TOP TEN TUESDAY: Books on My Summer TBR

Only one day late! There is nothing that is more fun for me than imagining summer reads. As a teacher, I get my summers 'off', and I imagine myself arising early, going for a walk as the sun is rising, coming home, drinking coffee while sitting outside, and reading a great book. Sitting at the beach - reading a book. The reality (and my laziness) are a different picture, and I usually imagine many more books than can actually get read and I'll not arise early very often and the children will have demands.  I generally read the about the same number of books in the summer as I would any other random two months. But the dreaming is fun!

1. The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
This was given to me by another reading colleague, and I can't wait to dive in

2. Longbourn by Jo Baker
Longbourn looks so delicious - historical, Pride and Prejudice, the servants in a parallel story. I really can't wait for this one.

3. Road Ends by Mary Lawson
I still remember Crow Lake as one of my top books. The emotion, and family connections, and bleak Canadian landscape. I plan to savour this one!

 

4. Angelica's Smile by Andrea Camilleri

The 17th book in the Inspector Montalbano series comes out on June 24th and I can't wait to get it and see what Salvo is up to on Sicily.

5. The Silent Wife by A.S.A. Harrison
I am waiting to get this audiobook from the library -   "A chilling psychological thriller about a marriage..."

6. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
I've had this one far too long, and by such a great author, I know I'll enjoy this epic.

7. Elegy for Eddie and Leaving Everything Most Loved by Jacqueline Winspear
I intend to finish up this series this summer, and await the next book she may write about Maisie.

8. The Last Word by Lisa Lutz
The final in the Spellman family series, this will be a fun, quick read, perfect for some weekend of a soccer tournament when I'll be outside all weekend.

9. Thunderstruck by Erik Larson or some other non-fiction book.
A murder + Marconi developing the radio? Lovely mash up of my two favorite reads - science and murder.

10. This is where I can't find another book for the list, but I can find 50. On one of the last days of the school year, I'll head to our school library and snag a few new titles for the summer. Our librarian is the best - she orders lots of new titles for the 'avid' and 'mature' readers. Plus, she'll suggest a number of great reads that I'll have to take. We really enable each other in book titles. (Plus, I have Game of Thrones here to read. If I don't read them in the summer, when ever will I?)

BOOKS: The Burgess Boys, Still Life With Bread Crumbs, Maddaddam

A few of the books I read from the Bailey Prize for Fiction, longlist edition.

The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout, 336 pages

I loved Olive Kitteridge (and this is one of my favorite reviews I wrote) so I had high expectations. It wasn't as good as Olive, but I did enjoy it. It was similar in that it looked at a family, from Maine. The prologue began as a mother and daughter were talking about the Burgess boys from their small Maine town, and then it backtracked to tell the story. Unless I missed something, that never seemed to get resolved; I never noticed those women again. It's a story about families, and the stories and roles that people play in the family lore. (I actually forgot a lot of details in the plot, and just refreshed myself reading some reviews at librarything) My fuzzy recollection and impression was about the two brothers, and how they go back to Maine to help our their sister and her son, when the nephew gets in trouble. It's hard to judge families, and all the experiences that led them to the present can never be fully explained.  Good, solid read and I am keeping Strout on my list of authors to read more from.

Still Life with Bread Crumbs by Anna Quindlen, 252 pages

Other than the horrifying 'romance' label my library slapped on this book, I quite liked it. A famous photographer rents a cabin in a small town as she tries to get her life back together financially after a quiet spell. She's trying to make some sense of her life, and meets some people in the meantime. A gentle romance develops (not enough to label it as such); this is more in the tradition of men looking back on their lives and trying to make sense of things. I liked this one quite a bit; it might even be my favorite of the nominated books.

Maddaddam by Margaret Atwood, 13 h 24 m

Although I have been listening to many audiobooks this year, I am a very visual reader. Thus, I think I miss things when I listen to books. I think I missed stuff in this book. In some ways, it is a very simple book - simple dialogue (representing the starting over of civilization?), and it was hard to grasp a sense of the plot. Lots of time is spent looking back at Zeb's life and adventures as he tells his stories to Ren, and Zeb's connection to Adam One, and everything that led up to the present day. I really liked The Year of the Flood, and was not interested in Oryx & Crake, but now I'd like to go back and see how it all started. What actually happened? How did Oryx and Crake get so powerful?

The Crakers were interesting and Atwood does a great job of world-creating, but overall it was just an okay book. There were three narrators reading different parts of the story, but I don't know if that was really necessary. On the plus side, I really like the cover! Something about the colours really works for me.

BOOKS: Burial Rites and The Lowland

 

The Bailey Prize, the prize formerly known as the Orange Prize, which readers here will know I follow, has announced its winner:  A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing by Eimear McBride! Hurray, for one of two books from the short list that I didn't get read. Figures. It's not even being released in Canada until September 2014.

The Shortlist for 2014 included:

• Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Americanah I read last summer. Mostly good, but the ending was weak. Half a Yellow Sun was her better book by far.

• Hannah Kent, Burial Rites Read it in June, liked it, see below

• Jhumpa Lahiri, The Lowland  Read it in May, neutral reaction?

• Audrey Magee, The Undertaking Did not get read, and was only released in Canada in May
  

• Eimear McBride, A Girl Is A Half-Formed Thing I managed to read last year's winner (May We Be Forgiven) as this book was being awarded the prize. I guess I'll read this one next year.

• Donna Tartt, The Goldfinch In which I reacted to all the praise by being probably unfairly harsh, but still, the book is overrated.

A Few Bailey Prize for Women Shortlisted Books:

The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri, 352 pages

I'm neutral about this book - didn't love it, didn't hate it (hello, The Goldfinch) but it also didn't affect me in a way that caused me to have any great reaction and my memories are a tad fuzzy. (Which, although The Goldfinch drove me nuts, I still remember a lot of details about that book) Two brothers again, starting out in India during the rebellion. One brother escapes to the United States, and builds a life with very little contact to India. The brother who remained was a much more of an activist, and is killed by the police. The US brother comes home, and then marries the pregnant widow. They proceed to live a life in America, but not really together. The mysteries of families, and what holds them together.I did like how everyone's lives turned out but I found it started slow.

Burial Rites by Hannah Kent,  336 pages

An Icelandic mystery from the early 1800s, pieced together and imagined by first time novelist, Hannah Kent. I saw this described as Alias Grace + Kristin Lavrensdatter + Arnaldur Indridason, which is perfect, and why I did enjoy this book. Part of the appeal is the Icelandic setting, when Iceland was still under Danish rule. I liked the look at women's life, at Iceland in general, and the gradual telling of doomed Agnes' story. Good solid read.

TOP TEN TUESDAY: Favorite Books of the Year, so far...

Hellooo. I'm still here. We got moved, and then soccer started and life got busy. For example, tonight, all three kids had a practice at 6 pm, at different places. The new house is wonderful, we are enjoying the extra space (and shower!). I'll 'give a tour' eventually, when I get some respectable photos. Let's say that will be my first summer vacation project.
Seeing this prompt in my InoReader (aka Google Reader) was just the easy thing for me to get back on the blogging wagon. I have been reading, and listening (a lot more listening this year) to lots of great books. One more week of correcting stuff, and then reading gets a lot easier. It's not that I don't read during the school year, but I read guiltily, knowing I have a pile of correcting to do. Losing the guilt part is the best.

Favorite Books of the Year, so far...

1. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline - the 15 hour audiobook (narrated by Wil Wheaton) that was so good I couldn't turn it off. So much fun with the 80s memories! There is a reason this is recommended in so many lists of great audiobooks.

2. Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy by Helen Fielding - I'm a huge Bridget fan, and I loved this finale for her. She's still silly, but she has grown up tons. If she wasn't still making rash decisions, and getting into scrapes, she wouldn't be Bridget, even at fifty years old. I certainly missed Mark, but so did Bridget, and my heart broke several times with her.

3. How the Light Gets In  by Louise Penny- Another audiobook that got me hooked, actually better than the last few in the series.  I appreciated the characters a lot more. It helped there was lots of Ruth, and little Jean-Guy and Peter. This tied up the huge story arc of the in-house battles that have been going on, although the whole premise was a tad far-fetched.

4. One More Thing by BJ Novak - Delightful, wry, humourous morsels that are close to short stories, but almost too short to even be that much. They beg to be re-read, as I do like the funny.

5. The Bear by Claire Cameron - This gets compared to Room by Emma Donaghue, but only because of the five year old narrator. Dear little Anna has to get her young brother out of the woods after her parents are eaten by a bear. Her perspective keeps things from getting too horrifically bad because her brain won't let her process too much at once. Surprisingly hopeful!

6. Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman - I've been meaning and wanting to read this for a few years, since I read American Gods. If American Gods is an epic tale, Anansi Boys is the little sibling, that goes along with its older cooler brother. It's a family tale, very well-done by Gaiman, of whom we expect nothing less. A nice surprising read.

7. Still Life with Bread Crumbs by Anna Quindlen - I just finished this one, but it was a very nice, gentle book. Horrifically, it had a 'romance' sticker on it from the library. I wouldn't class if that way, but there was a nice love story gradually happening.

8. Reality Boy by AS King - I haven't been reading much Young Adult these days, but I would recommend this one easily. Gerald is a very angry teenager, dealing with his 'reality fame' many years later as an out of control young child on a Nanny show. His dysfunctional, rotten family, the adults who knew there were problems and did nothing, and the resilience of some people despite their situations made this a compelling read.

9.  Cabin Pressure series (audiobook) - written by John Finnemore, this BBC radio series isn't really a book, but I did listen to the 25 episodes like an audiobook. Hilarious! Really, really funny, and I've even started to re-listen to some of them again. Brilliant stuff here.

10. the 4 Maisie Dobbs books (#5-8)  I read  by Jacqueline Winspear - sometimes individual books are just okay, but the series as a whole gets upgraded. That's what happened to me as a flew through four books of Maisie Dobbs, 2 of which were audiobooks. I liked how the series developed, how the characters grew, and really started to move on from the first world war. Unfortunately, the next war is looming. I have two more to go, then I get to wait for the next release, sometime next year.

BOOKS: Maggie Hope mysteries

Princess Elizabeth's Spy by Susan Elia MacNeal
11 h 3 min

The Maggie Hope series follows the American as she becomes a British spy. Her talent in the area of code breaking (due to her Math skills) gets her assigned as Princess Elizabeth's maths tutor. The last novel ended with some revelations of her previous dead father and Maggie is dealing with this information. She is a bit of a Mary Sue, figuring things out quickly, but I don't think I am supposed to fret too long on some plot points, so I shan't. Fun and games in wartime London with a crowd of young friends. I'm enjoying the audio versions of this book.

His Majesty's Hope by Susan Elia MacNeal
10h  28 min

Maggie is marching up the spy ladder and will be the first woman parachuted in to Germany for a secret spy mission. Maggie has amazing luck (don't fret on plot points, Maggie is a natural!) but this book is bringing together the last two and some fun stuff happens that I can't really mention if you haven't been reading. This is a great series, with strong women on both sides. The next book comes out in July, and I'll wait for the audiobook. This book is definitely not the end of the series, with a showdown coming, and some romance to be decided. I'm on Hugh's side here, and hope he will be patient with Maggie. Point of history: Did Hitler get booed when Germans discovered his eugenics program? Several time the book makes reference to Nazis basing their Jewish laws on American segregation, just taking things much further. 

BOOK: The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt, 770 pages

Pulitzer Winner 2014; Bailey's Prize for Women's Fiction shortlist 2014

I'm having lots of dilemmas/issues with this book. Clearly, it is being recognized as a wonderfully literary book. It just won the Pulitzer for heaven's sakes. Many reviews at Librarything with raves of 'engrossing' and 'best read of the year.'  Almost one third of the starred reviews give it 5/5 stars (221/628). But...

If I am going to read a 700+ page book, I need something - emotional investment, intricate plotting, multiple interesting characters interacting, beautiful writing (that matches the way my brain likes to read) or a surprising twisting ending. Something like a Stephen King or Sarah Waters or Kate Atkinson can pull off. Mysteries (real mysteries) by Deon Meyer or Tana French can support the big pages with their plots and characters. The Goldfinch had little if any of this for me. I'm going to be a little harsh in my review, only because after reading other reviews, the disappointing parts stand out for me.

I won't go looking for any more Donna Tartt books after that experience. Bloated text with a plot that wasn't complex enough to sustain the pages. Her use of technology from 14 years ago was a constant interruption for me as THAT WASN'T THAT COMMON! I liked the beginning, thinking I was in for a great ride with characters and some elaborate plot - nope. Even the technology - I thought there would be some reveal about Theo and why his recollection didn't match the reality of what life was like. Was he an unreliable narrator, my favorite kind? Nope.

Most of the characters were okay, like Boris and Hobie the furniture guy, but only from Theo's eyes, so they weren't that developed. There was a lot of potential, and some parts read quickly, but it didn't do much for me, and after the fact, all the annoyances are seeming even bigger.

I've seen reviews were people describe the writing as suspenseful. I would not use the word suspense here: I almost stopped reading with 150 pages to go because I really didn't care what happened in the end. (But the ending? That was it?) My complaints would have been less with a better ending. I can deal with one or the other - boring story but killer ending,(The Woman Upstairs paid off in the end for instance) or a great beginning and middle, but less than satisfying ending (Life After Life, Americanah). But both? blech. I expected more than that, and the last fifteen pages or so of ? I'm not sure what it was. I wasn't invested enough to get into the philosophical ramblings of Theo about art.

In the end, the writing has to 'match' the way your brain likes to process information, and it wasn't a great match for me. Having said that, I read it much quicker than I anticipated (it helped that I read it over the March Break) and I didn't completely hate it. Help me - what did you like about this book?

BOOK: Among the Mad (plus more) by Jacqueline Winspear

I guess this turned into Maisie March, as I've just completed my third Maisie Dobbs book, following An Incomplete Revenge from the end of February. One of the things I've enjoyed in this series is the different aspects from WWI that Winspear explores. Even in 1930, the effects of the first war are far reaching.

Among the Mad by Jacqueline Winspear, 304 pages
(book 6 of 11)
Shell-shock (now it would be PTSD) dominates this book. Fifteen years later, there are still soldiers suffering although it isn't on display where regular citizens can see it. Billy's wife is herself hospitalized for depression. Luckily, Maisie is able to pull some strings to move her because depressed females in those days do not fare so well. Maisie is enlisted with Scotland Yard to help solve the case of a madman making city-wide vague threats.

The Mapping of Love and Death by Jacqueline Winspear
9 h 54 min audiobook   (book 7 of 11)
This one explores the role map-makers had in the trenches, as well as the role Americans played in enlisting. Emigrants from England still connected to the homeland. I'm liking Maisie's increased confidence, and looking after herself. She is open to romance (and seems to have a few fellas to pick from) but I'm liking the choice she is making. Much of this book traces the decline of Maurice Blanche and the effect on Maisie. The return to London of her friend Priscilla is another welcome addition to the books.

A Lesson in Secrets by Jacqueline Winspear
10 h 4 min, audiobook  (book 8 of 11)
I wish I could get more of these on audiobook, as I've just flown through these two editions. It helps that it is March Break and I've had a bunch of time.  The threat of Germany is beginning to rear its head in 1931 London, and Maisie is enlisted by the secret service to investigate some perceived national security issues at a small private college. Going undercover as a professor, she lands in the middle of a murder. Maisie spends a lot of this book organizing her friends, and with her newfound position of wealth, setting Billy up in a good situation.

After a bit of a lull in the third and fourth books, the direction of the series is fabulous. Loving all the supporting characters - Billy, Priscilla, James, Stratton, MacFarlane, and Maisie's interaction with them. Two more books (Elegy for Eddie, and Leaving Everything Most Loved) and I'll be ready for the newest release, The White Lady scheduled for 2015. That gives me the rest of this year to finish up this series. I thought I'd never get caught up, but suddenly, Maisie March appeared!

CHALLENGE: Once Upon a Time VIII Challenge

 from Carl's Stainless Steel Droppings:

Friday, March 21st begins the eighth annual Once Upon a Time Challenge. This is a reading and viewing event that encompasses four broad categories: Fairy Tale, Folklore, Fantasy and Mythology, including the seemingly countless sub-genres and blending of genres that fall within this spectrum. The challenge continues through June 21st and allows for very minor (1 book only) participation as well as more immersion depending on your reading/viewing whims.

Is it actually Spring today? Is it actually 8 years? Carl's Once Upon a Time Challenge is becoming a more spring-like sign than the weather around here. Yay for Carl and real signs of spring! I feel like I must have been getting ready for this reading challenge as in the last month I finished Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman and Not the End of the World by Kate Atkinson, both which are full of folklore and mythology. Since this isn't my favored genre, two books in a month is pretty good already, but hopefully I can find another book to read to fit the season.  My potential reads still on the list from last year includes:

Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult and her daughter
Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde

Other possibilities: 
I won Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen which should have some magic/magical realism in it - hopefully it will arrive before summer gets here. Thanks Early Reviewers at Librarything!
The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton has a tag at Librarything that says Fairy Tales, so it might fit this category.
I might reread Tales of Beedle the Bard because I do remember really liking that book.

What Got Read in 2014
1. The Odesessy - Gareth Hinds (graphic novel)
2. Lost Lake - Sarah Addison Allen
3. The Penelopiad - Margaret Atwood
4. Highly Inappropriate Tales for Young People - Douglas Coupland
5.

 

Another option is to read a short story or two that is a fairy tale or fantasy or folklore and tell about it. Not the End of the World by Kate Atkinson is a great example of this. Nothing overt in every story, but the overall effect was cool.

Watch any movies? I wonder if the Muppet Movie counts, because I really want to see that one!

1. Watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows part 1 (again)

BOOK: Tenth of December by George Saunders

Tenth of December by George Saunders, (audiobook)
5 h, 40 min

A collection of short stories, read by the author.  Listening to Saunders read his stories was like listening to a singer-songwriter sing their own songs - he owned them. Each story had plenty of humour - I found myself laughing in the car at some of the outrageous lines. More black humour than ha-ha, as these stories plumbed the dark side of life, and people. Many seemed to involve inner dialogues with the characters as they came to a decision. Seeing inside people's brains can be a scary place to go. Also scary to go? The detention center some prisoners can choose to go to in exchange for being guinea pigs for pharmaceutical companies researching into human emotion, etc, etc.

I am a fan of short stories, and these are the type I do like. Sometimes a surprising ending, characters that you can remember. Each story was so complete, I often got confused, wondering where the characters from the last chapter went? (Some of that is due to my less than stellar listening skills, which is a post for another day - why then do I listen to audiobooks?)

Here's a link to a graduation address Saunders gave to Syracuse graduates at convocation 2013. Very inspiring.

BOOK: An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield

An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield, 282 pages

I was one of the millions who started following Chris Hadfield last spring when he was the commander of the International Space Station. This wonderful memoir of being an astronaut gives quite the insight into the type of person who becomes an astronaut - disciplined, logical, smart, resourceful, and confident. The constant balance between teamwork and self-confidence was almost tiring for my lazy self. (Spoiler - I'm never becoming an astronaut.) But I do enjoy reading about the science, and space, and the process involved. He missed out on a lot of family life, and has an extremely supportive wife, but he does give his family a lot of credit and thanks.

Last fall I had the opportunity to hear David Saint-Jacques, another Canadian astronaut, speak about his life. His story is somewhat similar to Hadfield's, and just as awe-inspiring.

Wringing out a water on the ISS

I show this to my physics classes when we have a few minutes left in class. To quote one student - "I would never get tired of microgravity!"

Space Oddity - re-recorded on the ISS during Commander Hadfield's mission. Between the pictures Hadfield posted on Twitter with his amazing perspective of Earth, and his son Evan's coordinating of this video, Hadfield used social media in a way never seen before.

We are very proud in Canada of our astronaut!

Last spring, just around the time of this mission, our youngest daughter's grade four classes at school put on their spring show - a black light show. There was the requisite underwater scene and song, a Stompin' Tom tribute with the Good Old Hockey Game, and  an ISS tribute, singing the song from Music Monday, ISS (Is Someone Singing, with Ed Robertson of Bare Naked Ladies). The ISS skit got the biggest applause when all the flags and especially the Canadian flag was show. I just love this song, and listen to it all the time.

Back to the book. I liked it, and reading his story reminded me of all the fun I had following along with his mission last year. I can't imagine anyone who has enjoyed their space experience as much as Hadfield. Well, maybe they all have, but no one else shared to the extent that Hadfield did. And his enthusiasm comes through just as sincerely in his book.

BOOK: An Incomplete Revenge by Jacqueline Winspear

An Incomplete Revenge by Jacqueline Winspear, 303 pages
book 5 of 11

Continuing Series Review Questions:

Give a brief summary of the book:
Maisie heads to a small village in the English countryside to investigate a property James Compton wants to buy. It happens to be the same area that her assistant Billy Beale and his family go to pick hops every fall. There is also a clan of Roma (gypsies) camped and picking at the time. Culture clash!

Likes? Maisie is getting more sure of herself, and the reader is getting to know her better. After her break-down in the last book, Maisie seemed stronger and did a little less looking back. She seemed to have closed some chapters in her life that have been bogging down the series. Less Maurice Blanche (her former mentor) was great - he has always given me the creeps.

Dislikes?
Nothing in this book - all my dislikes have been dealt with. The mystery was pretty thin, but Maisie kept digging until she found it!

Additional Thoughts on the Series:
Looking forward to the next book, and how Maisie moves on with her life. Don't start with this one - this is a series all about character development, and references to previous books. Start at the beginning.

next book: 
After I get Among the Mad(#6)  from the library, I can get the next two, The Mapping of Love and Death, and A Lesson in Secrets on library audiobook.

BOOK: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

audiobook, 15 h 40 min
read by Wil Wheaton

This book was almost a little too predictable, and a little too much adventure/video game descriptions, but oh what a ride! When I saw that it was almost 16 hours on audiobook, only the promise of Wil Wheaton reading it made me take that route. I was worried about getting through that long of an audiobook in the three weeks that I would have it. Keep in mind, my 'commute' each way is 8-10 minutes to work, so I don't get a lot of listening done that way. However, I managed to listen to it in about ten days as I couldn't stop listening. The suspense! The action! The plot twists! The 80s references! So much good in this (that I could ignore that I was pretty well able to predict much of the dialogue)

Confession: I am a child of the 80s - graduated from high school in 1985, so covering junior high through university for the decade. I have so many cultural markers during this time. Not so much with the video games - a little Pac-Man, a little NES/Mario World, but I did recognize movies and TV shows. Plus, Wil Wheaton? from Stand By Me? One of my favorite movies (and my first date with my husband.) I was inclined to like this book regardless. The fact that I couldn't put it down ended up being super bonus.

Plot: A future world, with a on-line virtual world, the Oasis, where people can live a life. The designer of Oasis, when he died, released in his will, The Contest, whereby he had hidden an 'easter egg' inside the Oasis, which was filled with 80s references. By immersing yourself in his life, the clues would supposedly help you find the egg, and inherit his fortune and control of Oasis. A young 17 year old narrates his quest, with some virtual friends he has never met, plus a conglomerate 'bad guy' to contend with. There were a few places where I was worried it was only going to be a description of video game action, but it wasn't. Instead, War Games reference. Or Rush. Or Family Ties. Or Search for the Holy Grail.

The fact that you can see how kids in the future could easily get immersed in a virtual world gave this dystopian novel some scary themes. The real-life world was pretty dark, and the Oasis was a much safer place. But mostly it's just fun, adventure, and 80s culture. Awesome!

BOOK: Dead in Their Vaulted Arches by Alan Bradley

Dead in Their Vaulted Arches, by Alan Bradley, 294 pages

book 6 in the Flavia de Luce series

Flavia de Luce, eleven year old chemist, poison-aficionado, amateur detective. Such an original character that Alan Bradley has developed, but it felt like our little Flavia was growing up, and becoming a little less self-centered, a little more aware of her surroundings.

The previous book, Speaking From Among the Bones, left us on a tremendous cliff-hanger, which is thankfully explained very early in this novel. In this one, ... no, wait. If you haven't read the previous books, you don't want to read a review or summary of this book. If you have read the previous books, then keep reading the series! A lot of back stories are wrapped up, and 'mysteries' are solved but careful reading left most of us knowing Dogger's true background. The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches is exactly what you would expect from a Flavia book, an excellent book in a fun series.

Summary - Flavia is as delightful as always. Bradley writes cozy mysteries set in 1950s England, still feeling the effects of the Second World War.  I'm not sure if the series is continuing - it is possible but if it does, I think the books will be quite different. I'll keep reading them.

BOOK: The Bear by Claire Cameron

The Bear by Claire Cameron, 217 pages

review copy from Random House Canada

This book will inevitably be compared to Room by Emma Donaghue because of the narrator, but the books really aren't that similar. This is more of a survival story, but oh so heart-breaking. But there is also a little humor.

Twenty years ago, a couple were camping in Algonquin Park in Ontario, and were attacked and killed by a bear. Claire Cameron worked in the park around that time, and has written a novel based on that event, but imagining if the couple had had children. What if a five and two year old survived the attack and had to get off the island?

Anna narrates the story as she tries to be a good girl and get off the island with her brother. Her view of things, and voice, as she tries to deal with her situation as only a five year old can, are right on. Her misunderstandings and attempts to rationalize and care for her brother are heart-breaking. Watching children make sense of their world around them was something I really enjoyed with my children, and Cameron gets the voice perfect. Anna is conflicted between trying to follow the rules (supposed to wear shoes when camping), but knowing that she has to try to save her little brother.

It sounds so tragic, and it is, yet it is a book I am telling my friends about and passing along to colleagues. There is such a great mix of suspense and tension, and lightheartedness because five year olds can't really do stress - they make sense of things within their reality. So, Anna doesn't see a bear, she sees a black dog who can stand because she knows a black dog named Snoopy. So it was Snoopy who was sniffing at her because that's what Snoopy does. The length of the book is just perfect as well, because there is only so much bad stuff you can read about kids, and Cameron knew how much. It's a hard book to put down, and I imagine most people will read this in one sitting. You might want a box of kleenex near you before you start.

LIST: January Books

Books Read in January

1. Strange Shores - Arnaldur Indridason, 304 pages
 book 9 of 9 sob!

Erlunder investigates a cold case whilst out in the moors thinking about his brother. Time lines were weird here, and the ending is relatively conclusive, but as other reviewers have said, there was enough information about hypothermia to  leave a devoted fan with some hope.

2. Last Night at the Lobster - Stewart O'Nan (audiobook)
 3 h 50 min

Just what the title says: watching the last night at a Red Lobster that is about to close. Character studies more than anything, because no real plot. And yet, it was an enjoyable little tale, sneaking into the lives of Manny, the manager as he deals with the lack of motivation to work the last night, when who really cares? It was set just before Christmas, so would make a nice, easy seasonal read or listen.

3. The Glass Castle - Jeanette Walls, 288 pages
 book club book

One of the questions in the discussion questions was along the lines of: "Walls tells her story with no judgement on her parents. Were you able to read without judging them?" Resounding NO! from all present. The question about which was the most vivid scene also brought lots of discussion since there were so many horrifying scenes. But, we all really enjoyed the book, found the writing compelling and easy to read, and the thought of reading Half-Broke Horses, also written by Walls, was unanimous.

4. Cockroach - Rawi Hage, 304 pages
Canada Reads 2014

Least favorite book of the month, but still okay. I preferred his other book, DeNiro's Game. I found it dragged a bit in the middle, but I found the ending got stronger and easier to read. Probably because there was less stream of consciousness rambling. I am looking forward to seeing how it fares in Canada Reads 2014 debates. Cockroach will be defended by Samantha Bee. This should be good.

5. How the Light Gets In - Louise Penny (audiobook)
15 h 1 min
Book 9 of 9 in the Three Pines Mysteries
Sometimes it takes me longer to get into Three Pines books than others, but listening to this one seemed to help. I was drawn into the story immediately. Penny often flips between story lines, and I could have used a slight pause by the narrator (Ralph Cosham) as those paragraph changes happened. Interesting interview at the end between Cosham and Penny, where we learn that Cosham reads the books blind - not having read it before. I think part of why this book was good was there were a lot of characters not really present (Mrs Gamauche, Peter, Jean-Guy is quite limited) and lots of Ruth. Ruth is the best, and nearly always made me laugh. Several large Quebec historical events are brought up for scrutiny, including native relations, corruption among high level officials and the construction industry, and one other event that I won't mention because it is eventually revealed but everyone will recognize.  This feels like it could even be the last of the Three Pines series, as many, many storylines were tied up, some which have really been the whole series.
 I wouldn't recommend reading this book without having read the previous 8.

6. Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead - Sheryl Sandberg (audiobook) 6 h 27 min

Nice feminist take on leadership, and the mindset that is required of individuals rather than institutions to see real change. Sandberg had an easy style, full of information and examples from her life. I liked her take on sharing the roles at home and with children, probably because if reflected my life the most. How the guys who are fun to date are not the ones to marry. How letting the father parent the child without having to insist on things being done the mother's way is the path toward sharing responsibility. How you can't feel guilt for working. Good stuff.

7. The Long Song - Andrea Levy, 310 pages
Orange Prize Longlist; Booker Prize Shortlist 2010

Last January I read Levy's Small Island, and it was one of my favorite reads of the year. The Long Song was a strong follow-up. I can see why it got the accolades it did in 2010. Set on a plantation in Jamaica, Miss July is born into slavery, lives through the freeing of slaves by Queen Victoria, and eventually recounts her life for her printer son. Some horrifying slavery stuff and an ending which seemed a little rushed but a good read none the less.




So, 3 audiobooks, 1 library book, 2 ROOTs (books I already owned) and a book club book. Nice balance of books.  Pretty good considering how busy January was with tournaments and finishing up the semester.

Favorite read: How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny.

New books acquired in January:
The Bear by Claire Cameron (requested review copy)
Maeve's Times by Maeve Binchy  (given by a friend who is also a Binchy fan)

CHALLENGE: What's in a Name? 2014

I've been cutting back on the blogging, and never really 'signed up' for new challenges for 2014. I'm still reading lots (not quite as much) but my theory on challenge burn-out was as much about organizing and keeping track of everything, as it was about finishing. Everyone reaches a point where they can't or don't want to keep track. Facebook games have distracted me while on the computer, for example. I also find myself hanging out at Librarything a little more, socializing in the groups there.

However, some traditions die hard, and What's in a Name, and a few other challenges can't be missed. I almost did miss this one, but I saw on Literary Feline's blog that she had signed up for this one, and it seemed like a great idea. Go check it out.

~ A reference to time in the title 
*Diamond Dreams: 20 Years of Blue Jays Baseball - Stephen Brunt

~ A position of royalty in the title
 2. Princess Elizabeth's Spy by Susan Elia MacNeal

*Empress Orchid by Anchee Min

~ A number written in letters in the title

1. Ready Player One - Ernest Cline (Feb)
6. Tenth of December - George Saunders (Mar)
*Just One Look by Harlan Coben

~ A forename or names in the title
3. Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy

*Citizen Vince by Jess Walter

~ A type or element of weather in the title

*Thunderstruck by Erik Larson

The Snow Child by Ivey Eowyn

*own the book

UPDATE: Sunday Update

Books and Reading:

I finished The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls. It is amazing how kids can survive and thrive despite their parents. The author recounts severe neglect and abuse with a detached eye, with no judgement, as she really knew nothing else. It will be an  interesting discussion at book club next week!

I got Cockroach on one week loan from the library. It's is very popular right now as it is a Canada Reads 2014 selection. So far it is okay. An immigrant from an unknown middle east country to Montreal is struggling after a suicide attempt. I like his interactions with other people, including his court appointed psychologist, but when he is on his own, and descending into madness via stream of consciousness, I find it more difficult to read. Probably won't get done by Tuesday, but at 25 cents a day, I'll live with the overdue fines.

My audiobook is grabbing my attention much more right now. How the Light Gets In by Louse Penny, read by Ralph Cosham is over 13 hours, but I'm over half way through and completely caught up in the suspense. Looks like I might get on the treadmill quite a bit this week!

Before I got Cockroach, I had started The Long Song by Andrea Levy but didn't get very far. I'll get back to it after Cockroach. I had a bunch of other books I wanted to read in January (Mad About the Boy, Incomplete Revenge, S. ) but next week starts final exams, so things will get busy.

Television Shows:
I got sucked into The Bachelor* the first week, and as football is no longer on Monday nights, I can pick the channel. Juan Pablo and the crazy girls provides much amusement. Downton Abbey is started up again, and while not quite the show it started as, still provides a great history lesson, and beautiful scenery. It's also awards season, and the Golden Globes kicked off the season. Tina and Amy really rock, but if they decided to ask Robert Downey Jr to host, I would definitely tune in. As someone on twitter commented, he must have a mirror in the attic cause dude is not aging badly. It must be nearly time for Survivor and The Amazing Race to get started. 

Not the same view in winter: I was fogged in crossing the bridge

Other News:
More basketball this week-end, but it was a great little one night get-away. Jack's team was playing two and a half hours away, across the Confederation Bridge, so close, but far enough to spend the night. I headed out after last class and listened to my audiobook by myself in the car. Blissful.  Friday night, the boys played a great game that came down to the last few seconds, which clinched first place in their division. The second game was much easier. This set up a semi-final Saturday morning that they were also able to breeze through. The hope was for a rematch with a team that had beaten them before Christmas, (one of only 4 losses this year for the team). However, the other semi-final was a bit of an upset, so instead, they played the first team from this tournament in the final. It was a back and forth re-match game that went to over-time, but the Raiders took control, played perfectly, and outscored the other team 16-5 in overtime. Fourth tournament win of the season!


*don't judge!

CHALLENGE: Series Goals 2014

Let's try this one again! This is mostly so I can easily find the next book in the series that I want to read, and to be reminded of series that I've lost track of.
Thanks to SuziQoregon at Whimpulsive for the inspiration, this was my most successful challenge of the last two years. I got organized, and read a ton (or 20) of books, and got back to my mysteries. I got a good number of series up to date, found a few new ones, and rediscovered a few older series that I'd forgotten. So, once again!


The Ones I got up to date in 2013. Will there be new books in my favorite series in 2014? 

Darko Dawson by Kwei Quartey
    Murder at Cape Three Points (March 18,2014)
The Dublin Murder Squad by Tana French
   The Secret Place (Sept 2014)
The Number One Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
The Handsome Man's Deluxe Cafe (Oct 14)
Vish Puri by Tarquin Hall

Detective Erlendur by Arnaldur Indridason
 Strange Shores (read in Jan 14)
 Inspector Armand Gamauche by Louise Penny
     How the Light Gets In (audiobook, Jan 14)
     The Long Way Home (audiobook, Oct 14)
Flavia de Luce by Alan Bradley
     Dead in their Vaulted Arches (read in  Feb 14)
As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust (March 15, 2014)
Inspector Montalbano by Andrea Camilleri
   Angelica's Smile (June 2014)
Game of Mirrors (April 2015)
Maggie Hope  by Susan Elia MacNeal
The Prime Minister's Secret Agent (July 2014)



The Ones I Had on the list in 2013, read a few, but didn't finish:

The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz
 6. The Last Word

 Harry Bosch by Michael Connelly
The Last Coyote
Trunk Music
Angels Flight
A Darkness More Than Night
City of Bones
Lost Light

 Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear
An Incomplete Revenge
Among the Mad
The Mapping of Love and Death ( audiobook)
A Lesson in Secrets (audiobook)
Elegy for Eddie
Leaving Everything Most Loved

Harry Hole by Jo Nesbo
The Devil's Star
The Redeemer
The Snowman
The Leopard
Phantom (playaway library)

An Irish Country Series by Patrick Taylor
An Irish Country Girl (audiobook)
An Irish Country Courtship (audiobook Halifax)
A Dublin Student Doctor
An Irish Country Wedding
Fingal O'Reilly, Irish Doctor

 Dexter by Jeff Lindsay
4. Dexter by Design
5. Dexter is Delicious
6. Double Dexter
7. Dexter's Final Cut


The Ones Where I Started New in 2013

Maggie Hope series by Susan Elia MacNeal
Mr Churchill's Secretary (listened to in 2013)
Princess Elizabeth's Spy ( audiobook)
Her Majesty's Hope (audiobook)
The Prime Minister's Secret Agent (audiobook)

Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin (Diana Norman)
Grave Goods (audiobook)
A Murderous Procession  (playaway library)


Rachel Knight by Marcia Clark
Guilt by Degrees
Killer Ambition

Jack Caffery by Mo Hayder (rec'd by suziQoregon)
Ritual (2008)
Skin (2009)
Gone (2010)
Poppet
Wolf






 The Ones Where I thought I'd read in 2013 and then didn't: 

Martin Beck Crime series by Per Wahloo and Maj Sjowall
6. Murder at the Savoy
7.The Abominable Man
8. The Locked Room
9. Cop Killer
10. The Terrorists

Inspector Espinosa by Luis Alfredo Garcia-Roza
Only one of these that I have left to read may be available at my library.
Pursuit 
Blackout

Commissario Brunetta by Donna Leon
2. Death in a Strange Country
3. Dressed for Death
5. Death in High Water

Matthew Shardlake by CJ Sansom
Dissolution (read in 2012)
Dark Fire
Sovereign
Revelation
Heartstone

Hazel Micallef - Inger Ash Wolfe
The Calling (read in 2012)
The Taken
A Door in the River

Mrs Pollifax - Dorothy Gilman


The ones I want to start reading in 2014: 

Divergent by Veronica Roth
Divergent
Insurgent
Allegiant 
 
Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen
Her Royal Spyness
A Royal Pain
Royal Flush
Royal Blood
Naughty in Nice
The Twelve Clues of Christmas
Heirs and Graces
Queen of Hearts
A Royal Threesome