avatiakh is busy reading in 2015

As most of you are aware I'm currently spending some weeks in Spain. We revisited Cuenca on New Years Day, my son's favourite destination so far and we had to go back for a second visit.

Currently Reading:

The Valley of Bones by Anthony Powell - iPod audio
Shadowscale by Rachel Hartman
The man who loved children by Christina Stead

Hemingway outside the Plaza del Toros in Pamplona

My 2015 reading plans are best reflected by my 2015 category challenge. I'll also be trying to fit in the British Authors Challenge and the ANZAC authors challenge, though not sure I'll succeed every month.

My 2015 categories (and some possible reads):

1) Israel: political nonfiction - I plan to read biographies of Israeli politicians
The Prime Ministers by Yehuda Avner
Menachem Begin: The Battle for Israel's Soul by Danial Gordis
Ben-Gurion: The Burning Ground, 1886-1948 by Shabtai Teveth

2) Arab Spring - Middle East/North African/Islamism - fiction & nonfiction
Egypt on the Brink: From Nasser to the Muslim Brotherhood by Tarek Osman
A fort of Nine Towers by Qais Akbar Omar

3) Latin Roots - fiction & nonfiction from/about Spain, Portugal & Latin America
Death in the Afternoon by Ernest Hemingway
Hotel Florida: Truth, Love, and Death in the Spanish Civil War by Amanda Vaill

4) Favourite Writers - continuing to read them and hopefully completing the ouevre
Bernice Rubens - I still have 3 or 4 left to read
Michael Chabon
Alan Garner

5) Shocked that I still haven't read this
The history of love by Nicole Krauss
Cider with Rosie by Laurie Lee
The man who loved children by Christina Stead
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
The Wind-up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami

6) The young ones - YA and children's fiction
The Coldest girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

7) Challenging - shared reads, theme reads, group reads, CATs etc, shortlists, long lists etc etc
The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters - (Orange Jul)

8) Fact - nonfiction general, hopefully some travel literature
The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain
Childhood under siege: how big business targets children by Joel Bakan
We die alone by David Howarth
Philip Gibbs

9) Comfort reads - lighter reading and continuing series
Robert Goddard
Pepe Carvalho series

10) Down Under - New Zealand & Australian fiction
James McNeish
Maurice Shadbolt
Derek Hansen
Garry Disher
Wake by Elizabeth Knox

11) Shiny New - new writers and/or new books
Elena Ferrante
Siri Hustvedt
Kate Forsyth

12) Spotlight: New Zealand YA - so many titles to catch up on

13) Food Writing - cookbooks and food writing in general
MFK Fischer
Ruth Reichl
Anthony Bourdain
Laurie Colwin
Barbara Abdeni Massaad
Taste of Beirut by Jouman Accad

14) Images - photography, graphic novels, illustrated and picturebooks
The Sandman series by Neil Gaiman - I failed to read past the 3rd volume last year

15) Spies - both fiction and nonfiction
Alan Furst
Eric Ambler
Mossad by Ronald Payne
The Lawn Road Flats: spies, writers and artists by David Burke
A Spy Among Friends by Ben Macintyre
The Informer by Liam O'Flaherty
The Spy with 29 Names: The story of World War II's most audacious spy by Jason Webster

Plans for January:

History of Love by Nicole Krauss - Orange Jan
Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro - BAC
Penelope Lively - still waiting for Moon Tiger to be available
The dangerous summer by Ernest Hemingway
Cider with Rosie by Laurie Lee
Gone to Soldiers by Marge Piercy
Troubles by J.G. Farrell
The Samaritan's Secret by Matt Rees

1) A walk among the tombstones by Lawrence Block (1992)
crime fiction (Matthew Scudder #10)
I have finished my first book, my first by Laurence Block. I was surprised at how long ago he started the Matthew Scudder series (1976) as the copy I picked up in a hotel swap library was a 2014 film tie-in reissue with Liam Neeson on the cover. It was an ok read, I liked his teenage sidekick, TJ, though overall a bit brutal.

Back to reading, I'm enjoying The dangerous summer even though it's all about bullfighting.
I started The Remains of the Day last night and already look forward to reading another chunk this evening. I haven't listened to Jerusalem: a biography for a couple of weeks but will be back into it tomorrow now my iPod has been sorted out once again.
I finished the year reading lots of crime novels mostly set in Spain or France and the Scudder novel was read over the last week as I hardly had time to read. Most of the library e-books I've been borrowing have expired before I got to them.

Welcome back!

Hi Kerry.

Welcome back, Happy New Year, and Happy Birthday, Kerry! I love your reading plans, and I'll be following you throughout the year.

Hi Kerry! I've been awol on the threads for months, but just spent some time bookmarking friends' new 2015 threads. Is this your main one? Looking forward to keeping better tabs on you and your reading this year!

Hi, Kerry!

Welcome back, absolutely love your thread topper! Great to hear that you are enjoying yourselfs so much!

Belated Happy Birthday, Kerry!

I am curious to see what you think of The History of Love I listened to the audio last year and loved the book.

Jerusalem by by Simon Sebag Montefiore is on my list as well.

Welcome back Kerry!

Hi, Kerry! I will be reading Moon Tiger as well--I had to go to a different library system to find a copy (don't feel too sorry for me--it means I must drive maybe 2 more miles to get the book). I hope you get your copy quickly so that you can get to it.

Happy new year!

Karen O.

Hi, Kerry. I've been looking for you and finally went to the threadbook. Doh! Glad to have you back with us.

Kerry, like Roni, I found you via the thread book. Have a lovely Iberian weekend.

Very frustrating, I've written out two rather long posts and the iPad has lost both of them.
So I'll keep editing this.
Thanks for all the messages, I'll be back on a regular internet in early Feb and wil reply to everyone then. I'm reading as many threads as I have time for each evening, but we've been really busy and I've barely had time to read anything. I've been listening to the same audiobook for over two months and still have a way to go.

We have one more full day left in Spain before flying to Tel Aviv for 2.5 weeks. I'll only have the free wifi access at cafes and where the city's free wifi is available as our friend who we stay with is not computer literate.

last week my London-based daughter flew out to spend a few days with us. Haven't seen her for over a year so it was really great to catch up.

Today we visited the Al-Andalus Science Pavilion at the Parque de las Ciencas in Granada. We returned to the coast via Alhama de Granada and the Axarquia hills - a spectacular drive, like so many we've done on this trip.

I will try to post some pics tomorrow, I need the laptop to do that and it is almost impossible to get a turn on that.

2) The dangerous summer by Ernest Hemingway (1960)
Nonfiction
Hemingway was commissioned by LIFE magazine to write a series of articles about the rivalry between two bullfighters during the 1959 season. Antonio Ordonez and Luis Miguel Dominguin were both at the top of their game, had different styles, and both felt they deserved to be named the 'best' of the best. I enjoyed reading this, while not a fan of bullfighting, I still appreciated Heningway's insightful commentary, his knowledge is stupendous, the book as a travel narrative is pretty wonderful as well.


3) The remains of the day by Kazuo Ishiguro (1989)
Fiction
Read this for the British author Challenge. My second Ishiguro book, I read Never let me go a couple of years ago. This one has been on my 'to read' list for a long while so was good to be prompted to read it finally.
Loved the structure, the slow revelation of all that was Stevens and his life of service. Wonderful.

Concentrating now on The History of Love and also enjoying the crime novel, The Samaritan's secret. Will be starting Moon Tiger as well.

Grazalema

View of countryside from Arco de la Frontera

Segovia

Avila

University Library in Salamanca

Pamplona running of the bulls sculpture

statue in Salamanca

Alhama de Granada


square in Estepona

welcoming Algerian refugees from the Civil War in the 1960s in Alicante

waterfront cafe in Alicante

Alicante

Looks like you are enjoying your vacation.

Wow, those pictures, so beautiful! And I see that like in Italy the sky has that special blue in winter on sunny days which it almost never has in summer.

Oh, gorgeous photos! Thanks for sharing!

Oh, your trip in Spain looks wonderful, Kerry. Thanks for sharing the photos. We've never been, and hope to get there in a couple of years. Tel Aviv? Can't wait to hear your report on that part of the trip.

Wasn't The Remains of the Day good? So well-structured. I went the opposite way of you - I read Remains of the Day years ago, and just finished reading Never Let Me Go.

Loved your photos. We are planning a Spain trip for late this year or early next year, so the photos are doubly interesting. And my younger daughter just got back from a two week trip to Israel with the Birthright Foundation. She thought Israel was beautiful.

Amazing photos of Spain, Kerry! Thanks for sharing them with us. I hope to return there later this year as well.

Thanks, making use of the freeTelAviv internet while having brunch on Ben Gurion Blvd. Yesterday we visited Jerusalem Old City and nearby Herodium (?). A friend of a friend picked us up on the outskirts of Jerusalem and took us a little way into the Judean desert and we had a 'picnic' lunch in a small settlement outpost, fresh goat cheese bought from a nearby Palestinian farmer and pita. We didn't realise that we would be taken to such a place but it was really an interesting afternoon and I felt I was experiencing Assaf Gavron's novel The Hilltop for myself. The scenery as we drove back via Bet Shemesh was very beautiful. Israel has had a lot of rain this winter so the hills are quite green.
Herodium was an interesting archaelogical site to visit, a fortress built inside a manmade hill. Also used by the Bar Kochba rebels. There was a pile of large round stones rope in to one side with a sign saying that the rebels used them as 'rolling stones' against the Romans. We'd seen piles of canonballs in several sites around Spain, but 'rolling stones' was something new!

4) Moon Tiger by Penelop Lively
5) Troubles by J.G. Farrell
6) The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
7) Out of Tune edited by Jonathan Maberry - Early Reviewer bk
8) Eat him if you like by Jean Teule
9) Frenchman's Creek by Daphne Du Maurier
10) Beaumarchais in Seville: an Intermezzo by Hugh Thomas

Yesterday we visited Akko (Acre) by train. the Crusader sites are impressive, like an underground city.
Today we arerelaxing in Tel Aviv. Currently having a coffee in the courtyard of The Little Prince bookshop cum cafe, quite a ramshackle outdoor area but comes with hot sun, free wifi and quiet.

Love the photos!! Can't wait to find out what you bought at The Little Prince.

11) The Samaritan's Secret by Matt Rees
12) Occidentalism: The West in the Eyes of Its Enemies by Ian Buruma

>31 cammykitty: I didn't buy any books there, though they have quite a reasonable selection in English as well as Hebrew. I did take note of A history of women's bodies which had a blurb by Angela Carter on the cover.

Have been exploring more of Tel Aviv, concentrating on the south and around the beach. I'm going to try and upload some photos while I have breakfast here at Benedicts, a popular 24 hour breakfast cafe.

Currently reading Gone to soldiers by Marge Piercy - bit of an epic novel about WW2 with interesting perspectives that give it an edge on others I've read.
Also started Let the river stand by Vincent O'Sullivan, a classic NZ novel that feels fairly bleak so far
and Stoner by John Williams, I found this in a grubby pile of books in the Jaffo flea market and got it for a couple of $$, it is in good condition but I want to read it before I leave as the book itself is quite heavy and our luggage is already near capacity.

Books I've purchased on the trip so far:
Puerto Banuas has an English bookshop, Bookworld, right beside one of the pintxo restaurants we liked so I made a couple or three trips to browse and came away with a few sale books -
2 x flip-books - just for the experience of reading them. A couple of spy novels, one by John Le Carre.
Beaumarchais in Seville: an Intermezzo by Hugh Thomas - I knew nothing about Beaumarchais and this book was quite enlightening, he wrote the plays The Barber from Seville and The Marriage of Figaro.
Cain by Jose Saramago
Eat him if you like by Jean Teule - novella about a gruesome true event when mob frenzy took over a bunch of villagers during the Franco- Prussian war

Malaga airport - a Spanish-Polish travel dictionary for my son (he wants to learn Polish and this also makes him learn Spanish
A Penguin classic hardback - can't remember the title but it's about the story of Abraham and was a beautiful edition - Fear and Trembling now that I remember.

Zurich airport - 6 plus hours of layover between flights, so after having rosti and a Zurich sausage, I managed to find an affordable copy of The Blazing World by Suri Hustvedt.

Halper Books - an institution on Allenby Street here in Tel Aviv - over 60,000 titles mainly in English, all secondhand.
Katerina by Aharon Appelfeld

and Jaffa fleamarket - Stoner

still to read from books I brought from home is Cider with Rosie, which I'll pick up later this week hopefully. I've stopped reading on the kindle as I'd rather finish some of these physical books so I can leave them here when we leave.

13) Gone to soldiers by Marge Piercy
14) Stoner by John Williams

Now reading -
Cider with Rosie & Let the river stand
In the wings -
The tunnel by Ernesto Sabato

>33 avatiakh: I loved Stoner when I read it, Kerry. I hope you enjoy it too.

Stasia, I loved it too, I read most of it yesterday evening.

Today we visited Sarona in Tel Aviv. it's basically a lovely small park filled with restored 19th century German Templar buildings from the colony that was established there. The restored buildings now house shops and several restaurants and cafes and is a very popular.
The history of the Sarona Templars is quite interesting, the settlement was taken over by the British during the Mandate period and the residents were sent out to Australia as the German citizens were suspect during the war years.

Was taken to a popular working class Persian restaurant in the south of Tel Aviv for lunch. Our second visit there, the menu is verbal, just three items - gundi (huge chicken meatball) served in a saffron broth and two types of kebab. Worth the wait for a table. Yesterday we ate in a typical Romanian restaurant near where we stay and the day before we went to Dr Shakshuka in Jafo.
Breakfasts here have been very healthy, lots of salad with eggs.

better add that we haven't just been eating, have been visiting some museums - Ben Gurion House, Haganah Museum, Etzl Museum, Stern Museum, The IDF Museum and the Nahum Gutman House. We wil be returning to Jerusalem for a visit to Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum.

Just stopping by to say that I'm enjoying following your trip and photos.

Hi Heather, I'm sitting at a cafe kiosk making use of free wifi, though can't upload photos as I'm on the iPad and that seems to be more than I can do using this device. I hope to upload a swag of them when we reach Hong Kong next week.

I haven't mentioned my 'books in Hebrew' haul - not many but I'm finding my reading skills have improved this visit and not having my husband here I'm forced to ask many more questions and read the bus routes etc, so decided to buy a few children's books to take home.
ottoline and the yellow cat by Chris Riddell - lots of great illustrations and I'll be able to compare with the English text
Ferdinand - couldn't not get this children's classic
An illustrated children's story by David Grossman - Hugs
The man from the other side by Uri Orlev - I loved this in English and I wanted another book by an Israeli writer.

I'm sitting in the cafe adjacent to Tel Aviv's Israel Museum waiting for it to open.
Today I'm hoping to finish my audiobook, Jerusalem: a biography by Simon Sebag Montifiore, been at it a long long time but the end of the month is looming and I'd like to see the back of it now even though it is constantly interesting.
15) let the river stand by Vincent o'Sullivan
16) Cider with Rosie by Laurie Lee
17) The Tunnel by Ernesto Sabato

Three great reads!

Now reading Little Exiles by Robert dinsdale, I started this last year but had to return it to the library. Also started The Blazing World by Siri Hustvedt.

Today is our last full day in Tel Aviv, tomorrow we fly to Hong Kong and after a couple of days onwards to home.
As it's Shabat not much is opened and I was surprised when walking past the Museum that it was open today, so I'm sneaking a look inside on my own as the buses aren't running and I've come a fair way from where we're staying as I'm determined to walk and listen to the audiobook.

A couple of days ago we visited Yad Vashem Museum in Jerusalem, it is on a new site on Mt Herzl and much larger than the previous museum I visited years ago. The grounds are beautiful with various reflective spaces and sculptures of remembrance. i thought the Memorial for the lost communities was especially memorable. The Museum itself is remarkable, educational and with an individual testimony emphasis that effects the visitor deeply. We spent much longer at the site than we thought we would. After we visited the Mahine Yehuda market which was vibrant and well worth the look. then we walked on to the bookshop/cafe Tmol Shilshom which is located in a small typical Jerusalem house and after a quiet coffeee break decided to continue walking before sunset towards The King David Hotel which I've only driven past before. The view from the terrace towards the Old City Walls was impressive, the interior salons beautiful. I'll post some photos when I can. we also walked across the road to visit the impressive YMCA building complex which was built around the same time as the hotel in the 1930s. After we caught a tram back to the bus station and got back to Tel Aviv around 7pm.
A great day out and our friend, Moshe, who only goes to Jerusalem when we visit Israel (many Tel Avivians are Jerusalemphobic) had to admit that the modern part of the city has many charms.

Hi Kerry! I've finally 'rejoined' LT and am glad to have found your thread. Looking forward to following your reading again this year as ever.

Great photos from Spain up above ^.

Love reading about your trip to Israel - you've made me quite homesick... How were those Persian Gundi? - they sound pretty tasty!

So many fascinating museums to visit over there, and architecture and great eating from all corners of the globe. For such a small country there is certainly no end of things to see and do!

Hi Paul - my thread should be back to normal in a couple of days. I'm currently at HKG airport for the flight to Auckland, arriving Wed pm.
Having a Tiger beer while waiting for the flight and using the free airport wifi.

18) Jerusalem: a biography by Simon Sebag Montifiore - yes, managed to finish this in January.
19) Little Exiles by Robert Dinsdale - great fiction on the child immigrants to Australia
20) Piece of my heart by Peter Robinson - I think this is about #16 in the Inspector Banks series, I picked it up as it was a flip book edition for a couple of euros, a fun way to read while travelling as the book is really small. Really enjoyed this and will be continuing with the series. Lots of music references especially as a murder happens at a 1969 music festival.

I've downloaded a couple of library ebooks to the iPad for the flight home.
My brilliant friend by Elena Ferrante & Magpie Hall by Rachel King

As always I enjoy your travels and your reading exploits Kerry. Glad to see that you enjoyed Cider with Rosie.

I crave a visit to the Holy Land but will probably have to make it alone as Hani is not allowed under her Malaysian passport to visit Israel - ridiculous as it is.

Trust that you have had a safe trip back to NZ and have managed to catch up with your rest a little.

Hope you are settling back in at home, Kerry! There must be so much to do after being gone so long.

Safe travels back home, Kerry!

Loved the Spanish pics! I'm re-reading Homage to Catalonia right now, so of particular interest...

What did you think of the Ian Buruma tome? And what on earth is Beaumarchais in Seville like? it sounds intriguing... Figaro??

I did like Gone to Soldiers. It's a re-read candidate for me, I think...

Safe home, I trust!

>6 drneutron: >7 AuntieClio: >8 kidzdoc: >10 scaifea: Hi, finally making my first greetings and have visited your threads where I'vemainly been lurking so far in 2015

>9 labfs39: Lisa, I can't find a 2015 thread for you either here or on Club Read.

>11 drachenbraut23: Bianca - History of Love is going to be one of my favourite reads of the year. I wasn't so taken with Great house, butthis one I loved.

>12 ZoharLaor: I've finished the Montifiore book, was great to read around the time I was visiting Jerusalem.

>13 souloftherose: Hi Heather
>14 klobrien2: Hi Karen - got Moon Tiger as an e-book borrow from my library so was just a matter of waiting a week or so for my turn
>15 ronincats: Hi Roni - slowly acknowledging visitors to my thread
>16 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul - Iberia is now left far behind, though the weather here is slightly better

>22 thornton37814: Hi Lori, my vacation has been simply wonderful. Back home now for the past week, slowly settling in.

>23 Deern: Nathlaie - I'm also a fan of that wonderful blue Mediterranean sky, just brilliant. It's been overcast most of the days I've been home and I miss that penetrating blue.

>24 scaifea: Amber, hope to post some more pics in the coming days

>25 jnwelch: Hi Joe, Spain is a great country, so big it's easy to get lost in. We spent weeks there and still feel there is much more to see.
Yes, I've also enjoyed both those Ishiguro books, so pleased to have finally read RotD, now I can settle down and watch the film.

>26 arubabookwoman: Hi Deborah - as I said before there is lots to see in Spain and i know you'll do lots of background reading. I'll post my own reading list as there might be one or two that catch your eye. Good to know your daughter enjoyed her trip to Israel, we saw lots of Birthright participants around the waterfront of Tel Aviv and on the buses.

>27 kidzdoc: Darryl - always enjoy following your travels. Hope to add a few more photos now I'm home and can sort through them at a more leisurely pace.

>44 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul, yes, it's a shame that the Islamic countries don't allow their citizens to visit Israel. Israelis are also limited in where they can travel in the Middle East, even those with family ties to Arab & central Asian countries.

After a week at home I'm beginning to get my 'bounce' back, have even rejoined the gym and managed a visit.

>45 ronincats: Roni - there's much to do and most of it is outside in the garden. I'm probably going to do minimal maintenance there till autumn and the ground softens up.

>46 alcottacre: Hi Stasia

>47 Chatterbox: Hi Suzanne - I read Homage to Catalonia last year just before visiting Barcelona and was able to do a George Orwell mini tour of the Ramblas area using an article in the telegraph to guide me:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/spain/barcelona/10005749/G...

I found the Ian Baruma book an interesting read with many ideas worth exploring further. I'm probably going to read a bit on nationalism and such, as well as finally picking up Said's book Orientalism to see what it has to say for itself. First though, I want to read some political biographies.

I picked up Beaumarchais in Seville in a sale in Bookworld in Puerto Banaus for a couple of euros, there wasn't much to choose from on the sale table. Hugh Thomas has written quite a few history books so I thought I'd try this. It was like a mini spotlight on a few months in a pivotal time period. Beaumarchais later wrote his two plays based on his experiences in Madrid society. He basically went to sort out a renegging fiance to one of his two sisters who were living in Madrid, collect some debts for his father and to set up some lucrative business deals for his patron and was ultimately unsuccessful in everything. It was an interesting read, business and politics as well as all the bother with the difficult fiance.
I knew nothing about Beaumarchais, though I had heard of the two operas.

I liked Gone to soldiers a lot, there were times at the beginning where I thought it was just another epic read, but the range of characters, the focus on the changing role of women, the codebreakers and the Jewish predicament all caught my interest. I have her French revolution epic, City of Darkness, City of Light, sitting on the shelves as well.

We were lucky to finally catch a viewing of the third Hobbit movie once we got home at our local cinema, surprisingly the room was quite full.
On the flight home I watched 4 movies instead of being sensible and actually sleeping - Before I go to sleep - prefer the book
The Big Lebowski (finally seen it),
and two Asian movies:
Café. Waiting. Love (2014, Taiwan) - lots of fun
My Love, My Bride (2014, Korea) - good

Now I'm watching the Swedish/Danish tv police procedural, The Bridge, which is really good so far.

21) The Berlin Boxing Club by Robert Sharenow
22) Personal by Lee Child (Jack Reacher #19)

I'm going to go back to the start of the year and comment a little on all my reads and I also have two ER reviews to write up as well as post some more photos and write a little more about my holiday.

Reading Plans for February:

I don't think February will be as good a reading month as January proved to be. Anyway I loaded a few books onto the TIOLI challenge and hope at least to read them:
1. Read a book with a "cold" word in the title
*The Coldest Girl in Coldtown - Holly Black
2. Read a book that you wanted to get as soon as it was released
*Foxglove Summer - Ben Aaronovitch
The Murdstone Trilogy - Mal Peet
5. Read a book with a number in the first sentence
Personal (eight) - Lee Child
8. Read a book with something you could love in the title
The Berlin Boxing Club - Robert Sharenow
*The New Zealand Wars Trilogy - Maurice Shadbolt - not sure if I can get through all three books
13. Read a book which title starts with the letters H, A, R, or T
*The Rosie Effect - Graeme Simsion

Collected from the library and not in the TIOLI as yet:
Garlic, mint & sweet basil: Essays on Marseilles, The Mediterranean, and Noir Fiction by Jean Claude Izzo - slim Europa Edition for all of the size of the title
Depot eatery, oyster bar : the biography of a restaurant by Al Brown
Hot Pink Spice Saga: an Indian culinary travelogue by Peta Mathias & Julie Le Clerc

4) Moon Tiger by Penelop Lively (1997)
fiction
Read this for the BAC challenge. While I appreciated the writing style I was never that taken by the story and other books I was reading at the same time felt more exceptional. I'll keep reading Lively's children's books and will try another of her adult books at some stage.


5) Troubles by J.G. Farrell (1970)
fiction
Loved this, the cast of characters, the decrepit hotel and the troubling political situation in Ireland at the close of World War 1. Hugely entertaining.


6) The History of Love by Nicole Krauss (2005)
fiction
This will be one of my outstanding reads for the year, I just loved everything about the book, the characters, the structure, a plot involving unrequited love is almost always a winner for me. I read this for Orange January.


7) Out of Tune edited by Jonathan Maberry (2014)
Early Reviewer bk / short story collection
A collection of stories based on old folksongs or ballads. I need to do a full review for Early Reviewers but will say here that I really loved some of the stories and others were more so so. I found the historical notes on each ballad that were included to be invaluable, sometimes more interesting than the story itself. Also included is a list of recordings or performances.

8) Eat him if you like by Jean Teule (2009 French) (2011 Eng)
novella
I picked this up in a book sale in Puerto Banaus and can say that it isn't a book for everyone, based as it is on a mob frenzy incident that really happened in 1870 in a French village. Riveting yet horrific reading.


9) Frenchman's Creek by Daphne Du Maurier (1941)
fiction
A dashing adventure with romance set on the Cornish coastline. I enjoyed this though I felt at times that I'd read it before, must have been in the distant past.


10) Beaumarchais in Seville: an Intermezzo by Hugh Thomas (2006)
nonfiction
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this account of the French nobleman & playwright, Beaumarchais, and his relatively short 1764 stay in Madrid, where he was much affected by Spanish society. He was sent there by his father to collect some debts and clear up his sister's broken engagement to a Spanish official. His patron and financier Duverney also had several deals that he wanted Beaumarchais to negotiate with the Spaniah government such as exclusive contracts for the Spanish colony of Louisiana and the right to import slaves to the Spanish colonies in the Americas.

11) The Samaritan's Secret by Matt Rees (2009)
Omar Yusef #3
This book was set in Nablus soon after the death of Yasser Arafat when there was much intrigue over corruption and the millions of aid money that had disappeared. I very much enjoy this series and have one book left to read.


12) Occidentalism: The West in the Eyes of Its Enemies by Ian Buruma & Avishai Margalit (2004)
nonfiction
Not fond of the cover pic for this. Buruma & Margalit look at the way the Oriental world looks at the West and rejects Western values, and is in a way a response to Edward Said's Orientalism. Rather than just tackling the Islamic view, the authors first look at Japan and Russia and how this occidental viewpoint developed partly from German Romanticism. The reader is introduced to many interesting ideas in this short book but would need to find other reading to get more depth.


13) Gone to soldiers by Marge Piercy (1988)
fiction
This 800+pg chunkster follows the trials and tribulations of a group of women and several men during World War 2. What sets it apart is that Piercy focuses on the changing role of women especially in the US, how the war gives them jobs and a sense of autonomy and then as the war is starting to be over they are expected to return to their previous role of homemaker so the returning servicemen can have their jobs back. There is also a focus on the Jews in Europe and in the US. A great accomplishment and a worthwhile read if you like a chunster length read.


14) Stoner by John Williams (1965)
fiction
This is a wonderful novel. Read it.

15) Let the river stand by Vincent O'Sullivan (1993)
fiction
A wonderfully bleak novel about life in rural New Zealand in the early part of the 20th century. The book jumps between characters and between generations to slowly knit together a full story of how all the characters came to be. I was captivated.


16) Cider with Rosie by Laurie Lee (1959)
memoir
This is the first of four memoirs that Lee wrote about his life, I'd read and enjoyed the other three. This one covers Lee's idyllic childhood in a small village. Though I say Idyllic, the family was poor, the father absent and the mother quite eccentric, but loving. Anyway Lee describes his early years with his wonderful gift for language that just brings it all to life. A wonderful read.


17) The Tunnel by Ernesto Sabato (1948 Spanish)
novella
Truly wonderful noirish look at a painter's descent into madness as he obsesses over his love for a woman, and his growing paranoia over her actions. In the first paragraph you become aware that he has murdered her and the novella is his side of the tale.

18) Jerusalem: a biography by Simon Sebag Montifiore (2011)
nonfiction / audio
I listened to narrator John Lee's silken tones on and off for three months to get through this. I generally have a regualr routine that allows a couple of hours of audio listening each day but on vacation in Spain, I just didn't. This gives an extremely thorough overview of the history of Jerusalem. Why bother if you've read other books? Possibly because Montifiore had access to new sources for some of the more modern material. The British open up new archives from the times of the Palesinian Mandate period from time to time.


19) Little Exiles by Robert Dinsdale (2013)
fiction
Very well done piece of fiction about child immigration to Australia and the dreadful lives they were mostly made to lead until theycame of age. I've mostly read nonfiction or children's literature about this so it was a pleasant change to read one that ventured into adulthood. Robert Dinsdale is becoming a favourite author, I think I have a couple more to read.


20) Piece of my heart by Peter Robinson
fiction
I think this is about #16 in the Inspector Banks series, I picked it up as it was a flip book edition for a couple of euros, a fun way to read while travelling as the book is really small. Really enjoyed this and will be continuing with the series. Lots of music references especially as a murder happens at a 1969 music festival.


21) The Berlin Boxing Club by Robert Sharenow (2011)
YA fiction
Really good YA set in 1930s Berlin. Inspired by the boxer, Max Schmeling who is reputed to have helped a couple of Jewish boys during Kristallnacht. The story revolves around Jewish teenager Karl Stern, a promising young boxer and his family as they try to survive in the increasingly hostile atmosphere generated by the growing power of facism.


22) Personal by Lee Child (2014)
fiction
Jack Reacher #19. Another instalment that I enjoyed for its London setting.

23) Hansel and Gretel: A Toon Graphic by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Lorenzo Mattotti (2014)
illustrated story
Gaiman retells quite elegantly and simply the story of Hansel and Gretel. This is a fairly straightforward classic version of the tale and there is at the back of the book a short history of how versions of the tale evolved over the years. The illustrations are deliciously dark adding a sophisticated element to the 66pgs.
Doesn't inspire me enough to get my own copy.

>54 avatiakh: Great to see so many varied books from your recent reading Kerry.

I'm really glad you liked The History of Love, I enjoyed it too when I listened to the audiobook a couple of years ago. Loved the characterisations and as you said - the whole structure of the thing. A real pleasure.

...and yet -

(There is no "and yet..." - I just loved the way Nicole Krauss used it in that Tevye "...but on the other hand..." kind of way!)

I have Stoner to look forward to on the TBR shelves - I'm really keen to read it soon, it sounds so good! Heartened by your recommendation. And I have a Matt Rees upstairs too that was a charity shop punt not long ago. Good to hear you've enjoyed the series. (The Samaritan's Secret) is the one I have waiting for me.

Your book bullets have hit - Robert Dinsdale looks a really exciting writer - I've added Little Exiles and his Gingerbread to the wishlist.

(Edited for typos)

Hmmm. Reacher in London? Sounds promising!

Great catch-up of reading Kerry.

Go Reacher! I enjoyed the new Lee Child, too, Kerry. Like you, I thought Gaiman's Hansel and Gretel was well done, and I'm glad I read it, but I haven't been inspired to get my own copy.

>60 Polaris-: I really have riddled you with book bullets! So pleased that some at least you already have thought about reading. My comments on Stoner were very brief as I was tired and couldn't even figure where to start, but it is very good and I loved the academic setting.
The only other work I'd like to draw your attention to is Welsh writer, Cynan Jones' The dig. It's only a novella, set in Welsh countryside and I think you'd like it.

I read Dinsdale's Gingerbread last year and thought it was fairly brilliant. I haven't done a best of 2014 list but it woud have been on it.

>61 drneutron: Yes, he's in London, but probably mixing with people we wouldn't ordinarily come across (or want to).
>62 PaulCranswick: Thanks Paul
>63 jnwelch: Hi Joe. Noticed on the TIOLI wiki that some LTers have been reading the GN, The Plot: the secret story of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion by Will Eisner, so I've just collected that from the library.

Started listening to an audio of Balthazar, book 2 in Lawrence Durrell's Alexandria Quartet, only to have it finish up after only an hour, so I'll have to redownload. The iPod rolled on to The Valley of Bones by Anthony Powell and so I might just listen to the next three books in the Dance to the music of Time series before going back to Durrell. I want to finish both sets of books this year.

And made a start on Holly Black's The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, the first chapter is deliciously creepy. I'm also reading lighter fare with The Rosie Effect though I'm not really enjoying it as much as the first book, getting a bit tired of the characters. I'm missing the Rosie from the first book, she seems unengaged in this one, more of a foil for Don's eccentric behaviour than anything else.

Also enjoying Magpie Hall which can be summed up so far in two words - tattoos and taxidermy.

Welcome back and wow for all those books you read while travelling! Never heard of Stoner, but will look for it right now, and for the Krauss as well. Happy Sunday!

I loved both The History of Love and Stoner, Kerry, so I am glad to see you did as well.

I am adding Hansel and Gretel to the BlackHole. Thanks for the mention!

>65 Deern: You'll enjoy both of those I would think.
>66 alcottacre: Hi Stasia - just took me a while to get to them. I put off reading the Krauss for years though I have read her Great House.

I've uploaded rather a lot of photos from Israel to my facebook albums, mainly so my family especially my Mum can see what i've been up to.
Tel Aviv: https://www.facebook.com/kaluf/media_set?set=a.10152813849093495.1073741830.6536...
Israel: https://www.facebook.com/kaluf/media_set?set=a.10152813603853495.1073741829.6536...

And a few more literary ones for here:

This is a book/magazine kiosk near the Carmel Market.

bookstall at the Kikar Dizengoff fleamarket

Ben Gurion's House, the upstairs is now an impressive library of all his books, about 20,000.(not my photo, I just couldn't capture the number of rooms and all the books in one shot)

coffee break, the Tel Aviv City Council has bunches of these free deck chairs scattered across the city

cat at Yafo port

healthy Israeli salad that my friend, Mosh, made almost every day for me.

Little Prince Bookshop / cafe in Tel Aviv. Has a ramshackle courtyard as well as free wifi.

Jerusalem old City

Looking down to some of the Herodium ruins, Gush Etzion.

Knights Hall in Acre - sort of an underground wonderland courtesy of the Crusaders

Acre

Dana at Tmol Shishon bookshop/cafe in Jerusalem

24) The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion (2014)
fiction

This is the sequel to The Rosie Project and I suspect there'll be more. I have to say that while I found tRP to be a fun read, quite refreshing and basically chick lit written by a male, I didn't feel the need to carry on to book #2. I read this due to all the positive comments I kept seeing for the book but its charms eluded me. I found the characters other than Don all quite unlikeable especially Rosie this time around. I still carried a small amount of sympathy for Don, and he does get himself into some hilarious predicaments, so finished the book to see how it all ends. So a reasonable light read for those who loved tRP and want more.


25) Magpie Hall by Rachael King (2009)
fiction, new zealand
I've had this on my shelves since it was first published but never got round to reading it till now, and I read the library e-book version instead of my own copy. I liked her debut novel, The Sound of Butterflies more than this one though it's been a few years now since I read it. This one is mainly set in modern day New Zealand, with several chapters narrated by the main character's great grandfather and his first wife. If you like tattoos or are interested in taxidermy then you'll love this gothic influenced story. Rose is in the final stages of completing her PhD thesis on gothic literature and takes herself away from an unhappy love affair to the dilapidated country home of her late grandfather. She's either haunted by ghosts from the past or someone in the present is trying to frighten her or both. There is quite a bit about the Victorian-era obsession with the collecting of natural specimens, bones and tattooing which is interesting though creepy.
I have to add that while writing thiese comments I came to the conclusion that I liked it more than I first thought I did and will probably amend my rating on goodreads from 3 stars to 4 star rating, here on LT I gave it 3.5.

26) The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black (2013)
YA
I haven't read a vampire tale for a long while, and I really enjoyed this standalone read a lot. The strong female lead is great and the love interest is a fascinating mix of old world vampire, but one who has been abused in a power struggle. Anyway since the infection outbreak vampires, their victims and wannabe vamps are all ghettoised into Coldtowns across the country. You can enter a Coldtown but you can't leave. The live feeds, blogs etc show life as an endless party inside and there are lots of teens who would like nothing better than to become famous, even if it means having to embrace the life of the undead. Great setup for the story to unfold in.

Like how similar the book covers are on my last two reads.

27) The Vanishing Moment by Margaret Wild (2013)
YA fiction
I saw this in the library e-catalog and had to read it as I've only known Wild through her wonderful children's picturebooks such as Fox, Woolvs in the Sitee , Our Granny, Let the celebrations begin, The pocket dogs etc etc
I enjoyed the storyline and the unsettling premise of choosing an alternate life if your own life is so unbearable. If she writes more YA I'll definitely pick it up.
From an online review: 'With a hat-tip to Jorge Luis Borges’ The Garden of Forking Paths, this book explores the possibility of alternate realities and the pitfalls of running from your problems. The Vanishing Moment is an eerie, mysterious novel for teenagers, richly textured with vivid, memorable scenes and cleverly painted details.'

Now concentrating on Foxglove Summer and The House of Strife, I also have 4 days left of my e-loan of My Brilliant Friend by Elana Ferrante. I might pick up another YA as well as I have so many littering my tbr pile and they are usually quick enjoyable reads.

>68 avatiakh: Oh, wow. I clicked through to the FB galleries, but perusal could take awhile.

Passing thru ..... sounds like you had a fab time while away

Foxglove summer has been on my horizon as well, one of those authors i keep meaning to read, is it best to start from beginning though?

>74 qebo: Ha, I took lots of photos in Tel Aviv so my husband who grew up there could have a good look, he hasn't been there for 15 years. I visited areas of Tel Aviv I hadn't really explored before such as Florentin and the American German Colony. Sarona is an old German Templar colony that was used by the British during the Mandate period for their army. Just in the past few years its been developed into a park with the old buildings restored into shops, restaurants and cafes.

>75 roundballnz: Hi Alex, definitely a series that needs to begin at the beginning. You'll like the series.

>76 avatiakh: Thanks for the tip ..... bit of a completist at times

Fabulous photos, Kerry! Thanks for sharing them with us.

>78 kidzdoc: Thanks Darryl

Today's trip to the library was to pick up a book of essays by Joseph Brodsky, On grief and reason, mainly to read a short speech he gave once titled, How to Read a Book. Quite an interesting short read, basically he says if you read poetry, you'll learn how to discern good literature when you stumble across it. I'll probably read a few more essays before returning it but not the whole book.
The library sale table proved quite lucrative, I picked up 5 books for $2 to go with the couple of books I got a few days ago.
Unpacking my library: architects and their books - photographs and an essay I think
Here & there: Collected Travel Writing by AA Gill
Street without a name: Childhood and Other Misadventures in Bulgaria by Kapka Kassabova
Written Lives by Javier Marais - looks like fun
A history of the New Zealand FIction Feature Film - film studies textbook probably
previously
Skim by Mariko Tamaki - graphic novel
Between summers longing and WInter's End by Leif Persson - crime
and a charity bookshop visit:
Caravans by James Michener - copy in pristine condition, for my son as i've read this a couple of times
The Sundowners by Jon Cleary - Aussie novel that looks to be a good read
The Lambs of London by Peter Ackroyd
The good times by James Kelman
The Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors - for daughter

and I've been to the Scholastic Factory Shop which was naughty as I promised myself not to be tempted with another visit there -
these are children's or YA
Listen to the Moon by Michael Morpurgo - WW1 on the Scilly Isles
Shooting Kabul by NH Senzai
Finding Zasha by Randi Barrio
Dogs of War by SHeila Keenan - graphic novel
March: book one by John Lewis - graphic novel on Civi Rights Movement

Fabulous book haul, Kerry! That's an interesting comment by Joseph Brodsky; I'll have to see if I can find that speech online.

ETA: That didn't take long; it was published in The New York Times in 1988:

http://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/12/books/how-to-read-a-book.html

28) Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovich (2014)
Peter Grant #5

Really enjoyed this and still enthusiastic about the series. Book #6 The Hanging Tree is due out later this year.
If you haven't tried this series yet, you need to start with Rivers of London (Midnight Riot in the US).

>80 kidzdoc: Darryl - I should have googled the speech...now I feel guilty about not reading more essays before returning it to the library. I follow BrainPickings on twitter and she often posts quite inspiring stuff alongside great illustration work, I'm always clicking through to read more.

March is almost here and I still have House of Strife barely started for the February ANZAC challenge. I also am interested in giving the graphic novel The Plot: The Secret Story of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion by Will Eisner a go as it is a shared read on TIOLI this month.
I've made a start on a few YAs including Hostage Three by Nick Lake which is about a luxury yacht kidnapping by Somali pirates and The Beginner's guide to living by Lia Hills which I've been meaning to read since it first came out about 6 years ago. I've also got El Deafo, a children's graphic novel, to read.

For the ANZAC challenge in March I intend to read Wake by Elizabeth Knox and perhaps The Rose Grower by Michele de Kretser. For BAC I hope to listen to The Scar by China Miéville. I read Frenchman's Creek by Daphne du Maurier book in January so will leave her alone this month.

Acquisition:
The Chimes by Anna Smaill - debut novel by NZ writer about an alternate musical world in London.
'Anna Smaill is a poet who has a background in English literature and music performance.'

29) The Plot: The Secret Story of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion by Will Eisner (2005)
graphic novel
I didn't know about this GN until I saw it listed on TIOLI and so requested it fromthe library. Now that I've finished I've also requested Eisner's Fagin the Jew. I've read lots of his graphic novels already.
Eisner wanted to give the world an accessible book to explain the history of this antisemetic publication and he worked on this project for several years. I think he succeeds, I found it an interesting read though I doubt that those who need to read this will do so. The artwork is superb.

'Eisner, 86, said, "I was amazed that there were people who still believed `The Protocols' were real...I decided something had to be done." He is fighting for justice in a bleak world, the way his most famous comic-book character, the Spirit, did in American newspapers throughout the 1940's. Enlisting the help of N. C. Christopher Couch, who teaches a course on graphic novels at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, the two began piecing together the facts, helped by a French comic-book fan, Benjamin Herzberg. Historians say "The Protocols," first published in 1903, were fabricated in Russia by the czar's secret police as a way of undermining a growing social reform movement. Jews figured prominently in this movement, and the police theorized that they could discredit it by making it appear to be a front for a sinister Jewish agenda.

Mathieu Golovinski, a propagandist, concocted the 24 fraudulent "protocols" or minutes, of an international meeting of Jewish bankers, journalists and financiers outlining a purported Jewish-Masonic plot to dominate world affairs. The forgery was revealed in 1921 when the Times of London published a series of articles demonstrating that the actual source for the text was a a French political satire published in 1864 by Maurice Joly, in which Machiavelli and Montesquieu discuss a plan for world domination by Napoleon III. In "The Plot," which is about 160 pages, Mr. Eisner reveals this fabrication through three different methods that draw on all phases of his 70-year career. In a short introduction he provides an account of how he came upon "The Protocols" and learned the truth behind them. ' from website: myjewishbooks.com
Educational link: The Resilience of Anti-Semitism: The Lies of The Protocols of The Elders of Zion: http://archive.adl.org/education/curriculum_connections/the-protocols/


Although the Protocols has been known to be a complete fabrication it continues to be published in many languages and is a best seller in many Arab countries.
Oct 2014: 'Several publishers from Arab countries displayed books featuring anti-Semitic content, Holocaust denial, and terror glorification, at the Frankfurt Book Fair last week, an annual report from the Simon Weisenthal Center said. The worst offenders were Qatar, a Palestinian publisher, Egypt, and Iran, the report indicated, with examples including children’s books condoning jihad, a text honoring child murderer Sami Kuntar, and an adaptation of “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. The Nablus-based Palestinian Bait Almaqdes Centre featured its texts at a Kuwaiti stand, including the volumes “Jewish Terms: Beware of them!” and “The Zionist Deception Dictionary,” the latter an adaptation of “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.” The “Jewish Terms: Beware of them!” book, authored by Issa Qaddoumi, recommends the term “Islamic East” in place of “Middle East,” “surrendering” instead of “normalization,” “Jews” instead of “Israelis,” and “The Myth of Nazi Crematory” rather than “Holocaust.”' http://www.timesofisrael.com/anti-semitic-books-displayed-at-frankfurt-book-fair...

Hopeful March reading list:

ANZAC challenge:
need to finish my Feb book: The House of Strife by Maurice Shadbolt
Wake by Elizabeth Knox - zombie-ish novel
The Rose Grower by Michelle de Kretser - historical fiction
BAC challenge
The Scar by China Miéville

TIOLI: http://www.librarything.com/topic/188331
Challenge #3: Read the third book in a series
Silvertongue (Stoneheart) - Charlie Fletcher
Challenge #4: Read a book with a 2015 copyright
The Chimes - Anna Smaill
Challenge #5: Read a book about change
El Deafo - Cece Bell
King Matt the First - Janusz Korczak
Challenge #6: Read a book where the author's last name has more syllables than his or her first name
*The Scar - China Miéville
Challenge #8: Read a book about or set in a post WW2 war or civil war
Israel's Lebanon War - Ze'ev Schiff (Lebanon War, 1982)
Challenge #10: Read a Book Where the Author's Last Name Could also be a First Name
The Spindlers - Lauren Oliver
Challenge #11: Read a book with something you should beware of in the title
Pretty Monsters - Kelly Link
Challenge #12: Read a book whose title has at least eight syllables
The Pomegranate Lady and Her Sons: Selected Stories (10) - Goli Taraghi
Challenge #13: Read a book that acknowledges the book designer or cover artist
TIOLI Book Design Art: http://www.librarything.com/topic/188350
*Garlic, Mint & Sweet Basil (design/E.Ragnisco) - Jean-Claude Izzo
Wake (cover/Dylan Horrocks) - Elizabeth Knox
Challenge #15: Read a book of which at least three books in the "LibraryThing Recommendations" section are featured in your collections
House of Strife - Maurice Shadbolt
The man who loved children - Christina Stead
Challenge #19: Read a historical novel written by a woman
My brilliant friend - Elena Ferrante
The rose grower - Michele de Kretser

also my current reads:
Hostage Three by Nick Lake - YA
The Murdstone Trilogy by Mal Peet - abandoning for now

and other library books vying for attention:
The Killing Hour by Paul Cleave - crime
Emigres: the transformation of Art Publishing in Britain by Anna Nyburg
New Finnish Grammar by Diego Marani
Shadow on the mountain by Margi Preus -YA

30) Saga vol 1 by Brian K. Vaughan illustrated by Fiona Staples (2012)
scifi fantasy graphic novel
Saw a lot of LTers reading and recommending this series earlier this year so had to have a read. Liked it a lot.

31) El Deafo by Cece Bell (2014)
children's graphic novel
This was a Newbery Honour Book and is a quite delightful memoir about Bell's childhood. Being deaf and having to wear an outsized but powerful Phonic Ear in the classroom was an oversized problem for Bell, who just wanted to have a real friend and fit in. Very well done, I love the illustrations.

32) Hostage three by Nick Lake (2013)
YA
I really enjoyed Lake's In darkness which was based on the 2010 Haitian earthquake. This one is about a luxury yacht being taken captive by Somali pirates and was probably not quite as good. First I've read too many novels lately incorporating 'flashback' in order to give some back story to the main character so while it's unfair to judge this novel by that, I was raising my eyebrows and thinking 'not again'. Overall a YA version of Captain Philips' A Captain's Duty: Somali pirates, Navy SEALs and dangerous days at sea with the inevitable teen romance thing almost taking off, though Lake manages to keep it almost within the realms of possibility. I liked it especially as Lake has managed to give a little story to the pirate side of things.
_
I recommend the film, Captain Phillips, if you haven't already seen it.

Last night I watched Philomena which stars Judi Dench and Steven Coogan and based on a true story written by Martin Sixsmith. Riveting and sad.

Wow, my son's band just won a NZ on Air wildcard grant for $10,000 towards recording and video. I've been voting each day for the past month so am pleased that that is over and done with. http://www.theaudience.co.nz/news/the-essential-tremor-claim-the-february-wildca...

On reading news, I started a whole lot of books last night and am pleasantly charmed by the first story in Magic for Beginners and like the first few pages of The Queen of Tearling. The Spindlers is ok and I picked up Yannick Haenel's The Messenger and found the intro interesting, it's about Jan Karski. I've mislaid my book about the Lebanon War and decided to take The Murdstone trilogy back to the library unread as I have too many books on the go for the month already.

I'm finding my omnibus edition of The New Zealand Wars trilogy extremely cumbersome and so my reading of The House of Strife continues at a slower pace than i'd like.

Very cool for your son!

Congratulations to Alon! This could be the start of something big!

Lots of great reading you have been doing, Kerry. I hope the rest of the year is the same for you!

>88 avatiakh: sounds like you have the same version as me - The New Zealand Wars trilogy definitely wrist breaker ...

>89 drneutron: Thanks.
>90 alcottacre: Thanks. They are really just in the band for the fun of it.
>91 roundballnz: Tell me about it, it surely ways about 5kg


Hot Pink Spice Sagas: an Indian culinary travelogue with recipes by Peta Mathias & Julie Le Clerc (2014)
nonfiction
Well, I looked through this travel/cookbook on India and read some of the travel bits. The train journey made me laugh out loud. They booked a first class sleeper only to find that they were sharing it with 2 men. Endless hawkers through the journey, filthy sheets, no view from tiny window, unmentionable toilet facilities. Julie wakes to find a man sitting on her feet using his laptop! She's also told off by the men for taking photos of the hawkers, that is not interesting, you should be taking photos of scenery. All told in a very humorous 'grin and bear it' style. Peta is a well known NZ foodie, she leads culinary tours to Morocco, France and India, hosted a few food tv shows and is age defying with her bright red hair and colourful outfits. Julie Le Clerc is also well known, has written several cookbooks, tv shows, a magazine, cafes etc etc. She does her own food photography & styling and has been in India recently as a food consultant for a 5 star luxury hotel. I follow Julie on FB as she is so enthusiastic about her work.

Lots of the recipes look interesting and the photographs capture local families and chef, arts and crafts as well as the food. I've copied out the recipe for Maheshwari scrambled eggs which is slightly more complicated than this one I found online for egg burjhi.

http://www.petamathias.com/
http://julieleclerc.com/


The Depot: the biography of a restaurant by Al Brown (2014)
nonfiction
Also looked through this one. The Depot is a popular eatery in central Auckland, full name is The Oyster Bar Depot eatery.
I've been there a couple of times and while Al Brown is one of NZ's most famous chefs, he's deliberately made this place very casual and affordable. I don't do fancy schmancy restaurant eating anymore. The book covers his philosophy on food and restaurants and gives ample space to the architect, builder, graphic design artist as well as the food and waiting staff. Really fascinating insight into the personalities that make up the staff and how and why he came to hire them. ALso comes with recipes for some of the famous items on the menu.
I've taken note of a few of his basic recipes at the back of the book for babbaganoush, red pepper harissa and kasundi.
Yum. http://albrown.co.nz/
I loved his book Go Fish and now need to look through Stoked.
Here's his recipe for Skirt Steak with Habanero Mustard, Tobacco Onions & Iceberg Wedge which I've had at The Depot and can vouch for how tasty it is.
and another article

Congratulations to your son and his band. :-)

>93 AuntieClio: thanks, they are very excited.


33) Garlic, Mint & Sweet Basil: Essays on Marseilles, The Mediterranean, and Noir Fiction by Jean-Claude Izzo (2013)
nonfiction
I wasn't that taken with this collection of sketches of Izzo's home city of Marseilles, thankfully it was a quick read of only 104pgs. The language is evocative but too vague for me at this time. I enjoyed the brief glimpse of Fabio Montale, hero of his Marseilles trilogy, that he gives in the last pages. The book is divided into three parts 1) the Mediterranean 2) Marseilles 3) Fabio Montale
Another Europa Edition read

I was going to take The Murdstone trilogy back to the library, but then on Monday I read that Mal Peet had died from cancer, so this his last book, I must read. I saw him talk at a couple of events in Auckland when he visited and especially appreciated a talk he gave to a group of secondary students.

''His agent Peter Cox described him as “a writer’s writer”.
He said: “Mal was universally adored and admired by other writers. His talent was as prodigious as his warm, wide-open heart. I have lost a dear friend, and we have all lost an author of exceptional genius. His best and most exciting years were still ahead: his premature death is utterly tragic.”
Asked to describe how he wrote, Peet said: “The only word I would use without qualification is ‘slowly’.”
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/mal-peet-author-who-produced-his-first-...

Currently enjoying listening to The Scar and the book I can't wait to get back to is The Queen of Tearling. I'm almost done on The House of Strife and have made a start on The Chimes.

>94 avatiakh: Sorry that book wasn't as good as you were hoping, the premise sounds so promising (and I love the cover).

>96 charl08: Thanks for visiting my thread, I'll have to find and visit your thread. I'm looking forward to reading his Marsaille trilogy, a noir crime series, but this little book of sketches just didn't hit the spot for me.


34) The house of strife by Maurice Shadbolt (1993)
fiction
This is the third book in the New Zealand Wars trilogy, though in the omnibus edition I'm reading from the book is considered #1 as the action predates the other two books. Anyway they are all considered to be standalone reads. I wanted to read it first as we had a week in the Bay of Islands last year where the book is set and had visited some of the sites mentioned in the text.
Successful writer Ferdinand Wildblood is forced to flee the UK when his plagiarising is about to be uncovered. He's taken a badly written memoir from New Zealand and turned it into a series of adventurous South Seas yarns (under the name of Henry Youngman) for his publishers over the past few years. He flees on the first ship to New Zealand and arrives just as the 1845 adventures of John Heke, Maori rebel, Christian and fan of aforesaid swashbuckling books are about to unleash mayhem on the northern tip of the country (the Flagstaff Wars).
I thoroughly enjoyed this, a sort of irreverent look at the ineptitude of the British army commanders and their complete misreading of Maori military tactics, the local geography and weather. While not a fan of Mr Wildblood, I appreciated that he enabled us to see the strife from both sides of the conflict and I loved the framing of the whole adventure in the publishing world of the times. Now I need to check out and refresh my memory of the actual history around these times.
I'm intending to read the next 2 books later this year.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flagstaff_War

I really need to find more Maurice Shadbolt books. Perhaps on my next trip to NZ.

Have a lovely weekend, Kerry.

35) The beginner's guide to living by Lia Hills (2009)
YA fiction
This was another long time resident from Mt tbr. It's the debut novel of a New Zealand poet, Lia Hills, though from what I can see she hasn't been published since apart from translating a French novel, Tom is dead.
The ideas in the book would be quite interesting for a mature teen. 17 year old Will loses his mother in a car accident just a few weeks before final exams. He is not only overwhelmed by grief, he's also plunged into a sort of existential dilemma, as well he falls in love only a few days after his mum's funeral. All too much and he looks for answers in various philosophy books, poetry, meditation and music. There is also sex, truancy, vandalism and a one time dalliance with drugs. The pacing of the novel is great and I'd definitely read another book by Hills if one got published.
The book was shortlisted for several awards in both Australia and New Zealand.

‘Lia Hills’s first novel is beautifully crafted and doesn’t shy away from exploring first love, sex and drugs. Spending time in Will’s head makes for an engaging read and Hills’ talent for credible dialogue and dramatic understatement is spot on, as she picks apart the complexities of a young man grappling with not just grief, but the realities of life.’
Frances Atkinson, Age

a couple of picturebooks

Julia, Child by Kyo Maclear (2014)
picturebook
This is in the style of her fabulous Virginia Woolf picturebook though this one doesn't quite hit the mark so well for me. Maclear gives us Julia Child as a child and how she and her best friend cook up a meal to remind adults about what really matters.


I adored her Virginia Wolf

Rapunzel by Debbie Lavreys
fairytale
I saw an example of Lavreys' work at a museum in Tel Aviv amongst a whole range of Snow White retellings from around the world. Anyway I quite liked her style of illustration and wanted to see more of it. The story was very straightforward and suitable for younger children. The artwork is quite delightful.

36) Sam Zabel And The Magic Pen by Dylan Horrocks (2014)
graphic novel, new zealand

Horrock's first graphic novel since his outstanding 1998 Hicksville, not that he hasn't been busy doing other stuff such as Batgirl for DC comics. Last year I tried his Incomplete Works GN which had come out earlier in the year, a collection of his short works, but at the time it just didn't appeal.
This one is great, sort of autobiographical but then veering into fantasy. A cartoonist is fighting depression, causing writer's block or vice versa and when he buys a vintage comic ends up inside the world of the comic where he meets a cute Japanese girl who seems to have mastered the travel between the worlds of the comics drawn by a magic pen. Throughout the GN our hero explores the morality of fantasy and comics and whether artists have a responsibility to their readers. I saw this expressed best in a review by a GR friend:
'It's a strange and often lurid story- seeing a space-alien orgy drawn in the style of Herge really quite something- but there's a moral heart to the story, one put forward in such a heavy handed manner that it's impossible to miss. It's a story about the responsibilities of art, about asking whether fantasy should be held accountable for its influence on culture, and especially whether certain sexual fantasies influence violence in real life.'
There's also a feminist young woman who tells our cartoonist: "Look- I'm a geek, but I'm also a girl. Fantasy is what I live for. But most of the imaginary worlds I spend my time in were made up by men- often with some pretty icky ideas about women...
I've learned to take those imaginary worlds and make them my own- subverting them to serve my fantasies- not theirs."

So a great little story plus gives you something to think about.
NB: some erotic content.
_


Horrock's blog: http://hicksvillecomics.com/
Adrian Kinnaird's New Zealand comics site: http://fromearthsend.blogspot.co.nz/

Seeing i'm on GN mode at present - noting a couple of blog posts of international best GN's of 2014:
Part I: http://www.paulgravett.com/articles/article/books_to_read_best_graphic_novels_of...
Part 2: http://www.paulgravett.com/articles/article/books_to_read_best_graphic_novels_of...

>100 avatiakh: I'd not see this (or the Virginia Woolf one) what a lovely idea (even if the Child one didn't come off quite so well!).

>104 charl08: Yes, the idea is indeed cute, and the Wolf sisters one is recommended.

I'm giving up on Lauren Oliver's The Spindlers, it's a children's fantasy that, for me at present, is a drag to read and it's holding up all my other reading. I really liked Liesl & Po but this one is just a bore. Still enjoying The Queen of Tearling but only getting a few pages read each night before I fall asleep, now I can focus on it.

>102 avatiakh: Nice review of Magic Pen, Kerry. It's on my WL. And thanks for giving us the >103 avatiakh: links; I'll check those out.

>106 jnwelch: Hi Joe. Thanks, I think you'll like it.

Well, I decided to biff The Queen of Tearling as well. I read a review that wasn't that positive around the time I arrived at the point in the story where you start wondering about the writer and what she is on about. Up to that point I had a couple of niggles but was able to keep reading. Decided that as it's a library book I don't need to continue and I have more interesting fantasy on my own bookshelves.

Also I don't like ugly swear words being used in my fantasy reads unless it is urban fantasy, suddenly at 160pgs in a whole flurry of swearing.
Also I don't want to read about a society where women are kept as sex slaves yet our heroine is heir to the throne? The slave woman appeared at the halfway point around when I gave up - a tight collar around her neck and leashed, lying at the foot of the regent's throne - I can do without.

Ok, for the weekend I'll try to get going on Wake by Elizabeth Knox and focus also on The Chimes by Anna Smaill.
I've just finished Will Eisner's Fagin the Jew which was really good, I still have to read the afterword and the appendix which covers antisemeticism in Dicken's novels.
Also made a start a few days ago on Catch the Jew by Tuvia Tenebom which is, so far, interesting but also annoying but from the reviews sounds like a book worth persevering with. I have My Brilliant Friend on the go as well, an e-book so I have to keep reminding myself about.
I'm almost at the halfway point in The Scar and so far am fairly ambivalent on it, that's my current audiobook.


I brought home from the library an interesting little book, Fictitious Dishes: An Album of Literature's Most Memorable Meals by Dinah Fried. A photographer, she's put together some of the meals mentioned in various books. So for each book, a photograph of the dish, a few quotes describing said food and then a few small items of interest about the book. I wasn't that taken with the photographs, I think it's because every dish has been photographed from above and as I'm an avid reader of food blogs, I'm used to a little more variety.
You can see some of the entries here:
http://www.brainpickings.org/2014/04/16/fictitous-dishes-dinah-fried-book/

37) Fagin the Jew by Will Eisner (2003)
graphic novel
Very good imagining of the back story to Dicken's Fagin. I'm slowly getting through all of Eisner's work, did a big chunk a few years back and this one called to me after reading his Protocols book a week or so ago. The introduction gives you the reasons for Eisner deciding to 'challenge' the antisemitic treatment of Fagin by Dickens in Oliver Twist's story. He had a character called Ebony in his early Spirit comics and he felt bad about the stereotyping of the character later on. The appendix gives you some of Eisner's thoughts on Fagin and the Jewish community in London around these times, as well as examples of illustrations of Jews from this period. I found this interesting but even more interesting was the afterword by Jeet Heer - a short quote - ' what makes Fagin the Jew such a rich work, one that rewards many readings, is that Eisner manages the complex task of arguing with Dickens while also paying homage to the great novelist. In humanising Fagin, Eisner strikes a blow against anti-Semitism, but he also does it in a way that the creator of Fagin would surely have understood and admired.'
Now I must read more Dickens too.

Some very interesting books as always. The book on Fagin looks a good one, even for me, with my aversion to GN books.

Have a lovely weekend, Kerry.

Just requested The girl on the train at my library, I'm #962 in the queue, who knew it would be that popular.

>109 PaulCranswick: Paul, probably not worth you getting this GN unless you're really keen, for most of us it is more of a library read. It was well done and I enjoyed the commentary at the back of the book.

My weekend is going well, I'm making moussaka (again) and my son is trying his hand at cepelinai (Lithuanian potato dumplings), I'm just enjoying watching him struggle at grating a kilo of raw potato, I should really show him some of the attachments for the food processor.

>108 avatiakh: This looks fascinating, will look out for it.

>110 avatiakh: Funny got that ( or shall I say told my brother to buy) for my Mum's birthday, its got a real buzz about it

>95 avatiakh: Sad to hear about Mal Peet. I haven't read any of his books before but I think he's a Carnegie Medal winner and The Murdstone Trilogy has been on my wishlist since Rhian reviewed it last year.

>97 avatiakh: I love the cover of House of Strife - very striking.

>107 avatiakh: Sorry to hear Queen of the Tearling ended up being not so compelling. I've seen a lot of posters for that at the station but also seen mixed reviews online. I think I'll pass.

38) Wake by Elizabeth Knox (2013)
fiction, new zealand
I've been wanting to read this since it came out and kept putting it to one side so the March ANZAC challenge was timely. Don't want to say too much about the plot as it's best going into this one not knowing too much. I'd describe it as light horror. Great read, Knox is a great storyteller.

>113 souloftherose: Thanks for visiting Heather.
I hope you enjoy Peet's books when you get to them. I'd suggest starting with Tamar.
Yes, I love the cover of the Shadbolt book, very appropriate too.
I read the start of BookaholicCat's review of Queen of the Tearling and saw she'd had the same niggles about the book as me, after I dumped the book I went back and the full review and felt happy that I'd ditched it. I've got too many good books needing to get read than needing to stress over mediocre ones.

39) Through the woods by Emily Carroll (2014)
graphic novel
Loved this set of gothic-style horror tales, not totally scary more entertaining scary. The stand out is the illustrations, really impressive use of the colour red and white on black as well the gorgeous glossy paper. I love how the last story, The Nesting place, wraps up. I got it from the library and my daughter grabbed it and read it straight through and bugged me till I read it as well. We're getting our own copy.

see more images and a review here: http://comicsalliance.com/emily-carroll-through-the-woods-review/

Yesterday I had a trip into the city centre for an eye test and took advantage of the appointment to visit a couple of my favourite bookshops.
Jason Books is a used bookshop in the centre that I love visiting and my haul:
Wolf Winter by Cecilia Ekbäck - ARC copy - Feb 2015
An instant in the wind by Andre Brink - he died earlier this year and I'd like to read at least one of his books soon.
Cat & Mouse by Gunter Grass - lovely old Penguin cover was the main reason for this one
The night in Lisbon by Erich Maria Remarque
The Man who loved children by Christina Stead - old penguin copy, reminder do not read intro, contains spoiler

Unity Books Sale:
they had halved the sale prices so I picked up a Syrian novel I had tried reading a couple of years back, I think thre's a problem with the translation but i'll give it a go.
In praise of hatred by Khālid Khalīfah

Whitcoulls:
they had also started a sale and so I got another from the Text Classic series which I'm collecting, John Hepworth's The Long Green Shore, a WW2 novel set in New Guinea and God's Dog by Diego Marani (I have Marani's New Finnish Grammar out of the library at present).

And as I mentioned on Darryl's thread my home made pastrami was ready to eat last night and got the thumbs up from the whole family. It's easy to make, just have to put up with a large container of brine in the fridge for a few days. Recipe is from The Artisan Jewish Deli at Home. My son has now made the cepelinai (Lithuanian potato dumplings) three times and they are surprisingly good to eat now that we've perfected the seasoning and also make an onion, bacon & sour cream sauce. On their own they are fairly bland.

40) The Chimes by Anna Smaill (2015)
fiction, new zealand
I found this debut novel a rewarding though complex read, one with echoes of other dystopian novels but maintaining its own unique edge. Smaill is a poet and an accomplished musician and both these qualities have been put to use in this novel. The language is eloquent, though I found I had to always read slowly and my pace remained ploddingly slow right through to the last pages. She laces the prose with musical terms, people move lento, or jump presto, quite fun if you know the musical terms. Her dystopian story is also based on music, the people have come under the control of the Order who rule through The Chimes, a daily musical ritual that cause amnesia. Writing is banned and music is now the main form of communication, directions given in song, market traders sing their wares etc etc. Most of the book is set in an alternate London.
'Is there solfege for the word of what I feel? There are hand movements for harmony, accord, consonance. Could it be told in music by the longing in a scale? The urge of the seventh to rise to its octave, the fourth to its dominant? I think of an urgent minor key, of dissonance resolving into sweetness, but it doesn’t really get close to the feeling. Those things are in it, but it is more complicated, less ordered, harder to understand.'

41) The Scar by China Miéville (2000)
weird scifi/audio
(New Crobuzon #2)
I really enjoyed Perdido Station but have to say that I did not find much joy in this one. Miéville 's world-building is impressive but this book was populated with too many monsters and human-hybrids and the ugliness of them all was a turn off for me. I'm going back to Peter F Hamilton and Iain Banks.


42) Henni by Miss Lasko-Gross (2015)
graphic novel
Quite an impressive little number. 'A bold fairytale championing the spirit of the individual'. Henni questions the rigid rules of her community and when she leaves, finds the next community to have rules that are even more rigid. After a few pages you get used to Henni as a cat-human creature.


43) Beautiful Darkness by Fabien Vehlmann (2014)
graphic novel
This is one that lives up to its title, luscious beautiful illustrations hiding a dark dark tale.
More here: http://nerdist.com/exclusive-fabien-vehlmann-kerascoet-beautiful-darkness-previe...
'Beautiful Darkness is a harrowing look at the human psyche and the darkness that hides behind the routine politeness and meaningless kindness of civilized society. The sweet faces and bright leaves of Kerascoet’s joyful watercolors only serve to highlight the evil which dwells beneath, as characters allow their pettiness, greed, and jealousy to take over. Beautiful Darkness presents a bleak allegory on the human condition; Kerascoet and Vehlman’s work is a searing condemnation of our vast capacity for evil writ tiny. '

_
44) Chico & Rita by Javier Mariscal (2010)
graphic novel & movie
Based on the true story of Grammy Award–winning Cuban pianist and bandleader Bebo Valdes.
The graphic novel was based on the animated film and while I began reading the GN first, I switched to watching the movie as I could see that music plays a big role in the story. After I went back and skimmed through the rest of the book. This evokes the 1940s 1950s era of Havana just before the revolution, my recommendation is to go with the movie.
From wikipedia: Director Fernando Trueba met designer and artist Javier Mariscal ten years ago when he asked him to create a poster for his Latin jazz documentary Calle 54. So began a collaboration that saw Mariscal design all the artwork for Trueba's Calle 54 Records, make animated pop promos for the label, and together create a jazz-music restaurant in Madrid. Chico & Rita would be Javier Mariscal’s first animated feature film as designer. The idea to make an animated feature film emerged from one of those pop promos, La Negra Tomasa by Cuban musician Compay Segundo.

Mariscal's younger brother Tono Errando, with a background in music, film and animation, leads the audio-visual side of the multi-disciplinary creative company, and was chosen to collaborate with Trueba and Mariscal. From the beginning, all three men were excited by the idea of making a film set against the Havana music scene in the late-40s and 50s. "That age is beautiful in design and architecture, so visually it belongs very much to Mariscal's world," says Errando.

"And in music it's a moment that's fantastic: it's the moment where Cuban musicians go to New York and join the Anglo Saxon jazz musicians. This fusion changed the music at that time."


45) Pretty Monsters: stories by Kelly Link (2008)
fantasy
Finally read this long term resident of my tbr pile and delighted in every story. I had come across one story before in an anthology. If you haven't already read one of her collections and you like urban fantasy then I recommend you give her a try.

Racing to finish before the end of the month:
Breath by Tim Winton - audiobook
There once lived a mother who loved her children until they moved back in: three novellas about family by Lyudmila Petrushevskaya - library bk
King Matt the First by Janusz Korczak - library bk
Isis: inside the army of terror by Michael Weiss - library bk

I'm going to have to set the reset button on my reading - I have so many library books out and little chance of reading them.

46) There once lived a mother who loved her children until they moved back in: three novellas about family by Lyudmila Petrushevskaya (2014)
short stories
I really love reading Petrushevskaya's work and this is another little dark gem. She gives us a glimpse into life in the Soviet capital during the years of brutal repression. The first story, 'The Time is Night', is the longest and fairly unrelentingly grim read about a mother, an unemployed poet, dealing with her adult children, their partners and offspring, stealing her food, taking over the rooms in her apartment, looting her money, her possessions. The second story is 'Chocolates with Liqueur' is black humour at its darkest, a mother tries to survive marriage to a brutal unstable man. The last very short story, 'Among Friends' has a decidedly bright ending, a dying mother ensures the future of her young son by a simple trick.

I've just reserved There once lived a mother, and the library catalogue also revealed a copy of The Underground Girls of Kabul, another book I really want to read (not sure where the connection is and why that showed up). Islington Libraries usually seem to take longer than that to get books.

Hi Kerry! Hope you had a nice weekend. I am so glad you loved Pretty Monsters. I will have to dig that one out of the stacks.

I just picked up Beautiful Darkness & Henni from the library and requested Sam Zabel, which looks to be brand new here.

>121 avatiakh: This looks great. Added to the request list.

47) Breath by Tim Winton (2008)
fiction / audiobook
Raced through this one fairly fast, it's a breezy listen. It's my first book by Australian writer Tim Winton and I picked it out right now as he'll be one of the guests at the Auckland Readers and Writers Festival in May. I read a review after I finished over on the ANZLitLovers blog, where the consensus seems to be that Winton just writes the same novel over and over and you either love it or get tired of it. But for me as a first time reader I found quite a bit to like with its endless descriptions of surfing adventures that reminded me of the film Big Wednesday. The book is basically a coming of age novel where two young teen boys are 'mentored' in surfing by an older ex-pro surfer who takes them on extreme surfing adventures that they should not at all be doing. I didn't like the sex in the book, I'm not a prude just don't want to read about erotic asphyxiation.
A good review from a first time reader of Winton is here, note that Lisa from ANZLitLovers gives this link in the comments to her own review: https://roughghosts.wordpress.com/2014/09/27/inhale-deeply-reflections-on-breath...

>122 elkiedee: Hi Lucy, not sure why the tow books link up either, but also one I want to get to eventually.

>123 msf59: Hi MArk, I hope you like these GNs. I'm currently reading Scalped vol 1.

>124 charl08: I hope you enjoy, all her work is rather dark and marvellous.

48) Yentl the Yeshiva Boy by Isaac Bashevis SInger (1962)
novella
My ex-library edition has this beautiful cover showing the crown of a 17th century Torah Scroll and woodcut prints by Antonio Frasconi throughout the short story. I saw the Barbara Streisand film years ago and keep meaning to watch it again (did he sing in it?), just like I've kept intending to pick up this book and read it. Well known plot about a young woman who poses as a man and goes to study in a yeshiva in the Polish countryside. Well worth reading.

My proposed reading for April:

I have a pile of library books to pick off, Darryl's excellent Iberian Peninsula challenge over in Reading Globally and my own category challenge and tbr pile to keep me busy.
I'll list the books i have lined up around me and see how many I can tick off this month, hoping it will include some nonfiction.

Library:
Catch the Jew by Tuvia Tenenbom - due back tomorrow, I need to step on the gas
King Matt the First by Janusz Korczak
Kaytek the Wizard by Janusz Korczak
Reasons to stay alive by Matt Haig
Dear Thief by Samantha Harvey - luckily an audiobook
The Martian by Andy Weir
Heartsinger by Karlijn Stoffels
The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
Laura by Vera Caspary
Jinx by Margaret Wild - YA
Alamut by Vladimir Bartol - Croatian
Fairest by Marissa Meyer
Blankets by Craig Thompson - GN
Scalped Vol 1 by Jason Aaron - GN
and more...

Iberian Challenge and from my Mt tbr:
The Crime of Father Amaro by Jose Maria Eca de Queiros
In the Wilderness by Manuel Rivas
Hotel Florida: Truth, Love, and Death in the Spanish Civil War by Amanda Vaill

Mt tbr:
The Camp of Saints by Jean Raspail
Yentl the Yeshiva Boy by Isaac Bashevis Singer

I'm sure I'll be updating this list as the month progresses

49) Heartsinger by Karlijn Stoffels (2006 Dutch)
YA fantasy
The cover does not reflect the story inside I have to say. Looking at the cover one imagines a teen angst type story, but one gets an imaginative little folktale. Two children born on the same day are destined to come together in order to save a young princess from herself. One child has taught herself to love life and be happy no matter what, the other uses sadness in song to bring out the beauty of a lost life. I enjoyed this.

50) The Crossover by Kwame Alexander (2014)
YA fiction
This verse novel won the Newbery Award earlier this year among other awards and was a deserving winner. A great story about twins who play basketball. Their father was a star player who retired just as he hit the big time. The book is narrated by the quieter twin, Josh 'Filthy McNasty' Bell and the story covers the period leading up to a championship playoff. There's a girl, the game, their father's reluctance to own up to health problems and a mother who's also the assistant principal at their school.
At times I felt the twins were much older than they actually are, I think they are meant to be about 12 years old.

51) King Matt the First by Janusz Korczak (1923 Polish)
children's fiction
I have a biography of Janusz Korczak, The King of Children: The Life and Death of Janusz Korczak by Betty Lifton that I picked up amongst other Holocaust books. I didn't realise that he was the author of this classic children's book, it was my husband who mentioned the book when we were watching the Dutch film Koning van Katoren based on How to become king by Jan Terlouw. Korczak's other book Kaytek the wizard is another precursor to Harry Potter and I was lucky that my library acquired a few copies on my recent request to purchase so I will be reading that in a couple of days.
From wikipedia: 'Janusz Korczak, the pen name of Henryk Goldszmit (22 July 1878 or 1879 – August 7, 19422), was a Polish-Jewish educator, children's author, and pediatrician known as Pan Doktor ("Mr. Doctor") or Stary Doktor ("Old Doctor"). After spending many years working as director of an orphanage in Warsaw, he refused freedom and stayed with his orphans when the institution was sent from the Ghetto to the Treblinka extermination camp, during the Grossaktion Warsaw of 1942.
As of late 2011, The Polish Book Institute have embarked on an initiative to publish or re-publish many of Korczak's books, both in Polish and in other languages'
http://www.timesofisrael.com/court-confirms-janusz-korczak-was-killed-in-treblin...

Matt becomes king when he is only 12 years old and left an orphan on the death of his father. He starts out by making mistakes such as agreeing with his ministers about going to war, but then decides to take control of his kingdom and institute reforms such as introducing a more democratic type of rule. He also wants to be known as the King of Children and creates a parliament for the children as well as one for grown-ups, a massive zoo and holiday camps. However it all descends into chaos that neighbouring kings take advantage of. Fascinating, fun introduction into politics, social reform and how giving everyone a voice doesn't always work, especially when there are agents at work to weaken your rule.
The book was written around the time of great change in Poland and reflects that. There's a sequel but not widely available in English.

52) Blankets by Craig Thompson (2003)
graphic memoir
Much already said on LT about how great this coming of age memoir is and I heartily endorse. First love perfectly captured here along with vivid boyhood memories of growing up in rural Wisconsin. I've already read his Habibi so have requested Carnet de Voyage which is a travelogue of his research trip for Habibi.

_
53) Catch the Jew by Tuvia Tenenbom (2015)
nonfiction
The cover is pretty corny especially considering the more normal cover on the Hebrew edition. This is Tenenbom's summary of about seven months he spent in Israel/Palestine going 'undercover' as Tobi the gentile German journalist. Tenenbom is Israeli-born but speaks fluent German and Arabic as well as English and Hebrew. He's been based in the US for many years and founded a theatre so has acting credentials as well as journalistic ones. So he puts all this to good use by posing as a German journalist out to interview everyone and anyone he can. This process means he actually does uncover some interesting stuff, it also means he hasn't got the space to do any of it any justice or do in depth, but overall if you can put aside his terrible humour, sexist talk, well, it leaves you wondering as there is quite a lot of content in the 460pgs, he meets a lot of people, follows up...
...he travels alongside several peace activists who come to Israel to support the Palestinian cause, he finds a whole industry of American, European and Israeli NGOs (non-governmental organisations, over 300 pro-Palestinian and 1 pro Israel that is internally funded) set up to cater to their needs. He finds that most activists come and never speak to an actual ordinary Israeli, they're not interested. He fronts up to lots of these organisations and talks to the staff, the volunteers etc, he meets and spends several days in the company of Palestinian politician, Jibril Rajoub.
He meets Palestinian Arabs, Israeli Arabs, Bedouin, Druse and Christians both Arab and European/American evangelicals, leftist Haaretz journalists in Tel Aviv, filmmakers, writers, MKs (Members of Knesset), rabbis, settlers and ordinary Israelis and because of his 'act' finds many talking openly about themselves and their organisations. He hides the fact that he understands Arabic most of the time and Hebrew some of the time.
From the WSJ review: 'The effects of foreign money—particularly European—in little Israel is another major theme of “Catch the Jew!” Following some interesting leads, Mr. Tenenbom discovers how “human rights” and foreign-funded “cultural” organizations in Israel are more often than not mere vehicles to attack the Jewish state. A director of one foreign-funded Israeli cultural NGO, the New Fund for Cinema and TV, estimates that 80% of political documentaries made in Israel are co-produced by Europeans. A documentary called “10%—What Makes a Hero,” which equates the Israel Defense Forces with the Nazis, was funded by Germany and Switzerland and produced by a Jewish Israeli. No contemporary German would dare make this movie him- or herself, says Mr. Tenenbom, but German-sponsored NGOs apparently have no objections to paying left-wing Israelis to make such movies themselves.' http://www.wsj.com/articles/book-review-catch-a-jew-by-tuvia-tenenbom-1427929898

He finishes with a final chapter about the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) and how they have more power possibly than most of the other NGOs put together, yet they are an unelected, undemocratic organisation that only accepts Swiss citizens to its board of directors.
https://www.icrc.org/en/where-we-work/middle-east/israel-and-occupied-territorie...

Plenty of food for thought here about the massive investment by Europeans and the US to undermine Israel's ability to govern democratically, though other books and articles are necessary to delve further into what Tenenbom uncovers. A good place to start is NGO Monitor.

I noticed this reluctance of pro-Palestinian activists to mix with ordinary Israelis in the graphic novel Jerusalem: Chronicles from the Holy City by Guy Delisle. DeLisle and his wife go out of their way not to shop in Jewish neighbourhoods and live with other NGO activists in Arab areas when his wife was working for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) or Doctors Without Borders.

I'm not quite done with playing catch-up with you yet, but was amazed to find a few days ago that I'd somehow managed to miss your thread altogether. This would be altogether unbelievable, but for the fact that I only visit a very few threads a day here and there, so easily miss really important ones. Very sorry to have missed you all this time all the same Kerry.

Loads of great reviews here, but for some reason, the one for Stoner, which basically just says 'Read It', sort of like Alice's 'Eat Me', was most convincing for me. ;-) Doesn't hurst that I've had it in my tbr seemingly for ages and that it was also highly recommended by Deborah this year. Will have to make room for it for sure. I've had The Tunnel out from the library for nearly 6 weeks now, but always have some planned read on the go and can't manage to squeeze it in so far. One more renewal left, but I'll be reading Of Human Bondage for some time yet, so I may have to borrow it again some other time.

The Plot by Eisner sounds like a must-read too. Not surprising that this kind of misinformation continues to circulate among those who have vested interests in spreading lies and hatred, but it is maddening and one does wish it were possible to attach some kind of notice announcing that fact somehow to the newly printed material. Naive of me to even express that wish, I know.

I borrowed the second Kyo Maclear book you mentioned, Virginia Wolf about three years ago, around the time it came out, mostly because it was illustrated by one of my favourite Montreal illustrators, Isabelle Arsenault, who never ceases to amaze me with her incredible talent. I was lucky enough to be able to collaborate with her on several projects when I was art director at the magazine I worked at some years ago, and she most impressed me with her ability to find concepts for topics which were psychologically difficult to broach. A wonderfully talented young woman. http://www.isabellearsenault.com/portfolio/

I'll be back!

Hi Ilana - I was a bit lazy with Stoner but felt that I either had to write a huge amount of comment which would give away too much of the plot or just encourage others to 'read it'. I'm all for brevity in my reviews. Also I had left my copy in Tel Aviv so couldn't refer to it.
I hope you get to try The Tunnel eventually, I recommended it as it was only a novella, so a quick enough read.
Yes, The Plot is a good read, though not sure if its target audience will pick it up. His Fagin the Jew was also good.
Unfortunately the market for the Protocols type material is not dying out. There's a lot of hatred out there.

Thanks for the link to Isabelle Arsenault's art, she is talented. Sarah Wilkins is a New Zealand illustrator who now lives in France who does similar magazine work. She illustrated one picturebook here in NZ which is my main interest. Her images are on the Barnes & Nobles reading mugs & tote bags.
http://www.sarahwilkins.net/index.html
__

54) Scalped: Indian Country Vol 1 by Jason Aaron
graphic novel
This came highly recommended by -Eva- from the category challenge but I just didn't find the same love for it. Set on an Indian Reservation, it's set around the imminent opening of a casino on the reservation with flashbacks to an unsolved murder of 2 FBI agents from 10 years earlier. A bit too much violence and poor quality paper, I had to push myself to get through this one.

one of the better images


55) To the heart of the storm by Will Eisner (1991)
graphic memoir
Eisner tells the story of his childhood, including flashbacks to his parents' early lives. He frames it round a train trip he takes after enlisting for World War 2 in 1942, the train takes him through NYC neighbourhoods where he has lived his life as he travels to army camp. The cover image is also the last illustration in the book.

>136 avatiakh: A bit too much violence and poor quality paper,

I think that the latter is more intolerable than the former!

Trust you had a lovely holiday weekend, Kerry. xx

Hi Paul - yes, ghastly to have to touch and turn pages when the paper quality is sooo bad.


56) Reasons to stay alive by Matt Haig (2015)
memoir
A brave book about surviving depression, suicidal thoughts and anxiety. Haig is a great writer and talks here about his personal battle, surviving the black black depression he woke to 15 years ago at the age of 24 while living on one of the most beautiful spots in the Mediterranean. It is full of hope, love and raw honesty.
His recovery included a lot of reading (he has a MA in Literature & History) before he went on to have his first novel published and he lists some of the books that 'helped' him, some were rereads from his university study -
The Power and the glory by Graham Greene
Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino
The Outsiders by S E Hinton - one of his favourite childhood reads
The Stranger by Albert Camus
The Concise Collins Dictionary of Quotations
Letters of Keats
Oranges are not the only fruit by Jeanette Winterson
Vox by Nicholson Baker
Money by Martin Amis -
The Diary of Samuel Pepys
The Catcher in the Rye by J D Salinger
The Penguin Book of First World War Poetry
A history of the world in ten and a half chapters by Julian Barnes
Wilderness Tips by Margaret Atwood
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

There's also a further reading list at the back of the book:
Bad Pharma: How Drug Companies Mislead Doctors and Harm Patients by Ben Goldacre
Darkness Visible: a memoir of madness by William Styron
The Depths: the evolutionary origins of the depression epidemic by Jonathan Rottenberg
Madness and Civilisation ny Michel Foucault
The Man who couldn't stop: OCD and the true story of a life lost in thought by David Adam
Making friends with anxiety: a warm, supportive little book to ease worry and panic by Sarah Rayner
Mindfulness: a practical guide to finding peace in a frantic world by Prof. Mark Williams & Dr Danny Penman
The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression by Andrew Solomon
Sane New World: Taming the Mind by Ruby Wax
Why zebras don't get ulcers: A Guide to Stress, Stress-Related Diseases, and Coping by Robert M. Sapolsky

Book promo - 5 reasons to stay alive: https://youtu.be/qYV7pS9jULs

Last week I had a followup eye test, the optician wanted to completely rule out glaucoma and as I had some issues on my first visit which had to be treated with an antibiotic I flew through the second test with flying colours. Thank goodness. Also I don't need new lenses so overall a minor success story.
To celebrate I hit my two favourite book places in the central city:

Jasons Used Books:
they had 20% off their fiction titles so...
The Viceroy of Ouidah by Bruce Chatwin - Brazil/Africa
The adventures of Jean-Pierre by Paul Gallico - replacement copy
The Japanese Chronicles by Nicolas Bouvier - about his 30 years in Japan
Painter of Silence by Georgia Harding - on my to read list
The Reading Promise: My Father and the Books We Shared by Alice Ozma - book about books
The Moon and Sixpence by W. Somerset Maugham - BAC challenge
The Man without Qualities by Robert Musil - Vienna on the cusp of WW1
The Island of Horses by Eilis Dillon - Irish children's classic/NYRB edition
The 35th of May or Conrad's Ride to the South Seas by Erich Kastner - collecting his work

Unity Books:
The Pirates and the Nightmaker by James Norcliffe - 3rd in his wonderful fantasy series for children
Loyal Creatures by Morris Gleitzman - Australian Light Horse in Palestine - history for children
Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman - followup to Seraphina
Franco's Crypt: Spanish Culture and Memory Since 1936 by Jeremy Treglown - Spain during the Franco years

My current reads:
The camp of saints by Jean Raspail - interesting
Kaytek the wizard by Janusz Korczak - quaint
The Martian by Andy Weir - lots of technical data, can skip a whole page and not miss much, hard to take seriously after listening to podcast reced by Alex on his thread - roundballnz
Financing the Flames: How Tax-Exempt and Public Money Fuel a Culture of Confrontation and Terror in Israel by Edwin Black - my kindle read
Dear Thief by Samantha HArvey - audiobook

Currently watching:

Sherlock the miniseries - already seen a few but starting from the beginning again

Watched:

The year my parents went on vacation (2006)
Wikpediai: The story takes place entirely during a few months in 1970, in the city of São Paulo. Mauro, a 12-year-old boy, is suddenly deprived of the company of his young parents, Bia and Daniel Stein, who are political activists on the run from the harsh military government, which was strongly repressing leftists all over the country. Against this backdrop of fear and political persecution, the country is at the same time bursting with enthusiasm for the coming World Cup, to be held in Mexico, the first one to be transmitted live via satellite.

57) The Martian by Andy Weir (2014)
sci fi
Enjoyed it, though it felt like reading a movie. I wasn't drawn at all to the main character or anyone else in the book, there was also a lot of technical data that could have been condensed somewhat. The plot lurches from one misfortune to the next, and unfolds in your mind as a spectacular movie.

58) Shadow on the mountain by Margi Preus (2012)
YA fiction
Based loosely on a real hero of the Norwegian underground during WW2. Espen is 14 when the Nazis invade Norway and he soon finds himself running increasingly more daring tasks for the resistance. He lives in Lillehammer, the headquarters of the Nazis. Preus grew up listening to her father's stories of life in Norway under the Nazi occupation.
You can read about real life hero, Erling Storrusten, at www.wwiinorge.com

>139 avatiakh: Sounds like a good day at the bookshop. I have the Viceroy of Ouidah on my TBR pile - I must read it, looks fascinating.

Hi Kerry, just dropping by to say a VERY belated happy new year as I seem to have returned to LT! I've sworn to myself that I won't try to catch up on old posts (as trying to keep up has been a big part of the reason my LT reading/posting has dropped off fairly drastically the last couple of years), but I did enjoy spooling through your holiday pics!

...and I did get pulled in by the odd book picture. I completely agree re Gaiman's "Hansel and Gretel" - I thought the artwork was beautiful, but the story a little disappointingly as expected. I much preferred his Sleeper and the Spindle, which I thought was much more original - did you also read that?

I've had Saga on my to read pile for ages - everyone was raving about it at the World Fantasy Convention in Brighton the October before last and I just happened to buy the first 2 as part of a Humble Bundle. Actually, I saw Holly Black talking at the same convention and from what she said and a reading she did, I thought I should give her a go - I just didn't really want to read any more vampire books. Have you read anything else by her - are there any you'd particularly recommend? Kelly Link is also a fairly new to me author that I'm absolutely loving (well new in the last few years anyway). I'm really trying to eek her books out. You know that there's a new one (Get in Trouble) out?

>142 charl08: I enjoyed his novella Utz so was delighted to come across another, and the subject matter does look really interesting. And with so many books on my Mt tbr I love spending an afternoon with a novella.

>143 flissp: Ooh Fliss, lovely to have you drop by. I'll have to look out for your thread, I've missed quite a few people by being away from home at the start of the year.
I finally picked up a copy of Sleeper and spindle last week, I thought I'd get my own copy as the illustrations look wonderful. I've been a fan of Chris Riddell for years.

I've got vol 2 of Saga from the library right now. It's pretty good and vol 1 ended rather well so thought i'd continue.

My first urban fantasy was Tithe by Holly Black and I thought it was awesome at the time. She's been a great mentor for lots of newbie fantasy writers too, which I really like. She's written quite a few faerie books, I'd probably start with the children's series of The spiderwick chronicles. Tony DiTerlizzi does the illustrations so they are little gems. Otherwise try Valiant which is a great urban fantasy about a runaway in New York.

Have you seen the photos of her hidden library? http://thesteampunkhome.blogspot.co.nz/2008/10/holly-blacks-hidden-library.html

Yes, i'll be reading more by Kelly Link.
My daughter is on a Diana Wynne Jones binge again, currently she's reading Dogsbody and loving it.

Hi, Kerry! I hope you have a terrific weekend. My next print book is The Darkest Part of the Forest, the latest by Holly Black. This will be my first. I hope she speaks to me.

I've seen that Holly Black in the bookshop on a couple of occasions, it does look good. I should finish up her White Cat trilogy.

59) Dear Thief by Samantha Harvey (2014)
fiction, audiobook
I decided to read this novel after reading a recent Telegraph article, 'Why great novels don’t get noticed now' which is talked about here: http://www.thepassivevoice.com/03/2015/why-great-novels-dont-get-noticed-now/ or http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/11470185/Why-great-novels-dont...
The book has made the Bailey Prize longlist and the Folio Prize shortlist, but its US publisher went under and so the book disappeared in the US.
I liked the idea of a novel just being a long letter by a wife to the woman, an ex-friend, who stole her husband twenty or so years earlier. The writing can't be faulted, murky memories abound here, suppositions and long delayed fury let loose on paper. It is a great novel though not one that especially appeals to me as I'm not so interested in books that focus solely on relationships.
'Dear Thief is based on Leonard Cohen’s “Famous Blue Raincoat,” and centers around the complexities of a female friendship and a love triangle.' http://nhpr.org/post/best-overlooked-books-2014

60) Kaytek the wizard by Janusz Korczak (1933 Polish) (2012 Eng)
children's fiction
This is the first book to be re-translated and published by The Polish Book Institute which has the rights to all of Korczak's work. I wrote about Korczak back in post #131.
One has to remember while reading this that it was written in 1920s Poland and reflects some of the concerns of the times, yet this story is also quite timeless. Kaytek is a typical school boy and when he discovers his powers he uses them impulsively and mischievously, creating chaos first in his school and then in downtown Warsaw. So much disruption that the League of Nations meets in Switzerland to discuss the troubles of Poland. Kaytek is forced to leave Warsaw and travels to Paris and on to the USA as he tries to come to terms with himself, his power and those now in pursuit. Overall a delightful read.

Janusz Korczak Memorial at Yad Vashem
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janusz_Korczak

I Can’t Imagine How That Happened by Aimee McNaughton (2014)
picturebook, new zealand
A young girl and her Grandpa are on a camping trip at a beach. They both play small pranks on each other and then say 'I can't imagine how that happened' but the last prank is played on both of them in a very satisfying ending, unique to NZ.
The manuscript won the Joy Cowley Award in 2013.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/bay-of-plenty-times/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503343&...


Alphabet Squabble by Isaac Drought (2013)
picturebook, new zealand
This is a fun story and introduces the topic of prejudice in a safe manner. X, Y & Z are the least popular letters and the other letters think that maybe they should leave the town where they live. It's up to X, Y & Z to prove their mettle by bringing 5 words each to the next meeting to show their worth. Little small case 'x' brings along 'xenophobia' which causes a rethink. It's cute because while 'z' can have 'zoo' & 'zebra', the other letters have already taken, 'elephant', 'monkey', 'tiger' etc etc. The illustrations are by Jenny Cooper a renown Christchurch illustrator.
The manuscript won the Joy Cowley Award in 2012.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/news/midweek/9004100/Test-driving-sto...


Wolfie the bunny by Ame Dyckman (2015)
picturebook
Adorable. Baby Wolfie is left in a basket on the doorstep of the Bunny family and is taken in. Only Dot the little bunny seems to be aware that this could all end badly.


The day the crayons quit by Drew Daywalt (2013)
picturebook
With illustrations by Oliver Jeffers this book can do no wrong. A young boy finds that his crayons are on strike, each colour leaves a letter to the boy telling him the reason why. Fun.
_

>147 avatiakh: Several years ago when LT was raving about the Alzheimers book Still Alice, I read The Wilderness by Samantha Harvey, a much better book on a similar theme. I'll have to look for Dear Thief.

I saw The Day the Crayons Quit in the bookstore and bought it for my grandson, only to find that he already had it. His mother keeps him too well-supplied with books. :)

I want a copy of The Day the Crayons Quit. I had a quick flick through at a bookshop and it just looks so fun. I love Oliver Jeffers' books, the illustrations are so imaginative.

61) Look me in the eye by John Elder Robison (2007)
memoir / audio
Unfortunately I had to listen to an abridged audio of this book. I went ahead as I already had the cds from the library and I was mainly listening to it for Autism April and I'd already read his brother's memoir, Running with Scissors. I loved the part where Robison describes working for rock groups including Pink Floyd and Kiss and his helping Ace with the special effects for his smoking guitars.


62) Fairest by Marissa Meyer (2015)
YA fantasy
This is an in-between short book in the Lunar Chronicles series, explaining the back story to Queen Levana who is the villain of the series, it also explains a little about the births of two other characters. Overall it is not a necessary read and doesn't propel the main story forward at all.

>150 arubabookwoman: I read somewhere that Harvey almost always has older characters in her books. I'll look out for The WIlderness.
Oh, you'll have to get creative with your picturebook purchases. Maybe look out some Kate Greenaway Medal winners or Canadian books.

>151 charl08: I love Oliver Jeffers' books too. The crayon book was beautifully done. I've seen him on stage with a large audience of high school students, he was brilliant.

Today I was in the city again and made use of my Unity Books card which had finally filled with stamps so I had a $37 credit. I browsed for ages, hating the high prices we have here in New Zealand and in the end decided to get After We Kill You, We Will Welcome You Back as Honored Guests: Unembedded in Afghanistan by Ted Rall mainly because it is part graphic novel and part travel narrative and just looked fairly amazing. I haven't heard of Ted Rall before.

Another nonfiction book that caught my eye was Exodus: How Migration Is Changing Our World by Paul Collier.

>152 avatiakh: That's a helpful review of Fairest, Kerry. Thanks. I love this series, but I won't feel a need to rush to read this one before Winter comes out.

Hi Joe, good move, I felt half-way through that I could stop at any moment and not miss much.


63) Saga Vol 2 by Brian K. Vaughan
graphic novel
Continues the storyline very well. I'm enjoying this but also don't feel compelled to keep reading. I love the illustrations though a few minor characters are rather grotesque.

I had a quick visit to my favourite used bookshop in the city this morning and came away with:
The sorrow of Belgium by Hugo Claus, a Dutch novel I've never heard of but looks interesting.

#144 Agreed re Chris Riddell. Will have to pick up Saga when I've finished Unwritten...

Re Holly Black, I was very impressed by her and what she had to say at the Brighton WFC - she just seemed to talk a lot of sense (much like Patrick Ness, who can do little wrong in my eyes, even if I've not been blown away by his last couple of books in the way that I was by the Chaos Walking trilogy and A Monster Calls). Okey dokey, will definitely give her a shot. I think I've seen a film of The Spiderwick Chronicles? Wonderful library. I'm very jealous. One day I'll have a house with a library. One day. ;o)

So pleased to hear your daughter's enjoying DWJ!

Love the sound of Kaytek the Wizard - it only seems to be available in hardback over here, so I may wait for it a bit. ...also love the sound of Wolfie the Bunny and The Day the Crayons Quit - definitely going to be looking those out for my niece and nephew!

Hadn't been back in a while, so congrats on passing that eye test with flying colours. That must have been a great relief!

I took my time getting through The Spiderwick Chronicles and really enjoyed them. I think I found them because I was looking for work illustrated by Tony diTerlizzi. I've recently finished the original first 5 books and will now start the 'Beyond' books, starting with The Nixie's Song. They're really good fun. I've just read in the link you've provided to Holly Black's hidden library that the New York Post calls them "vintage Victorian fantasy", which is a good way of describing the series. Thanks for that link by the way.

I like books about relationships, so I've put Dear Thief on the wishlist.

I'm currently listening to I, Dreyfus by Bernice Rubens, which you recommended to me, and finding it excellent. I got through more than half of it in the first day. I was rather confused for a while by the transposition to the 1990s UK setting, especially as the original Dreyfus is mentioned at the beginning, but eventually it clicked that she had just used that historical character as a springboard to create her own story with a character who only shares a similar name and a Jewish heritage.

I'm enjoying this {Saga series} but also don't feel compelled to keep reading I hope you do at some point, Kerry - my MBH and I think the 4th one is the best yet.

>157 flissp: I still have to read those early ones by Patrick Ness, I have them, but also too many other great books on my Mt Tbr.

>158 Smiler69: Hi Ilana. So glad that you're enjoying the Rubens. Her memoir is quite good too, her family were very musical and her brother especially. He was the inspiration for Madame Sousatzka.
I haven't read the Beyond Spiderwick books as yet. Years ago we packed up all Dana's Spiderwick books and mailed them to the US, to Tony DiTerlizzi, he signed them all, drew pictures and also included a proof copy of The Nixie's Song and stickers which he sent back to New Zealand (we provided the return mailing cost). He was delightful and most encouraging to Dana's letter.

You'll enjoy Dear Thief, I listened to the audio version which went quite well.

>159 jnwelch: Joe, thanks for this feedback on the Saga series. I see now there are only 4 vols and have requested these last two from the library. There will be quite a wait for #4.

_
I've become a fan of Orphan Black. I watched a couple of episodes of season 1 last year and got a little confused by it all and decided a couple of weeks ago to finish the season which I ended up enjoying a lot, especially the acting performance by Tatiana Maslany who plays several versions of herself exceedingly well. I ordered season 2 from the library and watched all of that over the weekend and then sneaked a look at the first episode of season 3. I'm hooked, though the plot can be a little over the top at times.

Also finally watched the second season of 'The Bridge', a Swedish Danish co-production which features a Swedish detective, Saga Norén, who has aspergers syndrome, and her partner, Danish detective, Martin Rohde, who has to deal with Saga's unusual personality. They come together again to deal with another investigation which involves a second incident on the bridge that links Copenhagen in Denmark with Malmö in Sweden. Really good stuff.

64) The Camp of Saints by Jean Raspail (1973)
fiction
I enjoyed Raspail's The People a few years ago and have wanted to read more by him. This apocalyptic novel is quite different, probably best viewed as satire as some of the content is controversial, racist and not PC. For all that it is interesting to read a book where the writer decides to buck a trend and be antagonistic in this way.
The plot centres on a flotilla of ships, packed to the brim with its third world cargo; poor, uneducated, diseased and brown, the people of the Ganges, a million of them floating towards the Western World. Which country will they land in? What reception will they receive? Can they be given aid as the voyage progresses?
Raspail writes of the liberal left, the activists, the church, the immigrants already in the West and how they begin to respond as it becomes clear that the flotilla will be landing in the French Riviera. The mass of people on the flotilla come to see themselves as a weapon against the West, they are not coming to assimilate, to give thanks, they are coming to grab material advantage. Western society begins to fragment as the fallout from the approaching flotilla causes an uprising of the immigrant masses against the establishment and with army personnel, prison officers, church leaders embracing their leftist ideals but being lost in the masses of third world people coming to overrun the West. As the flotilla approaches, there are similar actions now waiting - the Chinese poor massing on the border to Russia, Indonesian & Filipinos ready to board their own flotillas to Australia & New Zealand, Africans ready to cross the Limpopo to (apartheid) South Africa. Immigrants and oppressed marching on London and New York.
Raspail divides his groups into white and coloured, leftists and conservatives, a little too un-PC but also is what gives the novel its impact. The book begins and ends in The Village, just a couple of miles from the coast where the flotilla makes landfall.
I found this hard to read at times, there are lots of comical incidents but also fairly ugly scenes regarding the flotilla and Western women don't have it easy in the end (where I write Western, you could also possibly just write 'white')....
...but with the current debates across the Western World about illegal immigration, economic migrants, refugees including Australia's asylum seeker policy, the US and their seemingly open border with Central America and now the European problem with illegal immigration by boat from Africa, tied in with this weekend's controversial article by Katie Hopkin in the UK Sun newspaper - well seemed like a good time to read this.
http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/2015/04/shes-wrong-but-katie-hopkins-ha...

From wikipedia: The novel depicts a hypothetical setting whereby Third World mass immigration to France and the West leads to the destruction of Western civilization. Almost forty years after publication the book returned to the bestseller list in 2011
From NR: The theme of the book is based on a moral quandary: What steps will a liberal society take to preserve its way of life? Is liberal society too humane and compassionate to protect itself from those who would undermine and destroy it?
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/380211/camp-saints-2014-style-mackubin-tho...
'Raspail makes it clear that this horde has no desire to assimilate into French culture. Instead, they seek the plentiful material goods that Europeans have produced and Indians have not. In Raspail’s telling, the confidence of the West — which was once called Christendom — has been undermined by multiculturalism and the like. Accordingly, hardly anyone is willing to say that this flotilla must be stopped. Instead, liberals and Christians foolishly embrace the idea that the onslaught of migrants should be welcomed into the wealth and comfort of Europe. Indeed, the French military is directed to attack those who seek to resist the horde.
The book is full of historical allusions. The title of the novel comes from the Book of Revelation. A character who opposes the armada — portrayed in the French press as a villain — bears the name of the last Byzantine emperor. Raspail was ahead of his time in demonstrating that Western civilization had lost its sense of purpose and history — its “exceptionalism.” If the loss of self-confidence on the part of Western liberal society was apparent in 1973, it is much more so today. The pious nonsense spouted in the novel by apologists for the overwhelming onslaught against France merely adumbrates what has become mainstream today.
Of course, Raspail was denounced as a racist, and his emphasis on the white race can indeed be off-putting. But the central issue of the novel is not race but culture and political principles. The United States has always welcomed immigrants, but until recently, it has expected them to assimilate — in other words, to become “Americans.” The traditional focus of American society has been the individual. Instead, multiculturalism has spawned a balkanized society of resentful members of various groups that seek favors for themselves, often at the expense of other groups — identity politics at its worst.'

My wife and I love Orphan Black! What an amazing acting job by Tatiana Maslany. We're just getting Season 2 started up across the pond.

Great review of The Camp of the Saints, Kerry! That definitely goes onto the wishlist.

>162 jnwelch: Hi Joe - Yes, it is the actress herself that makes the show an intriguing watch. My newspaper's weekend lifestyle section threw up an annoying spoiler in their promo for season 3 just as I started watching season 2. A full page article that I could avoid but the headline and accompanying photos did me in.

___
I also watched in the past few weeks the 3 seasons of Sherlock which was pretty good. We've also started The Village which is like Downtown Abbey but less highbrow.

>163 kidzdoc: Thanks Darryl, I have mixed feelings about the book still, but now want to read more about liberal society and identity politics. The book can be slammed as racist but I think it has merits in that you start to think more about what happens when large numbers of migrants don't assimilate. Here in New Zealand we have had a huge influx of Asian immigrants these past 20 years, especially to Auckland the biggest city, so far it has been a success story though there are occasional gripes especially over schools. Locals have felt used in that many wealthy Asian families settled their school-aged children here in desirable suburbs and then the parents went back to their businesses, leaving the children to be educated for free in some of our top schools, and so less access for ordinary NZers to these schools. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11414457
The Camp of Saints also focused on the role that media plays in not bringing the full story, playing on our heartstrings rather than giving us a clear idea of implications. With social media and instant access to news these stories now predominate.


65) The Devil's Star by Jo Nesbø (2003)
crime
Harry Hole #5. I really enjoyed this Harry Hole thriller where Hole is forced to work alongside his adversary, Tom Waaler. I'll probably read his earlier one next, Cockroaches, I think this was one that was translated later as it's set in Bangkok and doesn't have the main storyline that began with #3.

>160 avatiakh: Sounds like we enjoy the same sort of TV shows. We enjoyed both The Bridge and Orphan Black, although we haven't got to the third series of the second one yet. The actress that plays the main characters is amazing - I hope she's getting paid a lot for her part!

Hi Rhian - yes, great tv shows. I love how each clone brings an extra dimension to the story, don't have a favourite but Alison makes me laugh and Helena always gets the job done.


66) Cockroaches by Jo Nesbø (1998 Norway) (2014 Eng)
crime
Read this early Harry Hole (#2) and now I can get back on track and pick up The Redeemer. I've decided to read through the series over the next few weeks, I have all the books and they've sat by my bedside table being ignored for a bit too long. They're satisfying crime thrillers, I like Harry and they're so easy to read.
Cockroaches is set in Bangkok, Harry is sent out there to investigate the murder of the Norwegian ambassador. I haven't read a book set in chaotic Bangkok for a long time and this one covers traffic, sex, drugs and karaoke bars.

Currently reading The crime of Father Amaro which I'm enjoying except for the very small font. Listening to Being mortal which is great. Also have started a biography of Menachem Begin by Daniel Gordis.

Just about to post this and remembered that I've read a couple of other books in between the two Nesbøs.

67) Financing the Flames: How Tax-Exempt and Public Money Fuel a Culture of Confrontation and Terror in Israel by Edwin Black (2013)
nonfiction
This was a good followup to Catch the Jew which I read earlier this month. Black has done a fastidious investigation into charity organisations, human rights organisations and how they take American taxpayers money to Israel to work on confronting and destabilising the chances for peace. Also a good chapter on how the Palestinian Authority prioritises salary payments to prisoners in Israeli jails, making it worthwhile to be a terrorist as you and your family get a better than living wage, paid for by Western governments. I was 67% through my kindle read when the book finished, the rest were pages and pages of notes, references, bibliographies, weblinks, lists of interviews, organisations etc etc. Everything he writes about has been documented somewhere, very thorough.
From Amazon: pulls the cover off the robust use of US tax-exempt, tax-subsidized, and public monies to foment agitation, systematically destabilize the Israel Defense Forces, and finance terrorists in Israel. In a far-flung investigation in the United States, Israel and the West Bank, human-rights investigative reporter Edwin Black documents that it is actually the highly politicized human rights organizations and NGOs themselves—all American taxpayer supported—which are financing the flames that make peace in Israel difficult if not impossible. In addition to documenting questionable 501(c)(3) activity, Black documents the direct relationship between taxpayer assistance to the Palestinian Authority and individuals engaged in terrorism against civilians.
'These are the best salaries in the Palestinian territories. The Arabic word ratib, meaning "salary", is the official term for this compensation. The law ensures the greatest financial reward for the most egregious acts of terrorism....About 6% of the Palestinian budget is diverted to prisoner salaries. All this money comes from so-called "donor countries" such as the United States, Great Britain, Norway, and Denmark. Palestinian officials have reacted with defiance to any foreign governmental effort to end the salaries.'

Here's an article he wrote in the Guardian when the book first came out: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/11/british-american-aid-subsid...
and a recent report that came out last week: http://www.algemeiner.com/2015/04/24/new-report-documents-extensive-foreign-fund...

I also read an article about World Vision that followed similar territory, how charity groups can cause disruption just by bringing in aid. Interesting in that it covers the back story of World Vision too. http://philosproject.org/world-vision-and-the-middle-east-part-1/
'In responding to the Ethiopian famine and other catastrophes, Alex de Waal, one of the researchers who struggled the hardest against the taboo of criticizing aid organizations, concluded that humanitarian organizations did more harm than good. “Throughout the world, relief aid delivered by international agencies has become integrated into processes of violence and oppression,” he wrote in 1994, adding that there was a “synergy between relief and violence.”'


68) Barack Obama's Rules for Revolution: The Alinsky Model by David Horowitz (2009)
nonfiction / booklet
I've seen mention several times of the Alinsky Rules for Radicals when reading about Obama and Hilary Clinton and wanted to know a bit more. I've had Alinsky's book out from the library before but felt that this 37 pg booklet would be a good way to find out a bit more. Author David Horowitz is now a conservative but grew up in a radical home with communist parents and was a Marxist till he rejected leftist ideals in the late 1970s. It's an interesting read, much more about Alinsky and radicals than about Obama and introduced me to radical politics on the US left. Interesting that it's about the pursuit of power at almost any cost. Clinton wrote a thesis on Alinsky's theories back when she was in college.
I need to do some follow up reading, Horowitz's autobiography might be interesting, Radical Son: A Generational Odyssey.

From Amazon: Barack Obama’s Rules for Revolution: The Alinsky Model examines the roots of the current administration’s effort to subject America to a wholesale transformation by looking at the work of one of the President’s heroes—radical Chicago “community organizer” Saul Alinsky. The guru of Sixties radicals, Alinsky urged his followers to be flexible and opportunistic and say anything to get power, which they can then use to radically change existing social and economic institutions. In this insightful new booklet, Horowitz discusses Alinsky’s work in the 60s—and his advice to radicals to seize any weapon to advance their cause. This became the philosophy of Alinskyite organizations such as ACORN and influenced the future President who came up through the Chicago network created by Alinsky’s network. After analyzing Saul Alinsky’s work and pointing out that the godfather of “social organizing” created “ not salvation but chaos,” Horowitz then he asks the crucial question: “And presidential disciples of Alinsky, what will they create?”

Happy Sunday, Kerry! It looks like you've been busy with your books & TV viewing. Smiles...

I want to thank you, for Beautiful Darkness. I was warbling about it, over on my thread. What a mix of beauty and horror. Very unsettling.

I am really enjoying the Buried Giant. This is definitely your cuppa.

I'm in the middle of The Bat - the first Harry Hole book. I think I'm gonna be working my way through the series too.

>168 msf59: So pleased you liked Beautiful Darkness, it really is a mix!
I sent Buried Giant back to the library, I know I'll like it but have so many unread books on the Mt tbr, so had to get tough on myself.

>169 drneutron: I enjoyed The Bat too. This and Cockroaches were translated to English after the Harry Hole Oslo series had taken off, hence my need to backtrack and read them. I'm well into The Redeemer and already enjoying it. I'm meant to be limiting my time on these books as a companion read to other more serious reading, but once you get into one it's hard to put it back down.

I was hoping to read something ANZAC-y this weekend so might pick up a children's book, Morris Gleitzman's Loyal Creatures about the Australian Light Horse. I've also got the novel The Gendarme ready to read, it covers the Armenian genocide. I've not read about that tragedy ever.

My current kindle read is Terror in Black September: The First Eyewitness Account of the Infamous 1970 Hijackings by David Raab. Raab was only 17 when the TWA flight he was on was hijacked. I've wanted to read about Black September for a while, hopefully this will be a good intro.

I have two graphic novels from the library needing to get read as well, Saga #3 and A bag of marbles.

69) Being mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande (2014)
nonfiction / iPod audio
I really enjoyed listening to this, a book that everyone should consider reading at some stage. The book is mainly about care for the elderly and dying in the US and has lessons for us all. In the last chapter he covers The Netherlands and their 'right to die' or 'dying with dignity' laws and how this process might not be as great as it's cracked up to be. That reminded me of an article I read recently about the growing number of disabled babies being euthanised there. Scary when you delve into this a little.
http://www.breitbart.com/london/2015/01/02/650-babies-euthanized-in-the-netherla...
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22129580.200-the-world-needs-to-talk-about...
http://time.com/7565/belgium-euthanasia-law-children-assisted-suicide/
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2779624/Number-mentally-ill-patients-kil...

>171 avatiakh: Nice review of Being Mortal, Kerry. I'll come back here later this week to read the articles whose links you posted.

Hi Kerry - been FAR too long, but I am all caught up again! Enjoying your reviews and commentary as ever.

I've added some more to my Will Eisner wishlist, and you've led me to John Hepworth and Remarque's The Night in Lisbon. Going even further back - sorry - you picked up the same edition of Cat and Mouse that I have tbr. Nice choice! Great review of Tuvia Tenenbom's book. It looks extremely interesting. I really hate the title though. Is that the best they came up with..!? I suppose it's catchy, sort of, every pun intended. And the cover for that matter - who is this book being marketed to?

Brilliant review of The Camp of Saints as well. It sounds remarkable, albeit fairly full on. I'm in two minds over whether I'd want to read it or not. It also seems almost too relevant though to ignore...

(And yes, I do like the look of Cynan Jones' The Dig very much. Thanks for mentioning it. I don't know enough Welsh contemporary stuff, so am glad to expand my local horizons a bit!)

>172 kidzdoc: Thanks Darryl, I hope you find the articles interesting.

>173 Polaris-: Hi Paul, I hope you enjoy The Dig when you get round to it, I loved it for all that it is quite melancholy.
Catch the Jew - I think the title comes from the enormous number of journalists and cameras (Be'tselem/media) that hover on the fringes of each and every encounter where they try to capture any nuance of a Jew showing 'oppression' towards an Arab. The weekly protest march in Bil'in where nothing happens unless someone turns up with a camera.
You can also see this at work right now in the US at the protests in Baltimore with the media outnumbering the protesters.

The camp of saints was a bit of a slog but interesting overall. Held up my other reading and I ended up needing to read a couple of crime thrillers to compensate.

A trip to the library sale table was fairly lucrative today and yesterday:
city-pick: Istanbul edited by Heather Reyes - literary outtakes, perfect series for travelling bibliophiles
Two cows and a vanful of smoke by Peter Benson - adventure & 'celebration of British countryside'
The Trinity Six by Charles Cumming - espionage
God's Undertaker: has science buried God? by John C. Lennox - looks interesting

From Book depository:
Little Boy Brown by Isobel Harris, illus. by Andre Francois - older picture book

Library Books, most I haven't got a chance to read but I like having a selection:

Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie - scifi that everyone seems to have liked
ISIS: inside the army of terror by Michael Weiss - 2nd attempt to read this
The Rise and Fall of Australia by Nick Bryant - read a good review of this a while back
Under the Egg by Laura Marx Fitzgerald - children's fiction about the Holocaust
I lived on Butterfly Hill by Majorie Agosin - childrens fiction set in Chile about a Jewish family
El Iluminado - graphic novel about Crypto Jews
For Lust of Knowing: the Orientalists and their enemies by Robert Irwin - looks interesting
My first Kafka: runaways, rodents and giant bugs - picture book
Trigger Warning by Neil Gaiman - short stories
How to fight Islamist terror from the missionary position by Tabish Khair - can't resist a novel with a title like this
Henna House by Naomi Eve - novel about a Yemenite Jew
Mainlander by Will Smith - mystery set on Jersey
The thought of high windows by Lynne Kositsky- Holocaust novel
Rav Hisda's Daughter: Apprentice by Maggie Anton - series gets good reviews

Oh, I really enjoyed For Lust of Knowing, a book I bought because it was on a reading list for a class I was teaching, and kept reading because he was a good writer. Goes well with Edward Said for an interesting argument! (I also love the sound of How to Fight Islamic Terror with the Missionary Position and the Will Smith review was memorable, so interested to hear what you think on both of those (although given the size of your list, perhaps not quite straight away?!).

Reading plans for May

as well as the library book pile above I already have several books on the go -
The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma - debut novel
The crime of Father Amaro by Jose Maria Eca de Queiros
The casual vacancy by J.K. Rowling
The Redeemer by Jo Nesbø
Menachem Begin: the battle for Israel's soul by Daniel Gordis
Terror in Black September by David Raab
Once were warriors by Alan Duff - ANZAC April - audio

also lined up:
The man who loved children by Christina Stead - ANZAC read
The moon and Sixpence by Somerset Maugham - April BAC
The gendarme by Mark T. Mustian
Saga, volume 3 - graphic novel
In the Wilderness by Manuel Rivas
The snowman by Jo Nesbø
Loyal Creatures by Morris Gleitzman

lying around looking forlorn:
The King of Children: the life and death of Janusz Korczak by Betty Jean Lifton
The ornament of the world: How Muslims, Jews and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain by Maria Rosa Menocal

>175 charl08: Thanks for your valuable feedback on Lust for knowing, I've still got to read Orientalism, and might end up buying the Irwin book so I can take my time. You can see that my eyes are bigger than my reading ability when it comes to requesting library books (free service at least). I read too many reviews and booklists, the high number of Jewish books is because I was looking through Tablet Magazine Jewish Book Council's recommended reading lists the other day.
http://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/books/reading-lists

70) The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma (2015)
fiction
This is a great debut novel that I didn't mind incurring a small library fine on as I kept it a couple of days past its due date. It's set in the 1990s Nigeria and is about four brothers, the youngest is 9 year old Ben who narrates the story. It is an exemplary family, the father works for the bank, the mother is busy with two toddlers as well as the four boys. They are regular church goers, the boys are doing well at school, their futures are assured, maybe even they will end up in Canada for further education. All falls to pieces when the father is promoted but must move to a distant town and decides due to the unrest not to take his family with him and can only return home monthly. The boys drift towards the nearby forbidden river where they become fishermen. They meet the local madman who is considered to have the power of prophecy who predicts the fate of the oldest, he will be killed by a fisherman, one of his brothers.
The story is riveting, the brothers can't extricate themselves from the prophecy and their father's promise of a bright future takes a tragic turn. Excellent.
'Nigerian tale mines rich vein of myth and superstition...the novel excels in its depiction of the tribal landscape and the townspeople. The close-knit community pay deference to nature and its elemental power. Salt-of the-earth takes on new meaning in such a climate. This harks back to the title, to the image of the fisherman and its religious and historical connotations. As the boys venture to the river and cast their rods, there is the feeling that centuries of myth and superstition are being reeled in.' - from the Irish Times http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/new-fiction-the-fishermen-by-chigozie-ob...
A great review at the Guardian, though perhaps best read after reading the book:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/mar/13/the-fishermen-chigozie-obioma-revie...

The Fishermen is on my list to read too after the Guardian review - thanks for the reminder - off to check the library catalogue.

It's really good, my comments do not do it justice.

71) Saga Vol 3 by Brian K. Vaughan (2014)
graphic novel
Continuing this 'sweeping tale of one young family fighting to find their place in the universe.' A good installment and I'm looking forward to the next one just waiting my turn at the library.

Nice review of The Fishermen, Kerry. I had already added it to my wish list after your comments about it on my thread, and I'll look for it next month or buy the Kindle version of it.

71b) A bag of marbles by Joseph Joffo (2013)
graphic memoir
This is an adaption of Joffo's 1973 memoir of how he and his family survived the Holocaust in France. The artwork is by Vincent Bailly and the adaption has been reworded by Kris. The artwork is great and I enjoyed following the adventures of the two brothers as they made their way from Paris and around southern France to avoid Nazis and Vichy authorities. They first made a perilous journey from Paris to Menton in unoccupied France to meet up with their older brothers who worked there. Eventually they reunited with their parents in Nice though once the Italians left the family had to split up again. While their father was arrested and died in a camp, the rest of the family survived the war.

...and another two books from the library -
The forgetting river: A Modern Tale of Survival, Identity, and the Inquisition by Doreen Carvajal - Carvajal journeys to Andalucia to find out about her family's hidden Jewish past
Confessions of a terrorist: a novel by Richard Jackson - Jackson teaches at Otago University and is an international expert on terrorism, so thought this might be a worthwhile read.

>182 kidzdoc: Darryl - you'll like this one. I'm enjoying the Barcelona talk on your thread. Will drop a post sometime this weekend.

72) The Redeemer by Jo Nesbø (2005)
crime
Harry Hole #6. Really enjoyed this one and will continue with the next one asap. A Salvation Army official is shot in a downtown Oslo square during a public concert.

Good review of The Fishermen. I have this on my To-Read list. Glad you are enjoying the Saga series. I am considering buying the 1st Deluxe Edition. It would be nice for revisits.

The Rabbi and the Twenty-nine Witches by Marilyn Hirsh (1976)
picturebook
Cute Talmudic folktale about how the rabbi solves the problem of 29 witches bothering the villagers each full moon.

>186 msf59: Mark, I loved The Fishermen. Not sure if i'm as much of a fan of the Saga volumes as you, but a deluxe edition of anything sure sounds fine.

Glad to see you having so much fun with Harry Hole, Kerry!

Thanks for helping to keep my modest little abode here warm whilst I was away worrying at RL. XX

>167 avatiakh: Hi Kerri. As my energy improves, I am starting to make the rounds of threads I've sadly missed.

I am excited to learn about the Horowitz book. He is my partner's hero. He always quotes from Destructive Generation: Second Thoughts About the Sixties. Will is much more conservative than I am, but I think I should take time to listen to him, as he listens to me.

I know he will be very excited about Barack Obama's Rules for Revolution: The Alinsky Model by David Horowitz (2009). I'll order it from Amazon for him tonight.

I've also added A Bag of Marbles to the ever growing tbr pile.

Regarding Being Mortal, I think it is destined to be my top read of 2015. I simply cannot stop recommending it or mentioning it in most conversations.

Paul, I've already started The Snowman. I seem to procrastinate over reading the next book in so many series that I've started so am determined to finish at least one set this year.

Linda - lovely to see you visiting. I like to read from across the divide of left and conservative. David Horowitz has written quite a few of these booklets about various topics, useful for those of us looking for more than an article but not ready to tackle a whole book either. I'll look out for Destructive Generation: Second Thoughts About the Sixties.

>185 avatiakh: I haven't read any Jo Nesbo books yet. I don't often read crime thrillers, or series for that matter, I have The Redbreast tbr - do you know if that's a decent one to begin with? Does it matter?

Hi Paul - that is the first in the Harry Hole Oslo series and a good place to start.

Thanks for the advice!

Dropping by with a Happy Mother's Day. I hope you had a lovely day. :)

>187 avatiakh: I loved that story when I was a kid. We must have checked it out at the library 20 times.

>196 nittnut: Thanks. I saw my mother on Friday and had my sons volunteer to do some garden work for me on Sunday.

I hadn't come across that story before and thought it was rather good. I love that illustration style.

73) The Crime of Father Amaro by Jose Maria Eca de Queiros (1874 Portugal) (English 1962)
fiction
I read this for Darryl's Iberian challenge over in the Reading Globally Group. Late last year I read his The city and the mountains and found it quite delightful, this one however is rather more serious.
Father Amaro is a newly ordained priest, he hasn't chosen the Church, it has been chosen for him. The youthful and decidedly handsome young man is sent to a small town where he lodges with a widow and her daughter of marriageable age, who Amaro ends up seducing. The novel explores the religious zeal of the townspeople, the corruption within the Church both political and sexual. In the beginning one's sympathy lies with the young Amaro, who isn't really cut out for priesthood but as the novel progresses and Amaro begins to become overwhelmed by his love/lust for the daughter, he becomes more and more conducive to corruption in order to achieve his goals.
While it's a serious novel, Queiros is a masterful writer and gives us many incidents and characters to enjoy.
I came across this book first in the 2002 film, El crimen del padre Amaro, it was adapted and set in 20th century rural Mexico and starred Gael García Bernal.
I enjoyed this and will definitely be seeking out his most well known novel, The Maias.

74) The Snowman by Jo Nesbø (2007)
crime
Harry Hole #7. An exciting instalment though I guessed a few things fairly easily. A serial killer who builds a snowman outside the home of his victim and at first only takes his victim after the first snowfall of each winter.
I've already read the first chapter of the next book, The Leopard and that one is definitely going to be a grisly read.

75) Love by the Morning Star by Laura L. Sullivan (2014)
YA fiction
Light entertainment after my previous two reads. This was a fun read with a delightful heroine, Hannah, a refugee from Germany who comes to stay at a grand home in the English countryside, she has connections through marriage to the family who live there. Upon arrival she is mistaken for the expected new maid and ends up working in the kitchens while the maid, Anna, who is actually the daughter of a British fascist and has been sent to spy on the family ends up living the privileged life. After trials and tribulations, mistaken identities etc etc both fall in love and all ends happily.
There is some light risque content throughout the book but overall a youthful and charming read. One of several I've found recently on the Jewish Book Council's website.

My First Kafka: runaways, rodents & giant bugs retold by Matthue Roth, illus Rohan Daniel Eason (2013)
picturebook
Not sure of the target audience as it is a bit sophisticated in intent and the artwork is very stylish. However a beautiful piece of work to serve as an introduction to Kafka for the young.
'Sylvia Plath believed it was never too early to dip children’s toes in the vast body of literature. But to plunge straight into Kafka? Why not, which is precisely what Brooklyn-based writer and videogame designer Matthue Roth has done '
More info here: http://www.brainpickings.org/2013/07/19/my-first-kafka-roth-eason/

76) Under the Egg by Laura Marx Fitzgerald (2014)
children's fiction
I loved this, it's described '....from the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler meets Chasing Vermeer in this clever middle grade debut...'
Theodora has a mystery on her hands when her grandfather dies suddenly, leaving her to fend for herself and her dysfunctional mother with $800 in the kitty and an old old house in Greenwich Village , New York. The discovery of a mysterious painting, possibly a masterpiece, that has hung in the house for over 40 years is sparked when Theo follows her grandfather's advice and looks 'under the egg'. Theo must discover the provenance of the painting and in the process she discovers a number of helpful friends in her community. This is a great story that delves into the world of the Holocaust and Monuments Men from World War II.
Another gem from the Jewish Book Council website recommendations list.

>202 avatiakh: It's waiting for me to pick up at the library.

Great review for the Iberian challenge - intrigued that a book could be transplanted like that to Mexico for a film.

I don't know about being kid-friendly (re the Kafka book) but I quite fancy this - I don't think I've ever read any, so maybe a slow start would be a good idea. The illustrations you've shown are certainly striking.

>203 ronincats: Roni, I hope you enjoy, at least it's a quick read. I'm about to read Half wild, the sequel to Half Bad and read a review that makes me impatient to get to it, just need to clear some library books first.

>204 charl08: Charlotte, I've requested the dvd from the library so I can see it again. The book was great at showing the total influence the church had over the local population in those times.

The text in the Kafka book is poetic but simplified and unsatisfying in his Kafka way, which I don't quite see crossing over to young children (and I've read a lot that does work for young children). Also the illustrations are clever but for me they also are more adult than child.
I'd recommend listening to an audio of The Metamorphosis which is so far my only Kafka experience apart from a visit to Prague.

Earlier this week I picked up a couple of books from the library sale table:
Cockroach by Rawi Hage - since I just read Nesbo's Cockroaches
From kai to kiwi kitchen: New Zealand culinary traditions and cookbooks - looks interesting

picked up from the library, more books.....sigh:
Unterzakhn by Leela Corman - graphic novel
An unreal house filled with real stories by Elizabeth Knox - the text of her 2014 inaugural Margaret Mahy Memorial Lecture, which I've heard was really good - To listen: http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/writers/20150322
Amina's Home Cooking - Amina Elshafei was a popular Australian masterchef contestant a few years back, with a Korean mother and Egyptian father, her dishes were always inspiring.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/lifestyle/food/egyptian-and-korean-mix/story-fn...

Wow! I can't think of Kafka as being for kids, but those drawings are really cool.

That dish on the cover looks amazing - mouth watering.

77) Game of Mirrors by Andrea Camilleri (2015 Eng) (2011 Italian)
crime
Commissario Montalbano #19. I enjoyed this even though I'd already seen the episode on the tv series.


78) Unterzakhn by Leela Corman (2012)
graphic novel
Follows the fortunes of two Jewish sisters, children of immigrants on the Lower East Side of New York in the years before WW1. Life isn't easy and the fate of the two reinforces life's painful lessons. The book includes a back story of how their parents met and came to America. Adult content, one girl ends up working in a burlesque theatre/brothel while the other works for a woman doctor who performs back street abortions as well as doling out contraceptive advice. Realistic and gritty. The title is Yiddish for “Underthings”
Again, a recommendation from the Jewish Book Council website.

Well, they didn't have this at the library, so I've put a request in. Looks really good. Thanks!

>208 avatiakh: You didn't get me this time - because I already had Unterzakhn on the wishlist! But your comments are a good reminder, and the artwork looks great.

I've just reserved Unterzakhn from the library. Thanks for the suggestion! :-)

>209 charl08: >210 Polaris-: >211 Smiler69: I hope you all enjoy when you get to it. I loved the illustration style, especially that she made the men very hairy.


An unreal house filled with real storms by Elizabeth Knox (2014)
speech
This was the text of Knox's inaugural 2014 Margaret Mahy Memorial Lecture given last year. I think I'd have got more from it if I'd listened to it, was a bit flat on the page. So I have the link and will take a listen sometime soon.
To listen: http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/writers/20150322


79) The Leopard by Jo Nesbø
crime
Harry Hole #8. This was a really exciting read that again I could not put down once I got into it. I fear I won't get much other reading done till I finish the last two books in the series. I've already got Phantom sitting here beside me.

In other news I tried a couple of recipes inspired by Amina's Home Cooking and both worked out well. I made my own Baharat spice mix from an online recipe and then tried her savoury ladyfinger pastries, the recipe reminded me of the spicy cigar pastries I used to have in Israel though the addition of pomegranite molasses and currants (I didn't have barberries) meant these had a sweeter taste.
This recipe comes fairly close: http://www.wanderingspice.com/2012/11/17/lamb-mint-and-pine-nut-cigars/

I also adapted her stuffed courgette recipe though I just used the same leftover meat mix from the cigars and stuffed a mix of courgettes, potatoes, onions and tomatoes. This was really delicious and I'll do this again. I baked them covered with tinfoil rather than simmering on the stovetop.
Similar recipe: http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipes/stuffed-zucchini-kousa-mahshi

My son has been raving about the meat-stuffed dolmades I made the other day, I've been looking for a meat recipe rather than the usual plain rice dolmades and looks like I hit a winner on my first try:
http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipes/meat-stuffed-dolmades

80) El Iluminado: a graphic novel by Ilan Stavans & Steve Sheinkin (2012)
graphic novel
Another one that was recommended on the Jewish Book Council website. Professor Ilan Stavans stars as himself in this fictional mystery surrounding some secret documents of Luis de Carvajal the Younger and the history of the Crypto-Jews or Maranos. Stavans arrives in Santa Fe to give an academic lecture on the long history of the Crypto-Jews and Conversos in Latin America and the Southwest USA. After the lecture he is approached by a young woman and the mystery begins.
Informative and entertaining, I've only read a YA, Blood Secret about Crypto-Jews in the US up to now. Stavans gives some additional reading in the 'notes on sources'.
The story is set around the same cathedral that is in Willa Cather's Death comes for the Archbishop.
A couple of links to articles about the GN:
http://articles.latimes.com/2012/nov/23/entertainment/la-ca-jc-ilan-stavans-2012...
http://www.abqjournal.com/148422/north/graphic-novel-sheds-light-on-cryptojews.h...
The Carvajal Family: 'a family of Maranos in Mexico at the end of the sixteenth century and the beginning of the seventeenth, all connected with Don Luis de Carabajal, governor of New Leon. Several members of the family suffered martyrdom at the stake for Judaizing.'
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/4015-carabajal
https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fcadn

Happy Sunday, Kerry! I may not post much over here but I sure love your book choices, along with some good GN recs.

I have not read Nesbo, in a couple of years. I just snagged Blood on Snow, which I might try to bookhorn in for M & M.

Good to see you, Mark. I'm reading threads but not posting as much.

Today went to see Mad Max Fury Road at the cinema, wow, what an adrenaline packed experience, I loved it.


81) How I alienated my grandmother by Suzanne Main (2015)
children's fiction
This won the Tom Fitzgibbon Award last year which is for an unpublished writer's manuscript for children and comes with a contract to publish. This was a lot of fun to read and hopefully it will get into lots of school libraries.
Michael digs up a strange metal object with his friend's metal detector and when he accidently points it at his grandmother something quite alienating happens.