tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71201122495741237292024-03-13T09:42:14.728-04:00bibliographic manifestationsNotes on books, reading, and somewhat related topicsMary R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12468537883595941188noreply@blogger.comBlogger1087125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7120112249574123729.post-61894990704711834592024-03-06T10:45:00.001-05:002024-03-06T10:45:19.133-05:00Among the Mad<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7017956-among-the-mad" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="Among the Mad (Maisie Dobbs, #6)" border="0" height="200" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388685486l/7017956._SX98_.jpg" width="133" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7017956-among-the-mad">Among the Mad</a> <div>by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5023.Jacqueline_Winspear">Jacqueline Winspear</a><br />
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6118309673">5 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
I think this was my favorite Maisie Dobbs so far. She is working with Scotland Yard, in a consultant capacity, which opens up possibilities of the plot in a way that the earlier novels lacked. There was a definite thread of sadness in this story, but the kindness and grace of Miss Dobbs keeps the heartbreak at a manageable level.</div><div>I am counting this towards the <a href="https://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/search/label/HistFic2024">Historical Fiction Challenge</a> as it was written in 2009 and is set at the turn of the year 1932. <br /><br /><br /></div>Mary R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12468537883595941188noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7120112249574123729.post-63791883176832504032024-03-01T05:10:00.008-05:002024-03-01T05:10:00.136-05:00February Book Report<span style="font-family: georgia; text-align: left;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOSeTjFX_ac9M9KgD9fNvKLUoHxboyg8pow8p9sQjwMRrRAFF39LZP21WeB8ZU_WNcSZBMRk924unxp0X2xsHW6xi3c_miAWXS1CW9AJrYoFD-_Bzbw7OQUIHOQCXpYMHivwJ510ajLlHEq5IzFiZ4bBdNWLwh4QX1tE4kZBsY0FAlvdgBCvy2pa1N0gwl/s1280/1705965095774.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOSeTjFX_ac9M9KgD9fNvKLUoHxboyg8pow8p9sQjwMRrRAFF39LZP21WeB8ZU_WNcSZBMRk924unxp0X2xsHW6xi3c_miAWXS1CW9AJrYoFD-_Bzbw7OQUIHOQCXpYMHivwJ510ajLlHEq5IzFiZ4bBdNWLwh4QX1tE4kZBsY0FAlvdgBCvy2pa1N0gwl/s320/1705965095774.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: xx-small;">January 2024, NYC</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table>I finished 7 books last month.</span><p></p><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">A quote from this month's reading:</span></p><span id="quote_book_link_38824651" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia;"><i></i></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"></span></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">“A person was like a city. You couldn't let a few less desirable parts put you off the whole. There may be bits you don't like, a few dodgy side streets and suburbs, but the good stuff makes it worthwhile.”</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">― </span><span class="authorOrTitle" style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Matt Haig, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"></span><span id="quote_book_link_52578297" style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><i>The Midnight Library</i></span></span></blockquote><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span id="quote_book_link_52578297" style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><i></i></span></span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">Here is my progress toward various goals and challenges:</span></p><ul style="line-height: 1.4; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;"><li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white;">1 was from my </span><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/1160705-mary?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=obnr" style="color: #481dad; text-decoration-line: none;">owned-but-not-read shelf </a> (with 136 remaining because I added some)</span></span></li><li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">none counted toward the <a href="https://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/2023/07/17th-canadian-reading-challenge.html">17th Canadian Reading Challenge</a> </span></li><li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">none counted toward the <a href="http://www.theintrepidreader.com/2023/12/historical-fiction-reading-challenge_4.html">2024 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge </a></span></li><li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">none counted toward the <a href="https://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/search/label/WINS2024">2024 What's in a Name Challenge</a></span></li><li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">none were from my <a href="http://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/p/my-readers-advisory-reading-list.html" style="color: #481dad; text-decoration-line: none;">Readers' Advisory Reading List</a> </span></li><li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">2 were from my <a href="https://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/p/nonfiction-november-tbr.html">#NonFicNov TBR</a> </span></li><li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white;">1 was from my <a href="http://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/p/classics-club-list-2.html" style="color: #481dad; text-decoration-line: none;">Classics Club List</a></span> </span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span> </span><span>Here are the books I finished in February 2024: </span></span></div><div><ol><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><i>Things to Look Forward To</i> by Sophie Blackall (3-stars)</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i>The Midnight Library </i>by Matt Haig </span>(4-stars)</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><i><a href="https://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/2024/02/i-think-youre-wrong-but-im-listening.html">I Think You're Wrong, But I'm Listening</a></i> (4-stars)</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><i>An Overdose of Death</i> by Agatha Christie (3-stars)</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><i>Be the Unicorn </i>by William Vanderbloemen (3-stars)</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><i><a href="https://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/2024/02/nightwood.html">Nightwood</a></i> by Djuna Barnes (3-stars)</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><i>Fabulous Feathers and Fillers </i>by Sue Nickles (4-stars)</span></li></ol><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white;">I didn't have any good February pictures so I picked one from a trip I took last month to visit my sister. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white;">I ended up abandoning my Classics Club spin title (<i>Journey to the Center of the Earth</i> by Jules Verne) and am currently reading 5 different books. I expect to finish all but one of those (<i>War and Peace</i>, which I am reading slowly, but am liking) in March.</span></span></div>Mary R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12468537883595941188noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7120112249574123729.post-14903117432429715722024-02-18T16:27:00.007-05:002024-02-18T16:27:50.932-05:00Nightwood<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/537716.Nightwood" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="Nightwood" border="0" height="200" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1175627157l/537716._SX98_.jpg" width="128" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/537716.Nightwood">Nightwood</a> <div>by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/30013.Djuna_Barnes">Djuna Barnes</a><br />
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4577294868">3 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
Barnes wrote this novel in the 1930s and it is mentioned as both an influential novel for many "modern" writers of that vintage (Faulkner, Joyce, Eliot, etc.) and a classic work of lesbian fiction. The book centers around a woman named Robin Vote and the impact she has upon the lives of various people. Most of the book is set in Paris and the point-of-view shifts from character to character, but always circling around Robin. </div><div>In his introduction to the novel T. S. Eliot says:</div><div><blockquote>"What I would leave the reader prepared to find is the great achievement of style, the beauty of phrasing, the brilliance of wit and characterisation, and a quality of horror and doom very nearly related to that of Elizabethan tragedy."</blockquote></div><div>That seems like an accurate description. I enjoyed this book, although I found it hard to follow at first. The structure was very well suited to the tone of the tale being told and the language was striking.</div><div><blockquote>"If I should try to put it into words, I mean how I did see her, it would be incomprehensible, for the simple reason that I find that I never did have a really clear idea of her at any time. I had an image of her, but that is not the same thing. An image is a stop the mind makes between uncertainties." (p. 111)</blockquote></div><div>This book is on my <a href="https://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/p/classics-club-list-3.html">Classics Club list</a>. <br /><br /><br /></div>Mary R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12468537883595941188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7120112249574123729.post-20381737773491033732024-02-13T15:53:00.001-05:002024-02-17T16:14:34.896-05:00Love in the Title<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBkqtgrGbt9f0Yhwbx-hSJ-Dn49t4G653xIRpEceiR_pZN9JBixFmquAzEYV23TeHV1em4BaFQanFworjhKBGsRJq_crdv32IS76u2OFFa2QvCDHhjgKvJTl9rPrGM96c46rmgfLpXRiaggF99RR7QPEeYjInOc9BugWPNj4YiMrR7ANlGmjjuH6DJ9v4-/s500/TTT-NEW.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="203" data-original-width="500" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBkqtgrGbt9f0Yhwbx-hSJ-Dn49t4G653xIRpEceiR_pZN9JBixFmquAzEYV23TeHV1em4BaFQanFworjhKBGsRJq_crdv32IS76u2OFFa2QvCDHhjgKvJTl9rPrGM96c46rmgfLpXRiaggF99RR7QPEeYjInOc9BugWPNj4YiMrR7ANlGmjjuH6DJ9v4-/s320/TTT-NEW.png" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 18px;">This week's </span><a href="https://www.thatartsyreadergirl.com/category/top-ten-tuesday/" style="color: #481dad; font-family: georgia; font-size: 18px; text-decoration-line: none;">Top Ten Tuesday</a><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 18px;"> topic is a love freebie in honor of Valentine's Day. I am going with "Books I Have Read with Love in the Title.</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: 18px;">"</span></p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: 18px;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3867.The_History_of_Love">The History of Love</a></i> by Nicole Krauss</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: 18px;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1800290.Bloodsucking_Fiends"><i>Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story</i></a> by Christopher Moore</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: 18px;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1025637.The_Republic_of_Love">The Republic of Love</a></i> by Carol Shields</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: 18px;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4312617-no-fond-return-of-love">No Fond Return of Love</a></i> by Barbara Pym</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: 18px;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1844053.To_Love_and_Be_Wise">To Love and Be Wise</a></i> by Josephine Tey</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: 18px;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/624929.Love_Among_the_Chickens">Love Among the Chickens</a></i> by P. G. Wodehouse</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: 18px;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60301229-the-love-prescription">The Love Prescription</a></i> by John M. Gottman and Julie Schwartz Gottman</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: 18px;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/181666.Love_Lies_and_Liquor">Love, Lies, and Liquor</a></i> by M. C. Beaton</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: 18px;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23168288-falling-in-love">Falling in Love</a></i> by Donna Leon</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: 18px;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15808290-notes-on-a-killing">Notes on a Killing: Love, Lies, and Murder in a Small New Hampshire Town</a></i> by Kevin Flynn and Rebecca Lavoie</span></li></ol><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></p><p></p>Mary R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12468537883595941188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7120112249574123729.post-58568573773291505482024-02-10T10:30:00.008-05:002024-02-10T10:30:51.577-05:00I Think You're Wrong (But I'm Listening)<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40591258-i-think-you-re-wrong-but-i-m-listening" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="I Think You're Wrong (But I'm Listening): A Guide to Grace-Filled Political Conversations" border="0" height="200" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1549332527l/40591258._SX98_.jpg" width="129" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40591258-i-think-you-re-wrong-but-i-m-listening">I Think You're Wrong (But I'm Listening): A Guide to Grace-Filled Political Conversations</a> <div>by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18141282.Sarah_Stewart_Holland">Sarah Stewart Holland</a> and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18182047.Beth_Silvers">Beth Silvers</a><br />
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6145691448">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
I found this book to be thought provoking and filled with useful questions to consider about how my actions and beliefs affect the conversations I have about politics. </div><div><br /></div><div>One of the things the authors talk about here is the importance of bringing your whole self--beliefs, experiences, values--to your political conversations and allowing others to do the same. We are not talking to "political positions" but to actual complex people. I was struck by the fact that my experience of reading this book was an opportunity to exercise this skill. The authors are both Christian women whose faith is a big part of who they are. This is very much a part of the way they view the world and how they approach conversations. At first I was a bit put off by all the faith-based parts of the book, but as I read I came to see that they brought value and nuance to the points being made. I had been reassured that these were women I wanted to hear from early on (page 18 to be exact) when the phrase "Because you cannot have too much Abigail Adams..." was used.</div><div><br /></div><div>Another part that really resonated for me was the chapter 'Find Your Why' where <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4ZoJKF_VuA">Simon Sinek</a> is quoted:</div><blockquote><div>"For values or guiding principles to be truly effective they have to be verbs. It's not 'integrity,' it's 'always do the right thing.' It's not 'innovation,' it's 'look at the problem from a different angle.' Articulating our values as verbs gives us a clear idea--we have a clear idea of how to act in any situation."</div></blockquote><div></div><div>The divisiveness that has infected our country is a huge problem that cannot be solved with a single book. I recommend this book, however, as an excellent way to consider how you are personally contributing to the divisions or helping to bridge them.</div><div><br /></div>Mary R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12468537883595941188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7120112249574123729.post-59936578312007035982024-02-01T07:12:00.001-05:002024-02-01T07:12:00.137-05:00January 2024 Book Report <p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: 18px;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVDjkPiHrzMoMYwe0vPUm4MVIvWqCi4sYiJn3PW8nCPOcvi0cqlJoRmbGhZ9SAA2DaDR_Bo8c1VJWkQqwEV0CsAa7fEr9aFBNta6pP-RxBCbdLx5SCLvhAj8IzRqayF339z8pUuTXRurzjmaVPjuQ5k-fja3Ig-u2LeQGBQmv1j_kY4gKEIWPWLHjkSYgp/s4096/IMG_20240129_081401394.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4096" data-original-width="3072" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVDjkPiHrzMoMYwe0vPUm4MVIvWqCi4sYiJn3PW8nCPOcvi0cqlJoRmbGhZ9SAA2DaDR_Bo8c1VJWkQqwEV0CsAa7fEr9aFBNta6pP-RxBCbdLx5SCLvhAj8IzRqayF339z8pUuTXRurzjmaVPjuQ5k-fja3Ig-u2LeQGBQmv1j_kY4gKEIWPWLHjkSYgp/s320/IMG_20240129_081401394.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: xx-small;">January 2024, Manchester, NH</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: 18px;">I finished 11 books last month.</span><p></p><p></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">A quote from this month's reading:</span></p><span id="quote_book_link_38824651" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia; font-size: 18px;"><i></i></span><p style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 18px;"></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 18px;"></p><blockquote>"I still live by the Southern Lady code: <i>If you don't have something nice to say, say something not so nice in a nice way.</i> For example: 'Your Instagram is beautifully curated' is Southern Lady Code for 'Your real life must be a hotter mess than spaghetti and meatballs in a clothes dryer.' But I would never write such a message in your comments. My thoughts on your business are not the world's business." --Helen Ellis, <i>Kiss Me in the Coral Lounge</i></blockquote><i></i><p></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">Here is my progress toward various goals and challenges:</span></p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.4; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;"><li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">2 were from my </span><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/1160705-mary?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=obnr" style="color: #481dad; text-decoration-line: none;">owned-but-not-read shelf </a> (currently at 137 books)</span></li><li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">0 counted toward the <a href="https://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/2023/07/17th-canadian-reading-challenge.html">17th Canadian Reading Challenge</a> </span></li><li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;">1 counted toward the <a href="http://www.theintrepidreader.com/2023/12/historical-fiction-reading-challenge_4.html">2024 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge </a></li><li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;">1 counted toward the <a href="https://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/search/label/WINS2024">2024 What's in a Name Challenge</a></li><li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;">0 were from my <a href="http://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/p/my-readers-advisory-reading-list.html" style="color: #481dad; text-decoration-line: none;">Readers' Advisory Reading List</a> </li><li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;">3 were from my <a href="https://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/p/nonfiction-november-tbr.html">#NonFicNov TBR</a> </li><li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">1 was from my <a href="http://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/p/classics-club-list-2.html" style="color: #481dad; text-decoration-line: none;">Classics Club List</a></span> </li></ul><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 18px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 18px;">Here are the books I finished in January 2024: </span></div><div style="font-size: 18px;"><ol style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif;"><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><i>An Incomplete Revenge</i> by Jacqueline Winspear (4-stars)</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><i>Death in Print </i>by G. M. Malliet </span> (4-stars)</li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><i>Eat That Frog! </i>by Brian Tracy (3-stars)</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><i>Congratulations, The Best is Over </i>by R. Eric Thomas (audiobook, 4-stars)</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><i>Kiss Me in the Coral Lounge </i>by Helen Ellis (4-stars)</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><i>The Interpretation of Murder</i> by Jed Rubenfeld (3-stars)</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><i><a href="https://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/2024/01/orwells-roses.html">Orwell's Roses</a></i> by Rebecca Solnit (4-stars)</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><i>No Good Tea Goes Unpunished </i>by Bree Baker (audiobook, 3-stars)</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><i><a href="https://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/2024/01/jamaica-inn.html">Jamaica Inn</a></i> by Daphne DuMaurier (4-stars)</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><i>The Library at Night</i> by Alberto Manguel (3-stars)</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><i><a href="https://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/2024/01/alone-in-kitchen-with-eggplant.html">Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant</a></i> (5-stars)</span></li></ol><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white;">A good start to my reading year -- a nice mix of books and several 4-star reads!</span></span></div>Mary R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12468537883595941188noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7120112249574123729.post-12007852567442959162024-01-31T12:48:00.000-05:002024-01-31T12:48:07.395-05:00Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/798875.Alone_in_the_Kitchen_with_an_Eggplant" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant: Confessions of Cooking for One and Dining Alone" border="0" height="200" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442732703l/798875._SX98_.jpg" width="132" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/798875.Alone_in_the_Kitchen_with_an_Eggplant">Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant: Confessions of Cooking for One and Dining Alone</a> <div>edited by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/418468.Jenni_Ferrari_Adler">Jenni Ferrari-Adler</a><br />
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2865547657">5 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
I have been on a bit of an essay binge lately and this title (which was added to my TBR as part of <a href="https://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/p/nonfiction-november-tbr.html">NonFicNov</a>) fit right in. There wasn't a dud in this collection of essays by various writers on the theme of dining/cooking alone. </div><div>My favorites were:</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li> 'Wild Chili' by Dan Chaon which begins in his childhood home in Nebraska where his Mom makes a chili much like the one my Mom made in my childhood home in Nebraska. I have also made my Mom's chili my own over the years, but in a very different direction than Chaon went.</li><li>The short story 'The Year of Spaghetti' by Haruki Murakami. He is one of my favorite writers and this short piece was very typical of his work.</li><li>'The Legend of the Salsa Rosa' by Ben Karlin which was a multi-part story, complete with footnotes, and was very funny. Also, the recipe sounds delicious. </li><li>'Potatoes and Love: Some Reflections' by Nora Ephron. It was full of lines I want to remember--possibly all of them. I will share just one quote:</li></ul><blockquote>"Nothing like mashed potatoes when you're feeling blue. ... The problem with mashed potatoes, though, is that they require almost as much hard work as crisp potatoes, and when you're feeling blue the last thing you feel like is hard work. Of course, you can always get someone to make the mashed potatoes for you, but let's face it: the reason you're blue is that there <i>isn't</i> anyone to make them for you. As a result, most people do not have nearly enough mashed potatoes in their lives, and when they do, it's almost always at the wrong time." -- N. Ephron, 'Potatoes and Love'</blockquote></div><div><br /><br /><br /></div>Mary R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12468537883595941188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7120112249574123729.post-78648444263816785752024-01-30T06:30:00.046-05:002024-01-30T06:30:00.260-05:00New-to-Me Authors<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv_ltNyNaWSLCV3td2mA3sC3JTQNXgNSbLE5zJTanIJF7b1Tc7HHJg7j27tgIFL__Mh08OI1GggsPbQjz4-hiu05Viq-RWgdvr4Picx50Rt4k4pV3FqYxhYChAMMGuhbGTo_B3o4SWaguqBqvmI_vvCDw84o36A03H68zjrDYoJQjF-9O1QrkdP4-IEDll/s500/TTT-NEW.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="203" data-original-width="500" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv_ltNyNaWSLCV3td2mA3sC3JTQNXgNSbLE5zJTanIJF7b1Tc7HHJg7j27tgIFL__Mh08OI1GggsPbQjz4-hiu05Viq-RWgdvr4Picx50Rt4k4pV3FqYxhYChAMMGuhbGTo_B3o4SWaguqBqvmI_vvCDw84o36A03H68zjrDYoJQjF-9O1QrkdP4-IEDll/s320/TTT-NEW.png" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;">This week's <a href="https://www.thatartsyreadergirl.com/category/top-ten-tuesday/">Top Ten Tuesday</a> topic is "<span style="background-color: white;">New-to-Me Authors I Discovered in 2023"</span></span><p></p><ol><li><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17281201.Katherine_J_Chen?from_search=true&from_srp=true">Katherine J. Chen</a> (<i>Joan)</i></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://as.nyu.edu/faculty/ada-ferrer.html">Ada Ferrer</a> (<i>Cuba: An American History</i>)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13847588.Tan_Twan_Eng">Tan Twan Eng</a> (</span><i>The House of Doors<span style="background-color: white;">)</span></i></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://ehillerman.unm.edu/publishedworks#sthash.LTdpRbG0.dpbs">Tony Hillerman</a><i> (The Blessing Way)</i></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://picoiyerjourneys.com/">Pico Iyer</a> (<i>This Could be Home</i>)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://williamkentkrueger.com/">William Kent Kruger</a> (</span><i>The River We Remember)</i></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/156883.Evan_McHugh">Evan McHugh</a> <i>(Pint-sized Ireland)</i></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://calnewport.com/">Cal Newport</a> (<i>Deep Work</i>)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3953622.Mary_Norris">Mary Norris</a> (<i>Greek to Me</i>)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://www.samanthasilvawriter.com/">Samantha Silva</a> (<i>Mr. Dickens and His Carol</i>)</span></li></ol>Mary R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12468537883595941188noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7120112249574123729.post-84199478777981960542024-01-29T19:07:00.002-05:002024-01-30T13:43:11.012-05:00Jamaica Inn<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1049612.Jamaica_Inn" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="Jamaica Inn" border="0" height="200" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1287246956l/1049612._SX98_.jpg" width="138" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1049612.Jamaica_Inn">Jamaica Inn</a> <div>by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2001717.Daphne_du_Maurier">Daphne du Maurier</a><br />
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4552000215">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">I really liked <i><a href="https://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/2013/11/rebecca.html">Rebecca</a></i>, then I started <i>My Cousin Rachel </i>and couldn't get into it so I was not sure how reading Jamaica Inn would go. I ended up really enjoying it. </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><blockquote>"The coaches avoided Jamaica Inn, hidden in the harsh Cornish moors not far from the coast, for its name was evil, and no man knew what it's dark shutters hid. Yet it was to Jamaica Inn that Mary Yellsn went when her mother died, to join her aunt Patience and the man her aunt had married, Joss Merlyn, the landlord of the Inn. Only too soon was she to learn the full tale of its horror, though she stayed beneath its roof because of her aunt, so lovely once, so battered and haunted now." --Goodreads blurb</blockquote></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Like Rebecca this story has a female narrator who doesn't really understand what is happening around her but figures it out as the book goes along. It also has a similarly dark and gothic tone. The characters, both our heroine and the people around her are complex, interesting people. There were several points where the story took a turn I didn't see coming and it was very skillfully crafted.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">After reading the book I watched the 1939 <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031505/">movie</a> which was directed by Alfred Hitchcock and introduced Maureen O'Hara. I thought it was fairly dreadful. The story is much simplified from the one in the novel, characters are added and totally changed, and all the suspense is sucked right out of the story by beginning the movie with an event that happens about 3/4 of the way into the book. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Written in the 1930s and set in the 1820s this book is on my <a href="https://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/p/classics-club-list-3.html">Classics Club</a> list and I am also counting it toward the <a href="http://www.theintrepidreader.com/2023/12/historical-fiction-reading-challenge_4.html">Historical Fiction Challenge</a> and the <a href="https://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/2023/12/whats-in-name-challenge.html">What's in a Name Challenge</a> (double letters in the title).</span></span></div>Mary R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12468537883595941188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7120112249574123729.post-46291344566768084752024-01-21T15:41:00.001-05:002024-01-21T15:49:49.951-05:00Orwell's Roses<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56557019-orwell-s-roses" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="Orwell's Roses" border="0" height="200" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1632461388l/56557019._SX98_.jpg" width="132" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56557019-orwell-s-roses">Orwell's Roses</a> <div>by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15811.Rebecca_Solnit">Rebecca Solnit</a><br />
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4284918171">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />I had not read any of Solnit's work before this but I may in the future. This book was essentially a series of interconnected essays that used the life and work of George Orwell as a lens through which to consider gardening, politics, beauty, the global flower industry, Nazis, junk-shops, the environment, and writing, among other things. Solnit refers to many specific pieces of Orwell's work in addition to numerous books, essays, and articles by other writers. Her discussion of Jamaica Kincaide's work reminded me that I have one of her books on my shelf waiting to be read. </div><div><blockquote>"I am not able, and do not want, completely to abandon the world view that I acquired in childhood. So long as I remain alive and well I shall continue to feel strongly about prose style, to love the surface of the earth, and to take pleasure in solid objects and scraps of useless information." -- G. O. in "Why I Write" </blockquote></div><div>This is my first book for Brona's <a href="https://bronasbooks.com/2024/01/02/reading-orwell-2024-masterpost/">Reading Orwell 2024</a> project. I think my next one will be a re-read of <i>1984</i>. Solnit talks about her new perspective on the novel which came out of considering Orwell's love of nature and the joy he took from quotidian objects. (I love that word!) </div><div><br /></div>Mary R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12468537883595941188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7120112249574123729.post-62301724276533223632024-01-19T07:41:00.000-05:002024-01-19T07:41:01.216-05:00Spinning the Classics<p></p><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDv5Wu76QoIobKNtbZahLhqynNZrxSeC2i9_VjYAdkMO32T5wSc32g_1_SmxtJcaYfIgVjpbCQNkNc0XpDVikBkGlaLm6CvktUYgMN0Rv_4PYXlmvb4Z2O8Oox5N3FyclqRj-QALhQanCS4WYZ2LTvGaQdmRK8-702hiCoNlWJWLsILr3rYAme45v3IeQ6/s4096/IMG_20210412_181853768.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4096" data-original-width="3072" height="159" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDv5Wu76QoIobKNtbZahLhqynNZrxSeC2i9_VjYAdkMO32T5wSc32g_1_SmxtJcaYfIgVjpbCQNkNc0XpDVikBkGlaLm6CvktUYgMN0Rv_4PYXlmvb4Z2O8Oox5N3FyclqRj-QALhQanCS4WYZ2LTvGaQdmRK8-702hiCoNlWJWLsILr3rYAme45v3IeQ6/w186-h159/IMG_20210412_181853768.jpg" width="186" /></a></div>It's time for another <a href="https://theclassicsclubblog.wordpress.com/2024/01/15/cc-spin-36/">Classics Club spin</a>! I have listed 20 books from my <a href="https://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/p/classics-club-list-3.html">Classics Club List</a> below. On Sunday, 1/21/2024 a number will be posted on the Club site and the challenge is to read whichever book falls under that number on my list by 3/3/2024. I have included books that I actually have copies of on my shelves. </span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">My list:</span></span></div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><i style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white;">Aes</span><span><span style="background-color: white;">op's Fables</span><br /></span></span></i></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i style="color: #222222;">Song of the Lark</i><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">, Willa Cather, 1915</span></span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>A Tale of Two Cities</i>, Charles Dickens, 1859</span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b style="color: black;"><span style="color: #222222; font-weight: 400;"><span style="color: black;"><i>Lonesome Dove</i><i>, </i>Larry McMurtry, 1985 </span></span></b></span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Come and Get It,</i> Edna Ferber, 1935</span></span></li><li><b><span style="color: #222222; font-weight: 400;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222;"><i>Howards End</i></span><span style="color: #222222;">, E. M. Forster, 1910</span></span></span></span></b></li><li><b><span style="color: #222222; font-weight: 400;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i style="color: #222222;">Dune</i><span style="color: #222222;">, Frank Herbert, 1965</span></span></span></span></b></li><li><b><span style="color: #222222; font-weight: 400;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Three Men in a Boat</i>, Jerome K. Jerome, 1889</span></span></span></span></b></li><li><b><span style="color: #222222; font-weight: 400;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Profiles in Courage</i>, John F. Kennedy, 1955</span></span></span></span></b></li><li><b><span style="color: #222222; font-weight: 400;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Steamboat Gothic</i>, Francis Parkinson Keyes, 1952</span></span></span></span></b></li><li><b><span style="color: #222222; font-weight: 400;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Russia House</i>, John le Carre, 1989</span></span></span></span></b></li><li><b><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>The Armies of the Night</i>, Norman Mailer, 1968</span></span></span></b></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><i>Jamaica Inn</i>, </span><b style="background-color: #513831; font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #222222; font-weight: 400;"><span style="color: black;"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Daphne du Maurier, 1936</span></span></b></span></span></b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="color: black;"><i>The Razor's Edge</i></span></span></b><b style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-style: normal;">, W. Somerset Maugham, 1944</span></span></span></b></span></li><li><b><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>True Grit</i>, Charles Portis, 1968</span></span></span></b></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Satanic Verses</i>, Salman Rushdie, 1988</span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>3 Lives</i>, Gertrude Stein, 1909</span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>A Tale of a Tub</i>, Jonathan Swift, 1704</span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Mary Poppins</i>, P. L. Travers, 1934</span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Journey to the Center of the Earth</i>, Jules Verne, 1864</span></span></li></ol><p></p><div style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div></span></div></span></div>Mary R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12468537883595941188noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7120112249574123729.post-34506735106226417532024-01-02T06:33:00.002-05:002024-01-02T06:33:00.254-05:00Favorite Books of 2023<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-PiFKMhaequk8SKF2oBKBEytX03bB9rJdi2coO0TQATFT8pDLOsmEsigbvGACvqiMI5ZxpNXIf4ScgmG3MZk-dOm4tHgNXDBvzuBov5OcJi7sfjudC0lMNS0EbCvG8-GfEjM2bDZlxaTwKTCoZe_sjjJJCFS85pWqwDy02mFVnsUdjrZFJuP77U-I8g/s500/TTT-NEW.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="203" data-original-width="500" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-PiFKMhaequk8SKF2oBKBEytX03bB9rJdi2coO0TQATFT8pDLOsmEsigbvGACvqiMI5ZxpNXIf4ScgmG3MZk-dOm4tHgNXDBvzuBov5OcJi7sfjudC0lMNS0EbCvG8-GfEjM2bDZlxaTwKTCoZe_sjjJJCFS85pWqwDy02mFVnsUdjrZFJuP77U-I8g/w320-h130/TTT-NEW.png" width="320" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d; font-family: georgia; font-size: 18px;">The <a href="https://www.thatartsyreadergirl.com/category/top-ten-tuesday/">Top Ten Tuesday</a> topic this week is </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">"</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Open Sans;">Favorite Books of 2023" I read a dozen 5-star books in 2023 so mine is a top twelve.</span><p></p><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: Open Sans;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i>The Unquiet Englishman: A Life of Graham Greene </i>by Richard Greene</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: Open Sans;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i>How Big Things Get Done</i> by Bent Flyvbjerg and Dan Gardner</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: Open Sans;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i>Final Account</i> by Peter Robinson</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: Open Sans;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i>Sparkling Cyanide</i> by Agatha Christie</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: Open Sans;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i>Joan</i> by Katherine J. Chen</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: Open Sans;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i>How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia </i>by Mohsin Hamid</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: Open Sans;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i>The House of Doors</i> by Tan Twan Eng</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: Open Sans;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i>The River We Remember</i> by William Kent Kruger</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: Open Sans;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i>The Love Prescription</i> by John Gottman and Julie Schwartz Gottman</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: Open Sans;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i>Count of Monte Cristo </i>by Alexandre Dumas </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: Open Sans;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i>Lord of the Silent</i> by Elizabeth Peters</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: Open Sans;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i>A Killing of Innocents</i> by Deborah Crombie</span></span></li></ol></div>Mary R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12468537883595941188noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7120112249574123729.post-59179677759667826582024-01-01T06:30:00.036-05:002024-01-01T14:43:47.982-05:00December Book Report<p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: 18px;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBGUbNTZxavXe400uwhBb6fGXzgPOqnbBR9rJY8dHr0JYu37GbwmUctcn6mglsEm-FAr9hf3eBpfRTdZh8VO8l8z3fzJIETi8u5G97mc_Lc29zoX6PQk2msboGNnQ5wYPL2n-YzIHcyxsGZIVqyea8nFv-WXzfHJCWNggePvWAOI1vaKdJorWl1Rh-tlPr/s4096/IMG_20231223_205615357.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4096" data-original-width="3072" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBGUbNTZxavXe400uwhBb6fGXzgPOqnbBR9rJY8dHr0JYu37GbwmUctcn6mglsEm-FAr9hf3eBpfRTdZh8VO8l8z3fzJIETi8u5G97mc_Lc29zoX6PQk2msboGNnQ5wYPL2n-YzIHcyxsGZIVqyea8nFv-WXzfHJCWNggePvWAOI1vaKdJorWl1Rh-tlPr/s320/IMG_20231223_205615357.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b>NYC, December 2023</b></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: 18px;">I finished 12 books last month.</span><p></p><p></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">A quote from this month's reading:</span></p><span id="quote_book_link_38824651" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia; font-size: 18px;"><i></i></span><p style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 18px;"></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 18px;"></p><blockquote>"Dragonflies with stained-glass wings stitched invisible threads in the air. The two friends gazed down at the land below, watching the cloud shadows bruise the earth." --Tan Twan Eng, <i>The House of Doors</i></blockquote><i></i><p></p><p style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">Here is my progress toward various goals and challenges:</span></p><ul style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.4; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;"><li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">1 was a book I own but hadn't read before (</span>inspired by <a href="https://www.theunreadshelf.com/blog/project2021" style="text-decoration-line: none;">The Unread Shelf project</a>)</li><li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">none counted toward the <a href="https://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/2023/07/17th-canadian-reading-challenge.html">17th Canadian Reading Challenge </a></span></li><li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">none were from my (new) <a href="http://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/p/classics-club-list-2.html" style="color: #481dad; text-decoration-line: none;">Classics Club List</a></span> </li><li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;">none counted toward the <a href="http://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/2022/12/tbr-pile-challenge-2023.html">TBR Pile Challenge</a></li><li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;">none counted toward the <a href="http://www.theintrepidreader.com/search/label/About%20Historical%20Fiction%20Reading%20Challenge" style="color: #481dad; text-decoration-line: none;">2023 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge </a></li><li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;">1 counted toward the <a href="http://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/2023/02/whats-in-name-challenge-2023.html">2023 What's in a Name Challenge</a> - which finished it off before the end of the year</li><li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;">1 was from my <a href="http://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/p/my-readers-advisory-reading-list.html" style="color: #481dad; text-decoration-line: none;">Readers' Advisory Reading List</a> </li><li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;">2 were from the<a href="https://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/2022/11/series-i-would-like-to-catch-up-on.html" style="color: #481dad; text-decoration-line: none;"> mystery series</a><span style="background-color: white;"> I was trying to make progress on this year</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 18px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 18px;">Here are the books I finished in December 2023: </span></div><div style="font-size: 18px;"><ol style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif;"><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><i>Messenger of Truth</i> by Jacqueline Winspear (4-stars)</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><i>Finish </i>by Jon Acuff </span> (3-stars)</li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><i>Devil in a Blue Dress</i> by Walter Mosley (4-stars)</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><i>The Search: Finding Meaningful Work in a Post-Career World</i> by Bruce Feiler (3-stars)</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><i>The Art of Stillness</i> by Pico Iyer (3-stars)</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><i>The House of Doors</i> by Tan Twan Eng (5-stars)</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><i><a href="https://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/2023/12/the-river-we-remember.html">The River We Remember</a></i> by William Kent Krueger (5-stars)</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><i>The Snow Queen</i> by Michael Cunningham (3-stars)</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><i>The Address Book: What Street Addresses Reveal about Identity, Race, Wealth, and Power</i> by Deirdra Mask (audiobook, 4-stars)</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><i>The Twelve Clues of Christmas </i>by Rhys Bowen (4-stars)</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><i>The Checklist Manifesto </i>by Atul Gawande (3-stars)</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><i>The Witching Year by Diana</i> Helmuth (4-stars)</span></li></ol><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white;">I had a very good reading year in 2023. Lots of new-to-me authors and a dozen 5-star books. I completed all my challenges except the TBR pile one which I made good progress on but, as usual, didn't finish.</span></span></div>Mary R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12468537883595941188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7120112249574123729.post-87683265896908061162023-12-31T19:09:00.004-05:002023-12-31T19:25:56.676-05:00What's in a Name Challenge<p><a href="https://carolinabooknook.wordpress.com/2023/12/28/whats-in-a-name-2024-sign-up/"></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOHuOS8tIO4Q3Pua-6suMWqrkMQGCqcPmtd1R7ZEhPPC2P70v-P4vmUqoPvnWloQBUjmB0luy6HMzSmRa18lADqiobM64kvYnZy4hv9pni-V8F8eeqcr8HLkfkEtvruASstfRfM9nFe8hkLB7lScMiY5dNRNx1zvWvXq-_4BABAmvzPFbZsuwYLLn_YrWq/s2048/wian-24.webp" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOHuOS8tIO4Q3Pua-6suMWqrkMQGCqcPmtd1R7ZEhPPC2P70v-P4vmUqoPvnWloQBUjmB0luy6HMzSmRa18lADqiobM64kvYnZy4hv9pni-V8F8eeqcr8HLkfkEtvruASstfRfM9nFe8hkLB7lScMiY5dNRNx1zvWvXq-_4BABAmvzPFbZsuwYLLn_YrWq/w200-h200/wian-24.webp" width="200" /></a></div><a href="https://carolinabooknook.wordpress.com/2023/12/28/whats-in-a-name-2024-sign-up/">Carolina Book Nook</a> is once again hosting the What's in a Name Challenge. The goal is to read, during 2024,<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 20px;"> six books that have titles that contain each of these:</span><p></p><ul style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 20px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial;"><li style="box-sizing: inherit;"><a href="https://carolinabooknook.wordpress.com/double-letters-wian-2024/" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease 0s; word-break: break-word;"><span style="color: black;">Double letters</span></a> (<i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28815458-eleanor-roosevelt-volume-3">Eleanor Roosevelt,</a></i> vol. 3)</li><li style="box-sizing: inherit;"><a href="https://carolinabooknook.wordpress.com/nfl-teams-wian-2024/" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease 0s; word-break: break-word;"><span style="color: black;">An NFL team</span></a> (<i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12547304-on-green-dolphin-street">On Green Dolphin Street</a></i>)</li><li style="box-sizing: inherit;"><a href="https://carolinabooknook.wordpress.com/natural-disaster-wian-2024/" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease 0s; word-break: break-word;"><span style="color: black;">A natural disaster</span></a> (<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55928337-connecticut-river-valley-flood-of-1936"><i>Connecticut River Valley Flood of 1936</i></a>)</li><li style="box-sizing: inherit;"><a href="https://carolinabooknook.wordpress.com/virtues-wian-2024/" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease 0s; word-break: break-word;"><span style="color: black;">A virtue</span></a> (<i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11368790-profiles-in-courage">Profiles in Courage</a></i>)</li><li style="box-sizing: inherit;"><a href="https://carolinabooknook.wordpress.com/shapes-wian-2024/" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease 0s; word-break: break-word;"><span style="color: black;">A shape</span></a> (<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1465378.The_Octagon_House"><i>The Octagon House</i></a>)</li><li style="box-sizing: inherit;"><a href="https://carolinabooknook.wordpress.com/footwear-wian-2024/" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease 0s; word-break: break-word;"><span style="color: black;">Footwear</span></a> (nothing currently on my shelves for this)</li></ul><div><span style="font-family: Lora, serif;">It wasn't in my original <a href="https://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/2023/12/reading-plans-2024.html">plan for 2024</a>, but I have decided to add this challenge. </span></div>Mary R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12468537883595941188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7120112249574123729.post-11169531647215767962023-12-28T13:12:00.003-05:002023-12-31T19:21:19.020-05:00Reading Plans 2024<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfNHNyr6hiJqg33CiNMMGAKYHbz4pjala8NXnCfVDmkW8-t-L3H7lxHPhCswqmTE4v1RMPzWESk6O4ILGEct_J8AaJjfWmoRG3t5LlopHVcl1l8w1_moK4r3YzUkzGl3B13Xe95Eiq351l99c9YptDZtvuI4a1y_Cra93ugdVl9uUSVs2WRd0qUjnu-buF/s200/bookglasses.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="152" data-original-width="200" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfNHNyr6hiJqg33CiNMMGAKYHbz4pjala8NXnCfVDmkW8-t-L3H7lxHPhCswqmTE4v1RMPzWESk6O4ILGEct_J8AaJjfWmoRG3t5LlopHVcl1l8w1_moK4r3YzUkzGl3B13Xe95Eiq351l99c9YptDZtvuI4a1y_Cra93ugdVl9uUSVs2WRd0qUjnu-buF/s1600/bookglasses.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 18px;">These are my 2024 goals for my reading life:</span><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 18px;">Read 10 books from my </span><a href="https://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/p/classics-club-list-3.html" style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 18px;">Classics Club</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 18px;"> list so I stay on track to complete 50 books within 5 years. </span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 18px;">Read at least 6 books from my </span><a href="http://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/p/my-readers-advisory-reading-list.html" style="color: #481dad; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 18px; text-decoration-line: none;">Readers' Advisory Reading List</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 18px;">. </span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 18px;">Read at least 6 of the 35 books on my </span><a href="https://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/p/nonfiction-november-tbr.html" style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 18px;">#nonficnov tbr list</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 18px;"> before November.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 18px;">C</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 18px;">omplete the </span><a href="http://www.theintrepidreader.com/2023/12/historical-fiction-reading-challenge_4.html " style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 18px;">2024 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 18px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 18px;">at the Victorian level of 5 books.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 18px;">Complete the current </span><a href="https://cdnbookworm.blogspot.com/p/17th-annual-canadian-reading-challenge.html" style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 18px;">Canadian Reading Challenge</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 18px;"> for which I need to read 10 Canadian titles before July 1.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 18px;">Get my</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 18px;"> </span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/1160705-mary?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=obnr" style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 18px;">owned-but-not-read shelf </a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 18px;">down to fewer than 100 books. It is currently at 139 titles. I need to both read from this shelf and stop adding to it.</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 18px;">Read a total of 100 books (my usual GoodReads goal).</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 18px;">Figure out where I left off with my </span><a href="https://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/search/label/centuryofbooks" style="background-color: white; color: #481dad; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 18px; text-decoration-line: none;">Century of Books project</a>.</li><li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 18px;">Continue posting a Book Report the first week of each month.</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">If there is no overlap at all among my challenges that means that I will need to read 77 books. There are definitely books on my shelves that would fit some of the other goals, so this should be do-able. </span></span></div><div><br style="background-color: #513831; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 18px;" /></div></div>Mary R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12468537883595941188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7120112249574123729.post-91964782505201266292023-12-18T18:43:00.001-05:002023-12-18T18:43:37.504-05:00Mystery Series Reading Goal <p><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYAycCxowDYmI8WkrXedXmYR3vf7_Bh5cqo7emq7TuT8Xw0PYcIayEp12f5BsrQAbMj1wRD4f_hWf-lyTykvX5KrXf7FzOn_9d8H2LkJG3PfHIne7DacjdF9H5GGM6i9NP33nh4w8sRNWQhV4yzI4SbVPkZSWMZwCkVxNppfuDaF3j_jDTjh9YLqgia7Pe/s325/writing.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="325" data-original-width="325" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYAycCxowDYmI8WkrXedXmYR3vf7_Bh5cqo7emq7TuT8Xw0PYcIayEp12f5BsrQAbMj1wRD4f_hWf-lyTykvX5KrXf7FzOn_9d8H2LkJG3PfHIne7DacjdF9H5GGM6i9NP33nh4w8sRNWQhV4yzI4SbVPkZSWMZwCkVxNppfuDaF3j_jDTjh9YLqgia7Pe/w200-h200/writing.JPG" width="200" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Last November I put together <a href="https://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/2022/11/series-i-would-like-to-catch-up-on.html">a list of some of the </a><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/2022/11/series-i-would-like-to-catch-up-on.html">series I have in progress</a> and set it as a goal for 2023 to make progress on completing them. Specifically I wanted to read 20 books from these particular series.</span></span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Goal accomplished!</span><p></p><p></p><ol><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/51538-inspector-alan-grant" style="color: #481dad; text-decoration-line: none;">Inspector Alan Grant series by Josephine Tey</a> -- Completed!<br />There are 6 books in this series and I have now read all of them. I read <i>Singing Sands </i>in January and realized when I started it that I had already read <i>The Franchise Affair (</i>it was in <i>Three By Tey </i>which I read in 2009<i>). </i>[1/1 read]<br /><br /></span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/52269-josephine-tey" style="color: #481dad; text-decoration-line: none;">The Josephine Tey series by Nicola Upson</a><br />Upson based her fictional sleuth on the real life of author Josephine Tey and Alan Grant is a character in this series. I have now read 10 books in this series, but a new one came out in November. [2/2 read]<br /><br /></span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/222561-constable-twitten" style="color: #481dad; text-decoration-line: none;">Constable Twitten series by Lynne Truss </a>-- Completed!<br />There are only 4 books in this series so far and in November I had read the first one. In January I read <i>The Man that Got Away </i>and in May I read <i>Murder by Milk Bottle </i>and in July I finished <i>Psycho by the Sea</i> [3/3 read]<br /><br /></span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/40876" style="color: #481dad; text-decoration-line: none;">Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters</a> -- Completed!<br />In November 2022 I had 3 books left to read in this series. I finished #7 <i>The Snake, the Crocodile and the Dog</i> in December; I finished #10 <i>The Ape Who Guards the Balance</i> in February; I finished #13 in April. [3/3 read]<br /><br /></span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/69699-vintage-kitchen-mystery" style="color: #481dad; text-decoration-line: none;">Vintage Kitchen Mystery series by Victoria Hamilton</a><br />There are 10 books in this series and I had read the first 3 when I made the list. Since then I finished two more: <i>No Mallets Intended</i> and <i>White Collander Crime</i>. [2/7 read]<br /><br /></span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/search/label/Donna%20Leon" style="color: #481dad; text-decoration-line: none;">Commissario Brunetti series by Donna Leon</a><br />Including the one that is expected to come out in 2023 there are 32 books in this series. I have read #1-23 and #27. I read Falling in Love this fall, so I have 7 more books to read to get caught up with this ongoing series. [1/8 read]<br /><br /></span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/46491-her-royal-spyness" style="color: #481dad; text-decoration-line: none;">Her Royal Spyness series by Rhys Bowen</a><br />There are currently 16 books in this series and I have read the first 4. There is a Christmas one in my current library pile, so I might get another one read before year's end. [1/12 read] <br /><br /></span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/43558-maisie-dobbs" style="color: #481dad; text-decoration-line: none;">Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear</a><br />There are 17 books in this series and I had only read the first 2. I read the <a href="http://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/2023/03/pardonable-lies.html">3rd one</a> in March and 2 more since then so I am making progress. [3/15 read]<br /><br /></span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/41464-agatha-raisin" style="color: #481dad; text-decoration-line: none;">Agatha Raisin series by M C Beaton</a><br />There are currently 33 books in this series and I have now read through #19. [1/15 read]<br /><br /></span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/40970-inspector-banks" style="color: #481dad; text-decoration-line: none;">Inspector Banks series by Peter Robinson</a><br />There are currently 28 books in this series, with another one expected in 2023. I have read the first 5. I read #6 in February, #7 in April, and #8 in June [3/22 read]</span></li></ol><div><br /></div>Mary R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12468537883595941188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7120112249574123729.post-50061455787889234952023-12-17T10:15:00.006-05:002023-12-17T10:15:53.357-05:00The River We Remember<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/101160844-the-river-we-remember" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="The River We Remember" border="0" height="200" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1688068221l/101160844._SX98_.jpg" width="132" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/101160844-the-river-we-remember">The River We Remember</a> <div>by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/71170.William_Kent_Krueger">William Kent Krueger</a><br />
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6052113630">5 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
</div><div>This was a wonderful book. It is a mystery, it begins with the discovery of a dead body and centers on the Sheriff who investigates the death, but that is really just the framework upon which Krueger hangs his tale of memories, guilt, resilience, and home. The setting is Jewel, Minnesota--a farming community on the banks of the Alabaster River--in 1958.</div><div><blockquote>"On quiet nights when the moon is full or nearly so and the surface of the Alabaster is mirror-still and glows pure white in the dark bottomland, to stand on a hillside and look down at this river is to fall in love." </blockquote></div><div>What really set this novel apart for me what the characters. The point-of-view is a third person omniscient narrator and we see the events through the eyes (and thoughts) of numerous people. All of them are complex, well-drawn characters and Krueger takes us deep into their lives with small telling details. </div><div>This book reminded me of <i><a href="https://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/2014/07/loved-it.html">Gilead</a></i> and <i><a href="https://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/2019/05/virgil-wander.html">Virgil Wander</a></i>, not because the stories are at all similar, but because the tone is. I will definitely seek out more novels by this Minnesota author. </div>Mary R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12468537883595941188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7120112249574123729.post-77123202473335657952023-12-02T06:15:00.001-05:002023-12-15T19:27:45.721-05:00November Book Report<p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIa6cTs2mLLa9yC1um1aOsopRVOKzV71Wnj9-YblUK51Q9BdPxQzUAcqA3TRUdW7MAcL9-lIIxQxYLCKemqCRAzHlOn4VvPQddLxOqtI3T1DDe4hP4GuvuSM0YsYx95XVFm4PuvfjkzG86jbt24716YQkOZH-mcT2NoQaVjvnPSOiz_jf3FaJxLjOMoaYv/s4096/IMG_20231025_171938554.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4096" data-original-width="3072" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIa6cTs2mLLa9yC1um1aOsopRVOKzV71Wnj9-YblUK51Q9BdPxQzUAcqA3TRUdW7MAcL9-lIIxQxYLCKemqCRAzHlOn4VvPQddLxOqtI3T1DDe4hP4GuvuSM0YsYx95XVFm4PuvfjkzG86jbt24716YQkOZH-mcT2NoQaVjvnPSOiz_jf3FaJxLjOMoaYv/w240-h320/IMG_20231025_171938554.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Manchester, NH Fall 2023</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I finished 13 books last month.</span></span><p></p><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">A quote from this month's reading:</span></p><span id="quote_book_link_38824651" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia;"><i></i></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"></span></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">“The fact that we often judge the pleasure of an experience by its ending can cause us to make some curious choices.”</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-weight: bold;">― </span><span class="authorOrTitle" style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Daniel Gilbert<b>, </b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"></span><span id="quote_book_link_56627" style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><i>Stumbling on Happiness</i></span></span></blockquote><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span id="quote_book_link_56627" style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><i></i></span></span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">Here is my progress toward various goals and challenges:</span></p><ul style="line-height: 1.4; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;"><li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white;">1 was a book I own but hadn't read before (</span>inspired by <a href="https://www.theunreadshelf.com/blog/project2021" style="text-decoration-line: none;">The Unread Shelf project</a>)</span></li><li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">1 counted toward the <a href="http://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/2022/07/happy-canada-day.html" style="color: #481dad; text-decoration-line: none;">16th Canadian Reading Challenge</a> </span></li><li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white;">1 was from my <a href="http://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/p/classics-club-list-2.html" style="color: #481dad; text-decoration-line: none;">Classics Club List</a></span> </span></li><li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">none counted toward the <a href="http://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/2022/12/tbr-pile-challenge-2023.html">TBR Pile Challenge</a></span></li><li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">none counted toward the <a href="http://www.theintrepidreader.com/search/label/About%20Historical%20Fiction%20Reading%20Challenge" style="color: #481dad; text-decoration-line: none;">2023 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge </a></span></li><li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">none counted toward the <a href="http://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/2023/02/whats-in-name-challenge-2023.html">2023 What's in a Name Challenge</a></span></li><li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">3 were from my <a href="http://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/p/my-readers-advisory-reading-list.html" style="color: #481dad; text-decoration-line: none;">Readers' Advisory Reading List</a> </span></li><li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">5 were from the<a href="https://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/2022/11/series-i-would-like-to-catch-up-on.html" style="color: #481dad; text-decoration-line: none;"> mystery series</a><span style="background-color: white;"> I am trying to make progress on this year (3 different series)</span></span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span> </span><span>Here are the books I finished in November 2023: </span></span></div><div><ol><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><i>10 lb Penalty</i> by Dick Francis (4-stars)</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i>A Spoonful of Poison </i>by M. C. Beaton </span> (4-stars)</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><i>A Handcrafted Life</i> by Tiffany Francis-Baker (3-stars)</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><i>Peril in Paperback</i> by Kate Carlisle (4-stars)</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><i>Falling in Love</i> by Donna Leon (audiobook, 4-stars)</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><i>A Cookbook Conspiracy</i> by Kate Carlisle (3-stars)</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><i>Stumbling on Happiness</i> by Daniel Gilbert (4-stars)</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><i>The Book Stops Here</i> by Kate Carlisle (4-stars)</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><i>The Blessing Way </i>by Tony Hillerman (3-stars)</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><i><a href="https://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/2023/11/the-violent-bear-it-away.html">The Violent Bear it Away</a></i> by Flannery O'Connor (4-stars)</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><i>Imagined London </i>by Anna Quindlen (3-stars)</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><i>Book Club Reboot </i>by Sarah Ostman (3-stars)</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><i><a href="https://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/2023/12/solitude.html">Solitude</a></i> by Michael Harris (3-stars)</span></li></ol><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">This month I went on a mystery-novel binge and I finished my 2nd Classics Club list. Overall it was a good month for reading. </span></div>Mary R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12468537883595941188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7120112249574123729.post-38181477349245800492023-12-01T06:30:00.001-05:002023-12-01T14:08:05.683-05:00Solitude<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31451181-solitude" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="Solitude: In Pursuit of a Singular Life in a Crowded World" border="0" height="200" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1492914745l/31451181._SX98_.jpg" width="132" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31451181-solitude">Solitude: In Pursuit of a Singular Life in a Crowded World</a> <div>by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8392580.Michael_Harris">Michael Harris</a><br />
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6003794395">3 of 5 stars</a><br /><br /></div><div>This book started off very strong, but floundered about 2/3 of the way through and became a meandering memoir rather than the examination of ideas and studies related to solitude. </div><div>The author lived in Vancouver when the book was written so I am counting this toward the <a href="https://cdnbookworm.blogspot.com/p/17th-annual-canadian-reading-challenge.html">Canadian Reading Challenge</a>.</div><div><br /><br /><br /></div>Mary R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12468537883595941188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7120112249574123729.post-88466653856858734112023-11-27T07:41:00.002-05:002023-11-28T17:37:01.044-05:00Nonfiction November - New to My TBR<p><a href="https://hopewellslibraryoflife.wordpress.com/" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #e84e89; cursor: pointer; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.3px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: 100%; transition: all 300ms ease 0s; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: 600; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: 100%; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: 600; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: 100%; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOmdi30PZkzRClvKWd28XsEbo_3h_yaGBZWhy3lJPwtHlIzYLfrAq74t6623-2EWmLY3sndmFfjkrcq9Lwv3aX4z-zZpIWhskVYIjPIv3SAcdekfLDHlMNrvB4ZmScQjr_tMubxTMEMG5YXCkxXwAon4zXV1kRvqOcusKZCXVpgVjBIQT95BeogkGxHre4/s1600/nonficnov23%20week%205.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOmdi30PZkzRClvKWd28XsEbo_3h_yaGBZWhy3lJPwtHlIzYLfrAq74t6623-2EWmLY3sndmFfjkrcq9Lwv3aX4z-zZpIWhskVYIjPIv3SAcdekfLDHlMNrvB4ZmScQjr_tMubxTMEMG5YXCkxXwAon4zXV1kRvqOcusKZCXVpgVjBIQT95BeogkGxHre4/w400-h225/nonficnov23%20week%205.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: 600; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: 100%; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: 600; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: 100%; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://hopewellslibraryoflife.wordpress.com/2023/11/27/nonfiction-november-week-5-new-to-my-tbr/">Hopewell’s Public Library of Life</a></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> is our host for this final week.</span></span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">These are the nonfiction titles I have added to my TBR this month:</span></span></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"><i>The Library at Night</i></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> by Albert Manguel (<a href="https://volatilerune.blog/2023/04/07/the-library-at-night/">Volatile Rune</a>)</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"><i>A Place for Everything: The Curious History of Alphabetical Order</i></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> by Judith Flanders (<a href="https://sheseeksnonfiction.blog/2023/10/30/social-justice-reads-nonfiction-november-2023-week-1/">She Seeks Nonfiction</a>)</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"><i>Kiss Me in the Coral Lounge: Intimate Confessions from a Happy Marriage </i></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.3px;">by Helen Ellis (<a href="https://hopewellslibraryoflife.wordpress.com/2023/06/19/review-kiss-me-in-the-coral-lounge-intimate-confessions-from-happy-marriage-by-helen-ellis/">Hopewell's Public Library of Life</a>)</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"><i>One More Croissant for the Road</i></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> by Felicity Cloake (<a href="https://louloureads.wordpress.com/2023/02/02/one-more-croissant-for-the-road/">LouLouReads</a>) -- also recommended </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"><i>The Rest is History</i></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> podcast</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"><i>Things to Look Forward To: 52 Large and Small Joys for Today and Everyday </i></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.3px;">by Sophie Blackhall (<a href="https://lschuelerca.wordpress.com/2023/11/01/nonfiction-november-2023-week-1/">Shoe's Seeds and Stories</a>)</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"><i>The Gates of Empire: A History of Ukraine </i></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.3px;">by Serhii Plokhy (<a href="https://bronasbooks.com/2023/11/02/non-fiction-november-2023-week-one/">This Reading Life</a>)</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"><i>House Lessons: Renovating a Life</i></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> by Erica Bauermeister (<a href="https://beverleyabaird.wordpress.com/2023/11/02/non-fiction-november-week-1-3/">Beverley A Baird</a>)</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"><i>The Nutmeg Trail </i></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.3px;">by Eleanor Ford (<a href="https://superfluousreading.wordpress.com/2023/05/21/the-nutmeg-trail-by-eleanor-ford/">Superfluous Reading</a>)</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"><i>Is the Algorithm Plotting Against Us: A Layperson's Guide to the Concepts, Math, and Pitfalls of AI</i></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> by Kenneth Wenger (<a href="https://wordsandpeace.com/2023/06/21/book-review-is-the-algorithm-plotting-against-us/">Words and Peace</a>)</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"><i>My Life in Middlemarch</i></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> by Rebecca Mead (<a href="https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2023/11/middlemarch-my-life-in-middlemarch-look.html">My Head is Full of Books</a>)</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"><i>I Didn't Sign Up for This</i></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> by Tracy Dalgelish (</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"><a href="https://lisanotes.com/what-nonfiction-and-fiction-books-go-well-together/">Lisa Notes</a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.3px;">)</span></span></li><li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"><i>The Baroness</i> by Hannah Rothschild (<a href="https://annabookbel.net/nonfiction-november-week-3-book-pairings/">AnnaBookBel</a>)</span></span></li><li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"><i>I Think You're Wrong (But I'm Listening)</i> by Sarah Stewart Holland an Beth Silvers (<a href="https://readerbuzz.blogspot.com/2023/11/nonfiction-november-week-4-1120-1124.html">ReaderBuzz</a>)</span></span></li><li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"><i>Thinking Fast and Slow</i> by Daniel Kahneman (<a href="https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2023/11/22/nonfiction-november-week-four/">WhatMeRead</a>)</span></span></li><li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"><i>Ready or Knot? 12 Conversations Every Couple Needs to Have Before Marriage</i> by Scott Kedersha (<a href="https://reviewsfromthestacks.wordpress.com/2023/11/21/worldview-shapers-nonfiction-november-2023-week-4/">Reviews from the Stacks</a>)</span></span></li></ol><div><br /></div>Mary R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12468537883595941188noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7120112249574123729.post-75059944076476386982023-11-26T19:49:00.003-05:002023-11-26T19:49:25.683-05:00The Violent Bear it Away<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48468.The_Violent_Bear_It_Away" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="The Violent Bear It Away" border="0" height="200" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388381676l/48468._SX98_.jpg" width="134" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48468.The_Violent_Bear_It_Away">The Violent Bear It Away</a> <div>by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22694.Flannery_O_Connor">Flannery O'Connor</a><br />
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2484738620">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />This is a novel about 2 members of the same family struggling with the legacy of an elderly prophet related to them both and how they will, or will not, follow in the path he set for them. It is written in the spare, lyrical language that O'Connor's <a href="https://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/2013/05/a-good-man-is-hard-to-find-and-other.html">short stories</a> exhibit and reads like a Shakespearean tragedy. </div><div>This is my 50th title completed from my <a href="https://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/p/classics-club-list-2.html">Classics Club list</a>! </div>Mary R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12468537883595941188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7120112249574123729.post-43631679948448268882023-11-22T10:37:00.010-05:002023-11-22T10:48:25.954-05:00Nonfiction November - Week 4<p><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYbRRCuXrFuYphAXMN-7sTAqlregTbuvG5caUbqtp3bpJwKOyELD-0MoOjJED_ZOnKwAj1oXTwYg2FSpyq4YvHf9g7VqhCUySPwRpveyt5hDVormLTKKmK2iQ_UXXeKxLtJ1bgouUL_Pnuuid6EbbxggBO3NUWGahKMH0Kdq2QpRzz8hTBinDjdN5epKcE/s1600/nonficnov23%20week%204.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYbRRCuXrFuYphAXMN-7sTAqlregTbuvG5caUbqtp3bpJwKOyELD-0MoOjJED_ZOnKwAj1oXTwYg2FSpyq4YvHf9g7VqhCUySPwRpveyt5hDVormLTKKmK2iQ_UXXeKxLtJ1bgouUL_Pnuuid6EbbxggBO3NUWGahKMH0Kdq2QpRzz8hTBinDjdN5epKcE/w400-h225/nonficnov23%20week%204.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Our host this week is <a href="http://sheseeksnonfiction.blog/" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #e84e89; cursor: pointer; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.3px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: 100%; transition: all 300ms ease 0s; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: 600; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: 100%; vertical-align: baseline;">She Seeks Nonfiction</span></a>. </span><p></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><blockquote><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">One of the greatest things about reading nonfiction is learning all kinds of things about our world which you never would have known without it. There’s the intriguing, the beautiful, the appalling, and the profound. What nonfiction book or books have impacted the way you see the world in a powerful way? Is there one book that made you rethink everything? Do you think there is a book that should be required reading for everyone?</span></i></blockquote></span></span><div><span style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia; letter-spacing: 0.3px;">There are 2 books that come to mind as having influenced my view of the world:</span></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1202.Freakonomics?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=4MzLM0KKUi&rank=1">Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything</a></i> by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubbner which I read in 2008 definitely gave me a different perspective on how the world works. Looking at "the hidden side" of things is a fascinating way to consider things that seem true but actually aren't. <br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17262206-lawrence-in-arabia">Lawrence in Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly, and the Making of the Modern Middle East</a></i> by Scott Anderson explains where the troubles in the Middle East began and it wasn't at all what I would have assumed before reading this book. The Eastern front of World War I (where Britain and France were battling the Ottoman Empire) was not something I knew much about. This book did a good job of unraveling a very complicated situation in a clear and compelling way.</span></li></ul></div><div><div><span style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;">As far as a book that is required reading for everyone I don't think so. There are certainly things I think everyone should know about, but since everyone is in a different place in their journey toward understanding the world there is no one book that everyone needs to read. I needed the background of Lawrence in Arabia to understand that part of the world, but other readers may have a solid grasp on that history and need to read about something else that I do already know. To paraphrase <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/S-R-Ranganathan">Ranganathan</a>: Every reader their book, every book its reader.<br /></span></span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; letter-spacing: 0.3px;">For an overview of #NonFicNov visit </span><a href="https://sheseeksnonfiction.blog/2023/10/24/nonfiction-november-2023/#more-17542" style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.3px;">She Seeks Nonfiction</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; letter-spacing: 0.3px;">.</span></span></div></div></div>Mary R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12468537883595941188noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7120112249574123729.post-79878474629095844052023-11-13T18:05:00.001-05:002023-11-13T18:05:48.147-05:00Nonfiction November - Week 3<p><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_mlW2fNd8xxiaMEkXd3IbF9TVFme5FlqNnBoOEzBP-jdKK-3c42PiNdz3Jm0veEllS27FEDrIUfju7EPS1Wc7U2MI74EsOsJbwmmhukc1xmswhTONSS6hcPrmqTFlCxuixJ2b5pZjHK0YnOJVYJ-1n03Bo-lzLsM9pw10lhDrZysORgvWMn-lCIFuPzDn/s1600/nonficnov23%20week%203.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_mlW2fNd8xxiaMEkXd3IbF9TVFme5FlqNnBoOEzBP-jdKK-3c42PiNdz3Jm0veEllS27FEDrIUfju7EPS1Wc7U2MI74EsOsJbwmmhukc1xmswhTONSS6hcPrmqTFlCxuixJ2b5pZjHK0YnOJVYJ-1n03Bo-lzLsM9pw10lhDrZysORgvWMn-lCIFuPzDn/w400-h225/nonficnov23%20week%203.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;">This week is all about book pairings and is hosted at <a href="https://librofulltime.wordpress.com/" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #e84e89; cursor: pointer; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.3px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: 100%; transition: all 300ms ease 0s; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: 600; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: 100%; vertical-align: baseline;">Adventures in reading, running and working from home</span></a></span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">This week, pair up a nonfiction book with a fiction title. Maybe it’s a historical novel and the real history in a nonfiction version, or a memoir and a novel, or a fiction book you’ve read and you would like recommendations for background reading. You can be as creative as you like!</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 15pt; margin-top: 15pt;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I have two pairings made with books I have read this year.</span></span></p><ul style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.68; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 7pt; padding: 3.375pt 0pt 3.375pt 0pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/7120112249574123729/7987847462909584405#" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #481dad; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Africa is Not a Country: Notes on a Bright Continent </span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">by Dipo Faloyin with </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/7120112249574123729/7987847462909584405#" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Maame</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">by Jessica George.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The first is a celebration of the unique history and culture of various African nations and the second is a novel about a young woman whose family is from Ghana and how she is dealing with life in contemporary London. Both include discussions of Jollof rice which I got a chance to try at a festival this year. (It was delicious)
</span></span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.68; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 7pt; padding: 3.375pt 0pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><a href="https://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/2023/11/come-tell-me-how-you-live.html">Come Tell Me How You Live</a></i></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Agatha Christie Mallowan with </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/188489.Lord_of_the_Silent">Lord of the Silent</a></i></span><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"> by Elizabeth Peters. The first is Christie's memoir of her time on an archaeological dig with her second husband in the 1930s and the second is a novel set in the early 20th century set in Egypt and featuring a family of British archaeologists. Any of the novels in this series would be a match, but that is the one I read this year.
</span></span></span></p></li></ul><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #333333; letter-spacing: 0.3px;">For an overview of #NonFicNov visit </span><a href="https://sheseeksnonfiction.blog/2023/10/24/nonfiction-november-2023/#more-17542" style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;">She Seeks Nonfiction</a><span style="color: #333333; letter-spacing: 0.3px;">.</span></span></div>Mary R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12468537883595941188noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7120112249574123729.post-30481081667950624702023-11-07T19:21:00.001-05:002023-11-07T19:21:25.685-05:00Nonfiction November - Week 2<div><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: georgia; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.3px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: 100%; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2x7wu7zPZ1M-BdxagbHYiHr1d_fLmKG81q5bWeQfHM0gbeZNaPXlN3xKhElFhaiZt9R8i3x38f6bDluXwC2-GS8C8e5yNI6JJ6IxWG89LWR5IGGUZ3KDV9qD_XPd_c9ZFZf5S08xKabEOkQgh0aVrYR-ki2sytQi8JZTMj4MztWCn7gPgXK4Lhhmbb40T/s1600/nonficnov23%20week%202.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2x7wu7zPZ1M-BdxagbHYiHr1d_fLmKG81q5bWeQfHM0gbeZNaPXlN3xKhElFhaiZt9R8i3x38f6bDluXwC2-GS8C8e5yNI6JJ6IxWG89LWR5IGGUZ3KDV9qD_XPd_c9ZFZf5S08xKabEOkQgh0aVrYR-ki2sytQi8JZTMj4MztWCn7gPgXK4Lhhmbb40T/w400-h225/nonficnov23%20week%202.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>T</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.3px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: 100%; vertical-align: baseline;">his week is hosted at </span><a href="https://volatilerune.blog/" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #e84e89; cursor: pointer; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.3px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: 100%; transition: all 300ms ease 0s; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: 100%; vertical-align: baseline;">Volatile Rune</span></a> and the focus is on how we choose our nonfiction books. </span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"><blockquote> What are you looking for when you pick up a nonfiction book? Do you have a particular topic you’re attracted to? Do you have a particular writing style that works best? When you look at a nonfiction book, does the title or cover influence you? If so, share a title or cover which you find striking. </blockquote></span>Typically I choose my non-fiction books based on the subject matter. I am interested in a wide range of subjects: history, food, social sciences, books-about-books, true-crime, science, travel, crafting and creativity, and biography. All of these topics make regular appearances in my reading life. I am definitely partial to strong narrative, and I especially like when the author is a clear personality within the book. Books where someone decides to try some experiment on themselves and write about it are probably my favorite form of nonfiction (think<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13747.Julie_and_Julia?ref=nav_sb_ss_2_5"> <i>Julie & Julia</i></a>, or <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6452822-living-oprah?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_12">Living Oprah</a></i>). A clever title will definitely catch my attention (<i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/95420.Personal_History">Personal History</a></i>, or <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50358538-a-libertarian-walks-into-a-bear">A Libertarian Walks into a Bear</a></i>) but since I generally get my books from the public library the cover is less of an influence on my choices.<br /></span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; letter-spacing: 0.3px;">For an overview of #NonFicNov visit </span><a href="https://sheseeksnonfiction.blog/2023/10/24/nonfiction-november-2023/#more-17542" style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.3px;">She Seeks Nonfiction</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; letter-spacing: 0.3px;">.</span></span></div>Mary R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12468537883595941188noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7120112249574123729.post-83151042679651056052023-11-05T12:32:00.002-05:002023-11-05T12:47:47.207-05:00Nonfiction November - Week 1<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW6MKscde-XV2PUKARj5HqznT3zqmR-yS3G1tZObESybq5keb26yCPyYSdqP1boFby4rucO24H-ODw27hCYJ3dV_rrLN0HNE2k6HKyS23LsiQa-b8TJd8afhH2oCBMSbHsapzAIcwb1OsxSCIYfxQRILG5o3r_Gu9Cs6MqyeedVI3fSZ14uaDiIfw9owS1/s950/nonficnov23-week-1.webp" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="950" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW6MKscde-XV2PUKARj5HqznT3zqmR-yS3G1tZObESybq5keb26yCPyYSdqP1boFby4rucO24H-ODw27hCYJ3dV_rrLN0HNE2k6HKyS23LsiQa-b8TJd8afhH2oCBMSbHsapzAIcwb1OsxSCIYfxQRILG5o3r_Gu9Cs6MqyeedVI3fSZ14uaDiIfw9owS1/w400-h210/nonficnov23-week-1.webp" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: georgia;">November snuck up on me somehow so I am at the end of the week this time. That may end up being the case all month.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Thanks to <a href="https://maphead.wordpress.com/2023/11/02/nonfiction-november-2023-my-year-in-nonfiction/">Mapheads Book Blog</a> for reminding me!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> This week is hosted at <a href="https://www.spiritblog.net/my-year-in-nonfiction-2023-2/">Based on a True Story</a> and we are invited to celebrate our year in nonfiction by answering some questions. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-weight: 600; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">What books have you read?</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">So far in 2023 I have read 86 books and 43 of them were nonfiction. Sadly, not a single one of them was from the list of title I <a href="https://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/2022/11/nfn-new-to-my-tbr.html">added to my TBR</a> last November. I did add a couple of those books to my shelves, but they haven't gotten read yet.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>What were your favorites?</b></span></span></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60165392-africa-is-not-a-country">Africa is Not a Country: Notes on a Bright Continent </a></i>by Dipo Faloyin</span></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61611761-cuba">Cuba: An American History</a></i><span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;">by Ada Ferrer </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40672036-digital-minimalism">Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World</a></i><span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;">by Cal Newport</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60301229-the-love-prescription">The Love Prescription</a></i><span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> by John Gottman and Julie Schwartz Gottman</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"><a href="https://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/2023/03/the-unquiet-englishman.html">The Unquiet Englishman: A Life of Graham Greene </a></i><span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;">by Richard Greene</span></span></li></ul><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-weight: 600; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Have you had a favorite topic?</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Not really. I read pretty broadly this year--history, memoirs, project management, relationships, home design, and true crime. </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-weight: 600; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Is there a topic you want to read about more? </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I visited Dublin, Ireland for the first time this year and would like to read more about it. I compiled a book list ahead of my trip, but only got one of the books read before I went.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-weight: 600; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">What are you hoping to get out of participating in Nonfiction November?</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Suggestions for nonfiction books that I might want to add to my gi-normous TBR. Also perhaps some titles that when I read what other people thought of them I can remove from my list. </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">For an overview of #NonFicNov visit <a href="https://sheseeksnonfiction.blog/2023/10/24/nonfiction-november-2023/#more-17542">She Seeks Nonfiction</a>.</span></span></p>Mary R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12468537883595941188noreply@blogger.com2