All About Books discussion

I didn't really set up any challenges this year (2019) though I did end up doing a few - so here is where I will try to record any that I decide to do in 2020.

Here are a few goals that I will probably stick to:

1) To read 50+ books (in print, ebook or audio) that I already own as of Dec. 31 2019
2) To read 20+ books new-to-me from the Guardian's list
3) Mysteries - to finish up the Nero Wolfe mystery series & to continue reading the Dr. Thorndyke and the Bruno Courrèges series; possibly start reading E.R. Punshon's Bobby Owen series

Good points to start from Leslie!

Thanks Laura! They are at least not overwhelming as some of my past challenges have been.

Leslie wrote: "Thanks Laura! They are at least not overwhelming as some of my past challenges have been."

Exactly my point!

OK so I can't resist... I am setting up a theme for my challenges - Leslie goes to MDI in 2020.

MDI stands for Mount Desert Island, Maine, home to Acadia National Park. I have gone there almost every summer of my life and even though I am not a local or even a 'summer person', it feels like home to me.



My attempt to define my rating system:
I rate by gut reaction & sometimes I will go back and change a book’s rating after some time has passed, based on how it has (or has not) stuck with me. Thus books that I enjoyed at the time may end up lower down on the scale if they are forgettable while books that I didn’t care for very much may rise up in the ratings if they strike me as significant in some way (even if I didn’t like them).

0.5 ★: Utter waste of paper and ink; should never have been written.
1.0 ★: Couldn't finish reading or a very poor read.
1.5 ★: Major disappointment.
2.0 ★: It was OK but either the writing or the plot was lacking.
2.5 ★: Flawed in some way but still enjoyable
3.0 ★: Good, a solid read that I finished but can't promise to remember
3.5 ★: Above Average, there's room for improvement but I liked this well enough to pick up another book by this author.
4.0 ★: A very good read; a book that I think will last
4.5 ★: An excellent read, a book I will remember, recommend and probably reread
5.0 ★: A powerful book, either because it was the right book at the right time for me or because it will stay with me for a long time to come

Some symbols & abbreviations :
·Books with an asterisk (*) are from The Guardian's List of 1000 Novels Everyone Should Read
·Authors with a capital N (ℕ) are Nobel Laureates in Literature
·books sourced as MOB are from my own bookcases; those from BPL are from the Boston Public Library (as opposed to my local library); SYNC refers to audiobooks acquired (for free) through the annual summer program hosted by http://www.audiobooksync.com/

Bubble Rock (atop the South Bubble), The Bubbles seen from Jordan Pond House

  

Goal 1: To read as many of my already owned books as I can - hopefully more than the number of new books I get but at least 50.
February's progress is in post #69
March's progress is in post #120

January list of books:
1. The Penrose Mystery (1/3)
2. *The Wings of the Dove (1/5)
3. *At the Sign of the Cat and Racket (1/5)
4. More Bedtime Stories for Cynics (1/7)
5. Richard II {read in my Kindle omnibus "The Complete Works of Shakespeare"} (1/9)
6. The Mystery of the Hasty Arrow (1/11)
7. *Men at Arms (1/11)
8. Viva Durant and The Secret of the Silver Buttons (1/12)
9. Poems from a Life (1/14)
10. They Tell No Tales (1/15)
11. Hag's Nook (1/16)
12. *Uncle Silas (1/17)
13. A Quiet Life In The Country (1/18)
14. A Death of No Importance (1/18)
15. *The Ball at Sceaux (1/20)
16. Heirs and Graces (1/21)
17. Jack O' Judgment (1/23)
18. And Then You Die (1/29)
19.
20.

New books obtained: 13 {3 read}
all Kindle books unless otherwise noted (crossed out books have already been read)
Junkyard Cats {audiobook} Jan. Audible freebie
Interview with the Robot {audiobook} Jan. Audible freebie
The Bellamy Trial 
*The Ship
The Likely Resolutions of Oliver Clock Jan. Prime First Reads freebie
The Names of the Dead Jan. Prime First Reads freebie
The Bertrams (Project Gutenberg)
A Deepness in the Sky {audiobook}
*Finnegans Wake
The Blind Side
Sam the Sudden
*Passing
Memories of the Dead: A Clara Fitzgerald Mystery

Looking into Frenchman's Bay from Cadillac Mountain



Goal 2: To read at least 25 new-to-me books from The Guardian's List of 1000 Novels Everyone Should Read. This includes books in series that count as a single entry in the list (such as the Discworld series or Balzac's Human Comedy).

Note: books from The Human Comedy will be marked with a diamond ♦

List:
1. The Wings of the Dove by Henry James (1/5)
2. ♦At the Sign of the Cat and Racket by Honore de Balzac (1/5)
3. Men at Arms by Evelyn Waugh (1/11)
4. Living by Henry Green (1/12)
5. Uncle Silas by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (1/17)
6. ♦The Ball at Sceaux (1/20)
7. ♦The Purse (2/3)
8. The Baron in the Trees (2/16)
9. ♦Father Goriot (2/22)
10. First Love (2/24)
11. ♦Vendetta (3/15)
12. Clayhanger (3/18)
13. The Recognitions (4/3)
14. The Forever War (4/6)
15. Good Behaviour (4/9)
16. ♦Madame Firmiani (4/10)
17. Snow Crash (4/13)
18. Melmoth the Wanderer (4/18)
19. The Sorrows of Young Werther (4/22)
20. ♦A Second Home (4/29)
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.

Rereads:
These books don't count towards this goal but since they are books from the Guardian's list, it feels natural to note them here.
1. This Gun for Hire (aka A Gun for Sale) by Graham Greene (1/4)
2. A Lost Lady (2/10) reread via audiobook
3. Lolita (2/13)
4. Whose Body? (2/15) reread via audiobook
5. Dune (2/21) reread via audiobook
6. Breakfast at Tiffany's (3/14)
7. Persuasion (3/21)
8. The 39 Steps (5/5) reread via audiobook
9. Greenmantle (5/11) reread via audiobook

Thunder Hole, Ocean Drive

   

Goal 3: Mysteries - to finish up the Nero Wolfe & the Dr. Thorndyke mystery series and to continue the Bruno Courrèges series & E.R. Punshon's Bobby Owen series. There will, of course, be many other mystery books read!
(added later) There are too many misc. mysteries to include all of them here so each month, the list will be transferred to the monthly round up post.

List of series:
Dr. Thorndyke series by R. Austin Freeman -- done as of May
The Penrose Mystery (1/3)
Felo De Se (2/4)
The Stoneware Monkey (3/3)
Mr Polton Explains (4/8)
The Jacob Street Mystery (5/6)

Nero Wolfe series by Rex Stout
A Right to Die (1/30)
The Doorbell Rang (2/5) {reread via audiobook}
Death of a Doxy (2/26) {reread via audiobook}
The Father Hunt (3/2)
The Mother Hunt (4/8)
Trio for Blunt Instruments (4/19)
Death of a Dude (5/4)

Aurelio Zen series by Michael Dibdin
And Then You Die (1/29)
Medusa (2/11)
Back to Bologna (3/25)

Bruno Courrèges series by Martin Walker
Black Diamond (2/13)
The Crowded Grave (3/26)
The Devil's Cave: A Mystery of the French Countryside (4/21)

Winemaker Detective series by Jean-Pierre Alaux and Noël Balen
Treachery in Bordeaux (2/24)
Grand Cru Heist (4/24)

Bobby Owen series by E.R. Punshon
Crossword Mystery (3/31)

Miscellaneous: (May)
The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club (5/3) {reread via audiobook}
*The 39 Steps by John Buchan (5/5) {reread via audiobook}

January's misc. mysteries are in post #68
February's misc. mysteries are in post #116
March's misc. mysteries are in post #152
April's misc. mysteries are in post #21

Seal Harbor beach



Various group reads and other misc. challenges I may pick up will go here.

January:
Guardian Newspaper 1000 Novels Group read: *This Gun for Hire (1/4) {reread}
Guardian Newspaper 1000 Novels Group Balzac buddy read: *At The Sign Of The Cat And Racket (1/5)
AAB Group Fiction read: The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle (1/8)
AAB Group Nonfiction read: Agatha Christie: An Autobiography (1/14)
Reading the Detectives Buddy read: Hag's Nook (1/16)
Guardian Newspaper 1000 Novels Group Balzac buddy read: *The Ball At Sceaux (1/20)
LibraryThing Shared (buddy) Read: In the Frame (1/23) {reread}

February:
AAB Group Nonfiction read: The Library Book (1/31)
LibraryThing Group Read: Clouds of Witness (2/2) {reread via audiobook}
The Big Short Group Read: Up at the Villa (2/3)
Guardian Newspaper 1000 Novels Group Balzac buddy read: *The Purse (2/3)
Reading the Detectives Buddy read: Arrest the Bishop? (2/8)
Guardian Newspaper 1000 Novels Group read: *A Lost Lady (2/10) {reread via audiobook}
AAB Group Classic read: *Lolita (2/13) {reread}
Reading the Detectives Buddy read: End of Chapter (2/19)
AAB Group Fiction read: Daisy Jones & The Six (2/19)

March:
LibraryThing Group Read: Unnatural Death (3/1) {reread via audiobook}
The Big Short Group Read: *Breakfast at Tiffany's (3/14) (reread)
Guardian Newspaper 1000 Novels Group Balzac buddy read: *Vendetta (3/15)

April:
English Mysteries Club buddy read: The Moving Toyshop (4/3) (reread)
Reading the Detectives Buddy read: Taken at the Flood (4/7)
Guardian Newspaper 1000 Novels Group Balzac buddy read: *Madame Firmiani (4/10)
English Mysteries Club Group read: Brat Farrar (4/13) {reread}
Guardian Newspaper 1000 Novels Group read: *Melmoth the Wanderer (4/18)

WOW!!!
Nothing more to say!!!!

LOL! I didn't actually make any changes to my original idea but just added pictures to them :-)

That's something I don't lnow how to do!!!

It isn't hard but the picture has to be online somewhere. If you click on the (some html is ok) at the upper right of the comment box, it will give an example you can copy and paste plus some instructions. All you have to do is substitute the link for the image you want for the example's link inside the quotation marks (where it says src="blahblahblah.jpg"). All the stuff after the quotation marks (height etc.) is optional except the closing bracket (>).

Basically it says inside the brackets: image (img) from source (src) which is (=) here ("link to online image"). I find it easier to remember how to do it if I understand what it means!
<img src="your URL">

Leslie wrote: "It isn't hard but the picture has to be online somewhere. If you click on the (some html is ok) at the upper right of the comment box, it will give an example you can copy and paste plus some instr..."

I'll give it a try!!!

Yes, do!

Nice~you're inspiring me for 2020!

Thanks Cathie! I may add your BINGO challenge too :-)

Downtown Bar Harbor



Goal 4 - Read 2 'color' books each month for the AAB 2020 challenge

January: GREEN - read books with a green cover, with the word green in the title and/or written by an author named Green
1) *This Gun for Hire by Graham Greene (1/4)
2) The Mystery of the Hasty Arrow by Anna Katherine Green (1/11)
3) *Men at Arms by Evelyn Waugh (1/11) (see post 36 for image of green cover)
4) *Living by Henry Green (1/12)
5) Poems from a Life by Des Greene (1/14)
6) Sam the Sudden (1/19) (see post 53 for image of cover)
7) Jack O' Judgment (1/23) (see post 56 for image of cover)
8) Green Mars (1/24)

February: ROSE (or other pink/red shades) - read books with a rose cover, with the word rose in the title and/or written by an author named Rose
1) Redshirts: A Novel with Three Codas (2/4)
2) Penric's Demon (2/7)

Rockefeller Gardens, Northeast Harbor



Looking forward to the New Year!

I am thinking of taking on a multiyear Balzac challenge - to read the books of his The Human Comedy. As there are close to 100 books in this collection, I doubt that I will ever finish it but I certainly won't if I never start!

La Comedie Humaine:

SCENES DE LA VIE PRIVEE /SCENES FROM PRIVATE LIFE
(all downloaded from Project Gutenberg, 12/7/19)

At the Sign of the Cat and Racket (La Maison du Chat-qui Pelote) (1/5)
The Ball at Sceaux (Le Bal de Sceaux) (1/20)
The Purse (La Bourse) (2/3)
Vendetta (La Vendetta) (3/15)
Madame Firmiani (Mme. Firmiani) (4/10)
A Second Home (Une Double Famille) (4/29)
Domestic Peace (La Paix du Menage) (6/24)
Paz (La Fausse Maitresse)
Study of a Woman (Etude de femme)
Another Study of Woman (Autre etude de femme)
The Grand Breteche (La Grande Breteche)
Albert Savarus (Albert Savarus)
Letters of Two Brides (Memoires de deux Jeunes Mariees)
A Daughter of Eve (Une Fille d'Eve)
A Woman of Thirty (La Femme de Trente Ans)
The Deserted Woman (La Femme abandonnee)
La Grenadiere (La Grenadiere)
The Message (Le Message)
Gobseck (Gobseck)
The Marriage Contract (Le Contrat de Mariage)
A Start in Life (Un Debut dans la vie)
Modeste Mignon (Modeste Mignon)
Beatrix (Beatrix)
Honorine (Honorine)
Colonel Chabert (Le Colonel Chabert)
The Atheist's Mass (La Messe de l'Athee)
The Commission in Lunacy (L'Interdiction)
Pierre Grassou (Pierre Grassou)
------------------
Father Goriot (Le Pere Goriot) (2/22)

The first books read in January are done:

Ambulance Ship and Sector General by James White (read in the Kindle omnibus Alien Emergencies).

1. Ambulance Ship by James White (1979) (library book); 184 pgs; finished 1/1; 4*

This 4th book in the Sector General series (first in the omnibus "Alien Emergencies") has Dr. Conway, his wife Murchison, his friend Dr. Prilicla and others staffing the first ambulance ship specifically designed to respond to emergencies that probably involve aliens of previously unknown species. This idea was a great way to involve Conway and the Sector General hospital with exciting adventures and challenges!

2. Sector General by James White (1983) (library book); 196 pgs; finished 1/1; 4*

Second book in the Kindle omnibus "Alien Emergencies". The first section is a flash back to how the hospital came to be founded but the rest of the book continues with Dr. Conway on the Rhabwar (the ambulance ship introduced in the previous book of the omnibus).

Obviously these books are set in outer space (in many locations but based on the space station Sector 12 General Hospital in the Milky Way galaxy). Good fun for those who like straight up science fiction.

3. Star Healer by James White (1984) (library Kindle book); 217 pages; finished 1/2; 4*

The final book in the omnibus "Alien Emergencies", this novel has Dr. Conway off the ambulance ship and back at Sector General with some new responsibilities in the Hudlar geriatrics unit and at least one patient from a previous book ("Ambulance Ship") presenting a difficulty in giving birth to a sentient offspring.

4. The Penrose Mystery by R. Austin Freeman (1936) (Kindle book); 254 pgs; finished 1/3; 3.5*
book # 22 in the Dr. Thorndyke mystery series
Kindle book owned since Jan. 2018

An average entry in the series which means that it was an entertaining book for me even though the mystery wasn't one of Freeman's more difficult ones. In fact, I guessed the culprit about halfway through! Thorndyke seemed to use less of a scientific approach to this investigation than normal.

5. *This Gun for Hire (aka A Gun for Sale) by Graham Greene (1936)
(Hoopla ebook); 190 pgs; finished 1/4; 5* {reread}
AAB Color Challenge: January = green
Guardian Newspaper 1000 Novels group read

2020 reread: I am upping my rating to 5* at this time.
--------------------------
2013 review:
4 1/2 stars...maybe even 5 stars after I have had a chance to mull it over a bit. I devoured this thriller in one gulp because I couldn't put it down. As in Brighton Rock, Greene has written a brilliant portrait of an anti-hero. Raven is (in my opinion) less of a psychopath and so I had more feeling of sympathy for him. I liked the way the story moved from Raven to Anne (the innocent girl caught up in the story) to Mather (the policeman hunting Raven and coincidentally engaged to Anne).

Greene's writing is wonderfully evocative and not a word is wasted or in excess. While I enjoyed his satires, his prose really shines in these thriller/crime novels.

I am already failing my 1st goal - to try to read more of my already owned books than the number of new books I acquire! I have gotten 6 new books so far this month and only read one of my backlog (though I have another in the works)...

I am listing my acquisitions in post #7 but will put what I have gotten so far in January here too.

Junkyard Cats {audiobook} Jan. Audible freebie
Interview with the Robot {audiobook} Jan. Audible freebie
The Bellamy Trial 
*The Ship
The Likely Resolutions of Oliver Clock Jan. Prime First Reads freebie
The Names of the Dead Jan. Prime First Reads freebie

6. *The Wings of the Dove by Henry James (1902)
audiobook, narrated by Juliet Stevenson, & Kindle editions of "The Wings of the Dove Volume 1 of 2" & "The Wings of the Dove Volume II"
512 pgs (based on 1962 Dell paperback); finished 1/5; 2.5-3* (see below)
Kindle books owned since Aug. 2012 & audiobook owned since May 2019
Guardian's List book

3* for this audiobook edition; 2.5* for the book itself

I find Henry James a frustrating author - his topics and time period are those that I relish yet I don't like his books. This book, for example, had all the makings of a great story but it bored me when it didn't anger me. I thought up several possible ending for the story only to find that the actual conclusion was dull and predictable. I have heard James praised for his female characters but, to me, they were all objectionable in one way or another.

7. *At the Sign of the Cat and Racket by Honore de Balzac, translated by Clara Bell (1829)
(Kindle book); 70 pgs ?? (estimated from length of paperback editions); finished 1/5; 3.5*
Guardian list book
Book #1 of 'Scenes from Private Life' from The Human Comedy
Book owned since Dec. 2019

I think that it is possible that with a more modern translation, I might have given this novella 4*. Even so, I enjoyed Balzac's writing style and could easily understand how this was considered a "Scene from Private Life" as it is primarily concerned with the difficulties facing a young naive new wife when she and her husband begin to realize how different their background and ideas are and the difficulties she finds in trying to explain the situation to her family.

8. More Bedtime Stories for Cynics (2019)
audiobook, narrators include: Patrick Stewart, Alia Shawkat, Jane Lynch, Aparna Nancherla, Harry Goaz, Mike Birbiglia, Ellen Page, Rachel Dratch, Gary Anthony Williams, Nicole Byer, and Matt Walsh
unknown # of pages; finished 1/7; 3*
audiobook owned since May 2019

This collection of 12 short stories were odd & mostly funny. My thanks to Audible for this freebie!

9. The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton (2018)
audiobook narrated by James Cameron Stewart (RB Digital) & Kindle edition (OCLN)
482 pgs; finished 1/8; 3.5*
AAB Group Fiction read for January
Mystery

While I enjoyed the mystery and the way the clues were gathered, I found it a bit unsatisfying that the mechanism of how Blackheath worked was never even questioned much less explained.

10. Sanditon And Other Stories by Jane Austen (1996) ??
Kindle Edition (GirleBooks.com)
544 pgs; finished 1/8; 4* {reread}

Jan. 2020: reread of "Sanditon"
I am looking forward to the upcoming PBS dramatization of this unfinished novel. Austen has barely set the stage in the 11 chapters she completed! I wavered between 3.5 and 4 stars and in the end gave it 4* because the characters are wonderful & seem to me quite different from those in her finished novels.

June 2016: reread of "Love and Freindship"
This epistolary novella deserves the title often bestowed upon it of Juvenilia - the spelling errors (I don't really know why they have been preserved!) combined with the melodramatic plot are juvenile! The satire though shows Austen's budding talent. I had to laugh several times, especially as whenever Laura didn't know what to do, she fainted!

I decided to reread this because of the new film "Love and Friendship" only to discover that the movie is actually a dramatization of "Lady Susan", not "Love and Friendship"!

11. Richard II by William Shakespeare (1597)
audiobook (LibriVox) & Kindle {read in omnibus "The Complete Works of Shakespeare"}
144 pgs (based on the 1970 Penguin Classics edition); finished 1/9; 3*
Kindle book owned since July 2015

While I was glad to read/listen to this historical play (I read the text in my Kindle omnibus "The Works of Shakespeare" while listening to this LibriVox full cast recording), I was annoyed by Richard II. I appreciated that the way that Shakespeare made his character seem more likeable in the final few acts and his speeches about 'woe to those who depose a king' were most likely written with an eye to pleasing Queen Elizabeth I, but to my modern (and American) sensibilities, it struck me as outrageous that Richard II never acknowledged that he had done anything wrong!

The LibriVox audiobook was OK but not one of their better efforts. The voice of John of Gaunt in particular was difficult for me to listen to. I probably should have just read the text...

Leslie wrote: "11. Richard II by William Shakespeare (1597)
audiobook (LibriVox) & Kindle {read in omnibus "The Complete Works of Shakespeare"}
144 pgs (based on the 1970 Penguin Classics edition); f..."

Nooo; I'm starting right now listening to it, right from Librivox and reading it along as you've done!!!!!! It is one of Shakespeare's play I've never read or seen before - and I've decided that I have to go through his whole canon before dying !!!
I'll let you know soon what I think of the play and what of the Character

LauraT wrote: "Nooo; I'm starting right now listening to it, right from Librivox and reading it along as you've done!!!!!! It is one of Shakespeare's play I've never read or seen before - and I've decided that I have to go through his whole canon before dying !!!
I'll let you know soon what I think of the play and what of the Character..."

LOL - I read it because I saw on my GR updates feed that you were reading it!!

12. Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson (1992)
audiobook narrated by Richard Ferrone (RB Digital)
572 pgs; finished 1/10; 3.5*

I am not sure what to say about this book. I felt simultaneously that it had too much detail and not enough! Certain scenes in which lists of things where given (e.g. types of lichen or fungus) were boring to me but overall the book held my interest. I was a bit frustrated by (view spoiler)[the fact that John's murder was never solved & Frank escaped retribution (except what he visited upon himself) (hide spoiler)] and seemed to be no big deal after the initial setup hinted that it would be pivotal.

I was also a little troubled by a problem with the narration that shouldn't affect anyone else. I listened to a lot of Bernie Rhodenbarr audiobooks last year, narrated by Richard Ferrone. So when I started this audiobook also narrated by Ferrone, I kept thinking that it was Bernie speaking which wasn't at all appropriate for the story. After a few hours, this difficulty faded but it distracted me quite a bit at first!

13. The Mystery of the Hasty Arrow by Anna Katherine Green (1917)
Kindle book (Amazon) with pdf file from GirleBooks.com containing important diagrams!
241 pgs; finished 1/11; 3*
Mystery
Kindle book owned since Aug. 2012
AAB Color Challenge: January = green

This 1917 mystery was good though I felt that the big twist at the end was not surprising. I liked Green's octogenarian detective Mr. Gryce - this book marks the 13th and final book Green wrote featuring him.

14. *Men at Arms by Evelyn Waugh (1952)
audiobook narrated by Christian Rodska (Audible)
246 pgs; finished 1/11; 4*
Guardian list book
audiobook owned since June 2019
AAB Color Challenge: January = green   

Maybe even 4.5*!

The dark humor of this novel, the first in Waugh's Sword of Honor trilogy, struck me as quite similar to that in M*A*S*H. The eccentricities of Guy's fellow officers, the stupidities of some aspects of military life, etc. In some ways, this is the first of Waugh's books that successfully combined his satire with his more serious thoughts about life as a Catholic Englishman.

Christian Rodska does an excellent job narrating the book. I especially liked his voice for Apthorpe.

15. Viva Durant and the Secret of the Silver Buttons by Ashli St. Armant (2019)
audiobook narrated by Bahni Turpin
unknown # of pages; finished 1/12; 3*
Mystery
audiobook owned since November 2019

3.5* for the story but the audiobook quality was unexpectedly poor for an Audible production. The volume would suddenly change & some sections sounded as if they had been recorded from the far side of a large room (sort of hollow).

16. *Living by Henry Green (1929)
ebook (Open Library)
269 pgs; finished 1/12; 4*
Guardian list book
AAB Color Challenge: January = green

I wavered between 3.5 and 4 stars for this book. I had not read anything by Henry Green before and found that it took a while to get used to his writing style which could be described as telegraphic, I suppose. In fact, he writes in a manner similar to what I use online but he did it in 1929! He omits most articles and often the subject of the sentence as well in the narrative (though not in the dialogue), for example:

"Evening. Was spring. Heavy blue clouds stayed over above. In small back garden of villa small tree was with yellow buds."

The look at life of working men in the late 1920s Birmingham was quite vivid. One aspect that irritated me but was probably accurate was the way the various men didn't seem to communicate with each other well at all. For example, one of the engineers at the iron foundry was unhappy that the draftsman he had been working with was sacked; the manager of the works knew he was unhappy so took the engineer and his wife out to dinner with his wife. He seemed to feel that made everything OK but of course it didn't address the main issue causing the engineer to be unhappy!

Leslie wrote: "I appreciated that the way that Shakespeare made his character seem more likeable in the final few acts and his speeches about 'woe to those who depose a king' were most likely written with an eye to pleasing Queen Elizabeth I, but to my modern (and American) sensibilities, it struck me as outrageous that Richard II never acknowledged that he had done anything wrong!"

Definitly of your opinion. At the beginning of the play he reminded me of his more famous equal King Lear: too obsessed in himself ...

Indeed - almost to the point of mental instability!

Leslie wrote: "Indeed - almost to the point of mental instability!"

The danger of beeing on charge?

lol - if he hadn't been a king, I think almost certainly!

Leslie wrote: "16. *Living by Henry Green (1929)
ebook (Open Library)
269 pgs; finished 1/12; 4*
Guardian list book
AAB Color Challenge: January = green

I wavered between 3.5 and 4 stars for this..."

I just discovered that this book is on the Guardian list under the category Love. While there were certainly subplots involving love affairs, I wouldn't say that they were the main point of the book! In fact, I hunted hard for it under State of the Nation and, when I couldn't find it there, under Family and Self.

17. Poems from a Life by Des Greene (2010)
Kindle book (Amazon)
63 pages; finished 1/14; 2*
Kindle book owned since March 2013
AAB Color Challenge: January=green

I am the type of poetry reader who, like those obnoxious people in art galleries, 'don't know much about it but I know what I like.' What appeals to me in various poems isn't always clear to me but whatever it is was missing in most of the poems in this volume. The message seemed apparent and, for some reason, that made me feel like the poems were too obvious in their content. Perhaps if the content had been in a more traditional form with a rhyme scheme and a rhythm that I could enjoy I would have appreciated them more.

My favorites were "The White Butterflies", "Searching", "The Badger" and "To Think".

18. Agatha Christie: An Autobiography by Agatha Christie (1977)
Kindle book (BPL); 576 pgs; finished 1/14; 4*
AAB Group Nonfiction read (Dec. '19 & Jan. '20)

Reading this autobiography brought home to me that, while I am indeed a mystery fan, my love of Christie's books also stems from a liking of both her writing style and her personal viewpoints.

I don't read much nonfiction and when I do, I tend toward travel type books. So it may be my inexperience with autobiographies but this one struck me as unusual. Christie jumps around in time and interposes bits of personal philosophy or belief with anecdotes. She says quite openly towards the beginning that one of the things that elderly people like to do is remember and talk about their lives and that she was going to do this in book form rather than subjecting her family and friends to listening to a subject that would be boring to them. As such, it really is more of a memoir than an autobiography.

19. They Tell No Tales by Manning Coles (1941)
Paperback book (off my shelves); 191 pages; finished 1/15; 4*
Mystery
Paperback owned since July 2018

This espionage thriller, the 3rd in the Tommy Hambledon series, is set in 1939 before England declared war. It's the first book in the series which takes place entirely in England and Tommy has a new (and young) colleague James Bellair.

Bellair is keen but a bit naive and as such makes a good foil for Hambledon and Reck. The plot revolves around a series of mysterious explosions on certain naval vessels that embark from Portsmouth: are these explosions the work of German agents or some other group working against the English? And how are the explosives planted on board?

While it isn't completely necessary to have read the first 2 books, it does help to understand some of the relationships and references.

Well, I have managed to get about 1 new book for every 2 books I have read (including library books!). Right now I have read 10 books I previously owned and obtained 10 new books, almost all of them free but still, they need to be read. I will never reduce my backlog at this rate!

For those interested, the titles are listed in post #7.

20. Hag's Nook by John Dickson Carr (1933)
Paperback book (off my shelves); 192 pages; finished 1/16; 4*
Mystery
Paperback owned since May 2009
Buddy read in another group

Not only was this a locked room mystery with a wonderfully creepy atmosphere but the culprit was such a surprise! I have read several other Gideon Fell books but I am glad that I have finally read this first one.

And as an added bonus for me personally, I discovered that Carr was a Haverford alumnus. I went to Bryn Mawr College, less than a mile away from Haverford, so this was a fun fact to learn. I had always assumed Carr was English but he was from Pennsylvania but married an Englishwoman and lived in England from the 1930s until after WW2. And how did I come to discover this fact? Carr has Gideon Fell mention in his first conversation with the young American protagonist Rampole an incident that occurred while he was teaching at Haverford!

21. *Uncle Silas by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (1864)
Kindle (Amazon) & LibriVox audiobook (Version 2) narrated by Lynne T.; 474 pgs; finished 1/17; 3.5*
Guardian's List
Kindle book owned since Dec. 2012

I don't know why the Guardian's list of 1000 Novels has this book under 'Science Fiction and Fantasy'. There is nothing fantastical about it - it would more properly be described as a Gothic horror story, though the horror is very Victorian (not at all like the gruesome modern day horror stories). I would call it a suspense.

The atmosphere of terror and the plots laid for Maud Ruthyns, the heroine narrator, were very well done but Maud herself annoyed me. She was constantly referring to her timid nature which led her into some behaviors that were silly (some seemed silly to her but sensible to me! others were sensible to her and silly to me). That was okay - not my preference for a heroine but acceptable. It was her obstinate holding to the conviction that (view spoiler)[her Uncle Silas was a good man despite the history, the hints and worries from others, and even his own actions towards her that annoyed. Even after he had connived with Madame to separate her from her trusted maid Mary Quince and have her brought back to Bartram-Haugh secretly in the middle of the night and locked into a room with barred windows, she still believed that it was all Madame and her Uncle Silas would save her! (hide spoiler)] If it wasn't for that, I would have given this 4*.

22. A Quiet Life in the Country by T.E. Kinsey (2014)
Kindle (Dad's Kindle; Amazon); pages; finished 1/18; 3*
Mystery
Kindle owned since July 2017

I thought that the mystery was pretty good but the main characters, Lady Hardcastle and her maid Florence Armstrong, while a pleasure to read about, didn't strike me as being very realistic for 1908. Still, it was a quick & fun read.