/MOB & audiobook/Hoopla, narrated by Richard E. Grant; 186 pages; date finished = 11/3; 3★
Categories: Watching the Detectives
Country: England

Publisher's blurb says: "Rex Fortescue, king of a financial empire, was sipping tea in his "counting house" when he suffered an agonizing and sudden death. On later inspection, the pockets of the deceased were found to contain traces of cereals. Yet, it was the incident in the parlor which confirmed Miss Marple's suspicion that here she was looking at a case of crime by rhyme..."

My thoughts: 3½* for this audiobook edition. Miss Marple plays a smaller role in this book than she did in the Joan Hickson dramatization, which I found disappointing. However, Richard Grant does an excellent narration.

239.   *The Loved One by Evelyn Waugh {reread}
format/source = hardcover/library; 164 pages; date finished = 11/3; 5★
Categories: none
Country: U.S.A. {CA}

Publisher's blurb says: "Following the death of a friend, the poet and pets' mortician Dennis Barlow finds himself entering the artificial Hollywood paradise of the Whispering Glades Memorial Park. Within its golden gates, death, American-style, is wrapped up and sold like a package holiday-and Dennis gets drawn into a bizarre love triangle with Aimée Thanatogenos, a naïve Californian corpse beautician, and Mr. Joyboy, a master of the embalmer's art. Waugh's dark and savage satire on the Anglo-American cultural divide depicts a world where reputation, love, and death cost a very great deal."

My thoughts: 2017 reread: Still love it!

2013 review: Absolutely love this satire of mid-1940s Los Angeles and the English ex-patriot community! The mortician Mr. Joyboy and his colleague Aimée Thanatogenos are a wonderful contrast to Dennis Barlow in Waugh's parody of Henry James' stereotypes of the Innocent American and Jaded European...

[Leslie]

OK, I have clearly not been good at keeping up with my thread so I will just give a summary of November's books. ROOT indicates a book I owned prior to Jan. 1, 2017.

240. The Queen's Poisoner by Jeff Wheeler, 325 pgs, Kindle ROOT, finished 11/5, 3½★
241. The Goodbye Look by Ross MacDonald, 186 pgs, paperback ROOT, finished 11/6, 3★
242. The Luck of the Bodkins by P.G. Wodehouse, 286 pgs, Hoopla audio, finished 11/7, 4½★
243. *Blindness by Jose Saramago (ℕ) (translated by Giovanni Pontiero), 326 pgs, paperback ROOT, finished 11/8, 2½★
244. Death of a Red Heroine by Qui Xialong, 464 pgs, library hardcover, finished 11/8, 4★
245. Glass Houses by Louise Penny, 400 pgs, library Kindle, finished 11/10, 4★
246. Henry IV by Luigi Pirandello (ℕ) (translated by Edward Storer), 80 pgs, Kindle ROOT, finished 11/12, 3★
247. No Wind of Blame by Georgette Heyer, 246 pgs, library audio CDs, finished 11/13, 4★ {reread via audiobook}
248. *The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov (translated by Michael Glenny), 394 pgs, library hardcover, finished 11/16, 3½★
249. Last Ditch by Ngaio Marsh, 277 pgs, BPL audio, finished 11/17, 3★
250. Quick Service by P.G. Wodehouse, 192 pgs, Hoopla audio, finished 11/18, 3½★
251. *The Coming Race by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 108 pgs, Kindle, finished 11/19, 3★
252. Too Many Cooks by Rex Stout, 204 pgs, library Kindle, finished 11/19, 3½★
253. Death at the Chase by Michael Innes, 184 pgs, paperback ROOT, finished 11/22, 4★
254. Symphony for the City of the Dead by M.T. Anderson, 464 pgs, audio ROOT, finished 11/24, 4★
255. Laura by Vera Caspary, 219 pgs, Dad's Kindle, finished 11/24, 4½★
256. The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri (translated by Stephen Sartarelli), 224 pgs, audio CDs ROOT, finished 11/26, 3★
257. *The Luck of Barry Lyndon by William Makepeace Thackeray, 347 pgs, Kindle ROOT, finished 11/27, 3½★
258. L.A. Dead by Stuart Woods, 410 pgs, audio ROOT, finished 11/29, 3★
259. The Lost Art of Mixing by Erica Bauermeister, 228 pgs, audio ROOT, finished 11/30, 2½★

[Leslie]

Only 2 books finished since the beginning of December:

260. Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare {reread}
format/source=audiobook/SYNC (2015) & Kindle/Amazon, 95 pages, finished 12/1, 4★
Categories: In a Stage Whisper, These Things Take Time
Country: ancient Rome (Italy)

Publisher's blurb says: "The skies over ancient Rome blaze with terrifying portents, and soothsayers warn Julius Caesar of approaching doom. As conspiracy swirls through the city, Shakespeare explores the deep repercussions of political murder on the human heart. A classic tale of duplicity, betrayal and murder, masterfully performed by an all-star, all-American cast in this BBC co-production with L.A. Theatre Works."

My thoughts: An L.A. Theatre Works full cast performance featuring:

Bonnie Bedelia as Calpurnia
Jack Coleman as Casca
John de Lancie as Cassius
Richard Dreyfuss as Marc Antony
Harold Gould as Caesar
Kelsey Grammer as Murellus
Arye Gross as Octavius
Stacy Keach as Marcus Brutus
John Randolph as Flavius/Artemidorus
JoBeth Williams as Portia

With Lee Arenberg, David Birney, Josh Fardon, Arthur Hanket, Rudy Hornish, Basil Langton, Jon Matthews, Paul Mercier, James Morrison, Marnie Mosiman, George Murdock, John Vickery, Andrew White, and Paul Winfield.

This full cast recording was excellent. I am always surprised by how many famous lines there are in this play; this time it was the "Cry havoc! and let slip the dogs of war". For some reason, I thought that this line was one of the Henry's...

I also read along in my Kindle omnibus of [The Complete Works of William Shakespeare]...

261.        Mapp and Lucia by E.F. Benson {reread}
format/source=hardcover omnibus/MOB, 300 pages, finished 12/1, 4★
Categories:
Country: England

Publisher's blurb says: "The fourth novel in E. F. Benson's classic 'Mapp and Lucia' comedy series following the lives of Emmeline "Lucia" Lucas and Elizabeth Mapp in the one-upmanship and snobbery of the 1920s/30s British social scene."

My thoughts: The Lucia series should be read by anyone who is a fan of Jane Austen or Angela Thirkell!

Nov/Dec 2017 reread: I think that this is my favorite in the series. It would perhaps not be as funny to someone who hadn't read the previous books but the ongoing manoevers between Lucia & Elizabeth Mapp in order to gain social ascendency in the village of Tilling are hilarious as are the reactions of the villagers.

I also am watching the superb BBC adaptation starring Prunella Scales -- so much fun! This adaptation (unlike the PBS one I watched earlier this year) starts with this book and continues into the next, The Worshipful Lucia.

[Delitealex]

I like how you themed your thread :) you've had a good year of reading congrats

[Leslie]

Delitealex wrote: "I like how you themed your thread :) you've had a good year of reading congrats"

Thanks -- it was fun coming up with a theme, even though I haven't done a good job keeping it up to date.

[Sam]

Also, great taste in music, Leslie ;)

[Leslie]

Sam wrote: "Also, great taste in music, Leslie ;)"

I (of course) had to relisten to all those albums & more when I was coming up with my theme :P

[Leslie]

262.   The Con Man by Ed McBain
format/source=Kindle/Amazon Prime lending library, 216 pages, finished 12/3, 3★
Categories: Watching the Detectives
Country: U.S.A.

Publisher's blurb says: "A con man is plying his trade on the streets of Isola: conning a domestic for pocket change, businessmen for thousands, and even ladies in exchange for a little bit of love. You can see the world, meet a lot of nice people, imbibe some unique drinks, and make a ton money…all by conning them for their cash.

The question is: How far is he willing to go?

When a young woman's body washes up in the Harb River, the answer to that question becomes tragically clear. Now Detective Steve Carella races against time to find him before another con turns deadly. The only clue he has to go on is the mysterious tattoo on the young woman’s hand—but it’s enough. Carella takes to the streets, searching its darkest corners for a man who cons his victims out of their money…and their lives."

My thoughts: This 4th entry in the 87th Precinct series again features Steve Carella & this time his deaf-mute wife Teddy plays a big part. While con men, big & small, are featured, this book is really a murder mystery at heart.

263. *The Horse's Mouth by Joyce Cary
format/source=hardcover omnibus/library, 285 pages, finished 12/4, 3½★
Categories: Numbered Days
Country: England

Publisher's blurb says: "The Horse's Mouth, the third and most celebrated volume of Joyce Cary's First Trilogy, is perhaps the finest novel ever written about an artist. Its painter hero, the charming and larcenous Gulley Jimson, has an insatiable genius for creation and a no less remarkable appetite for destruction. Is he a great artist? a has-been? or an exhausted, drunken ne'er-do-well? He is without doubt a visionary, and as he criss-crosses London in search of money and inspiration the world as seen though his eyes appears with a newly outrageous and terrible beauty."

My thoughts: Gulley Jimson was quite a character but on the whole I felt that the humor in this book was more of the sort which made me smile inwardly than the sort which make me laugh aloud. Jimson indubitably was an artist but one who had gone off the rails sometime in his past. I loved the way that he was always describing the sky and clouds in terms of colors & shapes. What I found more melancholy was the fact that it seemed to me it was clear to him that his best work was behind him but he couldn't admit that to himself. Perhaps the funniest thing was how he would suggest to someone that he do some painting for them & despite the fact that this proposal was turned down, in his mind he would not only decide it was agreed to but come up with a price for it & in short order, would believe that the person owed him that money!

[Leslie]

264.   Some Buried Caesar by Rex Stout
format/source=paperback/MOB, 190 pages, finished 12/5, 4★
Categories: Watching the Detectives
Country: U.S.A. {NY}

Publisher's blurb says: "Will a championship bull be served as barbecue or preserved for its lineage? Before this can be resolved, however, a foolish young man is found killed. Then the bull dies – or is it murder? Finally, there’s a third dead body, a blackmailer. With no evidence pointing to a killer, it’s time for Nero Wolfe to forsake his fussy lifestyle and start crime-solving. But even Wolfe is stymied when his right-hand man Archie is jailed."

My thoughts: Once again, Wolfe & Archie are away from home in this 6th entry in the series! This time, Wolfe is visiting upstate NY in order to participate in a flower show (so his orchids can beat those of a rival who cowardly avoided the NYC flower shows). Of course, they get involved in a death or two (or 3) while there! This is the book which introduces a recurring character, Lily Rowan, and it was a lot of fun reading the persiflage between her & Archie.

[Leslie]

265.   Nemesis by Agatha Christie (reread)
format/source=audiobook/Hoopla, 271 pages, finished 12/6, 3½★ for the book, 4* for audio
Categories: Watching the Detectives
Country: England

Publisher's blurb says: "In utter disbelief, Jane Marple read the letter addressed to her from the recently deceased Mr Rafiel - an acquaintance she had met briefly on her travels. He had left instructions for her to investigate a crime after his death. The only problem was, he had failed to tell her who was involved or where and when the crime had been committed. It was most intruguing.

Soon she is faced with a new crime - the ultimate crime - murder. It seems someone is adamant that past evils remain buried..."

My thoughts: I didn't remember this book very well at all, but of course I have seen the Joan Hickson adaptation. Even so, I found that I was not completely sure about who did it (view spoiler)[(I remembered that it was one of the sisters but Christie was very good at her misdirection!) (hide spoiler)]

Emilia Fox did a fine job narrating.

[Leslie]

266.   The Open House by Michael Innes
format/source=paperback/MOB, 191 pages, finished 12/8, 3½★
Categories: Watching the Detectives
Country: England

Publisher's blurb says: "When Inspector Appleby's car breaks down on a deserted road one dark night, he happens upon an imposing mansion, whose windows are all illuminated. His sense of curiosity gets the better of him when he discovers that the front door is wide open, and he gets a funny feeling of being watched as he wanders round this splendid house, looking for signs of life. When he finds an elaborate feast laid out, he wonders who is expected..."

My thoughts: An unexpected late night breakdown of his car leads Appleby into this case as he stumbles upon 'the open house' in his quest for an inn. The house is lit up and the door open but there is no-one to be found inside - at least, at first!

A fun entry in the Appleby series.

[Leslie]

267.   Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein
format/source=audiobook/SYNC, 368 pages, finished 12/8, 3½★
Categories:
Country: England, Germany, France

Publisher's blurb says: "Rose Justice is a young pilot with the Air Transport Auxiliary during the Second World War. On her way back from a semi-secret flight in the waning days of the war, Rose is captured by the Germans and ends up in Ravensbrck, the notorious Nazi women's concentration camp. There, she meets an unforgettable group of women, including a once glamorous and celebrated French detective novelist; a resilient young girl who was a human guinea pig for Nazi doctors; and a female fighter pilot for the Soviet air force. These damaged women must bond together to help each other survive.In this companion volume to the critically acclaimed novel Code Name Verity, Elizabeth Wein continues to explore themes of friendship and loyalty, right and wrong, and unwavering bravery in the face of indescribable evil."

My thoughts: While this historical fiction of the end of WW2 & the Ravensbruck concentration camp was well done, I never came to really believe in the main character, Rose Justice, a young American pilot & didn't care for her poetry. I also felt that the structure of the book robbed it of some of the suspense as (view spoiler)[we hear about Rose's experiences at Ravensbruck in retrospect so we know in advance that she survived. (hide spoiler)]

Sasha Pick did a fine narration, though I found her voice for Różyczka grating.

[Pam]

Leslie wrote: "My thoughts: While I can understand why this novel is considered to be more important than its predecessor, [The Adventures of Tom Sawyer], as a story I have always preferred Tom Sawyer. "

Read them both as a kid and loved Tom Sawyer, couldn't stand Huck Finn. I do plan to re-read to find out if my tastes have changed!

[Leslie]

Pam wrote: "Leslie wrote: "My thoughts: While I can understand why this novel is considered to be more important than its predecessor, [The Adventures of Tom Sawyer], as a story I have always preferred Tom Saw..."

I will look for your decision Pam :)

[Leslie]

268.   The Crime at Noah's Ark by Molly Thynne
format/source=Kindle/Amazon, 242 pages, finished 12/10, 4★
Categories: Watching the Detectives; These Things Take Time
Country: England

Publisher's blurb says: " “There’ll be blue murder here before Christmas!”

A number of parties heading for a luxurious holiday spot, are forced by severe winter weather to put up at the ‘Noah’s Ark’, a hostelry they will share with Dr. Constantine, a shrewd chess master and keen observer of all around him. Other guests include bestselling novelist Angus Stuart, the aristocratic Romsey family, a pair of old spinster sisters, and a galloping major whose horseplay gets him into hot water – and then gets him murdered.

Who is the masked intruder who causes such a commotion on the first night? Who has stolen Mrs van Dolen’s emeralds, and who has slashed everyone’s (almost everyone’s) car tyres? And are the murderer and thief one and the same, or are the guests faced with two desperate criminals hiding in plain sight in the snowbound inn? Dr. Constantine, aided by two of the younger guests, is compelled to investigate this sparkling Christmas mystery before anyone else ends up singing in the heavenly choir."

My thoughts: A twist on the country manor mystery -- in this case, a group of people, mostly unknown to each other, are caught in a December snowstorm in an inn called Noah's Ark. While stuck there in the days leading up to Christmas, there is a jewel robbery & a murder. I liked the fact that while there were some romantic subplots, they remained very much in the background. It was also pleasant to see that the village constable wasn't portrayed as a boobie, even though he required help to catch the culprit(s?).

[Leslie]

269.     *Cities of the Plain (aka Sodom and Gomorrah) by Marcel Proust {translated by C.K. Scott Moncrieff}
format/source = Kindle/Feedbooks & audiobook/Hoopla, narrated by Neville Jason; 748 pages; date finished = 12/14; 3½★
Categories: Numbered Days, All Around the World, Memories Can't Wait
Country: France

Audiobook publisher's blurb says: "Remembrance of Things Past is one of the monuments of 20th century literature. Sodom and Gomorrah is the fourth of seven volumes. Accidentally witnessing an encounter between the Baron de Charlus and the tailor Jupien, the narrator's eyes are opened to a world hidden from him until now; he suspects that Albertine is attracted to her own sex."

My thoughts: I was heading to a 4* rating until the final chapter. Marcel baffled me in it (view spoiler)[with his abrupt volte face with regard to Albertine. (hide spoiler)] Despite this, this 4th volume of the In Search of Lost Time series was much more enjoyable to me than the previous books. Or perhaps I am just getting habituated to Proust's style so that it doesn't annoy or bore me as much as it originally did...

I skimmed the text of my Kindle edition while listening to Neville Jason's narration. In past volumes, this combination of reading & listening worked well for me and it succeeded well this time too.

[Leslie]

270.   *The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler
format/source=paperback/MOB, 332 pages, finished 12/14, 5★
Categories: Watching the Detectives; Numbered Days
Country: U.S.A. {CA}

Publisher's blurb says: "Marlowe befriends a down on his luck war veteran with the scars to prove it. Then he finds out that Terry Lennox has a very wealthy nymphomaniac wife, who he's divorced and re-married and who ends up dead. And now Lennox is on the lam and the cops and a crazy gangster are after Marlowe."

My thoughts: I thought I had already read this so when I got my dad's paperback copy several years ago, I didn't read it right away. Well, it turns out I hadn't read it & now I am sorry I let it sit on the shelf so long! Chandler managed to surprise me with twists right up to the end. And unlike some of his earlier works, there was very little objectionable language (i.e. little to no racial slurs, etc.).

[Leslie]

271.     *Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia by Samuel Johnson
format/source = Kindle/Project Gutenberg & audiobook/LibriVox, narrated by Martin Geeson; 160 pages; date finished = 12/14; 3½★
Categories: Numbered Days, These Things Take Time
Country: Abyssinia (Ethiopia) & Egypt

Audiobook's blurb says: "In this enchanting fable (subtitled The Choice of Life), Rasselas and his retinue burrow their way out of the totalitarian paradise of the Happy Valley in search of that triad of eighteenth-century aspiration - life, liberty and happiness.

According to that quirky authority, James Boswell, Johnson penned his only work of prose fiction in a handful of days to cover the cost of his mother's funeral. The stylistic elegance of the book and its wide-ranging philosophical concerns give no hint of haste or superficiality.

Among other still burning issues Johnson's characters pursue questions of education, colonialism, the nature of the soul and even climate alteration. Johnson's profoundest concern, however, is with the alternating attractions of solitude and social participation, seen not only as the ultimate life-choice but as the arena in which are played out the deepest fears of the individual: "Of the uncertainties of our present state, the most dreadful and alarming is the uncertain continuance of Reason.” (Summary by Martin Geeson)"

My thoughts: I found many interesting ideas in this classic but overall felt it was an uneasy mixture of philosophy and satire. Rasselas is bored in the Happy Valley in which all the offspring of Abyssinian royalty were confined (along with their servants & others required for their comfort and amusement) because, as he says himself, " 'That I want nothing,' said the Prince, 'or that I know not what I want, is the cause of my complaint: if I had any known want, I should have a certain wish; that wish would excite endeavour, and I should not then repine to see the sun move so slowly towards the western mountains, or to lament when the day breaks, and sleep will no longer hide me from myself.' " One of his advisors chides him saying that he didn't know what miseries the outer world contained & the Prince decides that "I shall long to see the miseries of the world, since the sight of them is necessary to happiness."

For a while, he is happy while contemplating how he will escape the valley as that gives him an interest in life & he eventually meets a poet, Imlac, who had lived outside the boundaries of the valley & in fact had travelled widely before settling there. In telling Rasselas his story, they discuss what makes for happiness. Imlac declares that "Human life is everywhere a state in which much is to be endured and little to be enjoyed." but the Prince is unwilling to accept this verdict. He invites Imlac to help him escape the valley & become his companion and guide. At the last minute, they are joined by Rasselas's favorite sister Princess Nekayah & her favorite attendant Pekuah.

With Imlac's assistance, Rasselas & Nekayah gradually adjust to life outside the Happy Valley and begin to investigate what kind of life is best. They meet many different types of people -- city society (in Cairo), a wise guru, a hermit, an astronomer, an Arab bandit, etc. They debate the nature of marriage & whether married life is required for true happiness. Somewhat surprisingly to me, Nekayah is the one who thinks marriage does not contribute to happiness but rather causes unhappiness, which she backs up with examples of married couples she has come to know.

During all this, Rasselas is trying to find the correct "choice of life" for himself. As the audiobook blurb says above, Johnson keeps returning to the question of whether solitude or society is better. As the hermit remarks: "In solitude, if I escape the example of bad men, I want likewise the counsel and conversation of the good."

[Leslie]

272.     Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit by P.G. Wodehouse {reread}
format/source = paperback/MOB & audiobook/Hoopla, narrated by Jonathan Cecil; 176 pages; date finished = 12/16; 4½★
Categories:
Country: England

Audiobook's blurb says: "When Bertie Wooster goes to stay with his Aunt Dahlia at Brinkley Court and unexpectedly becomes engaged to the imperious Lady Florence Craye, disaster threatens from all sides.While Florence tries to cultivate Bertie's mind, her former fiancé, hefty ex-policeman "Stilton" Cheesewright, threatens to beat his body to a pulp, and her new admirer, the bleating poet Percy Gorringe, tries to borrow a thousand pounds.To cap it all, there's a jewelry heist; plus, Bertie has incurred the disapproval of Jeeves by growing a mustache. All in all, it's a classic Wodehouse farce."

My thoughts: Jonathan Cecil again excels in this audiobook narration of Bertie Wooster's entanglement with Florence Craye, Stilton Cheesewright and his Aunt Dahlia's attempt to sell her magazine The Lady's Boudoir to Mr. Trotter. To add to the fun, Lord Sidcup (formerly known as Spode) appears at Uncle Tom's invitation to look at Dahlia's pearl necklace, causing consternation and confusion.

Cecil's voice for the regular cast of characters was as always wonderful but his voice for Mr. Trotter, a Yorkshire newspaper magnate, wavered a little -- sometimes more northern than others.

[Leslie]

Updated the lists in the challenge posts at the beginning of the thread.

[Leslie]

My 2017 in books:

https://www.goodreads.com/user/year_i...

[Leslie]

273.   Jazz Funeral by Julie Smith
format/source=Kindle/Amazon, 358 pages, finished 12/17, 3★
Categories: Watching the Detectives; These Things Take Time
Country: U.S.A. {LA}

Publisher's blurb says: "Smack in the middle of the summer, Skip finds herself investigating the stabbling death of the universally beloved producer of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Then the victim's sixteen-year-old sister disappears, and Skip suspects that if the young woman isn't herself the murderer, she's in mortal danger from the person who is. And with her long-distance love, Steve Steinman, and her landlord, Jimmy Dee, to assist her, Skip trails an elusive killer through the delirium of a city caught up in the world's most famous music bash..."

My thoughts: Being a little tired of the cold weather (already!!), I decided to enjoy vicariously the heat of a Louisiana summer with this mystery which had been languishing for too long on my Kindle (almost exactly 5 years).

I enjoyed the New Orleans ambience and I like Skip Langdon, the Amazonian female homicide detective. Smith gives the reader a chance to 'hear' the thoughts of various characters (including suspects) in a way that allows you to get a feeling for their personalities without tipping her hand about who is the guilty one.

[Leslie]

274.     The Case of the Journeying Boy by Michael Innes
format/source=hardcover omnibus/MOB, 288 pages, finished 12/18, 4½★
Categories: Watching the Detectives
Country: England & Ireland

Publisher's blurb says: "Humphrey Paxton, the rambunctious son of an eminent British physicist, is accompanied by his somewhat fussy tutor to spend his holiday with relatives in Ireland, where he encounters a grave threat to his life."

My thoughts: One of the things I like about (most) Innes' mysteries is his writing style. It won't appeal to everyone but I enjoy the way he uses language. In the first chapter, for example, Mr. Threwless is examining Sir Bernard Paxton's library and thinks of the furniture as covered in "horripilant velvet" -- I was unfamiliar with the word and could have passed it by assuming it was a fancy way of saying 'horrid' but decided to look up the word. The Merriam Webster online dictionary gave me this:

horripilation: a bristling of the hair of the head or body (as from disease, terror, or chilliness); goose bumps

What a great description of some types of velvet. And no wonder Mr. Threwless couldn't bring himself to sit on it!

I also enjoy the way Innes slyly pokes fun at himself & others who write mysteries and thrillers:
At one point on the train to Ireland, when Mr. Threwless is becoming suspicious of people & events that had occurred, there is this passage:

"Mr. Threwless halted, amazed at himself. He never read gangster stories. He never even read that milder sensational fiction, nicely top-dressed with a compost of literature and the arts, which is the produced by idle persons living in colleges and rectories."

Some readers might find that the "real plot" doesn't get going until the second half of the book (in which Threwless and his pupil Humphrey have some exciting adventures reminiscent of John Buchan's Richard Hannay) but I thought that the struggle Mr. Threwless undergoes during the train trip (deciding if Humphrey is an imposter or is mad or is just what he seems) fascinating. As much as I read suspense novels, I am sure that I would react in a very similar way if I was actually confronted by such a situation.

And reading this novel also completes my reading of the omnibus The Michael Innes Treasury. I have written reviews for each of the three novels separately but here is the review for the 695 page omnibus:

The Case of the Journeying Boy, read December 2017: 4.5*
This is a non-Appleby suspense mystery reminiscent of Buchan

Hamlet Revenge, read February 2014: 4*
The 2nd Appleby book (which I also have in paperback; see that for my review)

Appleby's End, read February 2015: 3.5*
The 10th Appleby mystery. I found the writing style in this one less enjoyable than the other 2 books but still a very good mystery.

Overall I rated the omnibus as 4*

[Leslie]

275.   Room by Emma Donoghue
format/source=paperback/MOB, 321 pages, finished 12/19, 4★
Categories:
Country: U.S.A.

Publisher's blurb says: "To five-year-old-Jack, Room is the world. . . . It's where he was born, it's where he and his Ma eat and sleep and play and learn. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits.
... {parts containing spoilers omitted} ...
Room is a tale at once shocking, riveting, exhilarating--a story of unconquerable love in harrowing circumstances, and of the diamond-hard bond between a mother and her child."

My thoughts: I found the ending a bit convenient but overall the boy Jack's narrative was compelling.

[Leslie]

276.   A Christmas Story by Jean Shepherd
format/source=audiobook/Random House Audio, narrated by Dick Cavett; 131 pages, finished 12/22, 3½★
Categories:
Country: U.S.A. {IN}

Publisher's blurb says: "This edition of A Christmas Story gathers together in one hilarious volume the gems of autobiographical humor that Jean Shepherd drew upon to create the enduring holiday film. Here is young Ralphie Parker’s shocking discovery that his decoder ring is really a device to promote Ovaltine; his mother and father’s pitched battle over the fate of a lascivious leg lamp; the unleashed and unnerving savagery of Ralphie’s duel in the show with the odious bullies Scut Farkas and Grover Dill; and, most crucially, Ralphie’s unstoppable campaign to get Santa—or anyone else—to give him a Red Ryder carbine action 200-shot range model air rifle. Who cares that the whole adult world is telling him, “You’ll shoot your eye out, kid”?

The pieces that comprise A Christmas Story, previously published in the larger collections In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash and Wanda Hickey’s Night of Golden Memories, coalesce in a magical fashion to become an irresistible piece of Americana, quite the equal of the film in its ability to warm the heart and tickle the funny bone."

My thoughts: Dick Cavett does a fine narration of this set of semi-autobiographical stories. Despite the title, only the first story is related to Christmas.

[Leslie]

277.   Not a Creature Was Stirring by Jane Haddam
format/source=Kindle/Dad's, 320 pages, finished 12/23, 3½★
Categories: Watching the Detectives
Country: U.S.A. {PA}

Publisher's blurb says: "Summoned to a Christmas feast at the isolated country estate of multimillionaire Robert Hannaford, retired FBI agent Gregor Demarkian is soon back on the job when Hannaford is murdered."

My thoughts: I think that I have read this before though it didn't seem familiar to me. If so, it is not surprising that I guessed who the murderer was (based solely on personality, not clues) - I may have subconsciously remembered.

I love the Armenian-American background; as I grew up in a town with a lot of Armenians, many aspects of this background remind me of my hometown.

[Leslie]

278.   The Crooked Wreath by Christianna Brand
format/source=audiobook/Hoopla, narrated by David Thorn; 184 pages, finished 12/26, 3½★
Categories: Watching the Detectives
Country: England

Publisher's blurb says: "Sir Richard's family has spent years waiting for him to die, but despite his weak heart, the old man simply refuses to cooperate. In the meantime, he makes their lives miserable by changing his will every few months, depending on which of his strange brood he favors that moment. Now he calls them together to announce his most diabolical revision yet: complete disinheritance of all the wastrels who bear his name. But he never gets a chance to sign the papers - by morning, he's dead.

Scotland Yard sends Inspector Cockrill, the only detective clever enough to unravel the family's tangle of jealousy and deceit. Each member had reason to kill Sir Richard, but which one plunged the syringe of poison into his heart? With a family this mad, nothing is as complicated as the truth."

My thoughts: Not bad but nowhere nearly as good as Green for Danger. Cockrill doesn't seem to do much detecting; the book focuses on the family and their reactions to events. David Thorn did a good narration in this audiobook edition.

[Leslie]

279.   *The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett
format/source=Kindle/library, 404 pages, finished 12/27, 3½★
Categories: Numbered Days; Scary Monsters and Supercreeps
Country: Discworld

Publisher's blurb says: ""Another world is colliding with this one," said the toad. "All the monsters are coming back."

"Why?" said Tiffany.

"There's no one to stop them."

There was silence for a moment.

Then Tiffany said, "There's me."

Armed only with a frying pan and her common sense, Tiffany Aching, a young witch-to-be, is all that stands between the monsters of Fairyland and the warm, green Chalk country that is her home. Forced into Fairyland to seek her kidnapped brother, Tiffany allies herself with the Chalk's local Nac Mac Feegle - aka the Wee Free Men - a clan of sheep-stealing, sword-wielding, six-inch-high blue men who are as fierce as they are funny. Together they battle through an eerie and ever-shifting landscape, fighting brutal flying fairies, dream-spinning dromes, and grimhounds - black dogs with eyes of fire and teeth of razors - before ultimately confronting the Queen of the Elves, absolute ruler of a world in which reality intertwines with nightmare. And in the final showdown, Tiffany must face her cruel power alone...

In a riveting narrative that is equal parts suspense and humor, Carnegie Medalist Terry Pratchett returns to his internationally popular Discworld with a breathtaking tale certain to leave fans, new and old, enthralled."

My thoughts: This late entry in the DiscWorld series is also the start of the Tiffany Aching subseries. Tiffany is a 9-year-old girl who wants to be a witch when she grows up. In this book, she meets the 'wee free men,' also know as Nac Mac Feegles -- a race of 6" tall pictsies who love to fight, steal and drink and can move very, very fast.

I liked the Feegles and Tiffany but this young-adult/children's entry in the series lacked much of the social satire that I love so much in the other DiscWorld books.

[Leslie]

280.   The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries by various, edited by Otto Penzler
format/source=Kindle/Amazon, 654 pages, finished 12/27, 4★
Categories: Watching the Detectives; After All the Roads Have Led to Nowhere
Country: mostly England & U.S.A.

Publisher's blurb says: "Edgar Award-winning editor Otto Penzler collects sixty of his all-time favorite holiday crime stories--many of which are difficult or nearly impossible to find anywhere else. From classic Victorian tales by Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Thomas Hardy, to contemporary stories by Sara Paretsky and Ed McBain, this collection touches on all aspects of the holiday season, and all types of mysteries. They are suspenseful, funny, frightening, and poignant.

Included are puzzles by Mary Higgins Clark, Isaac Asimov, and Ngaio Marsh; uncanny tales in the tradition of A Christmas Carol by Peter Lovesey and Max Allan Collins; O. Henry-like stories by Stanley Ellin and Joseph Shearing, stories by pulp icons John D. MacDonald and Damon Runyon; comic gems from Donald E. Westlake and John Mortimer; and many, many more. Almost any kind of mystery you’re in the mood for--suspense, pure detection, humor, cozy, private eye, or police procedural—can be found in these pages.

FEATURING:
- Unscrupulous Santas
- Crimes of Christmases Past and Present
- Festive felonies
- Deadly puddings
- Misdemeanors under the mistletoe
- Christmas cases for classic characters including Sherlock Holmes, Brother Cadfael, Miss Marple, Hercule Poirot, Ellery Queen, Rumpole of the Bailey, Inspector Morse, Inspector Ghote, A.J. Raffles, and Nero Wolfe."

My thoughts: I had a lot of fun reading these mystery short stories but the book is big!! It might have been better if I had started in early November instead of the beginning of December. I had read surprisingly few of the stories before (only Arthur Conan Doyle & Agatha Christie I believe). It was a nice touch that the book opened and closed with stories by the Grand Dame of Mysteries, Agatha Christie, the only author to have more than one story (one a Poirot story & the other a Miss Marple).

The 2 stories I liked best were satires: "The Secret in the Pudding Bag & Herlock Sholmes's Christmas Case" by Peter Todd, a spoof of Sherlock Holmes, and "A Wreath for Marley" by Max Allen Collins, a fun mashup of The Maltese Falcon and A Christmas Carol.

[Leslie]

281.   On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
format/source=audiobook/SYNC, narrated by Rebecca Macauley; 290 pages, finished 12/29, 3★
Categories:
Country: Australia

Publisher's blurb says: "Taylor Markham is now a senior at the Jellicoe School, and has been made leader of the boarders. She is responsible for keeping the upper hand in the territory wars with the townies, and the cadets who camp on the edge of the school's property over summer. She has to keep her students safe and the territories enforced and to deal with Jonah Griggs – the leader of the cadets and someone she'd rather forget. But what she needs to do, more than anything, is unravel the mystery of her past and find her mother – who abandoned her on the Jellicoe Road six years before. The only connection to her past, Hannah, the woman who found her, has now disappeared, too, and the only clue Taylor has about Hannah and her mother's past is a partially written manuscript about a group of five kids from the Jellicoe School, twenty years ago."

My thoughts: 3.5* for this audiobook edition

I found the plot of this Australian young adult book predictable. However, the characters were mostly well written & Taylor, the 17-year-old girl from whose perspective the narrative is primarily told, is particularly interesting as she (& the reader) begin to understand the roots of some of her instincts and behaviors in her early years (view spoiler)[living with a drug-addicted mother & what happened to make her mother that way (hide spoiler)].

Rebecca Macauley does a fine narration in this audiobook.

[Leslie]

And that is it for 2017!

281 books read out of which 130 were books I previously owned & 94 were library books (including ebooks and audiobooks); 116 new books acquired (but I only paid for ~25 of them!). ~52 books were rereads.

Best book of the year was the audiobook of Herman Wouk's The Winds of War (excluding rereads).