VioletBramble's 11i n 11

For the past two years I've been with the 75 Books challenge group. I'll probably join the 75ers again but plan on reading much less in 2011. 2011 is going to be the year of the "chunkster". Approximately 50% of my planned reads are large books. The other 50% of my planned reads are small or normal sized books capable of being carried on my commutes to and from work. Also affecting my reading this year; work commitments and a certification exam early in the year, and, hopefully, returning to grad school later in the year.
I plan on starting with 4 books in 10 categories and an open 11th category. Since I know which books I plan on reading (all off the shelves) I'll actually list them. I'll add dates for when I start and complete each book.

These are my categories:
1) Global Reading
2) The Man, The Myth, The Legend
3) Song..
4) ..and Dance
5) Arrivals and Departures
6) Mad Verse, Sad Verse, Glad Verse and Bad Verse
7) Just the Facts
8) Round Up the Usual Suspects
9) Still the Body, Quiet the Mind, Discover the Spirit
10) It's Bigger on the Inside
11) The Catch Basin

1) Global Reading - literature from outside the U.S.

1) Kristin Lavransdattar- Sigrid Undset (Norway)
2) The Forgotten Garden: A Novel - Kate Morton (Australia) STARTED Apr 8
3) Among Others - Jo Walton (Wales) STARTED June 11 COMPLETEDJune 13
4) Breath - Time Winton (Australia) - STARTED June 10 COMPLETED June 11
5)The Summer Book - Tove Jansson - STARTED August 2 COMPLETED August 11

2) The Man, The Myth, The Legend - books about or based on mythology, folklore, legend

1) Beowulf: A New Verse Translation- Seamus Heaney STARTED Jan 7 COMPLETED Jan 19
2) Ilium - Dan Simmons
3) Olympos - Dan Simmons
4) The Golden Bough - James George Frazer

3) Song... - Song of Ice and Fire series CATEGORY COMPLETED

1) A Game of Thrones - George RR Martin STARTED Feb 7 COMPLETED Feb 22
2) A Clash of Kings STARTED Mar 6 COMPLETED May 6
3) A Storm of Swords STARTED May 6 COMPLETED June 14
4) A Feast for Crows STARTED June 17 COMPLETED July 5

4) ...and Dance - A Dance to the Music of Time vols 1-4

1) A Dance to the Music of Time: 1st Movement, Spring - Anthony Powell
2) A Dance to the Music of Time: 2nd Movement, Summer
3) A Dance to the Music of Time: 3rd Movement- Autumn
4) A Dance to the Music of Time: 4th Movement, Winter

5) Arrivals and Departures - travel related, travel memoirs

1) Blue Latitudes: Boldly Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone Before - Tony Horwitz STARTED July 7 COMPLETED July 20
2) The Art of Travel - Alain De Botton STARTED Feb 9 COMPLETED Feb 25
3) Traveling with Pomegranates: A Mother and Daughter Journey to the Sacred Places of Greece, Turkey and France - Sue Monk Kidd STARTED Jan 23 COMPLETED March 1
4) The Worst Journey in the World - Apsley Cherry-Garrard

6) Mad Verse, Sad Verse, Glad Verse and Bad Verse - poetry anthologies/collections CATEGORY COMPLETED - PLUS

1) A Book of Luminous Things: An International Anthology of Poetry - Czeslaw Milosz STARTED Jan 21 COMPLETED Feb 25
2) Collected Poems - Jane Kenyon - Jane Kenyon STARTED Mar 26 COMPLETED April 4
3) Poems of New York - edited by Elizabeth Schmidt STARTED Jan 1 COMPLETED Jan 20
4) Reflections: Bilingual Poems for Pensive People - Haim Schneider - STARTED & COMPLETED Mar 7
5) These Are My Rivers: New and Selected Poems 1955-1993 - Lawrence Ferlinghetti STARTED May 1 COMPLETED May 18
6) A Coney Island of the Mind - Lawrence Ferlinghetti STARTED and COMPLETED May 19
7) A Far Rockaway of the Heart - Lawrence Ferlinghetti STARTED and COMPLETED May 20
8) Dragon Talk - Fleur Adcock - STARTED/COMPLETED July 11
9) The Love Poems of Rumi - edited by Deepak Chopra STARTED and COMPLETED August 9
10) District and Circle - Seamus Heaney - STARTED and COMPLETED August 9

7) Just the Facts -- NonFiction CATEGORY COMPLETED PLUS

1) A Beginner's Guide to Acting English - Shappi Khorsandi STARTED July 1 COMPLETED July 14
2) Eating Animals - Jonathan Safran Foer STARTED July 15 COMPLETED July 22
3) The Architecture of Happiness - Alain de Botton STARTED July 15 COMPLETED July 28
4) Kundalini Yoga - Shakta kaur Khalsa STARTED Mar 17 COMPLETED Mar 26
5) Thinking in Pictures:My Life With Autism - Temple Grandin STARTED Mar 26 COMPLETED April 26
6) Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life - Amy Krouse Rosenthal STARTED sometime in March COMPLETED June 10
7) Parisian Chic - Ines de la Pressange - STARTED June 14 COMPLETED June 16

8) Round Up the Usual Suspects - mystery, crime, police procedural - Category Completed

1) Among the Mad (Maisie Dobbs Novels)- Jacqueline Winspear STARTED Mar 2 COMPLETED Mar 6
2) A Shilling for Candles - Josephine Tey STARTED Mar 9 COMPLETED Mar 19
3) A Red Herring Without Mustard - Alan Bradley STARTED August 3 COMPLETED August 8
4) Jar City: A Reykjavik Thriller - Arnaldur indridason STARTED Nov1 COMPLETED Nov 10

9) Still the Body, Quiet the Mind, Discover the Spirit -- books about meditation and Buddhism CATEGORY COMPLETED

1) Stages of Meditation - The Dalai Lama STARTED June 14 COMPLETED July 24
2) Guided Meditations on the Stages of the Path - Thubten Chodron - STARTED and COMPLETED Nov
3) Experience of Insight - Joseph Goldstein STARTED and COMPLETED Dec
4) Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within - Natalie Goldberg STARTED Jan 14 COMPLETED Jan 23

10) It's Bigger on the Inside - Short story anthologies/collections

1) The Complete Stories - Flannery O' Connor STARTED June 2
2) The Ends of the Earth: An Anthology of the Finest Writing on the Arctic and the Antarctic - Elizabeth Kolbert
3) The Signet Classic Book of Mark Twain's Short Stories - Mark Twain
4) The Faery Reel: Tales from the Twilight Realm - Ellen Datlow STARTED Mar 2 COMPLETED Mar 25

11) The Catch Basin - overflow from 2010, TIOLI and group reads, books that I just wanted to read that don't fit into my other categories.

1)Monsters of Men - Patrick Ness. STARTED Dec 28,2010COMPLETED Jan 6. Overflow from 2010.
2) Harry Potter Film Wizardry - Brian Sibley STARTED Jan 9 COMPLETED Jan 12. TIOLI Challenge - book about art/artists
3) Practice Questions for Pediatric Nursing Certification Review by Louise D Jakubik STARTED Sept 2010? COMPLETED Feb 6
4) Full-Body Flexibility Second Edition - Jay Blahnik STARTED & COMPLETED Mar 7 Early Reviewers book
5) Sandra Gustafsons's Great Eats Paris STARTED & COMPLETED Mar 20
6) Photo Guide Paris STARTED & COMPLETED Mar 20
7) Shannon: A Poem of the Lewis and Clark Expedition - Campbell McGrath STARTED April 19 COMPLETED April 20
8) The Night Bookmobile - Audrey Niffenegger STARTED and COMPLETED April 26
9) Looking at Photographs: 100 Pictures From the Collections of The Museum of Modern Art STARTED and COMPLETED May 3
10) Owls and Other Fantasies : Poems and Essays - Mary Oliver STARTED and COMPLETED May 6
11) The Evil Garden - Edward Gorey STARTED and COMPLETED May 25
12) The Poison Diaries Started May 26 COMPLETED May 27
13) The Phantom Tollbooth - Norton Juster - STARTED June 10 COMPLETED June 11
14) The Night Tourist - Katherine Marsh Started July 4 COMPLETED July 7
15) The Last Dragon - Silvana DeMari - STARTED July 8 COMPLETED July 12
16) Chicks Dig Time Lords- Lynn Thomas STARTED July 29 COMPLETED July 30
17)Tyranny - Lesley Fairfield STARTED and COMPLETED July 30
18) Skim - Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki - STARTED and COMPLETED August 3
19) The Complete Kitchen Garden - Ellen Ecker Ogden - STARTED and COMPLETED August 4
20) The Art of Gaman: Arts and Crafts from the Japanese American Internment Camps 1942-1946 - Delphine Hirasuna STARTED and COMPLETED August 11
21) Alfred Stieglitz New York - Bonnie Yochelson STARTED and COMPLETED August 11

Looks like you have some great categories and good books lined up for each one! Kristin Lavransdatter has been on my TBR list for years. I'm planning to read at least the first book in the trilogy this year, but I'm not sure I'm ambitious enough to read it all at once.

I love George R.R. Martins' Song of Ice and Fire series. I just got a note from Amazon that the next book is coming out in December 25, 2012. That's still a long way, but I'm just hoping it doesn't get pushed back again. If this isn't a re-read for you, I hope you enjoy the series.

Oh man, I have A Dance to the Music of Time on my get-to-one-of-these-days list. It will stay firmly ensconced on that list in 2011. Good luck with it and a hearty go get 'em.

#13 cbl tn - Yeah, Kristin Lavransdatter and a few of the other books on my list are somewhat overly ambitious. If I'm honest with myself I'd say it will take me a few years to read the large books on this list. But, I'm at least going to try. Whatever doesn't get read will carry over to next year ( and maybe the following year). Good luck with the first book in the trilogy.

#14 Tanglewood - Thanks. Amazon is constantly changing the publication date for the next book. I'd been putting off reading the series in hopes that the 5th book would be out soon. These books have been on my shelves for ages, (and in trade paperback size they take up a lot of space) and I really want to get to them this year. I've heard only great things about the series. I hope they live up to the hype.

#15 - Visible Ghost - LOL and thanks. The books have been on my shelves since 1996. They are pretty to look at but I figured it's time to see what's inside them.

I'm halfway through Dance to the Music of Time, though haven't read any this year. I was thinking a couple of days ago that I really should make a list of all the series and trilogies etc that I need to finish. I've enjoyed the DTTMOT books that I've read, so maybe this year I should try to squeeze the rest in somewhere, somehow.

Hi Kerry. I should make a list of current series as well. Over the years I've lost track of a few. I decided to drop a couple of them.

Currently reading:
Monsters of Men -- leftover from 2010. I promised the trilogy to a co-worker so I really need to finish this one before really getting into my 2011 books.
Harry Potter Film Wizardry - for TIOLI challenge art/artists.
Beowulf for 75 Book challenge group read.

I started reading this first book in 2010. It took longer to finish than I expected, work and stuff getting in the way of my reading. Since it's overflow I'm adding it to category 11: the catch basin. I'll try to make this review slightly different than the one on my 75 books challenge thread.

1) Monsters of Men - Patrick Ness
Fiction, YA, Series, Dystopian, 11 in 11 Challenge Category 11: Catch Basin
The conclusion to the Chaos Walking series. This third book starts at the exact place that the second book finishes. The war between The Ask, The Answer and The Spackle is about to begin. Meanwhile, a scout ship from Viola's ship lands on the hilltop near the camp of The Answer. It carries Bradley and Simone, two of Viola's teachers from the ship. It also carries WMD.Todd and Viola continue to try and make peace in order to ensure a safe world for each other. This book is narrated in three voices; Todd, Viola and a Spackle ( I won't say who --Spoilers). Ness continues to explore the themes of communication, information, control, gender politics and choices.
This book is fast paced and intense. I had to take breaks - sometimes an entire day off - while reading. The ending was sad but not unexpected. In this third book the horses give Manchee (first book) some competition as the best talking animals ever in literature.
Highly recommended.

I am new and just joined this group. I love, love, love this series. I am anxious to read your thoughts! I am organizing my groups now!

>19 VioletBramble: VioletBramble, just thought I would pop over and let you know I finished Monsters of Men Friday during the Ilana's read-a-thon. I'll be writing my review later today, but I loved the last book. I thought the third narration voice really helped balance the book. There is a prequel download from Amazon which I'm going to read this morning (it's free so I'm assuming it's a short story). Anyway, I'm glad you really enjoyed it too.

#20 - Hi Danita. I'm new to the 11 in 11 group as well. I usually do the 75 book challenge. I loved the Chaos Walking series. I managed to get numerous co-workers into the books as well. One of my co-workers even has two family members reading the books now. Spreading the book love. I'll head over to your thread to check out your categories.

***POTENTIAL SPOILERS BELOW FOR CHAOS WALKING ******

#21 Hi Michelle. I thought adding a new narrator with each book really broadened the readers view of the new world and the war. It really helped to understand why 1017 was so angry and how the noise is actually supposed to function/work. So, do you think that Todd (aka the Knife) is the knife of never letting go? Because I have been wondering what that title means. Thanks for mentioning the prequel/chapter. I have downloaded it to my Kindel.

*****END SPOILERS****

***POTENTIAL SPOILERS BELOW FOR CHAOS WALKING ******

>22 VioletBramble: I think it refers to an event in book #1. After one of the times he fails to kill someone, he says "I'm never letting go of this knife." I think it's when the event happens with Machee, not sure, but then he goes on and kills the Spackle so he then does let go of the knife.

I'm off to work but when I come back I'll try to find the pages. I thought him then letting go of it showed his guilt, which separated him from the path the Mayor wanted him on. To me, it represented final break with the Mayor (for that book ;) Anyway, just my thoughts. Interested in what you think.

*****END SPOILERS****

***POTENTIAL SPOILERS BELOW FOR CHAOS WALKING ******

#23 I don't even remember that line from the book. I guess I was all caught up in the action and feeling sad about Manchee. I think you're right.
For some reason while reading the first book I never thought about what the title meant. It wasn't until 1017 referred to Todd as The Knife that I started thinking about it.
I know the prequel - which I haven't read yet - takes place on Viola's ship. I'd like a prequel about the Spackle war and exactly what happened to the women in Prentisstown.

*****END SPOILERS****

Hi Violet. How was Bone People? It is a novel I was assigned at uni for a post-colonial lit course, and never read *blushes furiously*.

Hi FemmeNoiresque. I haven't read The Bone People yet. That's just my proposed reading list up-thread. The only books I've read are the two with completion dates. I gather from conversations in the 75 books group that it's a somewhat difficult read. I'm planning it for a summer read (tentatively). I've previously read just one book (The Whale Rider) from New Zealand and wanted to make sure I added another one this year.
You could always read the book now. Do you live in New Zealand?

I've finally finished a second book this year. The fact that it's mostly photographs and illustrations just makes it even sadder that it took this long.

2) Harry Potter Film Wizardry - Brian Sibley
NonFiction, Production Design, Illustrations, TIOLI Challenge - Art/Artists, 11 in 11 Challenge Category 11: The Catch Basin

A detailed look at the production design of the Harry Potter movies. The producers, directors and actors give insight on working with special effects, costumes, make-up, prosthetics, explosives and animated characters. Members of the production design team -- sculptors, builders, graphic artists, costumers, set design - discuss their roles and show what goes into making the world of Harry Potter look real on film.
Topics covered : how they make the Quidditch players look like they're really flying, the whomping willow whomp, the Ford Anglia fly and Moaning Myrtle come twisting up out of the u-bend.
My favorite sections were on make up/ prosthetics and graphics. Did you know that they are unable to make Ralph Fiennes look like he has a snake nose with make-up and prosthetics? They have to digitally alter his nose in every one of his scenes. The amount of graphic art work, much of which will only be on screen for a second, if at all, is staggering. They've printed thousands of copies of The Quibbler, and have shown 2 or 3 on screen. Not to mention the labels, boxes, books, proclamations and wanted posters.
Which reminds me - the extras. Included in this book are a mini marauders map, a Yule Ball program, a Weasley Wizard Wheezes catalog, labels and more. I've had to fight the urge to label things in my kitchen cupboards with stickers for lacewing flies and boonslang skin.
The book is predominantly graphics; photos/stills from the films/ filming and set building, story boards, artist and costumers drawings. Recommended for fans of Harry Potter or those interested in film production design.

Congratulations on your second book.

Like so many others I also have at least the first volume of A Dance to the Music of Time lying around for quite some time. Maybe this I'll get around to it.

3) Beowulf - translated by Seamus Heaney
Poetry, Mythology, TIOLI - Book written before the printing press, 11 in 11 Challenge Category 2: The Man, the Myth, the Legend

The epic poem about the Geat hero Beowulf who traveled to Denmark and slew Grendel and Grendel's mother. Fifty years later he battled a dragon that was terrorizing the Geat countryside.
This was my first reading of Beowulf, so I can't compare Heaney's translations to previous editions. I liked the language and descriptions Heaney used when the topic was the monsters, the monsters' body parts or grieving. Other than those sections I found the book somewhat boring. I fell asleep multiple times while attempting to read the book.
I'm glad I finally read Beowulf, I just wish that I liked it more.

4) Poems of New York - Elizabeth Schmidt
Poetry, 11 in 11 Challenge Category 6: Mad Verse, Sad Verse, Glad Verse and Bad Verse

An anthology of poetry about New York City written between 1859 and 2002. Poets in this anthology include: Walt Whitman, Amy Lowell, W. C. Williams, Langston Hughes, Elizabeth Bishop. This volume is a part of the Everyman's Library Pocket Books series and my favorite of the titles that I've read so far. I've already copied over 3 poems from the book into my 75 books challenge thread (posts #1, 16, 27). Throughout the book there are poems about Sept 11, 2001. This was the one I liked the best:

I Saw You Walking
by Deborah Garrison

I saw you walking through Newark Penn Station
in your shoes of white ash. At the corner
of my nervous glance your dazed passage
first forced me away, tracing the crescent
berth you'd give a drunk, a lurcher, nuzzling
all comers with ill will and his stench, but
not this one, not today: one shirt arm's sheared
clean from the shoulder,the whole bare limb
wet with muscle and shining dimly pink,
the other full-sheathed in cotton, Brooks Bros.
type, the cuff yet buttoned at the wrist, a
parody of careful dress, preparedness -
so you had not rolled up your sleeves yet this
morning when your suit jacket (here are
the pants, dark gray, with subtle stripe, as worn
by men like you on ordinary days)
and briefcase (you've none, reverse commuter
come from the pit with nothing to carry
but your life) were torn from you, as your life
was not. Your face itself seemed to be walking,
leading your body north, through the age
of the face, blank and ashen, passing forth
and away from me, was unclear, the sandy
crown of hair powdered white like your feet, but
underneath not yet gray - forty-seven?
forty-eight? the age of someone's father -
and I trembled for your luck, for your broad,
dusted back, half shirted, walking away;
I should have dropped to my knees to thank God
you were alive, o my God, in whom I don't believe.

Wow, what a powerful poem - it brings back that day with almost too much clarity to handle. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for posting the Elizabeth Schmidt poem. Poems of New York sounds like an excellent anthology.

Hi japaul22 and Michelle. I highly recommend Poems of New York, if you are into poetry.
Nothing new to report here. Still reading Writing Down the Bones and getting lots of helpful hints. I also downloaded Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life, peeked inside and almost couldn't put the (Kindle) book down. It's a very entertaining book of random lists. I'm doing my best to ignore it for now.
I should be studying for my certification exam. The Oxygen channel is having a Buffy the Vampire Slayer marathon today. How could they do this to me? I have no will power. I've been watching all day and pretending I'm about to go into the other room - the one without a tv- and actually start studying. It could happen.

>32 VioletBramble: That's it, I can't read anyone else's posts today! Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life is the last book I'm putting on my wishlist today (I just took a peek and like the illustrations she included). Anyway, Kelly good luck with your studying!

#33- Thanks, Michelle, I need all the luck I can get. I'm a keen procrastinator. I'm catching up on threads tonight so I can ignore the computer tomorrow. Tomorrow will be only studying and cooking... and at some point a shower.
LOL. Sorry about adding to the wish list.

5) Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within - Natalie Goldberg
Writing, Reference, NonFiction, Meditation, Buddhism, 11 in 11 Challenge Category 9: Still the Body, Quiet the Mind, Discover the Spirit, TIOLI Book with a rating between 3.8-4.2

This book is about writing - getting started, keeping at it, breaking through writer's block. Containing many short chapters, each about some aspect of writing, advice for writers, writing exercises; laced with Buddhism. I read this book in preparation for going back to University. I've been out of school a long time and have always been self conscious about anything I write. I haven't tried any of the exercises yet - but I will. For me, the best advice in the book is to approach your writing with a positive attitude and to be kind to yourself.
Big plus: this book has introduced me to a new poet; Russell Edson. This poem, about a toilet, was included in the text:

With Sincerest Regrets
By Russell Edson

Like a white snail the toilet slides into the living room,
demanding to be loved.
It is impossible, and we tender our sincerest regrets.
In the book of the heart there is no mention of plumbing.
And though we have spent our intimacy many times with you,
you belong to an unfortunate reference,
which we would rather not embrace...
The toilet slides out of the living room like a white snail,
flushing with grief...

6) Practice Questions for Pediatric Nursing Certification Review - Louise Jakubik
Test Preparation, 11 in 11 : The Catch Basin
Just a test prep book. LOTS of typos and came with a card listing all the mistakes in the questions/answers. Made me nervous, but this is the only company that does test prep for the subject I needed.

7) A Game of Thrones - George RR Martin
Fantasy, Song of Ice and Fire Series, 11 in 11 Category: Song...

Great start to the series. I felt pulled into the story immediately. Loved the multiple family histories and the multiple character points of view. I tried not to become too fond of any of the characters because I heard that Martin kills off major characters left and right. Unfortunately, I am fond of Jon, Arya, Dany and Tyrion.
It took me weeks to finish this book despite feeling "into it". I would read for what felt like a long time and realize I'd only read 6 pages. Very frustrating. I hope the rest of the series goes faster for me.

8) The Art of Travel - Alain de Botton
NonFiction, Travel, Philosophy, TIOLI book with an imbedded word, 11 in 11 category: Arrivals and Departures

The sole cause of man's unhappiness is that he does not know how to stay quietly in his room - Pascal

The above quote (taken from the final chapter) sets the tone for this book about the philosophy of travel. I was left with the impression that de Botton suffers from depression. The things I love about travel are mentioned -- seeing how people live in different cities or countries, trying new foods, learning history that is new to you, observing new flora and fauna -- but they are discussed so joylessly. What a bummer!
I did agree with two things de Botton wrote:
1) people spend too much time videotaping and photographing their entire vacation/holiday to truly enjoy and experience their new surroundings. (I do this myself)
2) people should attempt to draw what they're observing while traveling. Quoting Ruskin's The Elements of Drawing de Botton notes that drawing forces us to see things differently and remember them more accurately.
I was reading A Book of Luminous Things at the same time that I read this book. The editor of that book, Czeslaw Milosz, wrote in his introduction to the travel section:
Whatever practical reasons push people out of their homes to seek adventure, travel undoubtedly removes us from familiar sights and from everyday routine. It offers to us a pristine world seen for the first time and is a powerful means of producing wonder.
I wish Alain de Botton had read those words. He made reading about travel feel like a long weekend staying at the in-laws where you are forced to sleep on the lumpy sofa bed in the garage and you do nothing but fight the entire time.
I will give de Botton one more chance - I have The Architecture of Happiness on my reading list for later this year.

9) A Book of Luminous Things: An International Anthology of Poetry edited by Czeslaw Milosz
Poetry, 11 in 11 category : Mad Verse, Sad Verse, Glad Verse and Bad Verse

While the book claims to be an international anthology the majority of the poets are from China, the USA, Poland, Russia and France. Milosz divides the poems into chapters about nature, travel, places, moments, history, situations, epiphanies and more. He writes an introduction to each section and to each poem. Sometimes the poem introductions speak about the poet, where he/she is from, their history and what subjects they generally write about. Sometimes he would actually explain what the poem is about. i found this last somewhat annoying, as I like to try and discover what a poem is about on my own. I started reading the poem first, and then reading the introduction.
Anyway, this collection of poetry is amazing. I have flags sticking out all over this book. I can't wait to share some of these poems. I'll try to copy over some of the poems throughout the year.
If you like poetry I highly recommend this book.

10) Traveling With Pomegranates: A Mother and Daughter Journey to the Sacred Places of Greece, Turkey and France by Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor
NonFiction, Travel memoir, 11 in 11 category: Arrivals and Departures

Kidd and Taylor tell the story of their travels and their relationship in alternating chapters. The mother- daughter relationship in the Persephone- Demeter myth is alluded to frequently. Kidd continues her search for the sacred feminine that she started in The Dance of the Dissident Daughter. Taylor struggles to break free of depression and find her way as an adult. Along the way they visit convents, shrines, grottos, houses and other sacred sites devoted to the worship of Mary, St Ann, Joan of Arc, black madonnas and the crone.
Those who've read Kidd's The Secret Life of Bees may be interested in the story of what inspired Kidd and how the novel developed.
Recommended.

11) Among the Mad - Jacqueline Winspear
Mystery, Fiction, Series, 11 in 11 category: Round up the Usual Suspects

The sixth book in the Maisie Dobbs series. The story centers around the forgotten WWI veterans who were left shattered, jobless and hopeless by the British government. Some one has decided to get the government to pay attention to his demands by threatening to use deadly weapons on the public.
A pretty good addition to the series.

12) Reflections Bilingual Poems for Pensive People - Haim Schneider
Poetry, Early Reviewers

A slim (95 page) volume of poetry in German and English. The German version appears on the left hand side of the page and the English version on the right hand side. There are three poems that appear without translation - two in German, one in English. Armed with two semesters of university German and an English/German dictionary I attempted to translate the two German poems. However; my grasp of German is so poor I eventually gave up. So, my review is based only on the English versions of the poems. Upon initial reading I didn't really like these poems.I found them a little dark for my taste. After reading the book through a second time I did discover a few poems that spoke to me. I esp. liked the poems Pry Open Your Eyes, Ye Semiblind and Too Late. Here is a stanza from my favorite poem in the collection; Good Reason for Continuing to Exist:

You sapient fools, don't you know
that problems exist that have no rational solution,
that nature does not operate by high school mathematics,
that it is not in her nature to patiently unravel Gordian knots,
but to cut through them in one sweep;
that nature has long been tired of us and our arrogance,
and that one fine day she will throw us off
her long suffering back, finally and irrevocably.

13) Full Body Flexibility - 2nd Edition - Jay Blahnik
Fitness, Early Reviewers, TIOLI Book

In this second edition Jay Blahnik updates his three step method for increasing flexibility. The three steps: 1) maximize your range of motion, 2) minimize the difference between your active and passive flexibility and 3) equalize the range of motion in all quadrants of your body. Blahnik starts by describing stretching basics - types of stretches, how to breath, when to stretch (preferably after exercise, when your muscles are warm). In the second section he describes stretches for each region of the body and certain muscles or muscle groups. Each stretch gets a full page, illustrated with full color photographs that demonstrate positioning and when necessary, direction of movement. The photographs are large enough for you to see details without eye strain. I esp. liked the breathing instructions at the bottom of each page. Most of these stretches will be familiar to those who practice yoga or pilates. In the third section Blahnik groups various stretches into specific routines. So far I've tried the warm-up, the cool-down, both yoga routines and the stress-free neck and shoulders routine. Each routine was fairly straightforward and the instructions are very accessible.
This book is an excellent resource for stretching and flexibility exercises. I actually recommended the book to my friend's daughter; she's studying sports medicine/rehabilitation

14) A Shilling for Candles - Josephine Tey
Mystery, Mystery March, 11 in 11 Challenge Category: Round Up the Usual Suspects, TIOLI book in which the main title words increase or decrease by 1 letter count

Inspector Alan Grant of Scotland Yard is called to investigate the drowning death of a world famous actress. Who is the murderer? Robin Tisdale? - the handsome, broke, young man she picked up on the street who has been staying with her for weeks. Her husband, Edward Champneis? Jay Harmer? - her rumored lover and composer of the songs that made her famous. Her estranged sponge of a brother, Herbert? Any number of jealous actresses or disgruntled co-workers?
Unlike other Tey mysteries that I've read, this one actually contained a small clue for the reader.Not as good as The Daughter of Time but I found it equal to Brat Farrar. Recommended.

In Tey related news: There is a book shelf in the laundry room of my building where people place books they'd like to give away. Yesterday I discovered the book Three by Tey on the shelf. It contains two new to me books: Miss Pym Disposes and The Franchise Affair. Of course I grabbed it right up.

I read Miss Pym Disposes last month and really enjoyed it. It was my second Joesphine Tey, the first being Brat Farrar. After these two books I have resolved to try and read everything she wrote. It was such a treat to discover an author that I had somehow overlooked most of my life!

15) Faery Reel: Tales From the Twilight Realm edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling
Short Stories, Fantasy, 11 in 11 challenge category: It's Bigger on the Inside, TIOLI book with a type of dance in the title

In this collection:
The Boys of Goose Hill - Charles deLint - poem
Catnyp - Delia Sherman - set in the New York Public Library **
Elvenbrood - Tanith Lee **
Your Garnet Eyes - Katherine Vaz ****
Tengu Mountain - Gregory Frost ****
The Faery Handbag - Kelly Link *****
The Price of Glamour - Steve Berman ***
The Night Market - Holly Black ****
Never Never - Bruce Glassco *****
Screaming for Faeries - Ellen Steiber ***
Immersed in Matter - Nina Kiriki Hoffman ****
Undine - Patricia McKillip ****
The Oakthing - Gregory Maguire ***
Foxwife- Hiromi Goto ***
The Dream Eaters - A.M. Dellamonica *
The Faery Reel - Neil Gaiman - poem
The Shooter at the Heartrock Waterhole - Bill Congreve ***
The Annals of Eelin-OK - Jeffrey Ford *****
De La Tierra - Emma Bull ****
How to Find Faery - Nan Fry - poem

My favorite stories were:
Never, Never - Captain Hook is repeatedly brought back to life by TinkerBell at the whim of Peter Pan. The story from the other side.
The Faery Handbag - a girl's grandmother has a large handbag that holds an entire world of faeries into which humans can enter.
The Annals of Eelin-OK - the memoirs of a Twilmish. Twilmish are very small faeries who inhabit child built sandcastles. Their life span is as long as the sandcastle in which they live. This was my favorite story in the collection.

16) Kundalini Yoga: Unlock Your Inner Potential Through Life-Changing Exercise - Shakta Kaur Khalsa
Yoga, Fitness, TIOLI book that's not primarily meant for reading
Not just an illustrated book of yoga poses, kriyas, mudras and chakras but a guide to living a daily yoga life. Includes life style and diet tips. The life stye tips are somewhat interesting. A few have been mentioned in class by my yoga instructor - comb your hair with a wooden comb, brush your tongue when you brush your teeth to clear your throat of mucous, take cold showers in the morning. She neglected to mention the shower shorts. Yes, showers shorts. Worn to protect your femurs from the cold water.

I had initially planned to go to Fuji Five Lakes in Japan for my vacation in May. I considered going to Paris instead, so I read these two books , looking for vegetarian restaurants and places to see. I've decided to stay home and paint my apartment instead. My mother is relieved. She's worried the Libyans may retaliate against the French while I'm in Paris. I guess that could happen.

17) Sandra Gustafson's Great Eats Paris
Travel, Food and Drink

So, there are actually 4 or 5 vegetarian restaurants in Paris. Otherwise, tea shops appear to be the way to go. Will memory bank these facts for a later trip.

18) Paris Photo Guide
Travel, photos

Pretty much what it sounds like. The photos are beautiful and the maps are large enough for even a glasses wearing presbyopic like me to be able to read. This book will definitely come in handy.... some day.

#42 Hi Delta Queen. Thanks for visiting my thread. I've really enjoyed the three Tey books I've read so far. Not your usual mystery/police procedural. Although she doesn't give the reader much in the way of clues.

19) Jane Kenyon Collected Poems - Jane Kenyon
Poetry, 11 in 11 Category: Mad Verse, Sad Verse, Glad Verse and Bad Verse, TIOLI Book of Poetry for Poetry Month - April

This collection contains all of Kenyon's previously published poems, some unpublished poems and her translations of the poetry of Russian poet Anna Akhmatova. Kenyon's poems are straightforward and beautiful. Most of her poems are about rural living, marriage, illness, death and depression. Kenyon suffered from depression her entire life. Here is part of a multiple part poem about depression:

Having it Out with Melancholy
1. From the Nursery

When I was born, you waited
behind a pile of linen in the nursery,
and when we were alone,you lay down
on top of me, pressing
the bile of desolation into every pore.

And from that day on
everything under the sun and moon
made me sad - even the yellow
wooden beads that slid and spun
along a spindle on my crib.

You taught me to exist without gratitude.
You ruined my manners toward God:
"We're here simply to wait for death;
the pleasures of earth are overrated."

I only appeared to belong to my mother,
to live among blocks and cotton undershirts
with snaps; among red tin lunch boxes
and report cards in ugly brown slipcases.
I was already yours - the anti-urge,
the mutilator of souls.

Here's another one I liked: (peonies are my favorite flower and I'm loving the word luxuriance)

Peonies at Dusk

White peonies blossoming along the porch
send out light
while the rest of the yard grows dim.

Outrageous flowers as big as human
heads! They're staggered
by their own luxuriance: I had
to prop them with stakes and twine.

The moist air intensifies their scent,
and the moon moves around the barn
to find out what it's coming from.

In the darkening June evening
I draw a blossom near, and bending close
search it as a woman searches
a loved one's face.

20) Shannon:A Poem of the Lewis and Clark Expedition - Campbell McGrath
Poetry, TIOLI Striking Cover Art, 11 in 11 Category : Catch Basin

Who finds this body
Be it known
My name is George Shannon
& I bequeath my remains
To seed this land
With American bones

This poem tells the story of George Shannon. George Shannon was the youngest member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. He was just 19 in 1804 when he became separated from the rest of the group and wandered in the Nebraska and South Dakota territories for 16 days. He followed the Missouri River attempting to catch up with the rest of the expedition. He had actually gotten ahead of the expedition - they were detained when dealing with local tribes they met along the river. When they found him he had nearly starved to death.
Since Shannon did not keep a journal on the expedition McGrath has fictionalized his lost 16 days and included some information from the official journals of Lewis and Clark. I found the sections where Shannon was starting to hallucinate from lack of food very inventive. I liked this poem a lot - it was inventive, fun, sad and informative.
Also a big plus in my book - there was a mention of the Kickapoo Indian tribe. My maternal great grandmother was Kickapoo Indian. Mentions of the Kickapoo are rare.
Recommended

21) Thinking in Pictures - Temple Grandin
NonFiction, April is Autism Awareness Month read, 11 in 11 Category: Just the Facts

Temple Grandin is a woman with autism, a doctor of animal science, the designer of one third of all animal handling facilities in the US and a national speaker on autism.
I picked up this book after seeing the film Temple Grandin. I expected the book to be more autobiographical - like the movie. The book touches on many of the autobiographical elements that were explored in the movie. However; the book also includes a lot of scientific information about autism, medication and educational methods. Recommended.

22) The Night BookMobile - Audrey Niffenegger
Graphic Novel, Books about books, 11 in 11 Category: Catch Basin

A woman walking around the streets of Chicago in the early morning hours discovers a Winnebago that holds a collection of books. The librarian, Mr Openshaw invites her in to see the collection. The woman. Alexandra, discovers that the Night Bookmobile holds everything she's ever read - including her diary. At dawn the library closes. Alexandra searches for the Night Bookmobile often over many years. She becomes a librarian. When she finds the bookmobile again she realizes what she must do to become the librarian of a collection.
This is a thought provoking book about reading, books and all the things dedicated readers give up in order to spend their time reading.This slim, 35 page, book is slightly depressing and the first in a planned series about The Library.
I wasn't fond of the graphics. They were just okay. I prefer graphic novels that have more details in the art work.

23) Looking at Photographs: 100 Pictures From the Collection of the Museum of Modern Art - John Szarkowski
Photography, 11 in 11 category: Catch Basin, TIOLI - Library book challenge

Szarkowski discusses the various photography equipment, film developing processes, image framing, photo altering techniques and occasionally, subject selection that were used by the photographers of 100 pictures from the MOMA Collection.
I borrowed this from the library mainly to look at the photographs in the book. I was surprised to find that I enjoyed the text in the book much more than I enjoyed looking at the photographs. Recommended for photography fans.

24) A Clash of Kings- George R.R. Martin
Fiction, Fantasy, 11 in 11 Category: Song.., TIOLI challenge - book where the authors name or title contains a type of bird, Series

The second book in The Song of Ice and Fire series. Five men (and their followers) battle to become King of the Seven Kingdoms. The Stark family is scattered throughout Westernos, many dead or feared dead. The Wildlings from Beyond the Wall are assembling and marching south towards the Wall.
It took me two months to read this book. I blame the fact that at near 800 pages the book is just too large to carry around. The story remains intense - no character is safe. I'm loving this series so far. Highly recommended.

25) Owls and Other Fantasies: Poems and Essays - Mary Oliver
Poetry, Essays, 11 in 11 Category: Catch Basin, TIOLI Challenge book about wild animals

This collection contains 26 poems and 2 essays about various species of birds. I was already a fan of Oliver's nature poetry about the many bird and animal species she observes in the marshlands of Cape Cod. This was the first time I'd read any of her essays. One of the essays, titled Bird, tells the tale of an injured gull Oliver found on the beach. The gull had an injured wing and two injured feet. It couldn't fly or walk. Despite her better judgement Oliver took the gull home. The gull lived in her home for months and became a part of her life as Oliver waited for him to die. I read this essay on the train on my way to see my mother for Mother's Day. This essay was so beautiful it made me cry. I sat on a NJ Transit train sobbing over an essay about a gull. This is how Oliver described the gull: Imagine lifting the lid from a jar and finding it filled not with darkness but with light. Bird was like that. Startling, elegant, alive. I loved this entire collection, but esp the gull essay. Highly recommended.

White Owl Flies Into and Out of the Field -- Mary Oliver

Coming down
out of the freezing sky
with its depths of light,
like an angel,
or a buddha with wings,
it was beautiful
and accurate,
striking the snow and whatever was there
with a force that left the imprint
of the tips of its wings --
five feet apart -- and the grabbing
thrust of its feet,
and the indentation of what had been running
through the white valleys
of the snow --

and then it rose, gracefully,
and flew back to the frozen marshes,
to lurk there,
like a little lighthouse,
in the blue shadows --
so I thought:
maybe death
isn't darkness after all,
but so much light
wrapping itself around us --

as soft as feathers --
that we are instantly weary
of looking, and looking, and shut out eyes,
not without amazement,
and let ourselves be carried,
as through the translucence of mica,
to the river
that is without the least dapple or shadow --
that is nothing but light -- scalding, aortal light --
in which we are washed and washed
out of our bones.

These three books were read for the TIOLI Beat author challenge. Lawrence Ferlinghetti is the co-founder of City Lights Books and Publishing in San Francisco. I hadn't read any of his poetry until earlier this year. Ferlinghetti writes about politics, childhood, sex, human relationships, the natural world and the everyday. I wanted to copy some of his poems into my thread but he uses particular line breaks that are impossible to duplicate on LT. Between that and the lack of punctuation in his poems some of the impact of the poems is lost.
26) - These Are My Rivers: New and Selected Poems 1955-1993 - a selection of poems from his previous 12 volumes of poetry, plus 27 new poems. I enjoyed this book; the selection of poems was varied in style and tone. Recommended.
27) A Far Rockaway of the Heart - published in 1997, this book is considered a sequel to his 1958 book A Coney Island of the Mind. The poems here are about childhood and family. Ferlinghetti's father died before he was born and his mother entered an asylum shortly after that. Ferlinghetti was raised by his Aunt Emily, by strangers and sometimes in an orphanage. The poems in this book were often sad, which I usually like, but.. this was my least favorite of the three books.
28) A Coney Island of the Mind - The version I read was the 50th anniversary edition that includes an audio CD of Ferlinghetti reading 29 of the poems. The book includes all the poems from the original printing. The CD includes 7 poems with jazz accompaniment by the Cellar Jazz Quintet that appears to have been recorded in 1957. The poems are wonderful and hearing them read aloud by Ferlinghetti - who sounds like comedian George Carlen- is a treat. I highly recommend not only this 50th anniversary edition, but also any edition of the book you can find.

The printing press has made poetry too silent. I want it to be heard, to have the direct impact of speech.
Lawrence Ferlinghetti. 1958

I keep forgetting to update my thread here.

29) The Evil Garden - Edward Gorey
Typical Gorey. Black and white, gothic illustrations that tell the story of a family that spends the afternoon in the Evil Garden. They are all eaten or killed by the plants or wildlife of the garden.
If you like Gorey, you'll like this book.

30) The Poison Diaries: From the collection of The Duchess of Northumberland.
Illustrated by Colin Stimpson
This book was recommended by Michelle/Tanglewood
This is the journal of Weed, an apprentice to an apothecary. The plants talk to Weed and tell him all their secrets.
Great story. Amazing, beautiful illustrations. Recommended, esp if you like plants, herbology.

I read the following while on vacation down the Jersey shore:

31)Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life - Amy Krouse Rosenthal
An alphabetical encyclopedia of the every day, memories and ephemera as they pertain to the life of the author. The illustrations are very funny. I read the Kindle version; sometimes the pictures would show up 2 or 3 pages after the descriptive paragraph. The actual book version would probably be better. An entertaining read. Recommended if you're looking for something fun that requires little effort on your part.

32 )Breath - Tim Winton
This was a perfect beach read. Like all of Winton's books that I've read so far this one is about two teenage boys who live in Western Australia in the 1970s. They become friends with a champion surfer, Sandor, who turns the boys on to the thrill of risk taking. The boys challenge each other to take bigger risks. Sandor plays the boys against each other in an attempt to get them to enter into more and more dangerous situations. Highly recommended.

33) The Phantom Tollbooth - Norton Juster
One of those classics of children's literature that I just never got around to reading. Fun, fun word play. Loved it. Also perfect to read on the beach. Also, do not recommend the Kindle version - the problem with illustrations showing up too many pages after the text continued with this book.

34) Among Others - Jo Walton
Recommended by Faith/dkphoenix.
Wonderful YA fantasy book about elves, magic, boarding school, libraries, book groups and SciFi books. Each chapter mentions multiple classics of SciFi or uses them as examples to illustrate a point. I read this on the Kindle as well - my only problem being that I wanted to mark all these book titles so I could look them up later. I didn't want to bookmark them so that they'd show up highlighted for all other Kindle readers. However; many previous readers had no qualms about that so the titles were easy to find and list once I returned from the beach. Highly recommended, esp to fans of YA, fantasy and SciFi.

35) Storm of Swords - George RR Martin
The third book in The Song of Ice and Fire series. The series keeps getting better. Each book is still taking a long time to finish. Loving this series so far.

36) Parisian Chic: A Style Guide - Ines de la Pressange with Sophie Gachet
Part of the pile of Paris books. This is part Paris shopping guide and part style guide.
What I have learned: my preference for wearing loafers with long pants and no socks - as opposed to with shorts - means I am irrevocably unfashionable. I have always suspected this.

37) A Feast for Crows - George RR Martin
Fantasy Fiction, 11 in 11 Challenge Category : Song

The fourth book in The Song of Ice and Fire series. A number of the characters in this book are new. Some of the returning characters are not the ones whose stories I care about. I did like the Arya chapters and enjoyed the Brienne, Jaime and Sam chapters well enough. Very little progress is made in the overall story. Everyone continues in their own separate stories. No word about the dragons and very little about the Others.
I think I will wait to read A Dance With Dragons until the paperback comes out or the Kindle price drops a bit.

38) The Night Tourist - Katherine Marsh
YA, Mystery, TIOLI Challenge Edgar Award for Best Juvenile Mystery, 11 in 11 Category: The Catch Basin

Jack, a 14 year old Latin language genius, lives in New Haven with his professor father. One day Jack is hit by a car. His father sends him, on the train, by himself, to see a doctor in New York City. While in Grand Central Terminal Jack meets a girl named Euri. (Oh, I forgot to mention that Jack is translating the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, and it is sort of an obsession for him) Jack soon figures out that Euri is a ghost and together they go on a quest in the NYC underworld searching for Jack's mother. Jack's mother died in NYC years ago. As in Orpheus, there are rules - don't eat anything, don't look back -, and familiar characters - Cerberus. Jack must return from the underworld before dawn of the third day or die.
I thought the story was okay. I wouldn't read the sequel. It's a good introduction to the Orpheus myth for young readers. I did like the bits that showed hidden parts of NYC or told little known secrets of the city.

39)Dragon Talk - Fleur Adcock
Poetry, 11 in 11 Challenge Category: Mad verse, Sad verse, Glad verse and Bad verse

A new collection from New Zealand poet Fleur Adcock. The poems are about her family's move to England during WWII. The poems start with the family packing to leave New Zealand, their arrival in England and subsequent multiple moves to other towns and homes, their return to New Zealand after the war and poems of more recent events that evoke those times for Adcock. The poems are straightforward and some are humorous.

Illiterate
by Fleur Adcock

That gaping boredom before I learned to read -
sitting on the sheepskin rug, wailing
'Mummy, I don't know what to do!'

(The baby asleep, no one to play with,
no kindergarten until the morning,
and no idea when the afternoon would end.)

'Why don't you do some colouring in?' she'd say.
'Here are the crayons'- except I though she called them
'crowns', like what the King wore on his head.

It was sometimes hard to get a grip on words.
That snail bread, for example: I watched her slice it,
waiting for the knife to expose a shell.

There was always something new to puzzle out,
and old stuff to unlearn (the singular
of matches, it turned out, was match, not 'matcher').

Thank God Chicken Licken came along,
a year or two later, to rescue me.
Life makes a lot more sense when you can spell.

( I liked the above poem because, my parents, who have/had Philadelphia accents, pronounced the word 'crayon' as 'crown'.)

The Mill Stream
by Fleur Adcock

And what was the happiest day I remember?
It was when we went to the Mill Stream -

my sister and I and the Morris kids.
We wore our bathing-suits under our dresses

(subterfuge), crossed the live railway lines
(forbidden), and tramped through bluebell woods.

There was a bridge with green and brown shadows
to lurk among in the long afternoon.

Chest high in the stream, with pointy water-snails
as escorts, I could hardly believe my luck.

Happiness is chemical. Sunshine and water
trigger it. (And I couldn't even swim.)

40) The Last Dragon - Silvana DeMari
Young Adult, Fantasy, TIOLI YA Fantasy Book for fantasy July, 11 in 11 Challenge: Catch Basin

The story of Yorsh, the last elf, and Ebrow , the last dragon. Together they fulfill a prophecy that stops the endless rain and flooding and saves the world. The first section, where Yorsh meets the man and the woman and discovers the prophecy was fun. The second section where Yorsh raises the baby dragon was okay. The third section, where Yorsh and Ebrow leave the mountain to find a bride for Yorsh - as prophesied- was okay. Yorsh meets Robi, the daughter of the man and the woman from section one.
I found the writing to be a little uneven and lazy. The dragon was the cause of all the rain in one chapter. In the next, oh no, he wasn't - it was just coincidence. Despite evidence to the contrary that was already presented. Maybe the author didn't want the children who read the book to be upset with the dragon for all the suffering and death he unwittingly caused. Sometimes the characters would find themselves in a bind and then suddenly, they're fine, because, all elves (or dragons) can do "whatever" (insert needed skill here). This happened a few times. The evil characters were evil in an over - the- top fashion (think Series of Unfortunate Events type villains). The ending was strange and includes the death of a major character. The only thing I liked about the ending was that Yorsh didn't know that Robi was his bride to be from the prophecy, and that she knew but had no plans to inform him.
It's an okay book. The intended age group would probably like it a lot more than I did. 3/5 stars.

41) A Beginner's Guide to Acting English - Shappi Khorsandi
NonFiction, 11 in 11 Challenge: Just the Facts, Memoir

Shappi Khorsandi moved from Tehran to London in 1976. She was 3 years old. Her father, Hadi Khorsandi, was transferred to London by the newspaper for which he worked. Hadi Khorsandi was a poet and cartoonist with a comedic political leaning. The Khorsandi family become political exiles in the UK during the Iranian revolution. This is Khorsandi's memoir of moving to a new country with a different language and very different culture. She tells of going to school, speaking no English, trying to make friends and figure out the new rules.
I heard about this book when the author, who is a stand up comic in the UK, was on The Graham Norton show. She told a number of humorous stories about her family. While there is a good portion of the book that is very funny, this is often overshadowed by the family's political situation. Hadi Khorsandi was on the Ayatollah Khomeini's hit list. The family actually went into hiding at one point (one of the funniest stories in the book). Recommended.

42) Blue Latitudes: Boldly Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone Before - Tony Horwitz
NonFiction, Travel, History, 11 in 11 Category: Arrivals and Departures

Part history, part travel memoir. Horwitz follows the same course that British Naval Explorer, Captain James Cook took on his three expeditions to map the South Pacific, and the west coast of North America. Instead of going by ship, Horwitz goes by plane, and occasionally ferry. He goes to New Zealand, Australia, Bora Bora, Tahiti, Alaska, Hawaii and many small island nations. Horwitz sets out to see how Cook is remembered and how Cook's discovery of these remote places that were later colonized affected the indigenous cultures. Turns out that Cook is mainly remembered for bringing disease, a desire for material goods and the eventual destruction of most of the culture and customs of these lands.
Horwitz is one of my favorite authors. Like all of his books, this one is well researched, well written and funny. Recommended.

43) Eating Animals - Jonathan Safran Foer
NonFiction, Animal welfare, Vegetarian, 11 in 11 Category: Just the Facts

Upon the birth of his son the author decides to find out where his food comes from and how it is produced. He takes an in depth look at factory farming of chickens, turkeys, pigs and salmon in the USA and it's effects on the environment, the genetics of the animals, the effects that wide spread over use of antibiotics and growth hormones have on the animals and the humans that ingest them and the dehumanizing effects of working in a slaughterhouse. He also investigates the laws that cover animal cruelty and welfare and the agencies responsible for enforcing those laws. His requests to large corporations to see their operations go unanswered. He ends up sneaking into these facilities. It becomes obvious to Foer that these companies care nothing about the animals they raise or the customers who buy their product, they care only about profits.
I've been a vegetarian for over 40 years. I don't remember why I bought this book - probably the thought provoking reviews here on LT. I already knew a lot of the information provided in the book. I did learn a few scary new tidbits. Gigantic shit lagoons that leak into community water tables. The "fecal soup" that can comprise 11% of every frozen chicken. The double role of the USDA as consumer watchdog and PR for these agribusinesses.
This book jumps all over the place. It could have used a good editor or some organization. My favorite parts were the testimonials from people in the business and people in the animal rights movement. Many of these testimonials made me cry. This book is not for everyone. Avoid it if you are squeamish or overly sensitive.

Even animals understand the misery of suffering as unbearable and wish to be free of it. - The Dalai Lama
(from book #44 below, which I was reading at the same time.)

44) Stages of Meditation - His Holiness the Dalai Lama
NonFiction, Meditation, Buddhism, 11 in 11 Category Still the Body, Quiet the Mind

The text of a commentary by the Dalai Lama on the classic Buddhist meditation handbook by Kamalashila. Lovely in parts, but it mostly went right over my head.

Great reviews! I'm interested in reading Dragon Talk, A Beginner's Guide to Acting English and Blue Latitudes, but it looks like only the last will be easy to get through my library system.

Thanks.

Thanks Dejah. I had trouble finding the first two books - they were on the wish list for awhile.

45) The Architecture of Happiness - Alain deBotton
NonFiction, Architecture, 11 in 11 Category: Just the Facts

The philosophy of architecture and the psychology of our relationship with our environments. deBotton explains why we like the look and feel of some places while others make us uncomfortable. I enjoyed this book more than his The Art of Travel, which I read earlier this year. This book is easier to read, it's more fun, has better photographs and the prose flows. I could tell he likes architecture better than traveling - deBottons biases and moods are still evident. Some examples:

We require consistency in our buildings, for we are ourselves frequently close to disorientation and frenzy....We require that our environments act as guardians of a calmness and direction on which we have a precarious hold.

That we need art in the first place is a sign that we stand in almost permanent danger of imbalance, of failing to regulate our extremes, of losing our grip on the golden mean between life's great opposites: boredom and excitement, reason and imagination, simplicity and complexity, safety and danger, austerity and luxury.

This is my favorite passage:

When buildings talk it is never with a single voice. Buildings are choirs rather than soloists, they possess a multiple nature from which arise opportunities for beautiful consonance as well as dissension and discord.

I bought this book after seeing the movie 500 Days of Summer. The main character is reading this book in the movie. He has a job at a greeting card company, writing the sentiments inside the cards, because he's been unable to get a job as an architect. After falling apart he decides to get his act together and apply for jobs at architectural firms. In preparation he is seen drawing drafts of buildings on his chalk board apartment walls (where can I get these?), reading this book and taking in the architecture of downtown Los Angeles. In fact, the movie, while claiming to be a love story, is more a love letter to architecture. The architecture of LA specifically. Architecture saves the protagonist from the frenzy and imbalance of his life. Loved the movie, liked the book (3.5 stars) -- recommend them both.

46) Chicks Dig Time Lords: A Celebration of Doctor Who by the Women Who Love It - edited by Lynne M. Thomas and Tara O'Shea
NonFiction, Essays, 11 in 11 Category: Just the Facts, Doctor Who

27 essays written by female Doctor Who fans about their experiences with Doctor Who fandom. Topics covered include fan fiction, fanzines, Doctor Who Magazine, conventions, cosplay, how they discovered Doctor Who, feminism in the show and favorite Doctors and companions (multiple essays about the change in Rose). Actually, a few of the essays are either interviews with or written by actresses who played roles in the television show or on the radio. The majority of the essays are written by American fans who are active in Doctor Who fandom, specifically Chicago Tardis (annual DW convention).
I learned a lot about the earlier years of Doctor Who. In the late 70's/ early 80s I had seen a few episodes with Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen, but my Who viewing in predominantly New Who.
Some essays were interesting, some informative, some rambling and boring -- a mixed bag. It's really less for fans of the show itself and more for the fan interested in fandom activities.

I'm not planning on keeping this book, so, if anyone is interested in reading it, just PM me and I'll send it out to you.

47) Tyranny - Lesley Fairfield
Graphic Novel, Borrowed from Library

A small, 114 page, but powerful graphic novel about the tyranny of eating disorders. Anna panics when she enters puberty, sure that she has become huge. Added pressures from co-workers, the media, the fashion industry and imagined pressures from her boyfriend send her into the abyss of anorexia.
The author uses her own 30 year struggle with eating disorders as inspiration.
Recommended

48)Trickster: Native American Tales. A Graphic Collection
Graphic Novel, Borrowed from Library

Multiple writers and artists adapt native American tales into graphic form. A quick, fun read. I like the different artistic styles and the color palette used throughout the book. The first story of how the stars got in the night sky is my favorite.
Recommended

->60 VioletBramble:

Chalk board paint!! :) RustOleum makes a really good one.

I've been looking at the Doctor Who-book, but if it's more about fans than the show, it might just find itself removed from the wishlist. :)

#62 bookoholic - Thanks. Is it a spray paint? I'll look it up.
I'd say the Doctor Who book breaks down at 65% fans talking about Doctor Who fandom and 35% fans talking about Doctor Who. It wasn't what I was expecting.

49) Skim - Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki
Graphic Novel, Borrowed from Library

Coming of age tale about Kimberly (aka Skim - called that because she's not), a depressed overweight 10th grader. She practices witchcraft, feels alienated from her peers and suspects that everyone is watching her as a suicide risk. (her school is on teen suicide alert after the suicide of a boy from town) Skim begins a romantic relationship with her English teacher, Ms. Archer. Skim is hurt and confused when Ms Archer leaves town and the school suddenly.

50) The Complete Kitchen Garden: An Inspired Collection of Garden Designs and 100 Seasonal Recipes - Ellen Ecker Ogden
Gardens, Food & Drink, Plants, Borrowed from Library

For some reason this book was in the poetry section at my local library. I loved the pictures of the gardens, so.. I checked out the book. Directions on how to start a kitchen garden of various types - salad lover's garden, children's garden, culinary herb garden, country garden, patio garden and many more. 100 recipes are included in the book, a number of which are vegetarian and have been photocopied (but not attempted at this time).
If I ever realize my dream of living some place where I can have a garden and a dog I will buy a copy of this book. Maybe when I retire. (if retirement is still an option at that time) Recommended.

51) A Red Herring Without Mustard Alan Bradley
Mystery, Series, TIOLI Book with a food in the title

The third book in the Flavia deLuce mystery series. This one involves the attempted murder of a gypsy fortune teller, a baby that went missing years ago and the death of a local small time thief. Once again 11 year old Flavia pedals around the town of Bishop's Lacey and it's environs on her trusty bicycle, Gladys. In this book the local police and her father finally realize that Flavia spends too much time unsupervised, roaming the countryside and getting into dangerous situations.
The mysteries in this third book were much better than in the second book. Recommended.

->63 VioletBramble:

It's a roll-on, I think. I haven't done it, only seen the result at a friends' - looks very cool, but prepare to sweep up chalk-remnants from the floor unless you do a limited space and have a "catch-bar" at the bottom.

Thanks for that review - I'll definitely take the DW-book off my wishlist!

52) The Love Poems of Rumi - edited by Deepak Chopra
Poetry, Borrowed from library , 11 in 11 Category: Mad verse, Sad verse, Glad verse and Bad verse

A small collection of the love poetry of the Persian poet Rumi. Recommended.

BITTERSWEET
by Rumi

In my hallucinations
I saw my beloved's flower garden
In my vertigo
In my dizziness
In my drunken haze
whirling and dancing
like a spinning wheel
I saw myself
as the source of existence

I was there in the beginning
and I was the spirit of love

Now I am sober
There is only the hangover
and the memory of love
And only the sorrow
I yearn for happiness
I ask for help
I want mercy

And my love says

Look at me and hear me
because I'm here just for that
I am your moon
and your moonlight too
I am your flower garden
and your water too
I have come all this way
eager for you
without shoes and shawl
I want you to laugh
to kill all your worries
to love you
to nourish you

O Sweet Bitterness!
I will soothe you and heal you
I will bring you roses
I too have been covered with thorns

and here's a short poem from Birdsong:

In your light I learn how to love.
In your beauty, how to make poems.

You dance inside my chest,
where no one sees you,

but sometimes I do, and that
sight becomes this art.

53) District and Circle - Seamus Heaney
Poetry, Borrowed from library, 11 in 11 Category: mad verse, sad verse, glad verse and bad verse

Not my favorite collection of poetry by Heaney. There were only 3 poems in the collection that I liked. I can't exactly put my finger on what I didn't like about the poems. They weren't bad poems, they just didn't speak to me.

54) The Summer Book - Tove Jansson
Fiction

This is a lovely little book of 22 connected short stories about a six year old girl, Sophia, and her grandmother as they spend a summer on their island in the Gulf of Finland. Sophia's father is there as well, but he is mostly in the background. In one of the earlier stories it is briefly mentioned that Sophia's mother has died. No one talks about this directly but it is always just under the surface. Whenever Sophia takes notice of death around her on the island she panics. In one story; Of Angelworms and Others, Sophia ( after accidentally cutting a worm in two) dictates a book to her grandmother. In this book she sets down her feelings about the small things - those creatures you can't avoid stepping on or hurting, that die slowly and won't let you help them. This was one of my favorite stories. Most of the stories are about everyday life on a very small island - surviving, salvaging, planting, keeping water in the well and an eye on the weather.
This is a book to be read slowly and savored. I'd recommend reading it in the summer.

55) The Art of Gaman: Arts and Crafts from the Japanese American Internment Camps 1942-1946 - Delphine Hirasuna
Art, Folk art, History

Gaman - enduring the seemingly unbearable with patience and dignity

In 1942 120,000 Japanese Americans, mostly from the west coast, were imprisoned in internment camps. These camps were in desolate, mainly dessert areas, in California, Arizona, Utah, Colorado and other western states. The internees were allowed to bring only the belongings that they could carry. They were housed in barracks of six one room units, each unit shared by two families and furnished only by cots. The internees started making needed furnishings from scrap wood and other materials found in the camps. Eventually they started making art and crafts from the different materials available in each camp: shells, slate, scrap wood, manzanita, ironwood, mesquite, onion sack string, pipe cleaners, wire, rocks, toothpicks, old clothes and electrical insulation board. They reused paper and melted down scrap metal to make scissors and chisels. The internees used arts and crafts as a way to escape from a situation that they couldn't control.
The book contains a history of the camps and many black and white photographs of life in the camps. 150 color photographs of the art and crafts are included. The art is folksy, beautiful, utilitarian, cultural. Looking at these photographs you get a sense of the spirit of a people who had had almost everything taken from them and were enduring the best that they could.
The author is third generation Japanese American whose family had been interned at Jerome, Arkansas. (before she was born) Many of the art works were collected from her family and friends' families.
My previous knowledge of the Japanese American internment camps comes from the book Farewell to Manzanar. This was a favorite book in junior high school. We never learned this part of American history in school. I feel inspired now to re-read that book ---it's been around 35 years since my last reading.
Highly recommended.

56) Alfred Stieglitz New York - Bonnie Yochelson
Art, Photography

I have had a poster of Edward Steichen's photograph of The Flatiron Building hanging on my bedroom wall since I was a teenager. Looking at this poster daily led to the development of a little obsession with the Flatiron building and any art work depicting the Flatiron building. (actual name : The Fuller Building). This obsession led me to the photography of Alfred Stieglitz.
This volume is a collection of all the New York City photographs by Stieglitz. A history of Stieglitz's life in NYC and Europe, his photography, his marriages and the galleries, magazines and photographic organizations he founded comprises the text of the book. His photography is compared to the paintings and photographs of other artists, many who inspired him, depicting the same subjects (images included in the book) and in my opinion, often found not to be as good as the work that had inspired him. It's obvious that he sometimes copied other artists styles outright. The text describes that photographers sometimes did this copying of style as a challenge among friends.
The photography is beautiful. I love Stieglitz's older NYC photos --- ground level, rain and snow covered scenes. His later photos, shot from high rise windows are not as interesting to me. I realize that they were considered ground breaking at the time because most people had not seen NYC from above.

#65 Thanks bookoholic13 - I'll keep a catch-bar in mind. I wonder if Home Depot has those. I might just try a small wall first. My building has "fire-proof" construction, so, some of my apartment walls are made of concrete. I can't hang or stick anything onto them. I might as well try making a chalk board.

57) Yoga for a Beautiful Face - Lourdes Julian Cabuk
Yoga, Exercise, 11 in 11 Category: Catch Basin, Early Reviewers

The subtitle of this book is Easy Exercises to Help You Look Young Again. Judging by the photographs, the author, Lourdes Julian Cabuk, is either blessed with good genetics or these facial exercises are indeed effective. The book is divided into three parts. Part 1 explains the 17 facial exercises. The descriptions are accessible and the photographs of each exercise are large and easy to see. The color palate of the photographs in this section - mainly pink and chartreuse - is calming. These exercises can be done alone or added onto your usual yoga practice. Part 2 focuses on yoga poses for the abdomen and spine, many incorporating the use of a chair, and breathing exercises. I particularly liked the section on internal and external cleansing that is part of the daily exercise program. The majority of this section will be familiar to those who already practice yoga. Part 3 outlines a daily ( actually 6 days a week) program of basic yoga, meditation, mudras ( an extensive listing) and nutrition. There is a chart of Healthy and Unhealthy Food Combinations. My only problem with this book is in regard to this chart. The chart gives the combination of cheese and dairy products a 1. 1 being a perfect combination of food. Two pages prior to the chart the author stated that cheese and ice cream (a dairy product) are the two most fattening foods. Since cheese, milk, yogurt and butter are each listed separately on the chart I can only assume that the category dairy products consists of ice cream and other creams. Anyway, I didn't understand how this food combination could be considered perfect. Beyond that issue I found the book informative and have already started incorporating the facial exercises and cleansing into my daily routine. Only time will tell if they will make me beautiful.

58)Wicked Autumn: A Max Tudor Novel by G.M. Malliet
Mystery, Early Reviewers, 11 in 11 Category: Round up the Usual Suspects

The first book in the Max Tudor Mystery series. Max Tudor is the Anglican priest for the village of Nether Monkslip. He is also a former MI5 agent. Nether Monkslip is shaken - sorta - by the murder of Wanda Batton-Smythe, head of the Women's Institute. Wanda was murdered during the Harvest Fayre. Wanda was running the farye with all the diplomatic skills of a Latin American dictator and was known to have had run -ins with numerous inhabitants of the village. The entire village is suspect in her murder. The local police ask Max to help them out. I had figured out fairly early the identity of the person that wanted Wanda dead, but not how it was accomplished.
This is the first cozy mystery I have ever read. Because it's the first book in a planned series a lot of time is spent introducing the village and many of it's inhabitants. In some sections of the book there was paragraph after paragraph of character introduction. It was a bit too much at times. I would be interested in reading the second book in the series to see how some of the characters -- Max, Awena and Lily--- develop.

60) Drinking at the Movies - Julia Wertz
Graphic Novel, Memoir, Borrowed from library

This graphic novel/ collection of comic strips is Julia Wertz's memoir of the year after she graduated from college, broke up with her boyfriend and moved to Brooklyn without a job plan. She chronicles all the dead end jobs, bad dates, various apartments and many, many bottles of beer and whiskey. She examines her binge drinking and compares it to her brothers' drug addiction. (her brother ODs and enters rehab twice during this year) Wertz shows us her life, warts and all. Except for the drawings of the exteriors and interiors of her apartments - which take up two full pages each - each page has 6 to 8 small panels, in black and white. I like her drawing style- simple, but detailed when the story requires.

59) Flotsam - David Wiesner
61) Black and White - David Macauley
Children's Literature, Picture book, Illustrations, Borrowed from library

Flotsam tells the story of a boy who finds an underwater camera washed up onto the beach. He develops the film in the camera and discovers an amazing world. The illustrations of the beach, the sea and the sea creatures are gorgeous. This is a beautiful book and a lovely story. Highly recommended.

Black and White tells 4 different stories on each page. Or are they parts of the same story? A really fun book. Recommended.

I checked these two books out of the library after reading about them on Amber's thread. Flotsam sounded like the perfect book to buy for a co-worker's upcoming baby shower. (She grew up in a house on the beach and her husband is a marine biologist) I loved the book so much that I'll be buying two copies - one for the baby and one to add to my picture book collection.

here

62 )The Little Book of Hindu Deities: From the Goddess of Wealth to the Sacred Cow - Sanjay Patel
Religion, Illustrations

An introductory book of Hindu deities (Gods, Goddesses and animals) for children. The illustrations are cute; I've seen them described as Hello Kitty-ish, but they reminded me of a much prettier version of South Park (everyone is sort of round). If I had owned this book as a child I would have ripped out the page on Mahadevi (Mother Goddess) in her beautiful green sari with the lotuses and hung it on my bedroom wall.

I am now caught up for August.
Sept reading so far:
63) Klezmer: Tales of the Wild East
64) Reuben Sachs
65)When You Are Engulfed in Flames

will review soon and actually catch up on threads